We got to talk with Jordan today!
Jared was back at work, but Tyson & Ashley were home because it's a teacher work day so they're off school, and Nicole is sick today and stayed home from work, so she was home too - so we all got to say "see" Jordan and say hi! We even took a family picture :)
Jordan is only companions with the missionary from France now that the other one completed his mission and went home. So it's just the two of them, and he is struggling a bit. This Elder speaks French, and so it's hard for them to understand each other sometimes, although it is helping his French to have to understand it and speak it even with his companion! But he said they don't connect like he and Elder Bennett did, and so it's been kind of hard. But he's doing okay, and there's a chance things will change in a week or so when it's transfers. Transfers happen every 6 weeks (after the initial training period of 3 months, or 2 transfers, which just ended for Jordan!) and that's when one or both of the missionaries in a companionship will get moved to another area, with another companion. So Jordan could be moving to another island with another companion! Or he could be staying on Moorea, and his companion could be moving, and he would get a new companion on Moorea. So we will see!
Now that Jordan is with this companion, the area they are serving is farther away. They were given a car to use since their area is farther away, but one of the sister missionaries hurt her knee, and Jordan and his companion felt bad for her having to ride a bike around with a hurt knee, even though their area is closer, so they gave the sisters the car. So he is back on his bike. He said they are visiting a family tonight that lives about an hour away on bike! Hopefully they can get the car back soon.
A while back Jordan sent us a bunch of pictures from a tour of the island that he took, and there was one picture that I didn't really know what it was so I didn't think too much of it. But I learned today that it was a picture of Vanilla beans growing!! That's so cool! Tahiti is known for Vanilla, and is one of the few places in the world that grows it! Apparently vanilla is very hard to grow, and needs pretty precise conditions. Each crop takes about 3 years to produce the vanilla beans we can buy from the store! That's why real vanilla is so expensive. Jordan was given some vanilla beans, ready to use, from someone at church and so we were coming up with ideas of how he could use them! I told him he could slit the beans pen and scrape out all the seeds, and/or he could just soak the whole bean in water or milk or something to infuse it with vanilla flavor. He said he wanted to make French Toast with all the eggs and Baguettes they have, and so maybe he would scrape some of the seeds into the egg mixture for those, or try to make some kind of a vanilla syrup for on top. Sounds delish! He said he would try to bring some vanilla beans home with him. I's so excited!! Real Tahitian Vanilla straight from the farm in Tahiti!! So cool!
Here's that picture of the vanilla bean plant:
Jordan's email was really short this week, and no pictures. He said things were very slow over the holidays, but they have several appointments set up with people this coming week. They have been visiting with a 19 year old girl though, who has been interested in the church, and has been quickly reading through the Book of Mormon! She wants to be baptized on Jan 25 as long as she is ready by then! He thinks she could be ready by then, and she is experiencing changes for the good in her life already. And she even brought a friend to church with her yesterday :)
Here is Jordan's email:
Iaorana tatou! (Hello everybody!) This coming week is my last week of training, you do 12 weeks of learning the ropes and everything and then you are a normal missionary expected to know how to run things without a trainer as a companion! That's crazy! Haha. Not much to report this week, but the French is coming along and the Tahitian very slowly but surely (haere maru, haere papu). Bonne année à tous! (Happy New Year everyone!) Ua here au ia outou!
Elder King
