Week 2

From: Collin Boren
Date: Tue, Jul 26, 2011 at 9:21 AM
Subject: 2 Weeks

Talofa lava!

O a mai outou? (How is everyone doing?)

How is everyone? How was the 24th? Were the fireworks good? How about the parade? Dad I'm glad that you got the hay stacked and I'm sorry about your tire. How is Jake doing? I miss him a lot! Mom what did you do to crack your ribs! I'm going to have to whip you if you do that again! Andrea how has hanging out with Chanse and the family been? Angela told me that you did horrible in bowling lol! She said that you got a 64! What? You're also lucky I'm not there to beat you in ping pong! LOL JK! I hope the farm is doing well and I miss it a lot! I wish sometimes I could take a break and go for a tractor ride or something but for some reason they won't let me ha ha.

I have done a lot here in the MTC lately. We have done lots of things and we study and go to class all day! I'm starting to get more used to them, they aren't as long as they used to be. This week our districts goal is 'Exact Obedience'! They have been hammering us hard on the subject and my teacher showed us a tuesday night devotional talk by Elder Holland. It was probably one of the best talks I have ever heard and the best talk I have ever heard on missionary work. You could tell he meant every word and it was a very amazing opportunity he had. He was the first of his family to go on a mission so he had no idea how to prepare. He said when he first walked off the plane he felt sorry for his mission president, because he knew that president had a lot to work with. He said every good thing that has ever happened to him has come because of his mission. He said that he wouldn't be anywhere near where he is today without his mission. In his powerful testimony he stated so many times my mission was EVERYTHING TO ME. A couple of times he would stop in the middle of the sentence and start to say whoever is thinking about leaving there mission, don't! I won't let you, I'll do whatever I have to make you stay. I'll talk to you all day today and tomarrow if I have to to make you stay. He the church won't feel bad if one missionary leaves, but it will ruin your life knowing that you could have finished your mission and thinking what if...? Anyways It was a powerful testimony and it helped me a lot! We have been getting a lot done in our companionship studies! We have been reading preach my gospel and all the scriptures in the chapters and it is helping us to learn together what we need to do to become better missionaries. Every night I read a page in the english preach my gospel and a samoan preach my gospel and my companion is making sure I am pronoucing my words correctly and explaining to me the meaning of words. Then we read a few pages in Jesus the Christ and since I have read a lot of it I can explain to him the meaning of the passage. It is good to help each other and I know that a companion is necessary in this work, even though it is a pain sometimes. I've realized that two testimonies are much more powerful than one and we are learning a lot from when we teach. We are starting to get to just know what the other person is going to do and then we help solitify what the other person is saying is true. We have had really really easy investigators and then we have had pretty hard ones. It's good to get to practice on all different sorts of personalities. We had our first TRC last week and that was a teaching experience that we have in a room that looks like a living room all by ourselves. It went pretty well, then we had a language task and I understood some of the things the lady was saying but I had a hard time picking it up lol. But I know if I keep trying that I will get better. I have learned a lot already here in two weeks! I am so thankful for everything you have all done for me. You all helped me to become a better person and helped me be able to be here. I know that this is where my Lord wants me and I am going to try my best to prepare for my mission here. I know that if I do it his way and be humble that he will help me touch the lives of the people in Samoa. I know that the people there will probably touch my life as well. I know that I was called by God to go there and for some reason I am suppose to be in that particular mission. Thanks for all of your prayers! I can feel them, especially when I'm learning and I've been able to learn quickly. I want you all to know that you are in my prayers and I want nothing but the best for you! Please let me know if there is anything I can do for anyone of you! I mean that! You all mean so much to me! Sorry my letters probably seem really scrambled but I am trying to get everything written before the time limit expires. Anyways the language study has been coming along pretty well! I have learned so much here compared to before! It helped though since I worked on pronouncing words that I didn't have to take too much time to get that down. The hardest thing so far is the sentence structure. There is two different structures. One for is you have a subject and an object that is doing something, and one if you need a preposition in it. In a way I like it but it's also hard because you have to get two different sets of pronouns down! Which is hard. We have a program called TALL, which helps us listen to native Samaon speakers and we get to practice our pronounciation. It is very helpful! My testimony is growing too! Ha who knew that spending all day everyday on the gospel would do that! It's nice to get to learn so much and when I read the scriptures it seems like so many things are popping out and screaming at me! LOL it's awesome! I know that my Savior lives and guides this church today! I know that our prophet Thomas S. Monson was called of God! I know that I am a representative of Jesus Christ and I need to live up to that! I love you all and wich you the best! Love u

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Elder Boren

Week 1

From: Collin Boren
Date: Tue, Jul 19, 2011 at 11:35 AM
Subject: 1st week

Hey everyone how is everything going!

I miss you all a lot and wish that I could see you but I know that I am where I am suppose to be! I loved hearing from all of your e-mails but if everyone could create an dearelder.com account it would be extremely beneficial because then I won't have to use my time on the computer to read your e-mails. They just turn it into a hard copy so I can read it on P-day and then spend more time writing. Leaving everyone was very hard and very emotional, you have all helped me so much throughout my life and I want to thank you all for that. Leaving Andrea Tuesday night and leaving my family on Wednesday morning was tough, you have all been such good examples to me in my life. Please let me know if there is anything I can do for any of you.

Anyways when I first got to the MTC they kept us really busy and we had to go to a lot of orientations and meetings. I think they did it so we wouldn't get home-sick right of the bat. We went and had to check in with immunizations Thursday and I didn't need any so I guess I got lucky to not have to get shot. Oh by the way mom and dad did you guys get my short letter, I sent it on Friday and hopefully you got it. I got Andrea's letter and it was really nice to read, so if anyone needs my address ask Andrea for it. My companion's name is Elder Tafiti and he is from Hawaii, he is really cool and we get along really well. He is really small ha so I guess not all Samoans are big people lol. I've taken pictures but for some reason they won't allow us to upload them onto the computer here so I guess I'll have to send them when I get to the field. We have had so many spiritual study and classes it's unbelievable lol! It's good though, it helps invite the spirit and missionaries need that more than anything. Our language classes our going pretty well. I'm learning a lot so far, it is a hard language because the people down there slur all their words and it's hard to understand them. I have been doing everthing I can to prepare to be ready for when I enter the field and hopefully the Lord will bless me with the spirit, a stronger testimony, and learning the language quickly. I know that there will be tough times throughout my mission but I also know that there will be amazing experiences if I follow my Savior. Everything we are learning is very basic and we are taught to keep it at a primary kids level. We don't want to confuse anybody ha ha. We have went through a practice on 'building bridges with people.' Pretty much getting to know them before we start into the lesson and create a relationship in which they are comfortable with us. We have also worked on teaching lessons and it was challenging the first time but we are starting to get the hang of it. We are preparing for a thing called TRC and that is we have to teach an investigator that comes to the MTC, so like it would be a real lesson. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I'm more nervous about the language task we have to feel. Every week we have to be able to speak Samoan to someone and it progressively gets harder each week. After week 5 we have to teach the whole lesson in Samoan. I am really nervous for that already ha! So if you could all pray for me to learn Samoan and to continue to learn more about the gospel that would be really nice. I have already felt some of your prayers. The days are really long because they are so jam-packed that there is hardly any free-time. Wake up at 6:30 and return to our residency at 9:30. The only time we get off is for meals and a gym hour. The gym was closed until Monday so we had to go play volleyball at the sand pits where we said good-bye. The gym is way better! I got to play some basketball and it was sweet! Their is a kid in our zone who played for Provo High and he is 6'6"! He is really good and funny! I like him a lot his name is Elder Samani like you want some money lol. Like I said it was really good hearing from you guys and thank you for sending the e-mails. Please create a Dear Elder account though because it comes faster than normal mail and it's a hard coy. A few requests from home mom, could you send some of my t-shirts. They don't care what shirts you wear unless they are bad so could you send me some of that, and could you send my my Hurley hat that Andie gave me! Everyone wears hats! Ha ha scary experience happened. I lost Andrea's ring! It was so scary and I checked in all the lost and founds and everything and could not find it. Finally I remembered to pray and a few days later it showed up! Ha ha sorry Andrea but for some reason it was in one of my bags. I don't know how it got there but I'm glad I have it now! Dad how is the farm going? How is Jake doing? I miss him a lot and I miss you mom and pops! Thank you for everything you have done to help me get here. I only get 30 minutes on the computer but if you write me some dear elders i'll be sure to send you some letters! Anyways my zone Samoans think that my name will be Elder Poleni over there. Pronounced like Polaynie... They all call us Palagi which is kinda like palangi. lol anyways I know that my Savior lives and he knows each of us all individually. He has atoned for my sins as well as yours. He loves us with a deep love that no one can comprehend. It was good to hear from all of you and I wish you all the best of luck! Thanks for everything again and I love you.
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Elder Boren

Pics with the Family