What Elder Hill wants for Christmas

Talofa! I'm in my third area of the week and what a week it has been too!! I'm still in Fiji and I have seen a lot more of it than I saw in my limited view of Suva alone. I'm back in Suva today in an area called Nasinu. It's really close to my first area so it feels like home! It will feel especially like home today when we go into Suva town.

So the area in which I stayed for most of the week was Wainibokasi. This area is like the wilderness. Think rainforest and you might not be too far off from this beautiful area. A really hard thing about it though was that we had to bike all week on super bumpy and muddy trails. It honestly was a lot of fun but it wasn't nice when it rained really hard every day and when I got stuck in the mud. It was a trying week but I was so glad to be there. My two companions there were two missionaries from Samoa. They were really cool, but it was difficult because Elder Momoisea from American Samoa, doesn't really speak very good English. The other companion from Western Samoa, my companion for Tuvalu, speaks super good english, good samoan, good tuvaluan, and pretty good fijian. So a lot of the times we would just speak Fijian or those two would speak Samoan. It was a good experience for me to get better at my Fijian! I also got to learn a little bit of tuvaluan, and hopefully I'll be able to find a book about tuvaluan at the University here. We'll see what happens!

Yesterday we thought there was going to be a hurricane, but it just rained really hard instead. We still went to church and I was honestly surprised to see anyone there the rain was so bad! Somehow though, these faithful saints decided to come to church. It was fun to be there because the people there haven't seen white people for a long time, probably since the last white missionary was there, so it was fun to see them and all of the families told their kids to shake hands with the kaivalangi (which means white person.)

On tuesday of last week, I got a call from the Zone Leaders to pack some things to go to another area called Naulu. I was there for two days until the new companion for the missionary in Naulu, Elder Richey, arrived. So it was really good to be with Elder Richey. He's from San Diego, and he's thinking about doing physical therapy. He did two years at BYU before the mission, so we had some things to talk about. We got to go to a members house and work out in the mornings too, which was really fun! We didn't really teach many lessons because a lot of them fell through, or what not. There was one member woman we met with who really impressed me though. Her name is Sister Bidesi.

Sister Bidesi is a teacher. She has been a member for two years and she loves the church. Elder Richey gave a talk about member missionary work a few weeks ago and it really impressed this woman. Well she began sharing with some of her friends at the school and suddenly she was discussing the Book of Mormon and the church with the teachers at her school. What is really impressive is that they listened and really wanted to know more. That's where we come in! We took some Books of Mormon to Sister Bidesi and hopefully Elder Richey and his new companion will meet with them soon to help them know even more. I was really impressed by this simple woman sharing the simple truths of the gospel.

This brings me to e dua na kerekere (a request.) I know that packages are expensive to send and the things you might send won't last very long anyways, whether it be candy or clothes or whatever. So the best christmas and birthday present (because it might take a while to do this) is for all of you, my family and friends, to pray for missionary opportunities. Then when you get a chance just share a little bit with a friend, help them know things that help you in your life, serve others, and bring at least one person into or back to the fold (member or nonmember.) Hopefully, if you pray and fast for these opportunities, you will find the people who are searching for the truth whether they know it or not. When you have these experiences, then help the missionaries to teach and find them. That is your duty as a member of this beautiful church. That's all I want for Christmas, and of course I want to hear about the opportunities that you have. I don't expect to hear about your whole work place, or whatever listening and wanting to know more, but maybe that is what happens. Only God knows what is in store for you!

This week has been really hectic because I haven't been in the same place for more than two or three days at a time for like a week, but I've learned that a few things never change. Heavenly Father always hears our prayers and helps us so that we can be strong enough to endure. We can find peace and strength in the words of the ancient prophets and especially in the words of the modern day prophets. I have been reading the conference edition of the Ensign and wow what great talks in Conference this year! I would encourage you to read those blessed talks! Wow I was reading President Uchtdorf's talk about going back to the basics and I think it was written with me in mind! I think about how crazy my life was before and how overscheduled I was before the mission. I am learning to accept that sometimes we have to give up good things for better things. A mission teaches you that!

I also finished Jesus the Christ this week. Wow! I am really in awe of the Savior and all he has done for me! I love reading about him and his teachings. I think his life is the best teaching that we can examine. He was so humble and never did anything because of his own will. He was always willing to submit to the will of the Father. Hopefully, that is something I will learn on the mission. It is amazing to see the plan that God has for each one of us come to pass in our lives. He is so all knowing, and he sees what we can truly become! Wow I love the savior, and I am so grateful for the beautiful setting and explanation of his life which we can read from James E Talmage.

Well, more about Tuvalu! I don't go until December 28, but from the pictures I have seen from Elder Key, I think I am going to paradise. I've heard that it is super hot there though, and I'm ok with that. It has been cold here in Eastern Fiji lately. It just rains so much everyday! We haven't had a hot day for a while, but I really enjoy the rain. There are 9 people waiting to be baptized in Tuvalu, and we get to baptized them in the ocean. Most people there don't speak english, and they all speak Tuvaluan which is like Samoan. Luckily, my companion already knows it, and I am going to learn it too. I don't know if we have to get special visas or anything. We don't use Fijian money there, we use Australian money. I don't think I'll ever get a chance to go back to Tuvalu after I serve there, because the flights to Tuvalu are really unpredictable and it is just very far away from anything. I'm really excited to go there because they have a gym and my companion Elder Key came back with a lot more muscle when he came back to Fiji. So here's to hoping!

I love you all so much! I miss you, but I wouldn't miss this work for anything in the world! I can really feel myself changing, and I'm sure I'll be different the next time we meet in person. Only a few more weeks and we get to call home!!! AAHHHH!!! I think if you could buy a calling card and send me the info that would be best, but I'll ask today and email about it next week. Happy Thanksgiving by the way! I almost forgot it was thanksgiving here because we didn't do anything that day except bike and get rained on!

Loloma, Tofa,

Elder Paul Hill

Tau Lofa

Ok the big news of the week is... I'm being transferred. Not only that, but I'm going to be away from Fiji for a little while. I'm going to Tuvalu! No this is not a joke, and I'm not lying. I am really going to Tuvalu and I will be learning Tuvaluan for the next few months. What the heck! I'm so excited and nervous! I'll mention more about that later, because so many things happened this week!

This week was seriously a really good week! The Lord blessed me so much this week! Elder Reddy was my companion for this last week again while Elder Forbes was companions with my new companion Elder Key. On Tuesday, We got to go to the Suva Fiji Temple. What a beautiful little temple! I felt so at home and at peace while I was in that temple. I just really felt the spirit of the Lord while I was there and it was so refreshing to just step out of the world which we still live in, even though we are missionaries, and to feel the spirit of the Lord and ponder on the love of the Saviour. I know the Saviour loves us so much! I am almost finished reading Jesus the Christ and it is such a remarkable book! The way James E Talmage explains and expounds the scriptures is truly amazing and makes me want to read all of his books when I return home from the mission.

Something else that happened this week is that Elder Reddy my companion was really sick. It was my turn to give back and nurse him back to help after I had my turn a few months ago. When I was sick two months ago, I determined if there was ever a sick missionary that needed their companion to go out into the field that I would take care of them. So that was my experience for the week, but he wouldn't listen to me when I told him just to drink stuff and he would eat too much food and then he'd puke again, I felt a little vindicated that I really did know what I was talking about... but I really wanted him to get better. He is feeling better this week though.

We still got to go and see plenty of people this week one of which is a woman named Rosie and her husband Salesh. Salesh is a taxi driver that has a problem with drinking, but he is a really good man. We went and visited them three times this week and one night Sister Rosie even made us dinner. It's really cool when we find people that seem genuinely interested, and it's always interesting to see what obstacles they face in accepting the gospel and getting baptized.

One day when we went to visit one family who hasn't been coming to church lately, it was really rainy. We were walking down these little cement paths and it was really slick. My companion, Elder Reddy, slipped a little bit and I said something like be careful. Then about 10 seconds later I slipped and fell right on my bottom getting my sulu, my shirt, and my backpack really dirty. I was laughing and so was Elder Reddy and he started calling me Elder Dekkna (Dekkna means be careful in Hindi). We went home and I just hosed clothes off and then had a shower.

So next week there are three baptisms in the Suva 3rd Ward: Sister Ram Pati, Sister Isabelle, and Chris. Of course, I am getting transferred right when our area is really blossoming, but I will accept the Lord's will. He knows what I need to make me stronger. I was really excited because Chris, a nine year old boy, wanted me to baptize him. Elder Forbes and I have been teaching him for like 2 months now. Something really sweet and funny about him is that he had no middle name. So his auntie, who is more like his mom, decided to combine mine and elder forbes's name for his middle name. His name will now be Chris Tirohanga Hill Mototabua. (Tirohanga is Elder Forbes's first name)

I will really miss this ward so much. Yesterday I kept joking with people saying "I'm the Elder that is going to Tuvalu." We knew someone was going to Tuvalu, but I really didn't think it would be me so I thought it was pretty funny. Until it came true... Elder Forbes was on the phone and he was like take a wild guess where you're going Elder Hill. I said "I'm not going anywhere, I'm staying here." Well four phone calls later and after hearing it from the zone leaders... it was confirmed that I really am going to go to Tuvalu.

I have worked with my new companion a lot before, because for the first week of my mission in Fiji, he was with me and Elder Forbes. His name is Elder Dyron Key. He is from Samoa and he is a really hard worker. He is a really good missionary so I am so excited to be his companion. He already knows Tuvaluan because it is a lot like Samoan. So He will help me a lot. He said there are nine baptisms waiting for us as soon as we get to Tuvalu. They are just a branch now, but hopefully they will grow to a good sized ward.

We won't be leaving for Tuvalu until December 28 or something like that, so I'll still be in Fiji for Christmas and then I won't be back in Fiji probably until the end of February, we'll see how it goes. I will still be able to email in Tuvalu and it is a pretty civilized place, so don't worry mom we will still be in touch.

Well I love all of you! Hopefully this random spurting of information still made sense. I'm just so excited and in a daze today! Wa hooo!!!

'Afu Atu (I don't know if that's Tuvaluan, but it's Tongan and Tuvaluan is like a mix of Tongan and Samoan),
Elder Paul Hill

Nov. 15, 2010

Fai'eksia! That is Rotuman for hello! There are so many languages in this area, I like that I can learn a little bit of everything while I'm here. It will be nice someday to go to an area where I can really use one language though, because right now it's english, english, english, with a little bit of Fijian and some Hindi. I hear that it is getting cold in Utah, and truth be told it's not too warm here today either. As we move into Fiji's Hurricane season, it is raining a lot of a lot. But don't worry too much about me because I am going to be safe, especially here in Suva. It was quite chilly last night, not that it's anywhere comparable in degrees to how it is there, but it is very cold because we don't have a heater or anything, but luckily I brought my fleece blanket.

I'm feeling quite good this week, it hasn't been perfect but I am feeling pretty good, at least for a little while. Hopefully, it stays or I'm going to consult my mission nurse. But I have a feeling I am going to be healthy for a long time now. I just need to exercise and drink plenty of water and I will be in tip top shape. It was good for me to be on exchanges with Elder Nelson in Lami (a small town like ten minutes outside Suva.) We went running and exercised hard the day I was there and it really made me want to step it up this week. It is always good to be with another missionary too, so that you can learn from how they do things. Elder Nelson was in the MTC with me and so we get along very well. I really enjoyed my time with him, and we got to speak quite a bit of Fijian in that area too. I hope that some day I get to serve in Lami, because it's a very nice place.

After that nice exchange, I came back to my area and we had two missionaries come and be with me and Elder Forbes. Elder Key is a samoan elder who we were with for the week of my mission and then he went to Tuvalu. He came back from Tuvalu but he can't get a flight back from Tuvalu until the 23rd of this month, so He's staying with us until that time. The other elder is Elder Reddy who is an indian from Fiji. He is going to Papua New Guinea but served in Fiji until his visa got approved to go there. This week his visa came in and he is just waiting until the PNG mission calls him to come.

On Thursday and Friday, I again was away from my real companion because he had leadership training. So Elder Reddy and I were joined by Elder Duncan from the Suva 1st ward and I was the "senior companion." It was really stressful to be in charge and to say what we had to do and it made me really appreciate Elder Forbes and all he does. We had quite a few appointments, and the nice thing is that Elder Reddy could explain what we said to the Indi Fijians in Hindi, which is always good, because they don't always understand in English, but they will say they do.

One really cool thing that happened was that we were teaching one of our investigators who is getting baptized soon, Sister Pati. We usually teach her in Fijian, and she understands hindi as well. Elder Reddy doesn't really know Fijian, and I really don't know Hindi, so I taught in Fijian and he taught in Hindi. It was amazing how the words just seemed to flow from my mouth about the things we had to teach her. Through the Holy Ghost I was able to remember the words I needed so I could teach her. And the strange thing was that even when Elder Reddy was teaching in Hindi, I could understand his words. Well, not each individual word, but the meaning so that we could teach in unity. It was an incredible experience! I was really happy that the Lord allowed me to experience that amazing gift that I never knew if I would experience, the gift of tongues.

Another really cool thing is that we have three investigators with a baptismal date and it's pretty much certain that it will happen. The work is going really well here in Suva 3rd.

Something strange that happened this week is that someone told me I sound like I'm from New Zealand, so watch out. I might sound funny when I call for Christmas, but it might take longer for it to happen than that.

The nice thing about Elder Reddy being my companion this week is that he is a super good cook. I'm ok, but this guy worked at some of the hotels in Fiji as a chef and all. He cooked curry for us and man it was good curry. He made Popo curry (Papaya) and Fish curry from some fresh fish we got from one of our recent converts. It was very nice to have him cook for us, and he would cook for me while Elder Forbes and Elder Key would go to the dinner appointments we had. I liked it a lot.

Elder Reddy has a really cool conversion story. He has only been a member for a year, and he is the only member of his family so far. He says that one day he was standing by an LDS church and some power just seemed to pull him into the church. He went in and it was general conference. The missionaries came over to him and talked to him and he started to learn the gospel. When he would take the lessons, his father didn't like it. His father would punch him and beat him after his lessons finished. He kept taking them though, every day almost, and within a month he was ready to be baptized. His father didn't like it, so he locked Elder Reddy in his room. He really wanted to be baptized though and so he broke through the window in his room and climbed out. He had to run away from the people in his village because they were chasing him to keep him from getting baptized. He swam across the river and hid in a sugar cane field. He then had to go to the hospital and get stitches before he was baptized. He then was baptized that day. He had to move out of his house and live on his own, but luckily he had work skills and was working at a restaurant. He saved up his money for a mission and now he is here. His family didn't write him for the first 4 months of his mission, but just last week he got a letter from his family telling him that they want to join the church and that they have thrown out all their idols and everything from Hinduism and that they are learning from the missionaries. They told him that when he comes back from his mission they want to meet him at the temple.

It was really cool to be with him this week! For being so short time in the gospel, he still knows a lot. I will miss him when he goes to PNG, but it will be nice to be with Elder Forbes again! He also taught me some Hindi, so hopefully I'll be able to use a little bit of that while I'm out here.

That's pretty much the highlights from this week!

I love you all! The church is absolutely the true church on the Earth, not only that but it is the church of Jesus Christ restored in its perfect form for the benefit of Heavenly Father's children. Heavenly Father loves us so much! I know he does! I know it! I am so grateful for the atonement in my life, that makes it possible for me to repent and to follow the example and the path that the savior has set for us.

Much Love, Loloma, Bohut Pyaar, Afu 'Atu,

Elder Paul Hill

This is Hill in the languages here. More to come!
Hill: Pahar (hindi), Delana (fijian), Baba (fijian), Mounga (tongan)