Man I am going to miss Fiji when I go to Tuvalu, but I'm sure it will be the other way around when I come back to Fiji. And I always miss my Mother Country of America, but I feel like I will have many good years ahead of me with her. It is really hot, really rainy and really great around here in Fiji. It's funny to see Christmas decorations and have it be steaming hot, sometimes you literally can see the humidity! It is so great here though, this week I have learned so much about the gospel and I really feel like the work in this area is headed in a good direction.
I had companion exchanges one of the days this week and my companion is a red headed elder from South Jordan UT. He almost looks like someone from our family! His name is Elder Benjamin Strong and I learned a lot from him. He is super smart at the language and he even went to University of Utah before the mission, so of course we got along great! It was really scary though, because we have both been in the Nasinu area for only two weeks and I really didn't think I knew where I was going. With a lot of prayers and using a map, we never actually got lost and we got a lot of work done. I was amazed, but I know that it was only through the help of the Lord.
This area is huge! So naturally I am exhausted from walking! We walk and walk and walk and rarely use taxis and yet somehow we are kind of running low on mission funds... I think it's because we go to KFC too often and it has kind of exhausted our funds. I don't like to go to KFC because the food there is super greasy and it is too expensive for our meager budget. If we had this budget in America, we would starve. In Fiji though, everything is cheap except KFC and McDonalds. So the secret... stop going to KFC and McDonalds.
Wow we found some really cool people this week that I am so excited to meet with again. One family is the Varua family. They are five siblings that all live together but their parents have both passed away. We went there to deliver a Christmas DVD and when we went there, the family who lives down below their flat asked for a DVD too. So we will be going back to visit with both families on Thursday. I am so excited to go and see them! They both seemed so nice and so friendly and they weren't super set in their church, which doesn't mean anything for certain, but it certainly makes it easier for us to teach.
We also have three kids that we are teaching right now. Unfortunately, I think I'll be gone by the time they get baptized, but I love teaching kids. They are so fun to teach because you can sing songs and show pictures. Actually, you can do that with adults too but I always feel uncomfortable to. Their names are Filomena, Jack, and Beni. They are all really smart! Jack and Filomena just started staying with their grandparents because their parents got divorced, and so their grandma asked us to come teach them so they can be baptized. Beni hasn't been baptized yet because his Father is Iraq with the Fiji Army or something like that. His dad comes back soon though and we will finish up the lessons so he can get baptized by his dad. I actually prefer it that way, for someone they know and love and that will be here to help them to baptized them. The missionaries just come and go so fast that if someone is really attached to them it can be bad. It is also really good but I like it when someone else they know can baptize them.
We're just preparing for a Christmas Fireside that we have on Sunday with the whole mission. I'm playing the piano, which should be interesting because I literally haven't touched a piano for about 3 or 4 weeks (don't tell Lenora!). I just have no time and the piano in this ward doesn't work. We have a lot of really fun things to do for Christmas this week and I'm super excited. Isa, last Christmas was really emotional for me because I knew it would be my last Christmas in the United States for two years. I think the Christmas will still be hard for that reason, but I think my next one will be sad because it will be my last Christmas in Fiji, probably for my whole life. Christmas is going to be wonderful too because about a million families from the ward have invited us to come and eat with them! I found out most missionaries call from the internet shop here in Suva, so I'll probably do that too. I don't know if it will take phone cards or not, but probably. If not, I have plenty of cash from my bank account.
I don't know what else to say! I love the work here! It is hard, but when I get down on myself or I worry about home I just put my shoulder to the wheel and try to lift my area or my companion. It is beautiful here and the people are so loving. They're not perfect, but they are so lovable! I love them so much!
I hope everyone has a good Christmas! I don't know when I'll be emailing next because our Preparation Days are a little bit crazy after this one so if I don't email next week, just know I will call on Christmas... actually maybe it will be Christmas eve. I don't know!!! I'll try not to call in the middle of the night!
Love you,
Elder Hill
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