Where to begin...
Oh, something I learned about Reuben earlier this week: He's the MAN.
Like I knew he was the man, but I wasn't aware of what an impact he had on this mission. Crazy how two FSM legends ended up in the same room at BYUH!
Anyways, so apparently, Elder Reuben initially started the Hindi program here in the Fiji Suva Mission. We had interviews with the mission president and his wife on Wednesday (which was great, they're the bomb), and Sister Layton told me about the history of the Hindi program. As an Elder, Joseph Reuben taught some missionaries Hindi to broaden the teaching pool in the mission. Eventually, there were enough missionaries in the field speaking Hindi for President Layton to establish Hindi proselyting areas, and he began to call Fijian missionaries to switch into the Hindi program. Starting last year, President Layton began calling missionaries to be trained in and to proselyte in the Hindi language from the start of their mission. Now, I'm super glad they called me to speak Hindi now instead of when I'd been teaching in Fijian for a year. Anyways, one of the great families we like to visit often is the Singhs. Apparently they were initially taught by sisters, but the language barrier restricted a very clear understanding of the doctrine. Luckily, Reuben happened to be serving in that area and spoke Hindi, so that family was passed into the hands of Elder Reuben and his companion. The Singhs are preparing to attend the temple for the first time in October, and Elder Mong Yen and I are trying to gain permission from President to escort them. It would be sooo great to be able to take them through, they're awesome and well prepared. We try to visit them every night to discuss the temple book with them. They've been going to temple prep classes once a month for a while, but there are new attendees every class so the teacher starts over every time. For this reason, they stopped going, and we cover two chapters with them every time we visit with them. They seem way excited and ready to enter into those covenants and be sealed as a family! Anyways, just awesome family.
Also speaking of the language, apparently Elder Reuben wrote a Hindi guidebook. I would request for Reuben to GIVE ME THE BOOK. PLEASE. WHERE DO I FIND IT. EXCEPT a Hindi guidebook is coming my way soon! Elder Green's companion, Elder Luatua, has been translating the Fijian guidebook into Hindi for a while. When we got here, Elder Mong Yen found that a draft of the book was sent to him this morning in an email. It's finished! The draft has also been sent to the church mission office to be printed and produced on a wider scale for in-field missionaries. Hopefully in time, as President Layton calls more people into the Hindi program, there will be Hindi speaking FSMRM's available to teach the language in MTCs worldwide! That's an awesome thought, and it all would have been possible because of Herbert's roommate. Good job Reuben, and thank you.
On another note, SIKE. I'm not coming home skinny.
The reasons being these: Indians are extremely stubborn when it comes to food. When you're offered some more food, but you're full, you say "baas". I don't know what it translates to exactly, but Indians will decide whether you're actually full or you're just being courteous. It's hard for me, because I don't eat very much these days. I mean, I do now, because they make me! I'll say baas, and most of the time they'll frown and put the food away. However, to several families, baas must mean ' I would like that entire bowl of curry, please '. It's a good thing I looove Indian food. I haven't had a bad dinner yet. The only reason I'd ever wanted to throw up a dinner is if I'd been stuffed to the rim with it. Another reason I'm coming home looking like Buddha is that most Hindi areas have trucks, so I won't be walking very much.
Anyways, just a couple of thoughts I've compiled in my head and wrote down. While in Colorado, I had never seen such a concentration of white people in my life. When I got here, I had never seen such a concentration of black people in my life. It turned from 'this entire congregation is white' to 'holy smokes Elder, look. A white guy'. It was honestly a weird transition haha, but not hard to get used to.
Bats are SUPER sick, and they're huge. I love seeing them flying around at night, my favorite thing about proselyting evenings. I've learned that bats and birds, even from way far away and the sky is darkening, are super distinguishable when they fly. Birds flap their wings really fast and they glide. Flutter, glide, flutter, glide, and they tend to bob around when they fly. Bats flap slowly, and they fly straight. I've been wanting to get a bat picture for you guys, but something happened to my camera! It says write protect and won't allow me to take pictures when the SD card is in. So really, it's a problem with the SD card. I've tried everything there is to do, and I threw away the manual, but I'll try to figure it out here on the computer. Also for this reason, no pictures today! Anyways, bats are way cool. The body of the thing is probably about the length from the inside of my elbow ( I don't know what that's called) to the palm of my hand, with a wingspan the length from my palm to my chest. Another cool thing, you rarely ever see bats in the middle of the day or birds in the evening. In the day, if there's something in the sky, it's a bird. After about 6pm, it's a bat.
Now into the spiritual aspect of the week, wooooaaaahhh. This week has been full and incredible. On Tuesday, we had interviews and I got to chat with President and Sister Layton for a while. They're both so warm and sooo strong-spirited. On Wednesday, we had a zone training meeting. Those trainings were wayy good, mostly about developing a strong relationship, and more importantly, love, for our investigators. The district leaders in our zone are wonderful teachers and missionaries. I found an excellent scripture that I actually hope to do a training on one day, I'm certain it can help lots of missionaries. I actually forget where it is, shoot, I left my scriptures home, but it was Alma as he went about his preachings. He says, O, that I were an angel! and could have the wish of my heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance to every people. O, if I were an angel! Missionaries often think, O, if I were Elder (Herbert) Ishibashi! If I could teach with his might and move with his zeal, and bring as much people to Christ as he! O, if I were Elder Ishibashi! They compare. Alma then acknowledges that his thoughts are sinful. He says, why should I desire to do more than what the Lord has called me to do?
The scripture basically says that we've been blessed with our own ways of going about and preaching and bring people to Christ. Alma then says that his successes as a servant don't bring him joy. The number of people he brings to Christ doesn't bring him joy. The joy he sees that the gospel brings to THOSE people, brings him joy. The thought that those people are enjoying the sweet and wonderful blessings that faith in Christ promises, brings him joy. I'll go a little more into this as I go into Thursday. On Thursday, we had zone conference. Okay I'm running out of time, but I actually feel liked I came out of that meeting re-baptized. The trainings and the Spirit there was unreal, honestly. That meeting changed my view of the mission. As much as I loved this mission and the missionaries therein before, I already don't want to come home to be honest. Two years seems too short right now.
Given my shortage of time, I'll share one training. It was given by Sister Layton, who based her training off a sign she saw on the street while on Vanualevu. The sign simply said "No grit - no pearl" If you don't know how pearls are formed, look it up. Her training was about attitude in trials. When the clam finds that irritation, or grit within itself, it does everything it can to smooth it out to make it comfortable. It doesn't know the value and beauty of the pearl it creates.
When we receive trials, we need to do everything we can to find what we can do with that trial, or rather what the trial can do with us, to turn us into something valuable and beautiful and vice versa.
Like I've said a thousand times, trials are good. Man, a positive attitude in challenges sounds a bit like my mission story so far. I have absolutely no doubt that the language change will become a pearl in my mission and forever thereafter. I have no doubt that learning manual will be of great value in my life. I've found that having a positive attitude in these things have made them not only easy, but almost fun to endure. My thoughts are no longer "Heavenly Father, why? What is this? This sucks." anymore. Now, it's more like "... alright. Lashgow."
Sister Layton shared an experience about a tree they have in the back yard. The storm that whacked them up a few years ago ripped that tree down. It lay there on the floor, and Sister Layton was heartbroken at the sight of her beautiful tree, beat down and leveled. When some people came, propped the tree back up, and staked it to the ground, she thought They're crazy. It won't grow. She was amazed to see it root into the ground again, and not only did it begin to grow, but bright purple flowers bloomed from it. She related a Chinese proverb: Fall 7 times, get up 8.
I'm out of time! I'm doing really really well, loving my companion and the work! THANKS FOR THE PICTURES, U'I! I love them, holy smokes they're getting so big! So is Penina, wow! I Can't wait for those baptism pictures, man. Anyways, I have to go. I love you guys so much, I'll send what I can! Thank you, my incredible and loving family, for everything. I love you guys, moce!
Eldar Pattharkapul
Funny side note, two huge fears of mine right now:
Coming home with an Indian accent and getting called into leadership.
Reason for fear of leadership: Hindi Elders can't be in leadership. If they call me to be a district or zone leader, they throw me back into the Fijian program, and NO. NOOO. NO. THAT'S ENOUGH CURVEBALLS FOR ONE MISSION, DANBAAD.
For zone conference, we were all given SICK matching ties!
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