Malo e lelei!
So, guess what the big news is this week! Drum roll please! *dadadadadada-tsss* Sis Marks is getting transferred to the Tongan Wards in Euless!! :) I'm gonna be a Sister Training Leader. Also, I have to try to learn Tongan. Luckily, most everyone still speaks English, but Sacrament and stuff is in Tongan. There are two wards up there that I'll be over. Sis Mapa (my exchange last week) is my new companion! I'm so excited! J This pretty much guarantees to be my last area, seeing as I only have 4 transfers left. I would still say maybe not, but STL's don't get transferred as often as other missionaries. Also, president doesn't like changing up the Tongan wards very often since people have to learn(ish) a language there. So, I'm there to stay, probably. Plus, Sis Mapa goes home in two transfers. I'm looking forward to it.
Goodbye any attempts to be skinny when I got home... lol. The Tongan wards are known for making the missionaries gain a ton of weight... I'll do my best though! J
You know what makes this even crazier? Sis 'Alatini is also getting transferred! They're whitewashing our area! I think it'll be good though, honestly. I feel like we've kinda hit a wall in our work here. Like it's stagnating, and I know how healthy a whitewash can be for an area. Most of our investigators haven't had a lesson in weeks, and the one that still meets weekly (Samson) is moving almost painfully slow. But, he's progressing! I think fresh perspectives will be really good for everyone here. Plus, I'm going to be the sister training leader over the sisters that serve here, so if they have questions, I'm reachable. It's nice.
Anyway, what's happened this week? Oh, Sis Alatini called transfers. She was so happy with herself when president called and asked me to be an STL... J
So, we did the Facebook live this week, and it was so cool to see the response we got from it! I don't know if that type of thing would work in the Tongan wards, but if they do, I would love to try it again! We had an interesting experience after that. A non-member messaged me over Facebook, and we chatted for a little bit. He acted like he was sincere and just asking questions about the Book of Mormon, but you could feel an undercurrent the whole time of him just waiting to attack. He ended up being very rude and slanderous. Nothing new, unfortunately, but still lame. It's experiences like that that make me glad for Facebook, and also sick of it.
We had another guy text respond to us saying he was a satanic worshiper, and wanted to enlighten us about what true Satanism was.... maybe needless to say, but we're not meeting with him... I couldn't believe it!
Oh, we did a fun service project this week! We were out at a living science center called River Legacy, and we were helping them remove an invasive plant species. We obviously had to get them out by the root. Here's the catch: they grow like aspens with one root system connecting many bushes. The biggest root I fought was about a foot and a half long, and five inches in diameter (it was multiple roots tangled together, not just one) and it connected about 4 trees. I was so proud of myself after I got it out. ROMA VICTOR!! Lol. I didn't get a picture though because my camera wasn't outside with me. We also met a young woman there named Julie that said she wanted to learn more and set an appointment for Wednesday afternoon.... I guess I won't know how that goes.... but she seemed really solid.
Well, I can't think of anything else, I hope you have a great week! Love ya! ❤
'Ofa atu,
Sister Erika Marks ☀❤☀❤
So, guess what the big news is this week! Drum roll please! *dadadadadada-tsss* Sis Marks is getting transferred to the Tongan Wards in Euless!! :) I'm gonna be a Sister Training Leader. Also, I have to try to learn Tongan. Luckily, most everyone still speaks English, but Sacrament and stuff is in Tongan. There are two wards up there that I'll be over. Sis Mapa (my exchange last week) is my new companion! I'm so excited! J This pretty much guarantees to be my last area, seeing as I only have 4 transfers left. I would still say maybe not, but STL's don't get transferred as often as other missionaries. Also, president doesn't like changing up the Tongan wards very often since people have to learn(ish) a language there. So, I'm there to stay, probably. Plus, Sis Mapa goes home in two transfers. I'm looking forward to it.
Goodbye any attempts to be skinny when I got home... lol. The Tongan wards are known for making the missionaries gain a ton of weight... I'll do my best though! J
You know what makes this even crazier? Sis 'Alatini is also getting transferred! They're whitewashing our area! I think it'll be good though, honestly. I feel like we've kinda hit a wall in our work here. Like it's stagnating, and I know how healthy a whitewash can be for an area. Most of our investigators haven't had a lesson in weeks, and the one that still meets weekly (Samson) is moving almost painfully slow. But, he's progressing! I think fresh perspectives will be really good for everyone here. Plus, I'm going to be the sister training leader over the sisters that serve here, so if they have questions, I'm reachable. It's nice.
Anyway, what's happened this week? Oh, Sis Alatini called transfers. She was so happy with herself when president called and asked me to be an STL... J
So, we did the Facebook live this week, and it was so cool to see the response we got from it! I don't know if that type of thing would work in the Tongan wards, but if they do, I would love to try it again! We had an interesting experience after that. A non-member messaged me over Facebook, and we chatted for a little bit. He acted like he was sincere and just asking questions about the Book of Mormon, but you could feel an undercurrent the whole time of him just waiting to attack. He ended up being very rude and slanderous. Nothing new, unfortunately, but still lame. It's experiences like that that make me glad for Facebook, and also sick of it.
We had another guy text respond to us saying he was a satanic worshiper, and wanted to enlighten us about what true Satanism was.... maybe needless to say, but we're not meeting with him... I couldn't believe it!
Oh, we did a fun service project this week! We were out at a living science center called River Legacy, and we were helping them remove an invasive plant species. We obviously had to get them out by the root. Here's the catch: they grow like aspens with one root system connecting many bushes. The biggest root I fought was about a foot and a half long, and five inches in diameter (it was multiple roots tangled together, not just one) and it connected about 4 trees. I was so proud of myself after I got it out. ROMA VICTOR!! Lol. I didn't get a picture though because my camera wasn't outside with me. We also met a young woman there named Julie that said she wanted to learn more and set an appointment for Wednesday afternoon.... I guess I won't know how that goes.... but she seemed really solid.
Well, I can't think of anything else, I hope you have a great week! Love ya! ❤
'Ofa atu,
Sister Erika Marks ☀❤☀❤