Yahoué 2

Well Christmas has come and gone and now it's back to reality. This week focused a lot on finding the members and inactives in our sector and sharing a Christmas message. We have one member who is in a retirement home so we asked the director there if we could come sing for them in Christmas Eve. That was probably one of the highlights of the week. Thanks to a Christmas package from my family we were able to give each of them a little snowflake ornament and the smiles on their faces were priceless. 

Christmas Eve was spent with the Mocellin family. Dinner consisted of lobster, crab, fish, shrimp, and all things YUMMY! Christmas here is a little different than Christmas in America. Everyone opens their presents at midnight and then celebrate all through the night and then sleep the 25th. I'd have to say that I like the way we celebrate in America. 

Christmas Day I got to Skype my family and I was a nervous wreck. The anticipation killed me, but I couldn't have been happier to see them. Distance makes the heart grow fonder. It was a great way to start the day, and then the whole mission in New Caledonia got together for the rest of the day to celebrate with games, food, and small gifts. As the New Year is about to start and everyone will be making New Years Resolutions, I encourage you to pray to know what goals to set and to have them focused on Christ. Because your Father in Heaven knows you better than you know yourself, He will help you improve in ways that maybe you never even thought about. With goals centered on Christ and the will of God, I can promise you that your relationship with the two most important people in your life will grow, their presence will be stronger, and their blessings more abundant. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

Big Hugs, 
Sœur Stahura

Somewhere over the rainbow (:

Yahoué 1 pictures

Soeur Casuga!

Baby Blue (:

Trio for the week

Yahoué 1

Talk about a busy week! Like I said last week, we were in a trio until Friday and had to work in both the sectors of Paita and Tontouta, and pack our bags, and say goodbye to those in our sector to get ready for the transfer. But, we did it and we are still alive haha. 

So Friday was the big day! My "baby blue" is Soeur Casuga. She's 19, from Hawaii, and is the cutest, happiest, most optimistic person ever. I'm really excited to work with her and I'm grateful that I get to be her trainer. Our new sector is MUCH smaller than Tontouta but I like it a lot because it'll be easy to find our way around and white washing won't be such a daunting task. I am also excited that we kind of get to make this sector our own since we are both new here and we will be able to start fresh and work together. 

I also LOVE my new ward! Every one is so nice and just loves the missionaries. Friday night was the ward Christmas party and of course the missionaries were "voluntold" to do the nativity scene, but it was fun. They also sang some of their cultural songs for those who are from the islands and the young women did cultural dances. I really enjoyed it (:

Christmas just kind of snuck up on me. Can't believe it's this week! I happened to read the birth of Christ recently and I love Mary's experience. I imagine she was scared and probably didn't feel worthy for the task. I know I have felt this way before as I'm sure we all have, but I love the counsel she received from the angel: "For with God nothing shall be impossible" and her response, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to they word" (Luke 1:37-38). She said "okay, here I am, weaknesses and all, I'll do it". Sometimes making the first step to just say "okay, I'll do it" is the hardest but He will "guide our feet into the way of peace" (Luke 1:79). And yes, sometimes it's a daily, even hourly decision, but He will help us get through if we, like Mary, submit to His will.

I'm thankful for My Savior and I pray that we will remember the reason for the season. He is the gift.

With all my love this Christmas Season,

Soeur Stahura 

Tontouta 10

Story time! Well, first I apologize for not doing a weekly email last week, but I'm back!

Okay... so it was Saturday night, December 5. We went to have a lesson with Jesabelle. She is ten years old and has been taking the lessons for a while but the elders before us kept saying she likes to "play around". She'll say she wants to get baptized but then change her mind and didn't really pay attention to the lessons. So we picked up where they left off and to me she seemed so sweet and she retained everything that she had been taught. So, that night she asked, "is it usually you who pick the date for the baptism?" So we explained that we pray and pick the date, but that she is more than welcome to pick the date if she feels ready. So I asked her "do you want to do it in December, January, Feburary...?" She said, "I think December". So she will be getting baptized this Friday, December 18 at 5pm. She said that when she was at Madeline's baptism and Madeline came out of the water she thought "I need to get baptized, too!"

Here's the thing... I don't get to go to the baptism... because.. I'm getting transferred! The transfer meeting is the morning of her baptism. That's okay, I'm still really happy for her. So I will be white washing (again) and training in the sector of Yahoué. I don't know my companion's name yet, but I now that she is from Hawaii. I'm currently in the north zone and  Yahoué is in the south zone so all new everything this transfer! Prayers would be greatly appreciated haha. 

Other news: the departing missionaries leave before the new missionaries come so for this week I am in a random trio and we have to do two sectors at one time, so that's fun! This week is going to be busy, but I'm sure it will fly by!

This week I studied the life of Job. I think we all know the story of Job so I won't go into great detail but what stood out to me the most was that the Lord is the one that actually gave Satan permission to test and try Job. The Lord wanted to prove to Satan that Job would remain faithful. I imagine it was hard for the Lord to sit on the sidelines and watch and He may have even been a little scared that Job would fall but He had confidence in Job just as He has confidence in us. To apply this to our own lives, we need to remember that the Lord is on our side. He's cheering us on saying "let's prove Satan wrong". Ultimately we are stronger and have power over Satan and with the Lord's help we can remain faithful. Is it always easy? No. Is it worth it? Yes. 

It is my testimony that He lives and loves us more than we can imagine. Each trial and tempatation we face is not to punish us or make us fall, but to make us stronger and become the person He needs and wants us to be and to use our experiences to help others do the same. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Yours Truly,

Soeur Stahura