Last email... :( See you next week!

Malo e lelei!!!

What a bitter sweet opportunity this is to write my last email. I cannot believe the time has come for me to finish my mission! I just love being a missionary. This week was a really great week! Monday we left for Vava'u to have our zone conference. It was a really great conference! It was sad because it was my last time to be in Vava'u and my last time to see the missionaries serving there. After the conference we went out to the outer islands and it was so fun because from July to November its whale watching season and so we were able to see so many whales! They came right up to the boat and it was the coolest thing to see! They were huge! Wednesday we came back to Tonga and then Thursday morning we went to Ha'apai. While we were there we went on trade off's with the sisters and I was able to go to Faleloa a village in Ha'apai and work with the sisters. It was really fun! Today we have a baptism and im so happy for our investigator. Her name is Vesilii and she will be baptized this afternoon. We are so excited for her! 

This week while studying my scriptures I was reading in 1 Nephi 20 and I want to share something I learned from verse 10  "For, behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the 

furnace of affliction. " While reading I was also studying in a Book of Mormon study guide about this verse and it talked about how afflictions refine and purify each and every one of us if we let them. I thought about this scripture and thought about everything I've learned on my mission. I have learned  and progressed because of the "afflictions" I have been faced with, because of the hard I was able to know and learn the good, and it helped strengthen my testimony. 

Im so grateful for the time I've had to be a missionary! At the beginning of my mission I didnt think I would be able to make it this far. hahah!  But im so grateful for my mission. I'm grateful for the opportunity I've had to be a missionary in Tonga to not only strengthen my testimony but to come to love these people as my family, to learn from them, to help them, and to create forever relationships with them. 

'Oku ou ilo fakapapau ta'eveiveiua ko Sisuu ko e Kalaisi ia pea 'oku Ne mo'ui. 'Oku ou 'ilo fakapapau  'oku 'ofa 'a e Tamai Hevani ki he'ene fanau kotoa pe. 'Oku Ne 'ilo'i kitautolu fakafo'ituitui pea ko 'ene finangalo ke tau fiefia. 'Oku' i ai ha 'amanaki lelei' i he ongoongolelei pea oku tau monu'ia ke tau ma'u 'a e 'ilo ko eni ke 'ilo'i 'oku 'i ai ha founga ke tau lava 'o fakalakalaka 'i he mo'ui ni ke toe foki 'o nofo fakataha mo 'etau Tamai Hevani. 'Oku ou 'ilo fakapapau ko e Tohi 'a Molomona ko ha fakamo'oni 'e taha 'o Sisuu Kalaisi. Ko e founga lelei taha ke tau vaa ofiange mo 'etau Tamai Hevani kapau 'oku tau lau ia faka'aho. 'Oku lava 'a e Tohi 'a Molomona ke hoko 'o hangee ko ha kapasa ki he'etau mo'ui ke tokoni'i kitautolu ke tau lava 'o ikuna'i 'a e ngaahi faingata'a 'oku tau fehangahangai moia. 'Oku ou ma'u ha loto hounga'ia keu hoko ko ha memipa 'i he ongoongolelei 'o Sisuu Kalaisi pea kou fakamalo ki he faingamalie na'a ku ma'u ke hoko ko ha me'a ngaue 'i he to'ukupu 'o e Tamai Hevani ke tokoni'i 'ene fanau ke nau ha'u kiate ia. 'Oku ou ma'u ha 'ofa lahi ki he kakai Tonga :) 'E faingata'a kiate au keu mavahe mei heni pea 'e 'ikai ke lava ke ngalo 'iate au 'eku famili 'i heni mo e ngaahi tokoni na'a nau lava 'o fakahoko mai kiate au :) I LOVE Tonga and I am so grateful for everything I have learned here! 

I hope you all have a great week! Read you scriptures, go to church, and invite someone to come unto Christ :) I will see you all next week!! Ofa lahi atu!!! 

On our way to Ha'apai and Vava'u

Vesilii's Baptism  :)

-- 

Sista Silivesita

Always remember him, because he remembers you. :)

Malo e lelei!!!!

Kou fiefia he faingamalie ko eni oku ou ma'u keu fai ha ki'i tohi atu he ahoni. :) I cant believe I only have two more p-days after today to email you guys.  I want to share a little experience with you guys. At the beginning of this transfer I prayed to Heavenly Father and told him I will do everything I can to give him my all. I want nothing more then to finish strong and not waste one minute. I knew how busy this transfer was going to be with zone conferences and meetings, so I was a little worried I wasn't going to have much time to work in our area.  This week we were supposed to be in Vava'u and Ha'apai but plans were changed and Zone conferences start next week so this week we had so much time to work in our area! We had a program this week and we got about 7 new investigators. It was a miracle! One of the wards i'm has struggled with missionary work but this week they totally changed and planned programs and brought people for us to teach. Also, almost all of the new investigators accepted to come to church this Sunday and then continue the lessons next week.! We are so excited! But the best thing that happened this week is we were able to invite our investigator Vesili to be baptized and she said yes!  Vesili has diabetes and she has lost both of her legs so she is in a wheelchair.  She is really strong in the Weslyan church. She didn't really like us the first time we met with her. We shared a message with her about families and asked to read the first lesson pamphlet.  We asked her if it would be okay to come back again and she wasn't really okay with it but she said yes. When we came back she told us that she read the pamphlet and she loved reading about the family. Both of her parents died and she's just had a really rough life. She reminds me of aunt Tracy because she has diabetes and and has had some hard health challenges that she has had to face with. Reading about the family really made her feel good and so we taught the plan of salvation and told her that she will have a chance to see her parents again, if she is baptized. We invited her to be baptized and she didn't even hesitate. She wants to be baptized!! Yay! July 28 Vesili will have the opportunity to enter the waters of baptism :) 

It was a good week! I learned a lot this week! We were able to do two exchanges with the STL's in the mission and I was able to work with sis Egan one last time :)  Theres a new sister here who is just really struggling  with being homesick and dealing with adjusting to the mission. It brought me right back to when I first came in. I know exactly how she is feeling and I was able to share with her that she is not alone. Not only does she have us missionaries and President and Sister Tuione, but she has the Savior who knows everything she is feeling. It was a great reminder to me that we are never alone! Our savior knows everything we feel and are going through!  Always remember Him! I love you all have a great week :) Ofa lahi atu!!!

--
Sista Silivesita

Our time in Uta

Tonga!  One of my favorite members. :)

Malo e lelei!!

Malo e lelei!!

This week was a good week!  Not too much happened. We did have our MLC this Thursday and Friday and it was so fun! I was a little sad because it was my last MLC, and MLC is one of my favorite meetings because we get to meet with all of the mission leaders and see what we can do to lift the mission. President and Sister Tuione had me bare my testimony and of course I cried. hahah!  Im starting to say oh this is my last meeting, or this is my last time doing this, and it makes me so sad! I honestly love being a missionary. Thursday all of the mission leaders came from the outer islands and we started our MLC off with an activity night. We did a lot of team building games and then we did a "feiumu" for our meeting on Friday. Friday we met almost the whole day and then had another activity the night before the missionaries went back to the islands. It was probably one of the funnest MLC meetings we've had. 

Anyways, MLC was probably the most exciting thing this week! The work in this area is still moving forward but we dont have anyone to teach right now. We are still working with our members to go find us some investigators. But I have hope that this next week we will find new investigators and have some teaching appointments. 

Sorry this email is short, not too much to share! I hope you all have a great week! Ofa lahi atu!!!

-- 

Sista Silivesita