Happy Father's Day

bula mama!!

well this week was a really good week. we found a new investigator that we got from a referral and we got even more referrals from the members that we didn't even contact yet. i love getting referrals from the members because when you get referrals from them then that means they're starting to trust you. so im happy :) we've been trying really hard to get to know the members and gain their trust and we're starting to see the blessings of doing that.

the referral that we were able to contact is a security at the temple. she just got moved there from another station and she asked one of the members, who was a taxi driver, what people do in the temple and why they go there. so that member gave the referral and we went and met her on friday and she told us that we could come back on saturday but as soon as we left, her boss told her that that was her last day working at the temple. she was so sad because she was looking forward to us coming. well...that night they called her and told her that they were putting her back at the temple on saturday. she was so happy and when we went for our first lesson with her she was so happy and told us the story. she told us that she's been through a lot of things in her life and she's been searching for the truth and trying to figure out how she can know God better. she's been to many different churches but felt like something was still missing.

today we went and saw her again. we talked about prophets, the great apostasy, and Joseph Smith. when we explained about prophets and how important they are and why we need them, she said that it made sense and she believed it all. we told her aobut Thomas S. Monson and the blessings of having a living prophet. she immediately told us, that the prophet is what was missing in the other churches she's been to. to know that there was a prophet leading us today made her so happy and she said that she has no trouble believing it because it just makes sense!! the spirit was so strong in our lesson and the Lord truly has prepared her to receive the Gospel at this time in her life. she said "the Lord knows my heart and that's why He had me work here at the temple."

the family that we're teaching our preparing for baptism. they are amazing!! the father, although he doesn't speak much english, is so intune with the spirit! he knows how to recognize the spirit and he knows what he needs to do. we should be finishing our lessons with them this week and having their interview, so that next week they can be baptized. they are such a humble family that the Lord is mindful of and knows that they are ready to raise and strengthen their family in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

on friday we had a baptism! she was one of our kiribati investigators that came to go to LDS college for school and she's living with a member family. from teaching her i have truly seen the importance of members in the work. taking members to lessons brings an extra testimony and a strong spirit in the lesson. when we take members to lessons it lets them see what we do as missionaries and gets them excited and want to share the Gospel to their friends and other family members. we took one of our YSA girls who's preparing to leave for the Philippines on her mission. every lesson we took her to, you could see the change and her testimony growing and getting stronger. but the baptism was really nice and as soon as she came out of that water she had the biggest smile on her face. knowing that she was clean and pure. that's one of the greatest sights as a missionary, seeing your investigator coming out of the water with a huge smile on their face because they know that they made the right choice. they know what they gotta do.

so this week was full of blessings and im so grateful for it. there's a lot of work to do here in fiji and im grateful i get to be a part of it. hope all is well back at home. sounds like everyone is sun-kissed. lucky!! being in suva where it rains AND in a car doesn't give you a really good tan. haha! but whatevs!! the kids are getting so big it's crazy!! au lomani kemudou!! loloma yani!!

loloma levu,
sista chong

Mount Korobaba

isa im so jealous that you all went to the beach this whole week!! i miss the beach so much!! that's the first thing imma do when i come home :) pretty sure you already knew that.

anyway....today i had a confirmation about something in my life.......i strongly dislike hiking!! we got a call last night that we were going hiking as a zone for our pday activity. little did i know that it was a hike that you literally go straight up the mountain. plus! it was raining and so it was way muddy and slippery. so what ended up happening was me slipping and landing flat on my back atleast 3 times throughout the hike. it hurt so bad! haha. but when we got to the top, the site was beautiful! it actually looked just like waikiki!! going down the mountain after the view is another story! i pretty much slid down the mud like a slide more than half way down. it was like the red dirt that just stains everything and plus it was like wet and so no matter what angle you stepped on it....down you go! lol but it was fun. i have no regrets doing it, but it is definitely a ONCE in a lifetime experience haha!! ill send you some pictures from it.

other than our adventure this morning, our week went pretty good. we are teaching a new family. there's the mom, dad, and eldest daughter, that's about 8, that we're teaching. and then they have 2 younger boys. but they are definitely an amazing family!! the father is so in tune with the Spirit, it's crazy! we met the mom and daughter first at church, one of our members brought them and they enjoyed it. the next week they came to church again and this time they brought the father and they all became very interested in the church. so we went over and visited them and my goodness they are ready for the Gospel. you can definitely see that the Lord has prepared the way for right now. everytime we have a lesson with them the father expresses how he feels and he knows that it's the Spirit testifying to him that what we're sharing is true. he doesn't speak and understand english very well and so we have a member translate for us, but when we are sharing a story or our testimonies he can feel that same Spirit and he knows how to recognize it. he's amazing!! we gave them a baptism date for 28 june. also, this last week they brought another neighbor of theirs over to our lesson that we watched the Joseph Smith movie. and she even came to our activity and church this past sunday.

on saturday we had a farewell for the Wakolo family (area of the seventy). they will be leaving this friday to go to arkansas where he will be a mission president. and so in their behalf the ward had a farewell party. there was good food and the program was that each auxiliary learned an "american dance." the primary did like a rainbow song, the young men did like break dancing to macklemore, the young women did the cha cha slide. the young single adults did GREASE!! we go together. then the relief society did a line dance to dont break my heart, my achy breaky heart. the elders quorom did YMCA and lastly the high priests did the bunny hop. so funny!! it was awesome performances!! everyone had fun and it was a good night for the Wakolo family before they leave.

as for you all at home. it sounds like life is going well. beach, beach, graduation, and more beach!! that's the life right there!! i can't believe that tori is getting married in one month. she's getting married on me and kaytie's year mark. well not exactly but same month. that's a way to remember it :) i got her wedding invitation and she looks amazing!! so cute. im happy and excited for her. im also very grateful that anna had the time to talk to trish. it probably helped a lot and i only wish i could've been there to talk to her as well and be there for her. but don't worry i will be there for her when i get back.

but life is good here in fiji nei. i love the people, the food,  the work, not really the mountains that i climbed today but i love being a missionary!! by the way there was a little transfer and so sis. crowell (from hauula) is in my zone, actually we go to district meeting together, and so im so excited for her to be here!! watch out 2 hawaiian girls!! hahahaha it's gonna be fun :) anyway...au lomani kemudou sara valevu!!


loloma levu,
sista chong

Reflections...

bula vinaka mama!


well this week has been crazy and a major test on my patience. we went to meetings 3 days this week and im grateful we did. pres. and sis. klingler will be leaving at the end of this month and so they're giving their last trainings to us before they head back home. so im lucky and i get to listen to their trainings more than once :) such a blessing! they started to pack up all their things in their home and it's sad seeing the house empty and all their pictures put away. we already started talking about the schedule when Pres. Layton (our new mission president) comes. there is a lot of work to do and it'll be sad watching our mission president leave, but im excited for the new adventure we'll have with pres. layton.

we were suppose to have a baptism this last Thursday but he didn't show up. this is the second baptism in a row that our investigator didn't show up. it's definitely make me re think about how im doing as a missionary and what i need to improve on to help our investigators feel better prepared for baptism. it's been really hard showing up to the baptism and waiting and waiting and they don't show up. i know that there's something the Lord wants me to learn from this. im not quite sure what it is right now but im praying and studying to find out. many times this week i've been questioning myself and what ive been doing as a missionary. am i doing enough? am i doing what im suppose to? am i doing all i can? these challenges have definitely made me take a step back and try to figure out what i can do to become a better missionary.

something that i keep reflecting on throughout my studies is Christlike attributes. as a missionary or just a member of the church we are servants/disciples of our Savior Jesus Christ. it doesn't mean we go around telling everyone that and flaunting it around, but we need to show it through the way we act. we need to act like the Savior. that's something that ive been working on throughout my whole mission. but recently it's something that keeps popping up in my mind and something that ive been really focusing on. there's many times this last week where my patience has be tested and it was a challenge! i just wanted to blow up and talk right back at the person, but something kept me from opening my mouth. i know that if we do our best and try as much as we can to be like Christ and if we ask for help, the Lord will definitely help us and give us the strength we need to overcome our weaknesses.

sorry there's not a lot this week. it's been a long week of reflecting haha. but hopefully next week will be better. au lomani kemudou kece!! loloma yani!!

loloma levu,
sista chong

this is the tongan sister who was staying with us...sis. ngauamo

A Fruitful Week

bula mama!

may day sounding like it was really fun! i missed not going to any may day programs and not seeing everyone wearing leis around on may 1st. but dont worry, i was still thinking about it in my heart :) and by the way....i wear a flower in my ear like everyday. im pretty sure the hibiscus bushes by the temple are going bare because i pick one almost everyday lol. and everywhere i go people call me ms. hibiscus :) i'll take that! haha

anyway...yeah elder wakolo is going next month to be a mission president is arkansas. and i think our mission president comes in at the end of next month of in july. not sure. but we have zone conference tomorrow and it will be Pres. and Sis. Klingler's last one. it's going to be so sad! at the end of every zone conference we have departing testimonies for all the missionaries that are having their last zone conference. and this time it will be the Klinglers sharing their departing testimonies as our mission president. the thing that is horrible is that i live right across and ill be seeing them leave! it's a blessing but at the same time i dont want to see them leave. it'll be hard for all of us and getting use to a new mission president. but im sure he'll be awesome because he is a man called of God and i definitely trust God :) 

well....this week was crazy! we had exchanges last week. (when i was in an area for 5 days) and then we switched back on tuesday when it was transfer day. so we went and picked up and dropped off sisters all over. then, we had to take the new sisters shopping and pick up a sister who flew in from Tonga for a interview at the U.S. embassy for her visa. man! so many people! we had 2 extra sisters staying with us this week and now we're down to one but the craziness just never stops. i guess that's the life of a sister training leader. we also were suppose to have a baptism on saturday but the person didn't come. we talked to him yesterday and he felt really bad and was sorry and just asked us to give him one more chance because he really wants to be a part of this Gospel. we told him that we are only disappointed because we love him and want to see him make those convenants with Heavenly Father so that he can return back to Him. he understood and so we're starting from the beginning. like from the first lesson. he knows what he needs to do and so now it's up to him to actually do it. we'll see how it goes. BUT we should be having a baptism on thursday for our awesome investigator! he had his interview today and he passed! we're so excited :) he has made so many big steps and changes in his life so that he can get baptized. we're so happy and proud of him. 

this week was an awesome proselyting week for us! we picked up 4 new investigators. one was a family which we started teaching. the parents and the eldest daughter who's 8. they already came to church 3 times and we actually met them at church. at a dinner appointment we asked one of our members to pray for a missionary opportunity and find someone that could hear the Gospel. obviously she actually did it and instead of finding us just one, she found us a family! we're so excited to teach them and love their willingness and want to learn more about our Savior Jesus Christ. the fourth new investigator is also a referral from the members. it's a girl who moved here from Kiribati. she's 14 years old and came to go to school and is living with some of our members. she already had lessons there and so we're just asking her questions, seeing how much she remembers, and getting preparing her for baptism. perfect! she's really good though and she has such a kind, sweet spirit. she loves seeing us and wants us to come over like everyday :) we have already given her a baptism date for 7 june. and i know the Lord will help her prepare.

so besides all the crazy things going on we had a very fruitful week. we got new investigators, investigators preparing for baptism, we're back in contact with some of our recent converts who have been MIA for a little while. so i think i can say that it was a wananavu week :) hope all is going well at home. any news? i feel so out of everything over here haha. when does school end? what classes are the kids going to take at summer school? how's the rest of the family doing? well, i think that's all i have for today. love ya! pray for me because i have meetings 3 days in a row!! isa lei!! loloma yani! kalougata tiko!

loloma levu,
sista chong

My Heart if Full of Gratitude

bula mama!!

my heart is full of gratitude for the love and support of each and everyone of my family members and friends back at home who are supporting me on my mission. i know that these last couple of weeks i've been slacking on my letters but know that i am still constantly thinking about you all and working as hard as i can serving my Father in Heaven. i have just realized that now in my mission i am past my half way mark and am now starting to countDOWN. how scary is that!? i've seen so many thing change in myself and i've seen the love of my Father in Heaven every step of the way.

this week i've been reading through the conference issue of the Liahona. i've been reading through from the beginning trying to find talks that could help my investigators and myself in this work. it's amazing how much you miss during the actual General Conference. i was either half a sleep or they just talk way too fast! haha. but as i've been reading through the Liahona i can just feel the love of my Savior encircling me. He has given us a prophet and these apostles because He loves us and wants us to find our way to the strait and narrow. the more i listen and read the words of these prophets, seers, and revelators the stronger and firmer my testimony grows that they are men truly called of God. i encourage you to read the conference issue of the church magazines so that you can highlight and mark all the parts that influence you the most.

this week i have been on exchanges with the other sisters. we went on a special exchange for our mission president starting friday all the way til today. exchanges have taught me to listen. as a sister training leader a lot of the sisters are scared to go on exchanges and just don't want to do it because they think we're just going on exchanges to find everything that's wrong with their area, what their weaknesses are, and how they're being disobedient. BUT we're trying to change that. everytime i go on exchanges i just tell them im just a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on if they need it. almost every sister or even every missionary goes through a really rough time at one point in their mission and we all know for girls it just gets way crazy and dramaz! so as i've been called to this position i've been doing my very best to just be the sister's best friend. make them laugh and enjoy this missionary work as much as i do. gotta love ga!!

we had a baptism this last week. but because i was on that special exchange i wasn't able to make it. but it was for our investigator, Junior. he's a little 8 year old kid from Kiribas and he's so funny. on the day of his baptism Sis. Pyne told me that it took him like 15 minutes for him to get in the font because he was so scared! in order for him to get in they had to send his cousin in to stand there next to the Elder and then Sis. Pyne and his aunty had to hold his hands walking down the stairs. so funny! but he was finally baptized and confirmed on Sunday. Yaaayyyy!!! the Lord's kingdom is growing here in Fiji!!!! Bro. Saba should hopefully be baptized this Saturday so we'll see :)

okay lastly funny story.....so in town there's a place called tapoo city which is like a big american mall. and i went there on exchanges for lunch after a meeting and we had to go up an escalator and it took me about 10 seconds to get one because i haven't ridden one for like almost 10 months now!! i was freaking out!! but dont worry i finally got on and made it safely to this humungous food court!! actually it's the same size as the one at home but to me it was ginormous!! lol okay that's my story moce jo!!

au lomani kemudou!! kalougata tiko!! loloma yani!!

loloma levu,

sista chong 

Mother's Day

Bula!  

No blog post for this week.  We were able to skype with Sista Chong and she is happy, healthy, humble, and Fijian!!  Her Fijian accent is so strong that her younger brother and sister couldn't understand anything she said.....and she was speaking English!! lol.

Mahalo for your prayers and for your support of Sista Chong.  

See you next week :)

Half Way!!!

bula mama!

okay well this week was pretty good. we had exchanges again with some sisters. it was crazy though because we had to switch our schedule like 5 times in one day!! the life as a sister training leader lol. we always have to change our schedule in the last minute because the APs will call us and ask us to do something or tell us that we have someone staying with us that night. it's great! hahaha. it definitely takes some getting use to. 

but this week....first of all ill tell you my embarrassing story of the week. i pretty much proposed to one of our investigators :) isn't that great!!! we were in our lesson and he's suppose to get married to his girlfriend soon before he can get baptized. anyway...we were asking him if we found someone in the church that had the authority to marry, if he would be interested in getting married in the church. he asked how much it would cost and we told him it doesn't cost anything, we just need to find someone with the authority. what i wanted to tell him after that was..."if i had the authority to i would perform the marriage for you and your girlfriend myself." but instead i said, "if i could marry you, i would!!" as soon as it came out of my mouth i was like oh my gosh wait no!! him and sis. pyne was buss laughing at me and i felt so embarrassed. it was a really good thing that we prayed already so i literally just stood up and started walking away. he was like cracking up and calling me. ughhzz i was so embarrassed hahahha! we went back the next day to teach him and as soon as he saw me he just smiled and started laughing. im ruined!! hahahaha!! but whatever such is life i guess lol.

today we got to go to the temple. my first time in like 8 months!! it was so nice to be in the temple again. i needed that peace and quiet and just time to really think and ponder by myself in a place that was so close to my Father in Heaven. i was so grateful to have been able to go inside today and i can't wait for when i go again.

this week we've been really focusing on getting members at our lessons. we've been trying to pick it up since i got here and we're finding more and more people we can take. the other night we were waiting for one of our investigators at the institute and one of the YSA from the other next to us told us that she misses missionary work and the missionaries dont call her to go and so ofcourse we took her! it was so good to have her with us yesterday. and we just got a return missionary in our ward. she just came back from NZ so we'll defs be using her. AND we just got a new ward mission leader. he just got back from the Philippines and is awesome! so im sure our work will move faster now. im excited!!

but that's all i got for this week. everything is going and actually hopefully we'll have 2 baptisms this week. we'll see because they're kind of "iffy" lol. but au lomani kemudou!!

loloma mai,

sista chong