Elder Swallow is #Fiji Bound

We had a great face time call with Tommy, then we got this email- So I will not be able to email today, I'm on just for a sec and I didn't get any packages or letters so Merry Christmas to me!  its all good I'm on a tropical island! I will email lots more and pictures next week on the 31st for you I love you guys so much! email next week! 

I get a lot of the same questions so I thought I'd answer them for everyone at once. What do you eat a lot of? fish and rice! What does your house look like? freaking wicked What do you sleep on? a bed I'm not a barbarian... How do you bathe? just a cold a shower How is the language?a grind but study and the Lord makes it good Who is your companion? Elder Giles What are they like? he's fine,  doesn't like movies or sports What does the island look like?a straight up paradise Do you have electricity? 2 hours a day Can you feel our love and strength?every single day! ! i love you all very much! be good my prayers and thoughts are with you! be good I'll talk to you on Christmas!  Our Chapel and My house-  Straight Up Paradise!!!

During these weeks between Tommy's emails I try to find something that will be of interest to this blog that will help us understand what life is like as a missionary in Fiji.  This week on our "Parents of Fiji Suva Missionary" Facebook page there was an interesting exchange about sending and receiving packages.  Sister Carolee Purrington is a senior missionary working in the mission office, and one of her jobs is to go with her husband to the post office and get mail (specifically packages). Her Facebook post was an answer to a question about how the missionaries get their packages: "I open the packages when I pick them up for examination. Parents spend a lot of money on postage to send item that are available here in Fiji such as candy, chips, peanut butter. Things like jerky, honey and canned meats will be confiscated. The packages are picked up every week by me or Elder Purrington. At Christmas we are going a couple of times a week. Picking them up is dif...

Kenney got a message from a mother with a missionary in Fiji that goes on splits with Tommy. She wanted to share some photos her son had sent that had Tommy in them! It was wonderful to see him in his new home!

One of the Elders sent me this picture of Tommy, and asked to send it to you guys. The other picture is the North Zone Conference. Love you guys. Tommy is doing so good!!  A passage from Kaylee's family email- On Thursday we had to give our training again at another zone conference!! And my first cousin Elder Swallow was there!! It was the weirdest/coolest feeling to be in the same room as my cousin here in Fiji. 

Fear not I am safe and sound in the beautiful island of Fiji! We had 22 new elders and sisters come in with me it was very big intake for a little island! We stayed at our mission home that day and then we went out to give out a Book of Mormon in all Fijian. It was great and very scary experience, but I did it, and got a new person of interest for the Samabula elders. In my prayers that night, I thanked my Father in Heaven for the strength and I had the craziest feeling that he wasn't done with me yet.   I foolishly thought he meant in Fijian... we opened a letter that gave us our first area and I have been called the serve on the island called Rabi!   This would be a good and a good story... however; the thing about Rabi (pronounced Ram-be) is they don't speak Fijian... They speak a language called Kiribati (sounds like kira bass) (weird right) it’s crazy difficult. I have been on Rabi for over a week and this means I am fluent i Kiribati... psych, it’s still c...

I got to Fiji all safe and was able to place a Book of Mormon that night in Fijian. However; the bad news. it's actually super cool news but I know it will freak you out. I got my first area in a place called Rabi. Here's the catch, it is way in the bush! We only have two hours of electricity a night, so thank you dad for all my solar stuff. Water usually, but we don't have a washer so by hand and usually we shower in the ocean... Oh and one last thing they don't speak Fijian! They speak Kirabati. which is ridiculously difficult and usually elders stay on for 6 or more months. I know I can do it! The Lord will qualify me.  Oh and the bad news since it is way in the bush I can only email once maybe twice a transfer. But remember! I'm  safe because I will keep the rules! Prayers are always needed especially now. Please let friends and extended family know I'm safe and don't worry! Plus my homecoming talk will be lit as mess! three languages!  The fli...

I arrived in Fiji safe at 6 am Oct. 31. I had a great flight I slept through it all! I woke up a couple of times but for the majority I slept (9 hours). Our flight to Los Angeles was long, itty bitty plane! When we got to Fiji we went all the way to customs and Kaylee called me from a missionary’s phone! It was a really long bus ride, and Fiji is so beautiful! I know this is where I’m needed to be! I love you all very much and be strong! it was good to talk to you! I’ll write on Monday so Sunday night your time! Be good hug Kendra! Be good talk to you later! Au lomani iko!

Oct. 26, 2018 (First email to the big family and friends group) Dear Friends and family,  Sorry I haven't sent an email out to you guys yet. I just knew you want pictures of Fiji not Provo! The MTC has been a great experience! I have grown a lot! Spiritually... I'm still itty bitty. However I do know more Fijian then I did about a month ago so that's good news! I can't wait to be culturally slapped in the face when I get off the plane!  I fly out to Fiji Monday night and I'll get there Wednesday morning, super long flight!  The MTC was a great stepping stone for my life! It was something that I will keep with me through out my whole mission! I was blessed with a great companion and an even better district! I know hard times will come but for right now my mission has been great! I can't wait to be pushed and tried. Because I know the Lord doesn't give us challenges that we can't over come! I love all of you guys so much! Thank you for all the ...

I am stuck in church jail...haha- jokes. I'm having a great time! We've had a couple TRCs since we last had a chat. They went well, Omae gets nervous but speaks fluent! We tell the new guys on our floor he only speaks Tongan so I learned things to yell when he's in front of the new guys, they get freaked out! Its so funny! My favorite word in Tongan in fakahela. yes it sounds like that! haha it sounds like a swear! haha I'm dying just writing it!!!  we have had a good week besides Sundays I love it here! Sundays are like straight but jail! But it's ok who wants to love the day of rest! Anyway on Tuesday we got to class and Elder Madsen goes "cool I got my visa"... and we all ran to the computer lab!  I'm happy to report that I've been accepted! In ten days I will be going to the place that hasn't left my mind in 18 years-haha jokes, it's been like 4 months, but I'm soooo freaking ready, I'm literally freezing! It is so cold ...

Last Friday we had our first TRC and it was so good! But before we couldn't go into the building because someone pulled the fire alarm. Hence the picture with the fire truck! (no fire truck picture was included:) maybe next week)  For conference they kept us in our devotional room all of the sessions. It was like jail... Saturday night they put on a special priesthood session just for us. And Sunday we were in there all day! Don't  get me wrong it was great and uplifting and wow 12 temples. However we could have watched them in our classroom!  The elders on our floor left this week for the Marshal Islands. It was so sad! I had only known these guys for like 3 weeks and I was still so sad when they left. There is  a tradition here, we have huge pants and they get handed down to the shortest elder in the district, so thanks Pat,  now I have giant pants!  The night after they left I had a bit of an accident I was running to the bathroom... not t...