Bula Vinaka!
Wow it feels like forever and a day since I last emailed, and the circumstances then were much cushier I assure you. I guess I should tell you first about the subject of my email and move on from there. After two an a half days of waiting around the mission home we finally got assigned to our first area. This area will be "where I am from" for the rest of my mission. I was assigned to the north west side of Viti Levu (the big island) to a koro called Rakiraki. When at the MTC my teachers told me that almost nobody went to biking areas in Fiji, none of them did, lo and behold, my first area is one of the few biking areas in Fiji. You may be wondering, how do you bike in a skirt with two flaps in the front? Good question, the answer is pin and pray. It makes for some quite interesting rides.
My trainer is name Elder Hishibashi. He's been in Fiji for nearly a year now and he's great. He knows a lot about the people and the culture which I've had to learn fast. I've learned plenty from him, but not everything yet. He's from Hawaii, so at least he speaks English, but I'm really trying to speak Fijian as much as I can. I've learned something, learning a language is hard. I think I've said that before, but I mean REALLY hard. My goodness. The people are kind though and patient, and most of them know some English so they can help me out if I simply must ask how to say a word.
Let's see, it has been a rough first week and I am sore and morning always comes too fast. But I do enjoy watching the gospel touch lives. In my area we can choose between two kinds of pain, at least for the newbies, that is the pain of riding a bike for a really long time, or the pain of sitting cross legged in a house teaching a lesson a lot. After a few hours you are just in pain regardless of what you are doing so it doesn't really matter anyway.
I think my mission is exactly opposite to David's, and I think that for one main reason. David came home after wearing shoes everywhere he went, even inside. In Fiji, wearing shoes inside is rude and wearing shoes outside is optional, which is perfect for me. The lives of the people are very humble. As a matter of fact, the lives of the missionaries are rather humble. I'm blessed with a rather large flat, but it is barely a step up from what a normal Fijian lives in. The difference is hard floors, electricity in every room and a water filter. The reason our flat is so nice is that we live underneath the church building. That's great because I don't have to worry about being late for church...ever. I do like the way Fijians live though. They don't rush to anything. They just live on Fiji time, which is an euphemism for nothing happens quickly here, so don't worry.
My area is huge and we don't even cover half of it. To get to our farthest extent takes an hour on bike and the bus system is too unreliable to take out there. Speaking of which, that is how I spent my Saturday, riding my bike way out in the boonies, and then stopping at houses on the way back. The farthest village we visit is called Navalou 1. It is called that because the second farthest village is called Navalou 2. Don't ask me why, I don't know it just is.
I have a pretty cool story to tell. We went to my first lesson (after two had fallen through) and offered to teach a man named Laisiasa. He's great, his only hold up is he needs to come to church, but that's another story. When we sat down to teach him his mother (at least I think she is his mom, relations are REALLY confusing in Fiji) decided to sit down with us. Because Laisiasa had already received all the lessons we just decided to leave a spiritual thought and Elder Hishibashi decided to talk about the spirit world. When that led to baptism for the dead and the scripture in 1 Corinthians 15:29, the mother, Veniana, began to cry. She had lost two children that she had been told were gone forever. When we testified that baptism for the dead could reclaim them if they accept in gospel in the spirit world, she exclaimed that the Holy Ghost was testifying to her that it was true. She told us that she always rejected us teaching her before because she believed that our church was of the devil, but Laisiasa convinced her to stay and when she felt the Holy Ghost testify to her she knew that the Holy Ghost wouldn't testify of a church that was of the devil. I have taught her everyday since I arrived in Rakiraki.
The rest of my time I've spend riding up and down dusty, rocky hills teaching as many as we can. It's hard to contact here though. People will let you in because that is polite, but not because they truly want to hear your message. Instead we are focusing on our investigators and hoping we get referrals. The other problem is that Rakiraki is a Methodist village.
The Methodist Church here is weird. The people go to church and the talatala (preacher) screams at them in a microphone for an hour and then they go home. It's not even testifying or trying to bring people closer to Christ, it's like a screaming contest with only one contender.
Speaking of church being weird, it's hard to get anything done at church when your branch is so small, and we have a unit we have to visit on Sundays so we must take a bus to the unit after the branch meeting to be there for church. Anyway, 10 o clock hit and the branch president hadn't shown up because the bridge from Rakiraki to where I live (not in Rakiraki because it's a Methodist village) is broken and the bus didn't come by and it's a long walk. Bad excuse, but whatever. The Relief Society president started class, of which I understood nothing or nearly nothing, after that the ward clerk started Sunday school, of which I also understood nothing. Finally, we had sacrament meeting with the ward clerk presiding (I think he's also a councelor, but I don't know). I blessed the sacrament in Fijian and Elder Hishibashi passed it. When that was over we zipped over to Nakorokula for our unit meeting to do the sacrament again. Elder Hishibashi forgot the bread so they had breadfruit instead (close enough, right?).
I know I'm not in America anymore for two reasons besides the fact that everyone here speaks Fijian or Hindi. First, the showers are cold. We have a small electric heater, but we have yet to mount it on the shower because of a few issues, I intend to work on that. You may think that cold showers would feel nice in Fiji, but this is winter here, and yes it is sweltering during the day, but in the morning and at night it is only pleasant. And with windows that are always wide open and the wind blowing, your shower is cold. Secondly, I saw two women just whip it out and start breast feeding on Sunday. That was loads of fun and I could only think that Grandpa's story about Jolly Lot just giggling when he saw that.
I apologize I forgot my camera and will not be sending pictures this week, but I'll try for next week. I'm not sure how well that will work in this crummy internet cafe, but we'll see. Oh, I'm sure I have other things to say, but I want to say this last thing and then close, unless I remember something else. I've said before that they have different dialects in Fiji. Some are harder than others, but we only learned one. When I got here my companion said the people will love me if I speak in their dialect. I have trouble enough with normal Fijian, but I've been trying sometimes. Basically it involves dropping all T's and changing some words. It isn't too hard, but it was quite the awaking to hear, "I'm glad you know Fijian, now change it." Life's hard, then you die, right? I only say that because the second half of the phrase to me is then life is easy. David said that my biggest problem would be having to eat too much. With how much riding I'm doing, there is no way, and we don't exactly have dinner appointments, we just wait to be invited, so if a hurricane comes and blows me away, don't be surprised.
A mission is hard, don't let anybody tell you otherwise. However, for some reason, when it's over, everyone wants to go again. I had an epiphany. A mission is like giving birth. It is REALLY hard when you do it (I don't even know how hard) but for some reason you bring it on yourself again by choice. I'm at the beginning of the labor (pun intended) and I'm not yet seeing why I would want to do this again, but I also know that I'm going to want to. I can't wait for that day to come, and I will strive to find it. I've just about used up my time, I know this gospel is true and I'm excited to be sharing it, no matter how painful it is to my behind on a bike and my hips when cross legged. It's worth it and God gives liberally to those that give to Him. I only ask for your prayers on my behalf to give me strength. Thanks for prayers you have given me already, I've needed them. I know for myself that Christ is my Savior, I invite you to learn to same for yourself by study, prayer, testifying, and striving to have the Holy Ghost testify to you that it is true. I love you all if you took the time to actually read this long email :). Stay strong in the faith.
Elder Morgan
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