11 April 2016

Season 3: Episode 9  The one with the Good Shepherd

This week, we did a lot of finding, and found some very prepared people! On Friday, we were able to meet Joseph and Kerri. They are both looking for a church home and for more in their life. They are currently reading and praying about the Book of Mormon, please keep them in your prayers!

There wasn't anything really unique that happened this week, so I'll share something that I learned from my personal study of the scriptures:

I was reading in the Book of Mormon in Ether, and it was talking about how a man and his brother prayed and pleaded with the lord to not confound their language. It reads that "the Lord had compassion upon [him]" As I defined compassion, it tells us that it is derived from Latin compati or 'suffer with'. Earlier in the Book of Mormon we read that Christ suffers with us so that he can help us in the exact way that we need it. He knows us by name, he knows our trials, it is He who said "I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep" 

In the words of a hymn:

The Lord is my shepherd; no want shall I know

I feed in green pastures; safe folded I rest

He leadeth my soul where the still waters flow

Restores me when wand'ring, redeems when oppressed

Restores me when wand'ring, redeems when oppressed

Thru the valley of shadow of death through I stray, 

Since thou art my Guardian, no evil I fear. 

Thy rod shall defend me, thy staff be my stay

No harm can befall with my Comforter near 

No harm can befall with my Comforter near

He is the good Shepherd and He does know his sheep, he hears our prayers, he suffers with us, he is the Comforter, the Prince of Peace. As we draw near unto him, he will draw near unto us. I know this to be true, in the name of our Lord and Savior, even Jesus Christ, Amen.

-Elder Tanuvasa

4 April 2016

Season 3: Episode 8 "The one with General Conference"

Good morning all!

This week was so great! We had the chance to serve two families! At one home we were able to do some yard work for them, and the other, we used a wire brush to peel off paint off of one of their walls. 

As per the title of this episode, General Conference was this weekend. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this term, I will do my best to explain. When Christ was here on the Earth, he called "apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers" and it was "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ" (Ephesians 4:11-12). He also called seventy others to go forth and preach the gospel and prepare for His coming (Luke 10). This church or organization that Christ established did not remain on the Earth after the passing of Him and His apostles. But in 1820, another prophet (like Moses or Noah) was called, and was instructed to restore the same organization that was established when the Savior walked the earth. Today, we have a prophet, twelve apostles, seventy others, as well as many church leaders, and twice a year we have a chance to hear them speak to us on whatever topics the Spirit prompts them to speak about, and it is broadcasted worldwide. They speak on what God wants us to hear, and how we can come closer to our Savior Jesus Christ. We know that God has always spoken through prophets in the past, and that He doesn't change. 

One of my favorite talks that was given was by Elder Donald L. Hallstrom of the Quorum of the Seventy. He spoke of our divine origin as sons and daughters of God, and how that should influence all of our decisions. Often we define ourselves by our employment, calling in the church, etc... It was a great reminder to remember who we all are, and who He wants us to become.

I am grateful that the Lord has again called prophets and apostles on the earth to give us further light in knowledge. I know that as we follow their counsel, that we will come closer to our savior, which will ultimately lead us to be happier in this life!

-Elder Tanuvasa

28 March 2016

The One with Concrete

This week we had a great opportunity to serve.  One of the people we are teaching needed some remodeling done.  So Elder Ellsworth and I were able to go and help him!  he had us breaking up a concrete slab in the backyard.  We used sledge hammers to break them and then wheeled them to the front yard!  After a few hours in the heat it was all done!

I have really gained an appreciation for service and helping others out.  As we read in Matthew 25:40; we are serving our Lord when we serve others.  As missionaries, we are always looking for opportunities to serve, it's just frustrating when no one will let you!

On Wednesday we met this really cool guy named Sean.  we taught him about God's love for him, prophets and the Book of Mormon.  He was really excited to read it and pray about it.

On Saturday we got a text from Sister Sackley and her companion, Sister Huber.  They told us about a person who wanted to learn more, and had scheduled a time that we could meet with her.  Long story short, we met with the person and she is AMAZING!  When we introduced the Book of Mormon, she wanted to read it all that night.  We really are seeing miracles on the dearly, some more apparent than others!

I know that we are all blessed in different ways.  i know that as we look for them in our lives, we will see God's hand.

Sincerely,

Elder Tanuvasa

21 March 2016

Season 3: Episode 7 "The One with Easter"

Good morning everyone!

This was a very spiritual week, as we were all able to recognize and celebrate the last week of our Savior's life. I had a great opportunity to study Christ's life and His Atonement or Sacrifice specifically this week. It was a huge realization to me to recognize where we all would've been, and where I would've been without having a Savior. He has literally saved us all. During my mission so far it has been a tremendously humbling experience, and this week was no exception. As I was sitting in church, listening to the speakers and specifically one speaker talking about "Grace".  One of my favorite scriptures came to mind that I feel impressed to share, and it is Alma26:11-12 and it reads 

11 But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God.

12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

And it hit me so hard that I have been relying too much on my own strength and my own abilities, and it was holding me back. It came to me that I needed to give myself over to Him, and instead of relying on myself, I need to rely on Him. As I am yoked with Him (as well as my companion Elder Ellsworth) we will be able to accomplish way more than I ever could by myself.

I am so grateful for our savior Jesus Christ and for His love that we are able to feel constantly. I am grateful for the hope and the strength that His gospel, atonement, life gives me and gives us all. I know that as we rely on him, he will be accomplish miracles in our lives. 

Last thought really quick: Also while reflecting this week, I had the opportunity to look back and to see God in my life, and to see how he has gently but firmly led me in the direction that I needed to go. And I know that everyone will be able to see the same thing as you reflect. 

Have a great week!

Elder Tanuvasa

14 March 2016

Season 3:  Episode 6 "The One with Steve"

This was a very eventful week, on Tuesday we had Zone Training Meeting.  Which is basically when a lot of missionaries gather together for a couple hours and receive training on how we can better help those we are teaching!

We went on an exchange on Thursday.  Meaning that I was with another missionary for a day!  We were in an area where a lot of people speak Spanish...and the limits of my Spanish is....iHola!  Haha let's just say I didn't do much talking that day, it's a good thing the missionary I was with spoke it well!  I should've paid more attention in Spanish....

On Saturday was Steve's baptism, there was a lot of people there from the local congregation to support him!  It's so great to be a part of the Lord's work, and get to see His power work int he lives of not only me, but everyone!

I am so grateful for this opportunity to be serving the Lord full time.  Though there are a lot of challenges and distractions, I can feel the strength of all of your prayers.

Elder Tanuvasa

7 March 2016

Season 3:  Episode 5  "The one with Good, Better, Best"

This week I have had the chance to do a lot of reflecting.  One of the people we have been meeting with has been preparing to be baptized.  As we kept getting closer to the day, it seemed like more and more problems were arising, employment, etc.  He expressed to us that he didn't know if he would be able to provide for his family.  I was able to share my experience of putting my trust in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and putting Him first.

Both my companion and I bore testimony that He knows him, and that He cares and will not allow you to fail.  I know that to be true.

I know that we have been blessed with the Spirit to lead and guide us and lead us to do right, it will never lead us astray.

Elder Tanuvasa

29 February 2016

Season 3: Episode 4 "The One with Food Poisioning"

This week was very slow.  A lot of people were canceling their appointments and people in general were saying no to us more often.  Anyways, fast forward to Thursday, I started to get chills, my stomach wasn't doing so well, and I was light headed.  My companion ended up calling the nurse for me, cause I didn't want to.  Anyways, I was told to rest until I felt better and my symptoms went away.  On Friday, I slept 20 out of the 24 hours and was only awake to throw up, use the bathroom or eat, haha. On Saturday we tried to go out again, but had to return early that evening.  

Sunday I received a blessing, and was able to make it through all of the church meetings.  We had 3 people there that we were teaching, and they really enjoyed it!  Rested the rest of the day and that brings me up to now! I am starting to feel better and I hope that this is the end of this sickness, hahah. 

Hope y'all have a great week!

Elder Tanuvass

22 February 2016

Season 3:  Episode 3  The One with a Broken Bike

Good Morning!

This week someone's bike broke down...but it wasn't mine!  Elder Ellsworth's bike broke down about a mile from our destination on Wednesday.  We ended up having to walk that mile, and then walk another 2 miles to wait to get picked up by other missionaries.  I was just grateful that I am in Tampa, and that there are missionaries close by!  If we were anywhere else, it would have been a lot longer.

One of the things that this week has really brought to my attention was the importance of prayer.  The importance of keeping our Father in Heaven in our lives at all times.  In the scriptures we always read about how people would go through a cycle where they would be righteous, and then receive blessings.  Eventually they would turn prideful, and lose the strength that they had previously because of their righteousness.  In Alma 63 we learn how we can continue to be blessed without being prideful.  We learn that we should 1) remember all of what God has done for us and 2) pray continually.  As I've continued to pray continually, I've noticed a change of attitude and I am much more receptive to the promptings of the Spirit.

Elder Tanuvasa

15 February 2016

Season 3: Episode 2   The one with Speaking in Church

Yesterday at church my companion (Elder Ellsworth) and I were asked to speak.  It was very short notice, but I really enjoyed it!  We had the chance to speak on Faith and Obedience.  One of my favorite parts about a mission, is that I can have set apart time to study the scriptures, it's definitely something that I will continue to do.  This time has really blessed me, in that I now find solace while reading.  The scriptures answer so many questions, and I now find it enjoyable to bury myself in them!

One of the blessings about serving in Tampa is that there are so many people walking around!  We will bike to our set appointments, and then talk to people along the way! You never really know who you're going to meet, so it's always engaging, haha.  I haven't biked in awhile, so I've started to get my biking legs back.  It's not uncommon for us to bike 20-25 miles a day.

Transfers are today, and we will find out what's happening pretty soon!  I'll probably write it in at the end of this, once we find out so.....yeah.

Love,

Elder Tanuvasa

p.s.  no transfer

8 February 2016

Season 3:  Episode 1  The One with the Transfer

Good Morning!

So I am now in Tampa Florida!  I am serving in the Carrollwood ward.  Sister Sackley (who is serving in Tampa 2) is north of me!  We are in the same zone, but not district! I am now with Elder Ellsworth he is super funny and hard working!  We get along great!

The Tampa Bay Bucs stadium is in our area, so I HAD to get a picture of course, haha.  Also, had the opportunity to cut my own hair, and it's not too shabby!

Anyways, not much happened this week other than that.  On Saturday, it was raining all day, so we weren't able to be on our bikes.  We ended up walking to our appointments, and talking to people on the way!  We walked for about 5 hours!  My feet are starting to low-key blister, hahah

I love you all and I hope you have a great week!

Elder Tanuvasa

1 February 2016

Season 2:  Episode 4

Good Afternoon Family and Friends!

On Monday, we went bowling and I STILL GOT IT!
Today, we went golf, and I STILL GOT IT!

Lol, anywho last week we had a baptism, so that's always cool.  It's awesome to see someone change their life, and follow Christ and His example.  I was also able to meet someone who served his mission with my Dad!  So it was pretty cool.  I believe that there is a picture, hopefully mi mama will put it in.

I was on an exchange with Elder Bowden on Tuesday and it was so much fun!  Elder Bowden and I were companions in the MTC together, so it was awesome to see him again!

Sorry, nothing special this week.

Love,

Elder Tanuvasa

 The Former Elder Kirkland of the Oregon Portland Mission

25 January 2016

Season 2:  Episode 3 The One with the Funeral

So this week, the funeral for one of our friends' mother.  I was asked to sing Amazing Grace as part of the service.  One of the things that was consistent as these family members/friends were saying brief things, was that they regret not showing/telling the other person how much they loved her.  It really hit me that, hey, you never know when it's someone's time, so always express your love, and leave no regrets.

On a slightly less somber note, I finally got my hands on an ukulele and a guitar!  One of the people that we are teaching had them and we jammed for a few minutes, and that was a lot of Fun!

Not really too much this week, just cherish those whom you love.

Love,

Elder Tanuvasa

18 January 2016

Dear Mom,

Sorry you are getting an answer to a question that Dad asked me in a letter, I hope you will both read this and share them with everyone you feel prompted to, even the blog.

Some things that I have learned about myself on my mission:  I look at myself in the mirror, and I'm changed physically.  But I ask myself, how else have I changed.  And something that I have noticed is that I'm self-motivated.  Not that I wasn't before, but I was always with someone else, like during workouts, I always had at least Dad to help me.  And now, I'm on my own, that accountability is gone, it's just me and the Lord, sure my companion can help motivate, but for the most part, it has to come through me.  I've learned that hey, I can be diligent on my own and obey with exactness.

Second, I've always been a leader, but I believe so far, the Lord has been teaching me how to be a follower.  How to take some correction with the best attitude.  And that has been a huge blessing.  I have a testimony that He knows me personally and desires my success, so he puts me with people and in situations where I can have the opportunities to do so.

Love you!  Your son,

Elder Tanuvasa

21 January 2016

Side note:  Elder Tanuvasa has family in Mission Viejo.  Turns out Sister Felt (and Sister Sackley - another Summerlake Ward Missionary -  are companions) had home teachers in Mission Viejo by the name of Tanuvasa - Shawn (uncle) and Kanoah (cousin)!  Small world

18 January 2016

Season 2: Episode 8  "The one with the Storm"

Hello, hello!

As per labeled my episode this week, there was a storm.  It was from Saturday night to Sunday morning.  At 4 a.m. we were woken up by our Hazard Alert radio that was blaring (it sounded like someone pulled the school fire alarm, if that helps).  Anyways, I got up, and was listening to the emergency radio that was going off too; it was talking about tornado warnings or something like that.  I was like "oh snap, it's going down!" and that excitement lasted all of about 3 seconds before I crawled back in bed and fell asleep, lo.  You could hear the thunder booming and you could see lightning flashing, my attitude was "hey, if it's my time, it's my time."  It wasn't my time, we got up in the morning, got dressed and went outside and saw trees that were blown over and a whole bunch of debris was in the streets, so we spent a good amount of time clearing those.  As we were talking to some people at church, they said that winds were anywhere from 40-70 mph, I don't know how true that is, but yeah.  That's my weather excitement for the week.

One of the people at church's mother passed away this week, it was really scary cause we had no joke talked with her 2 days before.  She never had any health problems, was super active, she was 55!  She woke up, didn't feel good, and went back to sleep, and then...you know....it's just crazy to see how fragile life really is, you never really think anything is going to happen to you.  As we were comforting the family, it caused me to reflect on this.  Please keep the Barnes family in your prayers.

Something that I have noticed this week was how planning and telling the Lord your plans will bless you. As we've made our plans so specific, they are almost tedious, and as we inform the Lord, where we are going to be at a certain time and place.  He is able to place people in our paths, that we never would've seen if we decided to just go do something else.  And I think that is very applicable to life, as we express to Him, our goals, and our plans to achieve those goals, He is able to open opportunities that wouldn't have been there before!

Anyways, love you all!

Elder Tanuvasa