Monday, February 5, 2018

2-3-2018 This last week was an awesome week,

This last week was an awesome week,

A few great experiences I won't soon forget! 

We had exchanges with the Nakawakawa elders on Tuesday, but much like Sigatoka in the Nadi district, the area is (way) to far away to split the companionship, travel out, then have to travel all the way back in to switch back, then back out. So, the Nakawakawa elders took us into their area first thing Tuesday morning. I was really excited because Nakawakawa is notoriously the most bush area in the entire mission (beside Nasivikoso). After a BEAUtiful three hour drive over mountains, through valleys, across rivers, and through forests, we found the Nakawakawa koro. Nice, humble little village located at the opposite end of Vanualevu. Work in that area is a bit rough because proselyting in many of the neighboring koros is tabu (forbidden), so most of their work comes from service and referrals. Much like Nasivikoso, rarely anybody spoke English, but fortunately almost everybody spoke Bau. In fact, a lot of the Fijians spoke Hindi as well! Sick thing about Labasa: Almost everybody in Labasa speaks English, Fijian, AND Hindi, no matter what they are. Anyways, I was able to practice my Bau as well as speak Hindi on those exchanges. I feel way blessed to have been able to serve as a district leader in the two districts with the two most bush areas in the mission. Before my mission, I wanted a bush mission. I wanted for every meal to be soaked in coconut milk and to have to collect my drinking water from the river and have to boil the germs out and sleep in a tree and all that. Seeing the struggle of the elders living in such conditions, and seeing their trucker mindsets just going along with it happily, I've gained SO much respect for those missionaries (but I'm happy to be a pampered, well-sheltered Hindi elder haha). It was a really productive, fun, and successful exchange. It just kind of blew that it had to end at four in the morning when the elders dropped us off at the village bus stand (a log on the side of the road) to wait for the 4:15am 7 hour long bus ride back to Labasa. Worst bus ride I've been on, easily, but again, beautiful view. 

We got back at around 11am, had our studies, and visited a few families. Walking to our last appointment, Elder Tavake and I had a talk. We both realized that we're HORRIBLE at finding and have a very, very weak drive to do so. We both know how important it is and that it's our calling to knock on doors and extend the gospel, but we both didn't quite know how to amp ourselves up for it. We tried to come up with ways to make finding fun. Elder Tavake came up with the idea that we challenge the sisters to a finding game. Between 1pm and 6pm the next day, for whichever companionship OYM'd and got into more houses, the other would shout soft serves. We extended the invitation to them, and they accepted. 

The next day, I actually went harder at finding than I have in a long time, but after the first few houses, I'd forgotten about the game. Truly, the first house is ALWAYS the hardest. It honestly does become so much easier after that, and it did, and honestly did just become a matter of trying to share with as many people as we could before the sun went down. We ended up winning, getting ice cream, and going home. When I went to bed that night and my legs were sore and my shoulders were weak from carrying my bag full of teaching materials all day, I felt really good. In was one of those days where I just felt really successful. We talked to and found a lot of new people that day, and I was happy. In addition to my sore legs and weak shoulders, however, my head hurt way bad and my stomach was killing me so I koncked out at 9. 

When I woke up Friday morning, I felt like an 80 year old man. I was so weak and my joints hurt so bad that I literally could not muster the strength to get out of bed. My mouth felt like it was full of cotton, my head felt like it was full of lead, and my stomach felt like it was full of cement. As I was able to eventually get up and get moving, because we had important appointments scheduled, I started feeling a little better. We were only able to visit two people before I had to go back home to rest for the remainder of the day. 

NOW, I feel a lot better and I'm up and about. 

Yesterday was awesome, we were asked on Saturday by a member of our ward to attend an outlying unit in our area rather than the Labasa branch on Sunday. The unit suffers from a significant lack of priesthood holders, so much so that the unit hasn't taken the sacrament in over three months (and that's IF more than three people come). He asked us to help him in administering the sacrament to the Naduna unit. It was about a ten minute drive outside of Labasa down, into the forest and up a hill. The taxi dropped us at the trail head that lead up to the chapel, a humble little open wood shack sitting on top of a hill. The one man sitting there was so grateful for our being there, and was even more grateful seeing how many more people came that day knowing the sacrament would be administered. As I sat there on the top of that hill, just at the edge of the wooden platform that was the floor of the chapel, sweating and getting bitten my mosquitoes, I felt the spirit so strongly. I'm quite accustomed to AC chapels with nice pews and carpeted floors and a microphone on the podium, but this was such a simple place for testimonies to be born on the first of the month, and there was such a sense of love in the air. It reminded me of the scripture in which Christ says that wherever two or more should come together in His name, there should He be also. It doesn't matter where we meet, we're meeting in the name of Christ, and He was most definitely there. 

It's been a great and humbling week, and we're looking at another awesome and really busy week with zone conference tomorrow! I'm so excited, I'll be SURE to bring my notes next week! 

OH, the fact that yous are reading the Book of Mormon regularly again is great! Just Saturday, we started a Mission-wide Book of Mormon read that'll go from February 3 to April 8. President Higgins has invited us all to prayerfully read the Book of Mormon and mark down every reference to Jesus Christ, as well as every time THUS SAITH THE LORD is read. At the end of the challenge, during the week of April 8, every elder and sister will pray and ask Heavenly Father for confirmation of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. This challenge was extended that everyone might gain a greater testimony of its origin, contents, and truthfulness. I'm really excited to go about this read, and I've honestly already learned so much from what little I've read. Little things will stick out to you and have a different significance to you every time, and I love that about the Book of Mormon. 

I'll try downloading and printing out that essay now, but I love you and and hope you have a great and blessed week! 

Baut pyaar aaplogke!

Khyaal rakna,
Elder Ishibashi 

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