NAVATAUYABA - Week 13

Transfer Week

Bula Vinaka Everyone!

It's time for another update to the good ol' blog! Yet another week has come and gone! It's been a beautiful one here in Fiji. Sometimes blistering hot, but lots of the time there was a bit of cloud cover and a nice breeze... I love these islands.

So this past week was transfer week! All three companionships in our district had been together for 3 months, so we pretty much knew for sure that 1 from each area would get transferred away. We decided to do a Lovo (eath-oven meal) to part ways. Our neighbors helped us out. We had the Lovo on the day that transfers are called out. It was a blast. I've grown so close to these other 5 elders, so it was hard knowing we were parting ways. 

Then the transfer calls came! And it turns out that I stayed here in Navatuyaba! Transfer calls were on Tuesday, and the transfer took place on Friday. My companion Elder Tupe left. It was an awesome 3 months with that guy, I'm gonna miss him. My new companion's name is Elder Howard. We were actually in the MTC together, and came together to Fiji (we call it 'same intake')! He's a whopping 6' 6". Plays volleyball and football. He's from California, near Los Angeles. It should be way fun having him as a companion! 

As we get ready for General Conference soon, I'd just like to issue a challenge to you all. I'd like to invite you to think of a question or two that you have. It can be about ANYTHING. Home, school, work, a doctrine question... Anything. Pray intently about this question, and then watch General Conference. I promise that it will be answered. If you don't believe me, try me!! These men are literally chosen from God. How blessed we are to be able to receive some of their wisdom this coming weekend!

Well that's about it for this week! All is going well. I love you all! Until next week, keep on keepin' on!

-Elder Jaxson Jeremy Miller

Me and Elder Howard!

The Lovo (earth oven)

E. Christensen & E. Kumar 

E. Hariprasad, from India

Niko

The final product. Roast chicken, potato salad, and a bunch of other stuff that you guys have probably never heard of before

NAVATAUYABA - Week 12

High Chief Funeral 

Bula Vinaka everyone!

How are you all? Things are going great here! We had another pretty eventful week!

So this week, the high chief in our area passed away. The funeral was HUGE. So many people came. To put it in perspective, on the day that there was a smaller gathering, they killed 9 huge pigs. Yeah. There was a lit of food. We had to sit in a ceremony at our neighbors house where the paramount chief (higher up chief) came to honor the high chief's death. It was pretty intimidating. I got to shake her hand.... Yeah, I'm pretty cool. And the day of his actual burial was cool. So many formal ceremonies. But the coolest part was the Bati! In Fijian, Bati means Warrior. These people dressed as traditional Fijian warriors and guarded the village! Nobody could yell or laugh loud for 3 days, or the Bati would come and get mad. You had to walk on the pathways or they'd get mad. If a dog barked excessively, they would hit it with a warclub. If it died, they didn't really care. It was serious stuff. But way cool!

But yeah, that was the highlight of our week. The main stuff hapened on Thursday and Friday. The rest of the week was just a lot of tracting. Things are going along fine!

Thanks for the thoughts and prayers! I can feel them! I love you guys! Keep on keepin' on!

Au lomani kemuni kece!

-Elder Jaxson Jeremy Miller

The High Chief (that girl {woman} sitting all the way at the front) coming to honor the death of the chief in my area.

The paramount chief leaving

Doing the BYU Stadium puzzle. It's hard! {Mom/Dad sent him}

NAVATAUYABA - Week 11

Exploring 

Bula Vinaka!

Hey everyone! I hope all is going well! Things are still movin' along just great for me out here in the Fiji Islands! It's been a good week.

This week we did a lot of exploring our area! Not on purpose, we mostly just got super lost... but it was way cool! We were just door to door tracting and decided to go down this road we've never seen before, which lead to another road, then another, until we had no idea where we were. It was beautiful scenery! Someone had a WAY pretty botanical garden that we wandered through. At one point, the long grass right next to me starting moving and I got WAY scared, because I thought it was a snake. So after jumping back, finding some rocks and throwing it at the last spot it moved..... Out popped the BIGGEST, SCARIEST, mongoose you've ever seen. (Looks like a weasel) Hahaha. Anyways, long story short, we proselyted in some way random places this week!

Another cool adventure I had this week was when I got to take a boat trip to a place called Vutia. The other Elders in my district get to travel by boat every week to this village, and I had to go out to do a baptismal interview. It was so pretty! We hopped on just the usual fiber-glass boat with a small outboard motor and headed down the river. After about 20 minutes the driver just all of the sudden turned us into this mangrove forest. It was a small passageway, and it felt like we were in some kind of swamp. The driver didn't even slow down though! It was pretty fun. As we're weaving through these pathways, all of the sudden there's just this random village in the middle of NOWHERE. It was the coolest village ever! Surrounded by tropical jungle, super green, and very well kept. It was a hidden jewel! A way fun experience.

This week I'd just like to remind us all how blessed we are to have apostles and prophets in our day. These men are some the wisest men on the earth. They have so much experience, and know EXACTLY what we need to do to return to live with our Heavenly Father. I encourage us all to listen to their words more. Read the church magazines, listen to talks, and explore the immense amount of online resources we have. Take advantage of this amazing blessing!

Well that's about it for this week! Man, life is great isn't it? Thanks for reading! Until next week, keep on keepin' on!

Au lomani kemuni kece!

-Elder Jaxson Jeremy Miller

Cool front yard

Selfie

{When a man wears a skirt everyday...}

On the boat to Vutia 

Rewa River

Way cool massive Catholic Cathedral (sorry, can't really see it)

{Zoomed in}

Mangrove forest