Elder Jaxson Jeremy Miller - Fiji Suva Mission : LAMI

Week 1 in Fiji down!!

Bula vinaka from the beautiful island nation of Fiji!! Man oh man do I have a lot to fill you in on. I'll keep it as short as I can. If you want the short and condensed version, skip to where it says "I'll end on this."

My first week here has definitely been a crazy adjustment, but it's been great. I guess I'll start at the beginning.

So I got here into Nadi International Airport at about 4 in the morning. The Elders who were supposed to pick me up thought my flight landed at 5:50, so I kinda wandered around for a bit having no idea where to go. Luckily there was a church member that worked at a phone kiosk there and she called the missionaries for them to come get me. Haha. So I hopped on a bus at around 5:30 in the morning to go all the way to Suva. It was about a 4 hour drive. Holy cow, this is such a beautiful place. The scenery changed so much too. On the west side of the island where the airport is, they call it the desert. Basically it's just a little hotter and a little less green than the south and the east. But there were farms everywhere and we'd pass through little villages. Then as we got closer to Suva it got greener and greener until it was just straight rainforest/jungle/I don't know what to call it. Amazing. The road around the whole island follows the coast most of the way so it was just an awesome ride. I didn't even really notice how long the drive was or that there was an Indian guy basically sitting on my lap. Haha.

Anyways, so I pulled into the bus stop in Suva and hopped off. Apparently the airport Elders forgot to tell the Mission President that my flight came in early, so they weren't there. Haha. Once again, the Lord helped me out. After a while some Elders came walking by the bus stop and asked me what I was doing. They called the Mission President and he got to the bus stop in like 4 minutes. The Lord definitely looks out for his missionaries.

Then the Mission President, President Layton, and his wife took me to McDonalds. Haha, my first meal in Fiji was McDonalds. The McDonalds here is so expensive though! The Dollar Menu was like the $6 menu! (which is about $3 US) It's like a dream for the all the missionaries here to eat at McDonalds.

Then I got right into it! They took me to the mission office where I did an orientation, and then the Zone Leaders took me right out to my first area! I'm serving in Lami, which is like 15 minutes outside of Suva. It's an awesome area, I love it. There are 4 Elders total in my flat (what we missionaries call our houses), so we share it with another companionship. There are only 2 flats in the whole mission like that. It's a blast. I already got a taste of what the next 2 years is gonna be like. There are tons of rats, cockroaches, huge spiders, and all sorts of weird stuff. And I have no hot water. And our washer doesn't spin. But I love it here!!

The work here is going great. We have more lessons than we can even fit into a day. We go from house to house. I LOVE the Fijian people already. They are so humble. And hilarious.

Gosh I could just talk and talk and talk. But I'll end on this.

I already know this is going to be the hardest 2 years of my life so far. I've already felt super homesick, I got pretty sick after one of the dinners a family gave me, it's been hot, rainy, I've been frustrated with the language, and I've felt soooo tired. But I also know these will be the most rewarding 2 years of my life. I've already progressed in the language IMMENSELY, my testimony has already grown TONS from just the week that I've been here, I've already committed someone to baptism, and I love this place with all my heart. I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for me, if only I just put my head down and get to work.

I love this gospel, I love this beautiful world, and I love and miss all of you.

Au lomani kemuni!

-Elder Jaxson Jeremy Miller