There is nowhere else I belong right now.
This is the time.
I have gone from a small wonderful branch in the beautiful bush land, to now covering 3 wards in the biggest city in all of Fiji!
SO MUCH TO TELL AND RELAY THIS WEEK! RICHEST LESSONS OF THE MISSION COMING UP!
... Pictures first...
Me and Elder Singh leaving the flat for the last time together.
Us at the bus stop.
When I was informed by President Layton that I was going to be leaving Lautoka after over 6 months of blood, sweat, and tears, joys, and eternal work and memories in this area, I was going to be moving now to Suva...
When I was informed, we were in a lesson, and it was another powerful moment of my mission where the Lord strengthened and magnified me and I submitted with all my being to His will.
This family came running out to me as I was leaving after giving them my departing gifts and last goodbyes, and they told me, "Elder Howard, that picture you drew of us just coming out of the Suva Temple, that will happen just as you drew it. We will all be standing the way you drew us, and this will really happen. This is our promise. We are going to be an eternal family! Don't worry. Thank you for everything!" I love them. I know that I came to Fiji for them. I know that they have a grand part in their Father's plan of joy! Families are meant to be forever! Let's live for our Father's greatest vision--we can reach the fullness of it!! SO LETS DO IT!!! Nothing but our own willing or unwilling heart could stop us--for we have the power of the Living Christ, which comes to us personally to lift us above all things if we'll connect ourselves to His Atonement.
In my 6 months in Lautoka, the burning West of Fiji, this family was one I gave my whole heart and effort and time to. I have watched them come pretty much from Hindu, newly knowing Christ, and now knowing their Savior fully and changing their lives through this message of the restored gospel. When I first came, they had many truly nearly impossible difficulties and problems, and they had separated as a family--and now EVERYTHING is changing. Through Baptism and living this restored gospel, I got to see them all together and happy and moving toward becoming ready for Exaltation and Eternal Life as a forever family. I have great love and hopes for these, my beloved and eternal friends. My heart will forever be wrapped around this family as if they were my own. I am so filled with joy and admiration for these AMAZING people! This family has great eternal things ahead of them. Kirti will serve a mission. She and her mother have a great vision and are daily moving forward in the Lord's kingdom. They know their Savior Jesus Christ and have embraced Him and His restored gospel. It has made all the difference in their lives, forever.
They are a living testimony of what this gospel can do to anyone, anyone who desires to reach the rich and enveloping fullness of how abundant and happy Heavenly Father desires we let Him reach us to. This message changes lives.
Christ changes us. If we change all that limits Him, to letting Him all the way in, He changes us all the way to our allness! (not a real word, I know, but it's a real thing I'm witnessing in the lives of these people who are giving all for their faith)
Above is me and Elder Singh and Raul on the way to teaching and celebrating with our dear friends in Koroipita.
A family home evening and a birthday.
This picture is one of our dear investigators named Satiish. He plays a small amazing wind piano! His family is transforming in every way and becoming eternal and giving all they are and have to the Lord. They are some of my most dearly beloved friends I've gained in my endless joys in Fiji. They will be in the Temple as an eternal and joyful family in just 1 year. Send your prayers their way, they feel the difference and you can make all the difference in their lives as you fuel them with your supportive love and prayers.
And below [editor's note: this picture apparently didn't attach] is us celebrating Keshni's birthday! I took a picture of everyone as they ate the cake--haha! My whole being is expanded in perfect pure happiness as I see these people choosing the richest riches of eternity, becoming a transformed eternal family and knowing and living daily with their personal and loving Savior Jesus Christ and letting Him carry them through all that is ahead.
I am at the happiest point of my mission. I have gone through SO much, and all the pain and refinement and trials have made me more joyful and useful and diverse and more depth in my vision and personality and passion. I haven't been negatively affected by anything in my mission. I have really grown those 4 things President shared with us last week. I am working on them as my whole mission focus for personal realization of all the Father expects of me.
I am so happy to say from my heart that I have no regrets from Lautoka! I can feel I pleased the Lord and grew so much and am accepted in what I have reaped upon His alter for His work through the West area. That I did all that the Lord wanted me to do, is the feeling I always want to leave areas assured of.
I served my companion daily and told him how much I love him daily and enjoyed and grew from his many strengths and our deep friendship. I love Elder Singh! I am so grateful for how much I learned from him and the friendship we have! I saw the most miracles so far in my mission, with him. I gained SOOO MUCH from him!!!
My new companion is pure. He is the most humble and tender and good-spirited, desirous and loving missionary I may have met my whole mission so far. He is so meek and so powerful. We hit it off perfect from moment number one! Each of my companions has become an eternal brother to me, whom I have been soooprivileged to serve with. We are fully bonded, me and Elder Luatua. He is remarkable in every way. He is OUTSTANDING in HINDI!!! I can tell you, he will be ready to teach and train in Hindi by the end of this transfer at this rate. I have never met anyone who asks such great questions and who is so down to earth teachable and pure and gentle and thoughtful. We are learning SO much from each other already!
We have sat down together and discussed our vision for the program here in Suva Hindi. We have both committed to each other that we will do 30 minute workouts each morning, we'll tell each other whenever we have promptings and then in perfect unity we will act on the promptings from the Holy Ghost we both receive together.
We feel strongly that there are at least 48 people that the Lord is able to reach us to becoming Saints in this area. We have committed to consecrate ourselves fully in every way so we can reach all of them.
We have committed to each other and the Lord exact obedience in the rules and in the standards and schedule. We have discussed this a lot, and know that since we are both committed to it and have learned the needed techniques and skills to be proactive enough to master our situations and plans, we will be keeping this commitment very happily and successfully.
The Lord has put two extremely happy and dedicated tools in one meshed focused powerhouse in the Lord's hand. We have set a high vision start for ourselves of 25 lessons per week. We can see who these people will be in 10 years if we give it our all NOW and hold nothing back, the harvest will overwhelm us in joy looking back. We aren't earning pillows by the end of every day, (I don't even have one, haha,) we are earning eternal satisfaction with our brothers and sisters the Lord has used us to save.
This is a picture of me at my new flat!!!
We are probably in the biggest area of the mission. When I received the call from President to move to Suva, I was led to believe that we would be covering the biggest area and that we would have no car and that we would have to walk, use buses, taxis, and that it rains every day here in the big city. When I arrived, the Lord surprised me by giving me the best companion I could have wished for, and by immediately making me the designated driver of a CAR! We are just smashing the work here! Things are just going so incredibly. The Lord is amazing! He has plans and unfolds them, one of our decisions of obedience at a time.
This family is the Daat family! They are our landlords who live in the bottom half of our house! They are AMAZING!! They have already become such strong and enjoyable friends. They have fed us twice already! They fed us dinner my first night and then breakfast this morning!! They are professional dancers and are such strong members of the church!
This is my companion!!! Elder Luatua!!! He plays the piano for multiple ward meetings every week--and now I will be too!!! We just click. We are the strongest of friends. We really are!! I am soooo excited about all that is before us now in this work!!! This is my 2nd companion from Australia!! He is from Brisbane! He is probably my favorite person I've met in the mission so far, in a lot of ways. I am soooo privileged to serve by his side in this most glorious work of eternity.
My first day in the wards here in Suva, I was privileged to perform a Baptism and a Confirmation! My first time setting foot on the grounds of these new wards, I baptized an amazing young boy and got to be the one to Confirm him a member of the church and witness him making the best and most influential decision of his eternity yet. I am bewildered and overwhelmed in awe!!! My companion performed a baptism as well the same day. The Sisters here do amazing missionary work!
Our wards are so big and have so many Hindi people!!! WOW!!! The chapels are more remarkable than even the ones I've seen in America!! I am astounded and in amazement at how beautiful this place is. We do get rain every day, and the traffic is just like Washington D.C. roads and traffic!!! i was prepared for this area, from before my mission! :) We are really having fun!
My Hindi is at a level I never imagined it ever could be. I am so humbled to see the gift of tongues and the gift of just never stopping putting one foot in front of the other, one step turns into hundreds of uphill miles bringing you to the most glorious peaks! KEEP WALKING
We have already faced a car break in and our immediate united reaction was instantly happy and amused and we turned the situation into 2 police officers knowing about the restored gospel and letting us come and teach them and their families soon! We are only positively affected, thanks to the Atonement, we are empowered beyond mortal abilities.
I feel the Lord shaping me to be a real man in my full spectrum of potential for all He's ever fully envisioned I become in this life, for future career, family, relationships, callings, service, leadership, learning, loving, forgiving, pressing forward, planning, and a hundred other skills.
AS to the car break in, it was at 2am and a gang threw a huge brick through our window and stole a backpack that had 3 restoration pamphlets and a baptismal jumper.
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