Sharpi!

Here I am at Amina's house with her niece.

My first week in Sharpi was a success.  I absolutely love my new companion, Sista Betero!  She is from Kiribati and is 22 years old.  It's super interesting because I have had many, many islander companions on my mission and with the majority of them I have felt like I have had to push them, but with Sista Betero she is the one pushing me!  She is always saying, "one more, let's find one more" before we go home at the end of the day.  I LOVE it!!  Sharpi is a wonderful area and it feels a lot like Ohlen, the first area of my mission.  It has a lot of potential, and I am very excited to see what the next two transfers have in store.

We have two amazing sistas in our area named Mary and Julie.  Mary is 17 and Julie is 12.  They are so smart!  We taught them about The Book of Mormon and invited them to read the first chapter in 1 Nephi before out next appointment.  We came back and found that Mary had read to chapter two and Julie to chapter 10.  What was even better was that they could remember what they had read and had written a list of questions to ask us.  They also attended a baptism with us this past Saturday.

We are also teaching a single mom named Amina.  She lives at the house of a member, but works at a nakamal (a place that sells kava, an alcoholic beverage) so it makes it hard for her to live the word of wisdom.  She is strong and recognizes God's hand.  She had a dream this past week during which she was told she needed to change NOW.  She hasn't touched kava since then!

We have many, many members in our area and they love working with the missionaries (thanks to Sista Manly and her bubbly personality).  Our branch is wonderful and am I really excited to be in Sharpi and in this branch!  I love you all and hope you have a great week.

Our house with a view of the ocean and a cruise ship!