And the Work goes on....

Our entire family was able to see and talk to Elder Fotu via Skype on Christmas.  It was a wonderful present indeed!  He is looking great and loving every moment of his time in Washington.  He was definitely spoiled for Christmas this year and said he was going to stay out for a few more years because he got more Christmas presents this year than he ever has over the last 18 years (very funny, but all joking aside 2 years without him at Christmas is long enough ;) Thank you especially to the Barber, Modersitzski, Cooper, and Willey families, as well as Mikayla and Grandma and Grandpa for all the care packages!!!  He has truly been blessed with love and strength, and he loves each of you.  

~

12/28/11

Hello Fotu Family!

 

It was so great to see all of your wonderful faces over skype! You're all growing up so fast! I wish I would have had all day to talk to all of you individually. I still have a package that I want to send to you guys but I'm not sure when to send it because I forgot to ask if you were spending New Years at Grandma and Grandpa's. I'll send it for sure next week :)

 

So, I have some pretty crazy news. First off: I have officially finished my training period in the field. 12 weeks. WooOOoo!! Pretty pumped about that. Secondly: We got our transfer calls Sunday night after talking to you guys and I was told that I would be staying but Elder Orr was told he would be transferring :/ We were both so sad that he had to leave. He spent most of Monday packing all of his things. It was kind of depressing. We made a few visits so he could say his goodbyes, but while we were visiting a family we recieved calls from the APs. Elder Orr was called to be a Zone Leader in his new area/zone (which he later found out was Bellevue), and I was called to be a trainer! First thought in my head, "You've gotta be kidding me". Elder Orr was laughing because he knew that I would be training if he got transferred.

 

So we went to transfers the next day. Elder Orr got his white letter and found out that he would be a Zone Leader in Bellevue. I got my big training packet that had my name and a little white sticker that read "Trainer AND District Leader Responsibilities". First thought in my head, "You've gotta be kidding me!" Elder Orr was ecstatic. I couldn't believe it. I thought there was some kind of mistake. But then I looked through my packet and found a letter that called me to be a District Leader and a Trainer. So....yeah. I'm officially District Leader Fotu now. So crazy.

 

I have no idea if I'm even cut out for this work load, but there's one thing that I do know: With the Lord, all things are possible. I've been praying so hard for Heavenly Father to give me and strength and the ability to lead my district and my new companion. Speaking of my new companion, his name is Elder Roth. He's from Lehi, UT and is actually really close to the Highland city line. His house is really close to the Smith's. He's a swimmer, there's 6 people in his family, he graduated this year, and he's bringing the thunder to Puyallup and is going to baptize everyone! I'll be sending pictures next week so you can see his face and stuff.

 

Hope you're all doing so great! I hope you all have a happy New Year and don't party too much without me! Love you all!

Love, Elder Fotu

 

Sorrows & Smiles :)

This week our family has felt of deep sorrow 

for a loved one who has passed on.

This woman was full of love and laughter

and was a true example of one who lived a Christ-like life

each and everyday she lived.

Her children and husband continue to be witnesses of that today

and we know that someday 

they will see their mother again.

Out of all the members of our family

Garrett was probably closest to our Auntie Vena

so relaying the news to him was a hard one.

But his strength and courage has been an example to each of us

of the love our Heavenly Father has 

for those who are left behind when a loved one passes on.

The following is a part of the email my Mother sent to Elder Fotu

I felt it helped explain his reply:

Dear Garrett,

We all hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of gratitude and hopefully a baptism to report about over the weekend.  We missed you but are so grateful that you are participating in the most important harvest of all.  Our thoughts and prayers are with you always.

I know that I had to report some bad news a couple of weeks ago with the passing of Aunt Dori but it is even more difficult for me to share this very sad news that is weighing heavy on my heart today and that I know will have a greater impact on you personally (President Bangerter's counsel to share only positive has been echoing through my mind today).  But I have to tell you that Auntie Vena died today (Sunday) in a car accident. She and Kinga and Nar Nar were coming home from a wedding in CA.  Nar Nar was driving and fell asleep at the wheel.  I know this news hits like a ton of bricks . . . as you were probably closer to her than any other member of our family, but I also know that she would not want it to distract you from the Lord's work so promise me you will pray for the strength to carry on in your efforts this week and of course for peace and comfort to be with each of their family members.  

I had a sweet experience yesterday (Saturday).  Dad and I happened to stop by their house and we were visiting with Tony and Kelepi.  As I sat there listening to them chat, three very distinct things caught my attention as I glanced around the living room;  (1) family pictures lovingly displayed on their fireplace mantel (specifically one of Kelepi and Vena), (2) a decorative wall hanging with the words "Families are Forever" and (3) a bountiful sense of peace which pervaded their home.  I am so grateful to have had that experience.  It has brought so much peace to my heart as I have reflected on it over and over the past few hours.

Dad just returned from the hospital and said that Nar Nar and Kinga will be fine.  They had a few cuts and will stay overnight but other than the shock of it all; will be just fine.

As often happens as a result of great tragedy . . . as difficult as it may be . . . some good will come from it. 

~

Dear Family,

I guess it would be best to start with good news on this end. Jonathan Micheal Haley was baptized on Saturday the 26th and was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Sunday the 27th. What a joyous event it was to see the light fill his entire countenance. We are so blessed to be apart of this glorious Gospel and the promises it brings to individuals and families, and we are looking forward to finding others who are yearning for the happiness associated with this Church. 

I don't even know where to begin....I'm going to miss Auntie Vena. The news of the accident literally hit like a ton of bricks. I still don't even completely know how to react. Auntie Vena is one of the most charitable, kind, loving, and selfless people I have ever met. Everything she did in her life was to help others. I can't even remember a time that I've seen her mad. If there was a time, it must not have been for very long. My only thoughts of Auntie Vena are good. I can think of her words when I would walk into the house: "Hello Mr. Garrett! How are you today?" with a big smile on her face every time. I can't even remember a time that she wasn't smiling. She was always so full of smiles, and I'm sure she's still smiling. 

When I first heard the news of the accident, a feeling of sadness overcame me. I didn't even know what to do, but the next thing that came to mind was a talk given by President Monson where he quoted this scripture: Alma 40:11-12 Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life. And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow. This thought gave me comfort. Because of this Gospel and the knowledge we have because of it, we can always find comfort. Knowing that our families are sealed together for time and all eternity is comfort and peace that can only be found in this Gospel. 

If there was only one thing that I've learned the most over the past year, it would be that everything happens for a reason. Auntie Vena's mission here on earth has been fulfilled, and now, Heavenly Father needs her in the Spirit World to spread the gospel to those who don't have the knowledge that we have. For the rest of her family, all I can say is that it will all work out. I can't say that I know what they're going through right now, because I don't. But Jesus Christ does. His eternal and everlasting Atonement for us not only made it possible that we could be cleansed from sin, but it made it possible that He could know what we're going through so he can comfort us and give us peace through the Holy Ghost. Believe it or not, this event can help their family as well. It can help bring them closer together, learn from it, build from it, be strengthened from it, and be able to move on and live an even better life because of it. If I know Auntie Vena, she wouldn't want anyone to dwell on this and be sad. She'd want everyone to remember her example and strive to be like her. Serve one another. Love one another. Always have charity; the pure love of Christ. Send my love to them. Let them know that they're in my prayers.

I'm glad to hear that Jake is doing well. Tell him to take it easy though. We don't want him to get back on it too fast. Good to hear about Mike and Kerstin and their kids. Can't wait to talk to all of them and everyone at home when Christmas comes around. I haven't been able to write Macay yet, but if you see him before he leaves, tell him I said hi and good luck. Same with Aaron as well.

After this past Thanksgiving, we have much to be thankful for. Always remember to pray and read your scriptures. And most importantly, always remember our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and that He lives! I love you all.

                                                      Your son, brother, and missionary,

                                                                                     Elder Fotu

Elder Fotu OVERLOAD!

So sorry for the delay in updates.

Elder Fotu is alive and well :)

Loving every minute of the work.

First Day

Service :)

 Elder Fotu w/his buddy Ralphie :)

Elder Fotu & Elder Simons

Soakin up the sun while it lasts :)

10/31/11

Happy Halloween everyone!

How's everyone been doing? Any sweet costumes for Halloween? If so, you'll have to send me some pics. I have a few pics that I'll attach for you guys too! Hopefully I'll have some more to send soon! It's too bad to hear about Jake though :/ I hope the injury isn't too serious. Tell him to hang in there and to keep supporting his team. Great to hear that the boys' teams are still doing good though! Tell Lennon to keep it up and Jared way to go for me! Sounds like he had an awesome game winning hit!

That's awesome that Dad gets to help teach missionary prep! I'm sure he'll do a great job and have lots of awesome stories to tell everyone! What grade is Jax gonna be subbing for? That's sweet that she wants to teach! You should tell her to email me so I can talk to her about that. That will be sweet to have Mike and Kerstin back. Hopefully you'll all be able to make it down to San Diego for Christmas. Then I'll be able to talk to everyone that day when I call!

Well, not too much is happening here. We're just teaching everyone that we can and learning more and more everyday. We've found some very promising investigators and we're working to get them on date for baptism soon!

Well, I hope everyone is doing well! From Mikayla's last letter it sounds like you guys are doing great! :) She loves you guys. Have an awesome Halloween today and those that are sick I hope you feel better soon! Thanks for the addresses and I can't wait to get Jake's letter and stuff from home! I love you all and miss you much! The Church is true!

Elder Fotu

~

11/7/11

Hello!

Looks like I just missed ya. I messed up on the time difference last time I sent you an email. It's really 11:30 your time when it's 10:30 here. My bad. Anyway, about Larry. Unfortunately, after we had put him on date, he basically fell off the face of the earth and haven't been able to make contact with him whatsoever :/ he's in the army, so I'm sure he's just been really busy, but he fell off date because he had to come to church at least 3 times before he can be baptized.

BUT, on a good note. We were able to put a guy named John Haley on date this last weekend for November 26th. He is LEGIT! His wife grew up and was baptized in the church, but was less-active for a long time after she left home. She started coming back to church about a week after I got here and brought John with her. John just stood up in priesthood that day and said, "Hi I'm John, and I'm investigating the church." We hadn't even taught him yet. It was awesome! So we've been talking to him and were able to start teaching him soon after. He's now on date and is ready to make that step towards following Christ. I'm so excited for him! We just need to make sure we do everything we can to keep him on date now.

To answer your question about the temple, we're about 25-30 minutes away from the temple, but we only make a trip to the temple once every other transfer. We didn't go this transfer so we'll be going next transfer for sure.

I'm glad to hear that everyone is doing well. Especially to hear that Jake's knee is doing good! I've been praying for him every night. Hopefully he won't have to get any major surgery and can just heal by resting. The power of prayer, fasting, and priesthood blessings is an amazing thing.

Our weather has turned very cold here as well. The sun has been out a lot surprisingly, but it doesn't get above 56 and the humidity just makes the cold that much more intense. Can't really complain that much though. It's warmer than I expected. I'm glad you liked the pictures I sent. I should be having more coming your way soon.

It's too bad to hear about Lennon's and Jared's games. I thought both of their teams could have taken it all this year. Still an awesome season for both of them though. They still have more seasons to come! Close call for the Varsity game though. Was it a tough game or was Lone Peak a little off? That's the closest game they've had all year. Anyway, glad to hear they're still rolling. I can't believe Bingham is already out of the running though. Who beat them? Is Alta still doing good? Fremont?

Haha I was talking about Tyler at dinner last night with a family and the wife said, "He's going to be so big and different when you get back!" I'm glad he still remembers me! He's such a goofy, cute kid. Mikayla told me in her letter that he had her CTR ring in his mouth during Stake Conference. Soccer though huh? That's a new one. We need a soccer player in our family anyway though. That's something that Lone Peak needs to add to their trophy case, too! ;)

Well, I better get going. I got a lot to do today. I hope all is going good back home and I can't wait to hear back from all of you! Some words of wisdom: Always take the opportunity to bear your testimony! It will help build you up, and help build others up as well. Satan is doing everything he can to turn our hearts away from the Lord, and our sword that we can use to fight back is our testimonies. Fight the adversary! Bear your testimony! Love you guys.

Elder Fotu

~

11/15/11

Hey Fam!

Guess what....My first transfer is officially in the books! 1 down, 16 to go! (In case if you were wondering, a transfer is every 6 weeks). I'm not going anywhere this transfer because I'm still training. Training lasts for 12 weeks. I'm glad I'm not leaving though because I love it here. I don't ever want to leave. Haha it's bound to happen some time though. So anyway, I'm here in Puyallup until December 27th for sure.

Mom, I'm glad to hear you got your card! I'm going to be sending a few more pictures of our zone, the scenery, Mt. Rainier, etc. in a letter pretty soon. I want to get a few more pictures gathered up before I send them.

Sad to hear Aunt Dorie passed away :( She was always really nice. You'll have to let me know how the funeral goes. I'll keep their family in my prayers.

Good to hear that Lone Peak won though! Sounds like Jordan's QB is doing good huh? I knew they'd be a tough one. Did LP come from behind? You'll have to have Jake get some pics together from all the games and send them to me after this week. I'd love to see them.

It's too bad Jake has to have surgery again :/ I hope he gets to play a little bit though this Friday. He's definitely worked hard this year. Has he thought about going anywhere after this year? That would be sweet if he could play ball somewhere. Tell Jake he needs to tell all of his team to do something spiritual before the game on Friday. Temple session, read scriptures together, anything. I think that will really help them.

Glad to hear that the kids' grades are doing good! Especially Isaac! Lennon, chin-up bud. Just work hard from here on out. You can't afford to goof off now. High school is just around the corner for you. Everyone else, keep up the good work! Can't wait to get the package from you guys! Should be getting my bike either this week or the next. Is all the money on my card? Hope so.

Well, I hope everyone is doing well and that the kids are all listening to Mom and Dad. I love you all!

Elder Fotu

~

11/21/11

Hey!

We should be getting packages this Thursday when we all get together for our Thanksgiving activity so I'll keep an eye out for it! And if I don't get it then, I'll get it soon! We get packages from our Zone Leaders whenever they're sent it, not only on Mondays.

The work is still going good! We're still working with Jon on preparing him to be baptized this weekend! Hopefully he'll feel like he's ready by Saturday because right now he's not feeling 100%, but we're praying for him. Plus, we just gotta help him understand that he's ready. He's been reading, he's been praying, and he's been keeping all the commitments. I got a good feeling about it. I'll let you know how everything goes next week. I was totally going to be sending you all a Thanksgiving letter/package but it came up on me so fast I didn't even realize it was Thanksgiving week already. I'll get a letter off soon and have some pictures with it too!

I hope you guys have an awesome Thanksgiving! I love you all and can't wait to hear more about everyone (especially Jake's championship game)! The Church is true!

Elder Fotu

*feel free to send letters to Elder Fotu his permanent mailing address for the duration of his mission is:

Elder Garrett Fotu
Washington Seattle Mission
10675 NE 20th St.
Bellevue, WA 98004

The first of Many :)

Hello Family!

I'm glad I get a chance to send you all an email today. First off, I'd just like to say sorry to Dad for not getting the chance to say hello. I tried calling your cell, but the minutes on my call card got drained from talking to mom somehow. Something about pay phones charges. But I'll talk to you Christmas time which will be here before we know it!I am now in Washington! Pretty crazy. They weren't kidding when they said it rains a lot. So today is officially my second day out. Yesterday we got here in the morning and met our mission president and mission mom (President Larkin and Sister Larkin). We went to their house for lunch and interviews and then went to a nearby chapel and got our new companions. My companion is Elder Orr and he's AWESOME!! He's super nice and is a pretty great cook! He knows a lot about the area and I'm way excited to work with him! We're serving in a place called Puyallup. We actually had a couple appointments set up last night and did some tracting. We taught a lady named Bridget and her two kids Harmony and Jeremiah. Bridget was recently baptized so everyday we're gonna stop by her house and give her a scripture to read from the Book of Mormon. She's so awesome and her kids are so stinkin cute. Makes me miss the little ones at home. But everything is going good! On our way to a teaching appointment right now! I'll email you as soon as I can! Love you all!  

                                                                                                                     Elder Fotu

Elder Fotu has arrived :)

Elder Fotu 

arrived in Seattle today!

He was able to call home while at the airport

and talk to all the siblings at home :)

How blessed we all are for his amazing example!

Hearing from him has been such a wonderful experience thus far

and we look forward to hearing from him all along the way.

For those wishing to send letters

here is the mission home address in Seattle

Elder Garrett Blackstone Fotu

Washington Seattle Mission

10675 NE 20th St

Bellevue, WA 98004

MTC Week 2

Hey everyone!

Sounds like everyone is doing great and the boys are tearing it up on the field! Good to hear that varsity football is still rolling. Tell Jake to get better soon. I'll be praying for him. That's so awesome that Jake got Chase to go with him to the temple and that he had that experience! The temple is so awesome! I actually did a session last Tuesday as well as this morning. The temple is the place to be. I encourage you that can attend to always stay worthy and to go as often as you can! You will be so blessed.
As far as things here in the MTC: Classes are so awesome and I'm learning so much. We leave for Seattle a week from today and I'm sooo pumped because I know the days until then are just going to fly by! I feel like I just got here and I'm already leaving. So crazy. The gospel is such an amazing thing and it's amazing how it changes peoples' lives! I want to share the gospel with everyone now! I can't wait to get out to Seattle. It's going to be epic. Other than that, I love you all and can't wait to hear about everyone's' success! I won't be able to check my email next Tuesday because I'll be travelling and I'm not sure when my P-day will be when I'm up in Seattle. I'll get back to you guys asap.


Church is true! Love ya!

Elder Fotu



*Elder Fotu leaves for Seattle ONE week from today! But would loves to get letters from all his friends and family:)

MTC Week 1

Elder Fotu & his first companion Elder Idom :)

Hey everyone! How was everyone's weekend? Hope it was great. Let me tell you about my first week in the MTC.  Only one word can truly describe my experience here so far: PHENOMENAL! It's been so great here! I've learned so much and it's made me so excited to preach to the people in Seattle! My companion and district elders are awesome!! I've been so blessed to have a positive, fun-going, and downright hilarious district. We all get along so well and are already really close. It's helped so much with the transition of leaving behind our family. We've kind of became our own kind of family. My companion's name is Elder Idom. He's from Tooele, UT and has already been such a great companion. He's very hard working and super dilegent. He's helped me to work on my diligence because it's something that I'm lacking. I'm getting better at it though. People weren't kidding when they said that you're on a spiritual high when you're in the MTC. We had a fireside on Sunday that was so amazing! A district president named President Wilkins spoke and the spirit was so strong. We have a devotional tonight where a general authority comes to speak. Everyone's been saying that it's the Prophet coming this week, but apparently they've said that every week. Our classroom instruction has been so helpful and so meaningful in helping me prepare to serve the people. I know that I'm supposed to be here and I know this gospel is true. The Holy Ghost has witnessed that to me since I've been here. I'm so happy to be a missionary and to be apart of this church! And I want others to feel that happiness as well. The church is true. I love you all. Always remember Him.

Your missionary,

Elder Fotu

p.s. Don't be afraid to write me! I like writing letters so I WILL write you back!

Elder Garrett Blackstone Fotu
MTC Mailbox # 124
WA-SEA 1004
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793