Work is Progressing in Samabula

bula mama!!

we were at our bishop's house for dinner on friday and the wife told me about the two hurricane warnings. i couldn't focus on anything else the rest of dinner and she finally said, "maybe i shouldn't have told you anything." but a lot of the people from the ward have been asking me if my family is okay and im so happy to hear that you're all safe. i definitely prayed very very very very hard since the minute i heard until now. im so relieved now that i know you're all safe.

this week in samabula was a pretty good one. our investigators, though few, are progressing a lot!! they're starting to come to church and to get closer to baptism. it has taken some of them a long time and it's such a blessing for me to see them starting to make the necessary steps needed to prepare for baptism. we have a baptism scheduled for the 23rd of august and she is awesome!! she already has a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon. from the moment she first opened it she has felt the power and influence of the Book of Mormon in her life. she feels the Spirit every time she reads and when she bares her testimony of it, it strengthens my own testimony.

we have another investigator who we just started teaching. our first lesson with him was at elder johansen's (area of the seventy's) house and it was such a powerful lesson. all day sis. matheson and i were thinking about what we were going to teach him and we were freaking out because it was going to be at a General Authority's house. but once we got there and started the lesson we asked the investigator what he expected from our lessons. he told us that he already knew that Heavenly Father was there for him but what he wanted was to feel the Spirit. to learn how to recognize the Spirit in his life. what an answer!! so we got the impression that we needed to have a testimony meeting with the johansen family and us. we each shared our testimony and almost every single one of us shared about prayer. and the power of prayer. as we were sharing you could just feel the Spirit in that room. there was no way you could deny it. when we were all finished he shared how he felt and told us that he had felt the Spirit that night. when we met with him again we asked him how he felt after our last lesson. he said that the next day at school he was so happy. he said he hadn't felt that way in a long time. and so i told him that that was the purpose of the Gospel. to bring people happiness!! that's why im here on my mission, to bring people happiness that can only from this Gospel of Jesus Christ. in our next lesson we let us know of his willingness to change and to align his life with Christ. he already has that desire and now it's time that act in faith.

on saturday we were able to go to the temple with one of our recent converts to do baptisms for the dead for the first time. it was such an amazing experience!!! she was so nervous to go and was very hesitant, but after it was all done she said that she was so happy and that she enjoyed it. we told her that she made so many people happy as she was baptized for them. they were waiting in the Spirit World waiting for someone to be baptized for them and she did it and made freed them and helped them on their pathway to the Celestial Kingdom. she smiled when she realized how important the temple is. when we teach about the temple it's hard for people to picture or imagine what we do in there and why. it's not until they do it them self that they come to truly appreciate the temple.

also the church is changing a few things in missionary work. our purpose as missionaries was to help others come unto Christ by helping them receive the Restored Gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. our main focus was getting people to that first ordinance, baptism and the Gift of the Holy Ghost. but now we are looking past that....we're looking to the temple. we'll be seeing our recent converts a lot longer and a lot more than we have in the past, helping them stay active and prepare for the temple. another huge thing that's happening is that we as missionaries are responsible for bringing back less actives. before we would visit them but the ward would also visit and whatever. but now if we bring back a less active to church (following certain requirements) it has the same amount of importance as if we baptized a new convert into the church. there are so many people getting baptized all over the world but dont stay active. and that's why the church has made less actives a huge part of missionary work now. it's genius!!! so me and sis. matheson have decided that we're going to really focus on getting people back to church and helping them get reconverted to the Gospel. im excited!!

well i think that's all for this week. me and sis. matheson are having a party here in samabula. i love being her companion and i love serving with her as sister training leaders. i dont think there's one hour that goes by that we dont laugh together at something. missionary work is fun!!! au lomani kemudou!! loloma yani!!

lolomazzzz,

sista chong

Driving in Fiji with a New Companion!

bula mama!!

well this week i literally felt like i was running around like a chicken with his head cut off!! it was crazy because we had a new intake, an outtake, transfers, and all of the above. also i got my drivers liscense on thursday and so im a legal driver here in fiji!!! i can drive on the left side of the road!!! woooohooo :) and the cooler thing about it....i got it on my year mark. so my liscense is valid until my two year mark...if i had one. lol. 

but this week i have definitely started to see the blessings of our hard work. at church yesterday we had 2 of our investigators come to church for the first time. one of them we've been teaching for a long time and she finally came. and the other will be baptized on the 23rd of august hopefully, so she really enjoyed it. it felt like the testimonies that were shared that in sacrament were directly to them. it's amazing how everyone listens to the same Spirit. we also had a member bring a friend to church and we're going to start teaching him on tuesday. 

the new area seventy, Elder Johansen is here and him and the family is in our ward. the family came to church for the first time yesterday. they're from new zealand but the wife is half samoan and said that if we needed any help with translations or anything we could call her and take her with us. so as soon as she said that i turned to sis. matheson and was like "we gotta find us some samoan investigators wherever they are in fiji." and after sacrament we went and shook hands with the member that brought his friend to church and he introduced his friend to us and said he was from samoa and was schooling at FNU. oh my gosh!!! prayer answered!!! and so on tuesday we'll be going to the johansen's house for dinner and our first lesson with him. we're way excited!!

 also, sis. matheson is like way bomb in fijian and i consider her as the answer to my prayers about learning the language. for so long ive been saying i want to learn it better or whatever but just didnt know where to start or how to do it. well, Heavenly Father heard my millions of prayers and sent sis. matheson to me :) ive learned so much from her already!! but probably the thing i learned the most was just go get um!! no shame. just speak fijian whenever you can no matter who it's with. just speak ga!! so im way excited for our companionship. we've had so many good times together already and have not stopped laughing. im excited for the months that lay ahead for us :)

au lomani kemudou sara valevu!! loloma yani!!

lolomazzz,

sis chong

Suva North Zone Conference

New Companion and New License

bula mama!!

okay let's start off with the saddest news ever....SIS.PYNE IS LEAVING ME!!! we were so sad when we got the call. the cool/new thing that happened was that Pres. Layton actually called us and told us she was getting transferred and who my new companion was before we even got the transfer call. it was crazy! really cool though. the good thing about the whole thing is that she will be going to Suva 3rd ward, so ill still be going on exchanges with her :) she's just going to be right next door. she's going to be training again, so she'll die training meaning she'll end her mission training :) isa!

a little miracle that happened to me recently. it all started on friday...the mission office told me that they received the paper i needed in order to go get my license, so sis. pyne and i hurried and went to the LTA (transportation office thing) to schedule a driving test for me. we went and the lady told us that the next opening wasn't until 12 aug. we started to panic a little because we had a feeling sis. pyne would be transferred this week and so if i didnt have a license and she left, no car, which means struggle to get to other sister's areas on exchanges. well....we talked to the senior couple who is in charge of all this stuff and asked him what to do. he told us to go back to the LTA today and to just schedule the test for the nearest day. so we went and waited in line for about an hour, just praying there would be an opening. when we first got to the window the lady took copies of all my paperwork and license and passport and stuff and she told me the next opening was probably in august. well....when she opened the appointment book she told me she had an opening on thursday at 330pm. it was a tiny opening and it looked like she just squeezed me in between 2 other appointments. i was so happy when she told me i could test this week!!! blessings!! miracles!! 

last week we had the privilege of elder haleck (1st counselor in the area seventies) and his wife come to visit us here in fiji. on friday morning the zone leaders and us were able to have a small meeting with him and we talked about the mission and some strengths and weaknesses. he gave us counsel on how to be better leaders in the mission. after that, 3 zones were able to go over to the chapel to hear elder and sis. haleck speak to us. it was way good! he talked to us about being Christlike and that we can't just study about Him and read the scriptures, but we have to live like Him. we have to try our best everyday to better ourselves and to follow in His footsteps with exactness. 

we were able to have sis. layton (mission president's wife) come out with us for a day. it was awesome! she loved it! the amazing thing was, that was the only day this week we had no fall-throughs at all. another miracle! we went to see some of our recent converts, less actives, and a few investigators. the Spirit was so strong with her there with us. she even had the opportunity to sit on the ground with us in someone's home. something new for her. it was definitely an unforgettable experience.

well, this week ill have my new companion, sis. matheson. im excited to be with her and to serve with her as sister training leaders. im a little nervous to lead the area because i still dont know where everything is, but we'll learn together :) hahaha!! we'll see how it goes. pray for me, as i take my driving test this week...ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ROAD!! aaahhhh!!! 

loloma levu,

sista chong

Christlike Attributes

Storm over the Suva temple

bula mama!!

well i cannot believe how fast these weeks are flying by. it's nearly the end of july already, my goodness!! what happened to the time?? next week there is a sister, sis. tugaga, who is leaving. she was my first sister training leader and she is one of the best examples to me in the mission. i can't believe how fast time flew and she's heading home already at the end of the month. she'll probably be staying with us her last couple nights and i can't wait to see what she has to say about her mission and how she's feeling. i wish her the best!!

this week was pretty crazy though. we were suppose to have a baptism on friday but what happened was the day of her interview we found out that she just got sealed to her parents that day. WHAT!? so we asked her parents and we were talking and they said that they found her records and so she didn't have to get baptized again. my goodness!! we also found out that our investigator that was going to get baptized next week doesn't count as a convert baptism, but a child of record baptism because her parents just got baptized and she's still 8. dont get me wrong, im so happy that she's still getting baptized but we're just not hitting our goals this month. but we'll try our best to make up for it next month!!

not sure if i told you but this quarter, july to september, we're focusing on becoming true disciples of Jesus Christ. in july we chose a christlike attribute that we wanna work on. we fasted about it at the beginning of this month and ive seen a big difference in myself as ive tried to become more like the Savior in that attribute. we also started reading all the "Gospels" and it'll continue into next month. it's my first time reading through the whole thing and i've enjoyed it every minute of it. in august we're going to focus on really teaching like the Savior. using His methods and techniques of teaching and just really trying to teach as if the Savior were our companion. then in september, we're going to be exactly obedient!! we're going to live our lives in harmony with the Savior's. im excited!!

Didn't their moms teach them not to play with their food?

one night we were sitting at dinner and sis. pyne decides that she wants to speak in her "brave" accent. hahaha!! it was so funny i died and couldn't get off the ground for about 10 minutes. it's these little moments that get me through the hard times as a missionary. counting my blessings!! au lomani kemudou!!

loloma levu,

sista chong

Red Snappah fo Dinnah!

Suva Harbor

Zone Conf with New Mission President

bula mama!!


well another week has gone by here in samabula, fiji. my english is getting worse and worse every day, still getting choke mosquito bites on my leg (goodbye nice beach legs), and sis. pyne and i are still trying to get better tans by going door knocking in the burning fiji sun. i love my life!!!

this week, we had a welcoming zone conference with our new mission president, Pres. Layton, and his wife. it was amazing!! they talked to us about #1 interacting with as many people as we can and leaving a positive impression. they said that it takes about 7 positive contacts from the church before someone develops an interest to learn more. #2 to align ourselves as one with the Father, Son, Holy Ghost, prophet, apostles, our mission president, and then ourselves, the missionaries. if we do this then we won't have to worry if we're doing what we're suppose to or not and we won't have to ask so many questions of what is and is not allowed. whatever it says in "Preach my Gospel" and the white handbook, then that's exactly what Heavenly Father said we need to do. no questions.

we went out with our members a lot this week. since we got our ward mission leader, every correlation meeting, we assign a member/ward missionary to come out with us every day. so we have a member with us almost every day, which is awesome!! i love taking them door knocking. they are always way nervous at first but by the end, they are taking the lead and sharing a little bit about the Gospel. i remember in the beginning of my mission i hated knocking on doors. i was so scared that people would reject me and just shut the door in my face. but now that ive been out a little longer, I LOVE KNOCKING ON DOORS!!! i think it's so fun to meet new people and to find out what they believe, and then to let them know how much our message about the restored Gospel can help them and bless their lives.

one of the referrals we got from our ward was for a 9 year old boy whose mom is a member. she's been working a lot recently on sundays and so she can't come to church. well, we went and visited them and she was so happy that we did. she said it was the first time that missionaries had ever come over to their house without being called. she asked us to come and teach and visit her and her son because she wants him to learn more before he's baptized. we were so happy we found them because you could see the joy on her face when we just walked in the door. instead of her having to call us to visit, we just came on our own and she was so grateful.

so make it a priority to go and visit our less actives from the ward. we can't really do much on sundays so make it a day to go and visit our brothers and sisters who have lost their way. DO YOUR VISITING/HOME TEACHING!!! i know it might be a burden and you think it takes up too much of your time, but always remember that the Lord never complained and he never said, "I'm too busy" to someone in need. the Lord will always bless those who love and take care of their brothers and sisters. au lomani kemudou!! vinaka vakalevu ena nomudou loloma kei na nomudou veivukei ena noqu kaulotu. loloma yani <3

loloma levu,
sista chong

DINNER!!!

Hau'oli La Hanau e Sista Pyne

bula mama!!

IT'S SISTER PYNE'S BIRTHDAY TODAY!!! i made her breakfast, found her a can of spam from one of the senior couples and made her cookies and all that fun stuff. it was so fun!! some sisters brought her a cake and it was way good. hope she had fun :)

well this week we went and knocked on doors a lot!! we took some of the YSA girls with us and we just picked a street and knocked on every door down that street. it was really good and fun!! man it was so fun! in the beginning of my mission i hated knocking on doors but now i love it!! i think its so fun to talk to random strangers. i might keep doing it when i come home.

we had a ward dance on 4th of july. we made cookies for them and helped work the cookie booth. a lot of our members brought non member friends that we were able to talk to and it was really good. 

okay funny stories this week. so while we were knocking on doors we were walking past this dogs....which by the way, i hate dogs! and it was just lying there as we walked past and my companion decides to yell, "tiko vakadua!!" at the dog and all of a sudden it jumps up starts growling and gnashing its teeth at us and i literally almost jumped in the drain right next to me. it was so scary!! oh and did i mention that the dog only had 3 legs!! hahahaha!!

my second story is i was backing up my companion after an appointment one night and right as i was going to open the door to the car i saw that there was a gecko on the handle. so i jumped back and wouldn't open the door.so sis pyne had to put the car in park and come around, grab the gecko, throw it on the road, and said "alright, get in the car." it was so funny!!! it still grosses me out that she just grabs geckos but im not gonna complain because i don't have to touch them. she's the bomb!!

sorry so short this week but life is good. 

i love fiji!! 

i love my mission!!!

loloma levu,

sista chong

Working the Cookie Booth

Hau'oli La Hanau Sista Pyne!!!

Aloha Pres Klingler

bula mama!!

wow that's way cool that everyone is there on oahu!! is it a special something going on?? i know why you're there!! you're all celebrating my 11 month mark!!! hahahahaha!! just joking....its nothing worth celebrating, rather you should all by crying that time is going by so fast.

all the kids look so grown up!! im pretty sure they'll all be almost taller than me by the time i come home, my gosh!! are the boys in the same class again?? how's papa and gramma holding up with all those crazy kids running around?? how's anna holding up?? that's the better question hahaha!!

well life here in the mission is going good. lots of changes happening this week. well, maybe not lots but a big change happened this week....we got a new mission president!! we got to meet them at church yesterday and they're awesome!! im sad that president and sister klingler left, but at the same time im excited to see all the changes and things that will happen in the near future with our new mission president.

also this week we had baptisms. bro and sis khanna got baptized on saturday! they were the indian family that we met at church through a member. their baptism had such a strong spirit there. after they were baptized we sang with them, "i love to see the temple" and then they bore their testimonies. the spirit was so powerful as they bore their testimonies and shared with us what they truly believed about this Gospel. they both said how happy they were to be baptized and to be clean and born again. bro. khanna said that there is no question, he is not turning back!! he is going to do all he can to follow Heavenly Father and His commandments. they're amazing!!

on friday we had the farewell for the klinglers and all the auxiliaries did a cultural dance. the young women did a hula. they danced to the "li hing hula". it was so cute!! they did a good job. it was hard for me not to jam out to the song hahahah!! small kine homesick but i got over it :)

well that's all i got for this week. au lomani kemudou valevu!! loloma yani vei na nomudou matavuvale!! kalougata tiko :)

loloma levu, 

sista chong