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

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

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

April 26, 2009 E-mail

** Sorry for my tardiness with these new letters. Jake's blogpost got a little caught up with finals. Anyway, better late than never, right? Here we go:


Man it was a pretty good week. Slow for the first part. Miti is coming along good, but we're scared to give him a baptismal date because the last one ran away. Plus, I am reluctant to baptize him into a failing branch. I have a meeting with President Ostler today or tomorrow and we are gonna talk about it. I hope we can figure a way to help our branch because it is in a terrible place right now.

Saturday we went up to Saioko again. This trip was much more enjoyable than the last. It is the most beautiful place ever! We went up for the funeral of the old branch President who also happens to be the chief. There was tons of people there. We ate ridiculas amounts of food and
had a good party. It was his 100 day celebration, which is a party that means mourning is over'; he has been dead 100 days, so it is time to celebrate. It was fun. I climbed a water fall too and also a coconut tree halfway... then I got scared. But we had a great time.

The people there are amazing and the new branch President, the old ones son, is the chief, and I
love the man. He is awesome. So we did that and attended sacrament. The branch is
strong and lots of people were there. We also did a baptized a little girl named Laiku. She is awesome!

I gave a talk in sacrament and all the people told me how much my Fijian has improved since the last time, so that was cool to hear.

We slept on the ibe, or grass woven mat. It was okay, got eaten alive by mosquitos though cause I forgot my spray. The place is amazingly beautiful there. Some day when I am not a missionary, I am gonna go back and jump off the water falls. It looks fun.

Today we had combined zone conference and tommorrow we go to the temple and hear from Elder Richard G. Scott. His plane was cancelled, so we're not sure when he is gonna get here and when and who is going to hear from him, but the missionaries will for sure. I am very excited.

We are staying in the brand new building. It is so nice. I slept on a real mattress and took a warm shower; two firsts so far for my mission. It was nice.

I got the bike stuff and battery stuff. Thanks so much! It is awesome.

Well I am out of things to say. I love you all. Thanks so much!
Love,
Elder Wall