Area 4, Week 6 - Naduna, Vanua Nevu Fiji 6/29/14

Ni sa bula re,

I hope that everyone is doing good and had a really good week. I know that for me, I had a really good week. Pretty much the biggest news that we have is that we officially have a new Mission President now. We are all going to miss President Klingler and his wife.  Now our new Mission President is President Layton. I think that they switched over on Saturday. So now we are going to  get to know this mission president. I am really excited and happy to meet him.

For a couple of days this week we were really busy with one of the senior couples.  They came down and we've been helping them find houses and move them around Labasa for a day or so. But both the Elders and the Sister missionaries in Labasa moved their flats and we had to help them move because we are the only ones here in Labasa with a truck. So we were a bit busy with that also.

I was also able to do another baptismal interview this week for a man that lives in Seaqaqa. He was so awesome. He was like 76 years old but still had the desire to be baptized and follow Jesus Christ. So during that whole day, I was able to serve around an elder whose name is Elder Magalogo. He is a really cool missionary. He came to Fiji the intake after me so like 2 months after. We got on a topic on how fast our missions are going by and we both do not know where all the time has gone. It is going by so fast and it will be here sooner than we know it.

But I would like to share one story with you all that really helped me out a lot this week. So, we are working on this one man named VJ. He has been taking the lessons since last year but was just struggling to keep the commitments. He was dropped for a while but now, we picked him back up and he is going to be baptized here in 13 days. This week, we saw him quite a bit. He is so excited to be baptized and he is even counting down the days. But on Saturday, we went over to see him and invite him to continue coming to church. He said yes he would. So Sunday rolls around and church starts, 45 minutes in and he still is not there. I told my companion that we should call him and see if he was coming. He told us that he might be coming. It really broke my heart when I heard him say that he might be coming. He really wants to be baptized but he has to come to church. There is no maybe's'  So, once we heard this, I said a prayer in my heart to please bless him that he will see and feel the importance of coming to church. Then about 20 minutes later, we hear his car coming up the driveway. That noise of an almost broken-down car was music to my ears!  I knew that he realized the importance of coming to church.  I knew right after I prayed that he would come. I did not even have a second doubt that he was not going to come. I know that God really does answer prayers and that he is really wanting to help us if we are willing to help him build up his chuch with his will and in His timing. The most important word in that sentence is "IF". We have to do our part for him to help us. It is not a one way track, it is a two way track. You can't see to believe, you have to believe to see. 

This area has really blessed me a lot. It has really shown me that it is not really in our timing. It is in the Lord's timing. I know with this man, he is now ready to join the true church of Jesus Christ. It may take time for some, but eventually they will. All we have to do is believe and do our part.

This whole week went like a blur and is going by so fast. I wish that my mission was going slower and that it was not going by so fast. I am loving it here!

I know that this is the true church of Jesus Christ and he is at the head of it. God the Father and his son live, and I know it. 

Au lomani kemudou kece sara valevu. I wish you all a good week this week and that everyone will be safe.

May the Lord protect you all.

Love,

Elder Grotepas

I can't believe that I did this but, I let Elder Fonua cut my hair.

Look at how all three of us got our hair cut. I know that Trevor will laugh at this.

Here is the Labasa District

Here is our intake here in the Northern Island

I climbed up the coconut tree behind me in this picture and this was my prize. E dua na mequ.

Our baptism from last week

This is a Fijian toy

Just ask Dad, he will know what's wrong....

Area 4, Week 5 - Naduna, Vanua Nevu, Fiji 6/22/14

Ni sa bula re na noqu matavuvale,

How art thou? How is everyone doing? I am so glad to see that you all are reading the Book of Mormon so much that now you all are talking like it (to shake things up a bit, we wrote his letter in verse).  How wonderful that is to these ears of mine! Well, I am glad to hear that all of you had a good week and you did have many different adventures. I am glad to hear that Webb and his new wife had a good time and that everything is good with them. I am so glad to hear that he finally got hitched. :) Do you have a picture of him and his wife?

I wish that I was there to go up to Lava with you all. It sounds like you all are having a good time up there and it is still the same, a problem each time you go up there!  I dont know if we ever lost the keys to the fourwheeler or not but we did have many different problems. Oh yeah, by the way, how is that new truck? I know that I asked you a few weeks ago but now after dad has tried it out a bit, how is it?

I think that this week on my mission has got to be one of the fastest weeks on the mission. It really is true that as you get older into your mission, it just flies by. I really cannot remember what really went on this week.  We were able to have 15 lessons this week to investigators and less actives. It was a really rewarding week.

We did have a little bit of a struggle this week also. During this time of the year here in Fiji, they call in musu dovu. This means cane cutting. For the next month or so, pretty much everyone cuts cane. This is one of the biggest crops that they have here in Fiji, sugarcane. So when we go over to an investigators house, they are out cutting cane and cannot come in and see us. The only time that we are able to see them is in the nighttime. We do not have enough time in the evenings to see everyone. So it is a little bit tough for us. But I know that if we still keep trusting in the Lord to show us where we need to go and do effective planning, we will never have any down time here. We will be staying busy with the Lords work.

We did have two of our investigators come to church this week. It was really cool because one of the investigators that came has been taking the lessons since last year. We had to drop him for a while but I know that now he is ready. He was having a hard time for the first couple of weeks but now he sees the importance of it. It was really cool, he told us that right before he was coming to church, he prayed that he would know that this is the right thing for him to do.  He said that he had a good feeling about coming. When he arrived at the church and saw one of the District Leaders, his eyes opened and was so glad to see a leader from the island of Vanua Levu.  It was a blessing to see him come and to see the church of Jesus Christ. We have a date set for him and he is going to be baptized within the next two weeks. It is so cool to see these people change. This is what the mission is all about, helping people and seeing them change their lives for the better.

I want to share with you a funny story that happened to us this week. One night this week, all of our appointments had fallen trough. We had nothing to do. So we said a prayer to help show us where we needed to go. After a minute or so we discussed and decided that we just need to go walking and find a miracle. So about three minutes into our walking, we saw this man in the distance. He was really tall and had a really long beard. As we walked up to him, we were friendly and said hello.  He was just standing there so I asked him if he was looking for anyone.  The funny thing that happened is what he said after I said that. He said "No.......... I am just watching this guy coughing." He was just standing there in the dark watching this man coughing. When he said this we both chuckled and started smiling. Then a car drove by with lights and we saw then saw his face. One of his eyes was looking to the left and one of them was looking right. When this happened, we both started to laugh and he did also. LOL. But later on, he told us that his name was Chardinkra and that he was a Hindu priest.We asked him if we could come by one day and share a message with him. He accepted and told us that he lives inside of the Hindu temple and that we can come in to see him. It is going to be a cool experience. I think that this was just so funny because he was just standing on the road staring at a random person coughing.

Both me and my companion are doing really great. We are getting along good and I am loving it here in Naduna. The Branch is really great and really friendly. Being a District Leader is a little bit stressing at times because I have so much to do, but I am getting used to it and liking it.  It's stressful knowing everyone now is looking up to me for the answers. Some of them I do not know, but I am the leader here. But it is all good and I am really liking it.

I know that this is the true church of Jesus Christ and that he is the head of it. I know that Heavenly Father and his son lives. I love you all very much and you all are always in my prayers.

Thank you for everything and I wish you all a good week this week.

Love, 

Elder Grotepas

Area 4, Week 4 - Naduna, Vanua Nevu, Fiji 6/15/14

Hey there Family,

How are you all doing?  This week I do not have a lot of time to write you all. I just want to let you all know that I am still alive an kicking. We did have a really good week. We were a little bit busy with one of the sister missionaries here in Labasa. She got really sick and we had to stay at the hospital on two of our days. I have finally found out what it is like to have requests by girls. I asked the sister if there was anything that she needed.  She told us that she wanted sushi!  When she said that and I thought to myself "where are we going to get sushi in Fiji?. She said that she was really craving it, so we tried to find it but failed.  

We were able to see one of the families that we met the other week. This has got to be the best experience of the week. We have been working with this man for a couple of weeks now. We sat down with him on Tueday this week and had an awesome lesson. Both me and Elder Fonua could really tell that it touched him a lot. We asked him if we could come over and help him in his farm. He accepted and then we went back on Thursday to help him out on his farm. So as we were walking to the farm on Thursday moring, he asks us, "How do I become a member of your church?" We said he had to be baptized!  He said that he knew that everything that we shared was true and that he wanted to be baptized. We asked him and he accepted to be baptized on the 13 of July. It was the coolest thing in the world. I thought to myself, we just ask a man to be baptized and we were not even in a lesson. God is preparing many people at this time. All we have to do is find them . Not just for the missionaries, but for the members also.

I am sorry that I am not writing much this week but I had to write a paper for the new mission president so he can get to know more about me. I want to let you all know that I love you all very much and miss you all. Time is very short  and I know that we will meet sooner than you know it!

Thanks for everything and I wish you all a good week.

Love,

Elder Grotepas

Photo of our Branch

Northern Zone Conference

Area 4, Week 3 - Naduna,Vanua Nevu Fiji 6/8/14

Ni sa bula re na noqu matavuvale,

How is everyone doing today? I hope that everyone is doing good and having a good time. I cannot believe that another week has gone by. We did get the chance this week to have both a Zone Traning Meeting and also a Zone Conference. It was a really sad Zone Conference because this was the last Zone Conference that President Klinger is going to have in this zone in Savusavu. He gave us the best advice, training and information that we are to know.  First, he gave us a training on how important Chaper 13 from Preach My Gospel is. That is the importance/role of the members/ward in missionary work. He said that this chapter is the chapter that almost every missionary overlooks and does not study. This was his first training in Fiji and also his last. It really opened my eyes on really how important this is. One quote that I like states that "without members in missionary work, there is no missionary work." This is where it all starts. We can only teach to a point and then we get transferred or leave and it is up to the members to retain to the efforts put in by us. It is the way that they, the recent convert, endures to the end and stays active in the church. They have to feel loved to want to come back and learn.

This training really did stick with me and my companion. We are setting up some plans on ways that we can improve to help this area out and get the members more involved to feel the missionary spirit in their lives to help them in turn share the gospel. I have kind of overlooked this chapter myself and have not read it in like a year or so. That is what my goal for this week is to study that chapter and also to give a training on it for our district meeting this week.

He also gave us one more training session and told us to always remember two things to do in our lives. First, is to always choose the right. Do all that you can to stay on the straight and narrow path. Do not veer off and if you accidentally do, you can always return and then continue choosing the right. Then the second thing that he told us to always remember is to remember the Primary songs. When he was sharing this subject, the spirit was so strong. He even sang his top three favorite songs to us. It was so powerful. Almost everyone in the room started to cry. I have to admit it that I did myself. It was just so strong. President told us that Primary songs are the best place to learn simple doctrine that changes lives. I looked back at my primary days and think the same thing. Every song that they have in there is just so simple. For example "I am a child of God". How much more simpler can it get?  "I know my Savior Lives". "I Feel My Savior's Love". This is the place where we learn the basics.

He went on saying that he thinks that this is where the most important callings in the church are. Mainly, the Primary Chorister. This is the person that is teaching Gods' children simple, but true doctrine. He told us that he still remembers his primary chorister teaching him all these songs and even remembers her name. He thanked her so much for everything. I went on thinking myself, Do I remember my Primary Chorister? I don't really know if I do remember but I think that it could have been Sister Zaugg? I dont really know from the Meadows ward. Do you remember the chorister when I was in Primary? This really touched me because it is true. What more can you say about primary songs.

It really shocked me to think that this would be his closing remarks to us missionaries. You would think that it would be something profound about missionary work or the gospel doctrines, but it was something so simple as songs, especially primary songs. I can now see the power that is in them. He invited us that when we have our future families that we need to teach our children these songs. Nothing else can sooth the soul more than this. I now know that this is what I need to do. If our mission president tells us how important it is, then it must be important.

We were really busy this week driving everyone around for this occasion.  We also picked up the Klingler's from the airport and moved missionaries around to places. We also did have an issue with relocating the Nakawakawa Elders. We had to take the trip all the way down there again to pick up all of their stuff and wait for their house to be built up in the village. So currently we have one of the elders staying with us and the other one staying with a different pair of elders that live right above us. Elder Johnson from Bountiful City is staying with us here in Naduna. It is pretty cool to have another companion that knows alot of the same places that I know.

Well that is pretty much my week. We had a really good week and now I have 2 companions. It was a really rewarding week for me spiritually but for the area, it was not really the best. We did not get a lot of time to be in our area.

I want to tell you that I love you all very much and that I know that this is the true church of Jesus Christ. The Lord's hard is in everything that we do as long as we are obedient. I know that I am doing the Lords work.

I thank you so much for everything and look forward to next week.

Love,

Elder Grotepas

Area 4, Week 2 - Naduna, Vanua Levu, Fiji 6/1/14

Ni sa bula vinaka na noqu matavuvale,

How is everyone doing this fine Sunday night? I hope that each one of you are doing good and having a great time. I know that for me, we had a really great week!. I was able to see many blessings throughout our week and also the hand of the Lord in our work. I will tell you a little more later in the letter. I want to let you all know that I am doing good. I am healthy and I am loving it here in the island of Vanua Levu. I like it alot better that Viti Levu because it is not as fast of a life here. It is a little bit more relaxed and calm. It is kind of like home if you compare the country to the city. There is just a different feeling about it. I am loving it here in Naduna. Me and my companion, Elder Fonua are doing great and getting along just great. 

Well to start the week of, I was able to do my first District Meeting. I was a little bit nervous because I have never given a training and I have had no one really look up to me with questions. I have always looked up to my District Leaders. But now the roles have changed. Now I am the one answering questions and addressing concerns. But it went really good. I did a training on how we can better improve our language study plans and what we can do to make them more fun. We played a game that I think is pretty fun. It is kind of like that game where you say something in someone's ear and they have to continue telling what they think they heard in the next person's ear on the side of them. Then by the end, you see what it could have changed to. So we drew a picture and had to describe it in Fijian. Then the next person had to write about it and so on. It was so funny because none of the pictures ended up close to the same. Yeah, the District Meeting went really good.

We also had the chance to go clear down to a village called Nakawakawa. It is an area where two Elders in the Labasa District stay. I had to go down there to do a couple of baptismal interviews. It took us about three and a half hours to get all the way down there and the same coming back. We went down on Wednesday morning and arrived back home on Thursday home around noon. I have to admit that this area is the how I pictured Fiji when I first got my mission call. It was BUSH. The Elders did not have a house of their own. They stay in the home of a member named Pita. No running water, no electricity, and no shower. We bathed in the river that is right next to their house. It kind of felt like we were swimming but we were not, we were showering. But it was sweet. That is how I pictured Fiji. BUSH, and KORO. 

It seemed strange that we live in the same house as the member. We all slept in the same room. We, the missionaries, sleep on the floor, and the couple sleep on their bed that is behind a sheet. I just was not used to it. I am just used to me and one other companion in the house. But, I have to admit that it felt more like home. It just felt kind of normal. Elder Johnson and Elder Golson have gotten so close to the family that they jokingly call them both mom and dad. They also have a daughter that is three that plays around with them. It is like a having family again. Your mom, dad, and even a little sister. One big, happy family!

But we had a good time up there in Nakawakawa. By to end of the trip, the truck was pretty muddy. The interviews went good also. I was able to do two interviews. I was way nervous before but when I got into it, it was all good. I relied on the Spirit to guide me and he did. They went great and they were not as hard as I thought they world be.

The rest of the week was good. The whole week, we had fall-throughs every day. Every lesson that we planned did not go as planned. But we ended up getting quite a bit of unexpected lessons with lots of new investigators. We got more new investigators this week than I have so far on my whole mission. We were able to get 21 new investigators just this week! Yesterday we got 16 alone. We had our Branch President come with us to a few of the lessons and help us out. Each family we saw had at least 6 members in each that we counted as new investigators.  Every single lesson we taught yesterday had at least 12 persons sitting and listening to what we had to say. Some of them were not really focused so we only counted those ones that were listening and accepted an invitation. Heavenly Father really blessed us with these investigators this week. We had a tough week trying to get lessons and finding people. We did not lose the faith, we kept going and did not give up. Me and Elder Fonua knew that this was a blessing because of our hard efforts. Yesterday when we got home after seeing all those families, the first thing that we did was kneel down and thank our Heavenly Father. He blessed us with these investigators and we thanked him valevu.

This was a big testimony builder for me. I really have learned again that we have to rely on the Lord to help us. All we have to do is have the faith and be obedient then Heavenly Father will bless you. That is one thing that me and Elder Fonua are trying to do. Do everything that we can so that we have to spirit with us. That is the key to missionary work. Without that, it is dead. Obedience is the price and Christ is the reason.

I have to tell you all one thing that I really learned this week from my companion. I think that throughout my whole mission, I have been missing one thing in my teaching. I really learned what it was this week. It is being bold. I have to admit that Elder Fonua is probably one of the boldest missionaries that I have seen. He is not scared to talk to anyone let alone tell them what we believe. Every single lesson we taught last night was with power and authority. We told them up straight exactly what we believed.  After we told them straight, that is when their ears perked up and they started to listen. They were really interested and wanted to learn more.

But I know that being bold can also have a downside. You have to be careful to not offend by being too bold.   Relationships can be ruined or they could have negative thoughts about the church. That is why we have to be careful, and be bold only through the spirit. You have to be bold and loving at the same time and that is the tricky part. You have to find that balance on what level you can teach your investigator. Some need more and some need less. I know that I am really going to work on this. Be bold and don't be ashamed to stand up for your beliefs. Just like the talk that Elder Holland gave in conference about the man throwing mashed potatoes at the sister missionary. Stand up and don't be scared to tell what you know.

Everything is going great here with me. I am loving it here. I cannot believe how fast these weeks are going. It is already almost half the way through the year. It is going so fast.

I want to let yous all know that I know this church is true. I am being bold here, this is the only true church of Jesus Christ and the apostolic keys can only be found in this church, The Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I know this for a fact. I know it has been restored through Joseph Smith and Thomas S. Monson is his successor. I am doing the Lord work and I know that you are being blessed heaps and heaps.

I love you all very much and miss you all tons. Send my love to the whole family; Mom, Dad, Holly, Austin, Trevor, Kyle, and Heidi.

Thank you so much for everything that you have done and are doing.

Love, 

Elder Grotepas