April 20, 2014

Cute little kids!(:

Proselyting

 Easter lunch

Another week of Missionary Work, Tanning, and Walking!! :)

Hello my wonderful family!

How is everything?! It sounds like you guys had such a FUN Easter. I am a little jealous and miss actually celebrating holidays. haha! But I have the rest of my life to celebrate holidays right?!(:

This week was actually a really good week! Me and my companion are having fun together. We both wanted to work really hard this week and have set our goals for next week high. So it is going to be so much fun! haha!(:

We had a lot of members come with us this week which was so good! Having members come with us is SO HELPFUL! So any chance you get go with the missionariesDO IT!!!!(: Anyways, we had a really funny lesson with a less-active. We took our ward mission leader, and some of the YSA. We were sharing our spiritual thought and the ward mission leader was sitting on the floor and he totally fell asleep! Not only was his eyes closed but his mouth was wide open.... luckily he didn't start snoring! haha but it was so funny the other YSA members was laughing and trying to kick him so he would wake up but he wouldn't wake up. We were all kinda distracted because we couln't believe he was actually sleeping, but the lesson was good. When we were closing he woke up and the 1st thing he said was "Sister Lata we want to invite you to baptize" but she is a less active.. not an investigator. Everyone was just laughing even the less active was laughing. It was so so so funny! It might have been one of those had to be there moments, but he will never live this one down!(:

Another thing that happened this week was we got this girl as a new investigator. Her name is Filo and she is 19. She is awesome. We OYM'd on Thursday and then we went back on Friday and she said she didn't think we were actually going to come back! Haha! We came and the lesson we had was AWESOME! The spirit was so strong and it was one of those lessons that you just KNOW she felt the spirit too! It was so good. She even came to the activity that night with us. It was so good. Then we went to just follow up on her the next day and we went to go up to her house and she was sleeping but she had the Restoration pamphlet opened and it was laying across her chest. It was one of those proud missionary moments!(: Haha!

This New area is such a great change!  I love it.   The ward is SO GOOD! They are so helpful and I love them so much! We had the funnest ward activity on Friday night. It was an Easter one and we watched a video and then we played games and had performances. It was the funnest thing ever! You would've loved it! We didn't do anything big for Easter. Just told everyone Happy Easter. Haha! But it was good. Every Holiday as a missionary you miss home because you see all these families together and celebrating! Haha its kinda depressing. But I can't wait to come home and celebrate holidays with you guys(: haha Especially since I have come from a family who makes every holiday seem like it is the best holiday ever!(: Haha!

Anyways,  I am so excited for next week! It is going to be another great week of missionary work, tanning, and walking! haha(; LOVE YOU GUYS SO SO SO MUCH! You are all SO awesome! Keep being you and keep being the best!

LOVE YOU!
Sister Rich

Pictures April 13, 2014

Dinner Appointment 

the CUTEST little Fijian girl EVER! 

Im in SUVA!!!

HELLO MY WONDERFUL FAMILY!

Man this week was just a great week!(: I can't even tell you guys how fun this week was. conference was just the BEST! And what was even better was we were able to get less actives AND investigators there! Man, it was so good. I know they felt the spirit. Especially when President Monson talked about LOVE! Ahhh... It was just so good.

I got to know a lot of the members this week as we walked around and visited them. They are awesome. The ward is a lot smaller, but they are awesome. The bishop is new and he is totally helping the missionaries. So it is awesome..

Our investigators are really progressing and me and my companion are getting a long SO GOOD! Even though she doesn't talk that much, we just sing. Haha.. 

So funny story.. we were walking to an investogators house the other day,  and when I have nothing to talk about we... well I... just sing! haha(:   But I pulled out my little hymn book and started singing to her.. And I wasn't just quietly singing either it was kinda like, we were walking on the main road so no one could hear,  so i was singing like I do when I am in the shower. She just laughed and I laughed and then we see people sitting out front of their house and they are sitting there laughing at me.... it was so funny! Its ok though... I just like singing..! haha

 I have started to learn the Fijian songs too.. I LOVE THEM! I sing them all the time and so we were OYMing and there was this lady I wanted to talk to her but I didn't know how to start a conversation with her, so we I asked her if she knew the name of a song and I sang it for her and she was laughing and the people around us were laughing because there is this white girl who is singing a Fijian song. Haha(: So I told my companion, if you ever get bore just sing. haha

So heres some BIG news.... I AM GETTING TRANSFERRED!!!! haha(: Again.. I am going to Suva! SUVA NENE!(: Man I am so excited! I am going to be companions with my companion from the MTC. Sister Alofoe! I am SO excited! I am actually in Suva now! I am just so excited to be here so close to the temple and I just feel at peace here. Not like before... SO I am happy(: The call came in Saturday night and when they said it i didn't believe them.. but it is true! Haha(:

Well for this week we had an amazing Sisters training at the mission home! Man! It is amazing when you learn from the spirit. It was so strong. There is this picture in the mission home of Jesus and this might be a little weird, but President Klingler was teaching and he was talking about the atonement and I looked up and saw that picture, and I just automatically felt how much our Savior loves us. How amazing the atonement is. Because the atonement is SO true. Its amazing how he NEVER gave up. He was the ultimate example of LOVE. And I learned even more about the Atonement from conference. It is amazing how OBEDIENT the savior was and I really learned how true it is when he says... "not my will but thine be done.." I feel that as a missionary all the time. I see that all the time. I put this trust in Heavenly father and I say to him all the time. Ok Heavenly Father, not my will but thine be done. This is YOUR work this is YOUR gospel. this is ALL YOURS. I am just here to help. I just really recognized how the atonement is more than just suffering for our sins. It is for everything. and for everyone! What an amazing older brother we have. We are just so lucky that we had someone do that for us. So that we can live forever in Heaven, in COMPLETE happiness with him and our Heavenly Father one day. Its just amazing.

This week was just an amazing week. I am just so grateful to be a missionary! I LOVE IT! I love being in Fiji. I love Sharing the gospel. I love it all.(: This work is amazing.

I hope you had another amazing week also! I LOVE YOU ALL!(:
Hope you are all doing your family home evening, family prayers and family scripture study!(: Be together as a family(:

LOMANI KEMUDOU!
-Sister Rich

Pictures April 06, 2014

 A place in our area called Sasawira(: 

 Some cute kids wanting to take a picture with me! haha(: 

I Burnt the roti! Its the 1st time making it by myself... haha But the rest turned out good. We not roti, but good tortillas(: haha!

We sing as we Walk and Walk and Walk......

T'S MONDAY! 
This week seemed so long. It made me feel like I was back in my 1st week on the mission again! But not quite as bad! haha(: Just lost and not knowing anyone. Its so weird. But it feels so good, because you can see what you need to do to help this area! Naulu is a great area! It is kinda depressing sometimes, because it is so cloudy and I am cold a lot.... because compared to the West.. it is really cold. But, I just take advantage of the sun when it is out and LOVE IT! All in All I do love Naulu! It is like the complete opposite of Nadi, but that's ok! Haha(: 
My companion is Sister Iro. She is from Solomon Islands. She is so cute and little! She is a recent convert. She's only been baptized for a little over a year, but she has a very strong testimony! She is so good. She just finished training and she was trained really good and picked up really good habits. Which is a great help. She doesn't talk that much..  So once again I just talk and talk and talk. 
When I get home You guys won't be able to stop me from talking! haha(: 
The ward is so good. It is super small! But it is cute! We just got a new bishop yesterday! So that will be exciting to start to work with him. They have strong testimonies and they are a cute little ward. It will be fun to get to know them and start to work with them. 
This week was really interesting. Nothing really big happened this week, just introductions to everyone and meeting new people. We walk everywhere. Our area isn't in a town, we are completely in like a settlement... I am not really sure how to explain it...  but we walk everywhere because there aren't any busses. So we walk... and walk... and walk... and walk. Haha(:
It was funny, yesterday we were talking and going to an appointment, and, well, I was just talking and my companion was listening to me, and we totally forgot where we were going, we just kept walking and like 5 minutes after we passed the street, we realized we had passed it and we both started laughing and just turned around and walked back. We just laughed at it!(: It was funny! Half the time we don't even know where we are going!!  
Ohhhh.. So we had a funny day on Saturday! We went to a Return appointment, but we couldn't find the house.. so we were just started OYming and talking to people. One man we started talking too was telling us all about his church and he started OYMing us.. But then whenwe tried to give him a pamphlet, he told us that he doesn't believe in women sharing the gospel...  !!!!  (Whaaaat??)  I just started laughing inside.. it was super funny to me!

Then later that evening, we went to a former investigator. Her and her husband are Muslim.. 
(I should've paid more attention in my Pakistan class I took at BYUI... it really would've helped... haha) 

But anyways, so we shared our message and then they shared their message...  it waas kinda getting a little awkward. He was talking but I wasn't really listening, I was paying more attention to the little boy playing on the ground, and he just kept talking for like 30 minutes.  
Then he just says "I know you guys are going to hell because you don't believe what we believe in. And we are going to heaven." 
I just looked at him... I had big eyes and trying not to laugh at him... (You know me and awkward situations)... 
I just thought.. Ooooooooh this is why they are former investigators... hahaha It was so awkward and then it just got even more awkward as he started talking about how Americans think that Muslims are all just terrorists... blah blah blah... I felt really awkward and uncomfortable, and my companion looked like she wanted to cry the whole time.... I guarantee that will go down as one of the awkwardest situation I have been on my mission! 
But I did learned from it.. 
1st off,  to always fill in why they are former investigators on the teaching record, 
2nd that Heavenly father still loves him. and 
3rd how true our church really is. When he was talking I just felt like this gospel is so complete. There are no loose ends. It really made me feel like I can honestly say that I know our church is true. And not just because I haven't known anything different my whole life, but because I know who I am. I know Heavenly Father loves me. And This gospel and church has brought so much happiness to my life. I just wanted to sit there and tell this guy how true I know this church is, but I knew I couldn't.. It was such an interesting experience and such a good one.. as awkward as it was, I am glad it happened! haha(: 
Isn't being a missionary amazing?!(: haha! I am just loving this more and more everyday! And I am SO SO SO excited to watch conference next week though! So that is something I am looking forward too! I am SO excited to hear about the temples and talks and just hear the MoTab! There is just something about conference that I just LOVE! 
Well, another week come and gone. Another month gone.. It is just going by faster and faster as I get further and further into my mission! I am looking forward to this week, it should be a fun one(: Hopefully not as interesting and awkward as last week, but hopefully I learn as much as I have! I love you all!(: HAVE A GREAT WEEK(: 
LOMANI IKO! 
-Sister Courtney Rich

A Beautiful Disaster

Well this week was a beautiful disaster... haha(: 

But even though a lot happened we were definitely able to see SO MANY miracles...So without going into much detail we had a really bad dinner apt. on Wednesday night where a member just got really upset with the new missionaries. Which made me super sad because I have been here for 7 months working so hard and trying my hardest. I felt so bad for my companion too... she had only been here one day and it was in front of a member present and 2 sisters that were staying with us... But its all ok now. The lady is still mad, but we learned a lot from the situation. I really learned how imnportant it is for you to have a good relationship with your companion, and that is definitely something I have been blessed with, with my new companion. She is SO SO SO AMAZING! Her name is sister Au from Samoa. Its amazing how much can happen in one week! haha(: Anyways, the whole situation just made me realize how much I love the atonement. Becuse not only is the Atonement for being forgiven, it is also for forgiving. Because we ask for forgiveness all the time, But how are we going to make it through life without being able to forgive people? (even if they aren't sorry or feel the least sorry for being mean) Heavenly Father forgives us, so we need to forgive others too! And unconditionally love them no matter what!(: haha Kill em' with Kindness(:
So that was the sad/depressing story... but other than that this week has really been amazing. We have been able to get 4 new investigators. And all of them are part member families of less actives. We were able to find and teach ALL of our investigators this week too. We were SO busy and running all around our area this week. We literally would leave our flat at 11 and wouldn't get home until 930. I have loved how me and Sister Au just have the same goals and our priorities are the same! So it makes the work so much fun! Plus she is already trained and already followed up so we were able to just work and not worry about anything else. The spirit was the strongest it has ever been in some of the lessons and OH YEA... We had a baptism this week!!!(: Haha we got a referral from one of the missionaries and it was a family from Kiribati. The whole family was members, but the dad. And he wanted to be baptized. We were teaching hime for only 3 weeks. He wanted us to keep coming back almost every day until his baptism. So we did. And he was baptized this week. It was so cool to see all of his kids wityh big smiles on their faces. And even cooler was to see his son baptize him. This gospel is just amazing!(: And so is missionary work! haha(:
So more depressing news.... I am getting transferred. I am going to a place called Naulu. It is completely on the opposite side of the island. haha I leave tomorrow and Sister Au is just going to the next area. haha But we were so sad, because we worked so hard with our investigators and less actives this week and we were able to see so many miracles, and been through a lot just in ONE WEEK! But, it is ok! I know i wouldn't have been able to get through this week without her! She is so awesome and such an answer to my prayers. I am so sad to leave the people here in Nadi. I will never forget them. They have become my family! Its so weird how that happens. I have come to just completely LOVE these people here and I have tried my hardest to give them all i have.. And I hope I gave enough. But I am so excited to go to Naulu. Sister Au was telling me all about it because she served in the area right next to it! So I am excited to have a fresh view and move on!
I am going to miss this area, but I know I am going to Love Naulu. I can already tell!!(:
Well I hope your week was just as good and full of miracles just like mine(: Haha! I love you guys so so SO much! Something I learned this week was to learn what you need to learn to become what you want to become. So learn from everything so you can become YOU!!!(:
AU LOMANI KEMUNI!
loloma levu!
Sister Rich
p.s. Sorry no pictures this week, i packed my cord already and forgot.... next week for sure(: