Moorea!

We got an email from Jordan today!!

And - we got to video chat!!! He had to find a church member who has a computer, who will let him come over and use it to email and video chat on his P-day. Apparently I wasn't getting notified that he was trying to call, so he ended up calling Jared! Jared answered on his computer at work, and then Face-timed me so I could be a part of it! (I am so grateful for technology!) I guess we need to get Google Hangouts figured out, haha.  It was a bit fuzzy and would freeze sometimes, but it was so good to see him and talk to him! Even if it was through Jared's phone looking at his computer screen at work :)

 He told us that he was assigned to the island of Moorea!! And he was in fact part of a trio, and he absolutely loves his two companions!! He said that usually they get put with a Trainer who has been to the place you are assigned, and knows it and the people, but this time they are doing a "white wash" and they are all new to Moorea! One companion, the trainer, has been out for a while, and the other companion came to Tahiti with Jordan! So two "greenies" and a more experienced missionary, all in a new place together. 

Of course when I found out he was in Moorea I had to look it up and find out more about it! I already knew that it was the "gecko foot" shaped island right off of Tahiti. 

but I wanted to google search images of Moorea too...and Oh My Goodness!! Jordan is in a beautiful place!! Check out these pictures of Moorea:

Jordan said there is just one main road that goes around the whole island, and that's where the city part is. Inland is pretty much just jungle. He heard there is good hiking trails in there, and hopes to explore those on some of his P-days!

I am relieved to know he is on an island close to Tahiti for his first area! That means it's more of a city and more civilized and populated. He told us he is in  Afareaitu, which you can see on this map:

He said he can see Tahiti from where he is! And at night it looks cool to see all the city lights across the water on Tahiti. It was only a 30 minute Ferry ride to get there from Papeete.  

Before he left, Jordan was able to meet some other missionaries online that were called to serve in Tahiti with him, through Facebook, and I have become good "Facebook Messenger Friends" with the mother of one of those missionaries. He is from Toronto Canada, and I receive his weekly emails too! I love reading things from his perspective as well as Jordan's. Well, he was assigned to Fa'aa in Tahiti (you can see on the map above that it's directly across from where Jordan is Afareaitu in Moorea!) In his email this week he shared a picture showing the beautiful view from his porch, and you can see perfectly the island of Moorea so close to Tahiti! And based on the map above, it must be Afareaitu where Jordan is too! What a fun glimpse to see where Jordan is!

Jordan wasn't able to send us any pictures this week, so this picture I got from the other missionary's email was even more meaningful to me. Jordan promised to send us double the pictures next week!

Jordan said he lives in a house that has all the amenities that we have, and he purchased a bike which is how he and his companions get around there. He said it's so neat to be riding so close to the ocean all the time.  The people there have been really nice, and almost everyone will stop to talk with them. It's true that it's custom there to go up to someone's house and yell "Iaorana!" (Hello!) and someone will come out to greet you,  Haha!  Apparently there are a lot of dogs there. Guard dogs and stray dogs. He hasn't been bit, but he's heard stories! And speaking of being bit - he says he only has a few mosquito bites :) He loves everything he has eaten so far! (Maybe that will change once he has to eat Fafaru - the fermented fish he explained to us last week) He has eaten Poisson Cru once so far (raw fish cut up into pieces and mixed with coconut milk & lime juice - a Tahitian staple) and said it was actually really good! He had stir fry once and he's eaten mango, pineapple, banana (really small and extra sweet), and he tried papaya for the first time! He said they have really delicious sandwiches there, like panini style and also they'll take a French baguette and cut it lengthwise, and put meats and french fries and all kinds of yummy stuff inside of it! But mostly he eats in people's homes. And mostly they eat rice - lot's of rice! Usually with different kinds of lentils on top. Thankfully, he says it's really good :) He's never been a huge fan of rice, so I'm glad he's enjoying it there!

Jordan said that because he has to go to a members home to use their computer, he only gets an hour and a half on P-days now to read his emails and reply to them, write his group email, and call home. It's an ok amount of time, but it is more restricted than he's used to. He'll get the timing figured out I'm sure. He and his companions were heading to the grocery store after we talked. How neat it would be to see what kinds of new and different things they have there!

Here is Jordan's email this week!

Moorea!

Iaorana!!! What a week, this is such an adventure haha. After I sent
my last email from President Fox's house, we received our trainers and
our sector assignments. My trainer is Elder Bennett, he is absolutely
INCREDIBLE! I am so so so blessed to have him. And we're in a trio
which is fun! Elder Davis, who was in the other Tahitian district at
the MTC, is my companion as well! It's been a lot of fun, they are
really great. We got assigned to the island of Moorea, and left
immediately on a big ferry to get to work! It was about a 30 minute
ride to Moorea from Papeete. In our house there are 7 missionaries
total which is really fun! All 7 of the elders on Moorea are in a
house in Afareaitu and the 4 sisters are somewhere else. My sector is
Haapiti, it's on the west side of the island and it's beautiful! The
people are very, very poor, but for the most part they're happy and so
kind. And the food is soooooo good, I haven't had a single thing I
haven't loved! Tons of rice every meal-- rice with lentils on top is a
staple, I have it basically every single day, but I like it a lot!

C'est tous pour cette semaine, je vous aime beaucoup et je vous
remercie pour vos prières! Prièz pour les gens de Moorea!

(translated: It's all for this week, I love you so much and I'll thank you for your prayers! Pray for the people of Moorea!)

à bientot!
Elder King/Elder Roi