Where to start? I'll start with me learning Tuvaluan. It is coming... very slowly though. Actually, I think I'm quicker than I give myself credit for. I am able to teach principles of the lessons now, very painfully. I think it was easier with Fijian because I didn't know what the real Fijians sounded like so I thought I was better than I really was. Now I am very self conscious because I don't know the grammar or the vocabulary of this language. The Lord is helping me though. It's actually a relatively simple language compared to French and English and all that. Even compared to Fijian, but there is always something hard about a language and this one it is hard to know what all the little words mean in the middle of the words I know. I am reading from the Tuvaluan Bible though and the people here are very helpful with the language so slowly by slowly I am learning.
Our investigators here are really good. There's one woman who I think is in here mid forties or something that we teach who doesn't really know english. Well the only Book of Mormon we have is in English so that's what we gave to her. She decided though that she would understand Samoan better though, so she went and got a samoan Book of Mormon from the church. Then when we came back we were so excited that she had shown such a great desire to read the Book of Mormon and found her own way to do it.
We have twelve investigators that are going to get baptized this week, which is amazing! Believe me, it's not because we're amazing, we try our best, but it is because this Area is just on fire! These people are ready for the gospel. Many feel dissatisfied with their church so they really like the things we teach.
One cool investigator we picked up this week is Kris. We go and eat at this Indian Curry Restaurant every day pretty much because it is cheap and the food is good. The lady who runs it is really nice and she says that we are like her sons because we always come. She really likes when I try to speak Hindi too, even though I hardly know anything. Anyways, her son is Kris. One day we came into the Curry Restaurant to eat and Curry mom asked us if we could teach Kris the Bible, because he's really interested in learning about it. We told her of course we can! So we came back and started teaching Kris about God and Jesus Christ, and he didn't really know any of it! By the end, though he understood pretty well. Well we came back the next time, and he had told his mom that everything was very clear. She said that he talks to Jehovah's witnesses all the time but the things they say don't really make sense, but the things we taught were really clear. I'm excited to keep teaching him.
Today marks one month until we return to Fiji. I'm not really looking forward to going back to Fiji, just because I love this place so much. I am kind of excited though to see other missionaries and to hear a language that I know again. I'm pretty sure I will be coming back to Tuvalu though shortly after our brief visit to Fiji, and it's possible I'll have a new companion. I hope not because I really like my companion now, mostly. Plus, he still needs to teach me Tuvaluan. I need to be fluent!!!
Yesterday we spoke in church and sang. It went really well except the first song. We sang Brightly Beams Our Fathers Mercy, but I could not remember the tune for the life of me. I also started it too low! Man it was a disaster but then I talked. A little in Tuvaluan but mostly in English and then we sang I'll go where you want me to go. That song went really well! Then my companion talked mixing Tuvaluan and Samoan, and it was really good!
Well I love all of you, and I hope that you'll pray for me to learn this language, because I will need every prayer and every ounce of faith. I know the Lord can help me do it though!
Alofa atu,
Elder Hill
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