Week 3

From: Collin Boren
Date: Mon, Oct 3, 2011 at 3:01 PM
Subject: Week 3

Well the work has been awesome here in Samoa! How is everyone doing in the United States? I just sent some pictures to my mom so hopefully she gets them on the blog! I have been really blessed to have a really good trainer! He has taught me a lot so far and it has been a good experience for me... The language is still coming slowly, ha if I would have known how hard it was to learn another language I don't know if I would have signed up for it on my papers ha ha... But it's all good, I'm learning a lot of patience and it motivates me to work hard. Well this last week Samoa lost to the Spring Box in Rugby and everyone's mad now... Ha you should have seen the island when we beat Fiji. Our bishop said that his neighbors kept him up until 1 in the morning. But I didn't like the games, because we couldn't proselyte at all... The whole island shuts down. No shops are open and everyone is watching the game. And the last thing they want is for us to come by...I've been really good though, we meet with our invesitgator who is getting baptized on Saturday tomorrow. I hope he says that he hasn't smoked, because then we will have to push the date back. We have 4 investigators right now. So that's nice, we are just barely starting the lessons with them. We found one guy that is my companions cousin. Ha isn't that crazy! How cool would that be to convert a family member! But he has a lot of questions I guess for us. Last time we stopped by he wasn't able to make it because he had work but his wife said he was very interested. She is a returned missionary and she hasn't been able to go to church because he has been going to catholic and he didn't allow her to go to another church. She served her in Samoa and her Mission President gave her to goal at the first of her mission to have 70 baptisms. Well she got 69 during her mission and she feels like her husband is going to be the 70th... Ha isn't that a neat story! I have learned a lot by being here. I know that once I start getting the language down I will start to enjoy my mission even more, but I still somehow learn something new everyday! I have learned how important reading my scriptures each day is! I have found that my personal study right now is my favorite part of the day! It's when I feel the closest to my Father in Heaven. I know that by reading the scriptures daily we are nourishing our testimony. If we want to keep a strong testimony in this gospel, then we have to build it up. In preach my gospel, it states, Your ability to teach the principles and doctrines of the gospel is determined by your time spent in them. It makes sense doesn't it. First seek to obtain my work and then declare it. By the way, wasn't General Conference awesome! WE are so blessed to have these inspired men lead our church. And we can learn so much from every talk if we simply pay attention. I think sometimes we as members take for granted this conference. I don't think we really think that we are the only people in the whole world that have a living prophet. We can be blessed in innumerous ways if we listen to their counsel and do it. It's that simple. I know that we all mess up at times. But if we are trying to become better every day and work on replacing some of our bad habits with good ones, then our Father in Heaven will be proud of us. By coming here, I have learned so much more about how commandments shouldn't be viewed as dont' dos... They should be viewed as, My Father in heaven created me and this world, He is all-knowing! He is the one who set up this plan for us, so don't you think he is the one that knows what is going to make us happy in life. Too often I think people think they are missing out if they don't partake in the world's definition of fun every once in awhile. And then later they can repent. I'm sorry but our Father knows what will make us happy and if we follow those commandments, he will bless us! Don't make this gospel a complicated one, because its not... Life is complicated, and hard, but it won't always be hard if we follow our Savior's plan for us! I know that my Father in Heaven loves me and you. I know that he wants the best for us. I think we all need to make sure we apply the things we learned in General Conference to our lives.

I love you all and I promise I have sent letters! But the mail here to the states is so slow. I haven't received any either ha ha. But I love all of your letters! Thank you all for your wonderful examples and for
helping me want to be a better missionary!

Tofa Soifua!

--
Elder Boren