MERRY CHRISTMAS

MAN guys I don't have the most time to email, but I just want you all to know this is the best time of year. Christmas is great. It's a chance for us to remember the wonderful gift our Heavenly Father has given us, his son Jesus Christ. This is the best Christmas I've ever had because I've been able to focus on sharing that message to all those around me. We were able to have a baptism for Lisi, who is a 23 year old girl. She is amazing and has such a strong testimony. She is albino as well so that's pretty neat. So you can definitely say it really was a "white Christmas" hahaha We were also able to go around dropping off little candies to families as well as just eat our hearts out yesterday!

I love you all and love this mission. Merry Christmas everyone!

Elder Mumford

Christmas Eve dinner

Lisi's baptism

And me and some members!

THE WORK IS MOVING

Well everyone.... crazy week this week. We had our Christmas zone conferences and zone parties and we got to watch Finding Dory. Needless to say its the best movie ever. Hahaha I'm not really even sure if it's that good or if it's because we haven't seen movies forever but all our eyes were glued to the screen. We have two baptisms coming up this week so we're excited to have a white Christmas! But anyways I will just send the rest of the stuff in pictures!

Me and my comp went to this place called Shop and Save which looks like a Costco but everything is way expensive, so this is me taking pictures of things I can't afford... haha

Oh and me next to a beach #swag

Not much time so I will just send some pics!

Some members in our ward.

And us just chilling eating coconuts #islandthings

We had the chance to have mission tour this last week and Elder Cardon, a member of the 70, came and we were able to learn from him... man what an amazing experience!

Eating a crab in a bowl

Eating ice blocks on exchanges with my boy Elder Amisone

And new tie #thanksmom

No pics this week

Sorry guys definitely getting off right now to go play bball but love you guys and have a great week! Don't get mad at me for no pics. I'll send some next week ;) hahaha I know you love me!

Elder Mumford

Well this week just flew by this week. We had transfers. Me and Elder Kubera are staying together which I am so happy about! But we had a way busy week helping move people around to their new areas, but even with all that we found some time to get some good work done in our area which was great! But we got the chance to host some new missionaries on their first night in Fiji. I think they were expecting to kind of rest up after a super long day of travel. So I think they were a bit surprised when we dropped their bags at the flat and then instantly did splits and did some good old tracting and teaching in Fijian. Man It just brought me back to my first day in Fiji, such a scary confusing day hahah but it was the start to the best time of my life! I was just thinking the whole night that we were with them of the line from D&C 4 that "If ye have the desire to serve God you are called to the work" These missionaries were so new and still have to learn so much, but they really do have a desire to serve our Heavenly Father. So they are called to serve in sharing this gospel to the wonderful people of Fiji! I love this work and know its true. Love you all and have a good week!

Elder Mumford

Me and Elder Kubera have been working out and eating healthy all transfer. So we had been saving up a little money from each support to go and have a mean feed at Mcdonalds with some of the other elders in our zone who are getting transfers..... It was a good time.....

The best chocolate in the world

And to celebrate the end of transfers me and Elder Kubera bought 6.5 liters of ice cream and heaps of oreos and peanut butter and brought it over to one of the Elder's flats in our zone that has a blender and made shakes...... great choice

Great week!!

Well another great week in the mission field. I'm just absolutely loving every minute out here. Time is going way too fast but I'm trying to just grab every single thing I can learn from the time I have out here in the mission! This week flew by since we were doing exchanges for most of the week with elders in our zone. But each time I got to go out with the elders in their areas meaning I got to walk! I love just getting out there and walking because you feel so much more one with the people. But man I went with some great elders and worked so hard!

One great story from the exchanges.  I was on exchanges with Elder Tera, who is an elder from Tahiti. He is just a way chill surfer dude and has a way funny french accent on everything he says. hahha He's the best. But anyways we were about to eat dinner and we were a bit early so I felt like we should go down the street and try to tract into a house. SO we did. Right when we got around the bend we found this old lady just sitting cross legged on the side of the dirt road. So we went up and talked to her. She said she was waiting for her brother to pick her up so we asked if we could come back some other time and she was way excited that we wanted to come and teach her. So we just asked if we could teach her right there on the ground. SO sure enough we just sat criss cross in the dirt and taught her a lesson. Man I love this place. But we taught her about God's love for her and invited her to be baptized and she accepted! She told us how that day she was having the worst day. Her church kicked her out and her family kicked her out of her house as well, so she just decided to sit down on the side of the road and pray for help. And right when she got done praying we came around the corner. She didn't think we were there for her but sure enough we came right over and started talking and sharing with her. I then shared to her our side of the story how we decided last minute to go and walk down the road and that's when we found her. She started tearing up and she just couldn't stop saying how she knew that God loved her. Man this church is true. Heavenly Father loves every single one of us and is preparing ways to show us that love each and every day. I love this work! Have a great week everyone!

Love, Elder Mumford

pictures #pmg champs

A cool bridge I found made out of two coconut trees

Kids floating down the river in a homemade canoe...

Me and Elder Tera!

And the lady we taught on the side of the road! Her name is Litia!

So today for emails I'm just going to send heaps of pictures! But just a quick update, everything here in the work is going so awesome. We had 4 investigators at church this last week, and one of them is this nineteen year old kid named Deme. He lives with a member family and he has committed to being baptized on the 19th of this month. He was a little shy to get to church and we found out that it was because he didn't have a sulu and white shirt so we fixed that real quick and got an old sulu from the flat and one of my white shirts to give to him for church and BOOM he has been there the last two weeks. On top of that we had a few less actives we have been working with come as well so it was just a great week. We also had stake conference this week which was awesome. All the wards here are so big and awesome and similar in alot of ways to wards at home so stake conference felt like a real stake conference. Man it was fun! Anyways for pictures.. THE NICEST SET OF STAIRS YOU WILL EVER SEE!  We tried to fix one of our less actives stairs a few weeks ago and failed miserably. Man we felt so bad so this time we called in the big guns (a few Fijians in our ward) and made this amazing set of completely sturdy stairs! hahaha And then on Sunday these less actives came to church as a family for the first time! #BuildingStairsandTheirTestimonies

Random pictures of pdays and service days

Me with my comp

Random pics of us eating heaps

And this week was my first MLC (Mission Leadership Council)! So for this meeting President brings in all the zone leaders, and sister training leaders with the AP's to the mission office to council about problems the mission is facing and the ways we can become better leaders. Man it was an amazing meeting. It was just so amazing to be able to council with some of my role models in the mission. Such an uplifting experience!

EXCHANGES WITH MY MOM IN THE MISSION The one and only Flying Filipino Elder Alonzo! hahaha Man we had a good time. It was a bit different this time proselyting in a big city instead of being stuck together for 6 months on a remote island but hey we make it work! This is him taking a selfie while I'm tracting at someone's door. #WORK

On a more spiritual note, I just left my last area about  4 weeks ago now.  Great news today Loatta, one of the girls we were teaching there, just got baptized this last week! (Shout out to my son Elder Giacalone) And in even bigger news, probably one of the biggest miracles of my mission, Mala (The guy that is completely deaf) stepped into the waters of baptism last week as well to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints! Man this church is so true and God prepares a way for everyone to hear this gospel even if it's all written on a whiteboard. I love you all! Have a great week!