You ARE Eternity Changing

बुला विनका !

How are YOU?

Written in my Journal from the last 19 minutes being 19 the day before my Birthday: "It is a very prayerful moment.  A special stepping stone; milestone of millennia it took me to travel forward thus far.  I am now to focus and rise and put away all that isn't fully Christ. For i am now 20.  An age of greatness, service, solidifying and building what will determine every year after in my life and posterities lives that will ever happen.  The next 20 years, like the past 20, are in my Father's hands.  This marks the greatest chapter of my life yet."

My teen years are forever behind me.  20 Years Old as of the 27th.  It is a new dawn, the best and grandest chapter of the book of my life yet written, because these chapters are ALL about Christ. Nothing can or will ever be the same.  I am ready for all adulthood, and am fully undaunted by the mission I have to fulfill in this life. I am empowered.

Just Some Highlights of the Week:
Gave away literally 1000's of invites to the Temple

Taking literally 100 people through the Temple

I finished training with Elder Datoon, and got transferred and now have a new Companion

I am now District Leader of a very large district of 8 Elders

Have arrived at a beautiful vista in the mission, seeing about 30 children of God who have been able to be Baptized through the Lord's working through me in not even 2 years of the mission yet, and watching them all having come back to the Savior Jesus Christ and make their families more prepared for Eternal Joy in this life and Eternal Life and Exaltation in the life to come... it hasn't been an easy 15 months, but it has been the ultimate joy and highest life experience I could imagine at this point for my time on earth.

(I took this photo after having gone through the Temple for the 6th time with some of the people I love the very most in Fiji. These ARE the most special days of my life yet.)

​I spent my 20th Birthday at the Suva Fiji Temple, BRINGING more than 20 PEOPLE to the Temple.  It was the best Birthday I could have wished for.  On that special day, Riznal had his Baptismal Interview and was finally after over a year of working and praying and hoping and not giving up, he is finally able to be Baptized!  And I found that out on my Birthday!  While in the Temple in a tour with Asmin, Junior, Nafisha and Ansh, I sat down in the Celestial Room of the Temple, and it was one of the most profound and warm moments of my life.  I had a conversation with Heavenly Father in His holy house where He prophesied some very amazing blessings about my future and about my family. No gift could top the gifts that God has personally given me through the Temple.  I know that God wants you and your family there. I can testify that, even before it has been Dedicated and set apart by the living Prophet on earth, the Temple is the House of the Lord even now while it is just open for public tours.  As we go there, holiness overrules and reshapes our very nature, and we are welded in unity to our Savior Jesus Christ who is the Author of everything good in your life.  We need to be in the Temple.  I testify that the work of eternity is real.  In Temples really truly is where Eternity meets Eternity.  I have watched miracles happen right before my very eyes as people of other faiths or beloved Recent Converts have gone through the Temple with me.  One family walked into the Temple and when they got to the part of the tour about eternal family and eternal marriage, they felt the spirit of our loving heavenly Father just envelop them, and they actually stepped forward and knelt at the alter and looked into the mirrors of eternity that really have no end in either direction in that beautiful sacred room, and the husband said, "It is time for us to move forward, as a family."  They weren't members.  This story is the kind of special miracles that are happening every day here in the Fiji Suva Mission right now.  We have stopped focusing on teaching people for the time being, just so we can get the entire nation through the House of the Lord, His Holy Temple.  These free tours are more powerful than weeks of lessons with those investigating the church.  I feel so privileged to be a part of this miracle.

February 20th it will be broadcast worldwide.  If you are on the East Coast USA, it will start 10PM Friday the 19th.  The world can watch this Historic event. I will be participating.  All the Missionaries in the Entire Nation of Fiji will be on the field for part of this special national Temple Opening Celebration. 

​Almost all of the people I have been able to see come into the church through my mission, were able to go through the Temple with me.  It was one of the sweetest moments I had always wished for when I traveled there with them and heard them make earnest comments like, "I can't wait to serve my own mission."  "I promise myself that that is where I will be married."  "I promised God in my heart that I will come back to this place."  "My family should be baptized too, so they can be eternally happy, eternal family."  "I am coming again!"  "I can't imagine what my life would be like if this Gospel had never come into my life." "Can I come and do the work for my ancestors who never had the opportunity I had, to receive this message and gospel of joy? I want to do their work."  "I can't walk nicely, but, when I come here, I know it is my Father's house, so I won't be using a wheel chair when I come back.  He will take me through His house. I know He can do miracles." "This was the most special day of my life."  "Wow!  Look at it!  It is so beautiful!"  "I felt so good inside." "You brought us here."  "God has worked miracles in our lives." "We can't wait, we are just going to go right now!" and "Elder Howard, we're here together.  Think back to the first day we met, and now we're all at the Temple."

This was my last day with Elder Datoon as my companion!  In Mission Terminology, as a trainer, he is called my trainee or "son."  And I am so proud of him!  He is now leading the area I got transferred out of.  Leading 2 wards and a huge area with 15 Baptismal Dates and much to stay on top of.  He has risen to the task.  His Hindi and his abilities in the mission have just blossomed.  I love him.  Having him as my companion was a main highlight of these 2 years.  He is going forward now and doing great things. His new companion is a good friend of mine, Elder Halbert.

This is my new companion, Elder Mo'uga.  It turns out he and I were kind of almost neighbors as kids!  We were born in neighboring cities.  He is just a couple years younger than me, but his is very tall.  He is Samoan, from Utah.  He is so much like one of the best friends I've ever had--Brandon Agre(who is now serving a full-time mission in Chicago Spanish Speaking)--and has all my favorite qualities in a person I could wish for.  He is so pure and humble and willing and funny and we are always smiling and laughing about something.  He was my trainee's companion in the MTC.  He and Elder Datoon had been companions before.

My new area is my old area.  Nasinu 2nd Ward, Hindi.  All my mission (except for when I was in training,) I have been responsible for either 2 or 3 entire wards, and had to balance and juggle non-stop.   While I was doing that with Suva 1st, 3rd, and Nasinu 2nd, I enjoyed working in Nasinu.  But now I am blessed to be able to give it my full attention!  I finally only have one ward.  It has become my favorite area in unique ways.  Each area is so beloved to me and my heart is in each area, but there really is something special about Nasinu.  When I arrived into the new flat with my wonderful new missionary companion, by my request, he gave me a Priesthood Blessing.  Many things were promised and prophesied in that blessing that have just filled me with strength and vision and promise for all that is to happen in my time in this area.  I AM HAVING FUN. Wow!  It is such a unique and sacred privilege to be allowed to go back to one of the areas in the mission where you have already served--for now, I can experience being with my recent converts over there that I have grown to love just as if they were real family.  I know the Lord has great purposes in all He does. It has only been a few days in my new area, and I already see exactly how this area needed me and I needed this area.  It is perfect!

Rachel and Shaun.  We taught and Baptized them many months ago.  It is such a joy and a miracle to be WITH them now, to see how far they've come and help them go further.  They loved the Temple.  I am beside myself thinking how richly the Lord blesses us as we just trust His path and be willing to press forward whatever the next step be.

This is a family that we are privileged to be working with.  They are a miracle!  They want to be sealed as a family for time and all eternity in the Temple after they are soon Baptized and then prepare themselves.  Going through the Temple with them was a good experience. 

I celebrated my Birthday with this girl and her family.  This is a family I will come back to Fiji to visit after my mission.  This little girl's name is Kushi--meaning "Happy" in Hindi.  So, we wanted to celebrate our birthdays together because we share the same personality and name and funniness.  We sang, prayed, laughed, and had the best time with this family on the night of my birthday in Fiji. This is the Kumar family.  As we have built a deep relationship with this wonderful, beloved family, Brother Kumar the father of the family, has become the Chapel building representative and their family has just transformed.  I am so proud to have known them.  There is nothing like serving a mission.  That's why I'm going to do it for eternity.  I am an eternal Missionary--a true and everlasting Disciple of Jesus Christ the Son of God.  I have been called of Him, to declare His word among His people that they might have everlasting life. 

This is Ansh.  We celebrated his birthday as well.  He is a miracle.  Everyone thought he wouldn't survive, and we were all praying for him.  But now, his surgery cut across his stomach is fully healed up and just a scar!  He is Baptized and stuck with nothing but a smile on his face every day!  He is building his life around becoming a missionary, and going to the Temple and being like Jesus Christ by reading the scriptures every day and becoming more and more happy and kind and Christ like each day. 

2016 Determines All My Years to Come

Hello!  I do miss you and am so grateful to hear from you when you respond.  You mean a lot to me, and I know the Lord's got great things planned out for you--especially directly ahead of you!  I hope what is shared in this email may have good relevance to a piece of that Plan God's got for leading you and I to the next steps of our Progress toward becoming even as He is, and living the fullness of joy He designed this life to afford us if we'll rise up and shape something amazing out of our lives.

I have been doing a lot of reflecting back on my journals lately.  It is amazing to relive the past year and see how constant the Lord is in our daily life.  He never changes.

"Wherever your focus goes, Your energy flows"
A good question to ask yourself in the dawn hours of your day, is, "How can people see Christ in my actions today?"  And then build your day to fulfill what the Lord whispers you can do to shape your day to that.
Write down at night "SLB"  what would be Satisfying to Look Back on?  I use it to say, by the end of the following day, it would be satisfying to look back and say "I did this"  and that way you can productively use the whole day to make it satisfying to look back on, and fulfilling to live in the moment.

Elder Datoon had his week 11!  He did excellent! Week 11 is when a new missionary takes the lead in everything, and I step back so they can grow and learn first hand. His humility and shapability built and caused his growth, success, and enhanced capability.  It was full of miracles.  He always said, "I made mistakes, and I learned from them." His mistakes where so gracefully handled.  He really rose to the occasion.  I have seen his countenance change and his capability blossom!  I can just report simply, that I am proud of him.  He is so exact and dependable and meek, humble, cheerful, helpful, able to rise and take charge of a situation, make tough decisions, and make the work happen smoothly!  Our Baptismal Dates have made huge steps in progress such as committing as families to go the full journey together in supporting one another as a family unit to Baptism and then the Temple, going to church, getting serious about lessons, coming to functions outside of just Sacrament Meeting, etc.  This was a good week!

Elder Luatua coming was a surprise for sure.  One day, the Assistants to the President just called us and said, "Hey, your companion from Labasa is coming back for dental work and we're dropping him at your place for the next week."  But, oh how we enjoy being together.  He has given such wonderful insights, support, comments, strength and energy to our work while he has been here.  He even organized some of our stuff in our flat, just because he wanted to be a blessing and not a burden.  Seeing growth and changes in those I love most, is my favorite part of the mission.  The Lord blesses my best friends, to just grow more dear to me each time we meet.  The friends you gain on the mission being the ones you will take with you forward in life down the road.

1) Elder Datoon had a phenomenal week 11!   He just conquered it completely!  He took the teaching, delegating, decision making, leading, oyming, calling people, confirming, and everything!  Never have I seen a more productive and well-handled week 11 Missionary. 

2) Elder Luatua came!

3) In Sacrament Meeting, the talks were all so perfectly geared to meeting my personal needs and lifting my heart... and it made me stop and look up and realize, "Wait, I need to be looking around at who is hurting more than I am.  The Lord has me where He has me because people around me need Him, not so my needs can be met."  And so, out of my tears I looked at everyone's faces and could read on their faces the story of their week. (Because my companion and I were blessing the Sacrament, we had a nice front-view of every individual.) 
Who came with a broken heart needing someone to reach out to them and speak a kind word? I sought the Spirit and it told me "This person needs this kind word," "This person had this hard thing happen in their week; go and do ____ to help them feel the Savior's love and care heal them,"  "Look at that person's face.  Go and caringly ask if they are okay, and then make them smile and feel loved and important."  Things like that.  I know that the Lord has people around us, who have heavier burdens than us--and our job is to be angels. 

4) Gave out 2,000 Temple Invitations this week!  Our Bishop stationed us at a major Shopping Center he manages, and we just had a blast giving them out!  We also handed them out with the Family History Pass along cards. 

5) Met the neighbor of one of our investigators in one of the settlements we work with, who, as we were walking past, we'd seen him just laying there doing nothing.  We passed him and then the Spirit had called me back to talk to him.  We both went to see what the Lord had planned for this man.  We sparked up a warm and friendly conversation, and were instant best friends with this dear man.  He said he was just sitting there, waiting.  We came along, and in 15 minutes, he, though a Hindu, felt the Spirit very strongly as we shared about the Temple and Families and the Restoration.  He expressed that he believed this was God answering him, and when we shared about Christ's Baptism and the blessings of Baptism, he eagerly expressed that is what he wants!  Light filled his countenance and he eagerly accepted the date we offered him. He immediately began reading some of the material we gave him, and is looking forward to going with us to the Temple this week.  Miracles are waiting, if we'll just not wait when we get a prompting.   I think that is the key to our Year of Miracles.  One Prompting at a Time. I am so grateful it really is that 'small and simple.' Any missionary can manage one prompting at a time.  And what a year it will be if we can just do that continuously.

6) Our neighbors renting in the flat above us at our house, have a bit of a language barrier with Elder Datoon and I, so we haven't been sharing the Gospel with them as much--just being kind neighbors and positive contacts.  But, when Elder Luatua showed up, we realized he speaks the same language as them from back in his homeland of Samoa!  He played with the kids and made a connection and broke down walls to their hearts and invited them all to church!  They are going to come to church with us to Suva 1st next week! I count that as a miracle, that Elder Luatua's teeth had problems when they did and that the Lord knew just where to send His beloved son during the ordeal.

7) We were finishing up splits one evening, and needed to get from a far away settlement to the Chapel to meet Elder Datoon and Elder Luatua.  The member I was with and myself, said a little prayer in our hearts and did everything on our side of the planning and working to get where we needed to be--but there was one very long road before any taxies could be caught to take us to the Chapel.  Just after saying a little prayer, we saw a taxi hurdling down the road right to us.  Surprisingly, he had no passengers and was just ready to pick us up right there on the spot!  What a tender mercy!

8) Elder Datoon gave me a blessing and it perfectly spoke to the needs of my heart and lifted my burdens.  Elder Datoon is a worthy Priesthood holder indeed.  What strength we hold as a united team!

9) Our Baptismal Date, Riznal.  He is going to be Baptized this Saturday.  As we were going through the Baptismal Interview, his best friend just happened to be walking past his house.  (This is Ansh, the one who was just Baptized.) We looked out at just the right time as he was passing, and we called him in.  He came in and this little boy of 9 years old, just started perfectly and beautifully teaching his friend the questions!  They would even role play together.  It was a miracle!  This little boy and his friend are the perfect example of the Lord sending just who you need when you need them.  They are a huge support to each other on this gospel path.  We thought it was amazing the way the Lord worked through our little wonderful recent convert. 

10) The Miracle of looking back and stepping forward! It is a miracle that I have gotten to where I now am on my mission!  Elder Datoon has been requesting I read through all my journals with him about what I was doing a year ago today. It is so amazing to think back on all the tremendously vast miles we've traveled now.  Elder Nawahine and I used to say and do things together, that now my son and I say and do together.  The roles are full switched!  Time flies.  The miracles is seeing my own son, become such a perfect missionary.  I am so proud of him and love him with all my heart.  President, it has been the greatest honor of my mission to train.  I think of him as my own son, and love and nourish him so.  Training is the greatest joy of a mission. Thank you for such a sacred and serious trust.  Elder Datoon's training and growth satisfies me and makes me see it never was me training him; it was the Lord using me as a tool to train His own son, in this the most critically crucial stage of his development in life.

To Save & Throne Kings and Queens

Namaste!  I apologize for not sending an email last week.  I was caught up in a lot of work and responsibilities I guess I'm still learning how to properly balance.  There has never been a more busy, more golden, more exciting or more miraculous time in this Nation and this Mission, than NOW.  We have so much to do, and it is pure joy to be swallowed up in nothing but doing it!

What is my mission in life?  Projection for seeking out and saving 30 -100 children of out beloved, eternal, Everlasting and Almighty Father. Children of God have His potential and light and glory inside of them.  We were all sent to earth to succeed gloriously and earn an eternity of greater blessings than our grandest expectations could fathom. My Mission really is to Save, Free and Throne the Kings and Queens taken captive and brainwashed and cheated by the Adversary.  These people who have fallen or been lost or stolen away into the deepest abyss of darkness.  Children of God that are searching for Him.  Searching for their True Identity.  Feeling in their hearts, that there is more inside of them than meets the eye or meets the world's view of them.  Divine eternal beings, destined to be joint-heirs with Christ and the Father in all the eternities to come, if they would but come unto Christ.  I am no storybook.  That actually really is my calling.  That is all our callings.  We have to wake all the way up.

Heavenly Father stands ready to tell you your purpose and enable you to fulfill and magnify it.  Seek Him.  He is ready to be found.

This is part of the view from the Suva Fiji Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
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January!  It is a very special month.  This month, my District has had and will have 7  complete miracle Baptisms, and families being saved and changed and transformed.  January is just full of Miracles!  Just as the year has started, we are making sure the whole year will shape up to be just as full of non-stop miracles.

We are passing out literally 100's of 1000's of invitations for the Temple Open House this month!  The whole Nation is aware.  Hundreds of thousands of people will be pouring through the Temple for 2 full weeks!

Every week for the rest of this year, I hope to have 10 miracles written for each week, and some selections from those to report to you as the year goes by. This will be one way I show the Lord "I Expect Miracles" every week of this year. Nothing from me will stop Him at all this year. Only His will is in my heart and hopes, motives, and aspirations. I hope to have accumulated around 400+ specific, reportable, recorded miracles before my Mission closes here in this Full-Time window I have remaining.

 Here is the first of it's kind, for my remaining 40+ emails I will report up to you, before my full-time mission cuts off: 

1) A boy who had previously not been allowed by his parents to be Baptized, is now allowed.  This family is so dear to me.  They mean so much to me and I have been blessed to be working with them for almost 6 months now.  The Lord has prepared all our hearts and all the path ahead so that things can finally come together just before I leave this area.
2) Going through our day, we were meeting all our investigators and they were surprising us by just suddenly being busy.  Because of that, we came to a lesson at a perfect time and in a perfect way to meet someone's specific needs.  I know that the Lord arranges the details of everything just to show us He is in control to meet His children's pleading needs.

3) Our Area! We are booming!  One of our areas of greatest strength is just our immediate neighbors!  We are now to the point where we can spend an entire day just teaching all our beloved Hindi neighbors!  We make instant connections with absolutely everybody we meet, and the work is soaring because of it.  Our area is an excellent area.  We have worked according to your guidelines and see the fruit of it.  Thank you, President!

4) Met Paras.  This man doesn't have a voice.  He has a hole in his neck.  Now, people avoid him and turn away from him when he passes them on the street.  We were walking past him as we were heading out one day, and we warmly approached him with love and smiles.  He is our neighbor and we set up to meet him.  WOW!  He instantly became one of my top favorite investigators of my mission.   He is the most pure, Christlike and desirous and childlike.  So pure.  He fed us one of the humblest and yet kingly meals I may have eaten in my entire mission.  He wants to come to church and he wants to be Baptized.  He's a hard worker and loves our lessons.  No one is a no one to the Holy One.  We just imagine what it would have been like had we not talked to this man.  We don't miss any of the opportunities the Lord puts in our paths.  We try to seize them all. This man has been saved thanks to that.

5) Saleshni's Testimony of The Book of Mormon. She can't read, but she has her son read with her.  She prayed and knows firmly for herself that our whole message and church is true based on her testimony of the Book of Mormon from the Holy Ghost.  She continues to stand firm despite all the pressures and trials she faces.  She is undergoing a tremendous life-style shift.  The Savior is molding her heart and we are inspired every day by watching the process take place in her family's lives.

6) Ansh Survived!  He is our Baptismal Date, and his Appendix burst.  He had to be emergency rushed to the Hospital and given direct surgery.  We informed Bishop Solanki and he took some Priesthood holders with him and they visited Anj at the drop of a hat and gave him a wonderful blessing. Saleshni isn't married to Anj's father and they don't stay together.  Saleshni is fully keeping the Law of Chastity.  But, Anj's father is supposed to pay child's support and doesn't.  He wants to kill the children so he won't have to pay child's support or keep being dragged to court.  He was threatening to do this while Anj was in the Hospital.  We were at Saleshni's house with her as she cried and dramatically explained the whole situation to us.  We were prompted to get on our knees right then and there and command angels to protect Anj and soften the murderous heart of that man.  He has no ties to the family except having fathered the children.  Anj was okay and he and his mom read the Book of Mormon together every day in the Hospital and he was released on his mom's birthday and got to go home and is now recovering very swiftly!  So far not even his healing seems to be a barrier on his ability to be Baptized this Saturday.  We'll keep you posted and know for sure this week.

One day he (the father,) too will accept the Gospel.  I believe that.

7) Vick! There was a woman we were referred to by a member here, and she had told us that she was really interested and just that her husband was closed and Buddhist so she had to follow him.  Well, this week we ran into him on the street and he told us he wants to be close to God and come to our church and was VERY excited when we gave him the Temple Open House card.  He wants to come!  The wife is very happy and we will be working with them in the coming weeks.  Angels are preparing the hearts of men in our land!

8) Sister Afulao was healed! Sister Afualo got really sick all of a sudden and was cold, aching and sleepless.  We called the Zone Leaders and went over and all blessed her.  She asked if I would give the blessing.  Through that blessing I was told to command her to be made well and the next morning she was feeling well and fine.  She was able to then be in great shape to minister to her companion, Sister Baki, when she then fell ill just a day after.  Sister Baki is recovering.  She is very ill.  I sent the Zone Leaders and they kindly gave her a blessing.

9) Transportation from Heaven.  When we need to get somewhere far fast, the Lord happens to send us a member who is going the same way in a Taxi who pulls it over to give us a lift as well, or when we are in Suva 1st Ward, someone warmly says they were free and able and want to drive us to the Baptism all the way in Suva 3rd ward.  It has been amazing to watch how no matter what it is, if we just take it all one step at a time and do all the Lord requires on our side in planning and such, He ALWAYS provides all His servants need to carry out His will for them.

10) Ponderizing. It not only benefits me, but, also I am benefited to hear or see other Missionaries doing it.  Their scriptures impact me when I see them in their flats or vans or epistalic lives.  I am so glad you have heeded the Father's directive to use this theme as a focus for 2016.  It is inspired and will change this mission forever.  I was ponderizing Acts 2:37-38.  I gained from this that we have 2 jobs as missionaries: 1) Prick people in their hearts through the Holy Ghost[create the atmosphere for it to do so in them], and then, 2) speak up by the holy Ghost in giving an inspired commitment the minute their heart IS pricked.  The fruit of feeling the Spirit truly, is the desire to take action to improve.  Investigators' feet want to move once they hit step 1), so then all we have to do is direct their feet through inspired COMMITMENTS(:
As well, on Sunday as I was taking the Sacrament and reflecting on the mercy and kindness of my Savior, and how I am doing in my keeping of Covenants I have made with Him, I was touched by a question like, "What is True Greatness?" and what does the Lord want me to become?  Then, in Sunday School, we were given our Howard W Hunter lesson books and I was prompted to go to the Table of contents and my eye fell on an entire chapter entitled "True Greatness."  Wow!  The Lord speaks directly!  I am now studying that.  Ponderizing is powerful when done under the direction of the Holy Ghost. 

11) Elder Datoon confidently began week 11, and is leading everything. In the mission here, when a new Missionary comes into the mission, they get a trainer and begin a 12 Week Training program led by the Trainer.  My trainee has gone through 10 weeks now, and on the 11th week, they are now leading everything and taking full charge and handling all that comes up.  Time has really flown!   We started off the week by finding out about a Baptismal Service he will also be in charge of.

12) We prayed for help in getting all our Temple Invitations out, and right after that prayer, we were able to give out 50 just following that prayer!
13) The wife and daughter of one of our Baptismal Dates both are now following the Savior's example, and that of their father's to be Baptized!  We were so excited to see the change of heart that took place in their hearts from attending one of our Baptisms.
14) Ansh's doctors said he could go in the water.  He had surgery for appendicitis just before his Baptism, but through a Priesthood Blessing was healed and jumping around all recovered.  He was happier than anyone I've seen enter the waters of Baptism.  That was a miracle of my mission I shall never forget.   
15) 36 people came and attended our Baptism this Saturday!  We arranged for pens and papers to be passed around, and they all wrote to our investigators being Baptized.  They kept these many many papers of love and testimony and welcome and put them on their fridge at home.

16) Junior called excitedly one morning and shared with us that he got all his family history information done at the FHCenter and is ready to do their Temple work.  He shared with me, "Elder Howard, sometimes I just sit and really think, where would I be and who would I be if you had never brought this gospel to my family.  Now, one day I will serve my own mission and change people's lives the way you changed mine, and they'll say the same of me.  Thank you for saving me and my family.  You are the angel that saved my family."  Those words went to my soul.  I know he will be an angel to hundreds who await him.  I know the Lord loves that family.  They are my inspiration!  I have watched them become extraordinary!  This made me feel so humble and full of thanks to Heavenly Father for helping us find eachother.

17) Elder Datoon leading lessons and pushing in Hindi has led to miracles.  We went to one lesson in particular where the woman's needs were perfectly met and she was crying and testified God sent us because He knew she was having these problems.  It is so satisfying to see what my companion is able to do now and the growth he continues to gain.

This is Ansh Prakash!  He just had emergency surgery and almost died only a little over a week ago.  He was given Priesthood Blessings and is now recovered and jumping around and got Baptized and received the Gift of the Holy Ghost!  He and his family are one of the biggest and most precious miracles of my mission. This picture was taken just right after he was finally Baptized.  He has been ready and wanting to be Baptized for months and months now.  And this week, it finally happened.  I was blessed to be able to enter the water with this, my best little brother, and take this eternal step with him. 

If you have any comments or congratulations or words to give him, email me and I will show them to him!  It would mean everything to this little boy if you shared something encouraging and expressing your enthusiasm for this miracle that allowed him to follow the Savior Jesus Christ against all mortal odds.  

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Something I have gained over the course of my mission:

"Powerful Goal Making Formula"

1) Know the Concern to be Resolved/Change Need to Make

example: stop scratching mosquito bites

2) Your Motives

Negatives (What you'd miss out on) ... List on

Positives  (What you would gain) ... List on

Covenants, etc

3) Calendar (Time-Frame) checkpoints and deadlines for re-evaluation and re-assesments and reminders

4) Resources we have: ex. companion, reminder notes, prayer, planner, etc  ... List on

5) People I Make Myself Accountable to: 

Self, the Lord, Comp, Leaders, etc.

6) How I am Committed to Start it Right Now:

...More to come next week

No Head ;) * 8 Meals

THIS WAS THE BEST CHRISTMAS SEASON THAT EVER HAPPENED IN FIJI. 

And it was my last Christmas in Fiji.

​(Note: Absolutely no photo-shopping, Eagle Scout's Honor ^_^. Just the Spirit of the Season bursting out of me ... can't be contained.)

I have soooo much to share... wow... I have like 3 lifetime's worth of incredible experiences to share with you, and like 3 minutes left to email for this week.  I will just make sure to send you the photos and go from there as best I can.

This was a Happy Blue Christmas!

16 Missionaries had a sleep over and games together and then in the morning we all sang Christmas songs together and had a powerful and very spirit-filled devotional where we all read the Christmas story together and had an inspiring testimony meeting and then a breakfast we all shared together.  Then we went all over the city trying to get my Christmas presents out to everyone we love...which is everyone... literally.  My companion and I each spent time by ourselves, privately in our home and just quietly spent personal time with Jesus Christ, pondering all He has done for us.  In the conversation with Him on Christmas, I received wonderful gifts of peace and hope for all He yet has in store for me and all that is ahead for me and Him to accomplish together.  I am so grateful for that sacred time we made to just be with the Savior on His holy and happy, enriching and enlivening day!  We then walked all the way across town and had a wonderful lunch with a member, and sang every Christmas song in the entire Hymnbook while we happily and contentedly waited for her to finish cooking.  We laughed and shared testimonies and then ate and ate and ate!  And then we had meals surprise-pre-prepared for us everywhere we went the whole day!  We had lunch also at Asmin's house!  We had the best Christmas as we looked inside their house and saw how drastically everything has changed!  It was their first Christmas ever!! Last Christmas, they didn't celebrate because they were Muslim.  Heavenly Father had great plans for them.  They are transforming the lives of every person they are in contact with.  They are a huge influence on their little community of friends, and everyone is strengthened by them.  They are so excitedly preparing for the Temple and for their own Missions.  We then had dinner at the Whippy house... probably the fanciest house I've been in in Fiji.  It was really something.  But ultimately, nothing topped just being with the Savior on Christmas.  And the next day I got to be with my entire immediate family and nieces and nephews and siblings' in-laws!  You are all the best!

It was another bush Christmas!  Ayrrg!!!  Manjula, who was Baptized in October, gave us these as a Christmas present, from her own tree!  You can't imagine how much better Fiji bananas taste compared to American bananas!

 This was at the Stake President's house.  The Varea's!  They are from Rotuma, and are one of my favorite families in Fiji as you might already know.  If I get transferred out of this area next transfer there are definitely a lot of families I am going to take with me from this area to wherever I go next.

These are centipedes!  They can get really big and bite way painfully and can actually make you go numb and limp where they bite.  They wander all the way through our house into my companion's laundry.  When life gives you something scary, turn that scary thing it gives you into your mustache!  *You can quote me on that one*

This was our Zone Party.  I drew the whiteboard design.  Surprisingly, we actually all did get sleep that night.  We had a very productive day the next morning.  We have the best zone

My District had 3 Christmas Parties I organized and planned.  One of which was in a home-made iglu!  These pictures where after we took the iglu down.  I will send you some of the actual iglu as well.

To enter, all you could see at first was the entrance tunnel to the igloo (the nursery room in one of our chapels).  Then you get in and there are walls and sheets and 2 Christmas trees and food and presents and stuffed animals and too much fun.  We all crawled in and had District Meeting in there together!

Here was another one of the parties I organized for our District!  We all contributed to a wonderful Christmas feast and fun!

The last photo here was where the Alldredges had us over for dinner.  I haven't felt or seen a real comfy area rug in ages!  I just went right on it and melted.  They also gave me a candle just like the ones family and I always have back home!

This was a home-made Manger Scene that one of my most beloved families in this area (the Kumar family,) made.  

This was when our power went out after Christmas and we had Candle fun for the first time in this area.  We had a power outage around this time last year also.

Our District is just THRIVING!  Everyone in the District has daily contact with me and we all had the Merriest Christmas together.  They just call me up and say what happened to them that day and how the work is going and share openly.  Simple and meaningful.  We all love being around each other.  We consider one another a family, more than we think of it as-or feel we are-a District.   We had the best Christmas together!  I made sure everyone in our District could truly say, that this Christmas was their best yet, and one to remember for a lifetime.

We made Videos for our Investigators who were home-bound and lonely or in pain this Christmas.  We sang for them and shared our individual testimonies and words of love and cheer and comfort.  These videos were very meaningful and the love has touched the people we are working with, deeply. 

We had a great Christmas week!  We plan everything well a week in advance now, so, we were still able to have some great Member Presents and still have 20 lessons despite the huge struggle of Christmas time.  All of our Baptismal Dates and people that had Baptismal Dates but have pushed them back because they are trying to fully overcome Word of Wisdom problems, are doing well and we are pleased with the privilege of being able to be part of the source for them, for their freedom from these monsters they are facing, and getting out of these prisons of addiction.  The Savior is crowding out all the darkness from their lives.  We have a great and clear vision of their paths ahead, and we have the long-suffering required to see them through to the Kingdom of God.  Salvation sure never is a cheap experience, is it? But Joy is the Reward if Love is the Motive! (:

We meet probably 40 really good contacts every week now that we are on foot!  The golden people are everywhere surrounding and outnumbering us!  Our area is ready to split.

Love, and more next week,
Elder Howard