Area 5, Week 10 - Burewai, Fiji 12/28/14

Dear family,

Well, just a normal week for us. I think that one of the big highlights from this past week for me when I was able to Skype you all and also to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. We were able to have a really good Christmas. I don't know if I told you this or not, but we did not have a white Christmas. Nothing close to it. We had a hot, rainy Christmas. I think that the only thing that made it feel like home was our Christmas tree. I will tell you the story here in a minute. We had a big feast at the home of a family named the Vitinavulagi family. We had the typical curry, crab, roro, pork, chicken, dalo, and juice. It was really a cool Christmas. I will never forget it.

Well back to the Christmas tree. On Tuesday when we were driving to one of our areas, Burewai, we drove through a forest-like area full of pine trees. So me and Elder 'Ita had an idea to cut down a few of the saplings and take them home for our Christmas tree. So that is what we did. We scouted out a good full tree that we could use and then we cut it down. I did not know if we could so we just did it quick and put it in the back of the truck and drove off. We cut down one for the Korovou Elders and one for us. It was funny, by time we got home and set it up, it was way to tall for the house. We sharpened the end and stuck it in a knot in the floor and bent the top over about 2 feet to hold it up. Then we decorated the tree with some flowers. It really felt like a real Christmas with an actual tree. It did look kind of funny. I will send you a picture of it. Just a typical missionary Christmas for us here in Fiji.

As for the work, our work is moving along really well. We have had to push a couple baptisms back because we were not able to see them as much as we planned this month so we are going to plan on having them by the middle or end of this month. We have found a few more investigators that seem to be really good investigators. We sat down with a group of men ages 19 to 26 while waiting for the rain to stop and we were able to set up a few return appointments. They seem really excited to receive a Book of Mormon and to learn more about what we have to share. We have rescheduled with them for this Tuesday and we will see what happens. It seems like the Lord is setting this area up for Elder 'Ita and his new trainee here in a few weeks. I am pretty sure that he is going to train when I leave because it has been hinted to him that he will. So right now, it seems like we are finding lots of new people and they will be really good progressing investigators.

It was a bit of a harder week for work-wise because of Christmas and everyone busy with their family and off for vacation but it was a really good week and we can feel the that Lord is helping us out. I feel that if me and my companion feel that we had a good week and that the Lord approves of what we did, then we had a good week no matter what we got. If it was low or high, the Lord approves it.

We did have one investigator come to church this week. The young man in Saioko came and he is progressing really well towards his baptismal date. We are still having his baptism on the 11th of January. So we are still looking forward to that date. He's "the man" and I am glad for him.

Well that is pretty much most of what happened to us. I know that the Lord has really blessed us and that He knows what we are doing. This past week has been a week of reflection on what Christ has done for us. I was able to read from the whole book of 3 Nephi and learn more about Christ. It really strengthened my testimony of Him. I really hope that you all feel the same way and continue to trust and have faith in him.

I want to let you all know that I love you and I was so thankful that I was able to skype you all and finally see you face to face. It has been a short and long 7 months.  I invite you all to continue to work hard and be obedient to our Savior Jesus Christ. That is the best thing we can do to show our love to Him.

Thanks for everything and have a good week.

Love,
Elder Grotepas

12/25/14 MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM BUREWAI!

We once again had the privilege of Skyping with our missionary on Christmas Day! It just doesn't get better than this!  The hardest part is deciding who is going to hang up first!!  He is working really hard and wants to return with "no regrets!"  He is finishing his last lap of the race with honor!

Elder Grotepas' contagious smile!  Merry Christmas from Fiji....everyone!

Area 5, Week 9 - Burewai, Fiji 12/21/14

Dear Family,

We have really had a good week. We were able to set up another baptismal date for a young boy named Maikeli that lives in Saioko village. We have had some really good lessons with him and he is coming to church every week. He is excited to be baptized on January 11th. Then as for our other baptismal date that we have, we are going to have to push back a couple weeks because we have had some set backs due to his brother passing away and with him going to Lautoka for Christmas. We are still working hard and we are relying on the Lord to help us in our work and knowing when it is the exact time for them to make this sacred covenant with their Heavenly Father.

We were able to have a really spiritual lesson with one of our investigators named Vuniyani. Last week when we saw him, he asked us if we could explain to him what the purpose of the temple is. So me and Elder 'Ita prepared a lesson about the temples and it went really well. I think the thing that got him the most interested in this is we told him that he could be married to his wife for time and all eternity. When we told him this, it looked like his soul jumped for joy. He said he loved his wife and would really like this blessing. He said that he knows he will go into this temple one day. He even said that he would get baptized. He still wants to finish the Book of Mormon all the way before he makes his final decision. He is about half way done so we are praying for him. This really strengthened my testimony on temples and how they can bring people closer to God. Literally, it is the the House of the Lord. 

To many missionaries, this week would have been counted as one of a difficult, tiresome, and discouraging weeks. But for me and my companion Elder 'Ita, it has been one of learning and relaying on our Savior Jesus Christ and asking for His help and direction. We really focused this week on planning out really well what we are going to do and have a back up plan for for every single thing if our plans fell through. It was really frustrating for me and my companion because that's what happened. Everything fell through. Even though we had all these hard times, it seems like we found enough to do. We went through a lot of our former investigators and found out that lots of them have moved and no longer live there. But we stayed strong and did find some work.

I feel that something is telling me to slow down and to get discouraged with this area. I don't know if it is because I am almost finished and Satan does not want me to finish strong. He is throwing these obstacles on us. I remember something that President Layton told me during an interview last week. "No one remembers what you did during the first 3 laps of a race. They don't remember the start or middle, but they do remember the ending. Expecially the last quarter mile. You are now in the quarter mile and you need to finish with a bang." I feel that this is what I need to do, finish with a bang. Someone does not want me to but I know that I have to. I need to keep my head up and give it my all. Me and Elder 'Ita talked about this for quite some time the other day and what we can to do make it, so we work hard.

But we had a really good week, lots of fall-throughs and almost all of the villages we went to were busy with village parties and everyone was gone, But we feel that we had a really good week. We feel that the Lord was pleased with what we did and that is all that counts. 

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and I hope that you will always remember the true meaning of Christmas. Because of Jesus Christ, we are here. If not for him, there would be nothing. Enough said. Always remember Him and keep him center to your life.

Thank you so much for everything and have a good week.

Love, 
Elder Grotepas

"Christ is the Center of our Home"

Oqo, Elder 'Ita controlling the the bamboo raft (bilibili)

Area 5, Week 8 - Burewai, Fiji 12/14/14

Dear Family,

I don't really know where to start.... It was just a normal week for us this week. We did lots of missionary work this week.  

I hope that you all are doing good and that you are all bulabula vinaka tiko (healthy) and strong. I heard that it has not snowed there in Utah for a long time. What is happening to Utah? It seems to get worse and worse every year. In 10 years we won't ever have snow if it keeps going at this rate.

We had a couple of trials this week that were kind of sad.  One of our investigators brothers passed away from drowning. It was really sad becasue he was only 21 and he was a good person. So we were not able to see V___ or his family this week becasue they have been really busy with the funeral and getting everything ready for it. In the Fijian culture, it is a really big thing to them and their whole family will get together and eat. Also after 50 nights, they will have another big feed and after 100 they will have another big feed and then to finish it all off, they will have another at one year. I feel really bad but I know he is in a better place. Missionaries are administering to him in the Spirit World.

We did have a miracle happen to us this week. We had a feeling that we were to go and meet with this couple named Tawake and Di. They have been investigators for about 3 years and they really want to be baptized. The only thing is that they are not yet married legally. So we have not seen them in a while because they said that they were really busy with things and they were not able to get married this year because of some things. So we kind of put them on the back burner for a little bit. But we had a feeling that we were to go and see them and see how they were doing. When we got there, they were so happy to tell us that they are planning on getting married this week and that they can get baptized. They were so happy and we were also happy at the same time. The Lord showed us that we needed to go and see them and look at what happened. We are going to give them a date next week when we go over to see them.

As for our work, we doing really well. We had 3 investigators attend church this week and we have about 5 progressing investigators at this time. Currently we only have 1 baptismal date but we are looking to have at least 2 or 3 by the end of next week. I am trying to teach Elder 'Ita on the importance of working with the members. Like what I have always said, this is where the work is. So we are hoping that by this, we will get more people to teach.

I learned a really big lesson this week about the Sacrament. I learned that that is what Sunday worship is really about. It is a covenant we make with God and everytime that we partake of it, we are making a new covenant with God that we HAVE to follow. I know the Sacrament is so important for us and I want to invite you to remember the importance of it and study about it in your spare time.

I love you all very much and wish you all a good week. Always remember to pause and remember the covenants you have made with God and it will bless you in you life.

Have a good week!

Love,

Elder Grotepas

Nausori, Suva and Suva North Zone Conference 12/9/14 

Here is the baptismal font in Saioko. We are going to plan one for the January 11th.

Here'e me on P-day with a group of kids. We showed them some magic tricks and they were amazed.

Me and Elder 'Ita

Me, Elder 'Ita, and Taito.

Area 5, Week 7 - Burewai, Fiji 12/7/14 New Companion Elder 'Ita

Top of the mornin' to ya,

Howdy ya'll. How are you all doing this fine and dandy Sunday evening? I hope that you all are doing really well and are all healthy. As for us here in Fiji, it is all the same. The weather has really changed from what it was last week. For the past 3 days, it has been raining non stop. Right now it isn't but it has rained so much. The first day it rained, it just poured. It rained so much that it raised the river we were by by 12 feet or more. Some or the roads were flooded and even Korovou town was flooded with 2 feet of water. This lasted for like 4 hours then went down. It was a pretty bad storm. Let's hope there is not a hurricane coming in.

I don't think that I told you last week but my companion, Elder Bogaert, has been transferred to Navatuyaba and I have  a new companion!  He is from Nevada. His name is Elder 'Ita. He is 18 years old and he has only been on his mission for about 4 months. I am his second companion in Fiji so I am his follow-up trainer. I have another daughter to call my own.

As for the week, we did not have too much happen. We were really busy with transfers and we were out of our area for about half the week. I was able to go on splits with a couple of elders from my intake and we cannot believe how fast our missions have gone by. It seems just like the other day we were in the MTC learning Fijian and now we know it pretty good and are all about to return home. It is so weird to think about.

We were able to have 3 people attend church this week. We are still working with a couple people to get baptismal dates but the one we have set is doing really good. We found out something this week that he is going to have to do before he gets baptized. He and his wife need to get married. So we are going to find a way this week to get this moving along so he can be baptized on his planed date for December 28th. But this week we were able to see him 3 times and teach him a few lessons. We have had some really good lessons with him. He seems that he already knows most of the stuff but we just need to testify to him the importance of following it. But he is progressing really well and cannot wait until his baptism.

We are hoping by the end of this week that we will have at most 5 baptismal dates and hoping to have at least 3. I really want to go out in a bang to help me stay focused on my mission.

We have really tried to focus on the members this week also. By my own feelings, missionary work is just so much easier when we work with the members. We have asked every member that we see if they know anyone that we could see. By doing so, we were able to get 3 referrals that we are going to see this next coming week. I know that working with the members is the way to go and it just makes everything so much easier. I give thanks to all the members that we have worked around and all the help that they have given us. I am so grateful for them.

We also tried through our own efforts to talk to as many people as we could. It was fun because we were able to meet lots of different people but it did not turn out to be the most effective.

Well, I don't really have too many stories this week, but It has been really good. That's pretty much all I can think of. It was just a typical week here in Fiji.

I know that the Lord is really blessing us in our work here in Burewai. I can really feel him helping and guiding us in our work. 

But I know that this church is the true church of Jesus Christ. This mission has really helped me to know more about my Savior Jesus Christ and come closer unto him. I love this time that I have to be here. The only reason that I am out here is because of this. Au kila mai na boto ni yaloqu e sa dina na lotu oqo.  I know that this is the true Church of Jesus Christ.

I love you all and wish you all a good week.

Love, 
Elder Grotepas

Area 5, Week 6 - Burewai, Fiji 11/30/14

Dear Family,

How are all of you doing? Is there anything new with all of you? How is the weather? Is it finally starting to snow? I hope that everything is going good with you all in Utah. I know that here in Fiji, everything is going good. We had a way awesome week and we were able to accomplish many things. One of the biggest things is that we were able to set a date for one of our investigators Vilisi for his baptismal date which will be on December 28th. It was way cool and he is way excited to be baptized.

One of the highlights of the week is that we were able to have 4 investigators attend chruch this Sunday. The Area Presidency set this last Sunday aside to invite all the people we can and to focus our sacrament meeting on the Savior Jesus Christ. We were challenged to fast to find a person to  invite and then to get them to come. The one that I knew that I should invite actually came to church. We told them that we were going to walk with them to church. So we parked our truck in a village called Soa an then we walked to a neighboring village called Nalidi where our unit is held. It took us about one and a half hours to walk up the mountain and then back down. It was a really good hike and it really  payed off because our investigator and his wife really liked it a lot. They are progressing really well. That has to be one of the highlights of our week. 

I think that one of the biggest lessons that I have learned this week is about the power of fasting. At the beginning of this month, we fasted to know who we should invite to church on November 30th and then did all we could to help them attend church. That is exactly what we did and we were successful! I know that if we are really fasting for a reason and really wanting something really bad, all we have to do is have the faith and do our part. I know that if I just fasted and did nothing about it, it would have never happened. But throughout this past month, we have been working really hard to help Vilisi and his family attend church. I know that if we fast for a reason it will happen. 

We have really tried to get the members to help us out this past week. We did have about 5 member presents and they were really good. Working with the members is the key to missionary work. 

I am so grateful for this opportunity that I have to be a missionary in the Fiji Islands. I am going to be sad leaving in 6 weeks. I am really going to miss this place. I guess this is the time that I have to make it shine.

I love you all very much and wish you all a good week. I am almost out of time. 

Love your missionary, 

Elder Grotepas

Us with some of our investigators in Soa

Some of the youth of the Nasautoka branch

Us at dinner yesterday evening at President Tagidugu

Area 5, Week 5 - Burewei, Fiji 11/23/14

Dear Family,

Well how is everyone doing this week? What is new with all of you? Have you already had Thanksgiving or is that next week? How is the family doing? How are Grandma and Grandpa doing? How is everyone's health?

It has been another really fast week for us.. It seems like these weeks are just flying by. It seems like the more we do missionary work, the faster it goes by. Unfortunately, we were not able to have that baptism this week of the boy from Nalidi, Tui. The plans kind of switched around on us. We are going to wait until one of the members come back from Nadi so that we can baptize their kids with Tui. We think that it will be a bit more memorable for him and all of them if they are baptized together. We are still working with them and a few others from that unit to be ready.

We went on exchanges this week with our Zone Leaders in Nausori. It was a good exchange. We had lots of fun. Me and Elder Kaipuke went to see our Golden Investigator Vilisi and we also got to cross a huge river on a little bamboo raft called a bilibili. It was way funny because Elder Kaipuke was so scared that he would not get on the raft. Then when he got on the raft, the raft sunk a little bit which made him more scared. There was a little girl across the river just laughing at us. So after all of this, we finally got on and we could not go anywhere because the raft was stuck on a rock. So the little 7 year old girl crossed the river to come and pick us up. It was kind of embarrassing because a 7 year old had to show us how. But we made it across safely!

When we got the the other side, we went to see a part member family. Both the parents are not members. They are having to wait for a couple things to be finished with their marriage. But they had the best testimony of the gospel. Inoke, his name, said that one day when he was walking down the road, he had a feeling to go a certain direction on the road. Eventually it ended up at our church just down the road. He started to talk with one of the members there and said that he was lead here for a reason. He asked if the missionaries could come over and he accepted and then after this, he knew that it was the true church of Jesus Christ. He really wants to be baptized but we are waiting on some things with their marriage. This was one of the coolest things that happened to us this week. I know that the best missionary work is with the part member families. I wish there was more to choose from but I know that this is where it is at. 

This week we were also able to attend a church service held in one of the meeting houses in the villages. They called it a 'Lotu vata'. It is where all the churches will get together to share with each other their beliefs. But this Sunday was the LDS church to host it. So we took down our Stake President, President Tagidugu, and talked about our church. It started our kind of week with only 2 people there but by the end we had about 12 people. We are hoping that something will come out of it, it was a really good Church service. I was able to stand up there in the pastors pulpit and give my testimony. It felt kind of weird because I felt like a pastor. It was a cool experience.

We also got to set up a baptismal date for a man named Vilisi. He is our Golden Investigator right now. He accepted to be baptized on the 28th of December. We had a really good spiritual lesson about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We were trying to ask more meaningful questions to have him talk more and really think about his life and how this Gospel is going to affect him. It seemed to work really well. In my thoughts, he really thought about it and he really wants to follow this Gospel. He is loving it and cannot wait until he gets baptized. We are going to walk with him to church next week to help him know what it is going to be like.

Other than that, it was just a normal week. Me and Elder Bogaert were sick for a couple of days this week so that was the low point, but now we are doing well. Nothing to worry about, just the common sore stomach. 

So just for me it is the same ol', same ol'. Nothing really new. I am loving it here and I am going to dread the day when I am going to have to go home. It is coming sooner than I can imagine. I know that this mission is changing me right now. Last week we heard a fact the like 30-50% of missionaries after 5 years of their mission, have nothing to do with the church. I am hoping and praying that that is not me. I know that right now is the time to change that. I need to be truly converted and I feel like I am. I know that this is the true church of Jesus Christ. The thing that really sticks out to me is the story of Joseph Smith. Just how he was only 14 and all those things happened. I know that it really did happen and that he was called as a prophet. It just makes sense to me. Just like putting a puzzle together. It just fits perfect. I know that this is the true church.

I hope and pray that you continue to strengthen your own personal testimony. We get to a point when we are going to need our own and if we have it, we will stand strong and not be moved (Helaman 5:12).

I love you all very much and wish you all a great week.

Have fun.

Love,

Elder Grotepas

Service for President Masanawa

The Burewai District

  In Nataleira village

Elder Tukia in Fiji

Me weaving an ibe (talitali)

I thought that you all would like to see this. Guess what it is? (Elder Grotepas reports it is the most delicious meat he has ever tasted, turtle, served only on special occasions).

Taito and Mela and their family.

Mission Tour (11-12-14) Nausori, Suva and Suva North Districts

Area 5, Week 4 - Burewai, Fiji - 11/16/14

Dear Family,

Well, it has yet been another really fast week. Everything here in Fiji is pretty much still all the same. Nothing much has changed at all. The weather is still good and the people are still great. We were able to meet one of the members from the Pacific Area Presidency, Elder Haleck this week. All of the Suva, Suva North and the Nausori Zones were able to get together to have a meeting with him. He gave us some pretty good advice that can help each one of us in our daily missionary lives, what we can to do become better, and how we can teach more simply. It was a really good Mission Tour and I was really glad that I was able to go to it. One thing that really stuck out to me is that in these past couple of months that I have, I really need to step it up and do everything that I can do to finish strong. These next few months are going to show what kind of missionary I am and what I am going to be like when I go home. Then even after I finish, "It does not end there!" There is going to be so much more that I have to do when I go home.

Well as for the rest of our week, it was really good. I was able to go on splits with pretty much half of my district. I was able to go with Elder Spackman for a few hours, Elder Mueller for a few hours, and I was able to go with Elder Tukia for a little over a day for an exchange.

Pretty much the thing that stood out to me is what I learned at Mission Tour. It has been ringing in my head for the past couple of days "It does not end there!" I dont want to go home and fall away from all of the things that I have learned on my mission. One of them specifically is the aspect of studying. I know that this habit is going to be one of the biggest things that will help me when I go home. I know that this time that I have here is very short. I have set a goal with myself that I am going to not waste any time starting at 6:30 am to 10:30 pm. I know most of the time, I would go to bed early when I did not have anything to do. Now, I am going to spend as much time as I can studying or reading from the Book of Mormon to help me know more and keep my study habits up. This advice is really going to help me out. I hope that this will prepare me now and I know it will if I work hard at it.

Well, as for the work, it is going really good. We are going to have to push one of the baptisms that we were going to have next week for next month. Our unit leader wants to wait until we get a few other kids ready for baptism so we can do it all on one day and make it more memorable. So we are going to push it back to that day. Me and Elder Bogaert were talking together and thinking that there is a possibiliy that we can have about 6 bapitisms next month if everything goes good and according  to plan. So we are hoping and praying hard.

We were also able to start lessons with a kid named Mikely that lives in Saioko. He comes to church every week and he has never been visited by the missionaries. He is about 13 years old and he is pretty shy. So we are hoping to open him up a bit and get him ready. He said that he would like to be baptized so we will see what happens. Any ideas from you on what we can to do open him up to us? 

We had 6 investigators attend church but we only counted 4. The other 2 are working on something with their marrige stuff. Once they start progressing again, we will start counting them again. Our golden investigator in Soa, Vilisi, is doing great. He is progressing very well. I was not able to meet him this week becasue I was on exchanges with Elder Tukia but Elder Bogaert and Thomas were able to see him and continue on with the lessons. We did not feel to give him a baptismal date yet but we are hoping pretty soon. We are going to be walking with him [to church] on November 30th and he said that he would. It is about an hour and a half walk but he said that he is willing to do it. He is so strong and I think he will be a great member.

Well, everything is going good. The work is good and i am loving it here in Burewai. Most of it is the bush and I am loving it. I cannot even imagine a better place to die in. I LOVE IT HERE. It is so fun. I cannot wait to show you all around Fiji and see it for yourself. I have to admit that a camera can not capture it good enough. You need to see it in person. It is so cool. I am excited that we are going to come back and we are going to get to see it all together. 

I invite you all to contiue to study your scriptures and continue to pray every day. I love you all very much and I know that the Lord is blessing you all. 

Have a great week and stray fresh.

Love,

Elder Grotepas

Here I am in Saioko village

This woman's name is Mere. We were walking in the village and she was picking some peppers from her pepper bush. It looked like she was struggling because she could barely stand up. So we went over and helped her while she sat down. Come to find out that she is 90 years old and she is the only one that lives in her house. She was a way nice lady.

Some kids in the Koro

Here is the chapel in Saioko. This chapel is up a 20 minute hike up a mountain.

This is how I am going to dress my kid up for church.

                                                         Saioko Branch Conference

Some more kids in the Koro

Area 5, Week 3 - Burewai, Fiji - 11/09/14

Dear Family,

Well, what to say? It has been another way fast week. I cannot believe how fast it went again.  I have a couple things that really stick out to me that I am going to share.

As for here, the weather is good. It has been the usual. I think that now I am used to the weather, although I do get kind of cold at nights. We have started the season for Cagilaba's (hurricanes) but nothing has been said any more about any hurricanes coming. I dont think that there is any need to worry. As for the area, it is going good. I am loving this area because we get to see some other parts of Fiji and we get to see the ocean quite a bit.

As for the work, it is going really good. It seems that we are working a lot with the members and we are finding a lot of part-member families that we are wanting to work with. We found two in a branch called Saioko that want to be baptized. They are 12 and 14 years old. They come to church every week and they just have not had the Elders teach them much. So we set up a day to see them this week and we are hoping that they will be a couple of future saints for the Fiji Suva Mission.  We also had our Stake President (President Tagidugu) invite another non-member in that branch to listen to the missionaries. He has taken the lessons in the past but feels that he has to support his brother in the Methodist church because his brother is a priest. This non-member's wife is a member and really wants him to be baptized. President Tagidugu talked directly to him and said that he can be sealed to his wife and kids in the temple and now is the time to prepare. So we are also hoping to be working with him within the next week. There is so much work to be done in Saioko, we just need to work hard.

Also, I think that I told you last week about a man that is married to a less active in Soa. He is the one that I was fasting about when I needed an answer as to who I was to invite to sacrament meeting on November 30th. I was kind of worried about finding a way for him to come to church because he lives a good 3 hours walk from the Nasautoka branch. But this week we were able to find out a way!  We found out that he actually lives next to a village called Nalidi that is only a 20 minute walk. So we told him that he was able to go there and he was so happy. He even asked us at the end of the lesson if he could be baptized!  I was kind of shocked when he said this because I have never had this happen before. I did not know what to say and then we told him that he could. We told him also that we are not pressuring him to to it and he said "I know, I would like to be baptized." So he said that he was going to come to church and we are going to give him a date this week. He has got to be one of our golden investigators for us at this time!

I think that we are going to work with Vilisi quite a bit to help keep the fire burning in him. He also told us that he invited his friends in the village to take lessons. He somehow knows that if there is enough families in that area, he can open a little unit in that village. He said that is one of his goals to get the church started in that village. So we are hoping that this will be something good. His wife is really open also. I think I told you last week that she is the mother of one of the little girls that I tried baptizing in Waila. She was the one that was scared of the water. But she is way glad to see us and is really supportive. There is also another 19 year old girl that lives there that has been there the past 2 times. We asked her to be baptized and she seems like she would be alright with it. I feel like this is the family that we need to work with in Burewai.

From the experience I have learned and important lesson, working with members is the KEY! We got this referral from a member and now look at what it has turned out to be. If we would have never sat down with Brother Tikoicina that day and asked him who he knew, who knows what would happen with them. They would still be waiting. I know that if we work with the members, missionary work will speed up and it will be so much easier.

Me and Elder Bogaert were talking after the lesson as we were driving back and Elder Bogaert said something really cool, "What has made this man so prepared at this time?" I really had to think about it. Throughout the whole ride home I was thinking about this question and then my mind reflected back to Alma 13:24, "there are many at this time being prepared." There are angles preparing hearts at this time to receive the gospel, all we have to do is to find them and be ready.

That is pretty much all that happened to us this week. And one cool thing: When we were at the Saioko Branch Conference, we had a lovo (earth oven) for our lunch afterwards. We got to eat turtle this week. Holy crap, it has to be some of the best meat I have ever tried. President Ralulu told us if we would have been there 30 minutes earlier, he would have let one of us kill it but we were to late. We were both pretty bummed about it but he said that on my last week, he will take us out to find a pig and he will let me kill it for my last lovo in Saioko. :) Lets see if I will be able to do it.

I know that this is the true church and that Christ is the leader of it. Every little thing about it points to that this is the only true church of Jesus Christ. I know it's true.

I love you all very much and wish you all a great week.

Love,
Elder Grotepas

Area 5, Week 2 - Burewai, Fiji 11/2/14

Well, I ask forgiveness about my email last week. Sorry it was so short. I did not really get to tell you much about my new area. Well as you guys already know, it is pretty bush. Out of the past two weeks, I think that I have only showered out of the tap for about seven of those days and about two nights when we did not even have water. The rest have been at our main flat in Korovou in an actual shower. But no worries, it is a cool experience to tell about when I get home. 

So our area covers about five different branches/units. So, to start the week off, we stay at the Korovou flat one night, then we go to a place called Saioko and sleep at the church. Then it's on to a place called Burewai/Naivoco and we stay in a little shack. Then we go to a place called Nataleira, then back to Korovou. We start our day in Korovou then head up to Nasautoka, we then sleep there at the chapel in Nasautoka then head back to be in the Korovou flat. We then sleep there until we have to go back to Saioko. So as you can tell, there is a lot of moving around in our area. The only stink thing is that we only get to spend one day of the week in an area. So it is a bit hard to see everyone. 

We do have a truck in this area. I am the driver for the area so I get to drive around quite a bit. I like it a lot especially because we drive on dirt roads and I get to get the truck dirty. This past week, I got it dirty because it rained quite a bit. It was fun ;)

But we have some pretty good investigators. We have right now one baptismal date for a young man named Tui. He is about 10 years old and his family are members. So we are working on him. We also have two other kids that we are teaching with him. We are just waiting for their parents to come back from Nadi so we can give them their date. They are from a part member family. Their names are Paula and Seci. They are 14 and 11. They are way cool kids. We kind of have to keep the lessons simple because they are only kids and they have a short attention span. I think you guys can probably testify to that because you have kids! HAHA

I have to admit that this week went by so fast that I kind of forgot all of what happened. I know that we kind of focused a bit on the members this week and getting to know them a bit more. As I have been here for the past couple of weeks, I have noticed that the missionaries have not been really close to all the members. We do have a couple members that we are really close to because they always feed us. But most of the time, we don't really get to see the members. We are only in an area for about one day and we don't really get to meet everyone. It is kind of stink but what can we do. Also, we only attend their sacrament meeting every 6 weeks because we are moving around to different sacrament meetings every week. I cannot even imagine what it is like if you cover a whole stake or multiple stakes. 

I would like to share a little thing that happened to us this week as we were talking with one of our members. So, we were talking to this member whose name is Brother Tikoicina. We asked him if there was anyone he knew that we could see. He did say his neighbor is really interested in getting baptized into the church but their grandfather forbids it. If they join, they will be kicked out of the house. He said to wait a little bit longer with them. So we continued on talking about fishing and a little about history because he loves that stuff. I then asked him again when it got silent if he knew anyone that we could teach. He stopped for a moment and said yes, there is a in active member that live in a village called Soa and she cannot come to church because it is too far away from the chapel and her husband wants to learn more. He and the missionaries went to see them about two years ago and the husband was really excited to take the lessons. But the thing is the missionaries never went back to them. Then he said that we should try one day. So we put that on schedule for the next week and he said that he would come with us. 

Then after church we met Brother Tikoicina and he said that he was free and that he would like to go and visit this family in Soa. So we took a drive down there. It took us about 30 minutes to get there by truck.  When we got there, they were so open to us! They were so excited to see us and said that they have been waiting for two years for the Elders to come back. Come to find out that the wife was baptized in Waila with one of the members that I knew very well. She said that she was glad that we came. The husband was really glad that we came also. He even accepted our invitation to take the lessons. He was just so interested when we sat down with them, I could just see it in his eyes.

Going back just a little bit, we were invited by the Pacific Area Presidency to do a special fast in order to know of one person that you can invite to church on. Then to invite them and help them to attend church. After we sat down with this family,  I had a feeling that this was the man that I am supposed to invite to church. I know that it is going to be really hard to do because he lives so far away from the chapel. But I know that there is a way if it is really part of Gods plan. I am praying for him and I have faith that he will see the need to come. 

I am now reading the whole Book of Mormon again before I come home. I started just this last week and I am learning so much. I want to tell you all that you need to do the same thing. Well not finish it before I get home, but set a goal for a date to finish it by. It is blessing me so much and I am gaining so much knowledge about the Book of Mormon. I know that it is a true book and it is central to this church.

I want to let you all know that I know that this church is true. Every little things about it is true. If you have any doubts, ask God with a sincere heart, willing to act on anything that you receive. God is there and He will answer you. 

I love you all very much and miss you all. I thank you for everything.

Have a great week this week.

Love, 

Elder Grotepas

Some kids in Nayavu. They gave us some coconuts to drink from.

Elder Bogaert

Cute Fijian girl

Here is the Burewai truck. :)

Saioko

Here is a picture of me. I say "Bula Vinaka".

Area 5, Week 1 - Burewai, Fiji - 10/26/14

Well, I am sorry that this letter is so short, I just deleted my whole letter on accident. I accedently pushed the trash butten. I only have like 10 minutes left. 

The area is good. It is way bush!  I showered out of the tap for half of the week and we ate lots of traditional Fijian food. We sleep in 4 different places; Korovou, Naivoco, Saioko, and Nasautoka. 

I did get to see the Waila Ward this week at Stake Conference! One of the less actives that we were working with has now been through the temple and sustained as a new Melchizedek Priesthood holder. Also, one of my recent converts in Waila, Joibe, was sustained as well to receive the Melchizedek priesthood. He is also now the ward clerk. 

I know that the work that me and my companion put into the area has paid off. I know that no matter what we do, our work is never wasted. One day it will be harvested. 

Sorry about such the short email.  I will let you know more next week because I am almost out of time. 

I love you all very much and wish you all a good week.

Love, 

Elder Grotepas

Last District Meeting in Labasa

Paula (preparing for his mission) and Elder Bogaert

The village of Naivoco