D&C 58:4- Week 35

"For after much tribulation come the blessings."

Ka oha nui from the Marquesas - the land where...



WE FINALLY HAD A BAPTISM!


or TWO.



My dear friends and family, we finally accomplished something big out here in the Marquesas. After four months of dead ends, I've finally got some numbers to show that I got something done! After some serious tests of faith and humility, we've helped two more people come to a knowledge of Christ and what having him in your life can mean. Our two biggest potentials, Louis and Michelline, are now members of the church. And it was in no small part due to a FANTASTIC member integrator. For you see, dear friends, we were not present for the baptism.

Louis and Michelline are good friends with Bishop James Tuhohe, the bishop of Punauuia (on Tahiti), and his wife Vanessa, and they've been working with Louis and Michelline for like years now. They've always just been right there supporting them, even when they're miles away. They call each other like every night. We've been working closely with him for Louis and Michelline, and then this last week when they had to go to Tahiti for Michelline to get an x-ray, they stayed with James, and all of us (Louis and Michelline included), were plotting their baptism. And without a hitch and with no problems whatsoever, Louis and Michelline had their interview and were baptized. In a river apparently. And I don't even have the photos to show for it yet. But, it happened. We finally got some baptisms for the Marquesas. It has truly been a miracle. After so much fasting and prayer, we've arrived. But the work is far from done. Baptism is just the beginning. We now have to continue to work with them to keep them active, and get them involved with our branch. I think we'll have our hands pretty full with that in the weeks that come, and that's just as well because we don't have a whole lot of other work besides that. A bunch of our investigators *sigh* and right there we're back to the Marquesas as usual.

Apart from that, this week was also filled with the excitement of another baptism (our branch president's son) and a huge multi-religion concert. The Adventists invited every religion in town to come and sing, and we participated. While everybody sang and treated the event like a rock concert, we got up there, and, well, if you know anything about Mormon hymns...

But yeah, that was this week! Sorry everyone for not mentioning Louis and Michelline's going to Tahiti last week. Surprise! I hope this letter finds everyone well and was at least fun to read.

Sincerely,
Elder Harrah












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