TRANSFER CALLS!!!! So I’m being TRANSFERED!!! IM GOING TO THE ISLANDS!!!!! So I’m going to the society islands or the Raromatai! It’s Raiatea and my secteur is Avera! So it’s by Bora Bora! And what’s so cool is it’s right next to Uturoa which is where the new temple is going because that’s the capital of Raiatea! So that’s super exciting! I actually won’t get there till next week because all those going to the islands this transfer will wait until after the Mission Tour with the general authority! So we’ll see how it goes not sure where I’m going to stay for this time😂 But I know it’ll be great!

Now for some Highlights from this week:

-Had a exchange with the Elders of Fautaua B who are with us and I got to be with Elder Taaroa-Tahiata who I love so much he’s literally the best! He’s Tahitian and literally super cool! Then got to trade ties with him and got a sick tie!

-Had another exchange this week with Facebook mā and it went great as well and it was fun to be with them! I got to be with Elder Sudduth and it was amazing because last time I was with him we found someone during contacting and that same person is now getting baptized and it was so cool to see him again! Literally huge miracle and then got to meet his wife that’s also getting baptized with him!

-Also got to go to a wedding so that was cool! The food was great and it was during the exchange with Facebook mā! It was great and then just after he got baptized the next day and it was such a beautiful baptism because I also got to teach him for a lesson we had again on the last split with Elder Sudduth last transfer which was also a great miracle and he asked me to pray for his baptism so we got to go and see that beautiful experience!

-Transfer calls! So yeah going to Avera, Raiatea! And my new companion is Elder Tenney so I’m excited to see him and it’s cool because I’ve already met him when I was at Taravao in my first secteur!

-Had a huge faatamaaraa with our Ward to say goodbye to me and it was so good but also so sad! They gave me shells and then I got a black pearl necklace that a member gave me and it was the sweetest! Then took many photos!

-Made a beautiful connection with Sœur Juliana Maro who is making my family Local Tahiti shirts, dresses for my sister’s and mom, and then ties for my brothers and dad and found out that her dad is from Avera where I’m being transferred and she started to get teary and was so happy that I’ll be able to meet him! Beautiful connection!

That’s about it for the week but yeah don’t have much time to write a big email because we are going to the temple for P-day and will be busy packing for the transfers but the Lord is in the details and He knows exactly where I need to be and I see the importance of true trust in Him we see miracles happen and don’t need to worry! I know change is hard but I’ve seen how much change has helped me grow! The Savior is there to comfort us and to always give us the beautiful example of how to when we have to experience new go with a smile and know that I’m not alone and He’s there to help me! I can just control my attitude and I know that when I have a positive one positive things will come! He lives and loves us all so much! More than we can imagine and He has a beautiful perfect plan for all of us! I love you all SO MUCH!!!! And miss you all like crazy!!! Beaucoup d’amour! Ua here au ia outou! Faaitoito!💙

-Elder LeBaron☺️🤙🏻🌺

THE WEEK OF EXCHANGES!!! Wow, this week was crazy! I literally had 3 exchanges that I did this week! If you don’t know what that is, it’s when you go with another companion for the day because my companion is the District Leader. He sees how the other missionaries work and if he can help them be more effective and so I have to go with the other companions! It’s actually an amazing experience to spend a day with another companion who I might never serve with and see how they teach! The thing is I had to be the one to leave for all of them so I literally wasn’t in my secteur like all of last week😂 It was crazy but I learned a lot!

Now for some Highlights from this week:

-Got to be with Elder Fahey who is our DZ mā(Dirigeant de Zone/Zone Leader) and it went great! He’s super nice and we had a wonderful day and I got to meet so many of their amazing amis! Really loved their secteur!

-Got to be in my old part of my secteur for a day because it got split and I got to be with the other Elder who serves there and it was great to see all of our amis there! They all missed me and I missed them too! We also had a huge miracle with finding 3 amis that day through one of their new ami who is getting baptized actually on my birthday who invited his amis to take the lessons too! It was amazing!!

-Sœur Hoffman who works in the Bureau(office) for the mission was so sad this week when she realized I’m leaving soon and was like I’m talking to President to have you stay!😂🥹 She’s literally my favorite and I’m going to miss her so much! It made my heart so happy! It’s been 6 months here so nobody stays longer than that in a secteur so I will be leaving next transfer!

-Had another exchange with Facebook mā and they had a Heiva de Paroisse(the big dance and cultural party for the ward) which was amazing! The church Historian for Tahiti was there and told us amazing stories of Addison Pratt who was the first missionary to come to French Polynesia on Tubuai! Then got to eat Ma’a Tahiti(Tahitian food) and it was good! Then I ate fafaru again and still don’t like it! It’s a liquid of fermented rotten fish heads stuff and then you put fresh raw fish in in and let it sit in the liquid for a couple hours and then you eat it! So yeah not the greatest!

-We had 5 amis at church this Sunday! It was a huge miracle and they all loved it so much! 

That’s about it for this week but yeah it was a good week and absolutely flew by! This week will be my last week here and I can’t believe I’ve been here for 6 months! It’s been amazing and I love the people so much here! Something I read this week in my personal studies was in the Conference talk by Elder Renlund from the last General Conference and this quote touched me saying, “We become vulnerable when we slow down and especially when we stop. If we maintain spiritual momentum by continually “rowing” toward the Savior, we are safer and more secure because our eternal life depends on our faith in Him.” I love this quote from the importance to keep moving forward and to not stop! The Savior’s there to give us the strength and energy to do everything and we just have to keep moving step by step little by little and He always fills in the gaps! Like the quote from the movie Meet the Robinson “Keep Moving Forward”! It’s all we can control! He lives and helps us to keep moving forward and knows us so perfectly and loves and that we aren’t moving forward alone but with Him in every step of the way! I love you all SO MUCH!!!! And miss you all like crazy!!! Beaucoup d’amour! Ua here au ia outou! Faaitoito!💙

-Elder LeBaron☺️🤙🏻🌺

HOW IS IT ALREADY AUGUST!!! WHAT?!?!? This week I hit my 10 months this week! I can’t believe I’m almost at my year mark! Like I’ve said from the beginning, time as a missionary is so different! It’s hard to explain but it’s flying by and yet moments feel like an eternity but I’ve really seen how focus changes everything! Once focused on our Savior all worries and fears go away and literally can do anything He needs us to! He’s so aware of us more than we could even imagine and loves us likewise! He is truly my best friend and is my brother who never forgets or leaves me and helps me in His perfect way! 

Now for some Highlights from this week:

-The best fatams ever with Sœur Opuu with poisson cru à la Grecque! It was INCREDIBLE! Then ate this other fish that was fantasti! I just love fish so MUCH!!!

-Had a beautiful experience with one of our members who’s now coming back to church and is preparing to go back to the temple and seeing how happy she is is amazing and that light in her that she thought she lost was still there and it’s amazing to see the change in her!

-Zone conference! It was so good and will be my last one here in Fautaua! I am so grateful to have the conference every transfer and learn from President and Sœur Tuahu! I love them so much and so so so blessed to have them as my leaders! Got to see Elder Warnock and Sœur Tomasson from district and it was so good to see them! Also got to sing for conference as well and that was a super fun experience!

-Soirée Temple was incredible this week! We had 4 amis come and it was incredible to see how much they love the temple and want to make that their next objective! It’s always such a spiritual night with all of the members and amis that come! 

-Got another Golden Harry Potter from a kinder egg so that made me super happy! (Kinda random but it brought me so much joy😂)

-Youth music is so fire and I love it! Each year they are making better and better songs and they just came out with a new song “Light the Way” and my companion and I literally jammed out to it all this weekend and it was so funny! But a great song and there’s a French part in it so that’s cool too!!

That’s it for this week but yeah it was a great one! Excited to see what this week is going to bring! I would love to share a quote that my President shared with our mission! It said, “Those are great principles applicable to how missionaries can become better teachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I particularly loved the experience you shared where “the teacher was not trying to cover the lesson. Rather, he was trying to uncover the lesson that was already inside the learner. By inviting class members through the power of the Spirit, the teacher helped members discover their own desire to act.” This reminds me of Elder Holland’s teaching that when our friends hear our testimonies, “they are hearing echoes of other, earlier testimonies, including their own testimony of Him…We must always remember that these investigators, every man, woman, and child, were among the valiant who once overcame Satan by the power of their testimony of Christ! So when they hear others bear that witness of Christ’s saving mission, it has a familiar feeling; it brings an echo of truth they themselves already know.” Conversion is our aim, love is our motive, doctrine is the key, and the Spirit is the teacher. “ It was from a talk that he sent to us but that when he talks about our testimonies and that through lessons we can discover what’s already in us and help our friends see that this isn’t new to us but familiar! We chose Him before we came here and we can help all to remember Him and choose Him! He is our ultimate goal and way to discover who we are through Him! He lives and is always there for us! I love you all SO MUCH!!!! And miss you all like crazy but all is well!!! Beaucoup d’amour! Ua here au ia outou! Faaitoito!💙

-Elder LeBaron☺️🤙🏻🌺

What a week!! It absolutely flew by again and it’s crazy how when you are focused on the work literally time flies by in a second! Also it happened again…my 3rd ingrown toenail!🫢🫣😵😱😭😵💀Man have I learned patience more in my life then with my ingrown toenails! And increased my faith! Even though I had another one this week it’s amazing to see the Lord’s hand in protecting me and being ok! It’s taught me to turn to Him in literally every moment and to be patient in knowing that “all things will work out for our good” when we experience trials! He’s there ALWAYS!!!

Now for some Highlights from this last week:

-So many FATAMS! We ate so much this week it was crazy! We had lunch and dinner almost every day! It was all so good and yet also I feel like I’ve gained 300Ibs!! But it’s all good I LOVE THE FOOD HERE!! Well most of the time but mostly it’s all good😂

-We had a zone BINGO challenge and we had to do certain things throughout the week to complete to get certain rewards from our DZ mā and so my companion and I got BLACKOUT first out of everyone in our zone and it was so fun to have done the challenges that with that brought miracles with finding and visiting our members!

-Made my first Facebook reel to invite everyone to church and that was fun to make though to be honest not a huge fan of social media but we have many miracles that come from using it so I’m working on it!

-Got to see President Tuahu in the office this week and it was so good to see him! It’s always the best when he comes in and I can say hi! He’s literally the bestest and I am so blessed and grateful to have him as my President! 

-IOTUA CAME TO CHURCH!!! It was a miracle that Iotua came to church today on Sunday because it downpoured and the bus got canceled and so we thought he wasn’t going to be able to make it! But MIRACLE! He came and we are having his baptism this coming Saturday!

-The Olympics started here this week so that’s pretty cool! It’s so cool that they are doing surfing here! Sadly won’t see any of it but it’s cool to say that I’m here and the Olympics are happening on the Island!!

That’s about it for this week but it was a beautiful week of having humility and patience! I was reading the most recent talk from Elder Gong “All Things for Our Good” in April of this year and I love a part of his talk when he said, “When we trust God and His love for us, even our greatest heartbreaks can, in the end, work together for our good.” It may not always be heartbreaks but when we have challenging times we can see that it’s for a good purpose and to again not ask why but what I can learn! We start to see the good in everything and not dwell on the negative! It’s changing to be Thinking Celestial always and to trust in His perfect plan for us! All with work out for our good and we can see the beautiful lessons we learned and have more experience for when more challenging times come! He is there for us to bring us peace and comfort and all our needs in His perfect timing and way! I am so grateful for this Gospel and for the Joy that I have in my life because of it! He lives and is our source of Joy and Peace forever! I love you all SO MUCH!!!! And miss you all like crazy but all is well!!! Beaucoup d’amour! Ua here au ia outou! Faaitoito!💙

-Elder LeBaron☺️🤙🏻🌺

Wow this was an incredible week! So much happened! It felt like it flew by but also stood still! It was amazing because we had the Heiva de Paroisse which is a big dance and activities that we did for the weekend! So I was thinking about that a lot and so it made it go by kinda slow but then it flew by! It was all dances of the cultural stories of the islands here and the songs that relate and talk about their assigned islands! So our whole secteur was cut into fourths! It was so good and we had many amis come and it was a great turn out! 

Now for some other highlights from this week:

-Interviews with President and it was so good! He’s literally the biggest blessing in my life and I am so grateful he’s my president! I have been struggling a little bit lately so I asked him for a blessing and it was amazing to see the joy and change that came after and the gift of priesthood blessings! It was exactly what Heavenly Father needed me to hear!

-Got to have a fatams with a member named Fab who loves the missionaries and knows my companion and so he invited us to a dinner for his birthday and the food was amazing! It was ma’a tinito! Which is pork, beans, noodles, rice noodles, and veggies and it’s all in a super good sauce. I love eating it with Tabasco and vinegar that you sprinkle on top! It was incredible and so yummy! 

-Found 8 new amis this week and was literally a huge MIRACLE!! We found like 4 in one day and it was literally miracle after miracle! So we’ll see how the visits go for this next week!

-Heiva de Paroisse culture night was Friday and the dances were great! I felt like I was in heaven seeing the beautiful dances singing together while laughing and the live music of a little band! I LOVE THE CULTURE HERE AND THE MUSIC AND THE DANCING!!!!

-Then the next day we had activities in the morning of how to make baskets out of leaves and then how to cut open coconuts and a bunch of other activities! Then after we had a huge faatamaaraa(feast) together with Ma’a Tahiti(Tahitian Food)! IT WAS ALL SO SO SO GOOD!!! AGAIN I WAS IN HEAVEN!!

-We had a lot of amis come with members so we did a tour of the chapel and it was so good! They had great questions and we helped them to understand the importance of the chapel and why we come every week!

-Scheduled a baptism for our ami and it’s going to be August 3rd and so it’s super exciting! He’s 9 years old and super excited as well!

But yeah that’s about it for this week but it was full of miracles and to always know that even when it’s hard and you feel like giving up you are literally never alone and the best support you can have in your life is Jesus Christ who literally understands you perfectly and when it’s hard He is there for carrying us and sometimes we think it’s just us alone walking using all our force to take one more step forward and yet He’s there lifting us giving us that force that we need! I read a talk that really touched me this week by Elder Anderson called, “Faith Is Not by Chance, but by Choice” in the October 2015 General Conference and it talks about these really hard trials that this family had and yet they kept moving forward with faith and it was so beautiful to see that! It has always helped me that it’s true that everything happens for a reason whether it be super hard or not it’s to help us turn to Him, to draw strength, to not fall, and have the faith needed through our day to day lives! If ever you feel like you can’t go further you can and everything is made possible through our Savior Jesus Christ! He’s the true source of strength that keeps us going! Have faith! Know that you are never alone! Like Elder Anderson said, “Your faith did not begin at birth, and it will not end at death. Faith is a choice. Strengthen your faith, and live to be deserving of the Savior’s approving words: “Great is thy faith.” When we have faith we truly can move the mountains in our lives! I love you all SO MUCH!!!! And miss you all like crazy but all is well!!! Beaucoup d’amour! Ua here au ia outou! Faaitoito!💙

-Elder LeBaron☺️🤙🏻🌺

Iaorana tout le monde! TRANSFER WEEK!!! 

This week was great! Sadly some of my really close mission friends left their missions this week and so it was sad to see them leave but we got 6 new missionaries and they are the sweetest! So got to be at President’s house a lot last week and it was a big blessing! Love them so so much! 

Now for some Highlights from this week:

-Got to stay with my companion for now the 3rd transfer together which is super uncommon here in the mission so there’s still a work for us to do here and get to still be with my companion who I really love!

-Got to go to the house of President for the missionaries leaving for the first time this week because they needed help and then got to go for the new missionaries the next day as normal to get their phone information but it was great! Then I got to eat with them!!

-BAPTISM!!! We had our baptism with Urahei Lucas this Friday and it was amazing! It’s been since I’ve got here since we’ve taught her and 4 months later she finally got baptized! She was so happy and it was an amazing day!

-Soirée Temple Miracle! It was right after the baptism and we had our amis Heinarii and Raiarii come for it and they stayed for the the Soirée Temple and it was beautiful to have them there for the baptism and then to see the big objective after to go to the temple and have those blessings! They loved it all and it was a wonderful experience and miracle with them!

-My phone was super buggy and now I got a new phone and it’s so nice I love it! It takes pictures of the stars here! It’s amazing!

That’s about it for this week but it was amazing this week I’ve really seen that literally everything ALWAYS works out! So many times I start stressing about changes during the day because they weren’t planned but every time everything works out in the end and it’s amazing to see the Lord’s hand in it all and to trust in His perfect will for me and plan and know that everything always happens for a reason! In my personal studies I was reading the talk “Call, Don’t Fall” by Elder Godoy April 2024 General Conference and he said 5 things we can do to not fall or trust that everything will always work out,

“1. Always think of the Lord as your first option for help.   

2. Call, don’t fall. Turn to God in sincere prayer. 

3. After praying, do all you can to obtain the blessings you prayed for. 

4. Humble yourselves to accept the answer in His time and His way. 

5. Don’t stop! Keep moving forward on the covenant path while you wait for an answer.” 

When we do these 5 steps we can have trust to not “fall” and continue to trust that God has us in His hands and that we don’t need to fall but call to Him and He will always answer! He’s always there! We can Call and not Fall! I love you all SO MUCH!!!! And miss you all like crazy but all is well!!! Beaucoup d’amour! Ua here au ia outou! Faaitoito!💙

-Elder LeBaron