Sister Kofford in Tahiti: Change in Progress!

2/16/15

Bonjour bonjour friends and family!

I hope life is going well for you and that you are all finding the joy, happiness, and peace that the gospel brings. It was a good and sad week for me. My trainer and first companion here on the islands finished her mission yesterday. Soeur Hunter was such a good example to me and I will always love her. I came into my mission knowing that I would learn something new from each one of my companions. Because each person has something different and special to offer. I had the idea that I would find the strengths of each one of my companions and that I would take that characteristic, attribute, or trait and I would apply it in my life trying to improve myself and become a more Christlike person. But I found with Soeur Hunter that she was good in every way. She was a Christlike missionary. I am so thankful for all of the things that I learned from her. I am thankful for her example to me and to everyone. She truly was such a blessing in my life. I hope that one day I can be like her. Like our Savior, Jesus Christ. My new companion is Soeur Martin. She is French. She is taller than me and incredibly pretty. She was our STL the transfer before and she has also served at the visitors center at Tahiti. I have been blessed again with another great companion. I realized this week that change is something in my life that is hard for me. Hard for the natural man. In our lives we get used to things and get comfortable with our habits not wanting to leave our comfort zones and try new things. But in life change is important. Because change is progress. If you think about the transition each one of us had to take changing from elementary school to Jr High. This was hard. There is no more recess, you have eight different classes to think about instead of just one, you have the opportunity to know and keep track of your grades, you have separate lunches and are not always with your friends, you have to learn how to use a locker, the list goes on and on. But slowly we learn to adapt because we have a goal to get good grades and succeed. For me in my life, making the drill team was another change that changed me. The first couple of months on the team were hard. I had little dance experience and did not really know what I was doing. I was scared of all the older girls and I lacked in confidence. But I continued with this transition with my goals in mind. I wanted to be as flexible as Hailey Wright, I wanted to be able to dance like Brianna Palmer, and I wanted to improve my confidence in my social life. With this change in my life and these goals, I progressed. I think that we can also apply this concept for our investigators here on Huahine. With each baptism, there has to be change. Before a person is baptized, they have to change. They have to quit their addictions and be commited to come unto Christ. They have to have faith, putting their trust in God and they have to repent and CHANGE. This is a major progression in life. So all in all change is important. It is a way that we can progress! This week in your lives, find something that you can change. So that you can progress, improve, and become more like the person God knows you can be. Thanks again for everything ! Your love, support, thoughts, and prayers! I love you all ! Have a great week!

Love, Soeur Heather Kofford