Planting Flowers

July 26^th 2015

I have yet to stop being amazed each time we teach with the Spirit. It isn't us. This isn't our work. It's God's. and He is the one teaching. If it were me trying to convince people that this is true, I would be now where. I don't know everything. Luckily, the Spirit is the one teaching and I am humbled to my knees each time I get to see the Spirit work within someone and they begin to understand and grow in greater light and knowledge. You can really see it in their eyes and it is the most beautiful thing in the whole world. The mission is amazing. I am also extremely humbled to be blessed to be seeing so many with the light of their potential. Their Spirits are truly bright and powerful. All of us are as God's children. It is amazing to see. My companion and I spoke in our ward yesterday. It was great and felt God sustaining my words and testimony as a missionary. I had given a similar talk many times before but this time, there was a power and boldness behind it that I can only conclude as the office that I am in as a set apart Missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints. I love it.

Loloma Yani,

Sister Singleton

 

The picture above is of me and sister Shankaran. The one below is of my in the shelter of a banana tree. The one at the top is me holding the cut open cocoa pod. We ate the white stuff covering the cocoa seeds. It is super good. Then we took the seeds and roasted them :)

 

For lunch we had Dalo and curried tuna and potatoes! It was yummy! Then we headed home for studies. :) It was super fun! While we were working, it raining for about a minute and I discovered the best tree to hide under is a banana tree because they have giant leaves! haha We also did our service with Bulou. The girl that is preparing for a mission. She is the one that did most of the cooking. haha

We had a fun service this week, helping plant flowers. Planting flowers here is fun. You just trim an existing plant with a machete and then stick that branch in the ground. It will then begin to grow over a period of time. haha We did a ton in only an hour! haha We did it with our awesome neighbor Sister Shankaran! She is from South Africa and married an Indian. She is the one who took care of me when I was sick. A truly amazing woman! :) After service we all helped make lunch at that house. We had home made cocoa. Picked the pod, cut it, sucked the coating off the seeds, roasted the seeds, pounded the seeds until smooth and then mixed it in hot water for a tradition Samoan hot cocoa! :)

Mud, Mud and more mud

I love my area. It is such an adventure and the people are amazing! We one of the only areas in which the areas are fed every night. It is wonderful! It has been crazy cold here though. haha Wailoku is said to be one of the coldest areas too. I am very grateful for the one blanket that I have that manages to keep me warm not only while sleeping but during studies as well... haha It also rains A TON here. Because of all the rain, it is also very muddy..

We were laughing super hard the other day when we were walking in 10 inches of mud to go visit two less active members. At one point, we were standing on a slope and laughing SO hard as we found ourselves slowly sliding down it in the mud without even moving. We went a good 6 feet before stopping. It was funny!

July 18

We have a really awesome Indian family in our area. They feed us every Sunday and have really taken us in as daughters. The mom gave my companion and I our own Sari and so we have fun trying them on again with our Sister Training Leaders who were visiting for exchanges!

Io (yes) from left to right goes, Sister Isoa, Sister I'aulualo (my comp.) and me.

Exchanges with Sister Isoa in Samabula! It was fun! Ate 3 dinners, lots of fish, and taught some good lessons. Also, Learned how to pray in Kiribati. :D

LOL. I finally slipped. It was inevitable. Especially with all the mud. Well, one night, we were coming down from a Less Active member who's house was way on a hill in the bush and they way to get to it very steep. We went to it when it was light outside and when we came out it was dark. We started walking down but soon got lots and found ourselves laughing really hard as we stumbled through the forest until finding the mud path again. Lol. We were in front of another less Active's house when we both slipped and couldn't really get back up because it was super muddy. The kids were laughing from inside. haha We got up and walked home to change really fast before heading to dinner. It was a grand adventure. hahaha

Kaitolo: Is said about someone when they come from a bush area in to the city and everything is so new for them.

This is me every time we come into town on P-days to email and play with our Zone. haha The photo is of me sitting on the couch at another set of sister's flat. It was a nice couch and I was freaking out about it because we don't have a couch and I was excited to sit on it. Lol

I am in FIJI!!!!

Rachel's Mission Address to the Island:

Fiji Suva Mission

GPO BOX 215

Suva, Fiji

June 30

Our Mission President and his wife.

July 5
So, the flight wasn't too long. Just about 12 hours from LAX to Fiji. I slept (or at least tried to) for most of it. The first day in the mission home was kind of crazy and full of confusion that when I finally got my call to my area, I was crazy relieved. haha

Well, for those of you who know Fiji, my first area is Wailoku! My trainer, Sister I'aulualo and I are the only two sisters in it with no elders. It is a little valley just on the other side of Suva. Many call it a rain forest because It is usually raining and muddy. It is its own little world. The people live in simple means but are so amazing!   Haha I love it though. Words cannot describe how much my mind and heart have been blown this last weekend. I am still confused on a lot of things (a lot being when they speak Fijian to me haha) but I am loving it.

July 4th

happy 4th of july! Thanks for the necklace! I gave the white strand to my companion and we wore them on our wrists all day. Then at one house. It was a mom with 9 kids. (Most of the families have a bunch of kids and all really close in age. haha I am not quite sure if they have birth control.. haha) anyway, it was a normal house. dirt or wood floor with a straw mat, rusted metal walls, one room, a thin matrices for them to sleep on. the father gone to work. Well, one of the adorable little girls kept looking it mine and mentioning it and stroking it and so I gave one to her. It was super funny. 

 I am experiencing so much. It is so crazy different. It is very similar to a lot of Glen's stories of him in the bush. I love it though. My hair is crazy, I don't wear make up, and everyone stares at my white skin. But oh how exciting it is. And oh how the people that live in these circumstances inspire me. 

New Samoan and Marshallesse District :) they are awesome! It is great to have new people in our small zone!

Our sisters :D They are super sweet and It has been amazing to be their sister training leaders!

 Being Artistic

 

 We were bored... and we really

miss TV.... so we gave in to watching.... . . .

THE VENDING MACHINES... they are super tempting and life is just super hard when you no longer have money on your MTC card. :( hahahA!

We try to have fun among all of our studying and crazy stuff.

Wow. This last week was crazy, last p-day we moved into a new building that was super nice. We were excited to move there because it was So much nicer than what we were living in. Then the MTC starting prepping for the New Mission President Conference this week. The whole MTC has been on lock down. We can't even look into the main building. So far, no one has been able to even get a glimpse of any of the general authorities. Pretty much the only cool thing that has happened in relation to that is that each of the new mission presidents met with a district and practiced teaching for an hour. We got to meet the new mission president going to Denmark. That was nice. The craziest things that happened was na beka talenoa(the bat story). So, we had a crazy day, my companion and I were supposed to go to our departing orientation all day on thursday. We went for the first half, then after lunch we had to go meet the new mission president that was going to teach us. So we went to that, got out at four, went to go back to the orientation again but all the sisters were ushered into a giant meet. They wouldn't tell us what it was about and there was a lot of officials and leaders walking around. So, of course, we all assumed that one of the visiting members of the Twelve decided he wanted to meet with all the sisters and told our leaders to make it happen. We sang songs waiting for them to start what they were going to share. (inviting the spirit in anticipation for what we were hoping would happen... haha) Then one of the MTC presidency members said that would change our lives immediately. (this for sure convinced us.) Then he said that 2 bats were reported and found in the building that 97% of the sisters lived in. (this being the building I had just unpacked into..) At first we all laughed. Then he said he was serious, and that for safety, health, and whatever other reasons, every single one of us would have to pack, and move into another building. This was pretty frustrating but we took it as an adventure. haha We had to get new keys, pack, and move in an hour because we had class at 6 and we had to be out before that night. It was chaos. We had a hurried dinner, went to residence, threw everything into suit cases, and the Elders waiting outside our residence helped carry all our stuff to the new building. It kinda felt like EFY.. haha We moved, ran to class, skyped a Fijian for a lesson, finished class, unpacked, went to bed, got up early this morning to go to the temple, and began to pack again for Fiji because I leave on Monday. hahaha  Crazy! It was a fun adventure though! I am super excited to leave Monday! I can't believe it. Missions are hard. But I can't help but love it. haha Anyway, that is all I can think of. Just think. My next post will be from Fiji!! AH! 

Love, Sister Singleton 

Ah! We got our flight plans today!! I fly out Monday June 29!  It is all of a sudden getting pretty real. We fly from SLC-LAX, then LAX- Fiji! crazy!

So, this week. We had a Zone Conference on Saturday. It was good. We mixed up companionship and taught a lesson in English. It was nice teaching in English because I didn't have to worry about not knowing how to say what I wanted. The Spirit was so strong and it was a great reminder of why I am here and just how much I love missionary work! 

Sunday was a CRAZY day. My companion and I became the New Sister Training leaders for our Zone and so we had meetings and orientations along with our other usual Sunday activities from 7:30 Am until we went back to residence at 9:30. I was tried. I discovered that day, that when I have to sit and listen and restrain myself for long periods of time it just makes me go a little crazy at night and I become super silly. haha Sunday was an amazing day though! 

Monday and tuesday, we sent off 3 sisters from our Zone to their missions in the Marshal Islands, and Kiribati. That night we had a devotional from a member of the seventy, Elder Evans. It was great as usual. :)

Wednesday, we got new missionaries into our zone! 4 sisters and 7 elders! It was so exciting and as sister training leaders, my companion and I got to do orientation with them. 

Thursday, we skyped a member in Fiji and taught a lesson in Fijian! It was crazy. Good. but I have so much to learn. haha It was fun because it made going to Fiji and teaching them, a little more real. 

Time is flying and its okay because I know God is with me every step of the way. 

 

Love, Sister Singleton

Bula Vinaka!

Bula Vinaka!

Oh my goodness. This week went by SO FAST! Some things that happened included:

1. teaching a  lesson in Fijian to people we didn't really know. I was super nervous about not being able to understand what they were saying and it was a rough day, but we went in and shared a message and although I didn't recognize any of the vocab they used, through the Spirit, I was able to feel what they were saying. If that makes sense. haha it was awesome! and gave me hope.

2. Sister Linda K. Burton came and spoke at our devotional! Super awesome! We have had quite the streak of awesome devotionals! I heard it is just going to keep getting better because the mission president conference is in the beginning of July. I am going to miss it by a week or so which is sad. 

3. My companion and I set the goal of sharing our testimony in Fijian at least once everyday. So, one time we went around looking for people to share it with and I concluded that I wanted to share it with one of the many senior couples here at the MTC. So we found one, they eagerly accepted to listen, and I start sharing. By the time I was done, the sister was in tears. It was really sweet and also gave me hope that even if the people of Fiji can't understand me, they can still feel the Spirit that I bring. It was awesome.

4. I got to host some of the 600+ missionaries that came in this last wednesday! It was fun but also sad. It was fun to be apart of all the excitement but super hard to see quite a few people crying super hard. I watched a sister get dropped off by an older lady, they both teared up a little but then she walked off and as the older lady proceeded to pull out we heard her break down into sobs through her rolled down window. It made us almost start crying. haha 

5. I also got sick. My temperature reached 102.3. It turns out I had some sort of bacterial infection in my throat.. I went to the doctor and got an antibiotic and now I am all better! YAy! haha

6. My low light of this week would have to be when I let my super sensitive self get discouraged. Circumstances provided the means and I soon found myself being pounded by the Advisory saying that I would never become good at the language and that people would make fun of how I spoke. It was awful. I was able to come out of it though! With a little love from one of my teachers, an Almond Joy, and a pep talk from my Heavenly Father. I came to the conclusion that, even if it may take me a while to learn all the grammar rules, and even if my Fijian comes out imperfectly, I am not going to give up. God called me to learn Fijian and that is what I am trying so very hard to learn. I believe in God. I believe that I can do all things through Christ. With this knowledge, I am going to not give up on myself and I WILL learn this language even if it takes until the last day of my mission. What would you do with this knowledge?

Overall, it has been an amazing week! Full of the Spirit and progress! I can do this! 

Au lomani Kemudou!

Love, Sister Singleton

Life at the MTC

Sister Singleton with her dot :-)

At Provo Temple

:D) Wow, last week went SUPER slow and this week went super fast! WHich is good but also freaky. My companion is counting down the days until we leave. which is supposed to be on June 26. We get our flight plans in about two weeks. AH! I don't like to think about it because I get too excited! I also get very nervous about how I don't know a ton of the language still. We have fun with our teachers. Class is very relaxed because it is just the two of us. haha Did I mention Elder Holland spoke at our devotion last week? And then Elder Christofferson spoke this last tuesday? It was awesome! The mtc is quite the journey and I am taking it in. It is easy to want to move forward and just expect the language to come but I have to keep reminding myself to enjoy today and study. Fijian is actually pretty easy. They talk in a VERY simple way. For example: to say: I am happy. you would say, Au marau. which is directly translated to: I happy. And it totally makes sense to them. haha The only thing with fijian is sentence structure and how they have a lot of LONG words. Like: vakavinavinaktaka = to make blessed. haha I love it though. it is super fun. It is a process though.  I am learning a lot of patience with myself. My itokani and I gave the lesson in relief society on sunday! It was pretty great! We sent off our Tongan district and got a whole new set this wednesday! It was exciting! I love seeing all the new missionaries come in! Oh! I almost forgot, Janice Kapp Perry gave our devotional sunday night and it was hysterical! Also, she shared with us her family song and it was just awesome! Family!: we NEED to make a family song! Anyway, my time is up. 

Au lomani kemuni!

Sister Singleton

My Mission President and my Companion

How to say a prayer in Fijian :-)