Rain and Service and Exhaustion and Conference Travel Coming Up

November 5, 2017

This last week was quite a week. We had some super long services on Monday and Wednesday that had us pretty exhausted and thrown off schedule, and it has been raining quite hard and constantly for the past several days. Though I struggle to stay happy and comfortable when it's cloudy all day and rainy and uncomfortable, most often the sun comes out a little bit and I get better. But no matter what happens, the day always passes and we have another one to work in. So while I can't control the weather, I can always do something in the during, and look forward to the after, because no matter how long it takes, the after will come.

This week is a short one for us in Levuka - we are heading to Viti Levu for Zone Conference and other conferences/things so it'll be nice to spend time with other missionaries and get off the little island for a week (yeah - we leave Wednesday early morning and come back next Tuesday).

But to be honest, I find it pretty hard to be on this island by ourselves. I try my best not to complain to myself. One of the big things I've found is that I feel bad whenever I don't have people to talk to. I have this big fear, and it is that I'll spend huge amounts of time in places alone and away from other missionaries, and that I won't know/understand people's Fijian well enough to converse and get to know them as well as express myself. Fear that I won't be able to talk to anyone for very long periods of time. But I guess I try to remember that language takes time and take faith in the promise that the language will come eventually.

But aside from that I still am having great experiences and seeing very neat places and things - and learning a lot form my studies. I'm ok - it's just a rough spot for me right now I think.

                         

Thoughts in response to Elder Hatch's sisters:

Studying and preparation are a very big part of finding success - which as I write this is something we learned from an old Jeffrey R. Holland talk at a BYU devotional this week. I hope you guys try to find it because it's great (he talks about Thomas Edison's entertaining response to a huge fire). https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/jeffrey-r-holland_times-trouble/

Holy Emails!

October 29, 2017

Today's been a crazy P-day - super busy helping with some service - so I don't have a whole lot of time left but HERE WE GO:

Things have been OK for me - still improving and getting better and better in so many ways. My Fijian is starting to pick up I think. Last week was a pretty hot week - as you'll see in one of my pictures. 

I hope you guys may look at a map of Ovalau to see where exactly these places are that I'm going - we went to Arovudi (ah-row-voon-dee) which is pretty much on the top of the island and as part of our walk (we didn't walk the whole way don't worry) we were pretty high on a hillside where we could see out into the ocean and the other islands. 

It was then that I really started to realize that I am SERVING ON AN ISLAND IN THE OCEAN IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. But it's ok because, as I mentioned, my Fijian is picking up so I can do more out here and start helping/serving as I see things need help. Not quite yet but soon. 

But OH - I went to a funeral last week and on Thursday we had a cultural/traditional proceeding that I got to sit in for where gifts were presented to the village chiefs? and Yaqona (yahn-go-nah, kava/grog) was served (I was offered some lol it was awesome but I was super scared because I didn't know how to decline so there was a man holding a cup of yaqona in front of me and I looked to Elda Rakatia and back to the man and back again and I don't remember exactly what I did but he understood (Elda was with me after all). It was ok don't worry - I didn't drink it and it was awesome. The funeral was very sobering though - it was a man whose family we had been seeing who was 72 and had had a stroke. There was so much to remember about the experience, and most all of it reminded me of the funerals of family/friends in the past. I can't wait to tell you guys about it in more detail and in person.

"I'm not tryna hit a kid today!" You know, that's something I had to get used to here that still startles me sometimes - the cars and pedestrians don't share the street like they do in America. I've been passed by trucks that have gone probably within a foot of my body. It's just the way it is though, they know how not to hit you - they just drive close. Not to be mean, not to disrespect, it's just how they do. The roads are narrow (maybe like 15 feet) and sometimes they have to drive past a car. WHEN you guys come here someday I'll make sure to have you close your eyes in the vehicles. lol

I think about time still a lot NOT because I don't like how much I have left but I think about just so many different things about time and it's so weird. Like how long ago I did ___ or that it's already been __ days since last p-day or man it's already the ___ of __[month] (those ones especially - the days might crawl sometimes but they go fast and you don't get them back). Like when I was a little boy [no joke] praying that someday I would like mashed potatoes so I would be ready for my mission and now I'm already PAST 3 MONTHS IN AND IN FIJI!

And you know what? That prayer was answered. I'm gonna take a little time to write about that because that's one of those memories that has come back to me out here. I'm remembering so many tiny details from so much of my life, and I'm becoming more and more aware of how many mistakes I made and how ignorant I was and how many missed opportunities and wasted time I had. But you know I also see how [undeservedly] merciful, loving, and blessing Heavenly Father has been to me. Even when I was being so much less than what He wanted/needed me to be He still has given me so, so much. Anytime I remember that I want so badly to make up for what I didn't do. I start by doing the very best I can here, for the right-now. Because it really gets me whenever I think of how regardless of my pride, ignorance, selfishness, what have you, Heavenly Father still helped that little boy to like mashed potatoes.

The Lord truly does love us, and knows that we are so, so much more than we see ourselves as. I'm glad that, although it hurts, Heavenly Father is awaking me to the mistakes I've made and the weaknesses I have - so that he can make weak things become strong.

There's so much I've learned that I want to share with you guys, and as I find how I should go about sharing those things - in order to invite you guys to do things - I will, but for now I think that's been a big thing I want to share.