HEY MY HOMIES

First of all Happy birthday dad and Brittany! Sorry I couldn't email you guys but I wrote happy birthday to you guys in my journal, that has to count right? hahaha Wow sorry its been so long since I've been able to email. I know it's hard not being able to hear from each other week in and week out, but just take comfort in knowing that the work is going so well out here. I love it all so much. It's been easily the hardest area out of my two areas but with that I'm pretty sure it will no doubt be my favorite of my whole mission. When you suffer for a people you just love them that much more, and I can feel that every single day!

So I'm just going to write this to you all because honestly I don't really have time for the whole group email thing anymore. Maybe once I get transfered to an area with more reliable internet each week I'll start it. But for now feel free to send this to anyone who wants to read it! Ok so I don't really know how to put 5 full weeks into an email so I will just put a few of the highlight things that happened.

So first New Years! So New Years day was my 6 month in the mission mark and Elder Alonzo's year in the mission mark plus New Years so you know we had to celebrate. So I burnt my tie which is tradition for 6 months and he burnt his white shirt for his one year and then we payed ten dollars to this member in our branch to make us the biggest fattest pie in the world. Wow it was like 3 feet of this fantastic custard pie and me and Elder Alonzo ate the whole thing! Happy New Years to us!:) haha And also if you didn't know it is tradition in Fiji for there to be just like a giant water fight on New Year. Like everyone just throws buckets of water on each other everywhere. So we were just studying in our flat when we went to answer a knock on the door and were splashed by two of the YSA (young single adult) guys in our ward with a super huge bucket of water. Soooo funny! We got them back later though! haha

New Year's Celebration

Tie Burning!

 Next crazy story that I have is that we went with the YSA here in Rabi for a hike to Korotabu, which means haunted or holy rock. So this place is a cave on the highest point/mountain of Rabi. Its about a 5 mile super steep yet beautiful hike each way to get all the way up there so this took us like all day. But this isn't any normal cave. So a long time before the Gilbertese people came to Rabi the Fijians lived here, and we all know how Fijians had a cannibal past. So when people from Tonga use to come to the island of Rabi, the tribal Fijians would hide in the mud and then use blow darts to take them down. And then they would take the Tongans back to the village and kill them and eat them and then they took all their bones up to this little cave at the top of the island! Crazy right? So sure enough this cave has tons of human bones. Arm bones, leg bones, one skull that's left over, its way cool. It was especially pretty cool after taking anatomy last year. It felt like I was back in Anatomy class with real bones! hahaa such a crazy place but it was so cool!

 

On top of Rabi!

Me and Elder Alonzo with bones!

 

Looking cute with a flower in my hair ;)

Another story I have that I was telling Cassie is of the new food that I ate a few weeks ago. Raw shark! haha So basically we went over to a members house for dinner and he was like oh so I was fishing today but instead I caught a four foot long shark. So here's shark instead of raw fish! hahaha What the heck? I'm telling you it's so hard to describe some of the things we see on a day to day basis. Kind of just surreal , but hey it was way good! It tasted like chicken and raw fish mixed, just super super chewy! haha Gotta love life on Rabi!

Fourth story before we talk about all the serious stuff is while proselyting last week Elder Alonzo accidentally pooped his pants...... hahaha he thought it was a fart but it ended up being a little more than that so he had to run into the forest to get things all figured out. Man I've never laughed so hard in my life! hahahahaha

Well as you all heard I had another baptism last week which was amazing. They are a 9 and 10 year old girl and boy from a part member family.(Their mom is the only member. The dad's a work and progress right now) but we slowly but surely reactivated the mom to full church service which was great and then taught the kids all the lessons and baptized them! Their names are Asiuta and Teta! We were so excited. We know that most of the people we have been teaching have just been kids but I truly do feel a change in these kids. We aren't just teaching them for numbers. They actually have a strong testimony of the gospel and its so cool! It's so fun with these kids that we have baptized because they are just like our little brothers and sisters now and I feel like they love us as much as we love them. Man I couldn't be more happy with the work so far here in Rabi! We are now also teaching an 18 and 21 year old girls who are the nieces of our branch president so that's pretty exciting as well! We were bummed because the 21 year old who just finished up university to be a teacher was leaving back to Suva for a teaching job, but out of a miracle she got a teaching job in Rabi instead so she is staying! It's so great because she is the less shy one out of the two so she really encourages the younger to keep taking the lessons so its been a blessing all the way around! We can just feel the Lord help move the work here along in Rabi, and we are so blessed to be apart of it.

 

Baptisms!

 

Crazy kids of Rabi! haha

Speaking of blessings from the work THE LANGUAGE. Last time I talked to you guys on Christmas I was honestly a little bit down with how hard the language has been here on Rabi. I just felt as if Gilbertese would never come! But after these last 5 weeks of working harder with Elder Alonzo on the language harder than I have ever worked on anything in my whole entire life, the gift of tongues is really hitting hard! Its truly amazing. I don't know how to even fully explain it. The full explanation will have to wait until some time in the future but wow we have been so blessed. Elder Alonzo has only been speaking the language for less than 4 months and I've been here for barely 2 months and we are smashing it in the language! Like we actually are feeling comfortable! Not even close to fluent and we learn so many new words a day but we are getting more and more comfortable! Like we don't even need to script any of our lessons anymore. We just go in with the spirit and teach whole lessons of the top of our head in Gilbertese. I really truly don't know how this has happened. Its more than a miracle but I'm so happy about it! Don't get me wrong its still so hard very single day. Harder than anything I've ever done. But the Lord truly does qualify those he calls. And since he has called me to teach the Gospel in Gilbertese, he helps me teach in Gilbertese! I love this gospel so much and I know that its all true. I know without a doubt this is Christ's church here on the earth led by a living prophet today! I love you all so much. I'm sorry communication is sucky lately but I think about and pray about you guys every single day! And I can feel all your prayers for me, so thank you! Love you all!

 

Me with a way cool YSA before he left on his mission to the Philipines

 

Love,

 

Elder Mumford

 

P.S.

There is this sign on Rabi that says "hope to see you again" so I did a little heal click right beside it. I thought it would just be gold to send it to you guys right when I left the email shop because I hope I can email again sooon hahaha #comedian

 

Look at those hops am I right?! #athletic