Season 2 Episode 14: Drunken Encounters

Talofa Family!

Well, Sounds like you guys had a pretty busy week with Thanksgiving and Nichole's and Bridger's Birthday! I hope you all had a good week and were able to enjoy being together with the Family! We didn't really do much here on Thanksgiving because Elder Tiatia got pretty sick. But, he is better now so that is good! I forgot to mention this but, Elder Tiatia is a huge country fan so he is always seeing country music. His favorite artist is Taylor Swift. To be honest I think I like country music now haha! 

Anyway, this was very good. We didn't have much progression with our investigators but, We had some very humbling experiences this week. We had the chance to have the Ap's come to our area and give us a few tips since we are both so new. It was extremely helpful and very much appreciated. I realized that Elder Tiatia and I had just got stuck in a routine. Which is very dangerous because it brought a lot discouragement to us and we felt like we just weren't succeeding. Anyway, the Ap's really helped us out and gave us some tips! I will admit I was pretty discouraged after they came. Mainly because I felt like I should have seen what we could have done better from the beginning which turned into me feeling like I have been wasting the Lords time. After a few days of thinking like this I had a thought pop into my head. Basically what I came to realize is that Satan is relentless. He will never give up. He will work everyday to try and slowly drag us down to get the point where we feel like we have failed. Having the Ap's come and help us was a great experience but, I didn't see it has a great experience for a few days until, I noticed that I was allowing Satan to work with me. If Satan can discourage us as missionaries and mentally take us out of the "game" He has won. This can be applied to everyday life as well. Satan is very smart and very real. I am thankful for a Loving Heavenly Father though. I know that the thought I had was from God. It really helped me realize how powerful Satan really is and how badly he wants us to be miserable in every way. I am grateful for that experience and I know it has made my testimony of a Loving Heavenly Father even more powerful! I truly am Grateful to be out here serving. Elder Tiatia and I are really motivated for this upcoming week. We really feel like we can get some work done. This area has taught me a lot and I am so grateful for this area. I know I still have 4 weeks left here but, I am super excited to make the best of the time I have been given!

I love you all and I hope and pray that you all have a great week! Keep doing the small and simple things! Can't testify enough of the importance of daily prayer and scripture study! There is real power that comes from doing just those two things! Have a great week!

Elder Barton

P.s. Everyone is already playing Christmas music down here! Still Super hot and green! Next week I will tell you about the encounter we had with a drunk guy who tried to fight us! (We didn't fight! He just doesn't like missionaries and was super drunk)

I have a little bit of time so here is the story of the Drunk man.

Elder Tiatia and I were walking into a store to get some water and there were three guys sitting out front smoking and drinking. But, we don't judge so we went to go to talk to them you know? Well, we shook the two Samoan guys hand and then we went to shake the white mans hand and he just said "NO" I was all thinking like Dang that's pretty cold! Next thing you know this guy starts swearing at us saying how we "F'd it up in Manua" and all these other things and to be honest I had no Idea what he was talking about. so pretty much I was like Ok have a nice day we are gonna buy some water. Well, we come back out and this guy is standing up and then he puts his fists up and he is all like "You read to fight buddy" We just kept walking and then I turn around and he picks up this can and throws it at us! Funny thing is was he was so drunk he threw it straight at the ground haha! Man I have never seen someone so drunk and so disrespectful here in Samoa! That was a blue moon experience! Two years from now I will act it out for you all because it is way funnier with actions! Love you guys!

Season 2: Episode 12&13: No Transfers

Malo Soifua Aiga!

Okay so I wasn't able to email last week due to our churches Wifi being broken! It was super lame not being able to talk with you guys for two weeks! Anyway, the Wifi is fixed and I am back haha! Due to time this email is going to lack detail but, cover some important things. Are you ready? 

Umu:

Last P-day we built an Umu with Brother Talatau. His family is from West Jordan and they are super tight! Umu=Dope (picutres to come)

Transfers:

So transfers happened! Guess What?! No one in our entire zone got transferred or got a new companion! Super crazy! Good thing I like my companion! You will be able to meet him on Christmas so that is pretty cool! I was pretty disappointed at first but, then I had to tell myself to get over myself because obviously there is still work here that needs to be done by Elder Tiatia and I! We are actually really excited to be staying here now!

Baptismal Dates:

So as you all know these past 13 weeks have been quite slow regarding he Lords work! But, Faith and diligence pay off! I know the Lords work isn't about how many baptisms we get but, it is nice to see people accept the invitation to be baptized. First off, we had this investigator Kristine who just graduated high school and we began to teach and I felt like she had been prepared by Lord so much to hear our message! We gave here a baptismal date and she accepted! Then the day of our next lesson she had texted us saying she can't do the lessons anymore. We were both bummed out and tried meeting with her but, we have had no luck! We aren't giving up though! Next is Tolatea! She is a super nice lady and is very smart in the bible! She is never rude to us but, she is always asking questions and brings up bible verses to support her questions. Although, this week we read 3 Nephi 11 with her and I feel like that broke the Ice. Things just started to click for her. So we set a baptismal date for Dec 3rd! We still have a lot of work though! It was kind of a slap in the face to me. Never give up on any of Gods children! With faith in the Lord all things are possible! We are also teaching a 9 yr. old Joanne! She is super shy but, we are trying to break the ice a little bit more so she has an understanding of Joseph Smith, The Holy Ghost, Baptism and things like that. In all honesty we could just baptize her but, that would be wrong. We want to make sure she understands what we are teaching her.

I guess the biggest thing I learned over these past two weeks is that it really doesn't matter what I want. It is what the Lord wants and when he wants it! I was reading in the Ensign of this newly wed couple whos husband got diagnosed with cancer. The story pretty much talked about the Lords will and how David A. Bednar asked the couple if they had the faith not to be healed. Super interesting point. I hope I get to the point in my life where I 100% submissive to the Lords will. Being on the mission is probably the coolest thing I have ever done. Even though I miss you guys, this is totally worth it. I hope you all know how much I love you guys and pray for you! One word of advice! The world is becoming more and more corrupt. Don't let small things draw you away from what you need to do (Scripture Study, Prayer) Basic things like that. My testimony has grown so much regarding those two things! I promise you all that no matter what you are going through right now the Book of Mormon and Prayer are one the best things you can do to receive guidance! President always tells how important the Book of Mormon is and I am starting to see why! I hope you all know How grateful I am for each one you! You have all blessed me in so many ways! I am so blessed to have the best family on the earth! Have a great thanksgiving this week! Next holiday is Christmas and that means Skype!

Love, Elder Barton!

P.s. When I get back home I am going to dominate all of you in Badmintion

Season 2 Episode 11: Hot Slow Week

What's up my Nerds!

This week was a very, very slow and hot week. To get to the point we hardly had any lessons this week and we could find no one to teach. We spent a lot of hours this week just trying to find new investigators but, we had no luck. My companion says the people on American Samoa are a lot ruder than the people in Western. We were not able to meet with any of our current investigators this week because they were all busy... the entire week. We can't let this week get us down though. We still were able to meet with some really cool less active members and talk with them. We are really looking forward to this week though. We are hoping we can get in touch with all of our investigators since this may be our last week here in Pava! Crazy how fast these 12 weeks have gone by. I am hoping I can stay in American Samoa for the Holidays and then get transferred to Western Samoa!

Sounds like you all had a pretty good week! Wish I could have been there for the families small little thanksgiving haha! On a real note though everyday here is like thanksgiving! Don't worry Mom I am still not gaining weight! Plus, even if I do everyone loses a lot of weight when they get transferred to Western Samoa! I hope you all have a great week! Hope you all enjoy our new president who ever it may be! Keep choosing the right! love you guys!

Elder Barton!

Season 2 Episode 10: Samoan Halloween

Malo Lava!

Well, another week is gone. In fact, another month is gone. Where is all the time going? We had a pretty good week here in Pava. Not much success but, a lot was learned and that is what I want to share in this weeks email. 

So, we decided we needed to drop Pete this week. He just isn't keeping our commitments and he isn't progressing. It was really hard and pretty sad because Pete is a super cool guy. On our last visit he said something that really impacted me though. He was talking about how he pictures his life right now and he described it as if he was walking with Jesus and then in the distance he sees a party house and so he tells Jesus to wait right there and he will be back in a few minutes. As he starts to go towards the house he notices that it isn't getting any closer and no matter how fast he runs no matter how long he runs for, he can't reach this house. He then said "I've been running for so long trying to chase this house that I can't see Jesus anymore and I don't know if he is still waiting for me." For some reason I thought that, that was a really good description of this life. I think sometimes we get caught up in what we think will make us happy in this life and we leave and try to pursue that "happiness" but, no matter how long we chase it, we can never reach it because that isn't where happiness is. Eternal happiness can only come through our Savior Jesus Christ and his teachings. And we never have to worry about whether or not He is still there waiting for us. I personally believe that Jesus doesn't wait for us we wander from the path. I believe he comes searching for us when we wander.

Something good that happened this week was we are teaching this lady named Carol who is around our age and we taught her lesson 1 and asked her if she would pray about our message and see if it was true and then we asked her that if it was true, if she would get baptized. We go back Tuesday and we have been really praying for her to receive an answer! Hopefully all goes well!

Also, the Samoan people don't really celebrate Halloween. People dress up and some kids go trick-or-treating but, for the most part it isn't really a big thing down here! 

We only have two weeks left before our transfers! It is crazy how fast the 12 weeks have been going by! I feel like I just barely got here! I am going to miss Elder Tiatia haha! He is a way cool guy!

I love you guys and hope you all had a great week! I hope you guys enjoy being together! Just know I am there in spirit haha! Keeping reading the scriptures and praying. It is in the small and simple things that we show true dedication to our Father in Heaven!