Timon's Baptism

Hello!

This week went well.  Timon was baptized.  It was great.  So, he was baptized by one of the recent converts in the ward - Boree - who is also Timon's next door neighbor and friend.  What is cool is that Timon was not a refferal, we tracted him, but he just happened to have a great friend who had been talking to him about the gospel.  Great, right?   Anyway, Timon was baptized and is doing great.  It was a good baptism.  All of our people showed up early.  Even Iotebwa, one of our investigators who we had invited to the baptism!  It was great.  We made cake for the baptism.  It all went well.

Iotebwa.... What a fellow. He is great.  He came to church and then came to Elder Miller's goodbye party with the ward.  He is solid.  Very funny because he has no inhibitions, but he is great. :)  He has also stopped smoking!  Whoot!

Life is good.  The lesson I learned this week is to just live life and not worry what others think.  Really, the world is what we make it.  If we make it about others' opinions, then to us it is all about their opinions,  similarly, if we make it all about the Lord's opinion of us then it is all about that.  I believe choosing the latter is the happier way to go.

Love you all!  Keep on being amazing!

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Weenig

Timon's Baptism

Iotebwa is the one with the yellow tie... He is great. :)

War Chapters of Alma

Howdy y'all!

Life is great!  There is plenty of work to be done and it is going well.

So, ten Timon, will be baptized this Saturday. It is exciting.  We are happy for him.  We had our first lesson with his 30-something year old son, named ten Miriata, and just after we opened, he said, "I have a question. Once I am done with lessons, when can I be baptized."  (cue the fireworks)  It was great!  He is great and his wife is less active, we hope that we can help reactivate her and that Miriata's desire to be baptized stays strong.

Well, Happy Christmas to you all!  So, to explain the title... I have been reading in the war chapters of Alma.  Yep.  They are amazing!  They teach so many lessons!!!  It is great!  One that I really liked is found in Alma 62:41.  The lesson I gained from this section is that the same event can change people in different ways.  It is up to us how we will be changed.  We can choose to be changed for the better or for the worse. It is all up to us.  Another good lesson was in Alma 58:33. "But behold, we trust in our God..." That is that.  Trust in God.  In God we Trust.  Trust that He hears our prayers and cares. Trust that His plan is better than our plan. Trust that His ways are truly higher than our ways.  Trust that He loves and cares and will do anything for us.  Trust Him. I am grateful for the war chapters of the Book of Mormon. They testify of the truthfulness of the book. I mean, the fellow who compiled the book was a captain in war, so clearly a great way to present lessons for him would be in chapters on war.  Just as the prophets and apostles today, his work and past experiences affect the stories he shares.  I think that is a pretty cool thought.  Well, the Book of Mormon is true.  One hundred percent.  Any fault is the fault of man, and not of God.  

The church is true.  It is real.  Christ is real.  The Book of Mormon is the word of God and teaches us Christ's doctrine.  I know it and love it.  What is great is that we have the opportunity to live it! :)

Love you all!  Hope you have a great Christmas season.  Go Light the World with Christ!

Merry Christmas!

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Weenig

PS:  Also, Luke 2 is a good chapter for Christmas.... Sorry, I recognize that the war chapters are a bit odd to be shared in a season celebrating the Prince of Peace.  But they are found in His book, so I figure it is okay. :)

Child's birthday party that we attended for one of our dinners.

A breadfruit tree with lots of breadfruit. :)

Zone Conference

Howdy!

Hope you are all well and living. Happy Christmas season to all y'all!

This week went very well. We had Zone Conference and a new intake of missionaries came in.  It was exciting.

I am grateful for this week, it has been great. We gave the training at Zone Conference.  We taught on teaching in unity as a companionship and using the Book of Mormon earlier and more often in teaching.  It went well.  Elder Sheffield is great fun to teach with. We now carry a Book of Mormon in our hands where ever we go, so that if we have a street contact or we tract a house, we have a Book of Mormon ready to give to them.  That book is true.  It is real.  It is good. I am grateful the Lord has blessed us with this book.  It is His book.

Timon and Iotebwa are doing great!  Iotebwa came to church, Timon didn't because he was sick.  Timon is going to be interviewed this Saturday for baptism.  He is awesome. :)

I went on an exchange with Elder Holbrook. He is from Alpine. He is great!

So, a quote to share with you all: "Satan don't kick no dead dogs." It is from the talk "The Mortal Christ" given by Jack R. Christianson. Satan fights against us.  So, when life seems hard and light-less, that is only because Satan sees us as a threat.  Kind of a cool thought, right?  Satan's kingdom can totally be shaken by the voice and faith of one person.  Just so long as that person's faith is in the One, which is Christ.  Anyway, that is my small thought. Keep on pressing on,  keep on being amazing!   You are all rock solid.  We are all rock solid. We chose to come here and we agreed to come here at this time and in this place. We are extraordinary sons and daughters of the Most High.  We are important, we are needed, and we are essential to the Lord's plan.

Thank you for all you all do!  Hope that you are all enjoying life -- remembering that "Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy." (2 Nephi 2:25).  Hope you are all having a joyful time this Christmas season.  Let's all remember the reason for the season!

Love you all!
Hurrah for Israel!
Elder Weenig

Elder Rowsell transferred to my homeland, Abemama

Sending Elders off to Christmas Island