"NO"

This week was awesome! I seriously couldn't of asked for a better week! We were able to baptize a special young man, a young man that I have worked with sense I first entered into this area. His name is Lopati and man was it awesome to see his smile as he entered into the water! I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to be here to see him be baptized and see how much his life has changed sense the first time we taught him! 

We also were able to find another investigator named Ma. She is awesome and very funny! She took lessons in Savaii with other Elders, finished, then was unable to be baptized due to some village problems. So then she moved here, and asked if we could finish her lessons and then baptize her. She is awesome! Her testimony is the best that I have heard in a while! 

Funny story time.

So we went to teach this amazing Ma about the restoration. I went in thinking I was on top of the world. I was confident in my language in my teaching and my ability to do the work. So the lesson began and everything was going well, she would ask questions and I was able to answer and teach her why that was the answer. I was getting a little prideful because there were some members there and man I was impressing them way good. As the lesson went on we got to Joseph Smith and the First Vision. I taught well and Elder Vele gave an amazing testimony. Then she asked, "How do you know that the true church that God and Christ told Joseph was the Mormon church?" I gave her my answer and thought it was really good. Then I heard her ask again. So I explained again. Then I thought she was asking if Joseph Smith was the one who created the Mormon church. I then said specifically to that question, "NO!". Then everyone started laughing. I was confused and explained why I said no. 

After the lesson Elder Vele starts laughing hysterically. I asked him what was so funny and he told me that she was telling us that she had received and answer and that she knew this was the true church, and I responded to her statement with "NO!" So yeah you can imagine my embarrassment. Lesson learned, don't be cocky with the language or you will get a moment like this to humble you down greatly. All is good though she is on date now for next week so we are excited to teach and to help her make that sacred covenant with her Heavenly Father.

Other than that we are hopefully looking forward to another baptism this week of a man who has been investigating for 20 years! Yeah he is awesome and SOOOOOO prepared. Hopefully that happens and we can help him make that covenant.

All is good in this area! I love the people and love this work! Thank you for the love and your prayers! 

Continue in faith!

Alofa atu

Elder Bethea

Onosa'i

This week was fun and hard. I have gained a new love for walking....The only thing that has happened this week is calls telling us to reschedule for another day or another week but the best one was rescheduled for next month. That was a fun call to receive. But we do have a baptism coming up this week and a few that will follow in the next few weeks. It has been fun to receive some of the hardest times of my mission but also find the most amazing solutions to others problems so that they can be baptized. I am so glad to be out here working and enjoying the Gospel and being able to bless others lives as well. This is an amazing area and an amazing experience to be here and going from square one to the last square. I have loved the opportunity to be humbled. I have learned to love the word humble/onosa'i. I have been able to study learn different meanings and enjoy trying them all out. God is our loving father and knows what we need when we need it. I truly am grateful for the love and joy that has been given to me through my tough times and many challenges. Jesus is our Savior. He lives and is our teacher and brother. I am always willing to listen and obey his guidance. Yeah life keeps going. This week was just like any other week were we walked, talked, taught, and listened. Truly was a hard week, but also the most rewarding. Continue in faith and know God is always there to guide us and bless us according to our works and desires.

Thank you for your love and support! Continue in Faith

Alofa atu

Elder Bethea

Agency.....

This week has been hard. I will have to say that I spent a lot of time on my knees figuring out what the reason is for this amazing week. We spent a lot of time walking to houses and having people cancel or claim that they were to busy and for us to come back another time. I will admit there were many rocks thrown while we were walking away or many stops at a store to get ice cream. Truly there was a lesson to be learned from this whole thing, and when I figured it out that is when I found the most successful day in the week.

So the subject of this Email is "Agency..." that is only for two families. I am not sure if you all remember the family from last week's email and another family that we found of 8. They all seemed super promising but due to the "busy" times of the week we were unable to meet with the family of 8, but were able to meet with Kauni and her family (family from last weeks email). We went and talked with them and came to find out they did not have interest in being baptized...that was very hard for me to take in and accept, that prayed so much and fasted so much for that family and were not able to help them. Although I did receive a comforting feeling that it was only my job to show them the way and that someone else will come through to guide them down that path. We are still able to baptize their son! We still are planning his date to be baptized.

Other than that this week has had one other amazing experience. After one of our days of no one being home or not busy we went walking. I decided to go down a road I have never been down before. We ended up at a house where a man accepted us and we started talking. Comes to find out that his sons had died in a way that he still has not been able to accept. So we decided to talk about the Plan of Salvation. He stopped Elder Vele as he was teaching about spirit paradise and prison. Then taught the whole lesson again and finished it. We find out that he believes everything we do and knows everything in our church...but he doesn't quite grasp all of it. We are going back tomorrow so we can help him understand everything and help receive all of the blessings that he can in this life.

This week truly has helped me to realize the importance of listening to the spirit. I know that without us being receptive to the spirit we are totally unable to do this work. The spirit is extremely important to this work and he will help us so long as we look to him in the hard times. Always look for new people to share this gospel with. You never know who you will find.

Thank you for all of your love and prayers. Continue in faith and look for opportunities to share you testimony!

Alofa atu

Elder Bethea

Blessings from the Gospel

This week was awesome. Mostly was full of teaching and many humbling experiences that have truly helped me realize my Heavenly Fathers role in my work and in my life.

We went and talked to another family that we are teaching. They are a family of four that we are teaching and are working on. My experience with them is one that I cannot forget.

We had set up a specific time to go an teach this family, mainly to go and try to help the mother realize what we were teaching her two sons, and to try and see if she will allow us to baptize them as well. We got there and taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ, just wanting to show her why we decided to teach and help her sons make this decision. We started the lesson and I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but as soon as we started a comforting feeling came over me, and I knew that we weren't alone in this lesson. We taught, and I don't remember the words I used, or the things I said, I truly knew that I had been blessed in that lesson with the Gift of Tongues. When the lesson ended, we asked if she had any questions about what we had taught. She responded with one question but not for us, but for her son. She asked if he really wanted to be baptized. He said yes, and all I saw was pain and sadness in her eyes. She looked at me after, and said there you have your answer. When she said that I had the inspiration to tell her that wasn't good enough for me. That my purpose here was not to separate families just for a baptism, but to ensure that families are forever. Then I invited the entire family to be baptized. The spirit was so strong that I knew what her answer was going to be, but I had to let them find that for themselves and receive it from their Heavenly Father. So we are going back Friday to get their answer.

This gospel is true. I know it and I love it. I loved the opportunity to hear the talks from inspired men and women at conference this past weekend. It has truly inspired me to become a better missionary, but more importantly a better person. I know God has his hand in our lives all the time. All we have to do is recognize it and act on it. 

Thank you all for your love and support and especially your prayers. They help sooooo much. 

Alofa atu

Elder Bethea