its been a while.

so yeah, the email has been freaking out for a little while, and i cant really recieve emails for some time. thats annoying.

other than that, ça va, Faa'a. Its ok here, not really amazing. Its kinda dangerous riding bikes here. Its like riding bikes on the freeway with a bunch of drivers-ed kids without the instructors. its kinda bad.

But its ok, danger is my middle name! ..... its actually michael, but that sounds kinda stupid. Tama Danger Shutts! thats much better.

~~TDS

i was sitting in church the other day, and i noticed that
every time the congregation would get a little loud, they'd
hold up a sign that said Reverence please. hah, what an
oxymoron.

anyways i love you all, and i promise more next time.

so yeah. got transferred from raiatea this week. Im now in Faaa, Tahiti.

I will not lie, it was soo hard leaving Raiatea. Leaving with the knowledge that quite possibly i might never see those people again, it really did hurt. I never thought it would turn out like that. And now, Raiatea, for me, really is my "ra'i atea."

But now i am in Faaa. i have already met tons in my family. one could not believe the amount of joy that i am getting just by being able to understand them, let alone, being able to speak with them. it just increases my love for my family. How great a blessing it is, even if we cannot understand it all.

~Tama

didnt write last week, why? cause a ton of stuff was happening.

yeah, got transferred. where? tevaitoa, veiaau, raiatea.

yup. we're in a trio. elder recio went home for serveral reasons, the likes of which i cannot reveal (totally private), and now im staying here until the end of this month. and maybe, im looking at a tahiti transfer to train someone....yeah, i didnt want that. gahhh, responsibility. dang.

but yeah, everything is going alright, but its sad that theres no missionaries in my last sector. its too bad, because theres sooo many good people who could be helped, but now, will have to wait. *sigh*

~Tama

Wow, what a flash back.

in the little computer lab where we do our emails, theres a radio thats always on, and it usually plays the songs that i've forgotten from yesteryear. Hah, it was playing Ace of Base 'Dont Turn Around.' I remember that song from pretty much the last time i came to Tahiti. Oh that and the Cranberry's 'Zombie' which i happen to hear nearly every week. Oh yeah.

Anyways, thats enough reminiscing.

We had a Zone Conference this week. it was kinda odd for me, as the only sectors left in our zone are the sectors in our district. that means that out of all of Raromatai, there is only one island, Raiatea, which is open. Bora Bora, Huahine, Tahaa, Maupiti, they are all closed. Phew, we need more missionaries out here for sure.

But yeah, things are going well. President is a beast, and so is his wife. and when i say that, i dont mean literally beastly in appearance, because thats actually the tahitians most of the time. But yeah, theyre awesome.

I dont have too much time, and what time i have is expensive, so thats my little spiel for today.

Love you all, hope all is well.

so yeah, stuff has happened this week. no transfer, not yet. so i don't know how long i will stay on Raiatea.

there have been a ton of people ending their missions lately, one elder who started with us went home, and there are a ton who are finishing soon. a large group has just finished, that's elder Temarono's group, and there are 4 new Americans coming soon. Tubuai has been opened, and Huahine and Bora Bora have been closed. So that leaves Raiatea in all of Raromatai. Our district is now the same as our Zone. weird.

So yeah, not much else has changed. Still on a bike, and still in the same sector. we are, however, looking at changing houses, since the owner of our current one is a thief. No joke ;P exploitation to the max!

anyways, i gotta go, i hope you are all doing well, and i think of you all often!
~Tama

In the absence of a post from Tama, here are a few more pictures:

More pictures

or if that link doesn't work, click in the sidebar to the left.

A ton had happened. But I have a story that will probably take the time to say, so i'll go ahead and write it down.

Theres a family here, a partial member family, that is incredible. The Guinot family. The father comes from France and is not a member, and the mother is a native and a member. We spend a lot of time with them because they are awesome. We spend a lot of time with them during the week because they really help us out and they love the missionaries.

One day we were at a members house with them when their son-in-law came barreling down the road, horn blazing. As we went out to meet him, he yelled to us, saying that their house was on fire. In a panic, the Guinots left.

Later on in the day, they came back to the members house. We spent some more time consoling, but after nearly 5 minutes, their normal spirits were back, regardless of their misfortune. And thats when they told us the condition of their property.

There was nothing left. The whole house completely burned. A car on the side of the house is no longer usable. There is a platform which holds coprah nearly 2 yards away, and the near side was burnt. All the glass inside had melted due to extreme heat, and their son, who lives 30 ft away from them, had to go around the house out the back door because the heat was so extreme. Rummaging through the wreckage, they found something incredible. She recalled that she put her bag which she takes to church near the door. The bag was completely burned, nothing left. However, there, on the floor, was a partially burned hymnbook, a partially burned Liahona magazine (a church publishing), a partially burnt Bible, and a partially burnt Book of Mormon. They were slightly charred, but completely intact. Completely readable. The only damage they had recieved were on the covers.

Its amazing to think that the only things that survived were those things. The only things, not even the house survived. To me, this testifies truly, that the same power which protected the Bible also proteted the other materials. How grateful I am to hold the truth, to know that this is the power which has called me here, and how grateful I am to have been reassured that He is forever behind me. How grateful I am.