Elder Jaxson Jeremy Miller - Fiji Suva Mission : May 2016

Back to the Routine!

Bula Vinaka!

Hello everyone! It's been yet another week out here on my mission. This week was a great one! Really hard, really long, really challenging, but SO rewarding.

This week we finally got back into the normal (well, normal for Fiji) missionary routine. It felt great. We set a really high goal for lessons this and worked SO hard to hit it. As we prayed for it every day and relied on Heavenly Father to provide people for us to teach, we received so many blessings! We actually BEAT our goal! It felt so great at the end of the week to accomplish our goal.

A super fun that my companion and I did for church is Branch Jeopardy. It was a blast! We just did a combined Sunday School meeting and the entire branch (attendance of about 20 this time) played a Church knowledge Jeopardy game. We brought treats for everyone (Elder Levasa's treats sent from his family in Australia) and just had fun. I tried to imagine an entire ward doing that back in Utah... Somehow I don't think it would happen. Haha.

Another big reason it was a miracle that we hit our goal for lessons this week was the fact that there was a death in a nearby village. In Fiji, funerals last for like 4 days. And EVERYONE in Fiji is related, so TONS of people went. One cool thing we got to witness was the giving of gifts for the person that's passed away. So what happens is all the members of the extended family, friends, and even just village members all make gifts, like weave a colorful mat. Then they give it to the chief of the clan, which happens to be our next door neighbor, and the 1st counselor in the Branch Presidency. They do a big long ceremony of clapping and and stuff to give it to him, and he in turn gives it to the closest relative of the dead person. I think. Haha. Still kinda confused.

But yeah, that was my week! As for a spiritual thought this week, I'll share my ponderizing scripture for the past week. It was Matthew 14: 25-32 which is when Peter walks on water. I mostly just wanted to become more familiar with the background of the story and where it is in the scriptures. But it's message is always a good remember. In life we are faced with new things, new adventures all the time. I'm sure Peter wasn't very experienced in walking on water. But as he fixed his eyes on the Lord, he had NO fear. As soon as he looked away and saw the big, scary waves, THAT'S when he sank. As we approach each new day, just remember who's in control, and take everything with no fears or doubts. As we say here in the Fiji Suva Mission: "Attitude is the Key to Success."

I love you all so much! I'm sorry that I didn't get around to emailing the past couple weeks! I hope you are all doing great! Until next week, keep on keepin' on!

Au lomani kemuni!

-Elder Jaxson Jeremy Miller