The Humbling Power of Prayer and Song

This week has been awesome full of just getting pushed to the limits. I have no idea why but this week was just one for the books. I wasn't doing to well and everything I feel was just not on my side so I had to kneel down and ask for some sincere help. I have never felt such a sense of peace and love come over me. It was like getting filled with an energy that I have never felt before! I love the power of prayer and from that moment on I have been blessing with help in all that I do!

This week was not to interesting most was just walking and walking and walking. Don't worry Pai the walking is cutting the love handles! But it has been a very humbling week. Realizing that I am nothing without the help and love of my Heavenly Father. I have been learning that a lot on my mission but this week for some reason I learned so much through prayer.

But it was CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!! That was an awesome time to be able to see my family even as blurry as they were and hear their love for me and for the work that I am doing! Sacrament meeting was awesome and was filled with love and power through song. The family who gave the talks also gave a special musical number! They all speak English so it was nice to be able to understand what was being said, but also made me really listen to what I was singing how powerful that truly was! I loved it and have found that when you sing and actually think about what you are saying the Spirit will testify to you of the love that our Savior has for all of us!

The pictures just include me on the beach trying to get a coconut, our christmas lights, Christmas day, and the Faleulu family. We baptized them in October and just had to snag a quick picture of them while we were there!

Love you all and thank you for the love and support this week! Remember that we will recieve all that we ask of our Father in Heaven so long as we are obedient and ask.

Alofa Atu

Elder Bethea

Truly Blessed

What a week. I loved every single day this week. Because it is so close to Christmas I decided to pray every day for an opportunity to become more like my Savior or to learn how to become more like Him. Be careful what you pray for! I was overwhelmed with opportunities, experiences, and blessings. I have never been more happy walking in the hot sun or the pouring rain! Everywhere I looked I found something that made me want to become more like my Savior! Here are the best ones.

This week we started off going to a house and performing a blessing/casting out evil spirits for a young woman who was having some problems. Her grandmother called us and we went over as soon as we could to help. We got there and she told us she was hearing things and wasn't feeling good. So Elder Redd gave her a blessing and some words of advice. After the grandmother asked for a blessing for her toe that just got amputated. After we blessed here I realized the power that Elder Redd and I both were holding, and how much it can bless other peoples lives. Whether that be through blessings or through allowing the Spirit to bring comfort to people through us. I was truly humbled to realize that everything we do is to help bring comfort to those we come in contact with! I loved that and realized how much our Savior brings comfort to us!

Then we went out to one of our converts houses and just started talking to him. He lives in a house no bigger than some of your bedrooms. And yet he was talking about how this whole week he had been searching for things he could give to our Relief Society so that they can help families who may not have very much. I was so taken back to see that a man who has so little is trying to give so much. My heart sunk to see how selfish I had been in asking for so much for myself this week and how little I had looked to bless others lives. Kinda a slap in the face...... But so awesome to see how you can learn so much if you truly listen to the spirit and try with all your might to look outwards.

Finally our BAPTISMS!!!!!!!!! We had the opportunity to baptize Laumata and Ken this week! It was sooooo awesome I loved to see how happy they were! Man this gospel is true and bringing someone into it just makes you want to scream it to the island! I love this work and how much it has truly blessed me! I love you all for your support and love!

Alofa atu

Elder Bethea

This is How Palagis Workout!

So this week Elder Redd and I have made it a goal to start working out every morning and going on a short run. Well the first day we were pumped and ready to go! (At least I was.) So we got up and started running. We ran past some kids walking to school, as we ran past I muttered this is how Palagis (white people) workout. I guess that wasn't very nice because right after that I totally turfed hard on the cement. We had to sit there for a second while Elder Redd caught his breath from laughing so hard! This is what exercise will do to you!

This week was awesome! We had the chance to go and do a family home evening with one of our investigators and her whole family. Elder Redd decided that we would do a lesson that I would do 10 pushups for everyone who has taken a piece of candy I don't know if everyone knows what that is but it was a super awesome experience for me. Everyone was kinda taking it as a joke and wasn't super into it. It was so hard for me to continue doing the pushups because I kept thinking, "Just understand what I am doing for you!" Then I finally realized how important it was for us to really take serious, our Saviors Atonement. I realized how important it was and how much love our Savior must have for us, realizing that some of us would take it for granted and even not use His amazing gift. Truly this gift is amazing. This time of the year is the time for us to recognize Him and how much He has truly done for us. I truly have a testimony of His love for us.

Questions for the week.
1- Do you ever get the chance to play the Uke? Have you found one for yourself yet?
No not yet and I have not gotten one our area is not close to the town so not a place to get it.
2- What are some of the Christmas traditions that are/will be happening in Samoa?
Dances lots and lots of dances performed by the family and different members.
3- Has the ward given you specific assignments as Missionaries?
Just to always be working nothing really. Lots of referrals but nothing super specific.
4- You said that the mosquitos are awful over there....do you sleep with a mosquito net?
Yes yes I do.
5- What has been your favorite type of service to be involved in?
When we do have the chance to serve I love to help clean up and rebuild the families house. I love it seeing how blessed I was back in the states and how much I took for granted.
6- What is your favorite discussion to teach? Can you give it all in Samoan?
Word of Wisdom. I love to show people how much just doing something simple can bless them soooooooooooo much! Almost pretty simple and not 100% but yes.
7- How has your own faith in Christ been strengthened by the investigators you teach?
The story above and I love to see how much by just learning and living the gospel and how much it changes their life. I love it and love to see how much it helps my investigators.

Love you all and I thank you all so much for all of your support. Keep on keeping on. Truly find something that helps remind you of Christ and look at it everyday.

Alofa Atu

Elder Bethea

Christmas came early this year!

SOO President Hannemann is going to all of the islands and doing individual zone Christmas so our "Christmas" conference was this Wednesday! It was sooo awesome! It was an amazing boost to my mission mentality! I was so excited to go out and work hard! After the little devotional we were able to go to the hospital over here and sing for the people in there. The emotions were so high! I could truly feel my Saviors love for everyone in the hospital! It was a very humbling to see all of those people there and how much we can do by just singing and sharing the love! 

Other than that this week has been crazy! Filled with no good fried chicken from an Asian grocery store.....(Never Again.) And full of many many moments that I was able to truly feel my Father in Heavens love for each and every person we talked too. I have never had a stronger desire to share the gospel than this past week. I have no idea if any of you are following the thingy they are doing on mormon.org but it is AWESOME! Through every single one of the ideas on how to serve Elder Redd and I have been able to come closer to our Savior as well as with the people we serve! 

We have one baptism set for next week and we are so excited! I love this work and love to see how it improves and strengthens families! I love you all and thank you for all of your prayers!

Alofa Atu

Elder Bethea

Pictures-

the beach we go to every p-day I know its hard...

a gigantic tree plant thingy Idk it was huge though! (yes i did cut my hair thanks for noticing)

Everyone Says I'm Fat.....

So this week was full of us walking and working hard and visiting a bunch of people. But for some reason this week everyone has asked me about my weight. So now everyone is telling Elder Redd that he has a REALLY fat companion.... So yeah I guess I'm fat.

This week has been awesome and full of very amazing moments. I was finally able to extend my first baptismal invitation and he said yes! Ken has been going to church for about 8 years and he has started lessons so many times and we have just recently restarted his lessons and now he is on date! I'm so excited to see him finally be able to see the blessings of the gospel in his life!

This week was sooo awesome! Elder Redd and I have just been searching and praying for new investigators so that we can open our teaching pool. We were walking one day however and we had been praying for new investigators. We ended up stopping because Elder Redd really wanted a Coke. So we stopped and it just so happened that a young man was there and we started to talk. He was super interested in what we have to say so he took a BoM and now he wants us to come back tomorrow!

I was so happy and grateful for the blessing of a new investigator but then we saw another young man sitting down so we went over and talked to him. He said he was super interested so we kept talking, we asked if his family would like to hear about our message and he said yes and took us to his house! His mom was super interested and wanted us to come back on Wednesday! IT WAS SO AWESOME! I loved how Heavenly Father was able to bless according to our obedience and faithful prayers!

Continually working and praying works! I have loved working so hard that when I come home I literally can't stand! I love the blessings our ward and our investigators have received from living the gospel! I love this work so much and I love feeling your love from across the ocean! I love you all and pray for you!

P.S. Thanksgiving was awesome over here and I ate way to much.....

Alofa Atu

Elder Bethea

Ballerina Bethea

The dogs were closing in, their eyes beating down on me. I knew that I had to get out of there fast or I would wet myself. So I did the one thing I knew would scare them away, and that was to dance. So in reality some dogs ran after us and I pulled off my bag and did a swinging leap to get out of their way! Elder Redd told me that it looked like I was a ballerina. Gisele you better sign me up to dance with you;)

This week was quite simply amazing! We had a lesson with one of our investigators Sophia. We decided to teach about the restoration. We showed her the a short video of the restoration, and by the end she was in tears. The spirit was so strong, and right after she told us that she knew for sure that she had to pray to know if this is the true church. I knew for sure that she had felt the spirit testify to her of the truthfulness of this gospel. She is still on date but her and her fiance moved their wedding to the 24 of December so we had to move her baptism back to that day as well...Christmas present!!!!!!

We also got another baptism this week! We didn't teach him the Elders in the Tongan ward taught him but his father wanted him to be baptized in our ward. So yeah we got to be baptize him but not really haha. It was an awesome experience to see how spiritually prepared he was.

This week was really hard on me. I wasn't as super prepared as I should've been. It helped so much when we went into some lessons and Elder Redd asked me to help teach and I couldn't teach what I wanted too. It was so amazing to see how much I truly need to be spiritually prepared I need to be going into lessons. It truly helped me realize how I need to become spiritually stronger if i want to become the missionary I want to be.

Thank you all for your love and support. I pray for you all every night!

Alofa Atu

Elder Bethea

Fun pictures found on FB from other missionaries.

A sister in the ward took these pictures and tagged mom on FB with them.... thanks Sister 

         Paia N Claire Sagapolutele-Toeava from Pavaiai 2nd ward

"My name is Tina!"

Oh my goodness this week has been a testimony builder! The quote as stated above was given by our recent convert Ilalio. We were teaching him about the Plan of Salvation and we got to the kingdoms and were trying to help him remember Celestial. So he was trying as hard as he could then he said, "oh its like saying My name is Tina." I couldn't stop laughing because he said "My name is Tina" in English! I couldn't help but laugh! It was so funny because he speaks very broken English so for him to say that was halarious!

Anyways this week has been awesome! Last P-day we had the chance to cut our own hair and Elder Redd decided that he was just going to buzz his! Don't worry I didnt but he has been hearing nonstop about how he looks so different without his hair! So funny!

On Friday we went out to do our visits and went to a members house who had just moved in. She is very strong and has a daughter in law who is not a member. So we went over and started to talk. Soon enough the daughter walks out and the mother says oh yeah she wants to be baptized! Right Sofia? And next thing you know we have a new investigator! We just happened to be at the right place at the right time! We are truly tools in the hands of our Heavenly Father.

Saturday came around and we had met with some girls earlier in the week. They had been baptized and now were in another church. We went over again because they had some questions about our church. It was crazy about all this anti-mormon stuff that had been drilled into her head! I was sooooo surprised! I felt like it was getting to be pretty intense but then Elder Redd bore his testimony about the Book of Mormon, and how if we need any answers to our questions, if we need anything that if we just will read the book then we WILL get an answer! I had never felt the spirit so strongly before in my life than in that moment! It was amazing! She then told us she would read and let us know about any other questions she had.

Lastly this week was Stake Conference. We walked in and were asked as Full Time Missionaries to sit up on the stand. You have no idea how stressed I was. I thought for sure he is going to make us bare our testimonies to all of these people! I was freaking out but then President Reed went up at told us that he just wanted us there to be recognized for being missionaries. But then he gave one of the most amazing talks about faith. I only have a little quote from him and it is this, "Faith can move mountains, spit seas, and do the most amazing miracles. But sometimes our faith can't even move us." That hit me so hard to realize how little my faith was to not even move me! I decided right then and there that I was going to do anything that I needed to make sure that My faith is the faith that can move mountains.

Scriptures that I loved this week!
1Nephi 19:9
2Nephi 1:15
Ezekial 2:6

Thank you everyone for all of the love and support! I truly know this work is true! And that I am doing an amazing work! But it all starts with members finding the people who want to be taught! Keep fighting the good Fight.

Alofa Atu

Elder Bethea

You can call me Firefighter Bethea

This week was full of rainy weather but sunny emotions! But one morning I awoke to my feet being wet. I got up and saw a hole in our roof and it was pouring right on me so I jumped out of bed and started running around the room and patching it up and getting everything clean. Keep in mind this is 3am and Elder Redd is half awake. In the morning he told me that I looked like a firefighter so that is where the title is from. I don't have a lot of time to email but this week we have been fasting and praying to get new investigators and we have found them!!!! We met one young girl who has had a desire to take lessons and just recently got permission to take lessons! She is now on date for the 2nd of December! We also will be having a baptism this Saturday only because in the Tongan ward they had a investigator ready for baptism but his dad wanted him to be baptized in our ward so we will be doing his baptism. I love you all and sorry for the short Email! I am staying in Pavaiai for another transfer so keep that in mind.

Alofa Atu

Elder Elder Mason Derek Bethea

Lessons from People who cant speak

This week was pretty hard just because we haven't been able to find very many people who would like to listen to us. Most of our area is either members or they have no interest in what we have to say. But this week we ran into a family we haven't talked to yet. As we approached the house the woman started to mumble something and then went to find someone else. I didn't quite understand why she wasn't talking to us. But then later on as we were talking Elder Redd had told me that she couldn't talk. I didn't understand but then her sister told us that she really couldn't speak.

I realized right after that how great of a blessing it is that I can speak. That I have the chance to speak ANOTHER LANGUAGE! I was so crazy that I was so selfish that I wasn't able to see the blessings that my Heavenly Father has given me! My outlook on this language completely changed. It was no longer a burden on me but was more of an amazing opportunity to be able to share the gospel in another language!

Other than that this week has been slow not very many people allowing us to share the gospel with them. But our investigator Sophia is now on date for the 10th of December! It's so awesome to see her progress every single day!

I have had no questions this week so if you have any please let me know so I can help you understand! Thank you all for the love and support!

Alofa Atu

Elder Bethea

Red ribbon week ... "Dress as your Hero" day!!!

#samoa #lds #missionary #brothers #lavalava#rockit #realmenwearskirts