Yadra Vinaka.
Another great week in the books. Things flew by this week as I found myself working extra hard. As I mentioned last week, I was leading all the lessons this week. Which means planning all of them and choosing where we go during the day to tract. It was a good reality check for me.
In training I have been too used to the habit of being in the backseat and just following my trainer Elder Dunn. Now that I was the one calling all the shots and doing all the talking I saw what a tedious job it can be.
I was very nervous on Tuesday. Having to go knock on doors and engage in small conversation that would hopefully lead to us being invited inside or asking them if we can share a message. I often noticed my confidence would leave entirely right before knocking on a door. I would turn to my companion and tell him "I don't know what to say, can you just talk to them." Its funny looking back and seeing how terrified I was, but it was pretty nerve racking in the moment. It is a mission rule that we can't enter a home if a man over 18 isn't inside. Fijian women don't quite grasp this concept and I found myself explaining that to a lot of them, which was challenging but really helped me improve.
It was really interesting to see all the phrases and words I had picked up the past couple months that were there for me in the moments they were needed. I was able to teach a whole lesson by myself, all in Fijian, and walk out of it with 2 investigators. It was an amazing feeling knowing my Fijian was now at the level where I could do a thing such as that. There were a lot of tough moments this week, a lot of long awkward silent pauses, but they were all growing experiences.
Tuesday either my companion or I will be getting transferred. It will most likely be him but you never know. Going to be exciting getting a new companion and seeing things from a different perspective. I will be leading our area, Rakiraki, again this following week. It should really give me some more room to learn and expand my Fijian vocabulary.
Hope everyone is doing well back home,
have a great week.
Love,
Elder Richardson
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