Goodbye Mission Dad, Hello Mission Mom! (Tavua Area, Week 13)

Elder Beilman (my mission dad/first companion) is gone! He got transferred to Sigatoka, which actually is still in my Zone, so that's cool! But I'll miss him, he's a way good missionary and a way good friend!

Elder Beilman and I helped paint some trim - in our proselyting clothes!

We are always prepared to help!

This is the Sharma family - 

Master Sharma, Sister Sharma, and Abigail! 

AND HE HAS A GUITAR WHICH I PLAYED

Here's Elder Carlson and I! 

First day together!

Good taste in ties!!!

And so Elder Carlson (my mission mom/second companion) came to Tavua! Elder Carlson is 20-years-old from the island of Palau in Micronesia. His dad is American (hence the name) and his mom is Palauan! He's been out for 6 months and this is his second area. He loves basketball, and he just so happens to go to the same college Elder Beilman went to! Sa dina! I'm excited to get working with him, he's a good guy.

This week was way good! We had some rough days, but great news - I got my Driver's License this week! The test was way hard - I stalled the car four times. I really shouldn't have passed. And yet, I have a full Fiji Driver's License! That's kinda cool, eh? We celebrated with ice cream, of course.

Our week, missionary-work-wise, was fantastic! We talked to Su, who was taking the lessons before and we really weren't sure if she was all that interested in the Church. We went to talk to her, and we ended up talking about the Book of Mormon. We asked her what she thought of it, and she said, "Well, I guess I'll have to read it and pray about it to find out if it's true." And that's exactly what we were going to say! It was a very exciting moment for me, Su's awesome!

Our landlord is remodeling the flat! 

Which is nice, because the flooring 

and paint job are terrible.

We have a new investigator, Akariva. He works with Bishop Tora at the Vatukoula Gold Mine, and he's a way nice guy. Elder Carlson and I started teaching him this weekend, and when we saw him Sunday evening, he said, "You know, I was talking about it with my wife and we've decided we don't want to switch churches or anything." It almost broke my heart - here he was, a person I thought was divinely prepared to receive the gospel, and he rejected us! He did let us share our message, though, and it was crucial that we share about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We shared about Joseph Smith's First Vision of God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. The room got quiet, and we asked him what he thought of Joseph's experience. He said, "If this is true, and if Joseph Smith was really a prophet, then the church he started would be the true church."

This week I've been blessed with people who just get it. A lot of times here in Fiji, people let us into their homes to share our message, but that's what they think we do - only share a nice message. But our purpose is to change lives, through the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. And when people just get it, I get it.

Elda Barnaby

This is Sister Milika and her family.

She's holding the baby and 

she feeds us good food!