Sister Kofford in Tahiti: La Vie est Belle!

8/17/15

Bonjour tout le monde! Je vous aime!!

Life is beautiful in the eyes of the missionaries here at Papeari! We continue to find success and happiness in serving the Lord! There are so many miracles waiting to happen and I see them happen right before my eyes each and every day! I also love seeing the lives of our investigators change and I am amazed how God enters into and changes their lives forever! Through God everything is possible and when we are being directed and lead by His spirit . . . true happiness comes about! For this week, Monoihere was baptized! Her story is a miracle! She was one of the first lessons we taught when I first got into this area with Soeur Faana. We had this one single lesson and after that she headed back to her island to school! When Soeur Shariatmadari got here, we were able to get to know Moniohere a little bit better while she was here for a weekend visiting family. Her sister is a member of the church but her baptism was not at all accepted by her parents. She had to wait to be eighteen, be out of the house, and then could make her decision to be baptized. Moniohere is sixteen and has taken missionary discussions already with her sister. We learned that she too had the desire to be baptized, but could not do anything about it because of her parents. So we all decided to pray and fast together and sent the permission papers home with her to the island, hoping that we would see a miracle. Sure enough, she called us saying that the papers were signed! We fixed her baptism for the fifteenth, the first Saturday she would be back here at Tahiti. So in the middle of all of this, her sister gets called on her mission to Australia, but had to wait for her visa and was stuck in our mission for a couple of weeks. When their mother found out that the sister was still here on Tahiti, she got really mad at the fact that she could not talk to her daughter and ripped up the parent permission form for Moniohere. We all prayed and fasted again and worked things out slowly with the family and Moniohere showed up here at Papeari with the signed permission slip! When the Elders had her interview, they told us after that they have never felt the spirit so strong and that she was the most ready person they have ever seen to enter into the waters of baptism. On my mission I have really learned the importance of baptism and also the importance of all the covenants and ordinances that we make here on this earth. We are not here to do nothing. We are here to find out who we really are, who we were before this life, our real heavenly potential. The door of baptism is how our investigators are first able to really taste a bit of this eternal happiness and love! I know that God lives and He has a plan for each one of us! He knows us individually and He watches us daily! He already knows the best things for us in life and that is why He gives us the opportunity to make so many sacred promises with Him! So this week, think about how special these things are and try your best to really be able to respect these covenants and stay worthy of His spirit and help! These things protect us, they enlighten us and bless us through everything! I am so thankful for this church and for our Heavenly Father who loves us! I know that everything is possible through Him with our faith! We truly can only limit ourselves! I love our Savior Jesus Christ and am so grateful to be able to change myself and become better through Him every day. And I love having the companionship of the Holy Ghost who leads and directs my life! This church is so true! I love it and I love you all!! I hope you all have a great week! You are in my thoughts and prayers!

Love, Soeur Heather Kofford