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
Monday, July 13, 2009
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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