Normal day in the island life!

 Famili!!!!


This week has been awesome and I hope all of you enjoyed my sudden barrage of pictures!!!

I have been moved to a new area called Fatumu! It's absolutely incredible because the beaches right next to us are absolutely gorgeous! I can't even describe to you how beautiful they are.  You will just have to look at the pictures!

So, work in the new area is definitely slow because this area that I have moved to is all about reactivation. We went to one of our 2 wards yesterday (because both wards start the same time and its about a mile to my other village. Soooooo,  it's quite the walk.  Needless to say, especially during the summer time here and the humidity is just not fun. Well, we have 200 people in one of our wards and only 20 showed up to church and in my other ward there are 75 people in that ward and only 22 showed up to church. So,  that is our goal is to become friendly and invite back to church and remind them that the church needs them!!

I also received the opportunity to train a new missionary!!! its been awesome! I'm training Elder T from Oregon! It's been awesome serving with him. He's fun to work with.  All we do all day is laugh, talk to members and hang out.  It doesn't even feel like missionary work.  We just have fun!! The people are very open and friendly and very loving.  Our neighbors are incredible and they always make sure we are comfortable!! I love it!

Funny story really quick:  So yesterday we were sitting there and as we were sitting there, we hear this wicked loud creaking noise,  so we spin around really quickly to see the town water supply barrel break the hinges of the stand it was on and breakdown..... and as it goes down I hear my comp next to me shake his head look down at the ground and say quietly "bucket showers....." hahaha So, that's going to be fun for us.  Until it gets fixed we get bucket showers for a couple weeks!!!! But to be completely honest,  that's not that big of a change anyway.  There was no water pressure.  We were taking bucket showers anyway.  Now,  though we have to walk to a water tank and fill up the bucket and then walk it back.  haha Normal day in the Island life!!!

Ofa lahi atu!!!

Elder Sepeti!!

 Hey everyone,  Happy Thanksgiving!!!

      This week went really well.  In fact,  I have a funny story for all of you and it's an example that we need to follow as missionaries and members of this church! This last week we were sitting in the house of a man named Taumola'a.  He is the first counselor in the bishopric and he is AWESOME. This week had been really slow for teachings and my companion and I were feeling pretty downtrodden to be honest! So, we asked him, because whenever we need help he is always there! So, we asked him if he could think of anyone we could share a discussion with and he told us,  "No" ... then he promptly stood up walked to the street (we were sitting on the porch) He waited there about 3 minutes.  The first person to walk by,  he grabs them talks to them for about 3 minutes and next thing we know we are sitting in his house sharing the first lesson with this young lady. It was incredible! He did that 3 more times that night so, we taught the first lesson 4 times that night with people he just invited in off the side of the road! LOVE HIM!

      At the moment,  we now have about 2 progressing investigators and a couple people who are interested. We do have a very promising 16 year old girl who is very excited and I'm pretty sure she is just waiting for us to invite her to be baptized! This last week we taught about 6 lessons and we had 12 pomalangas (spiritual thoughts to members.  We try to at least do 2 a day at dinner time and at a member's house we want to visit!) They are always very excited to have the missionaries over and they take it as receiving blessings by just giving missionaries a glass of water! It's awesome! Here we never teach without a member present.  In fact,  we put on our other lessons taught as a zero everyday because we choose to only go with members. The best part is that members always come to the lessons and are always more than welcoming with doing the fellowshipping.  It's amazing and the fact that they always feed us right after is best the part of the teaching! This last week I think the best experience I had was when Taumola'a went out and grabbed those people. It really is amazing to me how he can go out and just share the gospel with who ever is standing next to him. I plan on doing the exact same thing when I get home. It's a testimony builder to me that he is so willing and loving to just share it with everyone! 
     Church this week was your typical crazy Tongan event! Lots of loud kids and I gave a talk on faith! That's always funny seeing the members all going quiet at once waiting to see what the palangi says! haha And, as usual, I butchered a few parts of my talk because this language is not an easy language!  
So,  let's see,  in my down time this week my companion and I decided to sit on the porch and I played Folofola mai a Sisu on the ukulele and anyone who stopped by or sat to talk,  we would give them a pamphlet to the Fakafokimai o'e ongoongolelei o Sisu Kalaisi! The restoration pamphlet! We gave away about 6 or 7 and then just continued on singing:)

      OK, Mom,  pertaining to your talk, I actually have something I can add for you. Recently my mission president gave the challenge to restart the Book of Mormon or just start it again and read all the way through it before December 31st! Well,  I prayed really hard before I started and I decided to read it in English because I can't keep up with the quota in Tongan.  It's 16 pages a day in Tongan and 12 in English and my reading in Tongan isn't fast enough to do 16.  I can do about 8 to 10 pages fully comprehending everything. Tongan is a very vague language and hard to read since so many words have 8 different meaning in English! As I was saying,  so,  after I prayed I came to the conclusion that I wanted to underline every time the The Book of Mormon mentioned our Heavenly Father or His Son. And as I was doing that I stumbled across a word that I seemed to always look over but I've realized is the key to this Gospel and that is Diligence. See,  if you look in your talk,  it mentions that word! The problem is that we all look at that word as a descriptive word! You know? Diligently pray, diligently work, and diligently read. The problem is that we only see the second word in that pray, work, and read. We don't pay attention to the word before which is more important DILIGENCE! I've realized that this word is the key to everything if we continue in diligence,  not anything specific but just diligence to keep the commandments and to follow the Christ like attributes that have been set out for us then we will be fine in fact in Mosiah 3:19 19: For the natural man is an enemy  to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit. and putteth  off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child,  submissive,  meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father. This verse talks about everything we need to follow and do right? But, if you continue reading into chapter 4, King Benjamin is still continuing his address and he is about to finish!! and look what he saysin Chapter 27: And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order.  He says it right there! Just be diligent! And so,  I'm never overlooking that word again.  It will no longer be a descriptive word to me.  It will be the more important word! Because if we are just diligent then we will always be blessed!

I love you all have a great Thanksgiving!!

Elder Sepeti

Not the same scenery as Vava'u

Hey Everyone!!

I have been moved back to the main Island and I'm serving right next to town!! So, it's not much of a change when it comes to scenery (haha) other than the fact that there are no more hills and Tonga is not nearly as beautiful as Vava'u! but that's alright!

This week was awesome! I have a new companion and his name is Elder Kapeli and he's massive!  But he is a huge teddy bear. He actually finishes in one month on December 3rd! So I will be what the mission calls as Na'e tamate'i ia which means killing him! It's been way fun to work with him and even with only a month left hes a wicked hard worker which has been awesome! He is from Lematu'a in Vava'u and that is only about 10 minutes from where I used to work in Vava'u!

My new area was reopened with us and we opened with 2 baptisms! There were two 17 year old friends who have been waiting for the missionaries to return and we taught them every lesson in about 3 days and baptized them that Saturday because they had been going to church so that was awesome! I would send you guys pictures of it but unfortunately due to some bad happenstance my camera was stolen! That's alright though! I have sent a ton of pictures home! Enough to not be to frustrated! But, the new area is awesome.  It's really funny to walk outside because on the left side of us is Wesleyan church and on the right side is The Church of Tonga. Our little house is right in between them! It's super funny to see them every morning when we begin our work!

Other than that we have a ton of work going on here Bishop Niu is awesome and is always involved in whoever we are teaching at that moment! All the members around want to have us over every night to teach and to drink otai with them.  Otai is a chunky drink made of whatever fruit they feel like making it with that day. So far the best one I have had is Pineapple! Oooooohhhhh, it's amazing!!

Got to go back to work!

OFA LAHIT ATU!

Elder Sepeti!

28 hours in the boat "That is the Devil's design!"

Hey Everyone!!

     Let's see... so from last week not much happened because the day after pday I was put on another boat and shipped 28 hours back to Tonga! So, as always that was a very eventful ride because it started off as just me and my comp on the way back from Vava'u and then we stopped and picked up every single elder that was currently serving on Ha'apai! So,  the boat was absolutely stuffed with missionaries! 
     There was pretty much no room below! it was crazy not to mention that we picked up all the missionaries at about 11:00 at night so they were all wide awake from taking naps to stay up all night and talk! Which they did! It was crazy but, see it wouldn't have mattered if they slept at all that night  they would have been up with sea sickness anyway! That boat is definitely the devil's design! There is no doubt! No doubt at all! after We finally arrived at about 3:00 the next day. We were all split up and I have been staying in town ever since with a bunch of palangi missionaries haha so its been super fun! We have been just hanging out and going on a ton of comp exchanges to fill up time! That's basically my week.  I'll find out this Wednesday where I'm heading next.  There' s a rumor about that I'm either staying in Fasi which is town in Tonga or moving off island.   It's all in the Lord's hands!!

OFA LAHI ATU!!

Elder Sepeti

Lessons are picking up!

Hey Everyone!!

This week was really good!

So to start off: Yes, the baptism was lava! And it was awesome! We actually ended up baptizing 2 people instead of one! How sweet is that! There were 2 kids.  One of them was 12 and one of them was 10! It was amazing! You know one thing I have learned from Tonga is the ability to have the worlds fastest baptisms! No joke,  we finished the baptisms in 30 mins on the dot. That's how long the baptisms always are even for little kids who just turned 8 because the other half of the baptism is eating.... Nice right! I LOVE IT!

This week went really well we had about 10 lessons and about 3 quarters of them were with members and the other quarter were without!! So the lessons are picking up, especially this week! Because this last Saturday we contacted 5 investigators and they all said ok and we will be teaching them all this week! My new companion is pretty cool. He's serving only 15 mins from where he grew up and so his family and friends come to visit him all the time. He is definitely falling into the flow of missionary work and catching the wave! So, hopefully I will have him in full gear by the time he leaves.  Other than that BIG NEWS!!!  I was able to see Priesthood session live! and it was incredible!!

And that was my week!!

OFA LAHI ATU!

Elder Sepeti!

My son has arrived!

Well everyone,

 I'm doing awesome!!

After 3 weeks of waiting multiple boat and plane cancellations... way too long, comp exchanges! My son has arrived.... yes,  everyone he is here!!! Elder V has arrived and he is being trained!!!! Wooooooo!! Only funny part is that there is only 3 weeks left in this transfer so we will see what happens! Hopefully,  I'll get to do the full 12 week program with him here!!

I'm super excited for the work!! It has really picked up here since I started again Wednesday! So,  I began on that day with no new investigators or referrals! Since then we've had 4 referrals,  2 new
investigators and one of them is going to be baptized this Saturday.  a 12 year old kid named Villiami! I'm super stoked because I did all the teaching for him by myself!! So,  this is truly my first investigator baptized and I'm super super excited!!! It's going to be awesome!!

You know one thing that's kind of weird is the fact that now I'm teaching a new missionary. It's very humbling because,  well,  I don't feel adequate enough to teach the new guy,  especially when he grew up only 15 minutes from his area and he speaks fluently obviously!!! So,  it's areally interesting experience!

Other than that,  the work has finally restarted here so the emails will be much longer and better during the next couple weeks!!  I'm really excited to share with everyone these new experiences!!

OFA LAHI ATU KIATE KITAUTOLU!

Elder Sepeti!

Senior companion!

 Hey guys!

So this week was super fun!! To be honest not much work got done! But that iss because President came to town for interviews! Which had an interesting turn of events! During the interview with president he explained to me something that I wasn't quite ready for! As a missionary who has only been in Tonga for about 5 months and, as you all know, my language still isnt quite there yet.  And as I was sitting in the interview,  the president looked at me and said "Hey,  I like you. You're going to be a senior companion next transfer and train a new palangi"...... Yeah,  I'm terrified right now! I have been studying like crazy on the language and lessons! It has been crazy the last couple days! I have been working super hard to get up to par on it!


Other than that,  the week went by way fast.  As missionaries serving in town we usually help the zone leaders with everything since we are by the wharf and right in the middle of everything! So, the president changed a few things! There are offcially no more missionaries on Niua! He's going to make traveling AP's who go out to the small islands for a week to 2 weeks at a time and teach then return and go to a different group! Crazy right? So that's new with this week.  We didn't get to teach to much due to the fact that we were helping the zone leaders the whole time and it didn't allow us much time to work. That' s my news for the week.  It will be a lot better next week because things are rolling back to normal!

I LOVE YOU,

Elder Sepeti

A leaky boat and Tongan ice cream sandwiches

HEY EVERYONE!!!

This week has been awesome and super fun!! SO,  two out of the four people we were able to baptize and that was a really good week for us!!

So,  basically this week just consisted of preparing our investigators for baptism by visiting them frequently!!! That was our week plus the two baptisms. But now for the really cool part of this week!

SO yesterday I had the opportunity of going out to Motu (Small Islands) Which was way fun!! I went with Elder Uakona and basically this is how the day went! WE started off early and got to the dock at about 8:00 and then we waited for the boat for about an hour! When the boat finally arrived it was this little wooden dingy! I kid you not!! This boat looked like it was made of drift wood!  haha So we jumped in and started on our 40 minute to an hour boat ride to the small island of Ofu.  Which is beautiful by the way,  I have a ton of cool pictures from it! But the whole time on the little boat the guy who was driving was wringing out a sponge because there was a hole in the bottom of the boat! ha-hah The whole time we were sinking on the way out but luckily it was a small hole so it didn't let in too much water but still! haha it was crazy! So after the we finally arrived at the little island of Ofu where the church is literally on the beach! We went in had the baptism.  Elder Uakona,  finally after 23 months of serving did his first and final baptism in the ocean! How cool is that! We got some cool pictures! Then right after the baptism we went to Sacrament meeting with a massive ward of 15 people.... wait,  wait,  sorry,  now 17 people! That was awesome! We stayed and they finished their meeting! Church was only an hour! Right after we had ourselves some Tongan ice cream sandwiches and those are pretty much a loaf of bread hollowed out and a scoop of ice cream in it! haha They are way good.  When I get home we have to have that!

The whole week was way good though we retuned form OFu and then finished out our other wards!!!

SO all in all  good week!

LOVE YOU ALL!

Elder Sheppard!

Rain, rain, go away!

Hey guys!!

Well, I wish I could tell you this was a very long and productive week! But, unfortunately it rained just about every day except for the first two.... so to say this week was kind of a waste but that's all right! See, in this mission we don't exactly get raincoats and cars to keep our stuff nice and dry.  Most missionaries here lack that generally! So, usually it is just sit inside and do nothing but study and that usually turns it into a pretty long day! But! My companion and I still made it into a way good week and finished it with two baptisms! That was way exciting! and super fun!

So. let's see:  the week went like this:

Monday was p-day so we played volleyball!

Tuesday- walked around and went to all of our lessons. We had four that day so that was a really, really good day! We taught all of our investigators and they all were good! That's always a blessing!

Wednesday-rain

Thursday-rain

Friday- rain

Saturday!! Bright and sunny and able to do our baptisms! You know one thing that I love about baptisms here,  is how short they are! I have not been to a baptism that has been longer than 30 minutes! It is so awesome! Someone shares a spiritual thought, then they are baptized! Then bishop welcomes them! Then we pick up the chairs because all of the fonts are outside! Then ice-cream! ha-hah How great is that? It is so fun! I love it! It makes it so fun and then play with the little kids right after! It is way awesome!!! that's probably my favorite thing!

Other than that,  the work has been awesome here.  I'm pretty sure my companion and I are leading the mission in baptisms at the moment.  We have had 8 together! It has been an awesome transfer with him and I'm staying same area with the same companion.  It should be a pretty incredible transfer again!!

Well, I LOVE YOU ALL I HOPE EVERYTHING IS ALRIGHT!

Elder Sepeti!

Baptisms and Bank Robbers

Hey Guys!!

So, unfortunately only one of the baptisms made it through this week! But not for the reason that you think that they dropped out, but because it was pouring rain so they just moved to this week! Tthat’s fun but we have four  now this Saturday.... so that’s exciting and I will be performing every single one!

This week we also got to do something very rare and very cool.  The zone leaders were approached by the Saineha school,  which is a branch of Liahona High school out here in Vava'u and they asked for all the English speaking missionaries and for us to administer the Fluency English tests..... It was a riot! haha Now I know how I must have sounded when I first started speaking Tongan! One of the little stories we had to do was talk about a bank robber and his car and the kids had to make up what they were wearing.  I was talking to this little 12-year-old boy and I asked him "Sione, what was the bank robber wearing?" His reply " "a black shirt" my answer "good.  Is black your favorite color?" His answer "yes" and then immediately after he said “ yes”,  I quickly asked him "Were you the bank robber?" Then he quietly answers '”yes.. wait ! NO! NO! NO! I WASNT!" ahahahah it was soooo funny! He was reeling in his chair in fright because he thought he failed but he did a really good job!! haha We did that the whole day there were some really stinking funny answers to the questions!! So we each interviewed about 30 kids each and we started at 8 and ended at 4:00 right when school got out! So that was pretty much the day! And it was way super fun! Hopefully, I’ll be here for another transfer and I’ll get to do it again next month! 

That was my week though it was incredible! We had so many teachings and at the moment we have another two progressing investigators! So, this week has been awesome! I love you all! Hope you’ re safe and everything is all right!!! 

Love 

Elder Sepeti

A Little boy named 8

So this week in Vava'u was awesome!!! We had two baptisms,  a girl who was 16 years old that we have been teaching for the last two weeks and a 10-year old boy named Valu which in Tongan means 8.... so we baptized a little boy named Eight!

That was the most exciting part of the week! We have been having a lot of fun here and I have been loving Pouono! The people here are incredible! And one of the coolest parts about being out here is the fact that this place is a major tourist site!! So, a bunch of people come from New Zealand and park their yachts in the bay by the wharf! There are some way, way, way nice yachts out there. Right now, in fact, I think there is one that's at least 100 ft long,  big blue and shiny and it looks way nice!

Ok, on to new things.  As to the funny moment of the week:  I found out something nice and new about the Tongan people.... They are the most ticklish people in the world and they can’t help it! So, as you have seen by the picture of my Tongan companion he is MASSIVE! Elder Uakona and I tag teamed him and started tickling him and about 15 seconds into the attack he picked us both up!  Me on his left arm and Uakona on his right and he literally threw both of us across the room
ha-ha it was crazy! Then he just ran I was  was so shocked he just picked me up!  I am 180 pounds and Uakona who is 190 and he threw us across the room at the same time! Me on the left arm and Uakona on the right! It was incredible!  Never attempting that again or next time I’m probably going through the wall!!


Other than that funny note,  the work has been incredible and picking up.  Next week we are going to have 3 baptisms! They are all confirmed and happening. One on Tuesday and two on Saturday. So we are way excited for that to happen! It will be an awesome experience and im the one baptizing tomorrow! So I am way stoked for that! Seriously serving in Tonga is truly a unique experience.  You will never ever find a more loving people who will share absolutely everything they have with you! They have a love that is unconditional and unyielding especially for the missionaries! I have loved every minute here and I’m so excited for the next while I’m here!

I love you all so much!!!

Elder Sepeti

New Mission President

 Hey guys!!

So, the work this week was really slow unfortunately but not because we couldn’t find anyone or anything.  But, because our house turned into the passing through house for all the elders! Because of the fact that we live in town, all the Elders take advantage of the fact and go and get shopping done for deodorant and soap and things like that! We had a few lessons this week due to the help of the Ward Missionary! So that was nice and our investigators are picking up quite a bit! It was still a successful week! 

The highlight of the week though was yesterday was the first day Vava'u that all the kau faifekau met the new mission president! And its going to be very interesting how he decides to run the mission.  But he is doing something very new! He’s giving all the missionary companionships a new galaxy phone with internet on it!  Because he doesn't want us to miss any more weeks of emailing our families and friends! Now,  I’m just surprised because the power in my house goes out once a day for a couple hours and my shower is literally a hole in the wall no pipe just a hole.... So, how we are going to keep these phones in pristine condition baffles me... but hey I’m not arguing! Now we never have to miss a pday! He is a very cool mission president though! His views are going to take the mission into a very modern direction! So hopefully it will work! It’s going to be incredible to see where it goes! 

Other than that life has been fun on Vava'u. Tthe other day we finally caught the rascal who has been waking us up at 2:00 in the morning every morning! It was a pig! So, last night we ran out side with an egg and hit the pig with it.  So, hopefully it won’t come back! But for the last 2 weeks straight it has come at 2:00 in the morning and scratched it self on the posts of our house shaking the whole house! It would wake us up! Ahhh so annoying! But that’s alright! 

Other than that life has been fun here this next week is going to be awesome we should have another 2 baptisms!

Ofa Lahi atu!

Elder Sepeti!

The Language Train

Hey Everyone!!!!

I’m having a great time out here in Vava'u! The language seems to have jumped on a train and sped up ever since I arrived here! I comprehend a lot more than I did in Eua and speaking even more! I think though, it just has to do with the fact that my new companion Elder Tukuafu doesn't speak a lick of English so that has helped immensely!!!!

The area here is amazing! It’s been so fun!!! The people here are super fun and amazing to be around!! They always are helping the missionaries.  Without their help I’m pretty sure there would be no work here! We always have a fellowshipper  at every single lesson. It’s absolutely amazing!!

So, as to the house and the area: Yes, I’m still sleeping on the floor!! Fun right?  I’m just sleeping on a mat! It’ s not that comfortable but, hey? It’s better to have a mat then the dirt floor!!! So, I’ll take the mat personally!

At the moment we are teaching a few kids and the work is really going to pick up this week!!! OH YEAH! Our new Mission President came 3 days ago so he’s coming out to Vava'u soon to meet us!  So that’s really exciting and I’m super stoked to meet him next week! It’s going to be way cool and exciting! 

Other than that my companion is amazing.  Tukuafu is probably the best comp I have had so far.  He is way considerate and always helping me in the lessons!! I couldn’t be more blessed having him around!!!

Well, everyone sorry for the short email it was the first week here there will be way more next week!!!!

Love you all

Elder Sepeti!

Vava'u

Well where to begin,

So, this week has been kind of long... 

So, to start it off,  I have not had my bag this whole week because it did not make it on the boat ride up to Vava'u. I  have been wearing my companion's clothes this whole week! But, on the bright side, my bag will be arriving on Wednesday! 

My new companion is Elder T and he is a big 'ol Tongan! He's awesome. He is the nicest and kindest companion so far! He is from the main island of Tongatapu and he has been serving for about 9 months now! So, a pretty long time! 

The new house is ok.... yes, there is water. Yes, there is electricity but, there's only one bed. So, I sleep on the floor at the moment.  I'm hoping a new bed will come soon.  Apparently, there hasn't been a new bed here for about 3 to 4 transfers so quite a while! It's been an interesting experience! 

I am now serving in the city on Pouno which is the main city and town! The wharf that we docked at is actually my area so,that's pretty cool! We live one street over from the church and right next to a school building! It's pretty fun walking our area and always seeing our area all around us! The best part about working in town  is anything we need we can get! Because usually you have to go through other missionaries to get things you need and now its all right in front of me.

We cover 2 wards, Pouno 1 ward and 2 ward! They are super nice. In fact, I came right in time for the ward conference and we had a huge feast! I'm talking absolutely massive and unfortunately you know you are super white when the Tongan grandmothers still can eat more than you.... so that is always embarrassing and that is exactly what happened in the eating!

Now, to the plane ride and boat ride, wow, was that an experience!  We left at 4:00 Monday afternoon for the main island, Tongatapu on the plane and it was only an 8 minute plane ride. Right after that we jumped right aboard the Tonga transfer boat and had a nice short 22 hour boat ride! Yay..... NOT!  I did not get seasick but,  I did get a little queasy and I read my scriptures! So that didn't feel good! But, out of everyone,  I was the least sick! So, I absolutely enjoyed that part of it! Luckily we had cabins down below to sleep in so, that was nice! It was a quick ride because we slept the whole way! 

Now Vava'u is absolutely beautiful! There are  massive hills here covered in palm trees and beautiful bush! The water is always a a beautiful vibrant blue and the people are all incredibly nice. In fact, in 
the ward here, one of the ladies hand-wove me a bag! And another lady is making me a tauvala! So, to say these people are the nicest you will ever meet would be an understatement! 

Well, that's all that's happening here in Vava'u.  I'm sure I will have more to tell you guys next week. Especially, because it will be a full week! So, it will be fun!

Love you all!

Elder Sheppard

Vilohoa

 

Hey Guys!!!!

So this week has been awesome!!! Seriously,  I know this for a fact! Missionaries around the world yearn for wards like the ones here in Tonga!!! As I said last week, the minister from the Wesleyan church went around and told the people in our area to stop taking our lessons... and unfortunately they all listened except for one so that was nice!! So we told our bishop and next thing we know we have a vilohoa (when members go out and talk to everyone in the area and they do it with no fear! Seriously!!!) and they invited all the people in our area to an open house the next day!! In which 22 people arrived!! A lot of them inactive.... and about 5 to 7 of them were investigators!!! It was incredible!!! Then to top it off about 60% showed up to church that Sunday after we taught them at the open house and invited them to church!!! It was in an incredible feat put together by the ward to get people for us to teach!!!

So, this last week was pretty good, as you have read above...

For the last five weeks I have been on the hunt for an elusive animal that many missionaries haven't seen!! Even missionaries who have spent 3 months on the island of Eua!!! One day, as I was working in the bush, all of a sudden, there it was!! I WITNESSED THE EUA PARROT!! Yes folks, I saw it! And, I got a picture of it! It landed pretty far away but its bright green back was beautiful!! It was awesome and I saw three more that day.  It was an incredible day ha-ha! I don’t think I have ever been so excited to see a bird before,  seriously.... all of the Tongans were laughing at me cause I was so excited!! It was so cool!!

So,  this week in retrospect has been incredible!! I have loved it here on Eua and with the transfer coming up I don’t know what is going to happen.  It will be very interesting!!! Because 21 new missionaries are coming! So, I’m excited to see how this transfer runs through!!!

Other than that I have been having a blast here.  My Tongan has been getting there! Of course through the Lord's help! And it has been an awesome experience here! I’m excited to see where I will be next week!

Until then!!

Love,

Elder Sheppard!!

The Machete Expert!

Hey Everyone!!

This week in Tonga I learned something new about the culture! So according to my thoughts and calculations,  I have figured out pretty much that Tonga is the only place where you can sweat and get a work out FROM..... Eating. Yes, eating!!! Cause I suddenly realized the other night at our dinner that I was sweating from eating... and that’s not normal... because it wasn’t hot that night.  It was actually raining. So, I came to that conclusion because I realized that the amount of food we eat here and is given to us can only be inhaled through working out your stomach like the hot dog eating contest! So, while I’m eating I’ve started to try and perfect whatever that side-to-side motion was? So that has been my new goal!!

I am now a machete expert!  I climb coconut trees and cut down the coconuts.  My favorite is climbing to cut down the banana bunches.  We work in t-shirts and shorts until about 2:00 when we load up the produce on boats to go the main island.  Then the whole village goes home and goes to sleep.  My companion and I get cleaned up; do our personal study and companion study.  At five o’clock the whole village comes out to the church parking lot.  We have a tennis court and a volleyball court.  We play with the kids and everyone eats.  I love that part of the culture here!  After dinner we go to a member’s home to teach them.

So, as to new news! We have had 4 investigators these past couple weeks and they all have been extremely receptive to the gospel!! EXTREMELY receptive! Then all of a sudden "Poof" we only have one and his name is Pulotu. Now, from our snooping around and asking some members who are friends with our investigators. We were able to turn up this bit of information.... The Wesleyan (2nd biggest church in Tonga) minister went around to them and told them not to take our lessons anymore... and unfortunately they actually listened... so we are trying to get back with them but our efforts are coming to no avail... at least I think that’s the saying? So as to new investigators none unfortunately and with the new transfer coming up so rapidly we are hoping to find at least one more to teach! It’s all thanks to the members. They do everything!  In fact, sometimes they go on their own vilo hoa and find people for us!! It’s incredible! Nowhere in the world do people match to the diligence to these members.  They sometimes come to our house and tell us we have a teaching that night! ha-ha 

Which brings me to my next bit of information! So yesterday was P-day and the net was down because of the night before so we are netting today! But, as I was saying, our district leader told Elder S and I to be ready to pack our bags! Elder L is sick. Now, I had no idea what that meant until he told me where Elder L is serving.  He is in the farthest Island of Niua Fo'ou, which if an Elder is sick they automatically bring him home! Because, there are no direct plane flights there and the boat comes around about a month to a month and a half. So, in the next week or two either Elder S or I will be heading the farthest island where there is no internet or for the most part electricity. It only runs on solar power! So, this will be an interesting next couple weeks coming up to the transfer...

Well, I hope everyone at home is all right!

I LOVE YOU ALL

Elder Sheppard!

Earthquake!!

Hey Guys!!
      So, apparently you didn’t hear about the earthquake because you didn’t mention it in the email! But, there was a 7.5 magnitude earthquake on the main island and we on Eua received a 6.4 earthquake at 6:07 in the morning on Thursday of last week! So, that was a pretty cool experience! ha-ha we had to rebuild our neighbors house a bit but it's back to normal!

      Basically almost all of last week I spent on the main island forthe mission conference. Where Elder Hamula came and spoke to us for  pretty much the day. Then after we had to hang out for another day because there were no boat rides currently going to Eua! That was fun. We hung out with the APs for the day and went on a vilo hoa with them and taught their investigators! After we came home and for 2 days straight it rained and on Sunday it was bright and sunny so we went on a really long walk! ha-ha.

      Since not much happened last week I’ve decided I’ll tell you a few  things I miss at the moment. Right now,  at the moment I really badly want to have one drink where I don’t find ants or flies or any insects  already in it. I haven’t had a single drink yet where there has not been at an insect in it so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for the first drink that will come my way and be clean!!! Oh, and I really  miss fast food ha-ha I don’t know why cause the food here in Tonga is AMAZING! It tastes wonderful! and I’m not sure why I crave it but I do right now! Sorry, this letter is so short! This coming up will be good though we are going to the bush just about everyday to help farmers because of the earthquake! So, that will be really fun!

 Love you guys!

 Elder Sheppard!

New Companion

Hey Guys!

So, this week in Eua has definitely been eventful!

It started off super slow because of the fact that there are only 5 people in my whole area that aren’t members... so it has definitely been a very slow start for us hear in Eua.

Elder G, my trainer was not able to make the trip with me out here to Eua and so I now have a new trainer and his name is Elder F and he is from the small island of Oiha of Ha'apai.  He is quiet and just likes to study and talk to people. He speaks very little English and is really nice. Its definitely been fun having him around.

So, basically my days in Eua don’t consist of much.... we wake up and do our morning program like we usually do. Or sometimes we wake up early and we go and work in the bush. Now, seriously this is some hard work. We usually stay in there from about 7 in the morning to about 2 in the afternoon. We pretty much work like pack mules. We pull huge taro roots out of the ground and cut down huge palm trees. We also cut down huge banana clusters and set them in the truck bed to be transferred to the main island to be sold!

So some new interesting facts about Tonga.

On the main island of Tongatapu there are 90,000 people.

On the island of Vava'u there are 20,000 people.

On the rest of the islands including Ha'apai the last 10,000 people are scattered!

I didn’t realize how many people were on the main island of Tongatapu! It's incredible and the funny part is there is only a couple hundred on the island of Eua.

I hope everyone is doing well!

Love,

Elder Sepeti

Mother's Day letter and phone call

This is the view from Connor's walk to the beach.

Connor sent home a letter for Mother's Day that arrived on Saturday!  A beautiful pressed flower from his front yard made it all the way here:) A portion of the letter reads:
"Mom, I want you to know that I have a burning testimony of this church.  I know that Joseph Smith restored the church and that through him, the Priesthood authority is back on the earth.  I know that Thomas Monson is a true prophet today and that he leads and guides this church.  I know that families can be together forever and I am blessed to to be able to see my mom forever and always get to look up to her!  Because you are the best example I could possibly ask for! I know that Jesus Christ died for us on the cross and He took upon himself all the sins of the world.  He loves each and every one of us!  You have no idea of how proud I am to be your son! 
What a beautiful letter and testimony from my sweet boy:)

Connor was able to call home for Mother's Day.  We were not very hopeful because the island he has been transferred to is rustic:) But, in the middle of the afternoon the phone rang and there he was!  Tears of joy to hear his voice!  A member of the ward had given him her prepaid cell phone for the day to call home.  Bless those lovely saints all over the world that help the missionaries talk to their moms:) He sounds great and is loving his experiences.  Here are some excerpts from our conversation yesterday:

What is your new area like?

'Eua beach, just down from Connor's house

"It is beautiful here,  We can walk straight down the road to the beach. Most of the island is a national park with lots of rainforest. We have a small hut right across the street from the church.  We walked down to the beach and because my camera is waterproof,  I set the timer and held it by the strap underwater to take the picture.  The water is so incredible.  It is so clear it's amazing! I have a new companion who is a native Tongan.  He is from an island that almost touches Samoa. I miss speaking English with Elder Groom but, my new comp. is a great guy and I know my language will only get better!"

What is a typical day?
"Our area is two wards and there are only five nonmembers in our area.  So, we get up every day between six and seven.  We meet the Bishop and go with him out to work the farms of the local people.  We dig up taro roots which can be 40 to 50 pounds each.  We chop down trees, burn brush, climb the trees to cut down coconuts and bananas.   It is super hot and I stop every morning at 11:00 to put on sunscreen.  If I don't,  I get really burned." 
We help the locals crate up all of the produce and go to the harbor to put it on a boat for the main island, Tongatapu. 
After we finish,  the locals all take naps in the heat of the day and we see them again at about 5:00.  Everyone in the village comes out in the evening to play together.  We all play tennis and the kids run around and the moms all talk together.  "I love that here.  I wish we did that more at home.  It is really great!"

How is the food?
"Well, I have eaten dog, horse and octopus."  Walker asked, "How was the octopus?"  Connor, "Tentacley! I didn't like it much but, I ate it."  (Coming from Connor this is a big deal!!)  Breakfast is usually, octopus or fish.  Lunch is noodles and chicken, taro, eggs bread and maybe horse.  His favorite thing is "lu" it's made from different meats. It can be chicken lu, pig lu or
(my favorite), meat from a can lu.  "One thing I miss is boneless meat!  Everything here has bones in it.  "Oh, and mom, can you send me some more floss?"
"Mom! They all know Kentucky Fried Chicken!  So they cook it and then they"Kentucky"it. Which means they fry it!!"  Kentucky is funny in a Tongan sentence."  

What is the animal life like on the island?
There are lots of beautiful wild parrots.  There are some very poisonous centipedes that are nearly a foot long.  They are red and black and ugly!  There are huge hermit crabs down at the beach.  I miss the dog and pig wars. 

'Eua rainforest

"My car ride to town today was in a car with no door handles, tops out at 40 mph and my seat was broken so I kept rolling back and forth the whole way!"

"The island finally got an internet cafe.  It is in a shed."

The police don't do much here.  But, just don't hit someone's pig!!"