I wanted to share this post from Russ Hill's blog.  It is amazing to see how these young missionaries grow and mature.  As hard as it is to hear of some of my son's trials, I know that these are the defining moments of his life.  There is no experience that could make him stronger than taking these steps..... 

Russ Hill's Notepad

one guy's take on life and his journey through it

The Longest Walk

by RUSS HILL on NOVEMBER 22, 2013

Last night after a long stretch of meetings I got in my car and headed over to a townhouse in a nearby neighborhood.  When I got there I was greeted by a small group of teenagers preparing to say goodbye to the 18-year-old young man I had come to see.

This would the last night he’d spend at home for two years.

After visiting for a few minutes I gave the young man a hug and shared with him how I felt about his decision to sacrifice 24 months of his life to serve others.  I invest a great deal of myself in these young men.  Witnessing them decide to go is gratifying.  Saying goodbye is incredibly difficult.

This morning this young man’s parents, sisters, and some close friends took him to the Phoenix airport.  They helped him check in his suitcases and walked with him to the deepest spot in the terminal that security would allow them to go with him.  There they waited until the last possible moment before his flight departed before they said their tearful goodbyes.

It is at that moment that most young men and women in the LDS culture face The Longest Walk of their lives.

As they turn to head into the security line and eventually make their way down the concourse to their gate they leave behind those they love, the place they call home, their hobbies, their jobs, their possessions, their schooling, and every comfort of life.

These are the hardest steps they have ever taken.

No friends or family will accompany them on this journey.

They must do it alone.

Nothing is scarier.  Nothing is more intimidating.  Nothing is harder.

These young people are, literally and symbolically, turning and walking away from everything and everyone they have ever known.

The Longest Walk is the rawest emotional experience of these teenagers’ lives.

It takes every ounce of faith they can possibly muster to move their feet and continue to walk.

And yet in every step the transformation deepens.

The focus on self fades.

The dependency on deity grows.

The discovery of courage previously untapped is made.

The distractions of the world dissolve.

There is no moment in these young people’s lives when they feel weaker than when they begin The Long Walk.

There is no experience that could make them stronger than those steps.

I am grateful for my decision many years ago to make The Longest Walk.  It changed me.  Forever.

There have been other Long Walks since then in my life.

I am certain others await me.

I have come to realize these Walks are in many ways the defining moments of this mortal experience.

It’s no wonder the ultimate examples throughout history were tasked with making The Longest Walks in places like the wilderness of Sinai, the garden at Gethsemane, and on the dusty roads of Carthage.

I do not believe we were sent to Earth to sit and be comfortable.  We are here to be refined.

The transformations our maker desires in each of us happen when we have the faith, courage, and commitment to take The Longest Walks.

- See more at: http://www.russhillmedia.com/2013/11/22/the-longest-walk/#sthash.jIB2hcXv.dpuf

Area 2, Week 11 - Waila, Fiji 11/24/13

Dear Family,

Ni sa bula vinaka na nogu matavuvale. Sa vakacava tiko kemudou? I know that here in Fiji, I am doing awesome. There is not really any big news or anything really big that happened this week. But last week, I forgot to mention this, there are now six Elders here in the Waila Ward. The really cool thing is that they opened an area last week in Waila and it is not an English or a Fijian area. They have now opened some Hindi speaking areas! They are going to run a testing on this area to see how effective it will be.  The two missionaries that are in that new area are both Fijian and both know the Hindu language fluently. I can really tell that they are really going to start moving the work here in Waila. About half the population here in Fiji are the Hindu people. I cannot wait until they start to call Elders to Fiji speaking the Hindi language. And I can say that I was in the area that started it all!

But for my week, it was great.  For a couple days of this week, we were showing the new Waila Hindi Elders around the area so that they can start to know the area and get right to work. So that took up quite a bit of time showing them around. We had 4 investigators come to church and we had about 12 lessons this week.  It was also a bummer this week because when we met one of our investigators this week on Tuesday, they said that we cannot come back until the 10th of December becasue they are going to be busy. It was a big bummer because they were one of the families that were doing really good and we wanted to give them a baptismal date. We invited them to be baptized and they said that they would pray about it. He told us that the way that he was baptized was not the way that he should have been. He said that in his studying about baptism, Jesus was baptized by immersion and the way that he was baptized was not that way. Also God has commanded us that we need to be baptized like Him and follow his commandments. So he really wants to be baptized the correct way and we invited him to. He told us that he has to pray about it. We even gave him a day to pray about and whether that day was right for him to be baptized. So I hope and pray that on December 10th that he will know that it is important for him to be baptized.

I want ot tell you all a story about a lesson that we had this week. We were teaching a guy and his wife about the Plan of Salvation. These people are part of the Central Christian Curch. Throughout the whole lesson it seemed like he was enjoying it but he still was not really accepting the whole thing. But what was really cool is what happened when we got to the last part of the lesson, talking about the three kingdoms of heaven. As we were talking about it, we shared a scripture from 1 Corr. about the three degrees of glory. I gave him my Bible to read out of and he when he was reading, he realized that our Bible was different from his. He now knew that there were three parts to heaven and not just one. He told his son to run and grab his Bible. His Bible was English so he flipped to the same scripture and read it out loud. At first you could kind of tell that he wanted to prove us wrong and this was the point that he could do it. But as he was reading, you could kind of tell that his ego was going away, he started reading slower and then when he was finished, looked up at us and said "It is the same thing."  We then testified that we know that there is three degrees in heaven. At this point in the lesson, the spirit really testified to him that this plan is a true plan and it is all up to him to pray about it and whether it is true or not. This lesson was really cool and I could really see him change and what he thought about this plan.

Another really cool thing that happened this week was on Sunday. We had the oppertunity to watch the Primary program for the Waila Ward. It was really funny because every time I watch a primary program, I always think of our ward and the Peacock boys. That is all that I can think of when I see one. It seems like every ward has their Peacock boys. There is for sure one or two of them in our ward. There was one part in the program that this little kid walked up to the stand  and another kid that was on the stand slaped each others hands. These kids were about 4 years old and everyone in the whole congregation started to laugh. The high five was so loud and it was just so funny. I love to watch all these programs to see how all the kids act while they are speaking. They always have to yell in the microphone. I love those little kids of the LDS church. No matter where you are in the world, they are still the same.

Everything is going good here in Fiji with me and I hope that everything is going good with all of you. I love you all very much and will talk to you next week.

Love,

Elder Grotepas

The Toga District:  Left to Right: Golson, Vole, Grotepas, Tamuera, Tukia

This is me making Bobokau with Soko Danford.

Dinner at the Danford's

We are going to be having a baptism for a little 10 year old girl next week. Here is a picture. She is the one that is on the far left.

Elder Banks and Elder Ruben at dinner with the Danfords.

Area 2, Week 10 - Waila, Fiji 11/17/13

NI SA BULA VINAKA NA NOGU MATAVUVALE,

How is everything going with all of you guys? For me, this week was great and it went by really fast. It feels like the other day that I was writing the Family Letter to you all last week. I cannot believe how fast time goes by!

Well this week we had a really good week. To start it all out, on Tuesday morning, before District Meeting, Elder Banks got his drivers licence. He was able to get it so early. I guess that the LTA is not as strict here in Nausori as it was back in Nasinu. It was really funny when we were practice driving with him. I know that when we are back in the States it is nothing to drive. I bet that Elder Banks was a great driver. But it was really funny, when he got in the car, it seemed like he totally forgot how to drive a car. It shows how long we are away from things  we totally forget how to use them. Well another really hard thing was that it was manual transmission and he said that he never had driven one before he got here to Fiji. But he did great and he passed his test. It is a ton different driving on the other side of the road and that throws everyone off the first time driving.

Then on Wednesday, we had the Elders from Tuvalu come and stay with us. Elder Cashen and Elder Leiatua stayed with us for the whole week because they came down for Zone Conference and for transfers. Elder Leiatua was ready to be transferred so they came in. They are more than likely going to be staying with us for the next month or so because they are going to be in Fiji until the 12th of December. We are having some Christmas parties and we are having Mission Tour. Elder Pearson from the Area Presidency is going to be coming and touring the Fiji Suva Mission.

This week was great because we had three investigators come to church and we have about eight progressing investigators. We have really been doing really good and we have made some really high goals for next week. So we are going to try really hard this week. All of this week we were on splits with the other Elders, so me and Elder Cashen went to see one of the families that we are currently teaching. It is Tomasi's family and they are doing great. We have taught the whole first lesson to the whole family except for one boy that is never there when we go over. We have invited them to come to church and 2 out of the 4 came. The other 2 said that they were busy and that they had to teach a lessons in their church. So we committed them to come next week and they said they would. But the lesson that we really had was really good and they said that they already know that the church is true. So this week we are really going to focus on getting them a baptismal date and teaching them about baptism and confirmation. 

The other family that we are teaching is doing great also. We had a really good lesson with them and we had a member come with us and he really helped out a lot. The family knows him and already has a relationship with them. They are in the same boat as Tomasi's family. They were really busy and were not able to attend church this week. But they have said that they are going to try next week to come. Our lesson before, we asked them to read Moroni 10 and to pray about it. When we asked them if they did, they did it and prayed about it. We then asked them what their thoughts were about whether it is a true book or not, they told us yes, it is a true book!  That really touched our hearts to know that Heavenly Father is really working with them. Then during that lesson, we could really feel the spirit working as we talked about faith and repentance. I know that they are going to change because the Holy Ghost is helping them receive their answers and is working with them.

Other than those 2 families, it is really hard to find other people to teach. It seems like here in Waila, no one wants to hear about the gospel. It is really hard to find people that are willing to listen and want to. In our Zone Conference, they really put an emphasis on what we need to do to find those investigators, be patient and trust in the Lord. Ever sense you have reminded me of that story about the crawdads, I cannot help but to stop and think about it every time I hear the word "patient."  I know that that is one of the best Christ-like attributes that we can obtain on our mission and through out our lives.

I want to let you all know that I know that the church is true and that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing at this point in my life. I cannot wait until my brothers are going to follow the same path and serve also. I cannot believe that Trevor can be turning his papers in here in 2 or  3 months. I know that missions are called of God and we are to do them.

I love you all very much and miss you all very much. I am looking forward to next week and wish you all a good week this week and may God be with you all.

Love, 

Elder Grotepas

                                                          Me and Elder Leota at the Nausori Zone Conference.

         Me, Elder Golson (middle), and Elder Tamuera (right) waiting to get interviewed after Zone Confrence

Suva, Fiji temple at night

                     One of our members babies. She is so cute. She has the biggest eyes that I have ever seen!

Me and Elder Tukia

               Elder Utai (left) and Elder Owens (right). They are currently serving in a area called Nakelo.

Area 2, Week 9 - Waila, Fiji 11/10/13

Ni sa bula vinaka matavuvale,

How is everything? Everything here is going great. This week was a really good and fast week. It feels like just the other day I was writing the same family letter to you guys. Well it does not help when I emailed you all on Tuesday of last week so it was one day sooner. But this week went by really fast and we had a great time. To start it all off, we all went to the temple on Tuesday and that was a great experience. We do not get the chance to go all that much so it was a blessing for us to go. After that, we had our Zone Training Meeting on Wednesday. It was really good to see the whole zone and how much it is growing and all the progress within it. In our zone, we have an island called Levuka. For half the week, we had those two Elders stay in our flat. Elder Pence and Elder Leota. So it was really good to talk to them and see how the work is moving along there.

This week was also one of the best weeks that we have had here in Waila. We got a total of 13 lessons with training in there also. I know that we could do better and get more but this has been our best. Another really cool thing is that we had 3 investigators come to chuch. Like I talked about last week, we have met a new family from a less active named Tomasi. In his family, he has five kids and four of them are eligible to be baptized. We saw them this week and we had a good lesson with them. They are all All Nations and they have lot of questions. All of them think that the LDS church is false and is a cult, but as we taught them, they began to loosen up and understand more about it. We invited them to be baptized once they know the church is  true and a couple of them accepted our invitation. All we have to do is help them gain that testimony and to accept a date to be baptized. They seem to be interested and I think that they will listen and be baptized one day.

We have also found another family about 3 weeks ago that are doing really well. They were once a former investigator and they really like the Elders. They even named one of their daughters after one of the missionaries that lives in Salt Lake City. So they really like the missionaries and they are willing to listen. The mother of the family has lots of  questions about the church and she wants to know more about it. The father of the family is really accepting and really likes us. We asked him to say the closing prayer and he said a good prayer about how he knows that this is the church that will help him and his family live together after this life. He said that he knows that he has not done the right thing in not raising his kids up in the church and he wants to change. So we are going to  have a member come with us this week and have a lesson together. They know each other so it will be a really good friendshipping opportunity. The family is great and I have faith that they will know the truthfullness of our message and accept our invitation to be baptized. All four of the family.

This week was a really good week for us. We are still trying to find more people to teach and we are trying our hardest to let as many people as we can hear about the church. In the last General Confrence, someone was talking and they were talking right to the missionaries. He said, "If you missionaries want more people to teach, you have to open you mouth more. You have to talk to everyone that you see." This was some really good advice to me because it is so true. The only way that we are going to get more people to teach is if we open our mouths more and talk to everyone about the church. I have made that as a goal for me this week and the next year of my mission to talk to as many people as I can and not let anyone pass through our path.

This week was great and I am always praying for the family. I hope that you all have a great week this week and are protected. I want you to know that I KNOW THAT THE CHURCH IS TRUE!!!

Thanks for everything,

Love, 

Elder Grotepas

District lunch at Lovers Point

Fijian Pie

Me eating a mango.  It was so much better than the ones back in Utah!

Someone planted a tree right in the middle of the road. Crazy Fijians.

Area 2, Week 8 - Waila, Fiji 11/04/13

Dear family,

How is everything going this week for you guys? I know that for me, everything is going great and it has been a good week and also a loud one!  What I mean by a loud week is that this week was the week of Diwali. Diwali is a Hindu worship holiday and they put up all these lights and make lots of sweets for everyone to share. Back home, it is kind of a Christmas, Halloween, and the 4th of July. Every night this week has been crazy and loud. They have been lighting off fireworks all night long. The bad thing is that our house is set on a hill and when they light the fireworks off, our house is at the same level as the fireworks when they blow up.

I don't really have that much time to write this letter but we have had a great week.  We have found a couple more investigators that seem like they are somewhat interested in what we are saying. For the most part, I think that they are letting us in because they are being nice and they always invite any denomination to come in and share about their church.  On the other hand, we have lost a couple of our investigators because they do not want to continue in the lessons. It is hard because I don't know if I should keep teaching them to let them know about the gospel or to stop seeing them. I know that if we do not see them again, we have at least planted a seed in their hearts and some Elder in the future might harvest it. We had a member in our ward tell us, "first we have to plant in the garden, then we have to wait for it to grow, and then after we wait for a little while, we can then harvest that fruit that has been planted." I think that we are planting those seeds here in Waila.

This week was a pretty slow week. We did not have really much happen to us. Most of what we did was walk around and try to see as many people/investigators that we could. But this week, we found a less active that has not been coming to church for a long time. I think is was about 10 years ago or so. We saw him on Saturday and then we invited him to church for the following day. To our surprise, he came and I think that he liked it and said that he was going to be coming the following week. None of his family members are   members, just him. So I think that we are going to try to get them to take the lessons. Strengthen him in the church and also to bring his family to partake of these blessings also. Another really cool thing happened with him is that on fast Sunday, the 2nd counselor Brother Ravia said that he was going through the SIMIS list this week and this name just stuck out to him. His name was Tomasi and he knew he had to find him.Then when Sunday came along, he saw Tomasi at church and said that it was the Lord helping him. The Lord is in 
everything and all we need to do is act and have faith.

Another really cool thing that has happened is that we were able to go to the temple this week and partake of the blessings that are there. Today we had that chance to go and it was great. It is good to bet a break from missionary work and go to the temple. I have got to admit that missionary work is not the eaiest work in the world. It is hard at times and stressful, but we push through it. The temple is the best place I can think to be, to have a break and have a good rest (especially because it is air conditinoioned inside of the building).  So that might be one of the contributing factors on why it feels so good and you feel like you are taking a break. As I speak right now, I am sweating really bad because it is so hot and humid in this internet shop. What we do for the Lord. But it is great.

I know that I am doing the Lords work and that Jesus Christ lives. I know that this is the only true church. I love and miss you guys so much and you are always in my prayers.

Love,
Elder Grotepas

Us eating dinner at Sister Meresini's house.

Really hot Roketes (peppers)

I ate one and I surprisingly did okay. I did not even have to drink water. Then on the other hand, Elder Banks ate one and he was on fire!

I thought that this picture of a palm tree with a fire work in the background was pretty cool.

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Some really sweet kids in Navosu Koro (village)

Fakea and Uto ni India

Some cute kid. One of the kids at the Danford's took it.

Elder Banks, a boy, Me and Michael Danford (under me)

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Elder Grotepas, Elder Banks, and Elder Olmstead (from left to right)