E HAERE AU I PAPEARI

 Transfer!!

We got an email from Jordan Monday evening telling us he's been transferred!! This will be his first time changing locations while serving, and we were so anxious to hear where he would be transferred to! It could be anywhere in his mission - which boundaries are this:

It's a little blurry and hard to see, but the entire outlined area is Jordan's mission boundaries. The island of Tahiti is labeled in bold letters, and is the center of his mission. But it basically covers all of French Polynesia, from the Cook Islands to the Marquesas.

Here is Jordan's email:

Iaorana tatou! (Hello everyone!) I GOT TRANSFERED TO PAPEARI!!! It was SO incredibly sad to leave Moorea, but I'm so excited to be here. It's so different from Moorea haha. My new companion is Elder Rogers, he's hilarious, I'm pumped to get to work with him. Papeari is on the south-east-ish of Tahiti. And Elder Giles--my 2nd companion at the MTC--is in my district here! So that's gonna be super fun. I miss the people of Moorea so much, they are very special and I've grown to love so many of them. But there are more people to love out there! I know eventually it'll be sad to leave here too--there are people to love no matter where you go. Merci pour tout le soutien que vous me donnez (Thanks for all the support you give me), ua here rahi au ia outou.

Elder King

PS:

We also had two baptisms this Saturday! Two cousins Heia and Maria got baptized together on the same day, they are very close and it was a really special day for them. I got to baptize and confirm Heia, and Elder Ringger got to baptize and confirm Maria. I'm so excited for them, it was so hard to leave, but I'm so happy I got to be there to see them get baptized, I've seen them change so much and it's been such a special experience for me. Now it's time to grow to love the people of Mahaiatea :)

So Jordan is on the island of Tahiti! In an area called Papeari! Of course I had to look it up to see where that is:

I'm happy to know he's on Tahiti, where it's more of a city and there are lots of stores and food options and good technology for keeping in contact! I don't actually know what his area is like though, if it's touristy or more rural. I can't wait to talk with him on Monday (hopefully!) and ask lots of questions! 

It also warms my heart to hear how much he grew to love so many of the people on Moorea where he was. And that he had such a neat experience getting to see someone's life change for the better as they come unto Christ. My heart is so full <3

The Bananas Strike Back

Jordan had a situation with some bananas this week....he was given a big bag of bananas (he said like 30 bananas!), which he was trying to bike home with (haha), and ended up crashing ...twice! He landed on the bananas the first time, squishing all but 4 of them (hahaha) but they cushioned his fall nicely! So he left the squished bananas on the side of the road and continued home with the 4 good bananas in the bag. Then when the bag got caught in his spokes, he flew off his bike, bruising his shoulder and ribs on one side, and scratching the palm of one hand, but nothing major. He's laughing about it now - thankfully!! 

Here's Jordan's email from this week:



A Word of Counsel: Do not bike with an extremely heavy bag of bananas hanging on your handlebar. It's possible that you could lose control and fall off your bike, and then get back on and five minutes later, the bag could theoretically get caught in your wheel and make you fall off your bike again. Theoretically ;)

We've been teaching a lot about the Restoration of the Gospel and Church of Jesus Christ this week to help members prepare for the General Conference this April. The prophet has said that each individual and family needs to prepare themselves for this upcoming conference by reading the account of the First Vision found in Joseph Smith--History, as well as by thinking of what your life would be like without the Book of Mormon. I am so incredibly grateful for the knowledge that I have because of Restored Truth through the Book of Mormon and modern-day prophets, and for the joy and peace and direction I have in my life because of it. I hope you will all do what you can to prepare for this next Conference too, including praying to know if the Book of Mormon is true or not, or even praying for a strengthened testimony if you have already received your response. If there are prophets on the earth today, we must know! It is absolutely imperative to know and listen to what they say. Just like Moses for the ancient Israelites, the prophets of today lead the Lord's people out of the hands of destruction and into the promised land. If we listen to them, we will not be led astray. We will find so much more joy and peace in our life and with our family, and we will know how to obtain all of the blessings that God wants for us in this life and in the life to come. Listen to the words of the prophets. God has never closed the heavens. The heavens have only ever been closed by men and their unbelief. God has always been willing to give revelation to those who are willing to receive it. For those who want to listen, there will be a General Conference broadcast on TV and churchofjesuschrist.org the first weekend of April where we will hear the prophets and apostles of God speak to us. What in incredible opportunity--I can't think of anything more important. All of their words from years past are available on churchofjesuschrist.org .

I love you all and think about you and pray for your well being more than you know :)

Elder King

He also said in a separate email:

I also got the Dengue again this week (second time's the charm), but it wasn't too bad. My companions gave me a priesthood blessing and it passed really quickly. Dengue mosquito.

He didn't send an email last week, but we got to have a short chat and he told me he had a bad headache and felt like maybe he had gotten The Dengue (pronounced Dang) Fever again. He told me in our video chat this week that he did end up getting it and he mostly just slept the beginning of the week. He recovered quicker than last time though, and got out on his bike again - and that's when the banana incident happened...

He seems happier than he has in a while when we chatted with him though! It was such a great chat and so good to see him laughing and joking and so happy :) 

I just love that boy of mine so! 

RAIN!

This week we just got a short reply to an email from Jordan. No group email and no phone call. I think he's been busy. And I'm so glad he's making time to have fun on his P-days!
And - he did upload some pictures!!

He replied to an email I had sent him earlier last week, saying,

 "I'm doing well, it rained HARD this week! Everywhere was like flooded! Haha it was insane but really fun too! Now its super hot and humid today, but we're gonna go play some basketball so that'll be fun! Its with all the missionaries on Moorea, 6 elders and 4 sisters. Its not competitive or anything, just shooting around, but its fun. At the chapel of Pao pao. Love you too!"

And then I saw the pictures he sent, and he wasn't kidding! It did rain HARD!
And he does look like he's having fun :)

If you look to the left in the background of this picture you can see the house built up on a mound and up on stilts. I'm guessing flooding must be a regular thing there. I guess it's bound to be on a tiny island in the middle of the ocean! 

They must have been driving around in it...

Crazy! 

Anyway, Jordan had Zone conference on Tahiti last week, and sent some pictures from the boat ride to Tahiti for that. I love that he appreciates the scenic beauty and wants to share it with us in pictures:

And we got a picture of Jordan with his new companion Elder Ringger!! 

On the boat to Tahiti

This must be some of the other missionaries that took the boat together to Tahiti. 

I love seeing Jordan's happy face!

At Zone Conference, the Mission Presidents wife takes some pictures and posts them to the private facebook page. There were only group pics this time where I had to search to spot Jordan. But I found him!! I LOVE having whatever pictures of him I can get! I love being able to get a glimpse of what he's doing and what it's like there:

All of the missionaries in Jordan's zone with the Mission President and his wife

They always feed them well at Zone Conference <3 

I'm so happy Jordan gets to sing there too

Wish I could see some video of the singing so I could hear his voice :)

I'm SO grateful for what technology he has there so we can get pictures and updates so often!