November 24, 2014 - Mehiti & Hauani

This morning for P-day we had some members teach us how to play the guitar and the Ukelele. It is one of my goals next year to be able to play the guitar.  

This week marked a rough spot in the missionary work. I really love being here but sometimes I think it might be better to have someone replace me because they would be more motivated. I am really motivated but it just gets hard when I am soo used to everybody and everything that I start to become blind to missionary opportunities, but this weekend I was so grateful for the power of the Atonement. We had an incredible lesson with a couple this week Hauani and Mehiti. Mehiti got pregnant and her boyfriend is Hauani. They are so young but really want to accept the gospel; they are ready to get married and everything but the dad of Hauani told him he could never change religions so it is hard for Hauani to accept the invitation to be baptized. 

This week he really opened up thanks to the spirit and expressed his true desire to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized. He reads the Book of Mormon and knows it is true. They are going back to Tahiti to see if his dad will accept. In the meantime we just help him become as spiritually strong as possible to face his family. I really felt the love of the Lord for him and know the Lord never gives us trials that we cannot face.  We shared 1 Corinthians 10: 13 with them and then Mehiti bore testimony about how hard it was for her when she was pregnant and was shutout from her immediate family and friends. I felt so much sadness for her, but love knowing that she was doing the right thing now.  

Today we get the call for the transfer so I am nervous but I know the Lord is in control. What a blessing to know that no matter what stupid mistakes we make or others everything can be corrected through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  I am willing to go wherever the Lord needs me.  

I just wanted to share with you all an experience I had with my companion. This week we had some misunderstandings and we both had gotten really discouraged and after someone had said some not so nice things about us. We were both down a little bit and I had also reacted in a way that wasn't so nice earlier that day, so basically at the end of the day we were both completely dissapointed. I really feel like I didn't have the spirit with me, and I didn't even feel like talking. It was really not good. Why am I telling you all this, because I know that the answer to every problem in every relationship and every family is the Gospel. We said prayers together and we studied together and we shared thoughts and talked it through. I really felt the Lord helping us and guiding us with His love and I know that He can heal us no matter what we are doing through. He will never withhold his love from us and we need to not withold our love from others. 

 

I know the gospel is true and I am so grateful for all of you and your prayers and thoughts.  Be faithful; 

Love Seour Kimball

November 17, 2014 Teaching by the Spirit

This week Elder Pearson came to Tahiti and gave a conference for all of the missionaries, so we had to try to watch it by camera over the internet. At first the internet wasn't working so we just kept trying and praying and then we found a member who let us use their computer and it worked! It was a good thing because it was one of those conferences that I was really taught by the spirit.  Elder Pearson talked about how we can recognize the spirit and the importance of the spirit. It was incredible because all of my studies all week long had prepared me to hear his talk so I could make connections and find meaning. I think the most important thing I learned is that I just really want to get so good at teaching only by the spirit. It takes a lot of preparation and effort and concentration and reflextion but there is nothing better than watching a person recieve the light of Christ through true words.  

This week we had some really spiritual moments. At our sacrament meeting we were asked to give talks with our mission president. The spirit was so strong and we had a lot of inactives come this week to the branch. I was so happy, and my companion shared her experience of when she got hit by a car on her bike in Tahiti. Her companion had to have surgery on her brain and had to have rehabilitation. My companion Soeur Moli is so strong. It was really tramatic but her faith has become so strong because of it. I am so grateful to serve with her.  

We also had a really spiritual experience with our investigator Pierre. We fasted with him for the first time and we had other members want to fast with us; fasting is so powerful. I laughed so hard because Pierre was like " I was brushing my teeth this morning during the fast and I told myself DONT SWALLOW THE WATER."  haha.  He is so funny, and the Book of Mormon is his best friend. He reads every day without fail. We love him.  

Besides that, even though we had a really great Sunday, there was some problems during the classes, because a brother had criticized another brother because he messed up one time saying the sacrament prayers. It really hurt him because he had just come back into the church after being inactive for years. His name is Andy and he is one of the most humble people I have met on my mission. 

We can call him five minutes before a lesson asking him to come and he comes in church, clothes instantly. I just know that judging and criticizing will never help the Lords work.  Love and charity are the most important principles of the gospel.  

I feel this week I need to improve on searching more dilligently investigators. It is to the point where we basically know everyone and everything about them. I can basically tell you what the members are going to give us to eat. I think we have already eaten with every single family 4 or 5 times.  We are so blessed. 

I am so grateful for the opportunity that Heavenly Father has given me;  I was really reflecting about free agency and I have realized that the person I am toda,y I chose to be. The Lord has helped me in every righteous effort.  He has always supported me. I love Him and I know living His gospel is the greatest thing we can do; all He asks of us is to obey.  Obey and the blessings follow. 

Love Soeur Kimball

November 3, 2014 - Eating Dog

So, officially I will be coming home Feb 16... if you didnt know.  I am so blessed to be serving here right now.  All of the missionaries want to serve in the islands and so I just keep remembering how blessed I am to serve here right now.  It has been such a building and good experience;  It really has taught me to be independent; And how to rely on the Lord and trust him.  In the end His will is always done and we just have to accept and do everything we can to be on His side.

This week has been a week of miracles because of fasting; sometimes it seems like we fast and fast and pray and nothing happens but I know the Lord is doing everything He can to soften hearts and prepare people.

 We had a really good lesson with a couple yesterday; they are really young and have a baby but they aren't married.  The girl is a member, but the boy Hauani isn't.  Before it seemed like he wasn't really paying attention that much during lessons and didn't really care, but we fasted for him as a branch with the other amis. When we taught the restoration yesterday he really understood.  It is those moments that are the most incredible.  When you see investigators understanding.  After they asked the question " so you mean the LDS church is the same church that exsisted since the beginning", and we were like " yyyeess".  I never had realized how hard teaching was until I started my mission;  It is so important to teach by the spirit to help people see.  I love teaching now, and I keep trying to improve my techniques of teaching.

Our branch discovered that I have the gift of imitating animals and various things, so for halloween they made me imitate a mummy and everything in front of everyone. It was so funny and I am pretty sure everybody thinks I am crazy here.  When we teach english I act super dramatic to make them retain what they learned and they laugh a lot;

Oh, and speaking of animals and stuff, Guess WHAT?  Monday for our family home evening we always eat at the end and there was this pot of meat in it, but I have learned to not ask questions and just eat what is in the pots. I put it on my plate and every body was looking at us really suspiciously. Almost none of the kids ate it, so we were like " what it this?" and they told us what it was in Puamatu which I don't understand.  Then our ami Moana lied to us and said it was goat, so I was like " this is not the first time I have eaten suspicious meat" and then I ate it.
Four days later a member was like " so I heard you guys ate dog Monday"!!!

You guys I ate a dog, and it wasn't just a random dog. It was the families pet dog.  I started panicking when they told us.  haha;  It was kind of good but I was just too disturbed.  It would be like if I was eating Oreo.  If you want to know how they made the dog die you can ask me after my mission;
so there you go, and so I will be careful with what I am eating at the member house now.  Haha.  I am so blessed.  I got over every picky eating habit I had before.

And even better is that our investigator Pierre is having his baptismal interview this week;  please pray for him. Satan is so vicious. At church, after the meetings, the family member of Pierre came and criticized him in front of everybody telling him that she was really not happy to see him in the Mormon church. She was so mad, and it wasn't the frist attack. Whenever we have an ami that starts reading the Book of Mormon some member of their family comes and critisizes them.  It is like the end of the world if they change churches., but Pierre is so strong. It barely even phased him. He just keeps talking about how happy he is since he has read the Book of Mormon.  When we taught him the tithing he said he wanted to pay 50 percent of his money;

I just loved the talk this week by Elder Utchdorf " Lord is it I"  I hope you can all read it. I am so happy to be here and I know that living the gospel is possible anywhere in the world.  It is written in our hearts.  I love serving the Lord.
Love Soeur Kimball

October 27 2014 - Gone Fishing

Today we got up and went fishing with a couple in our ward and some amis.  It was a really neat experience and we found a random beach after to cook the fish by burning it on leaves and then rinsing it in the water.  It was really good and to drink we found coconuts and cut them open.  You guys will have to try it.  I don't think I will ever be able to eat fish at home again because the fish is sooo much better here; I was just sitting there thinking of how grateful I am to have been so blessed to serve here, not for the fish, but for the people and the love that our Savior has for them.  I am so grateful to be part of the gathering of Israel.

We lost a lot of lessons this week but it was still a very incredible week.  I think that every week is just incredible because every week my testimony grows and my vision of the gospel gets bigger.  I would just like to share an experience.  Members here are so faithful; I know they are so blesesd of the Lord.

This week something happened where a leader in our branch got offended;  Actually, it kind of happens a lot, but it was to the point where he said he was never coming back to church, and in a branch of 40 people we can't afford to lose any one.  Every person brings so much into the branch.
Saturday the DMB had proposed to do a fast as a branch together for the missionary work.  We fixed it for 12 o clock and hoped that all the members would come. Almost everyone came to support and we wrote a list of names of amis to fast for that really had potential to be baptized. Then, after thinking, our members decided to add the name of the brother that had been offended.  I am sure it would have been easy to have thought that it was his fault that he was offended and that we should just leave him, but everyone agreed to add his name;  The moment we all got on our knees and startted to pray to start the fast the spirit was soo strong. I have never felt the spirit so strong for a fast. Unity has been something we have been searching for and as the Love of God entered in the little room we felt so much for unified.

Because of the fast the sister who had offended him felt that she needed to see him to repare anyting she had done wrong.  I am not even sure who was really at fault but all I know is that it didn't matter. Through the fast the spirit was able to communicate with her to apologize and his heart was softened. Sunday he came back to church and we ended our fast.  It was such an incredible experience for everyone and I was so grateful to be a part of it.

Even if we cant see the immediate effects of our prayers or fasts I know the Lord counts every effort. Not one effort goes uncounted.  All of those little efforts help us become more like our precious Savior.
Love Soeur Kimball

October 20, 2014 - Lost in Communications

Wow, sorry I didn't get to write you guys last time. The internet and phone access broke for two weeks so we couldn't call anyone or go on the internet. Nobody in our mission was able to contact us. We get this call this morning saying that we were supposed to have a conference this morning but nobody told us, and so we missed hearing Elder Nelson talk to the missionaries. We were supposed to assist over the internet and we missed it! I missed hearing an apostle speak to us! Haha but it is ok because the internet came back this week.

I have so many things to tell you. Our investigator Victor stop taking lessons because he had been lying to us. He hadnt real'ly ever been interested, so we keep praying for him, but if you remember Pierre our other ami who is kind of deaf?

Well we found out he is friends with a member in our branch so we started teaching more lessons with him and we found out that he is really poor. He barely has enough to eat, and his girlfriend left him so he is all alone with his son. He smoked drugs and cigarettes, and we had to talk suuuuper simply because it is hard for him to understand everything but after we engaged him to read the Book of Mormon he read 137 pages in two days. I am not joking. He actually read it all. He told us he doesn't know how to explain what is happening but the hole in his heart is starting to be filled up. Now he has read up to Helaman in two weeks. . He has started to really understand the gospel and has completely stopped all drugs and cigarettes. He came to church and is doing really well. The biggest temtation for him is that he isnt married and so if his girlfriend comes back he intends to live with her. Our next lesson is the Law of  Chastity! I used to think it was so awkward to teach that lesson in the mtc but now I like it.

It is truly so important to stay virtuous and pure. I just have been so blessed to see his progression and so blessed to understand just a little bit of the love our Heavenly Father has for each one of us as individuals. He truly loves us and cares. 

We had a really good lesson with Patrice yesterday. He is a really hard investigator who is married to a member. He never really listens to us he just critiques us and says things that don't make sense in Tahitian. Sometimes I even imagine throwing my flipflop at him, which is super Christlike. Normally he just twists everything we say but I have really been working on charity, and his son-in- law, who is a member, was there and we talked about baptism. We showed him how to be baptized correctly it has to be exactly how Jesus Christ was baptized. I tried really saying everything with love and not just to criticize him. I started talking in Tahitian and then I gave up so I started speaking in French and then both languages, but the moment when I was explaining that baptism represents a new chance to start over and follow Christ I felt the spirit testifying that it was all true what I was saying. It was so neat, and Patrice was just silent. He kind of pretended to not pay attention but he was, and then his son in law at the end asked him if one day he would accept to be baptized and he said maybe with the time. Before the answer would have been " never!". I just know how true christlike love can have an impact on a  Person. It takes so much patience and faith and prayers and love are and the Lord softens hearts. I was so happy. 

I am so grateful for living prophets who guide us and help us become better people; I know the Book of Mormon is true and that if Pierre can read it than anyone can and change their life. 

Love soeur kimball. 

September 29, 2014 - Service Projects

Can you believe it? I have already been here a month.  It has really flown by., but I have already grown so much.  It is interesting but I think it is something that has really help me grow spiritually.  I mean I am kind of really isolated, so it forces me to always turn to my Savior to help me and support me.  

We have seen miracles this week and they always happen by the little things.  I know that service is so key.  We have tried to do at least two service projects every week to open peoples hearts to see why we are really there.  Lots of people are scared to talk to us because they think if they talk to us we are going to try to convert them to Mormonism and they don't like that, but really we just want to talk to them about how much they need Jesus Christ in their lives to progress and to be blessed.  I am developing more love for them.  

I had a trial this week where I felt like I haven't really been following the spirit and it freaked me out but I am so grateful for personal prayer which always calms me and brings me relief and more faith than I had before.  I prayed hard this week to be guided and to know if I was doing the will of God and I just felt the most peaceful feeling today.  I felt like Heavenly Father was telling me that He knows everything that is going on and all the efforts I am doing and that He will not leave me.  I am just so grateful for the personal inspiration we can always recieve to help us feel comforted and to keep going forward, like president Monson said " As we move forward striving to live as we should; we will surely recieve help from the Lord". 

This week we had a new investigator and he is so humble.  His name is Victor and we found him because a ward member invited him to the open house at the chapel Friday. He has had a lot of trials in his life and therefore has turned toward drugs and alcohol for comfort but he is ready to change.  We asked him if he would be baptized and he accepted and then we gave him the date of October 25, the last Saturday in October and it just so happens to be his birthday.  What a miracle.  I am excited to teach him about the plan that God created for him and why he is really here; please pray for him. 

Everytime we get a new ami the first thing that happens is one of their friends tells them they should never talk to the missionaries and that it is a bad decision to learn from us. Satan does everything he can to stop us.  I have never felt and seen the adversary working so strong but I know God is willing and able to help us if we put our confidence in Him.  

PS this morning we did a service project on the other side of the island where there is absolutely nobody it is completely untouched and it is soo beautiful.  We got coconuts and put them in the truck.  It was good and we went with our amis so they can know that we love them.  Because we do.  Here is me and Taohie a girl we teach searching for coconuts in the tree.  Oh and I got so sunburned. 

September 22, 2014 - reactivation night

Hello family!

So things slowed down a bit here in Takapoto this week but it is ok.  Soeur Moli and I have been so blessed.  Our most devoted investigator went back to Tahiti so we can't teach him anymore  but I know the Lord has prepared others.  

Something neat here that all the members do is reactivation night every single Tuesday.  In America we have enrichment or mutual and here it is reactivation, and we go every single Tuesday night to visit the inactives.  It is so good to see how devoted members are to their callings and to the reactivation. There are a lot of families and people that are inactive here, and most of them have a kind of testimony but they are just so under the influence of Satan that they let themselves become slaves to alcohol and drugs. 

 I have never seen and understood how powerful these substances can be to ruin lives and distract us from our eternal progression.  I felt the force of the adversary really strong this week.  One of our favorite young adults became unworthy this week because of one smoke of a cigarette.  Me and Soeur Moli were so devastated that we started crying and when she saw us crying she felt really bad.  We talked to her and explained to her the bad consquences of sins that seem to have no consequence.  We asked her at least to receive a blessing and she agreed, and the spirit was so strong. The brother giving the blessing just said over and over that God loved her. She felt so bad about what she had chosen to do.  

  

The temptation to smoke cigarettes or drugs here is so strong that if youth don't have a solid testimony they have just a small chance to not take them.  It has become something so normal and so habitual and they just don't understand what they are doing to themselves. With every physical choice there is a spiritual consequence. Right now there are three worthy young adults out of about 20 and to stop smoking it is just so hard for them.  I have already seen people place their faith in Christ and stop through prayers and scripture reading and Priesthood power so I know it is possible, so we are just trying to help everyone see the eternal perspective.

 I know that it is just so important that we have testimonies rooted in the gospel so that when temptations come we don't question our faith.  Our conversion in the church is necessary and we need to renew that conversion daily by reading scriptures and praying.  I know Heavenly Father is more powerful than Satan and that he will help whoever has a broken heart and a contrite spirit to become healed of their addictions by faith in His son Jesus Christ. 

 I am not scared or worried.  I love you all and I thank you for your prayers.  Please pray for the people here in Takapoto so that they can have faith.   There are only 400 but they are precious in the eyes of God and they are in need of the spirit.  

Love Soeur Kimball

September 15, 2014 - Pet Crab

The mission goes by so fast.  I can't believe I have already been here for more than 3 weeks.  

At first the week was going well but by the time we got to Saturday almost everyone had canceled their lessons, so we just did a lot of biking.  We biked to someones house and then they canceled the lesson so then we biked to someone elses house.  We had a member with us too, which at least was good.  On Saturdays everyone is either drinking or they go to the airport because the plane only comes once a week.

I was starting to get frustrated with myself and started to ask Heavenly Father to help me feel His love again so that we could keep going.  I prayed so that I could be purified by the Holy Ghost so that I could be a more effective and loving missionary.  I know Heavenly Father answered me because after taking the sacrament I felt such a peace.  I knew God was keeping His promise to give me His spirit to be with me as long as I would be keeping His commandments and being a witness of Him. 

Then something amazing happened; The wife of the branch president had me sing two solos in church which makes me uncomfortable but I did it anyway. We had scheduled a lesson with this couple Litisia and Manutua.  We met them one day at their house and did a lesson with them.  They told us we could come over Sunday but where they live it is only accessible by boat so we had them pick us up at the end of the road to go on the boat.  It was so so pretty.  And then we ate fish, coconut, breadfruit and stuff with our hands. They had this like pet crab that was the size of my torso.   Teriffying.  But after eating we were able to do a lesson with them.  We had planned on doing all of the restoration with them and engaging them to be baptized so we did but we had forgotten a Book of Mormon. Luckily the mom of the member who came with us had been inspired to leave a Book in the car and so we took it with us.  The spirit was so strong and they all accepted to be baptized if they find out it is true. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have, and I know that if a man lacks wisdom he can ask of God and God will answer him. Manutua told us about how he knows God lives because he would pray over and over that his parents would stop beating him when he was 14 and he felt peace and love of our Heavenly Father.  

 I have become closer to Heavenly Father as I have seen how much I need Him.  I felt so peaceful and loved as we were riding back to the village and we could see the sunset and all the stars too. I'm not really sure how it was possible but it was such a good experience for me.  I thank Heavenly Father for the trials He gives us and the love He gives us to support them.  

July 21, 2014 - Mission Leader

iorana. Eaha to outou huru?  hinaaro vau ia faaite tou mau ohipa i tupu i roto i tei nei hepetoma i mairi aenei.  E mea maitai roa i teie hepetoma.  ua faitoito noa vau no te tauturu i te tahi i te haere i mua i roto i tei evanelia.  Te tahi taime e mea fiu roa i teie ohipa no te mea i mairi.  No tou mau hoa o te ekaretia i parau parau aita hinaaro matou e haere i mua et faatupu i te hinaaro a te Atua.  Aita matau i taua.  E mea fifi roa tera peu.  Aue ta oe i haere mai no te tavini i te Atua.

Since you guys are on vacation now I thought you would have a little time to try to translate this.

I don't have a ton of time but I just want to show you guys the cutest thing ever. My mission leader in the ward Br. Parau is the best.  He is this adorable Tahitian man and his wife Leila isn't a member. Sometimes it is really hard for him because his wife doesn't believe in the church, but I really love her too. Monday we did a family home evening with them and we talked about unity in a house and family. It was good and it was so, so sad because at the end Br; Parau shared his thoughts about how he wished his wife loved him as much as she loves their kids, but he said he patientely waits for her to show her love for him.

I haven't been able to charge my camera at the house because I lost the charger in the house in Mahina and I have no idea where it is. So the mission leader found out about it and he told me to give him my camera. I gave it to him and that week during our coordination meeting he showed me that he and another new convert in the ward had made a homemade charger just for my camera with things they found in the garage. It is so so cute and I couldn't believe they spent all that time just to make a charger for my camera so I could take photos here.

Our mission president is changing a lot of things in our mission now and actually it is really good.  He is so so nice but very official at the same time.

Something weird happened in the mission where we had way too many sister leaders called, so now we are going to "release" a lot of us.  I am on the committee for making up the rules for the STLs.  We will see how it goes.

I love you all and I am so grateful for my family.  I am grateful for eternal families and that the Priesthood was restored.  Gospel ordances open the doors for us to fully use the power of the Atonement in our lives.  He lives and He loves.
Soeur Kimball

July 14, 2014 - Working at Temple

I have been stressing out lately for being at the temple because I am not so good at doing things in front of lot of people, but it was so, so good yesterday. We had about 50 people that passed through and I and my companion did so good.

One of my favorite parts to explain is the first vision because everyone becomes really silent when we talk about Joseph Smith.  Since I have started working at the temple (we are there maybe ten hours a week) my testimony has been really strengthened. I have really been able to understand so well the gospel principles, and I have felt the spirit in teaching so many times. It is actually really good.

This week we saw a miracle. One of my favorite investigators, Maina, was refound. I started the lessons with her about three months ago in my sector with my other companion, but all of a sudden she dissapeared and her phone didn't work anymore.  It turns out that for those months she was working a lot and someone stole her phone so she couldn't contact us. It turns out one of the sisters in our ward went to visit a sister that lives next to Maina and Maina asked them if they were Mormon and told them that she was ready to have the sister missionaries again.

I was so happy. Friday we took her and her boyfriend to the temple to visit the welcomers center and do a tour in the garden. It went so well. She really, really understood that the church is true. I watched as the light came into her eyes when she realized that she had to be baptized to have eternelle life. She even said she wanted to make all of her little brothers Mormon who live on another Island so they could grow up in the church.

She told us a personal experience she had this week where she really prayed to know when she should be baptized.  Immediately afterward she turned to Alma 32:16.  Look it up. It was a direct answer to her prayer.  I know it and I pray with everything that we would be able to help her boyfriend understand too.  We actually work with a lot of couples and I love it. It is so good to see people come unto Christ.

So, I have to go because my companion wants to play ping pong really bad and she is about to burst waiting for me.  I thank you all so much for your prayers.   I love you all and I love the Lord;
Soeur Kimball

July 7, 2014 - Faith

This week has been very good. Slow, but good. Sometimes I feel like I am living in slow motion.
We were supposed to have the baptisms this week of Toimato and Kulani, this really cute couple who are my age ( so weird) and who just got married so they could get baptized, but then Kulani suddenly and unexpectedly had her baby!  So now she has to wait to get better. I was dissapointed at first but I am so excited that Matarai, their baby boy, is doing well. He will get to witness their baptism so that is cool.

We have a new mission president and we had a conference with him. He is an amazing person and made us all cry just by bearing his testimony. He is very organized and so that will be good for our mission. We need more organization and communication. Half the time I have no idea what is going on.

Also, we had an amazing lesson with Bea this week. She is the investigator that I found by tracting. I say I found because my companions simply watched me talk to her from a distance because they were too nervous, anyway she really wants to get baptized and she feels that the church and the Book of Mormon are true but she is having a really hard time. She is really, really poor and her husband is criticizing her for taking the missionary lessons. She has a lot of adversity at this moment and I would ask you to pray for her so that she can have the strength to continue with us even if her family is against it. We really want her husband's heart to be softened, and I know the Lord will not leave her abandoned.

My companion Soeur Tehiva is doing better and her niece is healing. I was so happy and relieved. Me and Soeur Tehiva are great companions and best friends. She is very cute and has a firm testimony.

Funny story from this morning and this week. People here sometimes here are too nice. This morning at the grocery store a mami started pulling out money to give to us just because we were missionaries. I was like,"no no no", and then yesterday this man in our ward that is single, and may or may not be in love with me, called us to tell us he had a big bag of banans to give us. I will be a very very giving person when I get back from my mission.

This week I learned an important lesson about faith. I have realized that even when it is the most hard to endure and continue and everything seems to be slackening and going really slow that is when I need to have the most faith. Faith is one of the most powerful forces we have, and if I don't have enough faith I could be preventing potential miracles from happening. I know that the Lord works miracles according to our faith, and we show our faith by acting. Showing our faith by offering a simple prayer or doing what is right even when others mock us builds our faith. I love what Elder Eyring said that acting on even a twig of faith allows God to grow it.

Faith is a choice.

I showed my faith this week by going and knocking on peoples doors with my companion, who hates doing tracting, in the hopes of finding someone who would be interested in knowing more about the gospel.  Did we find anyone...no not really, but I did get to bear my testimony to a Moeari. A 15 year old girl who's mom died and I was able to assure her that she would see her mom again. She probably thought I was crazy but I know it reassured her.

I am so grateful that we are expected in this life to walk by faith and not by sight. That helps us to grow and find for ourselves that Heavenly Father is really there. He works little miracles in all of our lives. He respects our choices but will do everything in His power to help us make the right choices that will lead us to have all of the same blessings He has. I love Him.
Soeur Kimball

June 30, 2013 - Noeline

Every week is so unpredictable.  That includes this week.

I spent Wednesday night at the hospital with my companion because she got a call that her niece was severely sick and would soon die so we got permission to go to the hospital. Soeur Tehiva was so troubled and sad.  She has raised her niece since she was just little and plus her niece is handicapped so she can't talk and can't eat by herself. Soeur Tehiva has fed her and changed her and bathed her since she was little, so it was one of the sadest things to see her this little handicaped girl with a lot of tubes and with a severe lung infection.  We got home that night and Soeur Tehiva was very distressed so we asked for our Bishop to come and give her a blessing. That is a great thing about being in such a little Island. All ward members live close.  And even I could feel the love and support of our Heavenlly Father when Bishop gave the blessing;

We also found two new investigators this week. One is Noeline, the sister of a lady in our ward, Rachel.  Noeline has had an incredibly hard life.  I find that lots of peoples family lives here are no good. There is beating and abuse and Noeline has had a lot of it.  All she wants is the joy that she sees in her sister for her and her son, and I don't blame her. We had our first lesson with her and she felt the spirit.  We didn't really need to say much just that we knew it would be only through Christ that she would be able to cleanse her heart and her life and take away all of the hate for her abusers. She said she is not yet ready to get married to her boyfriend who she lives with and that is what makes me sad, and could you please pray for her that she will have the faith necessary to obey the law of chastity?

We also got a new mission president.  His name is president Bize and he is French. He is great and I already love him and his wife.  I feel like we will have a little more organization with him because he was a CEO.  It should be interesting.

This week I learned about sacrafice.  I realized that there were some things I am asked to do that I know are right that I have a hard time with. For example sometimes it is hard for me to be all the time nice to my companion or other people that are mean to me. It is hard for me to love them and sometimes it is hard for me to have enough faith to not fear. I realized that I had not fully submitted my will to the Lord. I wasn't completely humble enough to do everything, even the little tiny things He has asked me. This week I fully submitted. I will no longer have hard feelings or stubborn thoughts when I am asked to do something. I will just do it. It was so good because I was so much more able to feel the love and charity for other people and just be happy. I know that even though it is the hardest choice, humility is always the best choice. President Eyring talked about pavilions that block us from being close the presence of God and pride was definetely my pavilion, But I am letting it go little by little through my faith in my Savior Jesus Christ.

Don't let the little things block the Savior from being in your life.

I love you all and I hope that you do safe and good things including remembering at what point you have been blessed in your life to have the gospel.
Soeur Kimball

June 23, 2014 - Hemana's Baptism

Four things about my life
1. I wore a fanny pack all this week because i found it in the cuboard and it is super convenient.
2. I took up the sport of jumproping because my companion doesn't like to exercise so I can't run anymore.
3. I ate dinner literally on top of the mountain Sunday night with a family in our ward.
4. Two young men in our ward that were inactive and unworthy came back to church and became priests! I cried

A lot of things happened this week actually.  Wednesday was the baptism of Hemana. He has been taking the lessons for six or so months because his daughter was dating a mormon. He had a testimony before I came here, but it was us who had to help him live the commandements.  He got married the same day as his baptism and I was so happy. His wife matilda. She is just very reserved and hesitant and wasn't ready to leave some things of the world to get baptized. I know we will continue with her and she will continue to progress by developing her faith.

We invited a lot of people and we had many investigators come to the baptism of Hemana.  It was incredible and after he bore his testimony it touched a lot of people.

The wife of our mission leader isn't a member and she came too.  Their son Heiro is handicaped but he can understand everything and tries to respond. I started crying because he was in the very back and at the end of the baptism we sang I am a child of God; heiro sang every single word the best he could. Normally he doesn't talk but he did the best he could to sing at the end of the baptism and it was so touching.

ASecond great miracle was that we had a huge family home evening program at the church in order to invite our investigators and we combined our ward with the ward of the Elders just next to us and we had 45 investigators that came.  Serioiusly, in our ward the new converts are so powerful. Tthey invited so many of their neighbors and just everybody they knew. I was so proud of them and we found people that are interested to take the lessons.

So right now in our sector we teach a lot of teenager boys and it is so hard because they don't have respect for us and so they make jokes out of everything.  I feel like I am going to have so...so...so much patience by the end of this transfer haha.

Sometimes I am jealous of the people who get transfered in our mission all of the time because they get to see lots of the island but in the end I am so happy to stay for a long time in my sectors because it takes a long time to love people and learn how you can give and sacrifice everything. It is funny because I imagined and promised that I would give everything I could to the Lord on my mission, but part of the mission is learning how to give everything.  It is so hard to be completely consecrated, but I know each and each day I am learning more and more how I can leave my other concerns and wordly wants to be an even better instrument in the hands of the Lord.

We are so blessed to be part of this work in these Latter Days.
Soeur Kimball

June 16, 2014 - Surfer Man George

I got transfered to work at the temple and then President was inspired that I needed to stay in my sector of Tipaerui so I am staying.

Things were hard this week but one of my companions got transfered so now we are only two companions and it is great.

Apparently I have to stay in Tipaerui for a reason but I am not sure what that reason is, but I couldn't have been happier. There was a kind of mistake and so now I and my companion live in a huge house with four bedrooms all alone, and we each have our own bathroom, so I am not complaining.

This week our we had a lot of investigators that came to church and I was so happy. I was especially happy that our investigator George came.  He is the crazy surfer man that may or may not be drugged all the time. It is hard to tell, but he came and he loved it.  We found him by doing door by door and he makes me laugh. He surfs to feel closer to God and he has a bible for surfers.  I should send a picture of him to you guys.

Also this wednesday we have a baptism for Hemana and I am so excited. He is very incredible and I know he is ready to be part of the true church of God.  He even sacrificed working on Sunday. He is getting married Wednesday too so he can be worthy.  He is one of the most humble men I have met and I am grateful for his example for me. Unfortunately, his wife doesn't want to get baptized yet even though she has taken all of the missionary lessons. After Hemana is baptized we are going to continue to work with her because I love her too.

Also this week we ate with Bishop and his family.  They are so nice and I loved the raw fish.  We ate with a new convert named Saloman. He comes to my english class faithfully every Saturday. It was great and I am so grateful here for a bishop who supports us and tells us we can come over when ever we want and beg for food.

This week we will be on the search for more investigators so we can find others who are prepared. Please pray so that we will be able to find people who are prepared in our sector.  I love you
soeur Kimball

May 19, 2014 - Kulani's Baptism Date Question

Hey everyone. So this week I  have had so many experiences. I have cried a lot and been happy a lot. Sometimes I think I might be experiencing what it would be like to be bipolar. I'll just tell a miracle that happened this week.

This week I offended our ami and made her mad so she wouldn't really let us come and talk to her.  I was devastated and lost a lot of confidence.

This week we kept teaching Kulani and Toimato a young couple. Kulani is going to be having a baby soon and her family is completely protestant. She is one of the most beautiful Tahitian women I have seen and is tall like me so I like her. She has one of the sweetest spirits and is shy but very strong at the same time. Toimato, her boyfriend is super young at heart and is also so so nice. We had scheduled their baptisms for the 28 June so that they could get baptized after Toimato finishes all of his examines. They were super happy with that date and I know they will be ready by then. They love the scriptures and pray every single day now. I am so proud of them. We come to do teach a lesson this week with them and Kulani tells us she talked to her mom who isn't super happy with the baptism and the mom said all of their family would be leaving the 28 June back home to their island in Rurutu. Kulani explained to us that she reallly wants her family to be there for her baptism so she is going to wait with Toimato until September when her family gets back to get baptized and married.  It was super uncomfortable because I felt like that wasn't the right answer. It was super awkward but finally we just explained and bore our testimonies about how sometimes we have so sacrifice things in our lives for better things. I wasn't at all direct because I was so scared of offending her like I already offended Norma, but we did our best to encourage them to really, really truly pray to know if the 28 June was the right date for them.

I remember descending the stairs and feeling so sad.  Me and my companion continued to pray and pray for them.

We had a lesson with them Saturday.  Me and Soeur Sommers had decided that we weren't going to talk at all about baptism.  We wanted to go back to the basics and talk about our testimonies of Jesus Christ and why we were really there in the first place. We watched "Because of Him."  If you haven't watched it you should. We were feeling the spirit and talking about how much Jesus Christ did for us and all of a sudden Kulani starts telling us about an experience she had. She says she prayed and prayed and prayed after the lesson before to know if the 28 June was the date the Lord wanted her to get baptized and if it is a good thing for her. She said she had a bright feeling of light even though she was closing her eyes. She then started to search in her bible to look for an answer and she said she felt like the Lord was helping her learn. She turned to Romans and I forget the scripture but it said to wake up and the day of her salvation was closer then she thought. I know she really felt the spirit.

It is always so cool when our amis pray and read their scriptures sincerely and start to build their own testimony. She came to the conclusion that she needs to get baptized the 28June.  Her faith has grown so much and she is such a good example to all of her family. She is truly a disciple of Christ, and I know God loves her because he didn't want her to postpone the day that she would be able to recieve the fulness of blessings in the gospel as a member of His church.

I just can't tell you how blessed we are.

May 5, 2014 - Pray for Humility

Hello my dear family and friends.  I love you so much and I thank you for praying for me. I don't have a lot of time but here are some things I learned this week. This week I have really been focusing on developing humility in my life, humility with my companion and with my investigators, humility to accept the many responsabilities I have with a willing heart, humility to accept my imperfections, humility to be submissive enough to follow the spirit, and humility to pray sincerely to a loving Heavenly Father.

Lately I have also been realizing how good thoughtful and sincere prayer is to our Heavenly Father.  I remember an experience that Elder Scott shared at the MTC where he said that some nights in the middle of the night while his companion was sleeping he would go just before the window and talk sincerely and openly with God. Before my mission I would say that I have offered many sincere prayers but not enough. The powerfulness of our prayers is dépendent on us. My companion Sister Sommers has taught me alot about sincere prayer. Every time we have prayers for companionship study or for food or just anything she is completely sincere. It is exactly as if Heavenly Father is in the room.
This week I have really tried to be really sincere with my morning prayers because I could do better with them. I can honestly say I have given a sincere morning prayer every day this week and I have been so blessed. I have noticed the spirit more in my life and in the life of my investigators. I have had more will do do the Lord's will instead of my own and more perserverance.  I challenge you guys to do the same.  I know you will see the hand of the Lord more clearly in your life;

Besides that six facts about my week.

1 I learned how to drive stick shift.
2.  I am a sister training leader and therefore I feel stressed, because I dont know exactly what that means.
3 We found 4 new investigators, including a family of girls who I already love.
4 I ate so much food yesterday I thought I would die.
5. I was in a Church film thing where I had to pretend my companion was sick and so I pretended to feed her médicine and brush her hair and it was so so funny.
6  I started crying in a lesson and my investigator probably thought I was crazy, but at least the spirit was there.
7.  I love the Tahitian people even if sometimes they don't love me

June 9, 2014 - Temple Assignment

This week has been really intersting.  I got sick because I stressed all night long about our activity that we planned and so I didn't sleep and then I caught a cold which turned into a fever. I am all better now.  Thank you Elders for giving me a blessing.

I found out I am going to get transfered again. It turns out at the temple there is this little center for explaining information about the church and they just re-did the center so now there is information about the restoration and the plan of salvation. They needed tour guides to explain to people the information. The assistants chose eight sisters who they thought would be good for the center and then they told the president to pick four names. And what do you know they picked me to be the representative for the Americans. Funny story. They chose one sister from every race. Me and the little French girl who I trained and a Tahitian and my friend Soeur Aniel who looks Chinese. It is us four who will explain the plan of salvation and the restoration to whoever comes to the center.  I guess we will take turns and it will be 4:00 until 8:00 every night.  We will also still have sectors. I will have the sector of Papeete with two companions, so now I am really in the inward, inward city.  It will be interesting to see what happens. I have to perfectly explain every principle and make smooth transitions. I am actually really excited about it but at the same time I really love working in the field too.

Lately I have been really feeling less motivated to do things, like talk to people and be a good missionary. It is so much easier to be really motivated when your companions are really motivated. That is somehting I want to work on . I want to talk to and invite every person I meet.  Sometimes I am just too scared and it is ridiculous. I get scared my companions will make fun of me or I will forget how to speak, or something dumb. Why on earth should I be scared of a human being? The last time Joseph Smith feared other people more than the Lord he lost 116 pages of the Book of Mormon. I am scared I am going to cause souls to be lost because of my lack of sacrifice and diligence.

I am this week going to pray every day to have opportunities to talk to people who are ready all along the road.  Can you guys also pray that I can be motivated again and not care about what others think about me? Honestly that would really help me.

I know the church is true and I know He lives and I am grateful that through His sacrifice I can become clean from every wrong thing I have ever done.  I can live with my family forever and I can be happy forever;

But everything starts here and now. Everything depends on us.  If we want to become something great we can. The Lord will always help us after we do all that we can.

Stay safe and never forget the Lord in all you do.  Look for oportunities to serve and to progress.
Love Soeur Kimball

Jun 2, 2014 - Courage

Hello family. I thank you for writing me letters. You really don't know how much that means for me. I always feel so much better after reading my emails and seeing that you are all well.  Sometimes it just gets me through the week.  This week has been really hard. I really thought I was going to die...Why?  Because I got two new companions who I thought wanted to kill me.  Apparently I told someone that I wanted my new Tahitian companions to suffer and so they thought I had mean intentions in the first place so the first few days were pretty rough because we were playing 2 Tahitians against the american.  But I have never prayed and prayed so fervently. I prayed to soften the hearts of my companions so that they could feel the perfect love of their Savior. I prayed and stressed and prayed and now I don't know what happened but I think my companions figured out that I never wanted to torture them and so things are better.  

I think almost all of the companionships are in threes now because there are so many sister missionaries here.  

This week with lessons we hit a low point too. We are at the point where we have to put our priorities straight and that means leaving some investigators for a while. It is hard but it is the right thing to do as well. 

I have been really trying to be corageous this week because I read a talk about courage that the prophet gave in the Priesthood session.  It takes the most courage for me to do things I know that will annoy my companions but I have to do anyway. For example, this week, like I said, we had a reference in this super ghetto building by a school, so my companions don't know the sector yet so we play follow the leader.  I tell my companions we are going to go try to teach this reference and so they follow me behind this really old basketball court into these poor apartements.  I yell really loud to see if marereva is there (the reference).  I wait five minutes awkwardly surrounded by other people that are ignoring me. Marereva came out and then went back in her house mumbling to herself after she saw us. At this point my companions want to go because they could see that marereva didn't want to see us. They were getting annoyed with me because I was taking too long but two apartments down I saw a family and I wanted to go and talk to them. My companions wouldn't follow me so they just watch me as I went and talked to this family.  Turns out the mom Bea was waiting for us.  She has already assisted at the church a few times and has member friends. She said when she saw us she knew she wanted to accept us in her neighborhood. She was so prepared for us with her daughter. I was so touched by her and her family and how prepared they were.  We felt the spirit as we sang I am a Child of God and as we talked about our Heavenly Father. Even with the surrounding techno music in the background. 

What did I learn that day? Courage.  It takes courage to be a good disciple of the Lord and it takes courage to even do things that you know will annoy  your hungry friends.  I'm not saying that I am courageous all the time like that.  I feel like for me it comes in bursts and then goes.  But I know the Lord is with us.  Our courage is a mesure of our faith and willingness.  

The Lord is truly with us. 

soeur Kimball

April 28, 2014 - Toimato & Kulani

These past two weeks have been pretty dissapointing.  People that really seemed interested in hearing our message decided to not continue or acted like they didn't feel the spirit when I know they did.  But I wasn't discouraged, because I know the Lord doesn't work miracles until after a trial of faith.
Something I have really learned this week is to be optimistic even when everything falls through, so that is what I did.  I was super happy and worked really hard. It was great. I love my companion and I really, really prayed last night to be able to stay in the same sector with my companion, because the transfer is next week and I don't want to live. I have so much unfinished business.

This weekend we fasted with my favorite couple Toimato and Kulani.  It was really good.  Toimatos brother is a new convert in our ward and he decided to share the gospel with his family.  Kulani is amazing.  She is having a baby in three months and so we fasted for her to not have any problems. They want to get baptized in June but they haven't chosen a date yet because they have to get married.

Kulani has really felt the spirit in coming to church and has read the Book of Mormon and felt of its truth.  She has so much integrity because she told her family of strict protestants that she wanted to be baptized and her dad wasn't too happy, but she stuck firm to her decision because of her faith.  It was so incredible to see that no matter what trials she faces with her family she is willing to follow the Lord and the things she has felt by the spirit.

Also, yesterday was so so amazing because we had Elvina come to church.  She is the lady that complains a lot and is super bitter but I really love her.  Normally we can't get her to come because she is super scarred everyone will judge her, but she came! I think she was sick of us coming and bugging her and calling her, and she felt the spirit.  In relief society we talked about the talk from Elder Uchdorf inviting people to join the church and sharing that this church is for imperfect people.  She was touched and after we asked her how she felt and she said it felt really good to come.  She feels like it is the true church.  She wants to come next week too.

 Oh yah and this week I got to be in a film.  I pretended like I was teaching Tahitian children how to do math, and then I walked on the beach with the other missionaries and pretended to say goodbye to the Tahitian people.  It was kind of fun but not really because the whole time I was just super stressed out worrying about my sector and my amis.  I thought school was stressful but when you are playing with peoples happiness and salvation that is another story.

Yesterday we finished also a huge round of concerts we have been doing.  The spirit was so strong when we sang "The spirit of God".  Our mission president said we need to remember that moment for the rest of our lives.

Well I love you and I challenge you all to do missionary work this week.  This is the Lords work and He will help you and inspire your thoughts to know the people you need to visit or just say a kind word.
Love Soeur Kimball

April 21, 2014 - The Real Tahiti

This week was good but things are getting slow again, but it is ok because it just means I am going to work even harder this week with my companion.  Sometimes here in Tahiti with all the music, the heat, the humidity, the flowers and the fruit it feels so easy to get sucked into the lazy life. We are surrounded by it and so sometimes it is hard to work, work, work, but I love it here.  I can't stop thinking of how grateful I am that the Lord sent me here in Tahiti.  Whatever you guys imagine of Tahiti it is not what it is like.  I guess it is actually kind of ghetto but I don't realize it anymore because I am just used to it.

This week I have not been bold enough.  I don't know what happened but suddenly everything started scaring me this week.  It got to the point where I was scared to talk during lessons and scared to talk to people on the street. Sometimes I have days where everything seems to get harder.  I guess it is just Satan working on me but he is never going to win, but seriously no one likes admiting it but we are all stopped by fear sometimes.  It is better now.  I know that with lots and lots of prayers and fasting and studying the scriptures the Lord can strengthen all of our weaknessess.

We ate dinner at an American's house and it is seriously on the top of the mountain and we could see half of Tahiti.  All of our investigators are doing well but I feel like they have come to the moment where they really need to decide. It is all or nothing.

One afternoon three weeks ago we found a street behind the chapel and we followed it and there were a whole bunch of old scary looking apartements, and a lot of teenagers. Not a good mix, but we started talking to these teenage girls Moerani and Karina and they were open to take the lessons, so this week we continued to visit them and they are super shy.  They don't like to answer questions and they don't like to share experiences, so it is hard to help them because we don't really know them.  It was amazing because we found a cousin of Moerani who had already taken the lessons in the Marquies who invited us to her house to talk with her.  She told us about Moerani  and how her mom just barely died unexpectedly and right now Moerani has started to drink.  She is 15 years old and so that just breaks my heart.  I know that we were lead to talk to her cousin so that we would be able to better help Moerani.  Because there is no way Moerani wouldhave told us those things her self.  Heavenly Father Loves His children.  That is the only thing I have to say.  Now this week we will be better able to help Moerani understand that she can see her mom again and drinking will never help her situation.  It is seriously sad how many kids are wasting their lives here drinking...same for parents. Many people smoke and drink their lives away here and it destroys their family and the future of their kids.

 Sorry for the lecture but decisions determine destiny, and if I can just be an instrument in the Lords hand for helping one girl understand who she is so she can make the right decisions now I would be grateful.  I love you all and I am so grateful for parents who made good decisions in their youth so that I could be where I am today.
Love Soeur Kimball

April 7, 2014 - General conference

Wow wasn't conference so great?  I warned my companion that after conference was over I would be completely depressed and I was.  Holy cow, I was just so impressed with how inspired the messages were.  I can't wait for the conference talks to come out in the Ensign so I can read them.  I really loved all the talks that invited us to be stronger and more faithful members.  I feel like it was something so needed to be adressed.  I loved what Elder Holland said about how one day or another we will all be forced to defend our faith. We cannot be passive members of the church, it is not enough in this time of age. We live in such a great time.
 
This week we saw miracles, so I don't know if I told you about Maina.  She is about 22 years old and lives with her boyfriend in these apartement complexes.  She just so happens to live next door to members in our ward and one day she was having a really hard time with her family. The member next door, Elizabeth, told Maina about a book that could help her to feel the peace even in trials. She then gave her a Book of Mormon and invited her to read it, so of course we started teaching the lessons with Maina and she is so so ready.

This week we had the opportunity to start the lessons also with her boyfriend and he is way more skeptical and isn't as believing but I know his heart will be softened.  We talked about the Plan of Salvation and scheduled another appointment, but that is not all.  Maina told us she feels really at peace with the Book of Mormon and she has already read up to 2 Nephi 25 in just a few weeks.  She has prayed and felt for herself the testimony of the power of the Book of Mormon and wants to be baptized. Please pray for her boyfriend so his heart can be softened so he can wan't the same things.  I know things will continue only to get better. The Lord truly prepares people.  

We found another semi-member couple to teach in our ward thanks to a reference. I have never seen two people who want to change so badly.  Moroni is an inactive member that left the church at 16.  He got into drug dealing and trafficing. Can I just tell you guys how I am going to promise now to never ever let drugs destroy me or my family like it has destroyed his life.  I know him and his girlfriend can change but they are going to have to be healed by the Savior.  It is only through the Atonement of Jesus Christ that they are going to be able to progress and leave the other things behind.  I am so grateful for the hope that the Atonement brings in our lives and the lives of others.
 
Somehow I got roped into being in a film for the church.  Not really sure how.  We have to act out scenes from the missionaries in Tahiti in the  early 1900s.  Don't know how that is going to go but we have to wear costumes and everything.

And just know that I have to go but I know this Church is true.  No one and no force can stop the stone from rolling to fill the earth.  I love you with everything.
Soeur Kimball

March 31, 2014 - Tahitian Prayer - Concert

I have probably reached the happiest point on my mission. Is it still really hard and stressful? Oh yes, but I couldn't be more happy. Things are going great. I never realized what a difference it makes to have the support of the members, but seriously, our members are amazing here. I saw so many miracles this week so here we go.
 
Yesterday we had a huge concert with all the missionaries in Tahiti in our stake center with all of our stake and the amis (investigators).  It was awesome.  We have a really great program where we sing a bunch of hymns and there is a projection and missionaries bear testimony.  Since I am from Faaa I was asked to give the closing prayer.  I honestly was so so terrified because I knew I had to say it in Tahitian from the moment I was asked.  Sometimes when the Americans speak Tahitian that really shocks people and touches especially the amis because they don't expect it.  You immediately earn respect here if you speak it, and so here I was sitting and I knew I had to give a really good prayer in Tahitian to close the program and I was so so scared because I knew what an affect it could have if I did it correctly.  I was praying so hard I wouldn't totally ruin everything. I gave the prayer in Tahitian and I am not really sure what happened during it but all I know is I was able to say things smoothly and correctly and just like a Tahitian with sincerity.  The thing you have to understand is that here people give their Tahitian prayers about 100 mph and so if you want to sound like them you have to say it like that too.  After I finished everybody got really noisy and freaked out because they didn't expect it.  I can't tell you how many people asked me for my picture afterwards.  It was so funny, but seriously it touches people so so much when you speak Tahitian here.  I was just grateful I could be a tool in the hands of the Lord to share his spirit for people who prefer Tahiain over French.

Next thing this week.  My sector is so so awesome.  Yes it is very dirty and full of people drinking and smoking but there are so, so many people to teach.  I love it and my companion is super optimistic and funny.  I laugh so much every day because we do some really funny things, and because members and investigators here and just everyone in general have visions all the time and I find a lot of them funny.
 This week we continued to teach Poema who is getting baptized in 2 weeks.  She has now given up cigarettes for one week so she can be baptized.  She is so amazing and so willing to sacrifice anything to be baptized.  It makes me so happy to so the change in their family.  Her husband was inactive but is now coming back to the church.  We were doing a lesson about the plan of salvation and at the end he looked at us and asked with all sincerity if he could still make it back to live with God again.  Even after leaving the church for a time.  I told the story of the prodigal son and how when he came back the father accepted him with loving arms.  He was so relieved to know that he was still on track to receive eternal life. I really love them so much.
Which leads me to my thought for today.  I read a talk today that really changed my perspective of things especially the Atonement.  This week I reevaluated my relationship with Jesus Christ.  I realized that I have a lot of faith in Him and His mercy to make up the difference for our sins after all we can do.

I realized that I am not sure sometimes if I have the faith that He can save me from myself personally and my imperfections.  For everyone in Tahiti I am positive this is the case, but it is just so hard for me sometimes to see myself and my potential when I am constantly faced with all of my errors and weaknesses.  I don't always follow the spirit and sometimes I make stupid mistakes that could have prevented me from helping this work move forth.  And the thing is I think a lot of us think this way. We are constantly missing the blessings of the fortifying and enabling power of the Atonement because we don't think we are worthy.  We just don't measure up, and how sad is that.  All that He asks us is our best.  I loved an example I heard this week.  Sometimes we just wait and wait and keep striving for perfection but it is never going to happen.  It is not like sick people wait to get better so that they can be able to take the medicine, and it is just like that for the Atonement.

I am so grateful for my mission because I have grown so much more close to my Savior and in doing so I have so much more love for myself.  I know I am good enough, because He thinks I am good enough. I don't know how many times I have struggled with hating myself in my life because I thought I haven't reached the bar or the level of goodness that I thought I should have reached, and now I realize that was never the point. I still have all of my weaknesses and faults but it is ok, because I know He is willing to work with me to fix all of those things.  Little by little.  Oh, how He is merciful.  If there is anything we should learn in life it is how to use the Atonement in our lives.  Every day.  I love the Lord and I know this is His church and kingdom.

I couldn't be more humbled to be His servant.
Love Soeur Kimball

March 18, 2014 - 1st Transfer, Tipaurui

Hey, so yes it is true.  I got transferred. I was so sad, but happy at the same time. It is my first transfer. For six months I served in one valley of Tahiti.  Everything I know about Tahiti is what I saw in my little neighborhood which is not that much.  I said my goodbyes and I cried and everything and people gave me baskets and seashell necklaces and now I am serving with my new Tahitian companion Soeur Sommers in Tipaurui.

Oh boy is it different.  I couldn't be more excited.  Soeur Sommers has only been here four weeks so I will be training her for the next eight weeks.  It will be my second time training and oh how can I tell you that training is a very humbling experience, especially when you are asked to train people that speak the language better than you and understand the Tahitian people better than you.  I have already learned a lot.

Anyway, let me tell you about my new sector.  It is really awesome because it is in the city which means there are so many more people to talk to. I absolutely love it. There are tons of apartement buildings which means more people to preach the gospel to.  I got to the point in my old sector where I had talked with almost every single house and knew almost every single person by name so you can see how everything now is just so thrilling.

There is so much potential here and I think we are going to see a lot of miracles.  The ward is super focused on missionary work and even now they have a plan to give away 170 books of Mormon.  This morning for my first lesson in the sector we scheduled a baptism for next week for the wife of a member in our ward who had already had the lessons.  I have already seen so many miracles and I am so excited to see the people in Tipaurui grow their faith in Christ by living his teachings.  

I was super sad to leave my cute French companion but I know she will continue to do great things in Tuauru.  I have really grown to love her.

So, I guess that is my life right now and I love it.  This transfer I really want to be able to get better at understanding Tahitian, because I can speak it alright but understanding is a whole other ball game, especially when they are papis who speak really fast,  really really slurred and really softly.  I know the Lord will help me with my endeavor so that I might be able to continue to help others.

This transfer I really want to be able to enjoy every moment and just love the people.  We had a conference where an area president talked to us and said that we need to be masters in teaching the doctrine of the Father and His nature, because it is only when others feel of His love for them, and understand truly their divine nature as children of God with a purpose in life, that they can change. I pray that I can be able to transmit that love that He has for His children.  Truly our work here is just to remind people of who they really are so that they can embrace the fulness of blessings that this gospel has to offer.

 I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that Jesus Christ is at the head of this church. How blessed we are for what we have been given.
Soeur Kimball

March 10, 2014 - Vaiarii

Ok you guys, so to understand this week you have to look at this photo.  Lots of things happened this week but I want to just talk about this one person, Vaiarii Raihauti. I know in this photo he looks like a murderer and like he is angry but really he is a great kid and right now you are all going to hear the story of his conversion.  He is the one next to me in the corner.  I promise he isn't actually scary. It has been crazy.

The conversion of Vaiarii starts in December last year.  I and my companion were in their yard to teach a lesson to his sister but we had never met him.  I don't know what happened but for some reason he decided to come to the lesson and hear us with his brother and part of his family.  I think I wrote about it in another email, anyway we taught a lesson about the Restoration and invited everyone to read the Book of Mormon to see if our message was true. The next week we dropped off a Book of Mormon. Out of all of his family it was really only him who cared.  The rest didn't really feel like finding out but Vaiarii read the Book of Mormon and prayed sincerely like we asked him.  At this point he was super super shy but we would just come and visit him anyway.  We invited this brother in our ward who you see in the picture to come with us to the lessons and he started inviting Vaiarii to family home evening and started teaching him too. Vaiarii told us he prayed about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon and had a really strong impression but he really had a hard describing it, so of course we continued the lessons with him for the next 2 months and he would come to church with us every single week or with Dan ( the man in the photo).  He was still really shy and scared of us.  I think just because we are two foreign girls but we finally got him to open up and he decided he wanted to be baptized.  He didn't tell us everything because he was embarrassed but he really wants to go on a mission too.  He is 19 years old and now is preparing to go to the temple in one year so he can go on a mission and serve the Lord.

I told him now we are going to use him and he will be the member fellow-shipper for all of our amis.  haha.  He thinks I am psycho... the poor kid.  Two days ago he bore his testimony and it was so powerful.  He shared his gratitude for the Lord for having showed him His church.  He was so sincere.
I share this story for two reasons.

1.  We taught all of his family and it was only him who believed and acted on his impressions, which shows us that even though the gospel is true not everyone is going to accept.  It is just our duty to invite everyone so they can decide for themselves and understand the goodness of the gospel for themselves.

2.  Member fellow-shippers are so so so important. Without Dan there I don't think Vaiarii would have been converted.  The testimonies of members and their experiences really validate our teachings and relate to others.

I know the church is true and I am so happy that Vaiarii is so happy now.  I am so happy to have been able to help the Lord in His work.  He is so good.

Tahiti February 24, 2014

This week was great.  First of all we had the baptism of Tepiu and Tachyna the two girls with inactive parents.  They were completely adorable.  It was I and my companion who had to plan the baptism and do the talks and everything.  I really was so so worried that everything wasn't going to turn out.  It was kind of a last minute scramble and then I was so worried that nobody would come and there wouldn't be any support and the chapel would be empty. The good news is I was wrong. We had a great day. I guess you would expect that a baptism of a new convert would be an incredibly spiritual and amazing experience, and it totally was but just not in the way that you would expect it.  As soon as the program started I just felt so peaceful.  Many of the members came and they brought a ton of food too. I was so so relieved. I almost started crying, and I even sang a musical number with my favorite primary member in our ward. I don't know how many times I had prayed for everything to turn out alright and I would just like to tell all of you that the Lord answers prayers.  The spirit filled the chapel and it was so evident that the Lord was so happy His two young daughters Tepiu and Tachyna entered the gate of baptism. 

 

Elder Nelson came and talked to us! And just the missionaries. It was incredible. I honestly thought we were going to be transfigured or something.  He talked about the Holy Spirit and how we have to pay attention to all of our feelings and thoughts because the Spirit always will guide our thoughts when we are worthy so that we can be enlightened and gain more knowledge.  Holy cow! He was so powerful.  And he really talked about how we live in the most blessed time.  How we were held for just the very end.  We are in the time that all of the prophets prophesied and so we have good reason to jump out of bed every single morning from excitement.   We dont have any reason to not be happy.  

In my sector this week we really have been working still with the family Tehoiri, who I talked about before. The mom is so ready to be baptized.  She is one of those people who were already prepared by angels. I have never seen such a miracle. It is just a question for her husband to stop smoking. I loved a quote I heard this week that no one can say that it is impossible to give up an addiction unless they have gotten on their knees and asked for the help of Heavenly Father and I know that is exactly what he needs to do.  I see their family in my head at the temple and I know that everything will work out.  Before I wouldn't have believed it but I know that with the faith needed and desire the Lord will really bless that family.  He already has. 

Well that was my week and I will see you guys next week again.  NAna

Soeur Kimball

January 27, 2014 - Things Change

Hey you guys.  Things here are great. And by great I mean really really hard but that is why it is good. I read a really good article this week by Elder Scott about how to have a happy life and I really hope you guys go and read it.  It really inspired me to just be happy in the midst of trials.  Everyone has trials and no one wants to hear about yours.  That was probably my favorite quote in the discord haha.

Well anyway, yes it is true now, I am training.  Her name is Soeur Nciete and she is from France and she is really really pretty and adorable.  She tells me all the time I am too careless but she is still awesome.  It has been really hard here.  The members are still really unsure of me and don't really trust me yet because they really loved and trusted Soeur Ferrence and they kind of think I don't know what I am doing but I know that will come with the time.  All I know is we work really hard.  Every day we try to talk to everyone that is in our street and because of that we have been really blessed.  We found lots of new investigators and started to teach them.  When you are obedient the miracles come.

We decided to hike up this street that I had only been to one time before because no one was home normally, but this time I felt like it might be a good thing to do.  We hiked up and immediately found a mom with her two girls.  She was really nice and told us we could come back and teach a lesson with her.  It was actually way cool because her mom had just died that morning so we were able to testify to how she would see her mom again.  I know Heavenly Father wanted her to know that and have that comfort.  It is so crazy how Heavenly Father loves us each one so individually and cares about the littlest things. A quote I really loved this week I read was that Heavenly Father when He sees us suffering even though He knows that it will all turn out good in the end doesn't just say "get over it and keep going".  He really suffers with us.  He understands us and it really makes him sad every time we are sad.  That has really helped me.  The fact that I am struggling right now means just that I am learning and lot.  And oh boy can I tell you how much I am learning about humility.  I am always being humbled almost every single day, and yes it hurts but I know it is making me a better person.  Here is a poem President Monson shared this past conference that I loved.

Good timber does not grow with ease,
The stronger wind, the stronger trees.
The further sky, the greater length.
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow

If that poem is true then I must be becoming a really strong tree.  haha.  But I am grateful really.  Things might be challenging but in the end I would choose the harder times.  What would we be if we never had trials to help us change?

Anyway I hope you know I am really doing everything I can think of to help others come to Christ. The most effective and best thing I have found I can do is just to love everyone;  Love them despite all of their addictions and bad manners haha.  This week I realized I really really love them, especially everyone in my sector.  Even the ones that are mean to me.  Their souls are precious in the eyes of God.
Love you all.
The little things make the big difference.

January 13, 2014 Transfers

Guess what happened this week/  My companion and trainer Soeur Ference got transfered.  I was totally sad.  She is now one of my best friends, and you know what that means?  It means I got called to train!  I am now training a girl who just arrived from France.  What does that mean? It means three things.

1.  She has a French accent and speaks sophisticated French so I can't really understand her.
2.  My French is going to improve because I am going to learn from her. Since right now all I know is the ghetto French that people talk here, but it is the best kind frankly.
3.  I am completely in charge of my sector and I am completely teriffied.

But it is ok because I know the Lord will be with me.  I really loved my last companion and part of the reason I love her so much is because we passed through so many trials together, members critiquing us, impossible expectations, a lack of investigators and a lack of lessons.  It is totally ok because I really did my best and I know I did affect peoples lives even if they don't really feel like they want to act right now.

That is all changing right now because we found so many new investigators this week.  I really can't believe all the miracles.  One of the things I have learned here is just to not have fear.  Think of how many things we don't do in our lives because we are scared, and every time after we didn't do it we regret it.  The theme for this next transfer in Tuauru is faith.  I am really just going to talk to everyone and ask them if they want to improve their lives and I am really just going to testify to them.  For example, on Thursday I saw a little Chinese man holding a big bunny in the middle of the road and he was totally scared of me because I was about twice his height but I scheduled a lesson with him for next week. The things I see here are always so funny. I wish I had a picture, anyway I will tell you a few of the miracles I saw this week.

On Saturday me and Soeur Ferrence passed a man walking to his house with a bunch of bread and we felt like we should go back and just talk to him.  We did and he said he would like to hear our message. We went to the bishops wife to ask if she could come with us to the lesson but she said we shouldn't go because the man we had met was no good to teach.  Well I had just read that day the talk by President Monson that says we should never see people as they are now but their potential and so I had us go teach him.  Luckily we got his daughter and sister to come to the lesson and we immeadiately felt like we should talk about baptism.  Turns out he totally wants to change his life and get baptized.  He already stopped smoking and drinking without us meeting him.  We have another lesson with him this week and I hope we will be able to fix a baptismal date for him.  It just shows you that you never know who is ready.  You really can never judge people.  We are really more than our weaknesses or our faults like President Holland says.  That is also my other theme for these next ten weeks in Tuauru.  I am just going to love everyone.  No matter if they say mean things to me or make fun of my French.  I will just love them because they are all chidlren of our Heavenly Father and have divine potential no matter their situation.

Next big news.

We found a family to teach!  It was the last lesson I taught with Soeur Ferrence and it was amazing. The Spirit was so strong and we talked about the importance of the gospel in the family.  I really hope they continue to progress.  It is really hard to have a lot of investigators that start on the path to becoming members but stop progressing because of various obstacles.

The biggest thing to remember is just that no matter what happens we know the Lord will win in the end.  We are hastening a work that can't be stopped.  In that sense there is realy no way to fail.  So FAAITOITO OUTOU
Love you all and I still can't understand Tahitian but it is ok.

Soeur Kimball