Wow, can you believe its almost Christmas time.....now I think about it, you will probably get this letter in January, hahaha, but that is alright. Merry Christmas Anyway!
So my week has been really depressing with our investigators not making the progress that we had hoped. We continue to work hard and have faith. So, instead of talking about the work, I thought I would just talk to you about some of the things that I am grateful for since it is Thanksgiving back home.
I would like to start off by telling you Mom and Dad how grateful I am for such amazing parents. You two have been perfect examples to me of how true disciples of Christ should raise their kids! Mom & Dad I am so grateful that I have you two to look up to! Thank you for raising me up in this gospel! Thank you for being married in the temple, so our family can be sealed forever. Thank you for giving me the opportunities to chase after my dreams & my passions (football, track, snowboarding) & a million more things! Thank you for supporting me through everything I ever did! Thank you for giving me this beautiful opportunity to serve the Lord because it it weren't for you, I wouldn't have had this once in a life time opportunity. I love you both more than words can explain! THANK YOU!
Brittany, thank you for being an example to me my whole life growing up! Thank you for showing me the ropes on how the oldest should act! Trust me you were the better one at it by far! Thank you for beautiful haircuts! Thank you for marrying someone our family all loves!
Brandon, thank you for being my best friend. Being out here reminds me of how much fun we had together. I will never forget the summer and all the bonding we had. Frisbee, sea dooing, wrestling in the lake, playing zombie highway, watching heros, eating top ramen, going the temple and then after going and getting BETOs. I love having you as my brother. I could not be more lucky!
Brooke, you are so incredible! I am so thankful for you and your loving self. When you sacrificed your personal camera and gave it to me for my mission, it touched my heart and showed me so much love. I think about you every time I use it. I am so lucky to have a sister like you to look up to. Soon I am going to be looking up to you literally! I hear you are growing so fast, haha! Thank you for showing me love and kindness. I will never be able to thank you enough for your loving sacrifices.
This last part, just for kicks & giggles, I thought I would share with you some of the little things I am grateful for that I normally wouldn't have thought of at home. They are: "showers, flushing toilets, water pressure, cold water, ice cubes, sidewalks, lights, fast mail service, laundry machines, pens and paper, some american foods, convenience of purchasing things, and Brittany's haircuts!
Happy Thanksgiving!
I love you all and I hope next week goes better for our investigators so that I can share more positive news.
Love you all!
Your Missionary
Elder Harmon
Monday, November 25, 2013
Monday, November 18, 2013
Hand Written Letter (Dated 11-18-13) [#9 from Tonga]
Hey Family,
How is everything going your way? It has been a fantastic week for my companion and I here in Nuapapu! Things picking up for some of our inactive members. This Sunday we had three of them show up to church. It was quite amazing! The ward delayed the temple trip for the ward until early next year in hopes that more members can go to the temple. This means that Elder Price and I have a lot of work to do to help them prepare.
This week I also had the amazing opportunity! Our Bishop's son & I have grown pretty close and he still had not been baptized so he asked me if I would do it. It was an incredible experience to baptize someone that I have grown so close to. The day of the baptism was beautiful!! The entire ward was singing in Tongan as we walked out into the ocean. I had to memorize seven names plus the Tongan baptismal prayer in just a few minutes. Haha, no problem. I had the Lord on my side and everything went just fine.
After the baptism, I was asked to give a talk about missionary work...I had 2 minutes to prepare. It was a little scary for me because our stake president was there. So, I just did my best to relate missionary work to service and explain how service opens up doors for missionary work. I was also able to bless the sacrament in Tonga for the first time. I was very hard, haha .... especially having to say it 'perfectly'! But it worked out! :)
Just last night, Elder Price and I had a pretty incredible experience. We had come to the house about 8ish, when one of our investigators asked if we could come do a lesson at his house. We looked at each other and said, "Of Course!" Earlier this week we had been a bit discouraged because of our concern about our investigator being able to keep the commitments leading to baptism. But as we talked to him, he said that he had stopped smoking for now about 6 days and he was ready to follow through on other commitments. Having him say these words has made this whole last 4 months of sacrifice all worth it! He is on the straight and narrow and preparing for baptism! If he comes to church on Sunday, then he has an appointment with the bishop right after for a baptismal interview!
He also invited one of his friends to l listen to us and our message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is incredible to see how Heavenly Father prepares and opens doors. This work is truly incredible! The Lord loves everyone and I am blessed enough to be put on a tiny island of 60 people in a village and still be able to affect individual lives.
I want you to know that this is the Lord's work and that he is always there to guide us. The power of prayers is real. Heavenly Father is always listening, even when it feels like you are are all alone. Our Savior has felt all of our dissappointments, and I know I can always turn to him for comfort. The scriptures contain knowledge that we need, daily! I love this gospel and this work!
I love you family with all of my heart! I want you to know that I am doing well and that I will see you before we know it, so I have to take advantage of this time :) You are incredible! I love all of you and I hope you are able to feel my love.
Your Missionary / Son / Brother
Elder Hamoni
P.S. The children found out my first name, so they call me BIAKA & sometimes MONI
How is everything going your way? It has been a fantastic week for my companion and I here in Nuapapu! Things picking up for some of our inactive members. This Sunday we had three of them show up to church. It was quite amazing! The ward delayed the temple trip for the ward until early next year in hopes that more members can go to the temple. This means that Elder Price and I have a lot of work to do to help them prepare.
This week I also had the amazing opportunity! Our Bishop's son & I have grown pretty close and he still had not been baptized so he asked me if I would do it. It was an incredible experience to baptize someone that I have grown so close to. The day of the baptism was beautiful!! The entire ward was singing in Tongan as we walked out into the ocean. I had to memorize seven names plus the Tongan baptismal prayer in just a few minutes. Haha, no problem. I had the Lord on my side and everything went just fine.
After the baptism, I was asked to give a talk about missionary work...I had 2 minutes to prepare. It was a little scary for me because our stake president was there. So, I just did my best to relate missionary work to service and explain how service opens up doors for missionary work. I was also able to bless the sacrament in Tonga for the first time. I was very hard, haha .... especially having to say it 'perfectly'! But it worked out! :)
Just last night, Elder Price and I had a pretty incredible experience. We had come to the house about 8ish, when one of our investigators asked if we could come do a lesson at his house. We looked at each other and said, "Of Course!" Earlier this week we had been a bit discouraged because of our concern about our investigator being able to keep the commitments leading to baptism. But as we talked to him, he said that he had stopped smoking for now about 6 days and he was ready to follow through on other commitments. Having him say these words has made this whole last 4 months of sacrifice all worth it! He is on the straight and narrow and preparing for baptism! If he comes to church on Sunday, then he has an appointment with the bishop right after for a baptismal interview!
He also invited one of his friends to l listen to us and our message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is incredible to see how Heavenly Father prepares and opens doors. This work is truly incredible! The Lord loves everyone and I am blessed enough to be put on a tiny island of 60 people in a village and still be able to affect individual lives.
I want you to know that this is the Lord's work and that he is always there to guide us. The power of prayers is real. Heavenly Father is always listening, even when it feels like you are are all alone. Our Savior has felt all of our dissappointments, and I know I can always turn to him for comfort. The scriptures contain knowledge that we need, daily! I love this gospel and this work!
I love you family with all of my heart! I want you to know that I am doing well and that I will see you before we know it, so I have to take advantage of this time :) You are incredible! I love all of you and I hope you are able to feel my love.
Your Missionary / Son / Brother
Elder Hamoni
P.S. The children found out my first name, so they call me BIAKA & sometimes MONI
Thursday, November 14, 2013
E-mail (Dated: 11/14/2013)
Hey Everyone!
So it has been a very good last couple of weeks. We have been working very hard with the non-active members, along with working with one of our investigators!!!!
Our investigator is my age. He is keeping most of the commitments but struggling with others. A lot of the challenge is the environment that is hard to escape with other youth. He has read a lot of the Book of Mormon and he has a testimony of it!!!! So we are just going to keep working with faith that he can overcome his challenges!!!
Just yesterday we had an opportunity to teach the teacher of the primary age kids. We found out that he was soon to be married and that he has already been baptized..... So we talked to him about the importance of temple marriages and being seal for all time and eternity!!!! It was incredible to feel the spirit in that room! He has the strongest desire to be married for all time and eternity, so this week we will continue in teaching him!!!!
A lot of the island is already baptized but there is not a lot of gospel knowledge with many of the members. Even though they know the church is true, often some members choose to go to church with other family members that belong to other denominations. I believe that most of the elderly people have a testimony of the Book of Mormon but again, they want to go to the church where there family attends. So this is very hard, but all we can do is keep praying and keep trying everyday!!!!
We also today had the opportunity to teach the primary students (elementry school) it was a blast they absulutley love the missionaries and love learning about the gospel!!!!!!!
I also had the opportunity to finish the book Man's Search for Happiness and it is incredible!!!! I love that book. It has given me such a great and beautiful understanding of the church and our amazing blessing of having the knowledge of eternal families!!!!!
I have eaten some pretty great things!!!! Lots of horse!!! Its amazing!!! hahah then we had lobster and shell fish!!!!! SO we have been eating pretty good, my comp thinks I'm turning Tongan because of how much I eat and the things I'm willing to eat..... My language is getting better but it is still so hard for me.... oh and our roof leaks water again....on our beds... hahaha, so hopefully it stops raining hahahaha.....
I love you all!
So it has been a very good last couple of weeks. We have been working very hard with the non-active members, along with working with one of our investigators!!!!
Our investigator is my age. He is keeping most of the commitments but struggling with others. A lot of the challenge is the environment that is hard to escape with other youth. He has read a lot of the Book of Mormon and he has a testimony of it!!!! So we are just going to keep working with faith that he can overcome his challenges!!!
Just yesterday we had an opportunity to teach the teacher of the primary age kids. We found out that he was soon to be married and that he has already been baptized..... So we talked to him about the importance of temple marriages and being seal for all time and eternity!!!! It was incredible to feel the spirit in that room! He has the strongest desire to be married for all time and eternity, so this week we will continue in teaching him!!!!
A lot of the island is already baptized but there is not a lot of gospel knowledge with many of the members. Even though they know the church is true, often some members choose to go to church with other family members that belong to other denominations. I believe that most of the elderly people have a testimony of the Book of Mormon but again, they want to go to the church where there family attends. So this is very hard, but all we can do is keep praying and keep trying everyday!!!!
We also today had the opportunity to teach the primary students (elementry school) it was a blast they absulutley love the missionaries and love learning about the gospel!!!!!!!
I also had the opportunity to finish the book Man's Search for Happiness and it is incredible!!!! I love that book. It has given me such a great and beautiful understanding of the church and our amazing blessing of having the knowledge of eternal families!!!!!
I have eaten some pretty great things!!!! Lots of horse!!! Its amazing!!! hahah then we had lobster and shell fish!!!!! SO we have been eating pretty good, my comp thinks I'm turning Tongan because of how much I eat and the things I'm willing to eat..... My language is getting better but it is still so hard for me.... oh and our roof leaks water again....on our beds... hahaha, so hopefully it stops raining hahahaha.....
I love you all!
Monday, November 11, 2013
Meeting with the Forsbergs
Our next door neighbor's parents went to Tonga years ago for a mission. Tonight we were able to do a family home evening with them and hear about their experiences on the island. It was a wonderful experience and they were so kind to share these memories with us. One thing that was really neat was that they had prepared a slide show for us. The first picture that they showed us was a picture of an island that they had taken a picture of from the airplane. All of the sudden, we looked at each other and said, "That is Blake's island of Nuapapu!" We could not believe it. Out of the over 100 islands in Tonga, they had taken a picture of the island where Blake is currently serving. We have posted pictures of it before, but this picture is unique where it shows a clear picture of the two villages where Blake is now serving. It is very clear that there are not a lot of houses on the island. Gives a great perspective!
Hand Written Letter (Dated 11/11/2013) [#8 from Tonga]
Hey My Incredibly Amazing Family!
Aw, I hope you are all doing so well! I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season and most of all enjoying being together as such an amazing family. We are so so blessed to have this incredible family that we do. This week I read the book "Our Search for Happiness" I absolutely fell in love with it. The book describes things about our church in such detail, and brings so much joy. I really like when it talks about the family and how it is eternal. I have never been so overwhelmed with love and peace in my heart. We have such an amazing gift given to us and that is the knowledge of this gospel.
This week, my companion and I, along with the members of Nuapapu have been focusing on a quote by David O. Mckay "Every Member a Missionary"! So all week, my companion and I have gone to the member's houses and invited them to think of someone they know that they could invite to listen to the missionaries and come to church. It has been an awesome experience seeing the members get so involved and have a strong desire to have their friends hear the message of the true restored gospel here on the earth.
At the moment we only have one progressing investigator but he has been keeping commitments and has been reading the Book of Mormon. He is my age. We are teaching him lesson 4 about the Sabbath day, tithing, chastity, and the Word of Wisdom. It will be interesting because he struggles with the word of wisdom. We will continue to have lots of faith on his behalf.
This week we were able to do a few service projects. We have been able to help some people in the "bush" and we have helped do the leaf stuff, be we also get to help put someone's boat in the water. Talk about something being heavy!
This week I ate something new, horse! We actually ate it for about five days this week. We also ate seagull. You can't do that in Utah, haha. Horse is actually really good surprisingly.
I want to give you a few challenges. First, you need to be a missionary to everyone! One of my regrets from home was that I believe I could have been a greater missionary to my friends. I could have mentioned the church more and I could have invited them to church more. I was always afraid of losing them or being the friend that only talked about the church, but I can tell you....I promise you will be happier if you will be the friend that is centered on the church. You will touch people's hearts adn you will make the difference! One more challenge is tho read the book "Our Search for Happiness". Focus on us as a family and the amazing gift we have been given to have the gospel in our lives.
I love you all so much! We are an eternal family and a family that can make a difference! You are so incredible! Thank you for your support and love! You will never know how much it has meant to me!
Every Harmon A Missionary!
With so much love
Elder Harmon
Aw, I hope you are all doing so well! I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season and most of all enjoying being together as such an amazing family. We are so so blessed to have this incredible family that we do. This week I read the book "Our Search for Happiness" I absolutely fell in love with it. The book describes things about our church in such detail, and brings so much joy. I really like when it talks about the family and how it is eternal. I have never been so overwhelmed with love and peace in my heart. We have such an amazing gift given to us and that is the knowledge of this gospel.
This week, my companion and I, along with the members of Nuapapu have been focusing on a quote by David O. Mckay "Every Member a Missionary"! So all week, my companion and I have gone to the member's houses and invited them to think of someone they know that they could invite to listen to the missionaries and come to church. It has been an awesome experience seeing the members get so involved and have a strong desire to have their friends hear the message of the true restored gospel here on the earth.
At the moment we only have one progressing investigator but he has been keeping commitments and has been reading the Book of Mormon. He is my age. We are teaching him lesson 4 about the Sabbath day, tithing, chastity, and the Word of Wisdom. It will be interesting because he struggles with the word of wisdom. We will continue to have lots of faith on his behalf.
This week we were able to do a few service projects. We have been able to help some people in the "bush" and we have helped do the leaf stuff, be we also get to help put someone's boat in the water. Talk about something being heavy!
This week I ate something new, horse! We actually ate it for about five days this week. We also ate seagull. You can't do that in Utah, haha. Horse is actually really good surprisingly.
I want to give you a few challenges. First, you need to be a missionary to everyone! One of my regrets from home was that I believe I could have been a greater missionary to my friends. I could have mentioned the church more and I could have invited them to church more. I was always afraid of losing them or being the friend that only talked about the church, but I can tell you....I promise you will be happier if you will be the friend that is centered on the church. You will touch people's hearts adn you will make the difference! One more challenge is tho read the book "Our Search for Happiness". Focus on us as a family and the amazing gift we have been given to have the gospel in our lives.
I love you all so much! We are an eternal family and a family that can make a difference! You are so incredible! Thank you for your support and love! You will never know how much it has meant to me!
Every Harmon A Missionary!
With so much love
Elder Harmon
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Found some pictures on Facebook
We found out that there is a Facebook page for the Tongan Mission. We found a few pictures of Blake that we wanted to put up.
Monday, November 4, 2013
Hand Written Letter (Dated 11/4/2013) [#7 from Tonga]
Hey Family!
So I just recently go to talk to you on email so you are pretty updated!! However, I just received you first letters that you sent me so I am going to go through and answer your questions.
Staring with you Dad! I am so glad to hear that your job is going well! You will have to keep me updated. Where is your new job located? I can't wait to hear about your opportunities. You mentioned that life is moving fast! I know it is crazy and we really do need to take in every moment. Love you Dad! And I love how you said we need to motivate people by telling them what they can be, or could have. I am going to use this in teaching.
Mom, you are next. You asked how I am....I am going great! I love Nuapapu! You asked how the Island is. IT is good. The work is slow, but exciting things happen every day and it is an experience of a lifetime, there is no doubt about that! I talked to every person on the island in about two hours! Pretty crazy isn't it! Yeah mom, you know you are getting old when you have a missionary out...haha! You are still young to me. You said that I will have some neat experiences to share when I get home, and that is true!
---
Blake then wrote some specific things to his siblings.
---
Sorry, I would write more, but I am running low on paper in Motu! Love you all so much!
I am going to give you all a challenge, especially the kids. Write in your journal every day! This is my biggest regret! Mom....make them do it!
Love Elder Harmon
So I just recently go to talk to you on email so you are pretty updated!! However, I just received you first letters that you sent me so I am going to go through and answer your questions.
Staring with you Dad! I am so glad to hear that your job is going well! You will have to keep me updated. Where is your new job located? I can't wait to hear about your opportunities. You mentioned that life is moving fast! I know it is crazy and we really do need to take in every moment. Love you Dad! And I love how you said we need to motivate people by telling them what they can be, or could have. I am going to use this in teaching.
Mom, you are next. You asked how I am....I am going great! I love Nuapapu! You asked how the Island is. IT is good. The work is slow, but exciting things happen every day and it is an experience of a lifetime, there is no doubt about that! I talked to every person on the island in about two hours! Pretty crazy isn't it! Yeah mom, you know you are getting old when you have a missionary out...haha! You are still young to me. You said that I will have some neat experiences to share when I get home, and that is true!
---
Blake then wrote some specific things to his siblings.
---
Sorry, I would write more, but I am running low on paper in Motu! Love you all so much!
I am going to give you all a challenge, especially the kids. Write in your journal every day! This is my biggest regret! Mom....make them do it!
Love Elder Harmon
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