July 6 email "I Love America"

First off, I want to say happy birthday to the most amazing man in this earth that has raised me to what I am today. Any of you that have mugs that say "World's #1 Dad," you better hold on to them tight because I'm going to slap it out of your hands. Only my dad deserves to use that mug because he truly is #1. Don't worry dad, I got your back. 

We were able to do some solid missionary work this week as we found some new investigators in both wards. I am finally starting to get used to teaching with someone translating everything I say so the investigator can understand what is happening. It forces us to teach very very simply. Luckily most people we teach speak English so we don't need a translator too often. There are so many islanders in this area that need to be baptized and are prepared to do it, but they just will not follow through on showing up to things such as ward activities, church, or their baptism. We are forced to have lots of patience, but these people are amazing so we will keep trying. I am still learning so much about the culture every day. This week a member taught us how to make the amazing drink I was talking about last week. It was probably one of the better things I have learned on my mission. 

The 4th of July was pretty cool. Some nearby elders had a baptism in the morning that we went to. We then met up with some of the Tongan members and had a BBQ with them. Tongans know how to BBQ. We saw a few of our investigators, and then ate dinner and hid in the church with the other missionaries for the rest of the night as directed by the Mission President. I guess he didn't want a bunch of 18-20 year old kids lighting fireworks all night, so we played games at the church instead. I hope you all enjoyed your fireworks. Happy Birthday America.

The last weeks of my mission have been, and will continue to be crazy. It boggles my mind that it has been 2 years. It will be hard to leave all of this behind. 

Here is a picture of us and our success at making Otai. It was amazing. 

This work is real.

Elder Black