Elder Grotepas : Area 2, Week 30 - Waila, Fiji 3/30/14

Ni sa bula vinaka,

How is everything going? I hope that you all have had a good week and that every one is still staying healthy and warm. It sounds like you did have some cold weather this week at the start of Spring. I know that this week has been a good one for us and that everything is going good. It is still the same here, lots of rain and lots of hot! The weather has not changed one bit. It is still way hot. The moment you wake up and leave the fan, you start to sweat. But, it is all good. I just think about how much more hotter is my wife going to be if I keep this up. That is what is pushing me along here in Fiji. HAHA

No, but this was a really good week for us. We did get to have one baptism this week for a man named Anare. We had a combined baptism with the Elders that are working up in the units of the Waila Ward. They have a family of 5. So we had a good day on Sunday. During the start of the week we did have a little bit of a problem where we were going to have to cancel the baptism and move it to another day. I am not going to go into much detail about it what happened but we were about to cancel it. But then we had to sit down with them and share about how this gospel or the choice that he is making to be baptized will affect them for the rest of their lives. It might be hard right now to to wonder if we all are ready to be baptized but if we do know that we are ready to do it, then do it. This is going to help them out in both of their lives. We told them that in a year from now, they will be able to go through the temple to be sealed as a family for time and all eternity. Not this life only, but the life to come.

This week we did have a little bit of a hard time with finding new investigators. I know that it is kind of hard to find those ones that are ready to hear about the restored gospel. We were able to receive a couple of referrals from members that might be good to teach. All of the investigators that we have now are being baptized. We have about 1 or 2 that are progressing right now. We have one baptismal date set for one of them for the 19th of April. Then the other one we want to start coming to church so that she can see of what we are about. She is the mother of a member that is wanting to learn about what her daughter is doing and what she is teaching her grandchildren. She seems open to what we have to say but she is just wanting to listen. We felt this week that we need to set heavy church attendance invitations this week to her so that she can start to feel the spirit of coming to church and so that her spirit can feel like it is at home with all of her spirit brothers and sisters. I can feel a strong spirit with her as we are working with her. I know that she will accept the Restored Gospel one day and receive the blessings that she has been promised and can live with her family forever.

This week also we met with this man that is from the Porterhouse Church. We have met with him one other time and all he wanted to do with us is teach us instead of us teaching him. He wanted to pretty much prove us wrong and tell us that we are wrong. He called us and said that he wants to meet another time. So when we went over there, he had a lot of questions. We gave him a book that explains a little bit about the church and he had a lot of questions about that. He first started with the priesthood and then we ended up on the 3 kingdoms of glory. The lesson was a little bit hard because it was all over the place. But we told him that we have an order to teaching our lessons that will help him understand what we have to share. It was a big eye opener to me this week of how important it is to teach to their understanding. If we don't, they are going to be like that with lots of questions and cannot move on until we have answered their questions.

But other than that lesson, we had good lessons this week. We did get to find one new investigator this week named Vilikesa. He is a refferal from one of the Young Men in our ward. When we went and met him, he seems a bit interested in the lessons. I think that he will listen for a little bit but want him to know we are not there to force him to take the lessons. I know and saw that there were many people that lived in that house. I know when we came in, they all went outside. Next time we are going to invite them in to see if any of them are interested also. You never know, that could be the reason we got that refferal to go to that house. There may be others in that house that are being prepared by the Lord at this moment. That is what we have to do, share with everyone that we can. It might change their lives, we never know who is being prepared at this time.

At the start of the year, we had an member of the Seventy come to Fiji and give the missionaries a goal to reach. He gave us the goal of getting 100 baptism in the month of March alone. That is much higher than any month that they have ever had in Fiji. The top month in the past was about 50. But as of last night, one of the last days of March, the whole mission has had an outstanding 123 baptisms in the month of March alone! We almost tripled the amount from the highest in the past months. We had about 47 baptisms in the past week alone. When I heard that we were at 123, I was shocked. I couldn't believe it! We made it to our goal and I know that it only happened because we trusted it the Lord. That is what the Seventy said, "This will only happen through your obedience and trusting in the Lord to perform miracles." This mission is doing good and is moving the work right along.

That is pretty much my week. I am sorry if there is not that much stuff. I don't really know what to write about. It is kind of hard to remember the week. Just like what you said, it is going by so fast. Pretty much, we do the same things: sleep, eat, study, walk and teach. I know that there is not very much but I hope that you know that I am doing good and that I love and miss you all very much. Know also that I am doing the Lords work and this is where he wants us to be.

I think of some of the missionaries here, they dont get the chance to email their parents for about 3 months because they are on a far away island where there is no email. Or even when dad was on his mission, it was all done by letters. Now it is so fast and does not take 4 weeks to get home.

Know that I know that this is the true church and everything about it points to that it is the true church. This week, I was able to finish the Book of Mormon again. I finished it in the English language and also in the Fijian Language. I took me about 5 months but I finished reading the whole thing in a whole different language. This really grew my testimony that no matter what, the Lord helps us, even in learning a new language.

I was thinking right after I finished it in Fijian, how did I do this? I have only know Fijian for a year and I can already read a book? I think back to French class in Jr. High. I took that class for 2 or 3 years and all I remember is "Bonjour." I have known this language for 1 year and I am somewhat fluent but still far from it. Heavenly Father does bless us with gifts if we are really seeking it. I know that he has helped me in learning this language.

I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, even in the Fijian Language. It testifies and talks about the same things. This church is the Lords kingdom here on earth. Always follow the gospel and its teachings and we will be blessed with crowns in his kingdom that are waiting for us.

I love you all very much and hope that you all have a very stupendous week this week. With all my heart, I want to wish you all good week.

Love,

Elder Grotepas