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 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
Love,
Elder Grotepas
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