Welcome Home Elder Taufui!

Elder Taufui, WELCOME HOME!

Elder Taufui Update...

What a week! It was hecka tight. So this week we actually only had one
person to church but it was a good time out here. Man nothing too much
happened. last week on Thursday our mission got a call from the
assistants and they told us that we were to have a mission conference
with the entire mission(190 missionaries).now this is not usually so
were all like WHAT-TAH-KWA. the only information that we got was that
we were suppose to be at one of the church buildings in Stockton. They
wanted us to be there at a certain time no later! They told us to come
with parts in our hair, with a conservative tie, and with your shoes
polished! and we were suppose to pray specifically for safety when we
started driving down. So we were all tripping cause that's all the
information we got. Our mission president PRESIDENT LEWIS. Just
recently had surgery and now it just got hecka bad. So right now he's
in Utah recovering over that and now it's the first counselor that's
taking over! So we were all thinking that was what this mission
conference was about, about getting a new mission president. we all
get there and we all get in the chapel and and we're sitting there
quietly and man, out of no where JEFFERY R. HOLLAND busts, through and
walks down in between the benches! It was crazy the spirit was there
before but when he came in the spirit just filled in even more. hecka
sick!

Everyone had a chance to shake his hand and with everyone he said he
looked into our eyes and had an interview with each of us as we shook
and when he looked into our eyes! But he had a good talk with us and he
told us that President Lewis is still recovering and as of right now
he's not released as the mission president. and he gave us some
counsel. one thing that Elder Holland stressed was that we (as
missionaries) are not to go less-active. He was telling us that when we
baptize someone and we find out that someone that we baptizes goes
less-active, it's like one of the worst things you could find out on
your mission or even after, but he was saying that it happens
sometimes and when missionaries go less-active IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE!
So, at the beginning, he started talking regularly and when he came to
that part where we are not to go less-active he started to blow up on
us. It was great though. just what I need it cause I'm about to come,
but that's something that's been worrying me. but that's what I needed
some condemning from Holland. He also talked about the atonement and it
was some good stuff man.
So right after that we had to rush over to the stake center for
Stockton to prepare for the Gladis Knight & Saints Unified Voices
Choir fireside

It was a great fireside. I saw a couple people from the divine heritage
choir, Isaac, and two more people. So I talked with them for a little
bit. not to long, Sister Latu Hafoka was there with her family and her
husband. but Gladis Knight and her husband was there. They bore their
testimony. it was way good! Her husband started it off, and he was
just funny when he started talking to Gladis Knight, he said ya
everyone knew that Gladis had gone crazy cause she had joined the
mormon church! So he calls her and says Gladis I hear you're a mormon.
she said ya, you have a problem, it was funny. Then he said that they
started to date a little bit and they moved to Las Vegas and he
realized that Gladis had a lot of friends, a lot young friends on
bikes, who were hungry all the time. So he started taking the lessons
and everything got baptized. And he was bold to the non-members and
told it shouldn't matter if Joseph Smith was white! if a hispanic,
asian, or black kid said that he saw God and Jesus in the woods, and
told him that Christ Church was restored, that kid would have been
dead in a couple hours. Gladis's husband challenge everyone to read
the book of mormon, and take the lessons! and after he did that he
said what do you have to loose? and a little after the pause he says
in a soft voice, "besides your soul?" hecka funny everyone was
cracking up!

 so we've been blessed to hear a voice of an apostle of the lord! and
by their fruits which i testify that Jeffery R Holland is an apostle
of Christ. Hecka legit! and then the Gladis Knight fireside to end the
night. what a week.
Love Elder Taufui

Letter from Elder Taufui!

Happy New Year! Its a little late.

This week went by fast! Tons of stuff to do. We just got our Calls for transfers, so my and Elder Yagi are staying out here in Lodi! Half the missionaries in the zone are leaving and we are getting a couple greenies in here. There is an Elder Dibble he went to Evergreen he's going to come down here. I didn't know him when he first came in all I knew that I went to school with him.
 

Later on this month we have an opportunity to hear the choir Saints Unified Voices choir directed by Gladis Knight herself. The purpose of the fireside is to have members bring non-members, Part member families and less active to the fireside, and thats pretty much their ticket in to hear the choir and also to hear Gladis Knight and her husband share and bear their testimony. Its cool their getting members to do a little more missionary work! So thats good for us and the church, we're excited to see how it goes and to see and hear the testimonies and hopefully we'll see a lot of success!
 

Still doing great and trying to do a lot before I come back home and thats know for a while so ya love you all and we'll talk to ya later!

Elder Taufui's Miracle.

Hey how is everything going?
Last week me and my companion Elder Seumanutafa had a huge huge miracle!!!! So about a couple months ago when I was with my companion Elder Baumer. Elder Baumer always kept telling me this one lady that is bed ridden, she wants to get baptized so bad. and we always kept going by and trying to see her but she was always in the hospital or the care taker that is Samoan just would ignore us tell us she's not there. So we always would try to see her and it wouldn't work out! But finally about 8 weeks ago we get a call from her care taker and he sounded really worried, and he told us that this lady that is bed ridden wanted to see her. so we schedule to go over the next day and something always came up.
Finally a week later we get a chance to go by and I have no clue what to expect cause all I heard that this lady really wanted to get baptized! so we go in me and my companion Elder Seumanutafa go in and there is this lady that is laying on her bed and she cannot talk very well. we find out that she has this disease called ALS. It's where the muscles start getting very very weak. so this lady she cannot move anything, only her head to nod yes or no and she can try to talk a little bit but it is really hard to understand what she is trying to say. so man all i remember is that we talked to her a lot about the Resurrection and that this right her is just only for a little moment. man it was a great lesson! after that they wanted us to give her a blessing.
and no problem so we ask the care provider what her name is and he tells us that her name is
Manat Soutsavang.....
Man for a second that name sounded familiar and bam, it came to me that it was Kham's last name.
haha hecka got me excited so right away i ask her. if she knew kham and dawn and them, she looked at me, smiled and nodded yes. hahaha I was happy cause  mutual friends! the care taker was telling us that she married Khams brother, hecka small world. so .... mutual family! even better so I told her that we were family.
later that night I was talking to the Laos elders ( Cause Manat is a Laotian) asked him if they wanted to teach her and he so no cause she is paralyzed, I was totally fine with that cause i really wanted to teach her cause she is family! so finally i still didn't know what to do when we went by to see Manat. didn't know what to share what to tell her. so my Zone Leader kept Telling her blood is going to be on my head.....
and that got me thinking. so the next day we see Manat we're talking to her. and that thought came to my mind that her blood was going to be on my head. so randomly I asked her "Do You Want to be Baptized?" and she said yes man i was excited!  and then she tried to say something else but we couldnt understand so we got some of the people at the house to help us out trying to figure out what she was trying to say. so this whole time she was asking us, When? and we look at our phone look 3 weeks from that day and tell her October 8th. man I couldn't believe it, it defiantly was a miracle! so we got everything figured out. She couldn't make it to church obviously. So after the three weeks we got the baptismal interview in the week of their baptism.
The day of her baptism... it was the most frustrating day of my life... so we start church at 2 go til 5. and the baptism was suppose to be at 5:30, but didn't get started til 6. but man it was so spiritual! man especially When we got her baptized. so we need 3 people to help out with the baptism. it was so hard but man it was so great to see how much faith she showed to god and especially everyone at the baptism. how she need to be clean from her sins. so it was really hard how to do it as fast as we can and as careful as can. but I was the one that was holding her, you know like a baby. so spiritually also scary as heck. but we all knew that it was something that god would help. it was so spiritually when that happened and also to see aunty dawn uncle Kham and the rest of the family! and angel and aunty Dawn when they sang the song how great shall be your joy. it really hit home and i knew this is what god wanted me to do, to be here and to be able to baptized her.
But today we found out she had just passed and my heart is filled with joy, to know that this was a miracle to find out that this is what  needed to do before she was has passed! man i just cant stop thinking about how she is in spirit paradise and i am so grateful for the gospel of CHRIST in our life! cause if it wasn't for him we wouldn't have no purpose. and i know that this is truly why i was called here to this area at this time in life, to bring this one sou unto Christ and i know this is the god work and it truly is  the most greatest feeling in world. i really cant explain myself fully right now but its true. love you and I know families and friends will be together forever.
ofa atu!!!!

Elder Taufui's latest adventures..

Hey this week was good! right now we are teaching this one lady, her name is Manat Soutsavang! its Kham's brother's ex-wife, her boyfriend is samoan, she's has some disease, where her muscles are really weak, but it's sad to see her, but it's good everytime we go there she's always smiles. she can't talk so when we teach her we teach and then ask her yes or no questions! She couldn't watch or listen to conference, she wanted to watch it and she cant cause she is in her bed all day and everyday, and didnt have the channel to conference,  but we taked to our mission president and he told us that she needs to be baptized cause she is not mentally ill, so she is getting baptized this weekend on the 8th, its should be a unique baptism, cause we're going to have like 4 or 5 people help her out so we'll see and hope it'll be safe and good.

Also, we're working with this one girl name Tina, her mom was a member then she married a guy who was a methodist, she when they got married they went over to the methodist, man but her dad just passed and the mom went back to the mormon church, so she is investigating the church, She's a strong methodist, but has a lot of good influences on members here in sac, we been working with her for a while now and she came to conference and she had a lot of questions, and the talk that was about the book of mormon helped her out and answered a lot of her questions so hopefully we can commit her to a date this month! 

Elder Taufui, Trainer!

So last week just had a baptism for this samoan guy he's in his mid 20's. It was a good program. We had a couple people sing and his close family members give talks. So last year when I was here in the Tala'ofa ward we started teaching him and now im back we all finally got to see him get baptized. He has one the strongest testimonies. the day before he got baptized he said that this was probably the hardest weeks of his life. So earlier this month, we got him to commit to a date. and the day that we gave him was the 23rd and at the same time his wife was pregnant. and the baby was due on the 24th. So when he reminded us that his baby was suppose to be due the day after. All he said that oh it's alright we'll still do the baptism. 

So right after all that we started to pray, and we prayed and asked that the baptism wouldn't interfere with the new born or the new baby with the date that had given him. On thursday the 21st his wife had the baby and the day of the baptism the baby and his wife got out of the hospital 4 hours before the baptism. But he has a hecka good testimony and know he wants to be sealed to his family. It was gooooood.

This week is our transfers, so last night we got a call from our mission president and he called and said he was going to give me a greeny, haha hecka funny. It's going to be crazy the new missionary coming he might be Samoan but I'm not really sure who is coming in. Ha I'll let you know next week.

Update from Elder Taufui...

This week the sun has been coming out a lot and its been a little hotter, I like it though. That just means that there are more people to talk to. But ya its been good. Me and my companion have been talking to a lot of people and trying to see if they let us come a teach them, so this last week we got into some door, got to know them and see where they were@ in life and just applied the gospel into their lifes.  So this week we taught a part-member family that I've been trying to get a hold of and teach cause theyre less active, but anyways we got to teach the little boy and its cool cause when we taught the the little cause we get the family involved and it helps them out cause it's them teaching themselves of what they already know to be true. 

We also taught this one guy name Jack and we taught what our purpose in life was and talked about where were going after we die, so anyways. We have a ward activity and we told him to come and it'll be good, so he said he was going to come and he said that he was excited.  So later on that night we go to the church and he's not there. So we try to call him and he doesn't answer. So it kind of sucked. so we stopped by the next day try to see if he wanted to come to church with on sunday. So anyways he wasn't home. 

So sunday morning we call him up and see if he wanted to check out church, so he didn't answer, we are in church and right before the sacrament was going to be blessed he showed up in the back and so we went back there and sat with him, it was a good sacrament meeting, so after we talk to him and asked him what he liked about church, he said he like the atmosphere and so we told him that was the spirit and before we talked to him about baptism, and he asked us "so when are you going to have a baptism or how does it work do you guys set it up?" it was cool so we told him were having one next month on the 21st and he said that was good! It was a miracle! but ya that was really cool how he just showed up to church out of nowhere! and before he told us that he wasnt going to join or anything like that. so it was one of the miracle!!!!!

The work is going good things are happening, and when we don't see that nothing is happening there are things that are going on in our life for the good we just arent seeing it.

Elder Taufui Update!

Okay so right now I'm in Elk Grove! Hecka small ward, they are good members here. There are a lot part member families here. And ya we are just trying to find people here to teach! Last week we went on splits with the elders quorum and high priest and me and the member taught a lesson about the restoration and it was good. We taught the mom and the daughter. So hopefully we can be able to teach the whole family. We also been talking to everyone, since the area is so small it seems like I've already talked to everyone. It's good though if the people don't accept it now, then they'll eventually accept it. 


Ya its crazy i've hit my year mark, so now its time to buckle up and get some people baptized. It seems like my desire has seemed to grow a lot more, last we had zone conference and it was centered on the ATONEMENT!!!! Dang it was tight. There was one thing that our mission president showed us was a quote in the Preach my Gospel, and it was talking about as we get to know and learn more about the Atonement, then our desire to go out and do work will increase. it was cool, so it seems like I've been studying the scriptures more. And also the day before I went out with a missionary from Olympus, Elder Clark. It was cool he's my Zone Leader, And just seeing his desire to do work, I saw that and was like dang im hittin my year mark and I've got to make some changes and start working way harder.  But ya always we have to remember the importance of Jesus Christ, and how we need to do all we can do to keep his commandments so that we can be saved by grace after all we can do. Jesus lives and the church is true.

Elder Taufu'i

Elder Taufui's Year Mark!

Elder Taufui has been a missionary for 1 year officially!

Elder Taufui... trouble! :)

Pictures from Victor!... (Elder Taufui!)

Elder Taufui's Baptisms!

Thanks so much for everything. So this passed week was pretty fun!!! We finally got this one guy baptized. His name is Sitiveni and he's been taking the lessons for about 6 years b4. His wife is a member. He was suppose to be baptized like a month ago so the day b4 he was suppose to get baptized, the branch president called us, he had to wait cause he's not married and he's staying with his ex wife. So i guess they got married b4 and then a couple months after they got a divorce, but they still lived together. So finally we had the wedding then the baptism. It was good! The next day he got the priesthood. Then after, i was able to go see another baptism in my last area but ya so good. This was another part member family. 


So b4 me and my companion were working with them, but man couldn't really get them to commit to do anything. It was just hard. But finally the sister missionaries to get the mom in the lesson. (the member) and i guess it all worked out. And b4, the mom, she had a lot of anti-mormon things and she felt like when she was baptized, she said that it felt like she did it cause she was forced to do it. But at the baptism she had a few words and she was telling everyone that she just started to come to church and started to pray, man the spirit was there so strong. Hecka tight and then her husband, that just got baptized and his testimony was way tight too. He got up thanked everyone for everything. Then started to bare his testimony. And he was telling everyone about a dream he had and that if felt like it wasn't a dream it felt like it was real life. And he said that in his dream that he got baptized and he said it felt like it was right for him and his kids to do. And he also said that when he came to the church that day he felt like he was baptized. So it's always good to hear new converts bear there testimonies. And its the spirit is way strong when you get to see them get baptized when they are making that promise with God. The best feeling man just makes ya wanna cry!  hahaha its tight tho I'm so blessed to help these peoplez out here. 


But ya it's cool how God can communicate with us and let us know what were are doing is right. Just wanna share an experience I had this last week and it had to do with a dream. K, I had a dream and I was in a group or something and someone was asking us what our favorite scripture was. and everyone started to share theirs and the person b4 me gave theirs Mosiah 3:7. So I was like what the heck! Mine is in that same chapter. So the morning came and I forgot about the whole dream. And I was studying the plan of salvation and when I was pondering about the atonement, I was thinking of my dream for some weird reason. And I remember the reference of Mosiah 3:7. I didn't know what it was going to say so I looked it up and it was talking about what Christ did and what he went through cause of us. It's tight cause at that time I was studying the atonement of Christ and man it was crazy so now its one of my favorites scriptures and I know that God does love us and he does communicate to us through every way, in our own way. thanks for everything 
love ya 
BYE

Elder Taufui and his toys... :)

okay here is a picture of me and my Fijian companion at a preparnes fair thingy, but ya i had the coolest experience the other day. so every week we have a "blitz" its were we go and we tract from 6-8 on Sunday night. and we go on little exchanges but ya anyways, i went with elder Li the first missionary FROM china to Come to America. anyways it sucked at first, all the houses we knocked no wasn't trying to listen so this one house we knocked this lady was so nice she said we could come in, i think she let us in because of my charm.. na jk but no funny thing is she is from Fiji, she's half Fijian half indian but anyways the nicest people so we taught them pretty much about our belief and touched up a lot about the resto, and the bom

. oh ya she had every religion belief in her house. she had buddah, jesus, little saint statues, and so we asked what religion she was and she said that she was a child of god, or a daughter of god, but it was pretty tight cause the whole time we were talking i didnt feel uncomfortable with them or anything, man prolly the best lesson i've gotton out here on the mission, she for sure felt the spirit man! no joke so i read to her the last two paragraphs from the intro and i asked her if there was anything that stood out to her. man and then the husband came in and was like are you trying to convert me and i think i said ummmm, ya but all we are doing is sharing our message and just having you ask god if its true or not. and then i committed them to be baptized and she said she'll ask in jesus's name if the book is true man this lady was just looking at me like a little puppy wanting to hear more. hecka tight, then i was like can i get a picture with you guys cause i havent met any ones that is like you guys. daang so i hecka got a picture with them. they were so tight but im pretty sure she'll get her answer soon  YADIDIMEAN hahah sike. but it was hecka cool. 

    but ya miracles happening here in my area. like this lady straight out of tonga came here to cali to have her baby here. she's staying with the ward missionary leader. and last week she just had her baby blessed. but she took the lessons b4 but the main thing that was holding her back was her husband down in tonga. his name is pretty big in the CHURCH OF TONGA. like i guess his grandpa almost became the president of the church so he's pretty active in his church. but ya that was the thing holder her back was him cause she didnt want to loose him so yesterday at church the relief society spoke in church and she found out her answer!!! good thing the old ladies talk in tongan cause Asinate the one taking the lessons doesnt know much english. but i guess when they went back to the home from church the ward mission leader (who stays with her) said, how was church, and the lady said that today was a special day at church. and it was during sacrament meeting. and so thats when the ward mission leader invited her to be baptized on the 30th of this month so freak man she's ready to go. we're just praying for the hubby right now to accept her being baptized b4 she heads back to tonga man its hecka crazy out here.

Update from Sacto!

I'm getting transferred to a tongan ward with Elder Lasalosi! My mission President said that I'll be starting to learn Tongan! So my comp is going to help out with that. Don't know how thats going work but I guess that's what the Lord needs. Man I was so stoked to hear that, I couldn't even believe it so I'm ready to do this man!!! Thank ya'll so much keep up the good work Ofa Atu!

Elder Victor Taufui

...__________________________________...

photos!

Spare time?... This is the first Chinese missionary sent outside mainland China for his mission.  History in the making!

Elder Nacho!!!!!!!

Service... Before...

...After...

Hanging out...

...Waiting for mail!

...No Comment... :)

Vic's Pics!

MTC Photos!

Stockton, California!!

Update from Elder Taufui...

Hey everyone, whats up but ya right now the work is good! Yesterday our zone watched Joseph Smith the prophet of the restoration. and it was good we then had a testimony meet after. dang those are hecka good cuz it just make me more happier and more confident that THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, is the true church here on earth. man even sacrament meeting yesterday. haha there was this little and she got up there and bore her own testimony about the jesus, the prophet here on earth and how families can be together through temples. haha man even that little she strengthen my testimony. and dang im so grateful for the plan that heavenly father has for us. 


but we had dinner with this family in the ward hecka cool family. we go there every month for fast sunday. so they always have way good food there. but last week has been a little tuff cuz its stockton and satan is working extra hard over here. me and elder bair were teaching this one lady she's in her early 20's and we just talking about God and how he loves us and since he loves us he's given us families. and the gospel of jesus christ can help us build that relationship with family. and she was feeling the spirit and she was saying she was coming to church, and she was holding her baby and was saying to him"you wanna come to church with mommy." haha it was cool cuz we've been struggling to get someone to church. but anyways out of nowhere this chicks uncle came up and started talking to us and talking to her about baptism. and he was just telling her that babies dont need to be baptized. and then out of nowhere he started telling us all this stuff and stuff we believe in. dang and he told his niece that "the mormons" believe in a different Jesus. and that Jesus is the son of the devil. Straight up started saying that and all this crap about us. And we tried to tell her thats not what we believe and she gave us the bible back. man it was gay. But thats why I'm so glad that Moroni gave us that promise to read and pray about the book of mormon and find out for thereselves and not from what anyone else says. and people like that just pretty much strengthens my testimony and there was a time were i questioned the church and what i was doing out here was true or not. and i was brought down so that i could be brought higher and there is no doubt in my heart that this is the only true church here on earth and i know that jesus paid the sins for all of us and i know that he lives. AND I ALSO KNOW THAT HE ISNT THE SON OF THE DEVIL. haha but we all need to see those blessing we've seen in our lives before we start to question our faith in heavenly father. 


haha but ya i saw that same dude at the store today and i waved at him and he just gave me a hecka dirty look i felt bad for him cause he doesnt know and he's not willing to know the truth. but ya just been a lot of finding here in this area i guess its pretty hard out here but its stocking hecka crazy. they have all these billboards out here and there is one that says death count 26, and another people are getting murded here in Stockton. they put all these up cuz there laying off cops so its getting crazy. but there are nice people out here if we ever need water we just ask the people straight up right there that if we can get a bottled water, and most of the time they do.  


but ya we taught this one dude in the park the other day and we first talked to him bout a week ago and he said he already studied with us and the other dude messed it up so he doesnt wanna take the lessons. but last week on saturday we saw him talked to him some more and asked him to come to church. and he said yall eat over there. haha then i said ya we eat, just a little bread and some water he was crackin up. then he told us something about he was going to a lake and we just started talking about lakes around the area haha I couldn't help it, but ya just told him aye we got a little pond at the church!!!! this dude was crackin up haha. but ya we seen him at the park the other day and we taught him some of the first lesson at the park and we got another appointment with him on thursday. But ya the work is good and just to let you guys know you are all in my prayers. peace

Victor

Elder Taufui left for the MTC on March 31, 2010.
He will be serving in The Sacramento, California Mission.