Joy is the Reward!

Today is the one year anniversary of Sister Narayan, who my companion and I found one day by listening to God's Spirit telling our hearts directly to walk up a path we never would have chosen, meet a woman who had been worshiping idols for near 70 years, taught her Christ, invited her to take up a new life in Him through this restored full Gospel of Christ through Baptism, she accepted that day and was Baptized the very next month!  She has come every week now for a year and is still strong.  She will be going to the Temple soon to be sealed for eternity and for ever with her dear late husband who she loves so much.  This is one of the sweetest things that has happened in my time on earth, to see this.  She received the gift of the Holy Ghost on her Birthday(tomorrow) a year ago.  And so, both her Birthdays are on the same day.  It is such a blessing to be miraculously set up here in a neighboring area of Fiji (Nadi next to Lautoka), and thanks to Elder Luatua my brother, and the Mission Leaders, he has set things up so that for her Birthday, I will be able to be with her briefly.  The Savior orchestrates it all!  I testify of that! 

We are working harder than we ever have in all my mission. About 20 souls here are committed to come unto Christ and step forward to the Temple in August here in the Nadi Hindi area!  No ounce of the heart can be held back when souls are on the line!

We have an amazing recent convert who used to be afraid to share her testimony, (to go in front of people and share what she knows to be true by the Holy Ghost).  She faced her fears and asked the Bishop to please let her share her testimony in Sacrament Meeting.  She did it!!! She is doing almost as much missionary work as a full-time missionary, she is all the way almost done with Alma now in the Book of Mormon! 

Every week, I teach a Hindi class in church.  Wonderful fun!  I won't be able to leave this language in my life.  

If I promised you a letter, I'm still working on it.  

Well, gotta go!  Love ya! 

Elder Howard

The Smallest Plane

Abundance Defined; Highest Journey of the Pure kind of Joy--Simple:

​Know Him enough to Trust Him enough to Shaped by Him 

To Be Given 100% to Him.

To follow Him.  Meaning, to be reconstructed from the inside; to make and keep the Covenants He invites all to make to Become Like Him. This path is Repentance.

I love the word 


"Repent."

Remembering the Savior  <Follow the Link

I am His witness before all men. As sure as from my eyes own witness and my hands own touch; I know from Him, that He is our Savior... and am beginning to just grasp the surface of all that means. Daily, through song, through word, through act, through letter, through listening ear, through heart breaking in prayer, through looking with eyes fixed on Him, through thoughtful honest repentance He sees I may give as gift to Him, through smile, through a warm response, through a prompting from Him heeded, my life is a fire He lit to spread not with an end.  

If your light is dim; you hunger for joy--the kind that's to the brim--the answer is 
 H         I         M  . 

My companion, Elder Hogge had to go to Australia for surgery.  Please pray for him.  I have been transferred from the North Islands in Labasa, to Nadi. I rode in a smaller plane than I have ever been in in my whole life.  I have again left behind those I love so much.  I am now with Elder Tony!  He is from the Islands of Kiribas and is teaching me the language there.  What a humble, pure, meek, spiritual giant!  He just finished training and is just what any Missionary would want in a companion. Our new flat has a lot of bedbugs.  We are working with 20 people here to get to Christ and the Temple and Exaltation with their families and Heavenly Father.  There is no better choice than Baptism.

"I write unto you all. And for this cause I write unto you, that ye may know that ye must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, yea, every soul who belongs to the whole human family of Adam; and ye must stand to be judged of your works, whether they be good or evil;

 "And also that ye may believe the gospel of Jesus Christ,which ye shall have among you; and also that the Jews, the covenant people of the Lord, shall have other witness besides him whom they saw and heard, that Jesus, whom they slew, was the very Christ and the very God.

  "And I would that I could persuade all ye ends of the earth to repent and prepare to stand before the judgment-seat of Christ." 

"By Way of Invitation" (Alma 5:62)  <Follow the Link

Desireth to follow the Voice of the Good Shepherd <Follow the Link

"Behold Jesus Christ has Shown You to me" <Follow the Link

90Challenge:Only Gifts that Keep On Giving

From the Beautiful Region of Savusavu, Fiji,

Bula Re!

We have been experiencing the greatest high Labasa has had our entire service here so far. Returning Members and Recent Converts are becoming Branch Missionaries, Sunday School Presidents, Referral Generators, Faithful Members ready for Christ's 2nd Coming.

 We have been fasting, reading the Consecrated Missionary talk daily(hanging on the wash mirror to be read every hour), sacrificing with our eyes fixed on the vision, practicing one minute trade off's in teaching, and working with the Branch very closely; and it has paid off.  

We have found 10+ Less Actives that now desire to go through full Re-Activation and go to the Temple.  We now have a goal with them: be sealed to their family in the Temple finally.  The whole families are finally coming back to church and aiming toward the Temple all together for the first time.   Teaching Christ's path and strength blessed to us possible through Atonement, is changing lives. 

We have 3 solid Baptismal Dates.  One wants to prepare to Serve a Mission as soon as possible as well.  August is also on fire.  Repentance is a real principle of power and promise.  As I feel it work daily first within, then outward, the whole world and everything in sight is swallowed up in light.    

Daily I wake up and after prayer, comp prayer, exercise, breakfast, I start Personal Study a bit early to write my testimony in 2 copies of the Book of Mormon, and I don't let the sun set on that day without giving the two out; as well as inviting at least one child of God to Baptism daily; 5 Golden Investigators newly met and begun on the path.  Those small and simple things I mentioned last email are breathing power into everything. 

As I write this, tears are in my eyes. Fire is pulsing, burning, consuming my heart.  I know who I am.  Absolute truth that can't be denied shines like rays of lightning out of my soul.  This is the heart of a Mission's result; the heart of the Missionary.  Live closer to the Spirit every day.

The more darkness, doubt, pain, heartache, destruction, sorrow, burdens fill this world, if we cleave unto Christ's Atonement like never before, then, the more light, power, joy, triumph, heaven's image in ones' own countenance, transformation, service to humanity, exaltation, faith, fulfillment, awareness, glory, pure love and the best gifts fill forever within, and the end result we set out to this world for the purpose of attaining... becomes not just "ours;" it becomes us.  We become in the perfect image of Christ, for ever more.

The level to which we live or die, fall or fly, shy or try, triumphantly overcome all things and attain all that the Father hath; join-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16-18; Revelations 2,) depends on the level to which we look to Christ and live.  You have some #1 priorities in life.  I would challenge you to change them in a painful way.  Overthrow the rulers of your life that are anything but full heart His in His hands.  That will take your heart and all you've got; but it will give you the heart He destines best for your eternal full potential.

 Heart of the Missionary. Live closer to the Spirit every day

A Dedicated Team Filled with Fire, Passion, Purpose, 
Labasa Hindi Companionship, Branch, and Elder,
Elder Howard

The Last Months

Hello!! 

Here's a short report (:
Things I have decided to do each day of my mission to form as a habit for the rest of my life:

Give away 2 copies of the Book of Mormon with my personal testimony written in the front
300 Press Ups/Day
Invite someone to Baptism, further an ordinance for someone's Eternity
Be able to say truly and completely at the end of the day, "I followed every prompting from the Holy Spirit."
Say all the prayers I can, on my knees

"Before you know it, your mission will be over and you will spend the rest of your life reflecting on this experience."  


Our area really is on fire!  We are enthusiastic about it, and the other day, we looked at each other and said, "It is promptings and the Holy Ghost, not us."  We both agree that these things are a gift from the Lord.  We are working as hard as we can.  


Elder Hogge's allergies make him my hero.  It takes so much energy away from him, but he's still exact in all things, giving his heart, humbly rising to each moment.  I love his example.  So much I am learning from him.  

A goal that is transforming the approach of the last sprint of Mission Time, is that I have committed to the Lord for the rest of my mission as long as there are copies of the Book of Mormon in my flat, I'll give away 2 per day with my personal hand written testimony in the front.

Thanks to that goal the Holy Ghost revealed to me, we have another Baptismal Date, we have an investigator who is already almost done with 2nd Nephi and loving it AND dragged us over to a fellow employee in the store and said, "please give my friend here one too!  Teach her also.  I can't put this book down.  I am addicted to it."  A pastor of another church now believes that this is the only true church, and we read all of 3 Nephi 11 with him.  He really felt the Spirit strong and is making the big decision whether he will give up his profession to follow this truth or not.  A Christian man who always cuts our hair was talking about how confusing it is how all the churches argue.  He warmly accepted the Book of Mormon and is very prepared for it!  A 17 year old young indian man just showed up at church, we made great friends with him right away, and he stayed for all 3 hours of church, loved the Book of Mormon we gave him, and is interested in coming every single week from now on! 

This has strengthened my vision for what a priceless tool Heaven has sent us!  We need to share it non-stop.  Flood each area, and the Lord seems to kind of do the rest.  We just need to PROCLAIM.  That has become my favorite word this week. 

"People just need to know what they need to do.  No one can tell that to them but us.  We just have to say it!  We have to proclaim"  Elder Hogge said this, and it was alike a paradigm shift for me.  He's so right!  That's  our focus now and it is making all the difference.

We were only able to proselyte 4 days this week because of the boil.  Now it is all gone.  We are looking forward to showing the Lord our gratitude for the Atonement by how Consecrated we choose to unitedly be this week.  I am ready to focus.

I commit that I will give my Best effort to match the "Consecrated Missionary" in all aspects.  

Wonderful, amazing people are going to be Baptized this month! One,  She went to the Temple with her son and prayed there if all this is true.  She wants to go next month to the Temple to be sealed to her husband and children!!! This is a dream come true for them.  It has reinforced my testimony that all we need to do is Be Consecrated in "not letting any of His words fall to the ground," act on this moment's prompting from the Holy Ghost.  All good success follows for others we serve on His behalf. 

Looking in the mirror the other day, I could truly say, "I am a different person than I was."  This is proof of the Atonement that is the highest treasure.

What I value has been consolidated to what The Lord values most. 

My boil is all better!  

This is all the time I have. 

Love, Elder Howard