His FIRST email. :)

hey there family,

its elder tiatia here!

i love you! i am here safely in the mtc. my district is so sick! and zone leaders rock the house. ones going to the philipines. and i dont know where the other one is going. but i am doing good in here. i cant even express how humble i have gotten! i think back to all my incidents that i have had with our heavenly father has been watching over me. he saved me through my mango tree incident, all my surgeries, and no illnesses that i can think of that has endangered my life! i am so greatful for all that he has done for me in keeping me alive! so i am greatful to be a missionary of this true and wonderful gospel!!! i love it! ive learned tons while in here. i havent read through the whole book of mormon but i feel the agaga paia(holy ghost) guiding me to know the right things! i love this gospel! and i am greatful for the opportunity i have to serve the lord! and give back! i miss you all! i love you guys so much!

how is everyone doing? please email me through here. or ask court how to use dearelder.com. oh and family i am on a fast track program! i am only here for 3 weeks. i guess my samoan is better then i thought. so i will be leaving february 6 to the land of the long white cloud! i am so excited but scared! my class helps me learn the doctrine. but i know through the lords and the holy ghost i will be guided in the samoan language! my compainion is elder ete from seattle called to the riverside, cali mission english speaking. he helps me out a lot with my samoan! i love the mtc.. and the schedule was hard at first but it feels like i can get right into what i need done!! the food is wayy good! all you can eat! but no worries we have gym. and i am keeping my figure! i eat salad with every meal! so its not bad! we even had fish and chips! SO BOMB! cant wait for the kiwis fish and chips!

i love you guys! i know that with out you two! i wouldnt be who i am today! i sent court a list of things i need.. we eat dinner early 5.. to early.. could you guys make a package and drop it off!

i love you guys and i hope to be hearing from you soon! remember you can use dearelder.com and email me! please! getting mail from you guys makes me feel awesome! i love you all!

=Elder Tiatia

The Beginning. (Courtney’s Side)

This is it. Elder Tiatia left yesterday January 18th, 2012. The MTC received one of the greatest Elders they could get. He is ready to serve the Lord and be a leader in his mission. Since obviously we haven’t received a letter from him yet I’ll be explaining how this went from my point of view. I’ll probably go back and forth with this throughout his mission. Earlier Tuesday I got a fathers blessing from my dad to help me to be able to be able to talk without crying. I was calm all night and all Wednesday and really I am still calm.  I gave him the last  hug I could on Tuesday night at 6:20pm. We then sat in the High Council room to get him set apart. We went around the room bearing our testimony and saying how proud we were of him. When we left the room there was such a spirit there.  We went to dinner, other family members said their goodbyes and we went home to his house to pack. As we finished packing all I was able to do was give him a hand shake and go home to sleep to get ready for the very emotional Wednesday. Wednesday started with grabbing some last second things for him. Him giving me a big teddy bear with words I needed to hear. Then we left. We took pictures, ate lunch, took more pictures. Then it was time. You know you think you can prepare yourself for saying goodbye to someone…you can’t. This year we have been together for 3 years. I know how he thinks, I know how he feels, and I know his heart. We tell each other every single little detail in our lives. Probably the best of friends you could ever imagine and also love each other more than words can explain. We have this connection that I couldn’t even start to describe. As I shook his hand for the last time and looked at his face to see that last tear stream down his face as he said his last I love you. I knew he was going to be okay. I knew in that moment that we were going to be okay. The spirit was with both of us. I watched him from afar, get his bags out of the car, hug his parents, and walk into the MTC without looking back. I cried all the way home. I am so blessed to be able to have such a special relationship with him. I know its right. I know him going on this 2 year journey to serve for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints is right. It is going to be rough, it is going to be hard, but its going to be worth it. I am so proud of him, I love him, I can’t wait for him to be home, but I can’t wait to see him go through the spiritual growth that I know he needs. He was Called. He went to Serve him. He will be back.

-Court XOXO