Well this week has been crazy. I found out that I am being transferred to Kadavu and Elder Zeyer is my new companion. It will be awesome! I am so excited. Bad thing is though, no email and mail only goes every three months.
First we had another awesome lesson with Meli and Milika. We talked about spirit prison and the kingdoms and again he loved it. He was fascinated and so excited about Baptism for the Dead and the fair judgments of God and the equal opportunity that our heavenly father gives to us. At the end of the lesson, I asked him to pray to know if the things we shared are true and he immediately responded and said, "I don't need to; I already know it's true."
So I asked him how he knew, and he said that he already prayed about all the other things I taught him and he now knows they are true. He said he also knows now that everything I am going to teach him is true. I just told him to pray again. Ha ha they are so awesome and I challenged him to pray about being baptized and he replied, "I will pray if I have to, but I already know the answer."
They are awesome! It is too bad I won't get to see him baptized. Petaia and Olimiva were baptized Saturday, however I was not there for it. I have faith it was good.
So Wednesday, I mostly just went and said goodbye to all the people from Tamavua who I am close too. Then Thursday, we had a really good combined mission zone conference. We talked about how a mission is hard but that is what makes it so awesome. If it was easy, it wouldn't be worth the time. We also talked about helping out with ward and branches.
Then on Friday, we had one heck of a line up: Elder D. Todd Christofferson, Elder Jensen, President of the first quorum of the seventy, Elder Hamulo from the area presidency, and Elder Wakolo from the seventy, all in one meeting speaking to us for two hours. It was amazing.
Elder Jensen said that a great work must be afoot in this land and work in order to prompt so many apostles and prophets to come visit us, so we should work hard to keep it going. Elder Christofferson is hilarious and cracked jokes the entire time, which was weird because during his conference talks he seemed more uptight. It was amazing and we learned and talked a lot about pressing forward with this important work.
One thing that hit me hard that he said, was that sometimes we limit the blessings we receive by our faith. If we believe he can give us huge miraculous blessings, then he can, but if we don't, he can't. A lot of times we pray and ask for a little help when really if we have faith, we can ask for miracles and receive them. It was great.
Right after the meeting, the Zone Leaders- Elder Alba and Logsdon, took me and Elder Zeyer to the airport and we jumped on the airplane and flew to Kadavu. It was a tiny little plane with eight passengers, but it was a surprisingly smooth flight and absolutely beautiful; we could see all the coral and bright blue water. It was great. As we landed, I just saw white sandy beaches and the prettiest bluest water in the world.
The landing strip is on a skinny part of the island and goes fifty feet from the edge of the water on one side to fifty feet from the edge of the water on the other. It was kinda sketchy- looked like we were gonna land on water, then slowed down right before the water hit again. It is a very very beautiful place though with a tiny little one room airport. We are only allowed one bag that weighs 15 KG, mine was 30 but it was only ten dollars for the overage fee so I just paid. Little did I know that extra 15 KG was gonna come bite me in the butt.
We got off and luckily the one police car on the entire island gave us a ride about half way to our house. This is the part when my 30 kg bag killed me. I had to pack the stupid sucker ten miles up and down the hugest hills, across two ravines, and climb a half a mile up a huge hill with dirt stairs shoveled into it. Not to mention the fact that it is a thousand degrees blazing hot sun and one hundred percent humidity. By the time I got to the top, I was wishing I would have just left my bag and used the same clothes everyday. I think I am going to leave at least half my stuff here when I get transferred again.
Our house is awesome. It is like living in a log cabin. It is all wood. Actually I feel like I have been camping the past week. We have a small one burner kerosene stove to cook on. I have to sleep in a mosquito net on a small pad. We only have electricity three times a day for a few hours when the generator for our village turns on. The view is amazing; we live right on the ocean side on top of a huge hill overlooking the bay. It is so beautiful. Plus there is a constant sea breeze to keep us cool. It is so nice. We have no neighbors even anywhere close to us so it is so much like camping. I love it and I am so excited to be serving with Zeyer; he is an awesome missionary and we get along great. We have always talked about being companions and it finally happened. I am in the coolest area with the coolest companion in the whole mission. I am so excited! We are literally starting the church here. There have only been missionaries here since October and we are not even a branch, not even a unit, we are an annex which I didn't even know existed but it is the smallest unit of the church. We have some awesome members so far and things are going awesome so hopefully we will be growing soon.
I brought some referrals from people in Tamavua whose family is here and they all seem awesome. No one knows anything about the church here and we are brand new, so people are always approaching us and asking about us and the church it is so cool. I am so excited to be here it is great. Me and Zeyer are gonna work hard do good things and have a great time. I really think I am possibly the luckiest missionary in the entire world right now.
Twice a week, we take a small boat and go to a different part of the island and go to different villages, and every six weeks we take a little boat all the way around the island and go to the other side where there is another small unit ran by a member man who joined the church in Suva I think.
It is amazingly beautiful here and it is going to be awesome. We walked tons up and down hills (consistent with the majority of my mission) and there is not a lot of food so I am going to lose weight. I am so excited. Well that is about it for now. Love you all and see you soon. Thanks for all you do.
Loloma Levu,
Elda Lalaga
P.S. Just Kidding, we have email. We go to the weather man for the island and he has Internet to send weather info. We just have to use it around his schedule and to the power schedule. Mail probably takes for ever though. We will see how that goes.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
January 17, 2010 E-mail
Well this was an Awesome week! Luke's baptism was Saturday and it went really well. We had a good turn out and he has so many close friends in the ward to support him. I am confident that he will remain a strong member. His sister is now interested and has told us that she would like to take lessons. His mother came to both the baptism and confirmation and seemed to enjoy church, so I really see some good potential for future teaching.
Oliniva and Petaia both passed their baptismal interview and will be baptized this Saturday. Their mother has also been sitting in on lessons and has agreed that we can teach her after the baptism. She is the only one in her family who is not a member and when I was in Tavua, we taught her family there. So that too opens doors for the future.
We have the best investigators right now named Meli and Milikal; they are a younger couple who said he was capitan of the ship but didn't know where to steer it. We had an incredible lesson with him and taught the plan of salvation when we talked about Adam and Eve, he read 2 Nephi 2:25 like ten times and lit up like I have never seen anyone light up before. He just kept saying over and over anain, "oqo na neirau lotu" this is our church. He was so happy because he had been taught all his life how bad the fall was and how evil Adam and Eve were, and that now he understands and sees that it was all necessary and important to bring about the purposes of God. They were supposed to go back to the Koro (village), but cancelled their trip because the wanted to go to church and learn more. So I am very excited about them and their progress. They truly have been prepared and waiting for the truth. They are great.
We had an awesome attendance at church yesterday as well. The break is over and school is ready to start again, so every one is coming back from the islands and villages and we're gonna be really busy again.
Things are well and I am so excited to hear from D. Todd Christopherson. We get a two hour missionary conference with him on Friday morning. It is going to be awesome.
Well that was my week. I hope you all had as great of a week as I did.
Oh! More good news: after being sick for a couple days and the past couple weeks of waking up at six and playing football in the mornings, I can officially button up the collar on my 17.5 shirts again. YES!!!
Have a great week.
Much Love,
Elder Wall
Oliniva and Petaia both passed their baptismal interview and will be baptized this Saturday. Their mother has also been sitting in on lessons and has agreed that we can teach her after the baptism. She is the only one in her family who is not a member and when I was in Tavua, we taught her family there. So that too opens doors for the future.
We have the best investigators right now named Meli and Milikal; they are a younger couple who said he was capitan of the ship but didn't know where to steer it. We had an incredible lesson with him and taught the plan of salvation when we talked about Adam and Eve, he read 2 Nephi 2:25 like ten times and lit up like I have never seen anyone light up before. He just kept saying over and over anain, "oqo na neirau lotu" this is our church. He was so happy because he had been taught all his life how bad the fall was and how evil Adam and Eve were, and that now he understands and sees that it was all necessary and important to bring about the purposes of God. They were supposed to go back to the Koro (village), but cancelled their trip because the wanted to go to church and learn more. So I am very excited about them and their progress. They truly have been prepared and waiting for the truth. They are great.
We had an awesome attendance at church yesterday as well. The break is over and school is ready to start again, so every one is coming back from the islands and villages and we're gonna be really busy again.
Things are well and I am so excited to hear from D. Todd Christopherson. We get a two hour missionary conference with him on Friday morning. It is going to be awesome.
Well that was my week. I hope you all had as great of a week as I did.
Oh! More good news: after being sick for a couple days and the past couple weeks of waking up at six and playing football in the mornings, I can officially button up the collar on my 17.5 shirts again. YES!!!
Have a great week.
Much Love,
Elder Wall
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
January 10, 2010 E-mail
Note: Jake refers to grog in his email. In a letter to Kelsi this is how he explained grog
"It is a cultural drink that looks like (and I hear tastes like) mud. It is also called kava, yagona, waka it has a lot of names. What it is is a plant that they pound up and mix with water. When you drink it you get 'drunk', but its different than drunk on alcohol. Its a huge problem in Fiji. Originally it was for ceremonies and very formal. Only two cups which wasn't enough to get you drunk, and only on special occasions.. Weddings, funerals, and few other ceremonies. But now people have changed it and they abuse it. Drink it all night every night. Its bad the church won't officially say its against the Word of Wisdom and members can't drink it. But Elder Richard G Scott came and told everyone not to drink it and that it is against the Word of Wisdom. But everyone still drinks it. Its a big problem with the church in Fiji."
We heard from some friends that the people sometimes pass out and sleep for a couple of days after drinking it. Kind of like a stupor.
Well this week was pretty good. I hear all this complaining about ice and cold and can think of nothing but sweat and heat. I think this week was the hottest week so far this summer. It was blazing all week long. Luckily the New Years water fights are still going on, so I had some water to cool me down a couple times. Ha ha.
Luke is progressing awesomely and passed his baptismal interview, so this Saturday, we are going to be baptizing him. I am very excited about that and think he will be great for the church because he has a strong member family he is really close with to help him along. I was kind of worried about his view on grog but he said he doesn't drink it cause it makes everyone lazy then they don't do their job. That was a relief to me.
We also have two other investigators Olinivi and Petaia, who will be baptized next week and we will be interviewing them this week. They are really good. We also had a new investigator this week who I am really excited about. He told us he has been a member of the methodist church for 37 years and it has never helped him in his life so he is looking for something new. He said him and his family are like a ship and he is the capitan. But he doesn't know where to steer the ship. So I have really high hopes for them in the coming weeks.
Next week, D. Todd Christopherson is coming to Fiji so we get to have a conference with him. I am not sure why so many apostles and prophets have been coming to Fiji lately, but I love it and am to excited to hear from another apostle.
Well that about wraps up my week. I hope all of you had great weeks and this next week will be awesome for you as well.
Love you all. Moce.
Loloma Levu
Elda Lalaga
"It is a cultural drink that looks like (and I hear tastes like) mud. It is also called kava, yagona, waka it has a lot of names. What it is is a plant that they pound up and mix with water. When you drink it you get 'drunk', but its different than drunk on alcohol. Its a huge problem in Fiji. Originally it was for ceremonies and very formal. Only two cups which wasn't enough to get you drunk, and only on special occasions.. Weddings, funerals, and few other ceremonies. But now people have changed it and they abuse it. Drink it all night every night. Its bad the church won't officially say its against the Word of Wisdom and members can't drink it. But Elder Richard G Scott came and told everyone not to drink it and that it is against the Word of Wisdom. But everyone still drinks it. Its a big problem with the church in Fiji."
We heard from some friends that the people sometimes pass out and sleep for a couple of days after drinking it. Kind of like a stupor.
Well this week was pretty good. I hear all this complaining about ice and cold and can think of nothing but sweat and heat. I think this week was the hottest week so far this summer. It was blazing all week long. Luckily the New Years water fights are still going on, so I had some water to cool me down a couple times. Ha ha.
Luke is progressing awesomely and passed his baptismal interview, so this Saturday, we are going to be baptizing him. I am very excited about that and think he will be great for the church because he has a strong member family he is really close with to help him along. I was kind of worried about his view on grog but he said he doesn't drink it cause it makes everyone lazy then they don't do their job. That was a relief to me.
We also have two other investigators Olinivi and Petaia, who will be baptized next week and we will be interviewing them this week. They are really good. We also had a new investigator this week who I am really excited about. He told us he has been a member of the methodist church for 37 years and it has never helped him in his life so he is looking for something new. He said him and his family are like a ship and he is the capitan. But he doesn't know where to steer the ship. So I have really high hopes for them in the coming weeks.
Next week, D. Todd Christopherson is coming to Fiji so we get to have a conference with him. I am not sure why so many apostles and prophets have been coming to Fiji lately, but I love it and am to excited to hear from another apostle.
Well that about wraps up my week. I hope all of you had great weeks and this next week will be awesome for you as well.
Love you all. Moce.
Loloma Levu
Elda Lalaga
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
January 3, 2010 E-mail
Transfers came and went and I am still in Tamavua, so I think I might be serving here till I go home ha ha. Other than that, this week was really really good.
Sulu and Nolani were baptized on Saturday and it went awesome. The baptismal service was awesome with great talks, testimonies, and lots of ward members came out to support them. It was really great to see. After the baptism, they took us out to eat at a place called the Rain Tree Lodge (they are a loaded family --one of the very very few in Fiji). It was great food and really pretty right in the middle of the jungle and on the edge of this lake; it was sweet.
Other than that, the week was pretty slow. Not too many people home. People stay out in the villages until school starts again, like the 26th I think.
New Years was cool. They shoot bamboo canons that are awesome and throw water on each other. It goes for about a week or two till the chief declares it enough. I am in the City so there hasn't been too much fun like that going on, but a little bit.
Luke talked to his parents and they have allowed him to be baptized, so on the 16th, we are going to be baptizing him. Which will be good. He is really progressing well and he is very good with reading the Book of Mormon.
We have some less active members who have been struggling with a lot of Word of Wisdom problems. We had a great lesson with them and set new years resolutions for them to come back to church and start following the Word of Wisdom. Hopefully they will keep their commitments ,but I really feel like they are struggling.
The ward is struggling a little bit. We have no priesthood holders to fill callings; they all keep missing church and being unreliable. We're gonna have to do some work with them. We have a lot of baptisms in the near future though, so that will mean for the next few weeks being pretty busy. That is a good thing though. The past couple weeks have been pretty slow at times.
Well I am doing well and I am glad to hear that you all so fun in Florida , I hope the rest of you had a merry christmas and a happy new year.
Much Love,
Elder Lalaga
(lah-lah-ng-ah) hearing your pronunciation on the phone was hilarious.
Sulu and Nolani were baptized on Saturday and it went awesome. The baptismal service was awesome with great talks, testimonies, and lots of ward members came out to support them. It was really great to see. After the baptism, they took us out to eat at a place called the Rain Tree Lodge (they are a loaded family --one of the very very few in Fiji). It was great food and really pretty right in the middle of the jungle and on the edge of this lake; it was sweet.
Other than that, the week was pretty slow. Not too many people home. People stay out in the villages until school starts again, like the 26th I think.
New Years was cool. They shoot bamboo canons that are awesome and throw water on each other. It goes for about a week or two till the chief declares it enough. I am in the City so there hasn't been too much fun like that going on, but a little bit.
Luke talked to his parents and they have allowed him to be baptized, so on the 16th, we are going to be baptizing him. Which will be good. He is really progressing well and he is very good with reading the Book of Mormon.
We have some less active members who have been struggling with a lot of Word of Wisdom problems. We had a great lesson with them and set new years resolutions for them to come back to church and start following the Word of Wisdom. Hopefully they will keep their commitments ,but I really feel like they are struggling.
The ward is struggling a little bit. We have no priesthood holders to fill callings; they all keep missing church and being unreliable. We're gonna have to do some work with them. We have a lot of baptisms in the near future though, so that will mean for the next few weeks being pretty busy. That is a good thing though. The past couple weeks have been pretty slow at times.
Well I am doing well and I am glad to hear that you all so fun in Florida , I hope the rest of you had a merry christmas and a happy new year.
Much Love,
Elder Lalaga
(lah-lah-ng-ah) hearing your pronunciation on the phone was hilarious.
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