Sister Kofford in Tahiti: Whose Will is Our Will?

7/20/15

Iaorana my amazing friends and family!

I love you! Thank you for all that you do for me! Thank you for your thoughts and prayers and goodness! I can feel your love each day and do not know how I got so blessed to have you in my life! Sœur Shariatmadari and I had another amazing week! I love my mission! We had the baptism of Frere Tapena on Saturday which was such a miracle. His wife and two daughters got baptized in March, but he did not have the desire to follow their example, change his life, and work towards an eternal family. He had a hard time even accepting the missionary lessons. One night at the start of my companionship with Sœur Shariatmadari, we had a family night with this family! It was way cool because he came for the lesson and listened! We like to start out and introduce everyone a little bit and so we did! I had everyone say their name, something they like in life, and a desire they had. We went through and everyone shared their thoughts and we laughed and had fun and then it was Tea's turn, the older of the two daughters. When it got to the point where she shared her desire, she said that she wanted an eternal family and to be sealed in the temple. This really touched me because if I had one desire in life . . . it would be that as well! The cool thing is that this desire is Gods desire as well! God loves each and everyone of us and wants us to be happy and joyful in this life and to also receive eternal life and life with Him again. Anyway, we taught the lesson about marriage and temples and finished the night. This was the night that the father of this family, Frere Tapena, accepted the missionary lessons. Since this night, every Tuesday at six we would go to teach Him. At the start, he would not often be there and we would really have to practice our Tahitian for his lessons that would usually turn more into an argument haha! We continued anyway seeing the progression little by little! After weeks of this He finally stopped fighting us and admitted to us that he already knew it was all true, he just was not ready to change and convert his worldly desires to the desire of God. This made me think a lot because it is always hard for us to see broken families when we know they are capable of so much. Slowly we figured out all that was keeping him from the waters of baptism. He had some major issues with the Word of Wisom and other things that were controlling his life. We made him a promise saying that if he would do all that he could and decrease his sins little by little that he could be ready for his baptism the 18th of July! He just laughed and I really did not think he took us seriously. The next lesson we arrived with a member and to our surprise he had agreed to this date! So we worked and worked and worked on his obedience and sure enough he was ready for his baptism! Also, I wish you could have been there! The spirit was stronger than I have ever felt before! Tea the daughter cried and was probably one of the happiest people I have ever seen! It was a beaufitul moment! These moments are such miracles in themselves and they make all of the challenging times worth it! But I know these little tastes of heaven on earth only appear when we give our will to God! When we do our best to keep our faith, show our obedience, and find our potential through our love for Him! And I truly do know that the true happiness in life is when our desire and Gods desire are one in the same! And why not have the desire of God? Its the best thing we can possibly receive! So this week, turn your hearts to Him, give Him your will! Everything else is already His. And I know you will be blessed! The Church is so true and I love being able to share this knowledge with our other brothers and sisters! Missionary work is a life process! Search for opportunies to teach! You will not regret it! I love you all! Thanks again for everything! Have a great week!!

Love, Sœur Kofford