LAST WEEK TILL I’M 20 YEARS OLD!!!😱 Just figured it out that next week I’m going to be 20 years old! Kinda crazy! What a week! It’s literally transfer calls next week! WHERE IS TIME GOING!! It’s flying by! But yeah all is good and it was an absolutely incredible week!
Highlights from this last week:
– Conference with Elder and Sœur Webb that spoke to us about good personal studies and how we can improve them! It was wonderful but because it was in Tahiti and we’re on Raiatea we had to zoom in! But it was wonderful!
– Wonderful interviews with President Tuahu! Normally they are in person here but they were virtual because of the conference! So next time it’ll be in person! But yeah it was great talking with him and helping me to learn how to keep going and not lose motivation being almost a year as a missionary!
– HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO RACHIE!!! My wonderful sister(in law but she’s my sister😉🥰) and got to talk with her and it was wonderful! Miss her and love her so much!!!
– Exchange with Faaroa mā Elder Chadaz and Elder Jefferies and I got to be with Elder Chadaz our district leader! He’s so sweet and it was a wonderful exchange! And we all got to go to a baptism for the Sœur mā Sœur Rupper and Sœur Duez! We came with our amie! So that was amazing!
– Crazy fatams with an old missionary that served here almost 50 years ago and was here when Avera was just a branch! It was to hear because we are a big ward now! We ate with the U-fa mā and it was amazing! It was all so good with Porc au Sucre(sweet pork) and poisson cru lait coco!
– P-day Bqq and then played games as a zone and was amazing! We had hamburgers and then had pumpkin cheesecake and it was amazing! Afterwards we all played volleyball together and it was just an amazing time that we had together!
That’s about it for the week! It flew by and had many beautiful experiences! Sorry this is shorter this week I didn’t have much time this week! I love you all SO MUCH!!!! And miss you all like crazy!!! Till next week! Beaucoup d’amour! Ua here au ia outou! Faaitoito!💙
It’s crazy that this week is already over! This week was way more eventful than last week! It started out pretty normal compared to the other days, we had devotionals and tons of Spanish classes! Our district Is really working hard with trying to learn the language! The gift of tongues is real! we had some really fun activities that happened this past week that are going to be a highlight Of the mission! It was Mexican Independence day which was amazing! We had a mariachi band, tons of Mexican food, THE BEST CHURROS! I think they tasted so good because I haven’t had that good of tasting food in a while hahaha. Anyways that day was a blast! Mexican independence day was Sunday but we celebrated it Monday! These people here really know how to party haha all night we heard music, fireworks, gunshots, and laughter! It was pretty fun! Other than the fun part of the week we had some of the craziest storms I have ever been in! There were thunder roars that sounded like a whip smacking the sky. I don’t know how to describe it other than it was so loud our room shook and it was hard to sleep hahaha. This week was also filled with amazing spiritual events! Other than an elder in our district being healed from rolling his ankle 4 different times in a span of 3 days thinking he needs to go home to wake up the next day completely healed! It’s been amazing really studying the scriptures and Predicad Mi Evangelio! I really recommend studying the Christlike attributes in Chapter 6! I’ve been really feeling close to Jesus Christ this week and it’s been amazing! Anyways the week was a blast! Tons of tacos, enchiladas, and other interesting Mexican food is being consumed constantly here by me hahah or in Spanish jajajaja! My district is doing amazing and I’m really loving it a ton! I miss everyone back at home but I’m so grateful that I get to be here! Later in the week I was able to play this elders guitar lives in my District! I am currently trying to learn all of the songs that these 2 elders can play because they’re masters! It’s been a lot of fun being able to play with these elders because they appreciate music like I do! I’m so happy God put me in this district! I went to the Tienda on Tuesday and got some food that was most likely the spiciest chips I’ve ever had hahaha! Today I went to the temple which was amazing! We had a national earthquake drill that all of Mexico does on the 19th of September! It was weird because we had to stop what we were doing in the temple and go to the walls and just stand there as the alarms were going off hahaha but anyways this week was a blast, and was filled with a ton of fun and eventful experiences! I’m excited for this next week and can’t wait to see what fun activities are up ahead!
11 MONTHS AS A MISSIONARY!!! Forgot to say last week but I hit my 11 months last week and literally can’t believe I’ve been out for almost a year! It’s flown by! It’s crazy to see how far I’ve come and how completely different I am! This Gospel is so beautiful and amazing to see how the mission truly sculpts you into who the Savior needs me to be! I’m so grateful for this Gospel and the blessing that it is in my life and through super hard moments I truly can receive a beautiful peace and joy that can only come through Him! This week was pretty hard! I was sicker than a dog! I was literally bed ridden! I felt horrible! I had a super bad sore throat and a super bad dry cough and it was so hard to breathe! Luckily all is good now but it was pretty hard! I actually still can hear out of my left ear because of sinus pressure but all is better just that which still rests! But yeah pretty crazy! But on a positive note…
Here are some Highlights from this week:
– Surprise fatams with our amis that we are teaching! We had a faatamaaraa with a Sœur in our ward and she had invited our amis who we are teaching and had no idea and had a beautiful night together! It was amazing!
– HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA!! It was my mom’s birthday this week and had an amazing call with her! Love her with literally all my soul! She is my bestest friend in the whole galaxy and words can’t express how grateful and how much she means to me! Love you mama!!
– Miracle with losing my light for my bike! I had lost my little light for my bike to see at night and when I was at a lesson I saw that it was missing and so I said a little prayer in my heart and had the first thought in my head to go to the pharmacy because we had been there earlier to get medicine for our sickness and sure enough it was there! Such a small thing but a huge miracle that God answered my prayer and answers our prayers every day big or small!!
– Had a lesson with an inactive member and we had shared the lesson with her and it was an answer to her prayer and she had been searching for an answer and our message was exactly what she was praying for and came to church with us and was like I need to return and it was literally a beautiful experience!
– Soirée Crêpe with the family Laufatte (who’s son I served with) Sunday! It was so good and it was with a bunch of other Young Adults and it was great! Got to learn how to make crêpes and had a super spiritual time together!
That’s about it for this week but something I would love to share is a quote my mom sent me this week and it literally touched me so much! It’s kinda long but I want to share it with you all!!
**This is great advice to always remember!!!
“We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren’t old enough, and we’ll be more content when they are.
After that, we’re frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage. We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our partner gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice holiday, when we retire.
The truth is, there’s no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when?
Your life will always be filled with challenges.
It’s best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway.
A quote comes from Alfred D. Souza. He said,
“For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin – real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.”
This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.
So, treasure every moment that you have and treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time…and remember that time waits for no one.
So, stop waiting until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until winter, until your song comes on, until you’ve had a drink…. there is no better time than right now to be happy.
Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
Work like you don’t need money,
Love like you’ve never been hurt,
And dance like no one’s watching. 💃🏼”**
I was so deeply touched by how much we must focus on the now and see the happiness all around us now! Don’t wait to be happy and see that truly happiness is the way not a destination! Think Celestial and see the JOY in our daily lives and know that no matter what we can all be happy and have JOY!! So as it says, “Work like you don’t need money,
Love like you’ve never been hurt,
And dance like no one’s watching. 💃🏼”!! I love you all SO MUCH!!!! And miss you all like crazy!!! Till next week! Beaucoup d’amour! Ua here au ia outou! Faaitoito!💙
Wow, it’s hard to believe the first week is over! So much has happened this week that has made my brain explode but also feel the Savior’s love stronger than ever before! Thursday started out with a very long day of travel! I said goodbye to my family, and it was very hard. I realized how much I really love them! My travel day went from being an 8-hour travel day to over a 13-hour travel day! We had an unexpected delay in LA, which caused the delay in travel! It was crazy but fun! There were probably over 40 missionaries, which was crazy! The travel to Mexico was much better because it was international, and we had tons of space! Once we got to Mexico, it was amazing! Going through a busy city to a complete stop of motion, it was extremely peaceful entering the CCM! Let me cut to the chase and give a few highlights from this week!
My district is the best, and my companion is equally as awesome! The food is surprisingly good and fresh every day! We mostly eat tacos and enchiladas every day for all three meals hahaha! Anyways, my teachers are the greatest! Hermano Barrera is the GOAT! He is so awesome and really made the transition easy for all of us! He’s basically an older brother to all of us! Sunday was the coolest day ever! The spirit was extremely tangible! Also, I was called as District Leader, which is fun! I’m starting to feel much more adjusted, just trying to stay positive and keep my focus on Jesus Christ! My Spanish is definitely improving, which is a blessing! I couldn’t even bear my testimony or prayer well at all, and now I can do both and share messages in Spanish! The gift of tongues is real!! Also, basically every day and night, there are like four gunshots that go off, and after, there are sirens and normally a creepy death scream, which is always scary haha! Also, one night this past week, I pulled out a guitar because someone in my district brought one, and I played it just casually before bed, and it ended up having the entire house of over 24 people surrounding me asking me to sing my song “Found Love” on repeat hahaha it was super cool! Today I went to the temple, which was absolutely incredible! The temple looks like an Aztec temple, and it’s so beautiful inside! Anyways, I’m loving it here and can’t wait for next week! Also, I learned a new word that supposedly everyone uses here, and it means Chipy Chipy! It means sprinkling hahaha! It has rained a ton here, but also there are days that are extremely hot! Anyways, I love y’all and hope y’all have an amazing next week!
HAPPY 100TH BIRTHDAY PRESIDENT NELSON!!! What a historic day! I can’t believe I am alive to witness the first prophet to live to be 100 years old in our time! He’s literally amazing and the Lord has been preserving him to bless us with His beautiful teachings and to feel of his beautiful love! I live President Nelson with all of my heart and every day so so so grateful for his beautiful words and character! He truly reflects the love and character of Jesus Christ and can’t wait to hear from him tomorrow at his 100th Birthday broadcast and then in October for General Conference! Again so grateful for such a beautiful day to celebrate him and all that he does for this beautiful church!
Now for some Highlights from this week:
– Celebrated my companion’s birthday(Elder Tenney) and I made him pancakes for petit-déjeuner then had an insane déjeuner and then a wonderful fatams with the family Tarati and the mission couple Winter!
– Tan or as I should say Elder LeBaron started the MTC this week and it’s crazy that he’s already in Mexico and getting ready for Chile! Literally the last one of my brothers to leave which is so crazy it’s already here!!
– Invited our amie Hinarau to be baptized the 26 of October and had a beautiful lesson with her to get her ready for it! She’s so ready and really wants to get baptized!
– INSANE MIRACLE! Found this mamie(which we say for old women here which means grandma) who had been visited by the missionaries but never a follow up visit so we went to her house but she was busy and she told us to re-pass another day! So we did and it is now Saturday and we visited with a member the morning and she was there with her grandchildren! So we asked if we could have a little lesson with them and they agreed and came in to give the message and then the granddaughter Hinatea says can you give my papi(grandpa) a blessing because he’s sick and not doing good so we said yes and gave him a blessing! Then after was like can you give me one and literally cried through the who thing and it was beautiful then we shared a little message and he was like can I join your church I don’t have a church and would love to be baptized! We literally freaked out! Then scheduled another lesson with them and super excited to do another lesson with them! But yeah crazy MIRACLE!
– We had a Soirée Familiale(Family home evening) with the paroisse(ward) and it was great! We had many amis there and it was such a great night all together!
That’s about it for this week but yeah it was a great week! In my studies this week I was reading a talk by Elder Bednar in a mission seminar titled “The Blessed and Happy State” and it was amazing! It talked about being obedient brings knowledge and those who are obedient gain a greater knowledge! Then how you have intelligent people on the Earth but are they intelligent spiritually! And it was just a beautiful and interesting way to look at obedience related to knowledge! But yeah I thought it was interesting and wanted to share that! I love you all SO MUCH!!!! And miss you all like crazy!!! Till next week! Beaucoup d’amour! Ua here au ia outou! Faaitoito!💙
Wow how is it SEPTEMBER! Time is flying!! Here in Raiatea it’s ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!! BUTTTTT I got EATEN ALIVE by mosquitos this week! So that was crazy! My feet are just covered in bits! Then I also got a super bad canker sore on my cheek and literally it hurts to eat! But hey I’m living my best life and all is well!
Now for some Highlights from this week:
– Had my first lessons this week here with our amis and they went great! We have some progress to make with them but they are so sweet and so excited to get to be here with them!
– We were blessed with rain this week because it was so hot and then the rain cooled us off! But one day we were completely drenched! But it was fun!
– HUGE MIRACLE! We have this amie who lived in Hitiaa on the presqu’île by Taravao where I started my mission on Tahiti and we went to go do a visit with a new convert and I saw her and was like wait I know her! Turns out it was her and she had moved here to Raiatea! Literally 8 months later now in her secteur! I literally went to her baptism! Super crazy!
– Got to talk with Tanner or now Elder LeBaron for his first P-day and it was great to talk with him and know that’s he’s absolutely killing it!! Love him so much and so so so proud of him!
– Had a beautiful fast Sunday and got to bear my testimony! It was great and it was about the beautiful miracles in our life and how we need to have the eyes to see the beautiful little ones everyday!
– Joyeux Anniversaire to my amazing brother Tyler! Love you buddy and I had a beautiful call with him!
– My new companion Elder Tenney is so amazing and we made a goal that before he leaves Avera we are going to have a baptism and so we are going to work so hard to get it and help our amis be ready! He finishes in December and most likely will get transferred next transfer so we are going to seek and expect miracles and as Elder Pearson said, “Take Massive Action”!
That’s about it for this week but it really flew by and can’t believe it’s already another P-day! Something that has really stuck out to me lately is miracles and how many we can see each day if we truly have the eyes to see them! Like the Prophet Russel M Nelson said in his talk “The Power of Spiritual Momentum” that we need to “Seek and Expect Miracles” that the Lord is there to manifest His hand in our lives more than ever before and if we truly have the eyes to see we see many miracles daily! I can testify of miracles and that They are here and bless us daily! I will talk to you all again in a short week! I love you all SO MUCH!!!! And miss you all like crazy!!! Beaucoup d’amour! Ua here au ia outou! Faaitoito!💙
What a week! It’s been crazy! So I ended up spending another week here in Tahiti because we had a mission conference the next Monday and they didn’t want to have to pay for 2 flights for all the missionaries going to the islands so I just stayed for another week! The thing was I didn’t have a secteur for a week so I ended up going to the Bureau and just helping to prepare for the conference with Elder Pearson! So I didn’t have much that happened this week so my email won’t be too long!
Highlights from this week:
-Printed all our talks for the conference because we all had to make a talk and then print it for the conference and a random missionary will give it so that was fun and the. Got to eat with Sœur Wong in the office
-Got to go to the temple because we were in the temple housing that they have her and got to do initiatories and it was in French which was super cool!
-Tan my brother started the MTC!! I’M NOT THE ONLY ELDER LeBARON!!! Love him So much and how proud I am of him! He’s going to do absolutely amazing! He’s incredible!
-Met my companion because he came down for the conference and how much I already love him! He’s so cool! It’s Elder Tenny and he’s way cool! We were in the presqu’île together when I wasn’t Taravao!
-Mission tour with Elder Pearson! It was absolutely phenomenal! It was literally all that I needed to hear and was an answer to my prayers! He’s incredible and knew my parents when we were in Spokane so we got a photo together!
-Fatams with Sœur Wong and Elder Wong with Sœur Hoffman and it was so amazing and how much I am going to miss everyone in the Bureau of the mission! They are all my favorite!!!
-Flew to Raiatea and IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL FLIGHT!!! It was the sunset for the flight and seeing all the islands and the colors was beautiful! Also got to fly again which was so fun! It’s been since I’ve gotten here in Tahiti that I haven’t flown! So it was great!
That’s about it for the week but yeah it was a hard week but I’m doing better! In a talk by Elder Massimo De Feo in the last conference he said, “living the gospel of Jesus Christ does not remove pain and trials, which are necessary to grow. The gospel is not a way to avoid challenges and problems but a solution to increase our faith and learn how to deal with them.” It pierced me so strongly when I read it and helped me to know that challenges help us to grow and when things are hard we are going and are humble enough to turn to God and have His beautiful and powerful aid! He’s always there to give it and I saw beautiful miracles with that this week! He’s in every detail and with our Faith we can truly seek and expect miracles daily! I love you all SO MUCH!!!! And miss you all like crazy!!! Beaucoup d’amour! Ua here au ia outou! Faaitoito!💙
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!💙
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☺️🤙🏻🌺
Welcome to the weekly mission updates for the LeBaron Boys
