The difference between tomatoes, and Missionaries on service days....

The difference between tomatoes, and Missionaries on service days....

Well if you don't know....... you may not find it.....

Anyways to answer the package question I got it this week! Yet since Merika is a day behind, I got it on Halloween in America. So we celebrated Halloween a day late, but it was the greatest! Our neighbor is really nice, so she just keeps giving us mangos..... Well we had so much so for Halloween, we carved mangoes and took some pictures for the peeps back home.

Most of the week was just showing E. Johnson around. I mean we went to a settlement that I had never been to within my area, and picked up 9 potentials with return appointments within 15 minutes....... Sometimes I wonder if missionaries before us actually talk to people.... Everyone there was saying, Oh the missionaries would just walk through and never talk to us..... It is amazing what happens when you just talk to people, the principle is being friendly and kind.  You don't need to  share anything, but be as you would to your friends. (That is just what I spoke about in my farewell talk)

My mission starting in what is supposedly a "good ward" in Fiji is a testimony to me of how a functioning ward runs by certain aspects. The biggest way to retain activity is in activities themself. People do not like boring. Lots of people just go inactive with no activities. Do not take them for granted. Before I leave here, I want to get the mutual established here. It may not happen, but I know if I won't E. Johnson will. We had a great fireside a couple weeks ago. The ward loved it on the basis that it was a(n) fun activity.

Anyways Zone P-day is today...... I think I will buy a soccer ball at one of the side shops. Let me know if you have any questions like example, how to make fun of someone in Fijian, or what kind of food do you eat?  Not much more happened that was interesting in the week. Just the normal missionary talk. Funny stuff, but not memorable as well. Anyways, pictures are clogging the internet.

Mango Jack-o-lanterns

Part of Halloween Stash

The lighting, of Good triumphing over Evil

The lighting, of Good triumphing over Evil or in other words Diwali.(A week long Fijian Holiday) The week as I know it was great. Somehow, even with transfers (which I have something to say concerning those, and will get there later) we had more investigator lessons then last week.

Well that is the success of the week! Anyways the next part....transfers......

So as we know from last time E. Pence and I were finally separated. We had some good times, and we had some bad. As all the Earth must go, we leave. The new Companion E. Johnson (Ryland) (from Bountiful) is awesome. The day he was getting here, I became really involved in transfers. E. Pence left early Wednesday morning. This left me with the District Leader phone....... I got a call from the ZLs to go get E. Johnson at 1:00 pm, so with the Hindi Elders we left to get him. Well in this transfer the ZLs were not too well in contact, since they had someone transferring from Nasivikoso. This meant the Airport District Leader (E. Pulli) was running transfers. Well 1:00 comes around, so we go to get E. Johnson, well he was not there, but luckily we arrived when we did. Sister Wright was there by herself...... She apparently was not told to get off in Nadi to meet with her Companion there. Well, I was put in Contact with E. Pull from this point, and had to arrange her getting here. Well, eventually we got that solved, and set them to their area. Well, anyways E. Johnson did not leave Nadi though...... He stuck around, and did not get here til 4:30 pm, as I predicted. Well, sometime in there something happened to the ZLs, cause transfers were all over. Well E. Johnson got here, so I oversaw E. Roberts getting to Tavua, and gave an estimated time for him to get there. The next morning, I awoke to hear what Happened. The ZLs rolled their Truck 3 times. Luckily, only minor injuries. E. Tanoai was pinned inside, but they got him out. He just had a few scrapes, and a sore back. E. Fiso had the worst of it, and went to Suva. E. Johnson had to leave with E. Raju early to pick them up. Later we had the most food E. Johnson has seen his whole mission.

We had 3 lunches, and 2 dinners.......... Diwali makes people love you....

Well, the next day we had a missionary farewell, where I lead us in a song, and shared my thoughts.......... man, I just became the go-to guy here for stuff..... Well, again we had a lot of food, E. Johnson hardly touched it he was not used to  so much. Well, then I took a picture of the doub-step kid. He just did the same move...... Doub-step starts young here.

The rest of the week was less eventful, just Ice cream on sunday for an after church snack.... That was irregular. the other pick is us posing, I am too fast to be seen!

Trebek.........

hmmmm yeah I like that title, it has a ring to it.

This week was good, transfers will be gotten to......

Starting at the beginning, we had, well..... I am drawing a blank for the beginning of the week. I think cause the frustration others cause in our lessons. We were teaching an investigator to pray (this was the second time since he didn't get it the first time) Well this time he was ready (as it seemed) so we reminded him of the steps, then he started na tamada vakalomalagi o Jisu (face palm) We noticed that right off, so we stayed quiet let him finish, and were about to reschedule to come back (which we would have gone over it again) but then his (member) son said hey nomu masu cala..... I sat there thinking no please don't criticize him...... Well the next lesson he blamed us for making fun of him, so a 50 year-old man was giving us the silent treatment. Well he forgave us 2 days later (his wife told us) and we have yet to return.......

Frustrating.... it is because people criticize others that the church is hindered. To be completely honest the church is perfect, but it is filled with imperfect members. Yes we all make mistakes, but at least think it so that you don't push someone away.....

Anyways we have been planning a fireside to help the members understand this purpose. We sat planning (I sat quietly for the longest time as usual) about 45 minutes in after they have gotten their idea, I finally throw out one idea, and their whole plan was thrown out the window. We decided to do Jeopardy. We had a topic, so we decided categories, and what we would do. Hindi elders took the categories home and church, we took public and work.  I was to be the host, them the judges. (picture before the  start) It was the members' favorite fireside of all time. They liked it more than the Christmas party they had last year...... It was way funny cause we mocked around (well the judges did so). We had Elder Reeder give us on scene reports, asked people how they felt and all manner of stuff. Then when they were to judge an answer (role play) At the same time they would place on their glasses, and start discussing secretly..... (way funny cause the members called them shady judges) It was a close game too.....

As for the big news, sorry I could not hide it. I was way too lazy to make it a secret written within. E. Pence is going to Tavuni (the bush) My new comp will be E. R. Johnson (cause there is 3 johnsons in the mission) E. Painter (the previous ZL) is new AP, S. Au (2nd sisters) is leaving, and  S. Wright (she has a blog) is replacing S. Au, and will be in my district, so if you want another blog to read of someone near by, I am pretty sure she has one. Until next week!

1. Jeopardy before start

2. Rohit's (the new Ward mission leader) makeshift badge

We made it with card board white paper sharpie, and an aluminum thread.

Judges Tables

Makeshift Marbles

Infestation!

Yeah...... It was horrible.... Before I get to that, this week first....

Monday it rained pretty hard (I wore my brand new short sleeve hoodie shirt) It kept me drier.....

This week E. Pence had me lead everything... Don't know how much that worked out to be since we had 2 exchanges this week. The next couple days have very little events worth notice...... Just the same ol' drama in the district. This sister hates this elder, and this one is not doing anything, and all that noise..... Weirdly enough, our district is leading the mission.......

Well I went on exchange with E. Reeder. We had very little number of lessons, since people were all busy (or not home). Well E. Pence and Raju had good success. They had to go teach bible guy (that is not his real name just what we refer to him as because of how the first lesson went with him) Well after that day we had a weekly planning session where I was trying to lead it, but the ZLs Hindi Elders and the sisters kept calling E. Pence...... It was a chain of finish, then answer the next, they kept calling with new questions and concerns. Well we luckily got it done......

Well the next exchange was Saturday with another Elder. He is one of our zone-leaders.... Well we went to conference, where he kept making phone calls (which has been going on the last 5 weeks) to micro-manage the Hindi elders. Their area had just opened, and this Elder was causing more stress on them by constantly breathing down their neck...... He also has been forcing his companion to go without food for long periods of time cause all he wants to do is get numbers. Well it is causing a grand amount of hostility with his companion. 

We got back from the exchange, and went to the Sunday session... I was very intent on listening to conference, but for an odd reason E. Pence wanted us to sit in the Fijian one. Well I can hardly understand, cause the English voice in the back was too loud, he could barely make it out either, then he got mad at me for just drawing pictures. Eventually we left it with him angry with me. Well I think he forgot his previous hostility cause we are all good now. We later went out teaching to see the worst infestation ever!

We just got out of a lesson, and these termites (from austrailia) have been haunting Fiji from 6:00 to 7:00 pm. It was way bad. They were nearly as thick as smoke. They are attracted to light as well. Well I had my flash light.......... I was so smart.   I wanted to test the theory about them being attracted to light.  Well as soon as I flipped it on, I got swarmed. I quickly flipped it off, but they were all over me. They kept biting me, so it was like going outside our house at home and playing

slap the mosquitos...... We jumped into a taxi where I was picking them off me...... (now I can honestly say I have been attacked by termites) The End.

This is an old picture just can't remember if I ever sent it, but it is me posing with a sele (like a machete)

Victor of the Hunger Games!

Was this not prophesied by those before us? Did not they declare unto us that Lautoka would triumph over their zone? And make them as the dust of the earth?

 Enough of that, but we won the trophy for our Zone P-day. Wish I took a picture of the trophy. It just sits in our flat. It Had rained for the first time in a while (which when it rains here, it rains.....) You can see the rain come over the hills a distance away. It just looks like a big huge fog coming over the hills (for those who know, it looks like Dragon Age origins at ostagar)

 Anyways the events were waterballoon volleyball, dodgeball, and Capture the flag. Well we destroyed the competition for water volley, E. Pence nailed the marked man for the dodgeball win. Capture the flag the other team just sat on their flag, so the game got no where. Yet as King Lahonti in the Book of Mormon, we were fixed in our minds with a determined resolution..... to win the trophy. Lautoka bought it a while back, and Nadi won first, then Dratabu won just before I got here. Then when the tournament came, we won. Since we had won 2 events, we won the tournament.

 Anyways not much else was this week. E. Pence had his birthday, and finally got a salusalu. The cake was way good too. We were fed all over the place. We have a huge lunch, then a huge dinner, were given the leftovers, so we ate it the next day, had 3 more lunch appointments, then had dinner. We got fed so much. Essentially that is the only way to gain here, but that schedule dropped now, so we are back to normal. Good while it lasted.

 

Hope you all have a good week! Moce!

 

Pouring Rain

Salusalu

CSI Lautoka "....Won't Get Fooled again!....."

This week opened with a bang, and closed with a....., well it closed didn't it?

 Well it all started a late Monday evening, all was as a normal Sunday. We got back to our flat about 8, mosquitos were swarming our flat. I went to the back room, and noticed the screen was cut. So I closed the window (not thinking much of it cause of the darkness) We grabbed a mosquito coil, and smoked out them stupid bugs.

 The following morning we awoke, and I started my shower. Well E. Pence noticed the back window (the one I closed) was busted (it had a metal cage around it that was cut and bent). It was to the size that a man could jump in. Well we called our landlord, and they called their friend (a police investigator) to come check it out. As soon as they pulled up, I started singing, and I bet you can guess the song. Well long story short, I had to do I police statement....... It was soooooooo.......... Boring..... He never got in so that was good!

 Well Our landlord was scared out of his mind (I am thinking well duh? I mean the compound is not made to keep people out really) He told us he would get some guard dogs, and he hired some guys to put re barb bars on the windows. Well he got some dogs....... Or the most skid-dish puppies of all time....... Named thunder and bolt. One was yelping at elder pence walking toward him to pet it. It almost peed itself.....

 I got a $3 dollar hat for Zone P-day today.... Picture below, and I made a hood out of a towel. I call it Missionaries creed.

 Our investigator got baptized, his wife and him shared great testimonies.

 

Also we had kraft macaroni!

 

Til Next Week

A taste of Home

M for Macleod or Missionary?

Homemade hat out of towel





"Lord of the Goats: The Two Hours"

This was a pretty good week. Not too many pictures, but I got some good videos. Unluckily, I cannot send videos........(just wait , only 18 more months until we can watch)

 Anywhose....... Lett-uce start at the beginning. Qito (sport) was lame on Monday. We went to climb a coconut tree, E. Pence did at least, right after Timone the dog attacked him. The weirdest part is he just layed down to the side like nothing happened. Stupid dog. Well we got 20 coconuts, and gave them all to the sisters. We got two really nice ones later, that we still haven't used. We will use them for miti. 

 Next we shall move onto Friday. We werewere'd,(cutting grass with a machete) and nothing is a better forearm workout, than werewere'ing. (Amist the conflict of these strange events there were many lessons involving 3 baptisms, 1 more this Saturday, and one more set for October. So we do teach n' Stuff) Everything really pointed to Sunday (more particularly 2 hours) to get an event. 

 On Sunday we got up like a normal Sunday, we didn't have much food, so I did not eat. I drank Milo instead. After church (which I still am temporary chorister for, they just now told me they will look into giving some one a calling. On top of that the presiding authority chose a song only he knows, so I quickly sight read and learned it, but it ended up being only the 2 of us singing......... I am very grateful Mr. Child........)

 

But! if you buy 14 complettos, its only 14 dollars. But! we went with the Hindi Elders to Lovu, in one of the far reaching points of our area. While there, Elder Reeder became the Goat whisperer (picture below). I also got a video of him and E. Pence chasing the goats around. The next bit was way funnier, we left the Member-family's house out there to go drop some pots. E. Pence and I have been here a couple times, and knew the dogs to be psycho. I don't have pictures, but I felt the need to start filming as we walked up. Well E. Pence noticed the gate open, and the dogs no where to be found. As soon as you hear the barks in the video, you see 4 missionaries (or rather 3 since I am filming) scatter. E. Reeder jumped into the member's truck, E. Pence was attacked, and broke his shoe, E. Raju locked the car doors (so no one could get in when our plan was to get in) and ran halfway down the street. I jumped on the back of a car to get an angle on E. Pence fending off the crazy dogs. The owners came out with sasas (brooms) and started whacking them to chase them off.

 The reason for it being 2 hours is just before, we went into our house, our landlord was outside on his laptop, when we returned (2 hours later he was in the same place, so we related the story) They watched the video later that night..... Good stuff. Anyways that was the week

Amen.

The Goat Whisperer

new sunglasses