Tonga

Elder Swan is serving in the Tonga Nuku'alofa Mission from July 2013 to July 2015



Monday, January 5, 2015

Happy New Year 1/4/2015

Hello my wonderful family and Happy New Year~  2015

So this week was a pretty good week! It was actually pretty normal as to any other week. I decided this year that I would be Exactly Obedient. I have been pretty good on my mission about obedience but there are some things I could change. So on New Years night I was in bed at 10:30 :) It was nice! 
On the 1st we decided and planned to visit every member in the ward and wish them a Happy New Year and see if they had any referrals to start off the new year. Well, we visited from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and guess what.... nothing.. we did eat 4 times though. I have gained some weight... but I actually look okay! Another goal I have is to lose 20 pounds or at least 15. Hahaha
The rest of the week we chased investigators and a few referrals. We got denied 3 times by one referral. Tevita the boy we were teaching moved to another area for a few weeks, another investigator got in a fight and went to jail for a few days and I haven't seen him since. So we are not having any luck and Satan is working harder than ever! On Saturday we were inviting people to church and we went to a house where the family is strong members except for the dad. We talked to him and invited him to church and then he started bad mouthing the ward and the leaders in the ward. He even said some things about his wife who was sitting right there.. I felt so bad and was getting very upset! I asked them if they wanted to be sealed in the Temple. They both said yes but he added "It's not time for me to be sealed yet." I was kind of shocked and again saw the pain on his wife's face. He said he doesn't want to stop smoking and drinking and then get sealed then start doing it again. He wants to be 100% done with it. But that's not showing any faith if you ask me. He isn't even trying to stop which is what I don't get! So I decided after getting no help from my companion to leave it at that and just let him talk and make excuses. He said some very rude things to his wife, although he did it in a joking manner. I could tell he was letting his feelings out. So now I have something to work with. We started a fast on Saturday morning and ended it Sunday afternoon. The man that was making the excuses showed up to sacrament meeting. After church a member came up and gave us a family referral! The power of fasting is real! If we all just try our best and do ALL that we can and make ALL the sacrifices we can then things will work out!

I love you all so much and appreciate all the support I get from each of you!
Elder Swan

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