The Plan of happiness :)

Malo e lelei! 

Thanks again for all of the birthday wishes. You guys are the best! This week was a good week! On Monday we had transfer day and me and my comp were transferred from Kolomotua to Matangiake. We live just around the corner from Presidents house and right across the street from the temple. They call this area "LA" (Little America) because a lot of the houses look American. We were moved here so we can be closer to the mission office because we work so closely with President and we are in the office a lot. Also every single house in our area are members. There's not a single house that doesn't go to the Mormon church. I thought this would make work hard but the members are so good about fellow shipping investigators for us and we actually have two investigators who are wanting to be baptized they just want a little more time. So thats awesome! We are just praying that there time will come to be ready to be baptized. 

Last Monday President and Sister Tuione invited us over to have a FHE with a family they have been working with and they asked us to teach the lesson we taught them "The Plan of Salvation" and it was probably one of the best lessons I have ever had. The spirit was so strong. The dad is a single father and they actually had a child pass away a couple years ago so the message really applied to them and you could tell they understood and accepted Heavenly Fathers plan. We taught them again last night and extended the invitation to be baptized and all of the kids accepted but their Dad was having a hard time accepting it. He works at a catholic school here and he is very well know. So his thoughts are if he joins the church he will loose his job and maybe some of his friends. We talked with president last night after the lesson and he said "Its interesting to see what the Lord wants us to do. " Man President is so in-tune with the spirit. He is definitely a man called of God. I hope and pray that their dad will come around. I know the blessings the gospel will bring to him. I know his children being baptized will be a great example to him and maybe he will understand the importance of being baptized. Man I love being a missionary! This is the best work and gift ever! This week we welcomed 20 new missionaries to the mission and half of them were new Palangi (White) elders. It was fun being able to share my struggles and experiences with them. I was able to look back and see how far I've come and testify to them that the lord lives and he loves them :) 

Kou fiefakamo'oni kiate kimoutoulu. Kou tui oku ofa a Tamai Hevani kiate kitautolu. Koe uhi oku ofa ae Tamai Hevani kiate kitautolu na'a ne omai ko Hono alo ko Sisu Kalaisi ki he mamani ke pakia maa kitautolu ke tau lava o ma'u ha moui ki he ta'engata. Ko e Fakalelei a Sisu Kalaisi ko e faingamalie fakaofoofa ke tau lava o liliu eatu ngaahi moui ke tau lava o hoko hange a Sisu Kalaisi. Kapau oku tau fai ae ngaahi me'a oku hala oku tau lava o kole fakamolemole'i mei Otua pea liaki leva ae ngaahi me'a na'a tau fai ke hoko atu ae ngaue oe Eiki ke tau lava o ma'u a moui ki he ta'engata. Ofa lahi atu kamoutolu!!

Work hard everyday to become who Jesus Christ wants us to be :) 

-- 

Sista Silivesita

Malo e lelei!

I first want to thank everyone for all of the kind birthday wishes. It made my whole week so thank you! This week was a good week! A busy week getting ready for transfers and everything next week but a good week! Last week we had the opportunity to watch conference and I cant even begin to explain how grateful I am for the leaders in the church who are so  inspired by the spirit to help guide us each and every day. Im sure you have all seen conference by now...we are a little late to watch here in the islands but its so cool that no matter where you are in the world the gospel is the same. :) 

A couple things I learned from conference.  First is the importance of service. Not only serving others but focusing on those around you. I don't have my notes with me but someone shared how important it is to look out for those around you. Heavenly Father puts them close by you because they are the ones who need you the most. So serve those around you! Not for praise but for joy and happiness. When we serve and strive to be like our savior we will understand his plan and everlasting atonement for us.  

I also loved how much they addressed the Book of Mormon and the importance of reading it everyday. Again, I dont have my notes and im not sure who said this, but a quote I loved is.... "If you read the Book of Mormon everyday, you will make better choices everyday." And I can testify that that is so true! Continue to read the Book of Mormon everyday! Also if you are not already doing it read the Book of Mormon as a family. Looking back as much as I didn't really enjoy taking time to read as a family I am SO grateful for what it prepared me for!  Im grateful for the spirit that was felt in our family and home and the things I was able to learn from reading together. 

Quick story....The other day me and my companion just got home after a long day and we were getting ready for bed and I walked into the bathroom and there was a HUGE spider probably the size of the palm of my hand and it was just just chillin in our shower!  Man i screamed so loud hahah because it was just sitting there staring at me. My comp came running in and then ran right back out  when she saw the spider. We both hate spiders especially
BIG ones. Anyways I sat there with a shoe in my hand with my comp behind me holding bug spray and for 30 min I told her "Okay I'm gonna do it" but I was too scared I wouldn't hit it. Finally I hit the spider and it didn't die, so i hit it again and it just kept running towards me and finally the third time it died. After screaming and running around with the bug spray me and my comp finally were able to kill the spider!  After I said my comp "man its crazy how something so small can have so much control over us."  I wanted to share this story because we all have those little things in life that hold us back because we feel like they have so much power over us. Maybe we have tried before to kill it off, and maybe it didn't "Die". Sometimes it takes 2, or 3 times to finally overcome it and have faith and trust in the lord to help us with what ever is holding us back. Since that day we have had 5 of the same spiders and although I'm a little hesitant at first to kill it, I just remember that I've already done it before so I can do it again. Keep working hard, keep trusting in the lord. He will bless you I know he will. He loves you and trusts you. Continue to read the Book of Mormon and serve and love those around you. Have a great week! Ofa lahi atu! 

Sista Silivesita

Mission Leaders at the Nuku alofa Temple! ❤️

Malo e lelei!! 

Sorry this will be a short email I don't have a lot of time......we just got home today from traveling to all of the other islands for zone conference. Man it was a great week! 

Here are some pictures from the zone conference in Ha'apai. This was a sandy beach...It was so pretty!!

Sorry my email is mostly pictures...Ofa atu! Have a great week :) 

-- 

Sista Silivesita

Man I love my companion she is awesome!!!  She is finishing her mission in November though.😞

Zone Conferences in Vavau :) 

We took a boat ride to the islands in vavau to drop off the elders.

What is the Character of Christ?

Malo e lelei!

Man what a week. This week we had two baptisms and it was awesome! We baptized a 10 year old boy named Avoki and another guy named Ofa. One of the wards we work in is a very smart ward and they love missionary work. They do a missionary week every 3rd week of the month and they do all sorts of activities. On Thursday we held a "Self Reliance Open House" and we invited Non member families to come show us what they do to provide for their families. It was really cool to see because most people here in Tonga are very self reliant. We invited two of our investigators and their names are Moana and Kirri. They are both from Fiji but they live here and make "Roti" for a living. They have to wake up every morning at 4:00  just to make their order of Roti to sell. Its awesome! And then on Friday we had our baptism! :) 

We started a Book Of Mormon challenge as a mission and President has asked us to highlight anything that has to deal with Christ. If you want a new way to read your scriptures focus on words about Christ like (Messiah, God , Thee, etc.) and I promise you will learn so much more than you thought you could! I was listening to a talk by David A. Bednar called the Character Of Christ and something he said was " There would have been no atonement, Except for the Character of Christ" Take a minuet to think about that quote. Christ loves us so much so he died for our sins. His character is the example we should all strive to become. 

 Ofa lahi atu! Have a good week :) 

-- 

Sista Silivesita

1. Here is our MQ. We live on the same land as some members.

2. This is Elder Lomu, his uncle was my seminary teacher at Jordan.

4.Sister AP's and Elder AP's

This is Avoki the boy we baptized.

Avoki and Ofa before baptism.  :)

The water goes TOO slow to fill the font so we had to use the fire hoses to help!

Baptism open house

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On our way to NIUA

NIUA

3. Elder Pakalani and Gengler (They are now serving in Niua)

Members :)

The Sunrise on our morning walk!

The Other Side of Heaven

Malo e lelei!!

Fefe hake? I hope you all had a good week. This week was an exciting week! On Tuesday we had the privilege of going to the island of Niua with President and Sister Tuione. Niua is the island where Elder Kolipoki (Groebert) served in the movie "The other side of Heaven". There hasn't been missionaries on that island for about a year but this transfer two elders got sent there and so we went with president to meet with the church members there. Man it was so cool! We flew to Vavau and then from there to Niua. Man you should have seen the plane it was SO small. Hahah but thankfully we made it there and back safely. We only spent like 2 hours there but we had a big feast and then we got to take a little ride around the island. The spirit of the people there is so strong! There really is like nothing there but they are all so content. A plane only goes there maybe  once a week if the weather is good. So we had to hold the plane there while we met with the people. Im so grateful I had the opportunity to go visit the people there. It was a very humbling experience for the short time  I was there. It's so amazing to see people serving in the gospel on a small tiny island in the middle of the ocean. Just another reassurance that Heavenly Father is so aware of all of us!

Thursday and Friday we had MLC with all of the zone leaders and STL's. It was fun! WE had the opportunity to go to the temple and then we spent all day Friday together discussing things we can do for the mission. Last night we had a girls night with sister Tuione before the Sisters go back to Vavau. It was so fun! President really wants us to all become one in this mission and so its fun getting the opportunity to know all of the sisters. 

On Monday we had to take some sisters to the airport because they were flying to Vavau. When we walked into the airport I saw lots of Palangi's there so I decided to find one to talk to. I started talking to this girl from a really small country in Europe. I tried to speak German to her from what I could remember in High school but that was a fail. Hahah!  Thankfully she could speak English. She came here to go to one of the islands Ha'apai to swim with the whales. We talked and i tried to give her a book of Mormon but she didn't accept it. I was bummed but I was determined to give this Book of Mormon to someone. While we were eating in this little cafe I saw this Palangi couple so I went and talked to them and of course the women was from Germany  so I had another opportunity to practice my German hahaah! But she also spoke English so that was nice. :) We talked for like 30 min just getting to know each other and then we talked about the gospel and they accepted the Book of Mormon and committed to pray about it. Man I was so excited! I knew there was someone there I needed to give the book too. I also challenged them to find missionaries when they return back home to listen to them. The Book of Mormon I had I had found in Presidents shuttle that we took to the airport. I thought it was one of the sisters but it wasn't so thats why I decided to give it to someone. And it was an English Book of Mormon which we don't really carry around. So, when I saw the Palangi's I was determined to give it to someone. 

Im loving the mission. Im loving the experiences i'm having and the people i'm meeting!! We feel so good when we are doing the things we are supposed to. Keep being good examples to those around you. :)  Ofa lahi atu kamoutolu! Keep reading the Book of Mormon!

-- 

Sista Silivesita

When I saw this  plane I told my comp "My dad would turn around right now".  He would have not like the plane ride!!  :)

Traveling with President and Sister Tuione.

I found this picture on the missions Facebook page of Kenidee and Sister Tuione (the Mission Presidents wife) and it made me smile.  This is so Kenidee.  ❤️ ❤️  😊   

Malo e lelei!

Man I don't even know where to begin.... This week was probably the toughest week I have had here on the mission but also one of the best weeks here in the mission! This week all of the new missionaries came in so we were able to help president welcome them all. We attended the temple and I did my first teaching at the orientation meeting. Man, I get so scared teaching but I can truly testify that the spirit is the teacher. I have never been led by the spirit more before in my life! 

 Sister Saulala and I get to work so closely with Sister Tuione. Whenever she needs something she calls us and we stop whatever we are doing and go to her. I feel like i'm serving two missions. I get to preach the gospel to those in Kolomotu'a and Serve the sisters here in the mission. Its awesome!! 

I have learned so much this past week. I testify that Heavenly Father is aware of EVERYTHING you are going through. He knows you best! 

Last night we got a text from President at like 3 in the morning telling us to to check and make sure our sisters were okay because we had a huge tsunami warning this morning. I guess because of the earthquake in mexico it caused a Tsunami.  Luckily it didn't make it this far. 

Hope everyone is safe and okay! Love you all! Sorry I don't have lots of time :) Ofa Lahi atu!

-Sista Silivesita

1. Me and my comp doing our laundry 

"Belief is truth held in the mind; Faith is a fire in the heart"

Malo e lelei!!!

Sorry I don't have a lot of time to email today! We had transfers and I have been transferred to Kolomotu'a. Im super excited!! Its a big area. I visited there one time and it was super fun. The members are awesome. Im so sad to leave my companion Sister Fotu! She taught me a lot and she is such a hard worker. I know she will do great things in Havelu. My new companion is Sister Saulala. She is from New Zealand. Some exciting news... President has called me and Sister Saulala to be the new Sister APs. Not very many missions have Sister AP's, I've actually never heard of any other mission having one, haha but we do everything the Ap's do. We will work a lot with President and help him with the mission. 

Im super excited for this opportunity! I know how important it is to do the Lords work. I love being a missionary! I know this church is true and I promise when we do what we are asked we are blessed. I love you all ! Have a good week :) Read your scriptures and pray everyday!!!!

Sorry I dont have any pictures! 

Ofa lahi atu!!

-- 

Sista Silivesita