So last Monday was crazy. We were told that they were going to move us out of our house for a while, because they were going to redo a lot of the house, considering it is poorly made, but oh well. Thats pretty much all of the houses out here.

So we packed all the things in the house, except the 2 mattresses, the stove, and the fridge, and we took them all to a friends' house for temporary storage. Then we went to the other building to check how it was coming, since we were to move there, and guess what? it wasn't done yet. BOO. so then we have been sleeping in our same house with absolutely nothing, not even a fork or a spoon. good stuff.

So this week, i went on yet another companion split with Elder Horton in Fareatai. That area of the island is nuts!! Were on bikes, and theres some really killer hills. And not to mention i am on Elder Maoni's bike for that area, and its ghetto as ghetto can get, especially with the brakes. the brakes in the back don't work, and going downhill with just the front brakes is scary. BOO.

we were singing in choir for some missionary program that we're putting together, and we invited some lady to come and help critique. i sang a small solo in one of the songs, and afterwards, she said, "you don't need to practice. you have it mastered, and when you sing, we feel something special." Elder Horton said, "you know what that means? it means that you'll sing all the time now, and that all the girls will like you." i was like "DANG IT!!" seriously, cant help it now. stupid choir practice. ever since then, all the girls giggle even more. stupid.... anyways, she was awfully energetic. but at the end, she was telling how she got "converted" to music. it was because she sang in Grandpas choir. she said that he inspired her to continue in music. thats when Elder Horton yells out, "Elder Shutts is his grandson." anyways, it seems she knew mom, 'cause right off the bat she asked, "OH! You're one of Roselyne's kids?" im guessing that she knew, considering i don't know French ;)

But all in all, everything is good and hot and sweaty, as they should be out here. Still getting eaten by the mosquitoes out here, but whateva.

Hope to write again soon.

by the way, from that link on the site, i can see our house. if you go directly SE from the marker to the first big open gray area, go around the corner down south, where that first big building on the inner side of the island. you can't really see the basketball courts, but theres a greenish roof. it looks almost like 3-4 buildings. we live in the little shack north side of the lot. across the street theres a little store, and then the ocean. cool, i hope you can find it, its really close to the marker.

in raiatea right now. last week, the computers were whack for everyone but me, so we used the comps today. im basically just using the rest of my time on this card. good stuff.

So i went on splits this week for a little while on Tahaa. its all one area right now, and the elders there use a car. It was interesting because thats where my dad served for sometime. too bad, tho, because i met only 1 person old enough to remember the elders back then, and she didnt remember him, but she DID remember older elders, Elder Martinson (my mtc comp's dad) and ElderSmith (my soon to be new mission president). they both served a few years before my dad, and everyone else i met were too young to remember him. oh well. but it is awesome out there, the people are incredible, as they are on Raiatea as well.

now i'm back on Raiatea, and i served for one more day on another split with elder horton in Fareatai, an american from utah. that was my first day on a bike for real, and we went tracting. its interesting when you tract in Tahitian, especially when you're two americans. Its funny because most people think that i'm a native when elder horton speaks better french and tahitian than me. its because of the tan. sweet stuff. but let me tell you, that house in Fareatai stinks. theres no hot water, theres tons of fleas (because of the tons of mangy dogs around), and its so hard to sleep through the night with them biting you. during the day, theres tons of wasps, and they get in the house soo easily. but we just bought the house a couple weeks ago, so i could expect nothing better.

Now i'm back in Vaiaau/Tevaitoa in a car, and back with my normal companion. So things are back to 'normal' or at least as normal as they can get as a missionary. Tomorrow will be interesting because its stake conference and we have an area authority coming to speak. people are coming from all around the island,and some are even taking boats from Tahaa really early in the morning to get here in time. Its awesome, watching people care so much to sacrifice the little they have to express and develop their faith. There is so much power in standing up for something.

Anyways, all is well here. I will write again soon :D

a faaitoito!

Heya all. I still need to tell a lot of people about this place, so pretty much no one has seen this yet, but hi anyways!!

So I am typing on a French keyboard, so I apologize for any spelling errors or punctuation errors. French keyboards are so bah.

So anyways, Im here on Raiatea right now sweating on this sunny P-Day. Its good stuff for sure. Not much has happened except I got to call the family for Mothers day. It was interesting to speak with them again, and in english!!

Our house ran out of gas yesterday, so the last few days we've been taking freezing showers, and haven't been able to warm up our food at all. We don't have a microwave or anything, so its difficult without gas power. Boo.

Anyways, hi to everyone. I hope all is well at home. Its a challenge out here FOR SURE, but all good things are challenging. The best things come attached with sacrifice, and sacrifice sucks. But through thorny ways lead to a joyful end. Seriously, tis true.

I will try to send out pictures and videos soon, and i hope they get home soon too :P

A faaitoito!

It's really hot right now, and it's crazy mouquito-y around me whenever I go outside. OH, AND GET THIS...... I HAVE A FARMERS TAN ALREADY!!!!! amazing!! I've already gone a billion shades darker than I was in the MTC, except for on the undersides of my arms, under my shirt, pants, shoes, etc.

So its pretty hard understanding the Tahitian here. Getting used to the teachers, who take it easy on you AND aren't natives, doesn't help you much when you first get out here. even if they use the same vocab, they move so rapidly between the words and sentence structures that its hard to follow. AND the more French I learn, the more Tahitian I forget. BAH TO THAT!

So anyways, my French is still not that great. In fact, I'm spending most of the time relearning that which was learned in the MTC. But its okay, the people are patient with me, but more importantly, I am patient with myself, more so, actually, than I was in the MTC. weird.

Tama has arrived in Tahiti. He is currently serving on Raiatea, in the Tevaitoa and Vaiaau area. His companion is Elder Yann Colombel, who is his cousin! Yann is currently zone leader, and that means they have a car, which is nice, because they are covering two areas.
Tama at the airport in Tahiti