June 7 2015

Talofa lava mai le nu'u o Faleasi'u!
Well these past 2 weeks have been awesome.  We had two baptisms and set dates for 3 more to be baptized soon.

The people we baptized were Tutogi and Siaso. Tutogi is 21 and really buff. Siaso is 13. He is special needs and he is one of the coolest kids in Faleasi'u. On the day of the baptism we held the service at 12 and everyone showed up on time... except for Tutogi. We waited for him for a while and then my companion and I decided to go look for him. We went to his fale and it turned out he had gone to another village to do something. We ended up chasing him all around this side of Upolu but we never found him. I was dressed in my white clothes so everybody we met looked at me weird. Tutogi's dad said that he would send him over to the chapel as soon as he turned up, so we finally went back to the chapel and did Siaso's baptism. All went well with that. The spirit was strong and it was an amazing experience. After the baptism we went and canceled all of our visits for the rest of the day (by this time it was about 4ish) so that we could wait for Tutogi and baptize him. As soon as we got back from canceling our visits someone told us that Tutogi had come to the chapel and then left because we weren't there. Argh. Haha we went to the other side of our area to his fale to try to find him but he wasn't there. After looking for him for a while we found him at a member's fale right next to the Chapel. We captured him and put him in white clothes and held a baptismal service for him and then.......Baptized him! :D That was an awesome experience as well. He has a strong testimony and we are now re-teaching the lessons to him.

This week we have been working with a lot of people who are trying to overcome addictions. We have been able to help them and see miracles in their lives as they have turned to the Lord instead of their addictions.

I have also had my testimony of fasting strengthened as my companion and I have been fasting. After fasting we always have the spirit with us so strong and we are able to share that spirit with those we teach.

I know that even if I didn't get any baptisms or anything like that for the rest of my mission, I know that the work I have been able to do has already been worth 2 years of my life. But I plan on getting a lot more work done here while I have the opportunity. These 2 years are one of the biggest blessings of my life. I have never been happier in my whole life than I am now.

Alofa atu ia te outou,
-Elder Lamoreaux