This week had a lot of ups and downs, tons of walking, it's getting hotter, barely missing possibly fatal accidents, sang at another's church service, crashed bikes, gave a sacrament meeting talk, and witnessed tender mercies all along the way.
So I'll explain "Possibly fatal accidents". On Wednesday we were driving and trying to turn left, crossing 2 lanes of traffic. A car, made an unexpected left turn coming from the opposite 2 lanes of traffic, I warn my companion, and he brakes and everything is fine. Fast forward a few hours later, and we are at a stop light, again turning left. We get a green light and start to pull out, when a car coming from our left, zooms behind us at 50+MPH, barely missing up by inches. It's interesting to note, that the companion that was sitting in the backseat, tried to say something, but nothing came out. I believe it was the spirit that held his tongue, because one touch of the brakes would've resulted in at the very least, injuries. We said a prayer of gratitude afterwards.
For the past 7 or so weeks, we have been volunteering at a food bank/emergency shelter for those in need. Through a series of unfortunate events, they found out that I could sing... so on Saturday, they did a little service for those who are staying at their temporary homes and I was asked to sing special musical numbers.. it went better than I thought. Also, after the service, they presented my companions and I with a volunteer of the month award with a few things, it was really touching to see, and we felt super appreciated afterwards (not that we didn't before) but we were very grateful and humbled.
For those of you who know me, and how competitive I am, I have companion who is also that competitive. So we wanted to show our other companion how to bike fast. We always talk to everyone, however on this occasion as I was leading and biking, a man came out of nowhere, so I slammed on my brakes to talk to him. I was able to get a few words out, before I hear "whoa whoa whoa!" And my companion who is equally competitive slammed into me, lol. No worries, we still made the contact, and stayed on our feet... my companion does now have a bruised shin from where he hit my bike hahahaha
I was so grateful for the opportunity to speak on Easter Sunday. I spoke specifically on Christ's title as the Prince of Peace. I'll share a few things that I learned from studying. As I read the story of Jesus calming the tempest, it stood out to me that the apostles at this time had witnessed several miracles, had seen some of Christ's greatest teachings (the Sermon on the Mount, for example) and had even taught and witnessed of Him. I have no doubt that they had faith that if any sick or afflicted needed healing and were brought to Him, that Christ could heal them. However, in this situation, it was their own boat being rocked, and their own trials and tribulations. I wonder if they forgot that Christ was in the boat, that the Creator, the Messiah, the Christ was with them. 1). Peace, like Faith is a choice. 2). As we Study Christ's life, we have more confidence in Him and are less likely to falter when the tempests come 3). As we make and keep sacred covenants with God, a power and strength come into our life that we wouldn't have otherwise 4). Christ is in our boat. I know that the Peace Christ offers is real, it is tangible and is offered to every one of us.
We had the opportunity to help someone move that was moving in next to us, we were super excited when he actually let us help! Not trying to boast, but he really needed our help, we lifted all the heavy furniture and helped them get everything up the stairs. They were super grateful afterwards, and even during, they went and got us gatorades. After helping them, the dad said that after they get settled in, that he'd like us to sit down with him and he'd listen! The next day, we were out walking, and towards the end, when we were getting close to our apartment, he pulled up next to us with his kid and handed us all gatorades! He told us that he had seen us walking, and his kid suggested that he get them gatorades, and so he drove over to the nearest gas station and bought some, but we had turned off another road when he got back.. so he spent the next little bit searching for us basically. It was definitely a tender mercy.
I'm loving the mission, it's been such a blessing and I am especially grateful for the hard times. I wouldn't appreciate the good ones as much if I didn't have them.
Elder Tanuvasa 
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