100 Years of Misiona Tonga

Just a few quick highlights of what happened this week:

Monday: The sisters from Eua came to stay with us for the week.

Tuesday: We went to the King's Palace (sat outside) and Shumway (palangi-he's famous to the people here because of how good his Tongan is) was able to give a speech and I got a picture with him :)

Wednesday: We had MLC. They changed it so that just one of us is Sister Training in a companionship so Sister Mo'unga (from Eua) and I went together. We went to the temple before and it was so amazing. We talked about teaching repentance and I've thought a lot about Alma 5. I love the questions it asks. 

Thursday: We went to Liahona because there was a huge feast and all the kaingalotu and less actives and investigators were all able to go! TOO MUCH FOOD! The Royal Family came as well. 

Sunday: Ha'ateiho stake had their stake conference (one of our wards is in one stake, and the other two are in another). A member from the 70 came and spoke to us. Afterwards we got to join him in eating a big feast. He asked me a lot about the uniform and was wondering if I really had to wear it and the braids haha. It was cool talking to him.  

We had a fireside that night for all the members to close off the celebration and we were so happy 'cause one of our tough investigators came!!

This week has been so full of events and excitement. I love this work. My testimony has been strengthened this week and I'm so grateful for the things I've experienced. 

Ofa Lahi Atu!

Sister Reid

Happy Birthday to Misiona Tonga and Myself :)

This week started out wonderful, we decided to set up some missionary family plans with some of the members on Monday night. One of them was the Relief Society president and their family. When we got there, they had an investigator there (Lipina) and the whole family was sitting neatly on the couch. The husband shared about their family and how they were happy we were there and how their family has a lot of problems (shared some background) and then said we'd start with a song a prayer and then turn the time over to us. I got a distinct feeling that we needed to share with them the Gospel of Jesus Christ (lesson 3) rather than going with our normal "family plan" set up. It was beautiful. We committed the Lipina to baptism (she's been taught most the lessons and was just waiting to get permission from her parents and has gone to church for months, but now it's her decision and she really wants to get baptized next month on her birthday, I think she's already ready haha but we'll see what happens). And then when we were talking about "Endure to the End" and the mom raised her hand and shared that we were an answer to her prayer. There's a lot of family problems and she wanted to give up. But the spirit just told her that she needs to hold on and "endure to the end" as she continued to share the kids were crying, her one boy holding his head in his hands, and it was evident that this family needed some healing. She expressed that they had started out reading the scriptures and such at the beginning of the year but they hadn't for a while and she new that's why the problems were seeming unconquerable. It's the little things every day that counts. The husband said that they needed someone to intervene and remind them of what is of most importance. God sends people to intervene in our lives sometimes. He looked at us and said, I want you to come back a year from now and when you sit in my family you're going to see something different, we're going to get back and start doing the simple things. It was evident that they had taught their kids and were a good family, but they'd lost focus. Satan is attacking all families and we must protect them by doing what's most important.

This week MISIONA TONGA is celebrating it's 100 YEARS! Most of the mission presidents from the past have returned and there are a lot of visitors and returned missionaries! They're doing huge celebrations and festivities. We'll get to march tomorrow but that's the only thing we get to be involved with. But go online and see if you can see anything about it!

We did a service project this past week at the hospital (picked up trash and painted the fence) and Sister Malu and I got interviewed on TV. haha they said it was broadcast to America but I don't know if I believe that...but it was cool. 

THANKS FOR THE BIRTHDAY WISHES :) 

On my birthday, we went to our three wards..and it was the best because we had a baptism on Friday (Fe'ao, we started teaching him a couple months ago and then he wanted to be taught by the Elders so they finished the lessons but since he lived in our ward boundaries he had to get baptized in our ward) and so he got confirmed on Sunday. It was beautiful. We ate food at the Matu's family's house (baby Reid's house) and it was delicious and they gave me chocolate. Some of my old missionary companions called. The Assistants dropped off the birthday package from my family (Thank you so much! I loved the letters...they made me cry:) I love you all like crazy), the Zone Leaders came to pick up our president letters and dropped off a gift from Sister Medina and sang, andmy companion wrote a sweet note and gave me her watch (such a sweetheart), we also attended two ward councils....so it was quite an eventful day! 

I got to go, but love you all and hope you have a great week! Keep being you :)

Sister Reid

Let Us Be Faithful

Just a couple highlights from the week:

-It was good getting back to work! We worked hard and got some new investigators! 

-We went to Stake Conference yesterday and the HEFY group was there. It was a lot of fun talking to them and brought back some awesome memories from the time when I went to Fiji. Our ward choir sang and it was SO beautiful. I love it every time.

-We're doing a "read the Book of Mormon in 30 days" challenge as a mission. I've thought a lot about Nephi's faith this past week,especially the time when he was getting the brass plates. What a great example of diligence. How many times are we willing to try and do what the Lord has commanded us? How many times will you go and invite people to listen to the gospel? I hope we'll be like Nephi and say, "As the Lord liveth, and as we live, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us. Wherefore, let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord" )1 Nephi 3: 15-16

-We got to speak in our other ward yesterday which went really well. I'm excited to work more with the members!

Sorry this was so short..don't have much time. I love you all so much!

Ofa Lahi Atu,

Sister Reid 

Nini and Mani got BAPTIZED!

This week was very different from any week I've had on the mission so far....because we stayed at home like the whole week. My companion's sickness got worse and she couldn't eat or drink anything without throwing up and had like no energy and the pills the mission doctor gave wouldn't really stay down...sooo I cleaned the house super good on Tuesday and did some extras studies and got to know/talk to my companion....and on Wednesday.....and on Thursday (thankfully, the Zone Leaders we're sooo kind and got to take some of our appointments!) but then on Friday she started feeling better (finally was able to eat some food) and we got to go to Nini and Mani's interview and then we worked and went to the baptism on Saturday... I started getting a cold which wasn't bad but I lost my voice on Sunday. It was hilarious. I sounded like a man and it was really hard to speak. But my companion told me "her prayers were answered" cause it shut me up hahahaha yeah sometimes I talk too much...haha ahh I love her. We just got done playing volleyball for pday..and it was sooo fun! I miss it. But I'm pretty weak...and it'll motivate me to get in better shape haha

Sooooo like I said..Nini and Mani (Bishop's sisters) got BAPTIZED! It was so amazing. They are so funny and love to joke around. I love them so much. They're 16 and 18 years old and they're looking forward to the day when they'll be "Sister Vaioleti". We're going to set up a time for us to go and watch them do baptisms for the dead next week! After their baptism, they were just glowing! On Sunday, after their confirmation, I asked them how they felt. Taimani described it as her whole body felt like it was burning. It's so crazy how in just a few weeks someone can change the direction of their life. I am so grateful for Bishop and we're going to start working with their older sister next! (We baptized their brother last month).

This past week, since I had a little extra time I began to read the New Testament straight through. I read a chapter in Tongan and then skimmed through it in English...it was really cool cause different things stood out to me in each language. My love for the Savior has grown immensely this past week. He is an amazing teacher and I've loved studying about his life. Matthew chp 6&7 have to be two of my favorite chapters because it seems like no matter what principle you're talking about in the Gospel, you could find a scripture to relate to it. No wonder why it's in the Book of Mormon too. 

I also love Matt 11:28-30. I think sometimes we try to bear our burdens on our own...but the truth is we don't need to. Christ invites us to come unto Him. Pray for strength. And through the enabling power of the Atonement, we'll be given strength to endure. He will give us peace (John 14:27) in the midst of affliction. God doesn't always take away our trials--because that's what refines us. In fact, that's the reason we're here on this Earth, to learn and grow! But He has provided a way for us to endure these trials--through Christ, if we let him!

I hope you all have a fantastic week. Remember our Heavenly Father loves you. You are His child. He has a plan for you. Trust Him. And He will lead you along.

Ofa Lahi Atu,

Sister Reid

I Feel My Savior's Love

Sooooo transfers happened on Thursday and it was sad saying goodbye to Sister Wunderlich we had good times together but my new companion is great. Sister Malu is from Sydney, Austrailia, she's 25 years old, she's funny, kind, and I'm excited to work with her! We just switched companions with two other sisters so on Thursday we went to Fahefa (their area), picked them up, and then dropped Sister Wunderlich and her new comp (Sister Alovili) off in their new area. Then Sister Malu and I took the car and came back to Veitongo/Haateiho. It was hilarious driving on the left side of the road. Luckily, I've gotten used to which side to drive on from just being in a car this past transfer...but I put on the windshield wipers instead of the blinker about 20 times...haha but now it feels pretty natural. 

My poor companion has been sick the past several days so we actually haven't been able to go out and work. We moved to Liahona (until hot water gets installed in our MQ) and so I've gotten a lot of time to study and play the piano there and talk to myself haha. 

We have two investigators preparing for baptism on Saturday! Bishop finally got permission from his dad to let his two younger sisters be taught (Nini and Mani)...so we've been working with them and they are so wonderful! The first lesson we taught them we committed them to baptism..at first, they had a difficult time understanding why it was important for them to be baptized. But the last lesson we taught, one of the sisters shared her experience of praying and receiving an answer about the Book of Mormon and then expressed her desire to get baptized as soon as possible. They're so cute, I love them so much, and I'm so grateful for the converting power of the Book of Mormon and the Holy Ghost. 

I love you all so much! I know that as we look for opportunities to share these precious truths we will feel joy beyond what we can comprehend. I'm so grateful for the love I feel from my Savior and His Gospel everyday as I read the scriptures and share His word.

Ofa Lahi Atu!

Sister Reid

Palesiteni Fo'ou ki ai

This week has been filled with many wonderful experiences, many of which is because we got a new mission president this week! President and Sister Tuione are WONDERFUL! They are so very kind, spiritual, and some of the most HUMBLE people I have ever met in my life. They are young...like younger than my dad...and they have 5 children (the oldest of which is on a mission and the rest live at the mission home)

On Tuesday, we got a text from the APs while we were setting up a family missionary plan with one of the members in the ward, that said, "Don't forget you're going to vilo with Sister Tuione at 6pm"...it was 5:30pm...yeah thanks for the reminder text since we didn't even know about it in the first place haha! But it all worked out, we cancelled our fafanga and picked her up, The first lesson we went to wasn't lava so we went to our back-up plan...they weren't home. This was Sister Tuione's first time ever going out with the missionaries in her life, so she got a good feel for what it is like haha. We went to one more house and the guy was busy. But thankfully, the other people at the house were available for us to talk to (a couple--a less active/nonmember). The lady shared her story and we talked for about 3 minutes. I asked the mamalohi if he still reads the Book of Mormon...and then the member that was there went on for about 20 minutes about the history of the Book of Mormon through the Bible...and the investigator was almost asleep. My companion looked at me like "what do we do?!" After he finished we shared a scriptures (Ether 12:27) from the Book of Mormon that has helped us in our life. The lady (invest) shared her testimony about that scripture and agreed to keep reading the Book of Mormon. We all shared our testimony and Sister Tuione got to testify her first time as a missionary. It was honestly one of the weirdest lessons but it turned out well! Sister Tuione said she had a really good time and was proud of us...pheww haha glad she had nothing to compare it too.

We dropped her off and she asked us if we could come in and meet president. Even before I stepped in their house I felt the strong spirit inside. We met President and their kids. right before we were about to leave he said, "is that okay if you two join us for family prayer?" so we knelt down and he asked...me...to say the prayer. No pressure. haha. But it was a wonderful experience to be able to bless their family.

Wednesday, we had Mission Leadership Conference. He shared his vision for the mission and focused on obedience and the Missionary Handbook. It was inspiring. We are now allowed to play SPORTS (I'm going to try to play volleyball :)) and have Zone Pdays. 

So much more happened this week....but I guess the next biggest thing is that my companion is transferring! I'm going to follow-up train Sister Malu (Tongan from Australia) and I'm super excited. We went vilo hoa with them a couple weeks ago and she's hilarious! I also will be the one driving...so wish me luck on learning how to drive on the left side...especially since I haven't driven a car for 10 months!

Love you all so much!! Have a great week.

Sister Reid

Happy Birthday to the King of Tonga...and America!

Happy Fourth of July! I'm sad I won't be there to see the fireworks..but it's the King's birthday here in Tonga so they're celebrating that here which is pretty cool. 

Anyways, we got our new mission president this week! We will meet him tomorrow at Mission Leadership Conference and I'm very excited. He's Tongan from New Zealand and is pretty young but has already been a Stake President. I've heard really good things about him so I'm looking forward to the things I'll learn from him and his wife! He's a convert to the church and just found out what a district meeting is haha so it's going to be interesting! But his wife served her mission in Tonga several years ago. 

This week was a bit of a struggle with the work but we worked hard so it was good. We had taught one family last week who seemed really open and excited to hear our message. We went back yesterday and she had just talked with her preacher about it. She shared with a some scriptures that talked about "palofita kaka" --false prophets. And with so many words told us that we were those false prophets and that we can leave her family alone and lead away others. This isn't the first time this has happened. So we listened respectfully. I asked her a few questions and she told us that she will never believe Joseph Smith is a prophet and the Book of Mormon is true. It broke my heart a little because she had no idea what she was denying. I told her we respect her belief and we're not going to force anything upon her, our responsibility as missionaries is to simply invite and then we respect others agency...but then we left her with our testimonies. I hope and pray she felt the Spirit while we testified cause I surely did. I pray her kids felt it. She was kind enough and let us leave them with a prayer. Her girls hugged us goodbye. It broke my heart but I pray they'll be open to the truth one day. 

The baby was blessed yesterday and they explained to us why they named him Thomas Lucas Reid. Thomas is after the prophet (Thomas S Monson) and Lucas/Reid were named after us (the two servants of the Lord). they're so cute!

We have one investigator that is really progressing towards baptism this week or next week. His name is Fe'ao. He's about 20 years old and moved in with one of our members a little while ago. I love this work and seeing how it changes people! 

Last night, we taught a man from Tahiti (Bishop found him) who is here and wants to start a business. He speaks Tahitian, French, and a little English so we taught him at Bishop's house and talked very slowing. In the middle of the lesson our Bishop started saying things in French to him and me and my companion look at each other SO confused. And then we looked at his wife like how is your husband speaking French?! I swear he got the Gift of Tongues or something. He didn't tell us until after the lesson that he lived in France for two years to play rugby. So funny. Then we went home and saw a lizard licking my ice cream cake that I left on the table. Gotta love living in Tonga. 

Hope you all have an awesome week! The Lord loves you. I love you. 

Sister Reid