P-Day at the MTC 1-29-13

1/29/13
We received our first letters from Elder Grotepas.  He says "Bula" to everyone which means "hello!"  He must have  had writer's cramp, because he individually wrote to each member of the family.  His P-Day's are on Tuesdays.  He is really enjoying himself although he says it's hard to sit for long periods.  He is so accustomed to manual labor six days of the week!

There are 15 Elders and one Sister missionary in his district.  They will all travel to Fiji on March 2, 2013.  They are all picking up on the language and are already teaching discussions in Fijian.  They aren't allowed to look at their notes, but must only rely on their knowledge and the spirit.   He has not memorized the prayer or his testimony, must says he will have it by the end of the week.  He says it is very difficult, but it gets easier every day.

He challenges his brothers, who are preparing to serve missions also to get to know "Preach My Gospel."  He says, "If you get to know this (book), it will be a lot easier.  If you take notes and write in it, you will be far more ahead of the bunch.  Also, read the Book of Mormon and know it.  It is true and will help you...start now!  I know the church is true.

I have missed you even though I said that I would not as much.  But I think of my family every day!"

He wants the letters to keep coming and he really looks forward to them.  He will be able to call us when he leaves at the airport.  We will look forward to that time!

Missionary Mom's Email Group

I am already wondering about how I will be able to send things to Elder Grotepas overseas, and if a parcel would even get to him safely, among other things.  I thought there would surely be someone out there in the cyber world that has had this same question.  I found a website that is for missionary mom's that might help me out with these kinds of questions.  It's an email group and the host of the site apparently puts you in a group with others that are in the same region.  I'm excited to see how this works out!
{http://ldsmissionarymoms.com/}

First letter home

Elder Grotepas writes home after only a couple of days in the MTC. He said he has been having a really good time. It is a lot different than back home. He says it is eating and sitting, eating and sitting, but that everything else is good. His companion's name is Elder Read and he is from New Zealand. Everyone calls him Elder Wiliwili because "wiliwili" means "read" in Fijian. The language is pretty hard. Many of the letters have a different pronunciation. The letter "c" sounds like "th" like in "the," "b" is "mb", "d" is "nd," "g" is "ng" like "sing, "j" is "ch" like "chacha," "q" is "ng" like "finger," and "r" is like "thrilled," but you have to roll the "r." I have learned how to say only a couple of words. He bears his testimony in Fijian. "Au via wasea na noqu ivakadinadina au kila wi dina ivola i momani ka tawamudu matuvuvale ka noda ivakabula Jisu Karisito e na yaca i Jisu Karisto, Emani. (I would like to share my testimony that I know that the book of Mormon is ture, family is eternal, and Jesus Christ is our Savior, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.)  P.S.  He didn't know this from memory yet, but sure can put it together from a piece of paper!

Awesome Blog for Care Packages

This is an awesome blog for great care package ideas!  I better get busy! {http://hermanajacobsen.blogspot.com/p/writing-missionaries.html}

Things To Write About....

I thought it was a good reminder about what kinds of things to write about.  I will make this visible for everyone to see. The information was taken from this article {http://www.lds.org/new-era/2007/03/missionary-mail.}

Church News Article on Fiji Suva Mission

I came across this article in the Church News from 2010 about the Fiji Suva Mission history.
http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/58569/Country-information-Fiji.html

Address for Letters!

Also see "contact" tab on the upper right corner.

I thought I would post Dallin's address at the MTC if you would like to write or send packages to him. Here are some options:

1. DearElder.com offers FREE same-day letter delivery to the Provo MTC* (for all letters submitted by 12:00 pm MST Mon-Fri)! FREE mail to all pouch LDS missions and mail to all other missions for just the price of a stamp! Select the LDS mission you wish to write to and click "Instructions" to learn how our system works or click "Write a Missionary" to send a letter. To send a letter to your missionary in the Provo MTC, simply select Provo MTC from the drop-down menu below.

 2. Regular USPS mail system:

 Elder Dallin Matthew Grotepas 
 MTC Mailbox # 117 FIJ-SUV 0305 
 2005 N 900 E Provo, UT 84604-1793 

 As he arrives in Fiji, I will update this post!

MTC 1/23/13

Dallin entered the Missionary Training Center (MTC) on January 23, 2013. We arrived early and spent time on the temple grounds of the Provo, Utah temple. He was very and excited and ready for the beginning of his service as a missionary for the next two years. He will spend about 4 weeks at the MTC and then will fly out to Fiji. Of course there were tears as we said our last good-bye's. The strength we have comes only from the Lord. We know he is following his heart and doing exactly what he knows he should be doing. He will touch many lives with his testimony! We love him and are anxious to share in his experiences as a full time missionary.

Facts on Fiji

The capitol of Fiji is Suva. Fiji is located in the south Pacific Ocean. Fiji's main occupation is agriculture. The most popular sports are rugby and soccer. Fijian rugby team is actually one of the best teams in the whole world. Fiji is also a archipelago of 332 islands but only about 100 are inhabitant . The two major islands are Viti Levu and Vanue Levu. The islands perimeter is about 18,270 sq. km with 1,129 of coastline. About three years ago, Fiji's population was 827,900 people. Many of the adults work in the sugar or tourism industries. This popular island gets about 400,000- 500,000 a year. That is why they have a lot of money in their economy. The Fijian word " Bula" means Hello. This country is also a popular beautiful vacation spot.