Halfway done with the MTC and I still don't know where my room is.
Bonjour Family and Friends,
This week has been great! On Monday the Missionaries that are going to Tahiti left, which was really sad, but also very exiting. They have been in the MTC for 11 weeks learning French and Tahitian and they are so ready to go. All of them are going to be awesome missionaries and I am so glad I got to know them. I sent some pictures of them too. Elder Langua from New Zealand and Elder Pichon from Southern France.
Now there are only 10 of us in the zone. The other district has 2 Sisters and 2 Elders going to Canada and one Elder who is going to The Congo (Elder Ethrington). I will attach a really funny picture of them. A few days ago it was our teacher, Frier Hendrecks, birthday. I had the idea to pretend we forgot his birthday and then when we sang our opening song we all surprised him by singing Happy birthday in French. It went perfectly and we had to stop and laugh for a few minutes before we could sing again. A few other fun things we do: We have an obvious French word of the day which is a French word that is the same in French and English. We also had a joke with the Tahitians where we would greet each other and say good bye by saying Tatarahapa. Tatarahapa means Repent in Tahitian!
I would like to tell a really cool story about two Elders in another Zone that left for New Caledonia on Sunday. One of them is Elder Ellingson who lives in the same word as my cousins Alex and Alysia Ririe. The other one is his companion Elder Matiara. They left the MTC Sunday afternoon but then on Monday I was in class and saw them walking back into our building. They told us how they got to the airport with plenty of time and got onto the plane going to LA. after the plane was about to leave they had to wait a half hour. Then they had to wait another hour. Then they decided the plane was having a problem and they needed to get off. Then the two Elders had to wait in the airport for 10 hours. While they were in the airport a man came up to them and told them he felt bad for them because religion was tying them down and they had to obey all these rules and go on missions. The Elders explained to the man that they thought their religion helped them have more choices and that they chose to serve missions. He told them how his wife and child died in a car crash and now he hates God. These missionaries then spent the next 7 hours talking to this man in the airport and told him pretty much everything they knew about the gospel. By the end of this time the man had completely changed and was referring to himself as a Mormon. He committed to being baptized and asked the Elders to e-mail him every week to encourage him to read the Book of Mormon and pray. I was really glad that I could hear this and I know that there is a reason those Elders had to get off their plane. God loves this man very much and provided a way for him to hear about the restored gospel and how it can bring peace into his life. I know that God loves all of his children very much and wants all of them to here about the gospel of His son Jesus Christ. After these Elders came back, and before they left the MTC for the final time, Elder Matiara came to my class and bore his testimony to us about missionary work. It was super powerful and made me very exited to get out into the field. They told me that they do not really remember the things they said because they just said what the Holy Ghost prompted them to say. I hope that I can be worthy to always have the Holy Ghost with me so that I can help others come unto Christ.
My good Friend Elder Ryan Doss also left on Sunday. It was really great seeing him here at the MTC and I got to talk to him a lot. It is amazing how good his Japanese is and how strong his testimony of the gospel is. I was talking to him one time and he just started talking in Japanese without realizing it until he finally saw the confused look on my face. Ha ha he is going to be an awesome missionary. My French is getting a lot better. The other day I was bearing my testimony of the Book of Mormon in French and I was surprised at how good I was! Speaking of the Book of Mormon, read it! I do not think a lot of people, including myself, realize how amazing of a gift it is. It truly is the word of God and it testifies of Jesus Christ!
I hope all of you are doing well.
I have decided to start learning Tahitian because it is awesome. I already now 6 words.
Love,
Elder Bake
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