Still in Fiji!

Bula bula and bula! I am still in Fiji and I am losing my mind! Not really, but I am kind of frustrated that we are still waiting for our boat and nothing has happened. We call them almost every day and they say oh maybe tomorrow we will leave, maybe tomorrow. I was talking to a Tuvaluan lady yesterday at church and she was like, "Oh it's just Tuvalu Time." Fiji time is one thing, and Tuvalu time is another thing. So when a tuvalu boat meets a Fiji wharf, time gets multiplied by a 100. So we'll probably leave for Tuvalu in September.

This week was really good though. We had a baptism in Suva 1st ward! Her name is Mele and she's from Tonga. I actually didn't teach her, but she seemed so happy after her baptism and she seems like she'll do a lot of good.

We had some really nice dinners this week. One was with a missionary couple from Southern California named the Taits. They are such nice people, they were teaching some of the fijian kids how to count in base five and things like that. They help the teachers at the LDS school here in Fiji. They are both retired teachers themselves and they are really good. Another great dinner was with a Fijian lady named Sister Dhatt. She's married to an indian. She's from my old Suva 3rd ward and she is a good friend who offered to make me dinner. It was so cool!

One good thing about being in Suva still is that I've gotten to know President Klingler and Sister Klingler better. Sister Klingler is absolutely fantastic. She loves to bake and is always making cookies or cinnamon rolls. She is a retired piano teacher too. She reminds me in some ways of Jeanette Stephens like how she plays the piano and how excited she gets about certain songs. She told me, "If you're still here on Sunday, I want you to sing at a fireside for me." So I agreed. She pulled out this perfect arrangement of This is the Christ and we practiced a little and we sang it yesterday. I'm surprised at how my voice has matured and gotten better as I'm growing up. I'm able to hit higher notes with more confidence and I still have my low range. I haven't sung a lot out here, I mean apart from hymns and things, it was nice to sing.

President Klingler is also a singer and he is such a good man. He is quiet and decisive and when he speaks I feel the spirit so strong. He is a man that I would really like to be like in many ways. He is really good to his wife and really loves the Savior. When I think of the Klinglers, I think of deep devotion and love for the Savior. Sister Klingler was telling me about the Baptism song from the primary hymn book and she just got tears in her eyes when she said, "I really want to meet John the Baptist. Just think of meeting the man who baptized the savior." She's a really good lady.

I was really happy with my companion this week. There was a day where a lot of missionaries came over to our flat and were all sleeping. We call that moku siga in Fijian (moh-ku sing-a) wasting the day. My companion noticed that I was restless though, and he said let's just go. So we walked to our appointments and I was so happy that he didn't waste time that time.

I've recieved a lot of mail this week which was nice! I finally saw pictures from NaTasha's wedding. I also got a birthday card from Granma. Oh also! There were some pictures from the Clinton 15th ward the other day and that was really nice, I think it was from the CTR 5s or something like that.

Well I love you all so much! The Church is True!

--
Elder Paul Leland Hill
Fiji Suva Mission