Week 8

Dang I can't believe it's already been 2 months. Time goes so much faster on a mission. It's so good to hear from you guys and how you're doing! 

This week has been very good. I have been learning a lot! The culture here is really different in a lot of ways so I'm trying to figure it out.

The work here is either really slow or really fast. There are a lot of very devoted Hindus and so it is really hard to find Indians who want to hear from us at all. On the contrary Fijians are almost too welcoming haha. They want us to come in and hang out for hours! So we are trying to find that balance between them. The hardest part though is figuring out who is really interested and who is just being nice to us because we look tired and thirsty.

Did I mention last week that it's hot here? Well it's HOT HERE. This is the hottest city in all of Fiji and because I just barely came from snow in Utah, it is a bit of an adjustment haha. And you could say that I am definitely still adjusting. Our AC is a little fan that we have in our room. Without it, I don't think I would make it through the night alive. 

A lot of the investigators that were in the area book when we got here are really cool. Some of them are progressing good! Others have lots of things getting in the way. It's got to be one of the most frustrating things on earth when someone knows the gospel is true, but something is getting in the way of them being able to be baptized and there is nothing we can do about it. I have been praying a lot lately for them. If you all could do the same that would be great.

I got to go on exchanges with my Zone Leader, Elder Grimoud, on Thursday and it was AWESOME. We went out OYMing and every single house we went to accepted the baptism invitation. We seriously got like 9+ accepted baptismal invitations in one day. Elder Grimoud is such a good missionary. He knows the gospel so well and can speak flawless Fijian. Towards the end of the day while we were proselyting we both had the feeling we had to go down a certain road and so we did. It lead to a hidden Koro(village) that was beautiful. They welcomed us in and we started talking with them. We weren't able to teach because you have to get permission from the Koro Tagane first, but we were sitting and everyone surrounded us as we introduced ourselves. We told them that we are missionaries and they told us who we had to talk to to get permission to proselyte there. It was such a cool thing to see the true culture of Fiji in a Koro. Once Elder Grimoud and Elder Mumford get permission they will be able to teach lot of new people there. 

The ward here is great! They are all such good people and are very nice. The church is really new here. The branch president himself is a convert of a year and a half. They are all such good people though and are very humble and want to learn more. Me and Elder Tony have been able to teach lots of lessons already on how specific things should be run. 

Yesterday was fast Sunday here and it was a very uplifting day. The testimonies that were shared were powerful and brought the spirit so strong. Although Sunday is the day of rest, as a missionary it is very busy in a lot of ways. After church we went and visited with a couple families. Then we went and had dinner at the Vosa's house. They themselves are very recent converts and were actually first taught about a year and a half ago by one of my MTC teachers while he was on his mission here! The first time I met them they told me I was family and they have treated me like their son since.  

I think there are twice as many children in Fiji than there are adults haha. There seriously are so many kids. They are all so dang cute and help me a lot with the languages. All they ever want to do is climb on you, play games with you, and ask for american candy. I wish I had brought more stuff with me to give to them. I didn't get to bring hardly anything with me that I wish I could have to given away. Once we arrived in Suva the second flight I took to Vanua Levu I was only able to bring 30lbs with me. And if you guys think that sounds like a lot try and fit everything you need to survive in a bag under 30 lbs. And that includes my scriptures and other books which are probably 10-15 lbs by themselves. It's okay though. I was worried when I first had to leave about 75 % of my luggage at the mission home, but now I'm starting to realize that you seriously don't need as much as you think. It's kinda nice to have everything simplified.

I am so thankful to be a missionary. It is a wonderful experience to be able to bear my testimony of the true church all day everyday. I love the people of Fiji so much. I love this gospel with my whole heart. I have been able to study the Book of Mormon a ton lately and I know that it is 100% true. Without a doubt in my mind.

I love you all. 

Keep telling me how your lives are going!

And especially for those of you I haven't heard from, I want to hear how its going. 

NAMASTE

or 

MOCE TOCA

Elda Hess