Happy Halloween.....
October 23rd - 29th

Actually Happy Diwali.

As many probably already know, there are lots of Indians here in Fiji and we have quite a bit in our area. Yesterday was Diwali and it was fun going to peoples houses to eat Indian sweets and to watch all of the fireworks from out house. :)

On Monday we played Rugby and Soccer. I cans still do my little rainbow trick which is cool. I am also the juggling master. I think that hackey sack taught me alot. The rest of the week was pretty average. We weren't able to take the boat out to Vutia because we didn't get enough money to go this week. It is a real bummer because our best investigator family lives out there. Hopefully this week we will see them and get them ready to be baptized. It is so fun to see people grow in their faith. I have learned how to wash dishes like a pro now as well. We have like no water at our flat so I have to walk and go fill up a bucket from a tap and then carry it back to the house. It works but it is a pain.

The work is going well and I am keeping my spirits up. I am starting to talk like a child kind of because some of the Indians we teach only speak very limited English and we don't speak Hindi so we just have to talk like we are babies and then they understand. We say stuff like "We go byebye" and "where you go today" hahah but it is fun.

The biggest problem with most of our investigators is church attendance and have to get married. Some of them also need to get divorced and then married,... They don't have the money to do it so it is hard. 

The church blesses lives. Keep on doing what you are supposed to and you will see the fruits of living the gospel.

Love Elder Jones

Atesh and I.

Fijian dude with red skins cap.

Dinner with Sister Temo.

Fijian kids are crazzzzzy

Gunu ti with the homies

Diwali fun

BULA TALE

October 16th - 21st

This week was way good. It was full of ups and down and everything in between.

My bike has been broken. The pedal fell off. But this week I found this old little rusty bike in some dump pile and stole a nut from it and now my back is back to working.

We did a lot of finding this week. Our investigator pool is decent but  the only problem we are having with our investigators is getting them to church. They keep promising us that they will go and then they don't show. It is soooo frustrating. But I am trying to stay positive.

Some of our investigators include

Ana- 20 year old girl from the islands of Lau. She is living with a member family and is currently reading the Book of Mormon. She is way funny and likes the Book of Mormon but doesn't feel like she's got an answer yet.

Simeli and Fam- 50 year old Methodist guy who loves to hear our message. He lives in Vutia which is a 30 minute boat ride away. He is interested in Family History and actually went to church yesterday with his family. Yipeee

Vasiti and Pinto- Old couple that have investigated the church for a long time. They need to be married but want to be baptized.

Some days when it is time to leave the flat, I look at the rain and just laugh and then go out and right my bike in the tropical storm. It's fun when you make it fun.

I also was able to try some new food this week. I ate manta ray and puffer fish. I love sea food.

Love Elder Jones

Party at the church

Elder Vitiarai, our zone leader. He is super funny.

Kids are out

Waking up from a Sunday nap

All moved
Back to the EAST.

I got transferred to Toga.. No not Tonga like Other Side of Heaven and John Groberg but I got transferred to Toga Rewa in Fiji. It is a pretty sweet area I'm not going to lie.. 

It was sad to say goodbye to all of the fun people I met in Sigatoka. We were really close to a few baptisms there so I am really sad to leave. I hope that E. Ruwhiu keeps the work going over there.

The last Elder that was in this area before me didn't really do much so it sort of feels like a white wash hahah. They didn't have a single investigator for us to work with.. It's all good though. We just have done a lot of finding. We have met some people that seem really interested. This one girl named Ana from Lau told us that she read the Book of Mormon and prayed about it and felt that it was true. I was way excited for her. She still isn't sure about baptism but I hope we can help her to get there.

One of the fun things about this area is that we are able to take a boat ride once a week out to a unit. It is kinda like it's own island. It is super close to Viti Levu but it is still like a 40 minute boat ride for us to get there. It has been lots of fun.

My new companion is Elder Hamon from Australia. He reminds me a lot of my cousin Devon. He loves to skateboard and he entered a lot of competitions. He worked as a butcher for the past few years. He is always sharpening the knives in the flat hahaha. 

I know that working hard isn't always the easiest thing, but it is way worth the rewards. It's funny because when we just work hard, time flies and things seem easier. I love the gospel and my testimony is a lot stronger now that I have been out here and sharing the gospel. Being a member of the church back home was easy. But being a missionary really puts your testimony to the test. I know that God lives and loves us and answers our prayers.

Love Elder Jones

Chillin in Vuita.

Our small church out in the boonies.

Long walks to get anywhere.

Boat ride to Vutia

My new companion Elder Hamon

Drinking Coconuts by the river

Transfer Week
October 2nd - 8th

Moving to my new area Toga Rewa, leaving Sigatoka

Will post more next week

Saying goodbye to Sister Lesi. She is the manager of Hot Bread.

Saying goodbye to the people in Sigatoka.

Pictures from the week of 

A list from top to bottom of my companions

Elder Levasa (Queensland, Australia) - MTC

Elder Otene (Brisbane, Australia) - Burewai

Elder Whitworth (Draper, UT) - Nasautoka which was half of Burewai area

Elder Dunn (Las Vegas, NV) - Vuna

Elder Howard (Los Alamitos, California)- Vuna

Elder Mckee (Washington State) - Vuna

Elder Johansson (Auckland, NZ) - Sigatoka

Elder Ruwhiu (Auckland, NZ) - Sigatoka

Random horse on the beach.

Party at one of our members.

Fred, the village pet, it is not a pig, it is a dog with very bad mange.

The Aussies facing the Nadroga team. Pretty sure the Aussies won because they are good at Rugby.

I totally stole this picture, take special note of my fanny pack. I wear it everywhere.

I was able to get them to strike a pose.

Elder RUWHIU.

With Elder Naivaluwaqa and Elder Whiting.