Blog Description

A collection of letters from our favorite missionary. This blog is compiled by his sister and is made up of pictures and images sent to the fam.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

December 20, 2009 Hurricanes and More

Hurricane, schmurricane, natural disasters...... who cares? Here's the latest:

Well this week was really really good. We set a baptismal date for the 2nd of January with a seventeen year old girl named Sulu; she is awesome and has a rock solid testimony.

In Fiji, we hear all the time, "dua ga na Kalou", which means just one god. They say that the church you are a member of doesn't matter, only that you have faith. It is very frustrating and I cringe every time I hear it. But it worked for our good for once. I was worried that Sulu's parents would object her being baptized, but thats when this saying worked for us. They didn't care.

We also had 3 more who don't have a date yet, but have accepted the commitment for baptism. Kini and her mother Tiko from Wailoku, were both baptized Saturday. That was really great to see. I am really happy for them. It seems like just yesterday I contacted them, but really it has been like four months. It is crazy. Time goes so fast.

Christmas is going to be a little bit slow I think. We are going to be eating a lot. That is basically the extent of Christmas here- Big lovo feasts. Lots and lots of people have gone back to the villages so this week is going to be very slow. I think we will be pretty busy trying to get all our baptismal commitments taught so we can baptize them at the beginning of this next year.

As for the Hurricane last Monday, I thought it was a lot of fun. It was my first natural disaster! Lots of strong strong wind and rain. Driving the roads was awesome: dodging downed powerlines and fallen trees. It was fun! We played football in the hurricane though; it was sweet. Who can say they played football in a Hurricane??? I can. Ha ha. We had no water until Friday and no power Tuesday. So that was not very cool. But it was a good experience. I am not sure how many died, but nobody I know. We got to chopp up some fallen trees and had good service, so that was cool. Other then that, it was just amazing to see how fast everyone cleaned it up. On Tuesday, everyone just got together and cleaned it all up and by Wednesday, there was little evidence that anything had happened. It was crazy. But I am doing great.

I'm excited to talk to you all.

Much Love,
Elder Wall

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

December 13, 2009 E-mail

Well this week was very good. We stayed really busy, which was a surprise to me.

In Fiji, it is the tradition to go home to your village for Christmas. So a huge chunk of our teaching pool won't be back until after the new year; but we still managed to have a great week.

Two kids, 12 and 14, Petaia and Talina, have been coming to church every week for the past six months, but their parents haven't let them take lessons. Well their older brother got his mission call and it softened the parents' hearts so now they are allowed to be taught and want to be baptized. So they are great, but they left Saturday for the village and Christmas there. As soon as they get back though, we're going to baptized them.

One other girl Sulu, who lives with a member, has been going very very well and I challenged her to pray about baptism. I am confident that she will be baptized really soon here.

We also have another young man Luke, who is going great and came to church again. I am excited to see how things go with him. His family members are also potential investigators. They came to our ward Christmas party. So the work has really picked up here and just as the pattern of my mission so far, things should be really good right after I get transferred. It's okay though.

As for transfers, not yet. I think it will be right before elder Lloyd leaves the first of January. I don't know though. We will see how it goes.

We had a missionary fireside that went really well. President Ostler spoke and it was awesome. We started with only about 15 people, but by the end I think we were pushing about 40. Everyone loved it and we got some new referrals.

Well I hope all of yours week was as good as mine. Have a great week this next week. thanks love you all and talk to you soon.

Oh yeah, it is raining like crazy and strong wind; there is a typhoon warning but its okay I live up at the highest part, so its all good. No worries.
Love you all,
Moce Loloma Levu,
Elda Lalaga

P.S.
You will never believe me, but I am actually a clean freak. Elder Lloyd and me kept are flat very clean and I loved it. Then I got transferred to Rakiraki with mushrooms growing in the shower. I hate living in filth. I have cleaned the crap out of our flat now and it is half way okay. But I have learned how bad living in disgusting places is.

I got grandma's package. and it was awesome. I thought I sent a thank you letter. If not, tell her thanks for me. It was great.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

December 6, 2009 E-mail... 1 year and counting

Well this past week was incredible. My one year mark, Christmas party, and temple sealing. It is hard to really look back on it all and describe it.
Thursday we had training from President Callister, the area president. It was amazing! Like always, when in the presence of a GA, the spirit was so strong and I have so much motivation to do better and be better. Two quotes from him I loved that I want to share:
#1 "This gospel is not about changing your behavior, it is about changing your nature."
#2 (in reference to unanswered questions of the gospel) "Don't give up the 95% that we have and know, for the 5% we are not sure about."
It was awesome and he is a great guy. We had a big question answer and training with him.

Then after that, all ten of the missionaries who have taught the Nalila's from Rakiraki, all got to go and do a session with them and watch them be sealed. It was incredible; by far the best experiance of my mission so far; so powerful and they were so happy. They had such true love and gratitude to each and every one of us elders. It made me feel so useful and accomplished as a missionary. All the hell I went through in Rakiraki was worth it at the moment I hugged them and heard the gratitude in their voices. I loved it so so much. That was exactly what missionary work and being a missionary is all about; watching a family enter the temple, make sacred covenants with god, and be sealed for time and all eternity. I will never forget that day, which happened to fall exactly on my one year mark. It was the best way possible to conclude the first year of my mission.

Then the next day, we had sports day and had the hugest football game ever. It was a lot of fun. Then that night we had the Talent Show and party; it was great. My district learned a Meke traditional dance for the Talent show. The music kept cutting out so that threw us off, but it was still good. We didn't win though.

Saturday was our combined Zone Conference and it was really good. I love President and Sister Ostler and they always seem to train on exactly what I need to hear; it was great. Elder Lloyd gave his closing testimony and it was really hard. I can't believe he is already going home. It seems like yesterday we were in Nadi talking about the one year he had left and now it's me that has a year left. It is kind of an eye opener to me how fast the mission goes.

Sunday we had a missionary christmas fireside which went well and we had a really good turnout.

Well I hope all your weeks were half as good as mine. Merry Christmas! Enjoy the cold. I am sweating to death.

Love,
Elder Wall

Thursday, December 3, 2009

November 29, 2009 E-mail

Well this week was pretty darn good. Went super fast but that usually is a good thing cause it means we were busy. Which we were. We have a family who is moving to Gau, an outer island with no church there yet. We have been trying to set up to have them begin a unit out there and hopefully the church can start growing out there. We are baptizing their son on Wednesday which should be good, then we have to meet with President Ostler about the unit.
We got a whole bunch of new investigators this week and had some great first lessons with them. In one lesson, as soon as I handed them the BOM, they opened and started reading. I hope that willingness to learn are read continues.

Vilikesa, whose mother does not seem to be to fond of us, told him he is no longer allowed to go to church with us. Then when she saw that we kept coming back to meet with him, she said he wasn't allowed to meet with us. I am not sure, but I think he snuck out and we ended up teaching him just outside of our flat on the ground. It was an awesome lesson and I was prompted to ask him about how the holy ghost works. He said he didn't know and that he had only seen the people stand up in front of the church and start convulsing and speaking in tongues, so he thought that when we said he would receive conformation from the Holy Ghost about the things we share, that was gonna happen to him. So we taught about the fruits of the Holy Ghost and he just lit up and was shocked that anyone can feel the holy ghost not just the people that the talatala's say are feeling it. Then he told us that when he meets with us and went to church with us last week, he felt different. So things are going very well with him however his mother thinks we're converting him to satanism...I'm sure that is what her talatala tells her. I think the kid is 18; let him pick for himself, but thats not the culture here. Oh well, things are going good though.

I found out the Nalila's from Rakiraki are going to be sealed in the temple this thursday and I get to go be there. I am so excited I can't wait. I am gonna cry like a nine year old little girl. Maybe not... we will see.

I hope you all are doing great. I am doing pretty good. Christmas party is this week and all the missionaries from the whole mission are coming in so it is gonna be very fun. Love you all.

Love,
Elder Wall

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

November 22, 2009 E-mail

Well this week was pretty good. I walked and walked and walked and I still haven't lost a single pound, but maybe this next week will drop some jiggle around the middle.

We had one Investigator who I contacted one day as an unplanned contact. He was playing rugby out in the street and I had him pass me the ball then kept his ball while I talked to him and set up an appointment and it has gone good since then. Sunday we picked him up and walked together to church. His name is Vilikesa. He is great and is very quiet so I don't think he is paying attention and then he asks awesome questions! I have high hopes for him.

We also had a less active family who we have been teaching for the past three months come to church for the first time in years. She is awesome! her name is Usenia. Her husband is kind of a punk when we bring up gospel topics, but we have a lot of fun just talking with him and cracking jokes. They have three older children who have not been baptized yet so I hope we can get the whole family activated and baptize the older ones.

We still don't have a ward mission leader, but a return missionary from this mission who just finished a couple months ago just moved into our ward, so I am hoping we can get him called as a ward mission leader. He is great and knows missionary work so I think he would be good.

The elders' families who stayed with you were very excited. They heard from their sons and said they loved it and were so very grateful for your love to them.

I don't remember if anyone remembers Jone from Wailoku who me and Elder Smiler found and taught, but he was baptized and it was awesome. I was really excited and I had a good talk with him. He told me how grateful he was for the gospel. It was great.

I got a letter from Miti in Rakiraki and he said to tell you all how grateful he is for you sending me to him. He said he has never met you but to tell you all that he loves you anyways. It was so great to hear from him and hear how strong his testimony is and how much it has grown. I miss Rakiraki and all the people there. I love Tamavua though and I am gonna miss everyone here when I leave.

Well that is my week. I hope all you had a great week and have another one this week. Eat lots of Turkey for me and have a great Thanksgiving. I will be here walking the streets drenched in sweat ( its hotter then crap here again ).

Loloma Levu,
Elda Lalaga

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

November 15 E-mail plus a note from Mom

This past week we had the privilege of meeting 3 members from Fiji at the airport who were on their way to the MTC to serve missions in Oakland CA. It was incredible and they were way cute! Two of them came to our house and then we took them to the MTC the next morning. I asked them if Jake was fat and they laughed and said yes. That is what Jake is referring to in his email. The Fijian people are tall, but slender, not big like the Tongans and Samoans. They loved Jake and he loved them and it was a great experience to have them in our home.

Well like the Elders told you, I am fat. But that is going to hopefully get better soon, we found out were losing our car. So I am giong to be walking again and maybe I will lose some pounds. Most likely not though. I eat way too much to lose anything. This past week was awesome though.

President Uchtdorf came and we had a special missionary fireside on Tuesday, which was awesome. He didn't get to stay as long as Elder Scott did, so we didn't get to have a question and answer session. But he still gave an amazing talk and it was incredible to meet him. He is way funny and his wife is hilarious, she asked us what we were uder our skirts or if were like the Scotts and dont wear anything underneath. It was so funny. They are great, and again I am amazed and will never forget the feeling of being so close to such wonderful men of god and being uplifted by their words. He spoke a lot about strengthening ourselves and our testimonies, not just that of our investigators and being sure that we do everything that we can and have no regrets. It was great.

We had a fireside tuesday night and tons of people were there. He spoke a lot about families and the importance and also how much tithing will bless them even when times are rough if they just pay a few cents here and there. Then Wednesday, they had a culture night and it was awesome. Got to see traditional costumes and Meke dances. It was so fun and I loved it! I took tons of pictures.

Things went pretty well this week with the work. We had some good lessons and we're hoping to make some headway towards baptisms. I think its gonna cut down our effectivness with no car though, cause we have really spread out investigators. It will work out though.

We had a less active who hasn't come to church in years, go to both the nights of President Uchdorf and she has two children who are not yet members, so I am hoping we can get the family activated and baptized. Her husband is kind of a Punk though and is not supporting their desires to return to church, even though he too is a member. We will keep working with them though.

I'm working hard and having a good time. I cant believe my one year mark is knocking on the door. I still feel like I just got here and still have so much more I need to learn and improve in. It is good though. I love Fiji and even more I love the people of Fiji. Have an awesome week. I love you all!

Love,
Elder Wall

Friday, November 13, 2009

November 8, 2009 E-mail

Well this was a pretty good week. We got quiet a lot done. But best of all we had two people come to church, so we finally have some people progressing! One of them, Filo, is from a part member family. Her husband is an old member who has not gone to church in over ten years. Both of them were at church and he even shaved and cut his hair. I was very happy about that. We're going to go have Family Home Evening there tonight. I am excited. I have really high hopes for that family.

We got a few new investigators. None of them are the golden investigator I have been hoping and praying for, but I think slowly and surely we can get them to come around. We did a lot of talking about prophets and talking up our visit from President Uchtdorf tomorrow. I hope we get a good turn out to that. I am so excited for him to come. He is doing a special fireside for missionaries then a big fireside that will be broadcasted throughout all of Fiji. Then Wednesday night, they are doing a culture night for him. They'll do Meke's and dance and sing for him and things. It is going to be really really cool. I am very excited.

Well I think that about sums up my week. I love you all hope all is well back on the home front. I am doing good.

Love,
Elder Wall

Thursday, November 5, 2009

November 1, 2009 E-mail

This week was good. No one knows what Halloween is here so that is too bad. I'm sure if they knew about it, they would celebrate it. They love any excuse for a holiday. They seriously have like two holidays a month, anything to get them out of work and school.

We had some cool things happen this week, but things are still really slow. The entire mission has kind of slumped off and all of the areas are pretty slow right now. I don't really know why; just trends I guess. Maybe Christmas will come and things will pick up.

But one really cool experience we had this week. One of our recent convert's mother had a stroke and died (which isn't cool) and worst of all, his Dad died last year. They were both young and he is only 15. They are almost at their one year mark. But Funerals in Fijian Culture are huge. All the family from outer islands and far away come in and they have big feasts and church sessions as a family. So we had a really good lesson with him trying to offer him comfort and also used the funeral as a good opportunity to teach and contact people. At the funeral, our bishop was very very bold and taught about the plan of salvation and basically told everyone that their church now doesn't give answers about an after life and had us come stand on the pulpit and said they all need to talk to us. Then I gave the closing prayer and the look on everyone's faces when a young white kid stood up and prayed in Fijian was priceless. I wish I had a camera. Lots of people came and talked to us afterward. I hope some new good investigators come from it.

I also learned from it the true meaning of weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.They yell and scream and roll in the dirt and pull on your legs. It is crazy. It is like the scene on Other Side of Heaven but worse in real life cause you just are appalled that a grown person would act like that. It is not a pleasant scene. Josua, the kid whose mother it was, chose not to go to the funeral because he knew his aunts and uncles were going to be like that and he didn't want to have to go through it. It is pathetic that he had to miss his own mother's burial because his family goes crazy like that. I felt so bad for him. It's so sad that the people think they have to mourn like that cause they will never see their loved ones again. The Plan of Salvation truly is a great comfort and blessing in our lives. It was a cool experience though.

We had two lovo's (earth oven) in a row and I ate way more then is humanly healthy. It is no wonder I am so fat. But we also had an awesome activity with the young men. I taught them how to play American Football and we played. They picked it up super quick and were very good, just like I knew they would be (Lucky people with their black skin and being good at sports). I discovered how fat and slow I am. I would be running and think to myself, "This can't be as fast as I can run," so I would try to go faster but nope, it really was as fast as I could run. So that was depressing. I felt like I was in slow motion the whole time. It didn't help that I was playing a bunch of little Fijians who are wicked fast and run all day everyday to get where they are going. But with the exception of me being slow, it was a success. We had tons of less active, recent convert, and non-member young men in attendance and they all loved it, so it went really well and we're hoping to have some good new investigators come from that as well.

As far as investigators go, we still don't have anybody progressing. We had great lessons and they say they want to be baptized, but they just won't come to church. I don't get it. One guy promised me that if I gave him a white shirt he would go, so I gave it to him and he didn't make it. I am gonna go make him give it back. We have a couple of new people who we have taught once or twice who I have high hopes for. We will go at it again this week and hopefully come out a little better. Well that's all I got. I love you all.

Loloma Levu,
Elda Lalaga

Thursday, October 29, 2009

October 25, 2009 E-mail

Well this week again was pretty disappointing. We're trying hard but things are not working well from the stand point of investigators. We have six or seven people who had baptismal dates and were completely ready and then just got cold feet and now we can't get them to even come to church. It is frustrating.

Things with the ward work is going well though. We have some of the most amazing recent converts I have ever met. We have been working with them preparing them to enter the temple, getting them callings, and giving them the priesthood. Sunday we did seven priesthood advancement and ordinations on recent converts and less actives. It was cool. Probably the best part of my week though was a temple preparation lesson we had with a recent convert. She wanted to go up and look around at the temple but when she went, she was too scared of the gaurds at the gate and wouldn't go in. So we had her meet us there and we took her on a tour and showed her around and tried to explain about everything. We went in and had an amazingly powerful lesson in the waiting room with her. It was great, the spirit was so strong. It just shows how powerful temples are, even just the waiting room. She is excited and ready to enter the temple. Unfortunately her husband is not yet a member so she can't be sealed yet. But we're gonna try to work on that.

We have been trying to find some new people to teach. We have some good ones, but it is too early to tell if they are gonna make it through to the end.

This saturday for the young mens activity, I am going to teach the young men how to play american football. Everyone is really excited and we have quiet a few investigators who want to come. So that should be good for us.

Well things are going well. I miss you all. Thanks so much for all you do. Hope everyone's week is awesome. Talk to you next week. Moce.

Loloma Levu,
Elda Lalaga

Thursday, October 22, 2009

October 18, 2009 E-mail from the Birthday Boy

Well this week was pretty slow. I feel really bad for Elder Gollman my
new comp. It is his first week in the mission field and we had more
fall through appointments then I have ever had on my entire mission.
Every single appointment we had set, fell through. We dropped in on a
few people unannounced and came out of it alright but none of our
investigators are doing good right now. I am thinking about just
wiping the slate and starting over; fropping all of the investigators
and try to find new ones. We will see how it goes.

Elder Gollman is good. He is excited to be a missionary, but I underestimated what it
would be like training. It didn't really click to me that he wouldn't know Fijian and that I would literally have to do everything. It is going good though. It is tiring but I will keep chugging along. Elder Gollman is a six year convert from Oregon. He is from Austria, so his first language was German, but he knows English since he grew up in America.

One cool thing that happened this week is Vilitati, a recent convert who is like 85 and incapable of going to church cause he cant get around well, is going to be given the Aaronic priesthood and Melchazadik soon. We're trying to prepare him to go to the temple at his one year mark on January 31. I hope he makes it though; everytime I ask him how he is doing he just says, "Almost dead, maybe tomorrow." He just wants to go to the temple so bad. I hope he makes it.

We also had a couple of less actives that we have been working with since I got here that came to church for the first time yesterday. I was very excited.

My birthday was good. I ate way too much food and am going to have another lovo tonight, where I always eat way too much.

That is my week. I love and miss you all.
Moch Love,
Elder Wall

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

October 11, 2009 E-mail

Here is the latest email from Jake. I pasted the response he sent to Mom about the tsunami on the bottom of this message

Wow! Conference was awesome! I loved it. My favorite was by far Jeffery R. Holland. That man doesn't hold any punches, just like I like it. Elder Ballard had an amazing talk as well. President Uchtdorf was amazing... I just loved them all. I am excited that on November 11, President Uchtdorf is going to be coming here and talking to us. It will be so so good.

We also had Zone Conference this week, which was awesome as always. We are going to start reporting unplanned contacts (like talking to people and trying to teach mini lessons when we meet them on the street). It will be hard, but I am sure it was an inspired decision so we will see how it goes.

The biggest news this week is that Elder Smiler got transferred to Kuku and is going to be tested and tried in a rough area under some tough circumstances, but I have done my best to teach him well and he is an awesome kid, so I am sure he will do awesome.

I will be training a freshy from the MTC. His plane landed this morning and I will be picking him up tomorrow. I am a little bit nervous, but I am going to learn and grow a lot so it will be good. I am gonna do my best to make him the best missionary he can be. Maybe I can make him run with me in the morning and I can lose this extra baggage I got hanging over my waist line.

Missionary work this week was a little slow. We lost two full days of proselyting from General Conference and One for Zone Conference and then most of one because of the Tsunami so we didn't accomplish half of what I was hoping for this last week. But we met a new investigator named Akei who I am really excited about. He is a landscaper for the temple grounds and is looking to make a change in his life. After talking to some members, he got really excited about taking lessons, so that will be good.

Rusila is same old same old. Super fun to teach, but just a little on the flaky side. We will just take it slow and keep working with her. I also got news this week that two elders are going to go to Rakiraki to try and get things going there again. I wish the best for them, so pray very hard. They are going to be going back and have lots of things to deal with.

Well I am excited to open this next chapter in my mission. I hope all goes well. Pray for me and my newbie. Love you all. Thanks again and I'm praying for you.

Loloma Levu
Lalaga

We had two tsunami warnings. The an earthquake hit Vanuatu and Samoa. Both times nothing happened, but all the people panicked and went to high ground. We just went to the mission home and watched "On the Lord's Errand", the new movie on Thomas S. Monson. It is awesome! My area is probably the safest place in all of Fiji. No tsunami is gonna
come this high. I got plenty of white shirts. I have not used sun screen or bug spray. It is so humid that you burn and then it's gone instantly. Bug spray doesn't even faze the bush mosquitos. I love you and will love anything that you send me. I am old... 21 WOW!

Love.
Luvemuni Your Son

October 4, 2009 *Double Digits*

Well this week was awesome. I hit my ten month mark! It is crazy how fast time is going. But this week was really good.

We had two baptisms: Timoci and Iva. Unfortunately, Rusila had to work and so again we had to push back her baptism, which is not cool. I guess we will just keep working with her. Her less active family just keeps telling her that work is more important, so that sucks. But we will get her there eventually. She knows the church is true.

Iva was baptized Friday, which was really cool. We had a good turn out of people to come and support her and welcome her into the ward. She was very excited and nervous but seemed really happy and content afterward and is ready to jump head first into the relief society, so I have high hopes. I hope she will be able to soften her husband's heart and help him accept the gospel.

Then Timoci was baptized on Saturday. I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but he is like an ex-gangster. It's funny because they do not have guns, so they don't seem like real gangsters to me, but he has got the gang tatoos and things, so it is funny. After I baptized him, we were going to go change and he said, "Man, that was cool, all those bad things I did are gone...Thanks". It was awesome! Then after, he was a changed man. He came to church so motivated to learn. I just hope he can make some good friends from the ward cause his friends now are all no good. He said this whole week, they all tried to go get him to do bad things and tried to drag him out of the house, but he wouldn't. He said that on the morning of his baptism, they tried harder then they ever had before. Satan is very aware of the change and decision he made and is trying hard to fight against. I am gonna do what I can to make sure we keep him clean. I am gonna give him a white shirt and tie and get him looking nice so he can get the priesthood and start passing the sacrament and blessing. I just pray that the ward will strengthen him and help make the change into the church.

Things are going very well though; the ward is great and I am very excited to have zone conference on Friday and then general conference on Saturday and Sunday. So this next week is going to be awesome.

I hope you all are well and have an awesome next week. Thanks so much for all the love and support everyone of you give me. You're the best. I love you all.

Love,
Elder Wall

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

September 27, 2009 E-mail

Well this week was really good. I cannot believe how fast it went, but it was really good. We have three baptisms that are going to happen this saturday. Two of them have already passed their interview and we just have one more to do tomorrow. Rusila, Timoci, and Iva. They will be awesome because they are all adults. We have tons of converts, but they are all children. I think it is gonna be good to have some adult converts to strengthen the ward.

We had really good attendance again this week with less actives who made it out to church so that is something I am very happy about.

We had a cool experience saturday and sunday. We have a less active man Bro. Nailati we always visit. He is really awesome and has been coming to church, but we had a good lesson where I decided to just read a chapter from the Book of Mormon together and then talk about it. We read Alma 34 and it was just what he needed to hear: that he needs to stop procrastinating his repentance, and come back to church and start fulfilling a calling. It was awesome! Then in sacrament, he was asked to bear his testimony and he told about us always visiting and coming to see him and how we got him to come back to church and now he is going to never fall away again. He is great! Him and his wife are taking the temple preparation class. I am very excited for them.

This next week we are gonna have to spend some time trying to find new people to teach. We have a lot of people, but none of them are doing anything to change and are only half committed. So after the baptism, that is going to be the end of all our good investigators. It will be good though.

This morning we went and hiked Mt. Korobaba. I don't know if it is the highest point in Fiji, but it is the highest on this side of the island. It was really cool. The last half was more climbing then hiking and it was an awesome view. I had a lot of fun and got some great pictures.

I hope you're all doing good. That about sums up my week.

Thanks for all you do. I love you all. Moce.

Loloma Levu,
Elda Lalaga

Friday, September 18, 2009

September 13, 2009 E-mail

Well this week was interesting, but it was good. I had an experience that I was not going to share but after some encouragement from my companion, I guess I will.

So to start in Fiji, you eat and drink a lot of things that are not the most sanitary. Part of being a missionary here is dealing with some pretty constant diarrhea which usually is not too big of deal. So I had some pretty good diarrhea in the morning, but thought nothing of it. We went about our day anyways. Then we went to a recent converts house and as I was sitting
down. I decided to crack off a real quick fart. I let loose and then realized
that I had defiled my covenants. So I turned to my comp and said we need to
go. And he said, "Why?"

I replied that we need to go now. He was about to object again and ask why, when an awful stench reached his nose and he said, "oohh ok lets go."

In fijian culture, when you enter a home, you have to be really respectful and ask for Tatau or permission to leave. So we were shouting and asking for permission to leave as we were running out the door and trying to come up with a decent excuse. Luckily I don't think they knew what happened. Although after changing when I went back, a little boy asked me if I put on deodorant cause I stink. All in all it turned out not too bad though.

Other than that, we have had some competition from the missionaries from the Anglican church. They have been sending in their missionaries in houses right after we leave. But we're still doing really good. They are just mad cause we are cutting into their paycheck.

Russilla just got really sick, so we had to push back her baptismal date again. But she still says she really wants to be baptized, so thats good. Jone and his family are doing good. He is ready to be baptized, but we're dragging feet trying to get him baptized with his whole family. I hope it works out. His dad has awesome questions and reads everything we give him. He just works constantly.

Kini is doing awesome. It was pooring rain so not very many people came to church but she walked alone with no umbrella all the way from her village and showed up soaked but with a huge smile. Strongest little girl ever.

We have some programs set up for firesides and home teaching together in both Wailoku and Tamavua wards. So things are going good and I am having a good time. I hope all is well back home. I love you all and miss you tons.

I hope your week goes well and I will try my best to not shart my pants this week.

Love y'all,

Elder Wall

Friday, September 11, 2009

September 6, 2009 E-mail

Happy Fathers Day all you dads. Yesterday was fathers day in Fiji so, for the one I missed in America, I hope this makes up for it! Well this week was good but really frustrating at times. It is ok though, cause this next week is gonna be much better.

So when I first got to this area, Wailoku was dead and Tamavua was on fire. But I like Wailoku more cause it is in the bush. So we spend most our time there. Which in result, things have really picked up and been doing good.

Things in Tamavua have kind of slacked off. All of our investigators are not keeping their commitments so I guess I need to find a better balance. But in Wailoku we got an awesome new investigator, Venina, who is 18 and takes notes during lessons and reads everything we give. She is always highlighting and writing down questions; she is awesome!

Jone's dad is reading everything even though he is always working so we can't meet with him. He has lots of questions so we're trying to arrange a time to meet with him, so their whole family could accept the gospel together. But Jone is doing awesome and has some great friends in the ward, so that is really good.

Kini's mom has agreed to sit down and take the lessons with us. I really think it is because of the service we did. I think it softened her heart, so I hope that works out well. I love their family.

Rusila frustrated the crap out of me. She decided to work when we were supposed to do her baptismal interview and said she was too tired to come to church, so we had to put off her baptismal date. I guess we will just have to keep working with her try to get her back to where she needs to be.

We spent all day wading through rivers flowing through the street yesterday cause it rained non-stop, day and night. So that was no fun. But we walked and walked and froze our butts off and ended up with a pretty good day.

The Bishop and Elders Qurom president have been working hard with us and it is making huge differences in Wailoku! Things are going really good. That about sums up my week.

Oh! I got a parking ticket and then went and talked to the courthouse guy in Fijian and got it cleared for knowing Fijian, so that was cool.

Well love you all and talk to you again next week.

-Elder Wall

Monday, August 31, 2009

August 30, 2009 E-mail

This week was really good. Two elders Logsdon and Cadogan are staying with us in a foursome while they wait for the boat to Rotuma, so we were on splits everyday with them. We switched back and forth from the Wailoku and Tamavua wards.

We also had Zone Conference, which was awesome as always. We had really good spiritual trainings and it was awesome getting to see all the other missionaries. Interviews with the President went really well also.

One of our investigators in Wailoku is a cute little 11 year old girl named Kini. Her father had a stroke the first part of this year and can't speak or really do anything. So we went and did service there. We cleared and weeded their plantation so they can have food to eat. It went really well. I really hope her whole family will come around and let us teach them and baptize them. We always have her sit in on the lessons so she can hear and feel the spirit, so we will keep working with that.

Jone (15) is coming really well and we had an awesome lesson where his dad came and sat in. He was asking tons of really good questions. We invited the whole family to church, but only Jone came.

Rusilla has been coming to church lately, so we set her baptismal interview for this week. Next week, she will be baptized. I am really excited. She is very strong and has a solid testimony. I now hope that she will be able to activate her less active husband.

We also taught a recent convert who is the only member in his family. He came alone faithfully, but we're trying to work with him to get his family to join. I think they are just lazy though and don't want to come to church.

We went to a cool waterfall early today which was fun, but other then that it about sums up my week. Things are going well and time is flying. I can't belive this week I will hit my nine month mark! It is going so fast.

Well I love you all and hope you have a great week. Thanks for all the love support and prayers. I need it.

Love,
Elder Wall

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

August 24, 2009 E-mail

Well this week was awesome! We had a lot of good things happen and taught tons of lessons. But by far the highlight of my week was Friday.

The Nalila family (the chief) from Rakiraki came with family names to do baptisms for the dead in the temple. So not only did I get to see them and see a recent convert family I love do temple work...but I got special permission from the mission president to go on exchanges with a senior elder and perform the baptisms for the dead and confirmations! It was incredible. Plus I did them all in Fijian, which was cool. We were doing his father and grandfather and brothers. All chiefs, so we did all these names from the chiefly blood line. It was awesome. We did 246 names. I was exhausted after, but it was so incredible. I loved every minute of it. I am so grateful for the temple and the opportunity I have to do things like this.

Other than that, Saka from wailoku ward was baptized Saturday and confirmed yesterday. He is awesome. I love him and hope maybe soon his parents will come around and take lessons. I am pretty sure it is just his dad holding back. We also got a couple of new investigators who are golden and are for sure going to be baptized.

Transfers were this week, so we had some elders staying with us while we waited for planes and boats to other islands which was fun. Especially since elder Alba was one of them. It was fun to be with him again. We have two elders waiting for the boat to Rotuma that only goes once a month or so. So they will be living and serving with us for about a month. They are cool so it will be good.

In wailoku ward, we have been having great success in building up the ward and had really high attendance again. Tamavua is doing great. We have more investigators than time to teach them, so we are trying to pick out all the best ones. So it is going really well. We have some more baptisms coming up, so I am excited! Work is good and I am happy. Although I miss the bush. But i did get to see some other areas in Suva and compared to those, I am in the bush, so I will just count my blessings that I get to be there.

Oh, and Thursday, I successfully climbed my first coconut tree. It was only like a fifteen footer, but I don't care. At least I was up there.

Well I love you all and am praying for you. Keep up the good work in America.

Love.
Elder Wall

Thursday, August 20, 2009

August 16, 2009 E-mail

Wow this week was great. We got a bunch of baptismal dates and commitments set and had a baptismal interview that went awesome, so now Saturday, we have a baptism. It is gonna be awesome. We have been getting tons of referrals too. So many that we have not had time to meet with them all. We are gonna talk to President about splitting the wards into two areas cause we're going crazy trying to fit everyone in. But it is good.

One really good thing that happened this week is we had one investigator who came back from his village in the jungle and was gonna ask us to stop coming cause his strong methodist family convinced him to stay methodist, but we had an awesome lesson with him. He decided he changed his mind and wanted us to come back again. Then the next time we came, he asked us if he could be baptized and bore a crazy good testimony to us. It was awesome. So we set a date for him. It is gonna be really good.

Then we went back to one of the referrals we talked to last week and he had read the introduction to the BOM and all the way up to 2 Nephi! He described perfeclty the story of Lehi and his family leaving Jerusalem and going back for the brass plates, then building a boat and coming to America. And how he knows that Jerusalem was really and truly destroyed. Then he asked about how the intro tells of Christ visiting the Nephites, so we talked about that too. We tried to teach a lesson, but he just kept having all these awesome questions and we spent like three hours answering questions and reading scriptures. It was really cool. He was amazed and so happy when we told him about a living prophet today. He also asked about temple work and work for the dead and his face lit up when we told him. He said, "that way all people have an opportunity to accept Christ." It was awesome; the best part all of this was my ability to speak Fijian. It was amazing! I just flowed with words explaining deep doctrinal things. I was definitely experiencing the gift of tongues cause I was speaking on a much higher language level than I am capable of on my own.

We also had a really good ward activity and ward conference in Wailoku ward and the chapel was overflowing! We were really busy and it was a tiring week, but it was awesome. That's about all I got now. So I love you all and have a wonderful day. I will be sure to do the same.

Love,
Elder Wall

Monday, August 10, 2009

August 9, 2009 E-mail

Well this week was really good. I was sick most the week, but I'm tough stuff and went out everyday anyways haha.

We shot a couple shots into our barrell and came out pretty good. We have like six baptisms coming up now. Saka is going to be next week. He is the smartest nine-year-old I have ever met. We reviewed all the lessons. I expected he would remember very little since he is only nine and when I was nine you couldn't have gotten me to hold still long enough for lessons. But he amazed me and knew all the lessons inside and out and remembered everything we taught him. It was crazy! He also came to the activity this week cleaning up the chapel and worked way hard. I am amazed at the kid. He is gonna go places in life. He is very excited about being baptized and his father who is a pagan, even decided he doesn't hate us anymore and invited us for dinner. So that is really awesome.

Taravini lives with her boyfriend at her cousin's house, so we clarified that the child is hers but not from her womb. But they have to get married so we're working on that. The only problem is they have no money so they can't get married and bishops here can't perform weddings, so we're working on it. She is very faithful and wants to be baptized really bad so it will work out.

Rusilla is going to be baptized in three weeks and she is awesome. She is very smart and loves the BOM and has a strong testimony. However this week she invited us to a party and wanted us to be guests of honor, and still doesn't understand why we have to be home at nine and can't come. But she is awesome.

Timoci, another kid absolutely ready and excited to be baptized, is good but his girlfriend hates the church and drags him to her church every other week. The power girls have over eighteen-year-old kids. Geez. He has to come three weeks in a row, then he will be baptized, but he promised he was gonna tell her no next week, so it will be good.

So the work is going really well. Wailoku ward is struggling, but we have seen some good improvement this last week. We got two new referals down there and have a full dinner list from them so it is good. We also visited a bunch of less active people who all seemed really happy that we came to visit. The Elders Qurom Pres. is an RM from this mission and was the old AP. He is awesome and has been working with us lots, which has been really good. He is incredible and teaches us some cool stuff. So we have had good success there.

In Tamavua ward, we got a new ward mission leader who went out with us a couple times.
He is really good and knows a lot of the less actives and is good with helping us with the language as well. So that has been good. We're still trying to get home teaching going cause no one home teaches. We had a combined home teaching activity and only a few people showed up, but we made some really good visits. So it has been a really good. We got a whole bunch of lessons and accomplished some good things. I feel really good about our week. But there is always room for improvement, so this next week is gonna be better.

Elder Smiler is doing good and learning quickly. I got some bad news from Rakiraki. The branch is still a mess. The Branch President and his family stopped coming and are very rude and anti towards the members. The Stake still has not really done anything to help the branch out. They just assign someone to run sacrament and that is all that has really been done from what I know.

Miti got the Melchezadik (no I dont spell good) priesthood. He seems to be doing well. He has some new investigators for the missionaries. Too bad they do not have a branch to go to. But they are really good. So hopefully some good things will happen their soon. President Ostler said that if they get a new Branch President, he will send missionaries back. But they don't really have anyone who could be president. Keep praying.

Well I love yall. Keep up the good work back home.

Love,
Elder Wall

Monday, August 3, 2009

August 2, 2009 E-mail & Pictures




This is Jake's arm as the infection from the bug bite started spreading. For additional information, see his previous e-mails regarding his last visit to the hospital.


Here is the bug bite. Bleck.


.... Recognize this guy?

Today is my eight month mark on my mission. It is crazy. I can't believe how quickly it has gone, but it is going very well.
This week was a pretty good week. Things didn't really go the way we had planned, but we were able to still get some good things done. I got to know the wards a little bit better.

Wailoku ward is struggling a little bit they are having some problems with the ward members and contention, but things are getting better hopefully. We had a really good conversation with the Bishop. He is awesome and willing to do what it takes, so we're gonna be working with him and doing some good things.
In Tamavua Ward, things are going well. We got a new ward mission leader who is awesome and lucky for me, wants to concentrate on recent converts and less actives, which is exactly what I want to do. So it's gonna be good.

I don't know if I mentioned this before or not, but we help and teach every week at mission prep class. I laugh cause all the things I didn't do before my mission that I should have, I now not only have to go, to but I teach it-- Seminary, Institute, Mission Prep...I think it's funny. They have a saying here for that goes like this, "Pote Kemu Maleka." Basically it means, 'I eat what I deserve'. I love mission prep and stuff though, so I don't care, it's good.

Me and Elder Smiler are great. we're working hard and improving. He is picking up Fijian very quickly, much faster then I did. He knows Mauri, so I think that is helping out a lot. We're building some good new habits for his mission and breaking some bad old ones. I like training so far although some things are hard. We had a really good experiance with a less active this week.
We had some fall throughs so I decided we were gonna see some LA's. We went to this family and usually the husband doesn't want to sit with us for a lesson, but he did. He said that they were reading about the temple (we gave them a preparing to enter the temple pamplet) and having a spiritual experience, then they decided they wanted the elders to come visit them so they prayed we would come and then we came.

Bro Laitia cried when I asked him to bear his testimony and said he was touched that we would come here and learn his language and his culture and serve his people. He then bore good testimony. It was an awesome experience. He didn't make it to church but his family did.

We also had an awesome lesson last night. After mission prep, I told three future missionaries from our ward that preparation time was over and they were coming with us for the real thing. They were scared and wouldn't teach, but came and bore awesome testimony. It was a really powerful lesson with crazy spirit. I think it is one of the best lessons I have taught in Fijian. It didn't feel like I was speaking Fijian; I was just talking and it came out fijian. It was cool.

A young lady named Taravini read the reading assignment we gave her and picked out some awesome things she liked to share with us. I asked her if she believed the things that we taught and she said yes and then started bawling and bearing testimony that she knows the church is true and she wants to change her life. So I challenged her for baptism. I am pretty sure she will be baptized. Were going back tonight to figure things out cause she has a kid and lives with a guy. But last night she told me that it is her kid but it didn't come from her womb and that the guy she lives with is her cousin. But they seem really friendly to me to be cousins.
We will see.

Well it has been a good week and I hope for a better one next week. Love yall and miss yall... Thanks for the prayers they are working.

Love,
Elder Wall

July 26, 2009 E-mail

-We went to Island Park this weekend and so all of us sent one big happy email. This is his reply:

Ni sa bula vinaka noqu matavuvale kece!

Hello my all family. Thanks for that email. It was awesome to hear from everyone.

Cherie- unfortunately I didn't keep my mushrooms, which you inform me are for eating, but if you want I am sure I could grow some more and you can eat them.

Sounds like all of you had a great time in Island Park. I am glad. I have had a pretty good time here in Suva. I eat pancakes for breakfast and I drink real milk. I didn't think I would ever get to do that. I also have a real mattress not just a foam pad. So Suva has its benefits.

My companion is awesome. He has a goofy accent and keeps telling me to pop the boot (trunk) and other wierd words, but he is great. He is very eager to learn and I am doing my best to teach him. His first trainer didn't really teach him much, so I am starting with a pretty fresh slate. His Fijian is not real good yet either, so I have to do almost all the talking and teaching. It has been really good for me.

I have been doing well and getting better. I am doing my best to teach him too which actually helps me out a lot also. As for the work here, it's like shooting fish in a barrell with a 12 gauge. I cannot believe how different it is from the West side. In one of my first lessons here, I asked the investigator if she could read a chapter from the BOM, pray about it, and come to church on Sunday. She said yes,..then I stared at her blankly and didn't know what to say cause I was preparing myself for giving a lecture on why it was important and why she needed to do it. That never happens in the West. You have to force them with repeated visits and commitments before they do anything and they never just say yes, they make excuses. I was shocked but it was good.

We cover two wards Tamavua Ward and Wailoku Ward. Our area is almost all Fijian speaking. They are both big functioning wards who do things for us when we ask them. It is crazy. We had two baptisms on Saturday which was good and more on the way. Tamavua ward has had 40 baptisms this year. It is crazy how the work is booming here. We have ward mission leaders and ward missionaries who actually come with us and do their jobs. It is good. One ward missionary ,Inia, is preparing for his mission and comes every morning and spends all day with us. It is awesome.

Well Mom, I got your cookies that were in qurantine for a month. Not sure why. They were still wonderful and I loved them. Thanks so much. I love you all. Keep writing. It is so nice to hear from everyone. It makes a missionary's week.

Cherie- your excuse of not knowing where to send is a terrible excuse. Just ask my mother jk. But thanks for writing.

Au Lomani Kemuni! (i love you all)

-Loloma LevuElda Lalaga

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

July 19 E-mail

Well this week has been incredible. I think it has been the best week of my mission.

We started off with interviews with president, which are always good. Then we had an awesome Zone Conference. President Ostler talked about how we have a lot of really good missionaries, but very few great missionaries. He compared it to terrestrial missionaries and celestial missionaries. It really hit home to me cause I think I'm a really good missionary, but I'm not great yet. So I went about this week with a new attitude and a new focus to become a Celestial missionary. It made all the difference. I went from doing a few push ups in the morning to say that I exercised, to running and honestly exercising hard. I got more serious about companionship study and planning out our days. The result was great we (me and Elder Alba) had an incredible week with much more spirit with our work when we were prepared to have it with us. Almost every single lesson was crazy powerful and we could see the difference in the people we taught.

We also focused more on BRT (build a relationship of trust) and it helped us teach and to meet the people's needs more, which was awesome. One family has been investigating for three years and has excuse after excuse why she doesn't want to join. We went to them, and they are really big into playing the guitar. Me and their son and the father played guitar for an hour and then I taught them how to play a song that I didn't even know I remembered. It was a Creed song that I learned forever ago. After that we started the lesson and they opened up like a book. Their mother just started asking deep questions and picking out things, but we just explained and clarified everything so good. Then she came to church yesterday. We were shocked. It was really awesome!

We also tracted a lot cause we're still in a foursome and we found some of the best new investigators. We had some awesome lessons.

So basically this week was incredible. We were happy, smiling, and having a good time all week long. I loved it! A smile goes a mile.

As for Rakiraki, we went back Wednesday and Bro Cagi ( I refuse to call him president now he is released) pulled a quick one on the Stake. He moved out, they came and saw he was out, then he moved right back in. So Rakiraki is closed long term now and I think it is going to be a long time before missionaries are back.

The members are still doing pretty good. So for their sake, I hope the Stake figures something out. One member from Rakiraki, the chief's wife, weaved me the coolest scripture case ever as a going away gift and gave me a bird she weaved to send home. They are awesome!

So here is the new announcement on my transfer and where I am going: I have been assigned to the Tamavua ward which is in Suva. So I can't avoid the city anymore. I guess I'm just a village boy. I don't want to serve in the city, but I guess the Lord has different plans for me. I am going to follow-up training with Elder Smiley. He has been in the missionfield four weeks now. He is from New Zealand and seems pretty cool, so that will be good. He is new and doesn't know Fijian, so I am gonna be tested and find out how good my Fijian really is. It will be good for me though. I will no longer have someone else to rely on. All my comps so far have been really good with Fijian, so I have leaned on them a little bit. Not any longer. It will be good. I will get better and learn more now. It is probably the best area in Suva for that.

It is an all Fijian area and Ward. I leave for Suva Wednesday. So wish me luck.

Love you all and miss you. Thanks for the prayers and I am praying for you as well.

Loloma Levu
Elda Lalaga

Monday, July 13, 2009

July 12, 2009 E-mail

Well it has been a pretty good week. We worked pretty hard and did much better about filling up our week for all four of us Elders. I am getting to know the ward a little bit too they are great. It is wierd being in a large functional ward, but it's good. I love not having to prepare lessons for Sunday school and priesthood and worry about who is talking, praying, and all that good stuff. So it is nice to get to sit back and enjoy church instead of being concerned with making everything happen.

The work here has been going good. We have some good investigators really close to baptism. Like everywhere in Fiji, we have a lot of less actives we have been trying to work with. It has gone pretty good.

Tavua area is kind of two areas: Vatukoula, which is a gold mine and a town for all the people who work in it. Then Tavua Village. Most of the time I am in the village with Elder Alba. But we switch off a little bit.

I love the Village life. I hope I spend my whole mission in villages. I don't like the cities. I am just a village boy.

This Wednesday, we went to Rakiraki, which was awesome and I loved it. The members are all still doing really well. They were so excited to see us and just talked about how much were loved and missed, so that was really cool. We snuck up on Keresi and caught her reading the Book of Mormon. I was so happy to see that she is still being faithful and doing what she needs to even though the Elders aren't there to remind her. It was awesome.

Miti also was so happy when I told him that I sent his baptismal picture home and that you all got so to see it. He always asks about you and says to send you his love. He is the best. I love him. He has totally taken on the responsibilty of the sacrament since we have been gone too. He brings the bread and prepares the table and makes sure that Jone, the teacher, will be there to pass. He is the best.

We also met in Rakiraki one of the pioneers of the church in Fiji. She was one of the first to join and she helped to translate the BOM into Fijian. She is the nicest old lady ever.

Some more good news from Rakiraki: we heard that President Cagi got released yesterday, so that is good. Things are starting to happen there. Today I have my Interview with the President and I will talk about what is gonna happen with Rakiraki and whether or not I am gonna get transferred. So we will see.

I am very excited for Zone Conference tomorrow. Well that is my week. Love you all.

Love,
Elder Wall

Thursday, July 9, 2009

July 7, 2009 Email

**The following post contains two seperate letters. The first was to the family, and the second was to Dad. However, we liked the second one so much that we have decided to post it too for your viewing pleasures.**

Letter #1:

Well this week has flown by. It has been an interesting week. We are still in a foursome in Tavua. We probably will be like this for another week. Next week is Zone Conference and my guess is probably transfers also. The plan was for us to come to Tavua while the problems in Rakiraki work out and then go back in a couple weeks. But I am not sure if the problems will work out that quickly, we will see though.

We did a secret move out of our Rakiraki flat, which was fun. President Ostler didn't want the Branch President to know we were leaving, so we snuck in and moved everything out in like thirty minutes in the pouring rain. All my stuff got soaked. It was kinda cool though. I felt stealthy.

Then this week was kinda tough. It was difficult to find enough work for four elders, so me and Elder Alba did a lot of tracting and less-active work. It was good. We met a lot of people they didn't know about before in this area, so that is good. But I am glad I am in a mission that you don't tract a lot cause it is way hard, and we dont even get turned down. I think if I got doors slammed in my face, I would hate it. Good thing the lord sent me here.

Anyways, July 4th... they don't celebrate it here, but we tried to make it a little bit cool. A member who lived in America forever told us about a Butcher shop and we had a barbeque, which was fun. We bought an entire cow backstrap for 15 dollars Fijian, which is about 7 American.... CHEAP! I used my butcher skills and we chopped it up and ate unhealthy amounts of steak and loved every minute of it. We didn't have anything for seasoning though, cause they dont really sale seasoning here. But it was a good July 4th. No fireworks though. The Fijian government is a mess and fireworks are illegal now. But I hear from the older missionaries that they used to have the craziest fireworks ever for dirt cheap.

Well that about sums up my week. I hope next week, I will have more permanant changes to talk about, but until then, we're in the coolest foursome to ever hit Fiji.

Pray for the members in Rakiraki and their Branch. I have no clue what is gonna happen there.

I love you all. Stay strong and have extra fun for me this summer.

Love,
Elder Wall



Letter #2:

I look at the change I have had so far on my mission and am amazed. I have changed so much and am only continuing to change. I just hope I can continue to do good and help these wonderful people. I don't know if I am going to go back to Rakiraki or not, but I feel good cause I can leave knowing that I helped these people and changed/fixed things that have been going on and getting worse for the past six years that no one has been able to do anything about. It was a heck of a challenge and it tried me to my very limits. But after it all, I look back on it with a smile, and feel really good about the things I did.

I kept telling myself throughout it all that if I got through it and made something happen, then anything else I face in my life is going to be nothing compared to this. I think it's true and I am glad I am going to have this to look back on and say, "I have had it worse and I made it out okay."

Thanks so much for all you have done and all you do. I was never as appreciative as I should have been for you mom and the whole family.

I love and miss you all.

Love,
Elder Wall

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Fantastic Fijian Images from Jake's Companion!


































June 10, 2009 E-mail

Well it has been another week and I was told that by this week, I would have some new news to report, but I have nothing. The stake still hasn't done anything and we're still here with the Branch President. However our report has gone to the area presidency and they know now, so something should happen. I am sick of saying that. I have been saying that for months.

Mom and Aunt Nat- I am sorry that I am vague, but I have to be. I am not allowed to talk about the things that have been happening yet. But hopefully soon I can. Just real bad things.

This week has been cold. I never thought I would be cold in Fiji, but I have been cold. It has been rainy windy and freezing. Friday, it was like 70 degrees and I thought I was gonna freeze to death. I am in big trouble when I go home to Utah in December and learn what cold really is.

Work this week went pretty well although the Methodist church owes me something. One of our investigators said we made her realize the importance of church, but that our church is too far away so she will just go to the one across the street from her house. I think she missed the point a little bit.

We had a big birthday celebration this week though, and me and my companion did a "sermon" for lack of a better word to all fifty-plus people present. It was cool. Especially since a methodist talatala (minister) was there.

We also have an appointment to teach at a school this week. It's gonna be a weekly after-school activity where we will go teach anyone who wants to hear, in their school. Imagine the reaction if that happened in America! But here, everyone is excited and I think we're gonna have a good turn out. The Recent Convert who is a chief came up with the Idea and got it accepted with the school. I'm very excited for that.

Bro Penni, the chief, also sat me down and had a talk with me that if I pay just for matterials, he will give me beach front property and make his villagers build me a house. He says he wants me to bring my family and come visit here often and said if he builds me a house, we won't have to stay in a hotel. I love that man. He is so funny; whenever I talk to him, all he wants to talk about is me having a house here.

Miti, the man who I baptized, passed the sacrament yesterday and has been practicing blessing for next week. He is excited and is going to bless in English. He has been reading the BOM in english and it has improved his English a lot. He is so awesome. I love him.

Some other good news: the past month or so, I have had a thriving colony of bed bugs in my mattress that eat me alive in the night. However after a gallon or so of bug killer, I think I have managed to evict them.

Well that about sums up my week this week. Keep writing and I love you all.

Love,
Elder Wall

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

June 15, 2009 Email

Well it has been a really rough week. We took two days out of regular missionary work and went through boxes and boxes of branch records, curriculum, and all kinds of other junk trying to get organized and figured out. There's a lot of dumb stuff that I have to do because I am the clerk. I wish that I didn't have to do it, but I do.

Then some really bad stuff happened with Branch President and Branch matters, so I have been dealing with stuff from that. The Mission President is contacting the Area Presidency and I might have to talk to them. The Stake sucks and is doing nothing to help us out. So I am waiting for a phone call from the Mission President cause he said that if the Branch President is not out there immidiatly, then the missionaries will be. So by the this time next week we will either have new things in the Branch, or i will be in a new area. Other then that, the missionary work in Rakiraki is going really well.

We had good attendance again and members are excited about things we're doing. We have a couple of new investigators and our baptismal date that ran away to Lautoka, worked out the family issues and is back wanting to be baptized still. So that is good.

We have not finished our Saioko proposal yet. When we started getting into details of how we were gonna get back and forth and communicate and things, it got real complicated. So we're working out some issues in our plan so that he will for sure accept it.

We went to this really cool resort called Volivoli, to contact a referral who works there. We met and talked to the owner and got us a good hook up there for after the mission. But the referral was really interested and said he was excited to read the BOM and will come to church. So we will see how that goes.

I don't know if I already told you this, but I ate sting ray, fish innards, and eel. They are all not too bad; the innards are really dry and chalky though.

Well sorry this week's email is lame. I don't have a whole lot to say. Oh yeah! Mom- sorry I am emailing a day late. It was a holiday and everywhere is closed, so we had to cram it in today before district meeting. I hope you didn't call the office again.

Love ya'll. Keep on smiling.

Love,
Elder Wall

Monday, June 8, 2009

June 7, 2009 E-Mail

Hey there family and friends,
I am doing good - healthy and having a good time. This week was my six month mark and my companion and two other elders' one year mark, so Friday after proselyting, we had a party and burned a tie and shirt and had cake and drank mountain dew and coke in a traditional
Fijian ceremony style. It was a blast.

Then on Saturday, we went to Saioko. The work is booming there. One man is ready to be baptized and there is like 7 progressing investigators in one village and two other villages that
want missionaries to come. The mission is open there, but we don't have time with our weekend
trips once a month. There is also one other village that wants us to come open them up to missionary work with an opening ceremony.

Plus, the Branch President is amazing and also the village chief. Me and Elder Alba are writing a proposal to the Mission President to let us open it up. We would live in the village and just be straight up legit Fijians, living the old traditional life. It would be so awesome! I will let you know more details when we hear the President's response to our proposal.

The work in Rakiraki is going good still. We had a good turn out at sacrament (27). No one comes to the first two blocks though. Hopefully we can change that. We have been trying to change the terrible things in our branch, but it is not easy with our branch president working against us.

Every week a stake leader comes and supervises our Sunday and activities. The branch president started getting mad at him, so I hope the stake is starting to see the man's true colors and kick him out. The stake took away almost all his power and responsibility, which is good, but it sucks cause it gets put on us elders. So we're crazy busy trying to resurrect a totally apostate branch, when neither of us have ever held a church calling in our lives. We are doing our best though. One step at a time.

Our investigator pool is really low right now, but we have two new investigators this week. I am excited about them, but I think we need to focus on the branch right now.

My Fijian is progressing more and more, but I still just wish I could speak as comfortably in Fijian as I can in English. Not yet ...maybe one day. If I go to Saioko, I will probably get really good because nobody knows English there.

Well I love ya'll and I'm very excited to hear from everybody.

Love,
Elder Wall

Monday, June 1, 2009

May 31, 2009 E-mail

These are the letters that make it all worth it-- even with the annoying and scary hospital visits. The second email is responding to our emails about how wonderful our Stake Conference was. What a wonderful missionary he is!

E-mail #1:

Well another week down and even though most of it was spent in the stinking hospital, a lot of things happened.

My arm is almost completely normal sized again. I am still taking antibiotics, but it is good. I feel good and I am motivated to go back and continue on in our up hill battle of Rakiraki.

Things were good this week in church. We still had no one come out to the first two blocks of church, but we had a good number of people who came out to sacrament and that is really good.

Both of my recent converts, Miti and Keresi, are doing awesome. They are excited and motivated about being in the church. Next week Miti is going to be ordained a priest and then the next, he is going to bless the sacrament. I am very excited.

Keresi loved going to the temple and doing baptisms for the dead and is excited in planning for our YSA activity in July. We're doing it pioneer. We're going to have a dance and everyone is going to dress cowboy. I love it. It is a regional YSA thing, so all of Fiji is gonna come to Rakiraki it will be so good to see real members and a real operating activity.

My fijian was really good this week and the members decided they want me to learn their dialect, so they were trying to speak to me in the dialect always... it went ok. It is just so different from standard Fijian, hopefully I can pick more of that up.

I had an awesome interview with President Ostler, the mission president, this morning. It is Zone Conference tomorrow and I am in Lautoka. I just laid everything down and told him what I think needs to happen and told him more things I have found about the Branch President and he said things are going to change and that if he has to, he is going to go to the area presidency. So I'm really excited to see some change. Sitting in sacrament and recording our attendance, I felt really successful as a missionary. These people who I love, are finally coming to church! My first week, we had six people: two missionary's and the president and his family of four. The past three weeks we have had attendance of 25-30. I have finally been able to make things change and happen, to help them and to give them an oppurtunity to have a Branch that hopefully someday soon, will be functional. I just hope to be in Rakiraki long enough to see these awesome people be a part of a large opperating Branch. The joy and sense of worth this would bring me is something I keep looking forward to with high hopes. These wonderful people are the only thing that keeps me going day to day.

Well I love you all and thanks so much for everything you do. I miss you all and am praying for you.

Love,
Elda Lalaga


Email #2:
I wish I could have been there; that sounds awesome. The leadership of this church amazes me. I had an Ensign in the hospital and that is about it, so I read all of the conference talks and studied from them. The things those men know and say are incredible! I wil never ever forget the feeling I had sitting in a missionary conference being taught by Richard G Scott. I was on the front row and the man was so close; it was incredible.

Personal Revelation and learning through it is something that is becoming so real to me. My study lately has been awesome. I have gotten into some deep deep doctrine and I love it. As a member of the Branch Presidency, I now have a church handbook of instructions (which I hear are supposed to be pretty tight kept) and I have studied out of it and learned things about the gospel a twenty year old probably is not fully ready to know, but through personal revelation and reasoning and spirit behind things, it has strengthened my testimony so much. Our Heavenly Father has a knowledge and PERFECT plan for everything. Everything has a reason and purpose, whether I understand it or not. But if I diligently seek to know and understand and sacrifice my will for God's, then the knowledge and understanding is given to me.

I love this gospel. Thanks for the love and support. Sorry I have been such a pain in my life. Thanks for never giving up on me, even when I gave up on myself.

Love,
Jake

Thursday, May 28, 2009

May 27, 2008 E-mail

Hey Family & Friends!

So... the longest four days of my life are now over. I spent four days in the same room and same bed, with no TV or any form of entertainment, and just about went nuts. I assume everyone knows that I have staph infection, because they called my mom and told her, which now means that the greater part of the Western United States knows about it.

I got a bug bite that turned into a boil, which turned into a large large swelling named cellulytices or something like that. Sunday morning, I woke up and my forearm was bigger then my bicep, but I decided I would deal with it after church.

Then while blessing the Sacramen,t I got really hot and sweaty and dizzy blurry vision, ect... So we went to RakiRaki hospital, which had only one nurse, no doctor, and a lot of sick people. So we called the disrict leader to come pick us up and take me again to the Suva hospital; long, boring drive again.

When I first got here, they gave me an injection of antibiotics and said to come back every morning and night for more. So we left to stay with some Suva elders. By about one in the morning, my forearm was slightly smaller then my thigh and my hand had turned white and ice cold because it had no circulation. So we went back to the hospital and I was admitted and put on IV antibiotics.

I stayed there for four days alone with very little sleep and nothing to do at all. But I am alive with a semi-normal sized forearm and feeling good, so Mom -stop worrying. Now for the missionary work part.

We had another really good week. We did not have as many people as last week and due to our branch president and a lack of leadership, the meeting was not quite as good as last week but it was still good. The stake presidency came and made Elder Cokanauto the first counselor and me the Branch clerk, so hopefully we can make some things start happening in the branch. We have also been informed that the Branch Pres has been told to get out of the chapel. Which if he does, then I bet he will never come back to church since his free ride will be gone. I hope this is the case, but we will see.

We also are working on planning an activity in Rakiraki, which will be the first activity in literally years; my guess is six (since the branch president was put in). So I hope that we can have some success in building an actual functioning branch. Keep praying for us. We need your help.

Love you all and thanks so much stay strong.

Love,
Elder Wall

Saturday, May 23, 2009

May 17, 2009 Email

**Disclaimer: The following message was lost due to computer tantrums. I am typing from a PDF version, so I'd like to apologize in advance for any typing errors.

*There was no email from Jake on May 10, since we spent the majority of our time talking to him on WEBCAM! Technology is amazing! He is looking great by the way. And with that, I'll leave you in peace and let you read Jake's email.



Well it has been an interesting week with some highs and some lows. Firt off, I am still in Rakiraki. It is a shock to everyone. I guess the stake president had a meeting with the mission president and decided that the elders were no longer going to be pulled out. Since we have more going home and none coming in, two areas were shut down. Everyone thought it would be Rakiraki for sure, but instead they closed an area that was going really well. I have no clue why. I hope that means the stake is going to make some changes in the branch, because something has to happen. If they change the Branch President, really good things will happen though, cause the area has tons of potential. I love the people so so much.

We had two baptisms Saturday. It was awesome! My first baptism, and also the first in Rakiraki since October! They both asked me to perform the baptisms. We dd it in a pool at the Tanoa Hotel in Rakraki, which was way cool. It went really well; no one was around and we had it to ourselves. It was abeautiful place. It felt really good. Both of them, Miti and Keresi, were very excited and ready. They are both really excited right now about being members and helping the branch, so that is really good.

Miti went fishing and had a really good catch and when they came back, he told his wife that they are church members now and need to share, so they went and distributed their catch among the village. He also told his wife that they needed to fast since they did not at the first of the month. He is so awesome!

Keresi is also amazing and told us she was really negative about the church and that when her sister Amelia (an RM and the only strong, faithful member of the branch) talked her into taking the lessons, praying, and fasting, she was not very happy that she had agreed to it. She said that when we came into her house, she felt a light and a happiness enter her home and her heart. She bore a very strong testimony. It was cool to hear her because she would testify about something and I would just sit back and say, "Hey, I taught her that." It felt really good. Especially since I wasn't always sure if she could understand my Fijian.

Then church yesterday was awesome too. We had almost thirty people there. One less active family, a family of twelve, all came back and it was very cool. We had some senior couples who were very good, come and give awesome talks. The spirit was very strong. A lot of the members told me they didn't want to leave and they all stayed at the chapel talking and socializing for an hour after church.

We also dedicated a home of some recent converts from the last baptism in October. That was a cool experience.

My Fijian is coming okay. Somedays are definitely better than others.

Oh! Mom, I'm sorry I couldn't recite the first vision for you. Things are different for missionaries now that we don't memorize the discussions.

Well I think that about covers it. I love you all very much! Keep it coming. I really need it during these... interesting times. I miss you and talking to you was great! Stay strong and pray hard.

Love,
Elda Lalaga

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

May 3, 2009 E-mail


Well it has been an awesome week. We were in Suva Monday, Tuesday, and then left Wednesday morning. I don't really like Suva that much. It's too much like America and it's not real Fiji. I would much rather just be in the villages. But we stayed in the brand new temple patron housing they built, which was amazingly fancy. I got hot showers and a mattress, not a foam pad. It was cool.

We got to go to the temple Tuesday morning at 5:00 it was awesome! I love the temple! It has been way too long since I have gone. I miss it. It is a very small temple, but very beautiful. It is on the top of the mountain and you can see it from way far away.

Monday we had a combined zone conference with all the missionaries in Fiji, which was way cool. I got to see all my old MTC friends.

Tuesday we got to hear from ELder Richard G Scott. That man is unreal. He will always hold a special spot with me now. He gave us the most spiritual meeting ever and taught us a lot. The man is a genious and qoutes scripture perfect like it is nothing. The senior missionaries and the president and his wife did a temple session with him. I am very jealous of that. But when he was coming out, I chased him down and got my picture with his arm around me. It was way cool. I love that man.

Wednesday we went to Nadi and I did splits with the Nadi elders untill the stake fireside with Elder Scott. It was awesome to see my old area. All the people still love me and were so excited when I visited them. It was awesome.

The fireside was good too, very spiritual. He is a funny man and joked a lot, which is something the Fijians love, so they liked him.

Then we got back here to Rakiraki on Thursday. Things here are good.

In Suva we were informed that the area is being closed at the end of the month because of some BIG problems the branch has been having. The Branch is probably also going to be closed. We don't have an exact day we're leaving, but they said the end of the month. I think it will be the 19th, cause there is a group going home that day and some changes are going to be made. People are very sad that we are leaving and two of them told us they want us to baptize them before we go. Miti and Keresi. I feel bad baptizing them into inactivity because their branch is being closed, but we can't say, "No. Sorry, you can't be baptized and have eternal salvation." So we set Miti's date for the 17th.

Yesterday Miti brought his less active wife to church and was wearing the white shirt and tie we gave him. He looked awesome. His wife also got all fancied up and they looked so good. When they walked in with Keresi and I saw them, I felt so much joy! It was awesome. I love them very much.

Well Happy Birthday Kelsi and Preston! And Happy upcoming Mother's Day all you mothers.

Love you all thanks so much for the love and support. It means a lot.

Love,
Elder Wall