🌻Happy Spring/Easter

Where do I start...
Well the weather has gone everywhere from 81 degrees two weeks ago To
snow last Monday then making its way back up to 60 and raining
today... Don't know what to think of this Jersey Weather! But it
hasn't been to bad!

Last week Elder Pearson my Former companion and District Leader this
past transfer went home🙁 I had the opportunity to go to his area for
the last exchange of his mission! It was to so great! He is such an
amazing missionary, and I look up to him so much! On the exchange in
his area we taught a Tongan Family!!🇹🇴 The Vaivaka Family! They
moved here about 2 years ago and their daughters know my lil sis
Kerstin! They said they went to mountain ridge, and they also went to
the Tongan Ward in AF so they Know Bishop Fotu!

Last Monday all the Elders in the north half of our Mission had a
March Madness Basketball tournament! Our east Orange team did good! We
barely lost in the Final Four to the Elders that Won the Tournament..
But we won Best Uniforms!

A lot has been good on with our Branch! We are really working with the
Members in helping us in the work. A Peruvian Sister and her nephew
moved into our Area this past month and she really wants to get
involved in missionary work! Which is awesome because our branch kinda
struggles with that kinda stuff but we are definitely improving every
week! The Vause's (Senior missionary couple in our branch) have really
held a lot of things together for our branch and they are going home
next month.. Aaanndd we've been informed that we won't be getting
another senior couple to help us out! It's gonna be kinda hard.. But
our once little East Orange branch is growing into a Ward so we are
excited! And the branch needs to be more independent anyways, so it
should be good for us to not have the extra help!

We are teaching a guy named Habbaho, his son Jeffrey from East Orange,
is on a mission in Florida and really wants him to take the
discussions! So he's been coming to church and he's doing Great!  Pray
for him please!

So yesterday some how us four Elders in East Orange got tricked into
doing something I thought I'd never ever do in my entire life... We
sang in sacrament meeting! Hahahahah don't know how or why but somehow
the program for sacrament said "closing Hymn: Special Musical Number-
Missionaries" luckily we only sang the first three verses of I Know
That My Redeemer Lives and the rest of the congregation joined in on
the forth verse...

It was crazy to hear about the Bombing in Brussels and that one of the
missionaries Mason Wells played football with me! It sounds like he's
doing alright though! Still in my prayers.

We have been blessed by your prayers and love! Thank you!

-Elder Fotu

 4MAN

East O Ballas

2 of 2 Weeks Worth.

Gonna be quick his week! We taught Faustina, the Referral that Elder
Hannemann sent us! She was great! She really loved the message that we
shared so we can't wait to see her again this week and introduce her
to some on the members!

 We had great specialized training on Friday. All the new missionaries
that been out for less than 6 months and the trainers met. Our mission
has really been working on the basics of missionary work, focusing on
our teaching skills. It's always good to go over the basics because we
tend to move away from the basics as missionaries.

Our branch is growing! It was exciting to see about 80 people at
church yesterday! A family did a musical number at the end of fast and
testimony meeting and to be honest it wasn't the best music that I've
herd.. Their 8 year old son made an attempt to play the violin that
he's maybe be practiced a month on... But it was so beautiful because
a year ago in a much smaller branch no family would dare to do
something like that! So our branch has come a long way in so many
ways! It seriously brings tears to my eyes..

Thank y all for you prayers! Mucho Mucho Love!

-Elder Fotu

Aloha

Had such a wonderful week! Just to start out Elder Seth Hannemann who
is Serving in Ghana emailed me this morning and he said this: " one of
our members came up to me and asks if I know a place called New Jersey
and i said Yes! my best friend is even serving there. and she gave a
me a powerful referral to give to your mission. its her mother thats
living in Jersey! . Her name is Faustina , She lives  her phone number
is. she has already talked to her mom about the church and she is
interested and is waiting for the missionaries. CONTACT THIS WOMAN!
hope you have missionaries serving there. love you man! sweet is the
work. let me know how it goes so i can tell our member."
Referral lives in our Area! How crazy is that!? Well I'm pumped to
contact his lady today and see how it goes! Still trippin out about it
though! Super Awesome!!!!!😊
So we are working with a couple Part-member Families right now. One of
them (my favorite) is the Ancog-Lisondra's they are a older Filipino
couple with 3 kids who aren't members! The one who is really
interested is Mark their son! He's a super cool little funny Filipino
who is always asking great questions!

Another Family we are working on is a young couple. Hermann and Aida,
they are from Togo Africa! Aida isn't a member but is very interested
in Eternal Families! They French is their first language so sometimes
it kinda hard to teach them but they are so great and Hermann has such
a strong testimony!

Also our 1st councilor in the Branch presidency's wife Sister Martinez
(non member) has been meeting with us. She loves the missionaries but
always says she is just to involved in her church to join ours. We are
just trying to help her see the bigger picture of the gospel.

I hope EVERYONE continues to looks for opportunities to share the
gospel because I know it will Bless your life and the life of others!

Love you all!

-Elder Fotu

🇹🇴

This week was Bumpin! But soooooooo cold... I think the Lord is trying
to teach me something because I've been in a walking area every time
it gets cold! It was -15 with wind chill on Saturday! Just makes the
work 10 times Better!
Anyways. On Saturday we had a all mission conference and Clayton
Christensen the author of "Power of Everyday Missionary" super great
book I guess but I haven't read it yet... But he's a super great Man!
He and his wife gave Amazing talks about Member missionary work and
all the Ward and branch council members came to the conference so we
are going to bust it with member missionary work cuz that's the best
way to do it!
The biggest thing that He told us in that conference that stuck out to
me was that Never Ended his Mission. That was one of the many things
contributed to his great missionary work as a member! But if you
haven't read the book read it cuz it will change your life! (I'll read
it as soon as I get home)
Yesterday church was Amazing! One of our members started to act right
away for what he learned at the conference and brought a friend of his
to church, he brought a guy named Dr. Slalom and he loved church! Also
the Other East Orange Elders invited this guy that they met on the
street named Gerald and he caught a bus and walked super far to get to
church in the freezing cold! This guys first time coming to church and
he's not even a member! He ended up living in our area so we are
teaching him great guy!
Elder Manumā is such a stud! It's kinda funny because he reminds me of
Lennon! Hahaha I'm like man I get to train my little brother!

Well things are Gold as always around here! Just Pray that I don't Freeze!

Ofa Lahi Atu!

-Elder Fotu

The Hood is where I'm From

Well... IM BACK! And I've got the best companion ever! Fresh outta the
MTC Elder Manuma, From Mililani Hawaii! He is half Hawaiian, a quart
Tongan and a quarter Samoan! I spelt his name "Manoa" in my last
letter.. But he is excited to be here and is such a Boss! He is goofy
as ever too! He reminds me of my bro Elder Seth Hannemann, so we
trouble!;) hahah
So East Orange is he best as always, the branch is still so close to
becoming a Ward! One of our goals is to see it become a Ward! It was
so great to see everyone yesterday at church.  Some people were saying
"Welcome Home Elder Fotu" hahaha almost cried, and others were like "
your still on your mission!?" Hahaha I don't think they understood
that this was my first Area.... But this past week we spent a lot of
time finding new people to teach, there wasn't really much left from
the last Elders to work with so we're really trying to find some solid
people to Baptize! One part- member couple -with a lot of potential-
that were are working with and actually going to see tonight is a
less-active named Herman and his non-member wife Aida. So we're
excited to be teaching and working with them!
Haha funny story... We were driving back from picking up Elder Manuma
and we were driving back into East Orange and the first street we
drive down E. Manuma was like " I think I just saw more black people
on that one street than I have in my whole life..." Hahahahah so he's
still getting used to the culture here. Our apartment got turned into
a 4 man so we relive no with two other Elders, a Elder Covington and
Elder Lee. Elder Lee is from Korea, super funny guy! Elder Covington
is a hick from St. George. So our 4 man is the bast in the mission!

I hope you pray that I can live up to the huge trust that the Lord has
put in me to send me back to East Orange training a new missionary...
It's kinda overwhelming but we are working hard and doing our best at
this wonderful work!

Thank you for all your Love and Prayers!
Love you all!

-Elder Fotu

Pic: Elder Manuma & I

STOKED

Well.. Imma get right to the MEAT because I have no time.. I'm getting
transferred!! Im Going back to my most favorite place on earth! East
Orange!!! 🍊kÑvrbnrwrgwrgwrvda!!!! And I'm my companion is fresh from
Hawaii!! Elder Manoa! His flight get here this afternoon and we'll
head to   East Orange! I know that the Lord has put A Lot of trust in
me so I'm excited to Do Work! I'm gonna miss Elder Woodward and
Ledgewood, a lot of Great People here!

Love you all!

-Elder Fotu

 

 

Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam!

Very good and very busy week this week!
Highlight of the week was that Renee came to church! She had work on
Sunday's but in our lesson last Wednesday she really was touched by
the spirit as we talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ so we
committed her to talk to her Boss to get work off and she was kinda
scared because I guess her boss is pretty but we told her to pray
about it and she was able to talk to her and and get 1 Sunday a month
off! Not as much as we wanted but she was happy and really liked
church! So we're praying that she will continue try and get more work
off so that she can come more often! She has such great faith though!
Super excited for her!
Friday was another highlight! We had Zone Conference, Elder Woodward
and I gave a training on our purpose. Went pretty well! The conference
ended with a training from the First Councilor From our Mission
Presidency, President Bean! He works for the church as the CES
Director for seminary and institutes in New Jersey and he teaches at
Princeton. He gave an Unbelievably Spiritual training on Obedience!
It snowed for the first time this week as well! Not very much but it
made it 10 times colder so the work is 20 times Better! :)

Thanks for All the love and prayers! Oh and Shout out to Jake and Sara
for getting Hitched on Friday! Congrats Brotha!!! Love you Guys!

-Elder Fotu