Fiji Suva Mission

Fiji Suva Mission
July 2009 - December 2010

Nasinu 1st Ward

Monday, April 19, 2010

Stories to Share

We have a couple of stories that we would like to share. 
 
About a month ago Sister Seare was shopping at her favorite store in Fiji called Jack's.  We go in there every time we go downtown just because they sort of have normal stuff.  We don't buy much but we love to go in and just browse.  One day Sister Seare was walking through the store with another of our senior sister missionaries.  As they were leaving the store a young Indian sales clerk, named Neelum, stopped us at the door and began asking  about our religion.  She wondered what Bible we study and what we believe.   Wow!  They were amazed.  Neelum went on to tell them that she has been watching Sister Seare every time she came into the store for the past 7 months.  She said there was "something different" about Becky and she wanted to know what it was.  Sister Seare and Sister Schern visited with her for a while and told her about the JST Bible and the Book of Mormon.  She said she has been looking into religions for a very long time.  And she wants to know the truth.  This was on a Friday and they told her they would be back with a Bible and Book of Mormon for her on Monday.   
 
That was the weekend of our Hurricane scare so they weren't able to go back to see her til Wednesday of that week.  When they went in she said she was disappointed that they couldn't come in on Monday but she "knew" they would be there on Wednesday.  They gave her the Bible and Book of Mormon and she was so appreciative.  She said she would start reading it.  Sister Seare asked if we could have our missionaries come to her house and teach her.  She willingly agreed but wanted us to be there with them. 
 
Sister Seare got back to the mission office and looked up her address.  To our surprise we found that she lived within the boundaries of the ward we attend.  We talked to the sisters in our area and gave them her phone number.  Sister Seare has stopped in to see her on a weekly basis and her spirit is so strong.   

 
She told us that her husband is Muslem but she believes that in God's eyes nothing is impossible.  During our first visit with her the spirit was strong.  Her husband was so gracious, he just sat back and  listened to what we had to say. We really hit it off. The next time Becky saw her she said that for 19 years her husband has not allowed her go to church but that he felt good about this one and told her she could go to church if she wanted, 
 
The sisters went another 2 times to teach her without us and said that she remains very interested and that she is reading the Book of Mormon. 



We went back with the sisters last night.  The spirit was so strong.  Her husband wasn't there but all four of her children (18 yr old son, 16 year old daughter, 12 year old daughter and 5 year old son) listened in on parts of the lesson.  To make a long story short it was an amazing experience for all of us.  We all bore our testimonies to her.  We were so touched when she expressed gratitude for us coming into her life.  We, in return told her How grateful we were that she came into our lives.  We can't even describe feelings that we had.  She wants to be baptized and is going to start coming to church with us next week.  It all seems too good to be true.  As we sat there we felt the spirit with her children.  She made the comment that everything was going to be different in there familly now. We will see what happens over the next few weeks and months.  All we can do at this point is pray that the spirit will continue to speak to Neelum and her family.


Because our mission assignment is so temporal we are so grateful to have this experience.   We made it clear to Neelum that it wasn't Sister Seare that touched her but that she  was merely the vehicle for her to feel the spirit.  We realized that you never know who's life you may touch or who is watching you.  The Missionaries call it "Matching the Message".  We more completely understoood how important it is to wear our badges with pride and that we are here as a representative of Jesus Christ!  
 

Another Story we would like to share is about Wendy's Dad.   Many of us have been to the Church college library.  The book about Russell M. Nelson caught our eye.  So we began reading it a passing it around amongst us senior missionaries.  One of the Senior sisters took it with her to a visit to see the doctor.  The doctor she saw is a Female Fijian Doctor.  She and her husband have been a God send to us because they have been so helpful when we have had medical issues with our missionaries.  We have had the opportunity to talk a little bit about who we were and what we were doing in Fiji.  A couple of missionaries have even been able to give a minnie discussion during an appointment.   Anyway the sister that was seeing Dr. Lavinia happened to have Russel M. Nelsons biography with here.  The doctor saw it and recognized "Dr. Nelson"  She asked if he was a famous heart surgeon who developed the heart/lung machine.  She had studdied him in medical school here in Fiji.  She always marveled at what he has done for the development of heart surgeries.  Sister Schern said that yes he is the famous heart surgeon and that he is also the father of 10 children and an "Apostle".  Dr. Lavinia began asking questions about what it meant to be an Apostle.  It was a wonderful opportunity to explain to her how our church is organized just as it was in the time of Christ.   We ordered the book from Deseret Book and as soon as it gets here we are going to present it to her with a letter.  Once again,  You never know who is watching and what they are watching.  She and her husband are special people and we are trying to let them know more and more about our church.  Hopefully someday the missionaries will be able to teach them.   
 
We love the Lord and we are so grateful to be here serving HIM. 
 

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