How is everyone doing this week? I hope that you all had a really good week and that you all are doing really good. This has been another really fast week for me and we have had many things happen to us. To start it all off, I am going to be losing Elder Fonua and am going to be getting a new companion named Elder Walls. It was kind of sad on Saturday night when we got the call and heard that Elder Fonua is going to be going to an island called Rotuma and that I am going to get a new companion. I was kind of hurt because me and Elder Fonua got along so good and we worked really good together. It is going to be like losing a brother. The place that he will be going to is just a small sinking island. There are only two missionaries out there and he and his companion are the Branch presidency. How sweet is that. They don't even have email and they only come in once every 3 months or so to have Zone Conference and email. They also have to learn a whole new language. So that is the only hard thing about it.
We were able to accomplish many things and see many different people. We did have another really big miracle happen to us this week that I thought was way cool and want to share with you all. So we have this member named Brother Colata. I think that this man literally shares the gospel with everyone he meets. He is constantly telling us about people he shares the gospel with. This week he has been talking with one of his nephews that is going through a hard time in his life right now. He was kind of talking about our church a little bit and he was just too scared to ask him if he wanted to take lessons. So when we were over at his house this week, he called us outside to talk with him. He told us what had happened and that this man was in his house and he wanted to ask Lai if he wanted to take lessons. So as we were outside, Brother Colata called Lai over to talk to us and when Lai came over to us, Brother Colata just walked off and left it all to us. He was just too scared to ask him. So we told him that he wanted to share the gospel with him and help him out. So we asked if we could teach him and right of the bat, he said yes! So we scheduled the very next day to see him and I have to admit that he is ready. He accepted the invitation to be baptized on the 17th of August.
Concerning him also, Brother Colata asked us if we could go to Lai's father and ask him if it was alright to teach his son. So we took Brother Colata to see his father (Brother Colata's older brother) down in a village called Seweni. We brought down some biscuits and some sugar for tea (lemon leaf) to show the proper respect when asking for permission for something. When we were down there, we had the coolest thing happen to us. All of us were sitting in a big room, me, Elder Fonua, Brother Colata, Lai's mother and father. We started in a prayer then began to talk. About 10 minutes into talking, Bother Colata told us to ask his father for the permission and tell him what we are going to be teaching his son. As we were asking, the mother just started to cry and was so happy that we are helping his son at this time. She has wanted this her whole life. She said that he has always rejected the church stuff and does not really participate in it. She said her heart jumped for joy when she heard this. She went on crying for like 10 minutes because she was so happy.
This really strengthened my testimony this week. It showed me that this Gospel really can change peoples lives once they know that it is right. They might not like church things, but once they hear the truth, they want to change. Also is showed me on how much mothers' really do care for their children. His mother said that she has been waiting for like 10 years for this moment to happen. I thought about mom and how much she cares for us and I know that she would do the same thing that this mother did if it was us in their shoes. We really did feel the spirit in there and we are praying that this fire will continue with them young man.
We were also able to see the people this week that had the dream about this church. They were not able to make it this Sunday but it was weird, one of the sons was there at church. We are still working on them and we are planning on inviting them to be baptized in the middle of next month. They are doing really good and are prepared.
We also had a really big feast this week with our Branch President for his birthday. We had pork, goat, chicken and kasava. It was way good. I have not had that in a while. I am really going to miss this when I go home. Just sitting and eating lots of good food.
We also got some steaks this week from Savusavu. It was so good. I have not had a steak in like a year and a half. I miss that so much.
But we did have a really good week this week. Those were the highlights from my week. I know that I am doing the Lords work and that this is the true church. I thank you so much for everything that you are doing and I thank you so much for helping me. Also I thank you so much Grandma for helping me out here on my mission. I know that the Lord is blessing you also.
I hope you all have a really good week this week and that you all stay safe.
Always remember to follow the still small voice of the spirit! ;)
Love,
Elder Grotepas
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