12-17-17 This last week was incredible

Cola vinaqwa, na noqu matavuvale wananavu sara! 

Tamaqu, au sa set tu sara. Au sa marau sara na cakacaka oqo, sa taleitaka tiko na noqu veiqaravi kei na vanua oqo. Sa vakila tiko na veivuke ni Yalo Tabu kaukawa cake mai na noqu kaulotu taucoko. Kila ga au sa marau, au sa cakacaka kei masulaka vakakaukawa tiko ga. (Herb, kerekere correctaka mada na veikakece ca oqori!)

This last week was incredible, one of the more memorable weeks of my mission. I was finally able to see Elder Green for the first time in nearly 18 months, and the reunion was beautiful. He's grown so much as a man and as a missionary, it was SO nice being able to hang out with him and Elder Hunkin over Monday and Tuesday! I noticed that not many intake missionaries are very close to one another for one reason or another; maybe the intake was too big and thus the members weren't as unified, or the intake missionaries were just too different from another. I LOVE my intake elders, and I still consider every one of them brothers. I'm so grateful that the Lord had me wait for the time that I did to serve a mission. I know without a single doubt that I came to Fiji at exactly the time I was supposed to with exactly the people I was supposed to come with. I firmly believe that my mission would not have been nearly similar to what it has been if I were brought in any earlier or later, and though it hasn't been easy to the least bit, it's been exactly what I've needed. I love this work so much. I've been able to partake of the fruits of my labors and witness that fruit spring from home as well for my family to partake of. Surely you do reap what you sow, and the sowing thus far has proven worth every drop of sweat.

Zone conference on Tuesday was awesome. I left my notes home again so I don't remember exactly what the trainings were about, but it gave me a greater perspective on Christmas. Growing up, and for most kids I feel like, the highlights of Christmas include the decorations, the festive foods, the company, and especially, the presents. As I've grown to more fully know and appreciate the true meaning of Christmas, I've come to know that the greatest gift that anyone could ever receive has already been given to us, a long time ago. This gift isn't one that we can overuse or wear out; it isn't something that can be stolen or broken. This gift is eternal; this gift is Christ. Christmas is the time that we celebrate the greatest gift the world has ever received, wrapped in swaddling clothing rather than wrapping paper and humbly placed in a manger rather than a box, given to each and every single one of God's children rather than a few. As yous get together with the family and enjoy eachothers' company, remember the savior. 

We spent Tuesday night in Sigatoka and head out into Nasivikoso, where I'd be conducting my first baptismal interviews, first thing Wednesday morning. Along the way, we picked up Atu Sigadrodro, who would translate the interview for me. Surely enough, not only did the first young man whisper everything he said in a dialect I couldn't begin to decipher, he did not speak any English. Fortunately, the second young woman spoke a little bit of English and I was able to conduct most of the interview in very simple English. It was a nerve wracking experience, but a really spiritual one. Somehow, eventually, I was able to grasp a good majority of what was shared between Atu and the interviewees. Though I often got lost, the spirit was always there to put me back on track, and he ultimately told me that those two were indeed willing and ready to make the baptismal covenants with our father in heaven. It was incredible, and I really look forward to the opportunity where I get to do one of these interviews in English or even Hindi! Living in the islands, you get to experience what we call "island time", which is basically It'll happen when it happens. I was always under the impression that Fijian time and Hawaiian time were basically the same thing. However, when you're in an interior koro, you get to experience true Fiji, and thus TRUE island time. After taking us on a hike through the valley, Atu sat us down in front of some food a member prepared for us while we were away and said "Kana, vakacequ mada vakalailai, sa qai cakava na interview (Eat, rest a little bit, then we'll do the interviews)." So we ate, and Atu decided to take a three hour nap. We ended up finishing our business in Nasivikoso a lot later than we initially anticipated, and Elder Tui'one and I were able to get back into Sigatoka just in time to catch the last back heading back into Nadi. 

On a side note, Nasivikoso is one of the most beautiful places I've been to in Fiji. It's a nice little koro in the middle of Fiji, a little over an hour drive into the interior, and seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Such a humble group of people, too. 

Sorry if the email is all over the place already, it's hard to focus with this weird island Christmas techno blasting through the café.

We had our ward Christmas party on Friday night, where they asked the missionaries to perform our sasa from zone conference and then perform a separate number as companionships. We did the sasa as a district, the district elders did tika tonu, the STLs did a taualuga and a lakalaka and the other sisters sang a Maori song. It was way fun and we were able to talk to heaps of nonmember friends and family members of our members. 

Saturday was nice and busy, cleaned the chapel in the morning then was able to find a good amount of people before our lesson with Halamehi.

Halamehi is a cousin of one of our members and is staying with them for the holidays while her mom is working in Vanuatu. She said that while in Suva, she heard about the church and it interested her. She saw a great opportunity to learn more when she found out she'd be spending the holidays with her family that happened to be members. She came to church last week with them, we were introduced and asked to come over and teach Halamehi. It was such a beautiful lesson, and Halamehi is probably the most prepared person I've ever met. Her only issue is that her grandmother is a staunch catholic and she's unsure that her grandmother (who practically raised her) would accept her changing her denomination. We testified that this is what God wanted/needed her to do, and that He will prepare a way for her to be baptized on January 9th, 2018. She's SO ready already, and I'm SO excited for her baptism.

We had the Christmas cantata last night, which went really, really well! I honestly think that my solo went better than it has in any practices, which I saw as a tender mercy. I think the fact that I didn't know anybody in the crowd helped with my confidence, but tonight, the cantata will be in Nadi for the Nadi ward. Hope all goes well, haha.

Okay we have to head out now, but I'll keep in touch to finalize skype details! I love you all so much, 

CAN'T WAIT TO SEE EVERYONE! 

Loloma sara yani, au lomani kemudou saraga. Kalougata tiko! 
Ham aaplogke bahut pyaar karta hei, khyaal rakna! 

Elder Ishibashi 

12-3-2017 District Leadership

Kaise hei parivaar!!

Maika'i no, makuakane! Pehea 'oukou? 

Man, I'm so happy that Makana's finally out there! Too bad it'll be a solid 2 and a half years before I see him again, but I'm glad that he's granting my final request to him (don't be at my homecoming, be on a mission). Makana is gonna be a KILLER missionary in the DR, can't wait to hear his Spanish when he gets home. Glad yous returned home in safety! And thank you so much for the pictures, it's super nice to see everyone's faces! I love that picture of all the siblings together, it looks like such a sweet and humble reunion. I just realized it's winter there, maqe it must have been cold there aye?

Anyways, awesome to know yous had a great week!

SO yeah! Last week was transfer week and a very humbling one. 
So the Nadroga disctrict, of which I've been a part of for the last four and a half months, consists of five companionships (ten missionaries), making it the largest district in the mission.
All but one companionship in our district remained the same. I'm still here in Nadi with Elder Tui'one, which was a huge shock to both of us because trainers seldom follow-up their trainee. I've never been in an area for more than three transfers, so this will be my first six month area! 

So the Nadroga district was called so because the district leader, Elder Jackson, was stationed in Sigatoka in the Nadroga province. The area the district leader serves in determines the name of the district. Elder Jackson was transferred to Suva, and the Nadroga district became the Nadi district when the leadership position was passed on to me. 

I've held this position for about five days now, and man, it's tough haha. There's a lot more responsibility involved than I'm accustomed to; a lot more phone calls, setting time apart for exchanges with my district elders, and a lot of receiving and passing on instructions. I'm really grateful for the opportunity because it certainly does allow me to be more involved with my district members and help them on a broader scale. I actually really love my district members. I often catch myself doubting my ability to lead such an incredible group of missionaries, and my district members seem to catch the same vibe. They've only been super supportive and seem excited to be under my leadership, so I'm excited to lead and help them in any aspect of the work that I can. Tomorrow, I'll be conducting my first district meeting and going over all that district business I've only ever had to report in. I'm a little nervous but so excited at the same time, we're looking at a good transfer!

Looking at the upcoming weeks, Elder Tui'one and I have a really busy transfer ahead of us, too! 

This week, the Miss Pacific Islands Pageant will come to Fiji and there will be a huge festival held in Nadi. When I first got to Nadi, there was a huge fair going on and Elder Kioa arranged with a member for us to be able to have a booth set up. We had stacks on stacks of Book of Mormons and pamphlets for people to take freely and we were able to find a lot of people interested in the gospel. We'll be doing the same thing at the pageant festival, so I'm stoked for that. We also have a Missionary Christmas Cantata coming up for the stake, which I have a part in. Sister Harper (who's in charge of arranging the cantata) asked me to do a solo when she heard me sing for a musical number at a ward baptism. I couldn't promise anything until transfers were set and we knew I'd be staying. We were both about 90% sure I'd be leaving, so she gave the part to an elder that just came into the zone who she was about 90% sure would stay. He left. I stayed, and I have to sing With Wondering Awe in a key that's sliiightly too high for me, but I can hit the notes if I belt them. She's more willing for my voice to crack in front of the stake than to transpose the song to a lower key. We practice before qito today, we'll see how that goes haha. We have musical numbers and cultural items we need to practice as a district for our Christmas zone conference in a few weeks. 

OH also, I may be coming home speaking better Fijian than I initially anticipated! I found out that as a district leader, I don't NEED to pick up Fijian fluently, but it helps significantly when conducting baptismal interviews with people that don't have super good English and when a translator isn't available. Next week, I'm heading up into a village called Nasivikoso in the Sigatoka area to conduct a baptismal interview with someone that doesn't speak a single word of English (or Hindi, obviously). Not only that, but apparently a vast majority of the people in Nasivikoso don't even speak or understand vosa vakabau (the universal dialect). They have and speak only their village dialect, vosa vakanasivikoso. Elder Dempsey assures me that I'll have a translator there to assist me, but it'll definitely be interesting!

Anyways, that's what's coming up, and there's a lot more! Heaps of finding opportunities, I'm juiced. The last week was good, a lot of visiting families I told we would come by to say where I was being transferred and to say goodbye, only to tell them I'd see them on Sunday. We were able to see and meet with a lot of people. We're seeing a lot of referrals coming in from the members, which is awesome! WAY useful, if yous have friends that need/ that you reckon might accept the restored gospel, refer them to the missionaries!!

I woke up early this morning to be able to see Sister Otea and Sister Nawaiya off at the airport. I can't believe they're finished, I remember the first day we all met in the classroom in the MTC. Their English was wayyy limited and I could rarely understand what they were trying to say. It was pretty sweet being able to converse with them in perfect English before they boarded their plane back home to Kiribati. They've grown so much and come so far, I'm way proud of them.

President Higgins, to show the Hindi program that he cares about us and acknowledges our efforts, has arranged for every Hindi area to be able to hold a conference skype call every Wednesday. We hook up with the Nausori stake president, President Goundar, who trains us on the language and teaching methods for one hour. Last week's conference call was really cool, I'm excited for the next one! 

This next week is looking promising, we're about to find HEAPS of people. 

Herb, I met some of your friends in church yesterday! They said they were going back home to graduate before they came back to Fiji, so if I needed anything that I'd be able to ask you and you could send it back with them. Mom and dad, if you haven't already sent the package, I think you can send it with them. If yous have though and if it's possible, Herb, could you just send some more size 15 white shirts? Sorry I forgot to say that last week, mom, but I think that's all I really need. Vinaka sara vakalevu na tuakaqu wananavu, kemuni sa raica oti na yaloyalo o koya na nomu itokani a sendtaki vei kemuni? Vosoti au, au se bera ni matai na vosa vakaviti, sa vuli tiko ia! Kua ni leqa, kedaru na veitalanoa sara ena gauna ni noqu lesu tale mai. Au lomani kemuni vakalevu, loloma sara yani vei na matavuvale!

We're heading out now, have another incredible and blessed week! 
Ham aaplogke bahut pyaar karta hei, yaad karo: iis susumachaar sachei, himaat karo khali. Jab hamlog Ishu Masih ke vishwaas karo tab tagat milega taki hamlog sakta khoichiij kare. Bahut mushkil hei iila kam, aur dhir taklif hei, lekin ham iis saab chiij bahut julum lage. Dhanyavaad aaplogke saabchiij ke wastin, firse ham aaplogke bahut pyaar kare, khyaal rakna!

Elder Ishibashi 

The is the only picture I could manage for now. Sister Patane said that her family is really close to the Snows in Utah! I'm also not the only Hawaiian in the mission anymore!