Week 5: Samoan Party

First off I want to wish a Happy (late) Father's Day to all the fathers and future fathers out there! I know my Dad and Grandpa have been amazing examples to me and I want to give them a special thank you.

Elder Etheridge and I cover the Samoan ward up here in the high desert and it has pretty large boundaries so luckily we get nearly 2,000 miles to use every month which keeps us out of the sun in our brand new Tacoma pick up. We work the A/C extra hard trying to stay cool in the desert which has been sitting at around 107 degrees the past few days. 

On Tuesday Elder Etheridge and I headed up to Barstow to help move things out of a missionary apartment since we have a truck. Let me tell ya, I thought that Adelanto was in the middle of the desert. We drove through 30 miles of complete desert in order to get to Barstow which has like 3 grocery stores. We had to go to the dump to throw some stuff away and I took a picture so hopefully it captures the scene pretty well.

On Saturday we had a Father's Day party in the Samoan ward. There was so much food! I had lamb for the first time so that was interesting. The music that they play at parties is super cool and unique. One song they played was Garth Brook's "If Tomorrow Never Comes" but what they do is use the exact lyrics but then the beat and instruments is a Reggae style and vocalist. The young men and young women did some islander dances and then there was more food.

I can't really take credit for this but Elder Etheridge and I are about to have a baptism! They had been teaching Tosin long before I arrived but he's getting baptized on June 30th (his birthday). Tosin is originally from Nigeria and has the coolest accent. I haven't met many investigators yet but he is one of the most prepared people that I have ever met. Everything we teach him he eats up and loves it. Tosin has had 4 strokes which has caused some damage to his sight so driving is pretty dangerous for ol Tosin. Sadly, we can't give him a ride but he tells us that whenever he can't find a ride to church and has to drive himself he prays and then allows the Spirit to guide him to the church (since he doesn't know how to get there). He is a man of amazing faith and it has shown to me the power of the Spirit and its ability to help us in many different ways. The Spirit helps bring peace to our lives and testifies of truth. If you're ever doubting or if you don't feel like you have enough faith all it takes is praying to God to feel His Holy Spirit.

Talk to you all next week,
Elder Puzey

 The Dump...but look at that sky!
 Barstow in the distance...if you squint you can see it.

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