Tyler In Tahiti

We've been super busy as of late. We made a sketch for our Christmas Party which I WILL post on the internet this week for you guys to see! As well as the video that we've been making for the visitor's center. Skype was fun yesterday, and we partied pretty hard for Christmas. I ate a whole bunch of Ferrero Rochers and whatnot. I am just super happy with life right now. It's way better than last Christmas. See you all next year everybody! One of my new favorite scriptures as of late - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.  17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;  18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. a thought for you guys (sounds ...

(this week's title brought to you by Elder Bradshaw) This week was long. Not hard or painful, but it just seemed long. I think it was the rain honestly. Last Monday we had to prepare our skit for the Christmas party this coming week, and we've got something pretty funny coming on. Soeur Bize and I established a camera crew that's going to film our sketches and musical numbers from this Christmas party, so I should be able to send you guys a link soon. That and a link to my visitor's center video (which we wrapped shooting on!) when I've finished editing it. If I'm magic, I'll have it ready by next Monday. Doubt it, mais bon. Tuesday - First time my companion's ever gone contacting. The first guy at the first house we talked to went from saying he was busy (translation - sitting on his porch) and telling us to look elsewhere in the neighborhood, to listening to our message, accepting a Book of Mormon, and asking for our website. "It was ...

Tuesday - got my new fils (translate: son), Elder Anderson. He's a really sweet dude from Oregon/New Hampshire. He's got a really good French base. His dad served a mission in Bordeaux, and Neil L. Andersen was his mission president at the time. Really awesome. Also had to take the new kids that are going out into the islands into the visitor's center immediately after the distribution of children at President Bize's house to have them start packing their little suitcase to take on the plane. Scared all of them haha. They're all so new! Wednesday - went to a meeting with President and Soeur Bize and all the service missionaries that work at the office. It was kind of funny honestly. We talked about matresses and pillows for a really long time... I got invited for the Christmas portion though. Soeur Bize is in charge of organizing our missionary Christmas party and she wanted to know the logistics of trying to film all the sketches that are going to be performed...

So today we played the airport game. Got up and went straight to work. Got Frazer and Sekeme off a boat, gathered their stuff, put it at the OVERSTUFFED BUREAU because this is the hugest transfer ever and lots of people are going home (Ford, Paxman, and Lo'Amanu included), grabbed Frazer and took him to the airport, waited for Elder Hanson's new companion, then had to wait for Elder Larsen, then had to go give blood, then my vein broke, then we did it in the other arm, then we dropped off Soeur Andersen's stuff, then we went home, had to find the keys, and now here we are finally at the center! It was a crazy day. I was planning on writing no one (I was being a grown up with Elder Hanson and taking care of all this nonsense), but then I got the chance. So, sorry if I don't get to everybody. This week, we didn't get a lot of lessons, but we progressed a lot on the movie. We've only got like two or three scenes left. It's looking pretty good. I also showe...

After all the stress of last week, my motto for this week was zen and peace. My goal was to not let stuff wreck me if it went wrong, to just focus on our people, and to give myself fun things to look forward to. The house goal has since been to do at least one awesome thing each night when we get back. Monday - went to Mahina and shot some of my movie! Tuesday - went and got pastries from the pastry shop across the street, started cutting footage for the movie, lost a bunch of footage (it's a long story), but then was able to restore some of it. Then that night we met this crazy American/Tahitian that didn't really speak French or English whose parents met on the set of Mutiny On The Bounty (the Marlon Brando movie). His dad worked for MGM and his mom was a dancer. Great story. Wednesday - went on a split with Elder Hanson to help Herelani's dad (my Tahitian is still lacking, but Elder Hanson's is really good). He started reading the Book of Mormon before w...

This week was a hard week. We got so much temple stuff done though! The entire Faa'a stake showed up Saturday morning for a bunch of presentations. We did four presentations in two groups, and a couple Presidents (Bize included) came and spoke. It went from 9:00 am until like 1:00 in the afternoon. And once all that was done somebody's little kid clogged a toilet and flooded our bathroom. Elder Hanson and I were the ones that cleaned it up (we're always cleaning up after people honestly). The two baptisms we fixed the other week are named Georges and Christine, but we had to push back their baptismal date unfortunately (that's what we get for trying to do it to early I suppose). Then this other lady we were trying to baptize just gave up on us, so that was frustrating as well. At least we'll be baptizing this girl named Herelani this weekend. Her family is super sweet. We hope to baptize her dad next. I'm trying really hard to just hang on for the m...

Frankly the most interesting thing I have to write about is what's happening over there with you guys... I didn't care about this upcoming election. I was trying to rest in my blissful cloud of ignorance, or rather, just stay focused on my work and the Lord, but alas, no one saw fit to grant me this humble wish. The night of the elections, the house where we were eating dinner at was watching it on TV like it was the Superbowl. I really wish no one cared, but this whole thing has been like the best long-running sitcom since basically Seinfeld. I pulled up to a red light, and said hi to a random guy I didn't know sitting in the car next to me. The guy asks me, "Are you American?" I respond affirmatively. "How do you like your new president?" ... I literally called this from the beginning. Okay maybe not the beginning, but since the Marquises at least. That first sentence was kind of a lie. I do have more interesting things to talk abo...