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.

Cola Vina mai NaHigatoka!

September 18th - 23rd 2016

This week was we saw a lot of miracles and also a little bit of disappointment. Pretty much like every other week in the mission field.

Last P day I finally got some money and was able to purchase a new camera from Nadi Town. So now I will take lots of pictures. I also bought myself a cool fanny pack and I have worn it everyday this week. In fact, I am wearing it right now.

The sad part of this week is that Male our investigator dropped us. He went to his Catholic Priest and he told him to stop taking lessons from us. Classic.

The good part is that we have been working with a lot of less actives and they are all starting to open up to us. Hali was actually able to come to church. I haven't seen her at church since I have been in this area. Just inviting people can help them come. On Sunday I was blessing the sacrament and I looked up at her when she was taking the sacrament and I could just see the look in her eyes and in her face that she felt so much joy and love that she hadn't felt in so long. It really opened up my eyes and how important the sacrament is.

We also visited other less actives and they opened up to us. Sis Doris has been gone for so long and told us why. She didn't feel worthy. It was good to set goals with her and help her get back on track to come to church.

I tried to cut Elder Ruwhiu's hair and it looked awful. Good thing he is a nice guy though and didn't really care. We went to a real barber to fix it though.

The biggest experience this week happened on Saturday:

We were about to leave the flat after lunch and President Layton called us about an emergency. He connected us to the line of a lady named Sister Berze from Sydeny Australia. She told us that she was at the Sigatoka hospital and that her son Bryce had been in a rugby accident. She really needed us to come give him a blessing. We rushed as fast as we could to the hospital. We found them in Trauma Room 1. He was in poor condition. We then were able to give him a priesthood blessing. It was one of the most powerful moments that I have had here on my mission.

I know that the church is true and as long as we continue to be loyal, we will receive blessings form heaven. I know the church is true and that God loves all of his children.

Love Elder Jones

Sleeping out on the cement didn't work out to well

A wonderful family we were able to reactivate

We were playing what are the odds. Elder Whiting lost. Ouch.

Moms Fiz surprise

Riley has not had the time to blog, so I thought I would share my thoughts as his mother. Riley is an incredible son and an even better missionary. He cares so much for the people of Fiji and loves the Lord very much. He works so hard every day and even if conditions are not the best he pushes forward with love and faith. He knows he has made a commitment to the Lord for two years and is serving with all his might, mind and soul. As I was reflecting on his time in Fiji, a message popped up on my phone. I saw this picture with Riley's name on it. It was a picture he drew and hung up on the wall in FIZ. It reminded me that time goes by fast and that the world keeps revolving and moving forward. He drew that picture before he left and now he has been gone for over a year. Anyway, just remember, always do what is right and you will be blessed. 

A special picture sent from one of my missionary mammas. They had just stopped by Fiz and they saw this on the wall. She sent it to me and made my day.

Studying with the boys, beds moved out of the way for room.

Fiji wins gold!!!!

E dua na yabaki sa oti!!

Well, I hit my year mark this last week. It feels really weird. Time moves way slow some times during the mission, but looking back on it now it feels like it has flown by. This week was also very good because FIJI WON THE GOLD MEDAL! Hahaha we had no idea about the game, but once we left the flat and went to town, we obviously knew that they had one because everyone was freaking out. There was parades in the street and people in cars waving the Fijian flag and everyone was yelling. Man it was awesome. We were very excited for them.

This week we worked really hard though. We taught so many lessons and I felt so good. Being able to constantly feel the spirit throughout the week made it that much more rewarding. I also learned a lot about prayer. God wants us to pray. I have learned that he gives good gifts unto his children that ask. Such a simple thing as prayer can be taken to the next level when we just put effort in. I plead with you all to always pray and God will bless you. 

I also burned a shirt for the tradition as a missionary. To be honest it was just an old t shirt because actual white button shirts are too valuable to burn. We used kerosene which made it even better. I wish I was able to watch the Olympics, but nothing beats being out here in Fiji. I hope everyone has the best week.

Love Elder Jones 

The epic 1 year shirt burning. Although tradition would want a white button up burned, I stuck with a t-shirt. My dress shirts are to valuable out here.

As always, so hard to get up.

My district leader, Elder Barnaby from Boston.

My pride for Fiji, bursting out of my chest. 

The Skipper Cup

Cola Vina!

This week was a real full of ups and downs and everywhere in between.

Monday- The entire zone gathered in Lautoka for zone p day. We all played tons of games (mostly touch) and had a really fun time. At the end of the night we all had a talent show. My talent was the worst but I didn't care. It was so bad that I won't tell you what it was. Anyway, after that we went and ate McDonalds. This is the first time I have had McDonalds since I was in Salt Lake Airport last year. Oh man, it was nice. Then we slept at the Zone leaders flat. On the board in their flat they gave everyone superheros as our alias. I got picked as Wolverine. Pretty awesome

Tuesday- We stayed up in Lautoka for our ZTM meeting. It was really fun and there was a lot of good things shared. There was an activity where we had to make an object lesson out of a random object. We were given a calculator and I added up a bunch of sins in front of everyone and it equalled 7734. Which on the calculator is the word hell upside down. I told everyone that they would go there. But then, the C button which means clear represented Christ and he will clear our sins. It was pretty boss. One Elder in the zone said he wants to go buy a calculator just to teach one of his investigators. We headed back but our car got stuck at Toyota and they wouldn't release it to us. It was a stressful day.

Wednesday- We taught tons of lessons to make up for Tuesday. We went out and saw everyone. It was so good to teach people and see them grow. One of our investigators, Waqa, doesn't have a birth certificate or anything. He doesn't know how old he is or what his real name is. He comes to church every week so hopefully we will get it sorted out and he will soon be baptized. Margie another one of our investigators, works for a river safari thing which is way cool. I might have to hit it up when I come back. They even have a blob set up on the river. Most the members here work at resorts and stuff.

Thursday- We went out and so a lot of less actives. It is hard for people to come to church here in Fiji. Some people pay money for taxis or buses and some people just have to walk. It can be hard but they are rewarded for their faith. We then went to have dinner with our members but they just gave us a container and so we just ate it back at our flat.

Friday- It was a pretty bum day. Everyone in our area was gone watching rugby. Nadroga, the province that I serve in, played in Suva for the Skipper Cup. It is a pretty big game and they won! GO STALLIONS! HAKWA NADRO. The high school kids played a big game in Sigatoka town as well. There were a lot of drunk guys the tried to fight us. I saw one drunk guy laying on this little bridge and he rolled over into the creek. I thought was going to drown but he managed to get out after a few attempts. 

Saturday-They call it the burning west because it is always so hot over here, but it poured so this day and Friday. It was really storming. Everyone was in their houses and it was hard to see people again, but we kept on going. Sometimes when everything goes bad, it is important to just take a second and think.

Sunday- Went to church and it was really spiritual. I felt something during the sacrament that I don't think I have every felt before. As I was breaking the bread, I felt gratitude for Jesus and all he has done for me. After that, we drove up to Nadi then caught a 4 hour bus to Suva in preparation for Elder Johansson to get his visa interview at the embassy. It was a really long ride.

Monday- I sat in the LTA for like 4 hours. The LTA is the DMV for Fiji, but it is way worse. I sat in there so the Suva North ZL could take his driving test. It took forever.... I did get to watch USA womans rugby and some weight lifting though which was cool. After that, I went back and they put me on a bus back to Nadi. Another 4 more hours and more waiting and I got back to the Nadi Elders flat around 8 pm. I guess you could say I learned a lot of patience.

I know the church is true. Never stop strengthening your testimony in Jesus Christ. If your testimony is not going forward, it is going back.

Love Elder Jones

My new flat 

This is a good map of my mission

Elder Johannson, his dad is an area 70

Controlled fires, don't worry