'I he taimi pe a'Ana. (In His time.)

I need to start out with a story this week. Do you guys remember Niki? He was our convert in Navutoka. When I left Navutoka, he had recently been baptized, but we were having a hard time getting him to be excited about coming to church, and he started up smoking again after he was baptized. His wife came back to live with him and she was not super excited about him being Mormon, so you can see why I was a bit worried about him staying active, and I was still a bit confused about his true motives for joining the church. I prayed earnestly when he was confirmed the Sunday after his baptism that the Lord would help him to gain a stronger testimony, but I didn't know how that would happen because his testimony would be up to him and his agency. However, after that prayer, I felt a reassuring prompting of the spirit. The day i left, i asked the ward mission leader to promise to be a good friend to Niki and help him to continue learning. Yesterday, i got to see how the Lord does keep his promises when we do everything we can. The stake conference for Navutoka was held the weekend. Niki was asked to speak and bare his testimony. The zone leaders in that stake texted us to tell me that Niki gave a powerful testimony and he cried as he thanked the missionaries who helped him change his life. I never thought the quiet, 59 year old ex-catholic, who frequently looked asleep as I bore my testimony to him would bare a powerful testimony in stake conference just 2 months after his baptism. Only the gospel can produce a change like that. There is hope for everyone. For you, me, and every person we meet. It is the mighty change of heart referred to in The Book of Mormon. Don't give up on yourself, or anyone else. It will all work out in HIS time. I love you all and I love this work, and i still feel the strength of your love and prayers. 

'Ofa Lahi Atu!!!

-Sister Bever

p.s. the work is going well in Kolovai, we need some new investigator and some people to soften their hearts so our investigators can go through with their baptisms. Pray for the Kolovai and Fo'ui wards! <3 just gettin fit with the 5 year olds. they are the only ones around here who do push-ups with me.

It's raining miracles! And ufi!

Okay honestly from an outside perspective, it is not raining anything miraculous in our area, but to Sister Vete and I, we are getting DRETCHED out here people! Like holy cow i'm turning that umbrella upside down just trying to catch them all!

Here is why-

Sister Vete is running every morming with me for 30 minutes and she loves it and I don't think she ever ran in her life before now.

We found some very promising new investigators in a ward that everyone told us is just a sea of in-actives. One is Ma'u. She is married to an in-active, and she is really young, but SO smart and asks many good questions. She couldn't even wait til we left to start reading the Book of Mormon. Another is Pumu and she is about 17, but she come from a family that hates the church. However we taught her the plan of salvation and I could almost see the lightbulb illuminate in her mind. She has great faith already and we are working toward May 6th for her baptism. 

Uailupe, a long-time investigator is going to the temple with us on Wednesday for a tour! She previously told us she will NEVER get baptized, but she is changing her mind i think :).

Heavenly father is literally placing people in our path. Like Paula. Paula is this ex-con who used to live in America and he is this hug dude who has 1 eye and we were looking for him the other day and couldn't find him. He was avoiding us.then we went to a different house nearby. at the very moment we left that house, he comes walking out of the bush--- literally out of the bush and he is like- "HOW did you guys find me?" Then he turned around and started to run away, but he was just kidding and he was drunk, so he came back and we arranged a time to meet with him. that story is to be cont'nd. 

We had very sweet experiences with members doing our 40 day fast and members giving us HUGE potatoe things called ufi at their harvest celebrations.

We even have 2 couples who want us to name their babies! One of them is Kulisi (who got baptized last month) and his wife. 

I know these miracles are coming because of a lot of faithful prayers and the members who are fasting for the missionary work in Fo'ui (one of our wards). Here is my Poderizing scripture for this week- I am trying to make my prayers more like Enos' prayers. Enos 1:4. I give you all the same challenge.

The end. LOVE YOU ALL!!!

-Sister Bever 

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Sister Emily Bever

Tonga Nuku'alofa Mission

Sister Vete and I at Zone Conference

run to the beach :)

teaching the religion hour at the elementary school :)