tahaa

The only view of Bora Bora from Tahaa.

What my sector looks like- big hills and big mountains surrounding turquoise ocean bays.

Hello family,

Well, I'm still alive! That's always a good thing. The internet here at our little church building is actually pretty quick. I was able to send pictures, etc. That's a blessing. I was a little stressed about the transfer last week. In my head I pictured every island in the mission like Ahe- tiny, hot, and tons of mosquitoes. Luckily I am not in the Tuamotus! Tahaa is not tiny, but very hot, and there are still mosquitoes.

So, I flew to Raiatea Wednesday morning, then took a boat over to Tahaa around noon. Our sector is gigantic. It goes from the bay of Tiva all the way to the bay of Faaaha. You can look it up on google maps. We spend one day a week in Tiva, one in Faaaha, one in Vaitoare (part of the peninsula between Tiva and Haamene bay), one in Poutoru, and one or two in Haamene. It is a ton of biking! My legs are already big after just one week! The island is absolutely breathtaking.  I feel like one of the lost boys from Peter Pan.

Our house is pretty big. It's also very very very very very hot. No AC. Bummer. There are a lot of mosquitoes too, but not as bad as Ahe. Last night I actually slept really well, not a single mosquito bite. The challenge this week was food. When I got to the house Wednesday, I looked in the fridge. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I asked my companion what he ate. He said ramen noodles, but he ran out of money until next week so he just eats what members give him. Tahitians are crazy like that. They can eat only once a day and be fine. For me, after one day of biking, I was exhausted! This week was the first week of my whole mission where I was worried about eating enough, and not too much!

I like serving with a native speaker of the language, it's so nice in lessons and whatnot. Sometimes I forget that I'm speaking in French. Also, apparently my Tahitian isn't too bad. I was able to contact a lady and share the restoration all in Tahitian this week. There is a lot of Tahitian here, so I will hopefully be able to learn it. But everyone speaks French as well.

 This morning was really fun. Here on Tahaa there are 2 sister missionaries in a ward at Patio, and a couple in a branch at Hipu. The couple is a man from France and his wife from Tahiti. Everyone came over to our house this morning to make a skit for our zone's Christmas party next monday. Afterwards we made crepes and talked together. It was really fun.  Well, there you have it. My first week went okay. It was definitely difficult and a challenge, but I survived.

Keep praying for me, because it's all you can do! I need the prayers.

Love you all,

Elder Barlow