One Year Mark Feb, 11, 2018

Sorry for being slack on my emails home. Past few weeks I have been trying to back up my pictures and it takes a long time when the internet is being very slow! But I am alive and doing so, so good!! 

Things here are amazing! It is probably my last two weeks in Suva (Knock on wood) and so we are keeping so busy to finish this transfer out strong! Some really cool things have been happening lately and I haven't been able to tell until now! 

Well one super cool thing that has happened is me and Elder Shin have started to translate the Book of Mormon into Fiji Hindi!! We have passages like Moroni 10, 3 Nephi 11, and 2nd Nephi 31, and we are in the process of doing an unofficial translation. But it is under the direction of our mission president which means if President Higgins passes it off, then we will be able to use it in lessons and stuff like that while we are waiting for an official translation from the church maybe in a few years! It is sooo cool to be a part of!

Yesterday (Sunday) we were a part of one of the most amazing experiences of my life! On Saturday we got a call from Sharmila, our recent convert, telling us that Bobby, her husband and our other recent convert, was sick and wouldn't be able to come to church. We told her we would come by after church to give him a blessing. We stopped by and were so surprised at his condition. He was not just sick, he was far sicker than anyone I have ever seen. He has Dengue Fever and hadn't sat up or eating in 4 days! It really scared me to be honest because I love him so much. He couldn't talk to well, but the first thing he said when we got there is,"I knew you my brothers would come." He told us that he knows God is in control and that his he will be able to learn from this trial. He has so much faith it's pretty remarkable. We asked him if he had faith to be healed and his answer was so powerful. He said,"I know that God can heal me and I have faith, but I also know that it is in God's time and I will understand even if I don't the miracle how I want to see it." It shouldn't have, but it shocked me how perfect his understanding of faith is. Elder Shin sealed the annointing, and then said the words,"By the power of the Melchizedek priesthood I command you to be whole." The Spirit was so strong and I had chills up and down my spine. After the blessing Bobby acting on his faith sat up and in the next few minutes we watched as his eyes turned from being blood shot red to normal and his body temperature dropping dramatically. After calling bishop and explaining the situation to him, me and Elder Shin unloaded our pockets with all the change the we had, about 18 dollars so that with his renewed strength he could get to the hospital right away and they could get a little food to try and eat on the way. I love the gospel so much! Also a side note to the story is that Bobby and Sharmila are planning and working to be sealed in the temple just a couple weeks before I leave back home to America. 

Roshni got baptized one week ago from yesterday and it was so awesome! She has so much faith, and one really special moment was after the baptism as we were sitting there together in the chapel and she started crying. I asked her why and she said,"I don't know, because I am not sad! I guess they are happy tears because I feel the happiest I ever have." Last night we had a tri-stake fireside and Roshni came with us! Elder Johansson our area 70 was presiding, and she was able to meet President Higgins and that was awesome! She mention about the function, that,"Our church has such different feel than any others." Notice how she said "our" not "this" or "your". She then said,"Other churches yell to feel something, but here it's quiet, but I can feel the Spirit the strongest!" Such a great testimony builder she was able to learn about what the Holy Ghost is and how it is what separates us from other churches.

This week we also had some really sad things happen. We found out yesterday that 3 of our baptismal dates are not wanting or willing to continue with the lessons. Maverick, Rina, and Jon. Maverick has backed out twice the day of his baptism and after many lessons afterwards we are having to drop him. So sad. It's always a really hard thing, but we have faith in the future! 

Okay some random and funny things!

We had a cat in our flat one day when we got home and so we fed him and now he hangs out outside our flat most days! It's way good though, because no mice!!

As I was burning my shirt the night of my year mark it didn't really burn like I thought it would! I guess it's made out of polyester and not cotton and so it melted onto my foot and now I have some crazy blisters on my foot leg and arm. Worth it for the picture though. 

Next Monday we will be taking a trip as a zone to an island called Beqa. We are bringing a pig and are going to roast it out on the island and have a feast! Going to be awesome!! But if we don't get to email, that is why! 

Due to time I will continue later with some things going on here! I can't believe Whitney is married!! So crazy! I wish I could've been there, but all is well! I love it here. 

Love you all! BYE! 

Pictures: 

1-2. Night of the year mark! 

3. With Elder Tougea and Elder Giles at a birthday party

4. Roshni's baptism last week:))

5. Happiest dog on earth hahaha he lives outside our flat

6. Day of my Whitney's wedding wearing the matching tie with the rest of the family back home

7. With Elder Tougea at the mission home for interviews with President Higgins

8. At the birthday party

9. HAHAHA 

10. Vijay one of our recent converts

11-12. This is what I'm known for here 

13. Birthday 

14. Elder Bowen working hard at service haha

15. Cute little girl from a part member family 

16. Diana one of the sister's investigators from the same family

17. Love this guy

18. Lusi in the blue is a recent covert and is so cool!!

19. Suva district after district meeting

20. Some cool methodist maramas

21-22. Super pretty sunset

23. After a recent convert lesson with Bobby and Sharmila

24. Lani Whippy who looks like my sister, but is fijian. She holds my hand and walks me around church on Sunday and its way cute. I think that she think I am her real brother because we look alike haha.

FIRST HINDI WARD IN FIJI!! January 28, 2018

This week was really good! I was sick most of it and so it was a little slow which was really rough, but there were some cool things that happened and so I'll quickly write about those!

Well this Tuesday we got a call from President Higgins inviting us to go to a meeting with the stake presidency to talk about the "hindi speaking unit" we are trying to start up! Well this meeting was so cool!! Instead of being a unit we found out that it is going to be a hindi ward! It has already been approved by Elder Johannson our area 70 now we just need to finish all the paperwork and it should be able to start next month! I am so excited!! I have been talking about this so much because it is so exciting for us and for all the Indian people here in Fiji! First ever hindi speaking ward in Fiji! 

We also have a baptism coming up this Saturday for Roshni!! She is so great!! Her testimony has grown so strong over the past couple weeks and it is so special to be a part of! She has given up coffee and tea recently which was such a big step for her but she isn't looking back!

I feel like time is moving so fast! I have been in this area now for 5 transfers and so I have had a lot of time to grow a love for the people here in Suva!! It is so excited to see so many people show their faith by joining the church, but it is also so amazing to see all of the recent converts continue down this path towards the temple. We have 10 or more recent converts that we hopefully will be able to go to the temple to do baptisms with before I leave the area! 

I love this work so much! I am so happy! I am excited for Whitney's wedding coming up! So crazy that she is getting married!! Really excited to see all the pictures! 

Love you all! Have a good week!

Pictures:

1. Hindi class at church

2. Our dog which smiles

3. All the hindi elders from around the area

4. With Kala after giving her a CTR ring:)

Birthday in Fiji January 21, 2018

This week was really good! Bobby and Sharmila both got baptized and confirmed this week and it was so awesome! I don't have a lot of time today, but one cool little story I'll share! After the baptism there was a Korean pastor from another church down in the area near Bobby's house. Well Bobby was just sitting around and this guys comes by and starts telling him his negative thoughts of of the church and how they have made a huge mistake! Well we stopped by a couple minutes after this all went down and Bobby shared such a strong testimony with us. One of the highlights of my mission!! "He thinks this is a man's church. I feel sad he doesn't know like I know that this is Christ's church on the earth today!! He should come to church with us so he can see for himself" Ahh he is so great! 

Hindi class this week was great! We have another 12 or more there! Unfortunately some left before I took the picture! But I'll send you the picture from this week too like last week! Birthday in Fiji

Fiji is the one January 14, 2018

This week has been so amazing!! First off I am staying in Suva and I am so excited because this transfer is going to be so special! We are really excited about all those we have been working with, but also a couple new investigators which are so awesome! 

Yesterday was a really good day! It was probably the busiest day of my whole mission! Saturday night me and Elder Shin planned for like 1 hour straight just writing down everything we needed to do! We said a couple prayers that night because we were so stressed, but God really came through for us like like he will if we are prepared and do our part! 

In Suva 3rd ward we saw so much success! We had the most people we have ever had to the hindi class! We had like 12 people there by the end, and we were missing another 8 or more that are almost always there, but were missing for either health problems, work, a funeral, or the weather! I was so excited that I hurried and took a picture or two before the class! As we were in ward counsel it was brought up multiple times that there are women in Relief Society and also men in Priesthood are frustrated because they are not able to understand, thus giving them not as much of a reason to stay for all 3 blocks and become more involved into the ward. I just was thinking to myself how these are things that can be solved one day when we have a hindi speaking unit, branch, or even a ward in Suva! It is so exciting to be a part of the work moving here in fiji with the hindi language.There is a good chance I will be leaving Suva sometime soon, and I want to leave it all out there before I go! There are too many investigators, recent converts, and members that I have grown to love with my whole heart that would benefit so much from it.

Sadly we found out this week that Cho and Ma moved to Lami which is out of our area:( The good thing is Elder Gygi is over there and he is going to help them pick up where we left off! 

Bobby had his baptismal interview yesterday! When people say "golden investigator" they are talking about someone that is way ons. Well Bobby is more than a golden investigator. He has the most faith I have ever seen out of anyone in my entire life. I really mean that! He has changed his entire life because of his faith in Jesus Christ. He has quit drinking, smoking, and instead has started good habits like reading the Book of Mormon, praying everyday and coming to church. I know he is going to do so much good in the church along with his wife Sharmila who will also be baptized this Saturday!

Maverick is also planned to be baptized this Saturday as well! We are super excited that the time is almost here, because it's been a long time coming! 

We are so excited about everything happening here in Suva! Life is really good! I am so happy to be able to help do the Lord's work here in Fiji! 

Love you all! Have a great week!! 

-- 

Elda Hess

Pictures:

1. Last day with Elder Larsen and Elder Worden

2. Funny one haha

3. Boys

4. My indian family in hindi class

5. Hindi class pt 2

6. New Zone Leader Elder Gaba from PNG

7. Isa Elder Larsen and Elder Bowen... legends haha

Living the Life in Fiji January 7, 2018

This week has been so good! Sorry I didn't send an email last week! We just got back from a zone trip to an island for p day so that is why we are getting on a lot later today! The island was super fun though! It's called mosquito island and we got to go as a whole zone! I'll send some pics below!

Sairoj got baptized on Saturday and it was so awesome! I'll send some pics below if it will work! She was so happy and so were we! It has been a long time waiting for her, but it was so worth it! 

Last week we met one of the coolest families in all of Fiji!! Bobby is the father and we met him down in Nanuku. We hit it off right of the bat because he said he recognized me from up in Labasa although we don't think we ever officially met! Well this is how prepared Bobby and his family are! After getting through part of our first lesson together they asked us,"How can we be baptized into your church?" Well that caught us a little off guard, but we were happy to explain how they can! We set baptismal dates with him, his wife Shivnil, his father in law Brother Sami, his son Justin, and his niece and nephew Sahil and Supria! They came to church 2 days after and stayed all 3 hours and loved it. Bobby said after church,"I felt something in my heart that I have never felt before. I feel so happy. I feel like I am home!" AND GET THIS!! He was looking for a job and we had promised God would help him find a job through his faith and diligence. Well the very next day he found the best job he has ever had in his life!! It is much much better than minimum wage and he was so, so grateful! He said that he knows that it was because he came to church and that even though it is a 7 day working job he told his job,"The only reason I got this job is because of God and so I can't work on Sunday." His boss was super cool and he now has every Sunday off from work! Bobby and his wife came to church again yesterday and they are so excited for their baptism on the 20th! 

So many other miracles happened, but because we were super busy today we don't have a lot of time! 

Love you guys! Hope all is well! 

Elder Hess

Pictures:

1. Suva district picture

2. Nice boat ride this morning

3. Pose

4. Me getting a coconut

5. Gotta love Fiji

6. With the coolest little kids up on Gittu

7. Saroj's baptismal picture

8. First group

9. Lusi's baptism

Merry Christmas December 24, 2018

Merry Christmas!!!

Hello everyone! It is Christmas day today and so this is way cool! I guess I'll give an update for the week real quick because I don't have a lot of time! 

This week we have seen some amazing Christmas miracles! One is Sairoj! She is the mother in a part member family, and stays right on Grantham road near the chapel! Well until this week I had never met her! We have walked passed her house so many times and I never knew her! Well finally this week we were able to meet her! She is such a nice lady and just so prepared. She has been coming to church off and on for the past couple years, but because she doesn't speak English she has never been able to take the lessons! Ahh crazy! Well in the past week we have taught her 3 lessons and she will be baptised on the 6th of Jan! She is another reason that all the stress over the Hindi language was so, so worth it! Much more to the story but not enough time to tell! 

Yesterday was really hard. Both of the wards we are in decided to do church at the exact same time because of Christmas. Well that put us in a hard situation! Luckily we have some awesome Senior couples that came in clutch for us! The Miller's were at Suva 1st to be there for Rina, Pravind, and Maverik! It went really good and we were soooo happy! Their baptism will also be on the 6th! 

Atiil Ardarsh's father has make so much progress this week!! We taught two lessons and he came to church yesterday at Suva 3rd ward! It was special to see him there with Ardarsh!! One of the best moments I've been a part of recently! I bought them a frame and put the pictures of us all at Ardarsh's baptism in it for Christmas! They loved it and it was a great Christmas moment:)

Although I've been saying it a while, this week we are finally going to go with Bishop and Mark Lata to go get the marriage all figured out for their family's baptism which will hopefully be on the 6th also! 

We found Cho and Ma!! Thank goodness! All we knew was they moved to the school near Nabua. Well we were walking around with not a lot of hope of finding them saying almost as a joke,"We just need to follow the Spirit." We looked one last place and found them out front of a small house right as they were leaving to go to town. It was the exact moment we needed to be there or else we wouldn't have known they were staying there!! Crazy cool miracle!!

Today is Christmas and it doesn't feel like a normal Christmas at all!! No snow, no Christmas tree, no presents, no family, but even without those things I am so happy! It's honestly weird to me how happy and at peace I am!! I love it here so much!! 

More happened, but I forgot a lot of it so sorry! I hope you all have a good Christmas though!

Sorry no pictures bc I forgot my sd card reader! My bad! 

Love you guys!!! 

--

Elda Hess

Fiji this week December 17, 1017

Hello Family,

This week was really good! First off Ardarsh was baptized which was fantastic! His father Anntil was also there at the baptism! We set a date with him for the middle of next month for his baptism! We are really excited! 

Really cool thing happened yesterday!! Such a cool story! Well 3 weeks back we helped do the launching for Light the World in MHCC and while we were there we passed out heaps of things including Book of Mormons! Well I don't know if I wrote about this before, but as we were finishing up we had one Book of Mormon left out of hundreds and I out loud said to myself,"Heavenly Father please help me know who to give this last Book of Mormon to." Right then two men walking in and I felt the nudge so I addressed them. They were nice but pretty rough looking. I gave the Book of Mormon and left them with our number and then forgot about it! Well yesterday while we were in church we got a text and called it back and it turned out to be Samson the one I had given the last Book of Mormon to. He said he knew that day that it was a sign that we met and the answer he was looking for, but it had taken him 3 weeks to get the courage to call. He wanted us to come by right away but he lives out of our area which was a killer, but we called the Nasinu elders and they got a hold of him right away and visited him the same day where they shared the first lesson and he accepted a baptismal date for Jan 27! I was bursting with joy and appreciation as the other elders called us back last night to let us know. Moral of the story... Don't judge, and follow the Spirit!! 

Rina, Pravind, and Maverik are doing great! We are seeing them 3 times a week and they are building their faith as a family which is so awesome to see! They are all looking forward to next month for their baptism! We have an appointment with them tomorrow night where we will teach about the word of wisdom. It should be pretty good! We are excited!

This week we heard news that Ma had moved away which was really heartbreaking, but then two days later we found out she was back! It was a total emotional roller coaster, but all is good now, although she is dealing with some medical issue that are making things hard!

Love you all! Have a great week and good Christmas!!! Remember the true meaning of Christmas and go light the world! 

Elda Hess

Fiji is Fantastic December 10, 2017

This week has been great! We are seeing blessings come so often! One HUGE miracle we saw this week was Rina and Maverik. They have made huge progress and not only started to read the Book of Mormon but have accepted a baptismal date for the 30th and came to church. This really is one of the greatest acts of faith since I have been in Fiji! They have showed God that they are willing to put in the work needed and it's special to be along for the ride! Also the husband came with them and also wants to be baptized so we will start teaching with all them together this week! There is not enough time to tell all about their journey but they are the ones we walked in as the Jehovah's witness were there. Also Rina is the one who we were able to give a blessing and she saw a vision of her hindu idols flying away. Such a powerful story that I don't want to try and tell now bc I couldn't do it justice in the time I have!

Adash's baptism will be this Saturday! He is really a sharp kid. He will be the first in his family to be baptized but we have met his dad and will hopefully start teaching him this week also.

Mark and Sister Lata are great! Their whole family came to church yesterday! We have been working with bishop alongside and took President Higgin's advise and will go with Mark to town this week to help him get the marriage figured out so that their baptism can be on the the date we have set! 

We are also really excited about Ma and Cho who are progressing really well! Their baptisms will be the first week of Jan! 

Lots of things come up due to agency of man, but we are trying to stay positive as we all work through some of our investigator's concerns! 

Oh we are going to be able to go to the temple with Avikest and Pratika for baptisms for the dead this week! They have their interviews for the recommend on Tuesday! They are so great showing heaps of faith as since their baptism they have in their words "really built our testimonies stronger".

We are really excited this transfer as we have lots of exciting things coming up in the next 5 weeks! Also it all being in the hindi program it's just as if I'm dreaming. God is so good. I love the Hindi program! Yes there are heaps of challenges and more that will come up, but the faith of all those we are meeting with is just so strong. It really inspires me! 

This week I found out the Vosa's from Labasa got sealed in the temple!! I met Tai in church. It was before church and we both screamed when we saw each other! She gave me a big hug and kissed me on my cheeks. It's amazing how happy I was. Really love them so much! 

Funny story before I finish. This week we were at the fruit stand and talking to some ladies and as we left Elder Shin didn't see the Dalo on the ground and tripped way hard and fell in front of a ton of people knocking all the dalo over as he fell! I was laughing so hard and because of Fijian culture everyone else was too hahah! He was a good sport about it though and laughed along with us. It was great.

Loloma yani,

Elder Hess

Pictures: 

1. Me and Tai from Labasa before church!! 

2. Christmas party with Cho Ma and Kumar

3. Us and Adash after the Christmas party

4. Posing with blossom one of the Yee Joy's kids

5. Zarom Jillian and Jotivini. 

6. My yaca Jason!

7. Got caught in the rain after service

Fiji is so cool December 3, 2017

This week was really good! A couple cool things that happened are...

We got to go down to Suva town and be a part of the Light the World initiative! It was really cool! There was a function and a choir and stuff like that! We as missionaries got to talk to so many people! Elder Johansson of the area presidency was there and spoke! It was so cool. We stayed there all day and it was awesome. As missionaries 6 of us gave out 2000 pass along cards, 600 light the world calendars, and over 150 Book of Mormons! It was a great day!

This week we also met a guy named Rafa! He is Brazilian which is way random in Fiji, but from back home I have a couple connections to Brazil, so it was cool! He is a fire guys and will stay here for a long time! He is really interested! 

We also had a super sad thing happen though... Shiel is moving:( She was really excited with her newly set baptismal date, but she is leaving next week to the west! But the other elders will finish the lessons for her and I am also praying I get send out there next transfer!

We also had a huge blessing this week!! Learning Fiji Hindi there is only one book in existence that is actually in Fiji Hindi! It is the New Testament translated by the Bible Society of the South Pacific! The thing is there are almost none of them in existence. I've only seen one in the whole year we've been here! Well me and Elder Shin thought it would be a good day to stop by the Bible Society headquarters and we walk in and the main man over the whole bible distributions of Fiji is there and lets up know that in a couple hours the 2nd EVER shipment of the hindi bibles was coming in!! He said that he could get us 20 of them!!! We called President Higgins right away and let him know! It was the best day ever! It was not a coincidence! God put us right in the path so that we could receive more resources as missionaries of Him. 

Life is really good! The church is true. Christ lives! Have a good Christmas season! Love you all!

Pictures:

1. Light the world sign right in Suva!

2. Selfie with the most hindi bibles in one place at one time! 

3. Light the World with Elder Johansson speaking

4. Had the light the world video playing all day in the middle of the shopping mall!

5. Passing out Book of Mormons in Hindi, Fijian, and English:)