Frogs, Spiders, and Rain

October 22, 2017

Thoughts from the mission and answers to family emails:

You know, those really are great goals to pray for (make someone happy, make someone smile, find someone to serve, and find a way to share something about the Gospel with someone. As I read them, I thought perhaps they can be summed up into one thing: Love One Another, the way Christ did. I've found that when you do that, you're doing all of those things: making someone happy, making someone smile, serving someone, and sharing the Gospel. For me, I don't really know how to talk to these people yet, so the best thing I can do to love them is often to just smile to them - passing on the street, talking in the lessons, etc. 

Still having great experiences here in the 'historical port town of Levuka.' You know, the more time I spend here, the more I just can't wait to come back after the mission and bring you guys here to see it - and finally talk to the people in fluent Fijian! There are so many great things here I may not see again for the rest of my mission, and more and more I find ways that this place, though nearly 6000 miles away, is just like home. You know I guess there is a lot that could be improved here when compared to America, but compared to the rest of Levuka and Ovalau we live like kings with our support and our flat.

You know, a lot of the time I find myself thinking "I can't wait to leave this place" because of different circumstances - but when I move my thoughts away from complaining and being selfish I find that I don't want to leave here because I have yet to be able to talk to the people well in Fijian. I find that there are a lot of things I could do that I want to do badly - grow closer to the people, teach with more power, strengthen the members, etc. - that I'll only be able to do as my language improves. Then I'm encouraged to go out and listen and study and do all I can to do just that. With my situation (away from other native English speakers, companions with a native Fijian, 'stuck' on an island where we don't leave and see other English speaking missionaries much and where 99% of people are native Fijian) I have an excellent environment to learn the language very quickly and Fijian-ly, and there's much to take advantage of. Anytime I have thoughts like that, where I see how I was put into this/these situations to learn, I don't worry about time or selfish interests - so I try my best to be grateful for things in my heart as often as I can, and it always helps.

Thanks for the hymn - I've been finding lots of Hymns that apply to my days, serving as a missionary or trying to be grateful or positive or turning my thoughts to those who came before me or to the gathering of Israel or to the Savior.

Last week was Dipwali (day-wally) on Thursday the 19th. It's an Indian holiday, and they celebrate by dressing up fancy in the evening and eating 'sweets' which I thought were going to be candies but they're little baked goods that can be anything from a craisin doughnut-hole to some spicy thing and I wish I took pictures to show you. At night all the peoples' houses have lights like Christmas but more colors that look hilarious compared to America because its sort of jank but they shoot off fireworks from the streets and it's pretty crazy because they're so low and loud and there's so many people shooting them off (it's not like a constant barrage but maybe like an average of one every 5 min, a set of fireworks is lit). It was pretty neat.

Most common ground animal: frog. Second most common: squished frog. Yeah I just see dried squished-flat frogs in the streets and roads all over the place, from people stepping on them or cars going over them. I've only seen a fresh one once and it was gnarly to see - I was gonna write what it looked like but it was graphic so nevermind. Maybe when I send a Christmas package home I'll bag one and send it to hang up somewhere :D (I keep thinking that would be hilarious - and very feasible).

There's the picture I put and I took a video I'll show you someday but there was a massive spider in our flat just chillin' and I was gonna kill it but then Elda said it was sort of tabu (forbiden) to kill spiders because they wove a web at the entrance of Christ's tomb so the soldiers couldn't go in. IDK how accurate that is but it took a lot of courage to leave the flat while the spider was still there. I wound up escorting it outside with a broom later that evening though, not killing it.

We eat mangos all the time and they're seriously one of my favorite things about Fiji and especially Levuka because the trees are all over and we've got one at our flat - so we just get mangos and eat them you know no big deal.

I'm reminded of memories with family all the time and it's awesome but I'll have to write more about it later - this is long and I don't have time but I love you guys thanks for the emails send picture more and more I love you - bye!

*Note:  We don't have the back-story with these pictures but apparently Elder Hatch was in a rain storm.  :)