Hardest. Week. Ever.
…So maybe I should have served in Germany. Every time I meet someone from Germany, which is more often than you would think, I tell them how amazing I think they are, because I am German too!!! They think its weird but then they become my friends and start begging to take a Book of Mormon with them.... Okay that happened once but still, I’m learning that the more love you show for a person the more they will want to know about you and what you believe in.
This week was hard. Really hard. The stronger we become as missionaries the more trials we seem to endure. This week we got verbally attacked by a drunk man that we had never met before. He came into the house (of good ol’ Ian) and had the neighbors all scared, that they were about to call the cops on him. When he first came in he demanded that my Samoan companion, who struggles with English, answer all his questions and wouldn't let her talk to us to help her understand what he was saying. And ended with him swearing so hard that he was spitting all over the room as we slammed the door shut on him. One of my companions broke down hard and started crying and shaking because she was so scared. He had come into the house three times and each time getting more and more aggressive. We were in the middle of a prayer to feel the spirit again when he came into the room the third time and interrupted our prayer.... after the drunk man left and we slammed the door on him, when my companion was crying, Ian started back up again, with the prayer she had started, and prayed for all of us and our safety. It was the most scared I have been in a while but also such a great experience to see Ian pray so fervently for protection and peace.... especially since he had just told us that he wanted us to stop coming by and teaching him. After that day though, he told us we can come back and he would pray again to know if the church was true.
Things always get scary at night. I’ve been praying for not just our flat to be protected but the perimeter around our home as well. As missionary work gets stronger the leaders in the church have encouraged everyone to re-dedicate their homes.... so do it! it will help protect your families.
BUT on a different note, we have been learning a lot about the Maori culture! Turns out the poi dance that they do with the balls on strings was first done by the men to loosen their wrists so that they could better use their weaponry. Now, according to our friend Wero, it has been made into a floosie dance where the women can show their flirtatious side. We also learned that they use to have a lot of women assassins. Killing men with their hair pieces after taking them to bed. Women over here are very strong. They were said to be the hunters and food gatherers while the men did the traditional work of women today.... Never mess with a Maori woman, you might end up dead! (Also the Kamate Kamate in a Haka (a traditional ancestral war cry, dance or challenge from the Māori people) means… I’m gunna die, I’m gunna die. Watch a Haka and understand my confusion.) [EDITED to add link to BYU Rugby Team doing the Haka before their play-off game in 2013: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DujWf34VCD0 OR, here is a pretty awesome Haka done by some men in traditional Maori get up:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bISVUxMYASo ]
Our branch is doing well. …except that they don't understand the role of missionaries exactly.... they're a very... interesting bunch, but we LOVE them and are trying to work better with each other. EVERYONE HELP THE MISSIONARIES!!! Lip service is great but it means nothing unless you are giving the missionaries names. Thank you :)
We are meeting some very nice people recently. Not everyone is progressing as we would hope but we are going to try harder and we will be teaching an English class soon which should bring in quite a few new people into our teaching pool.
Lesson learned this week: It's always the small things that have the biggest impact. The people here are so chill they'll tell you that you would have to go to Antarctica to get any chiller.... Yet it is always the very simple and sometimes insignificant things that make them lose it.... Satan is very sneaky. Taking offense is his favorite tool to use because it is so easy and works every time to cause contentions and losing love for one another.
Love more!
-Sister Moore
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Some pictures:
Me w/My Companions:
Brown Tithing Envelopes!
Food Members Feed us:
Pretty view of the bay from Katy-Katy:
Ready to do a Haka!
Katy-katy Countryside (driving on the L-side of the road!):
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