A couple of weeks ago we were privileged as a WHOLE mission to meet with Elder Neil Anderson. We met early Thursday morning, 5:30 a.m., got a sacked breakfast and loaded two buses to head to Nadi. Nadi is on "the west" as they say. It's a 3.5 hour drive on a narrow windy road. Right after we loaded the buses, one of the bus's engines died and wouldn't start. Our bus turned around and backed to it and "jumped" the bus. Bet you've never experienced that one. One the second bus was running again, we took off. Not too far down the road, we (the senior missionaries who were all in the front rows) noticed the door was not closing. Two of the Elders were able to wrestle it shut and tie it to the handle bars. These are proving to be great buses.
We were running late so the planned stop half way was taken off the agenda. But...some of the young elders on our bus must have very small bladders and convinced whoever to pull off to the side and let them drain! Haha! When we reached Sigatoka, 2 1/2 hours down the road, we learned that the other bus had no air conditioning and the passengers were sweltering. Not only that, but their door wouldn't stay shut either and no one was able to tie it shut. Another sign of the great buses we were sent. They thought at first there would be room to put everyone on our bus. We did have extra seats but not that many. So all the senior missionaries and the sister missionaries came to our bus. The rest had to continue without air. I'm sure it was pretty miserable. Riding in a bus with a bunch of 18-21 year old young men and women really emphasizes that these missionaries are so young. But it was entertaining to say the least. We heard lots of singing and lots of laughter. About 30 minutes outside of Nadi, the sister sitting behind us got sick and threw-up. Gratefully she had her bag that her breakfast had been in and was able to contain everything in that bag. We were also very appreciative on the garbage liners the APs (assistants to the president) had brought that were stored in the back.
We got to Nadi and unloaded at the church. There was a photographer there ready to take a picture of all the missionaries with Elder Anderson. He got us all situated and lined up. Then we were dismissed until Elder Anderson arrived. It was about an hour. When he got there, he came in and was so gracious. He was thrilled to see all of us and just talked to us for a few minutes about what he'd been doing and his impressions of Fiji. His wife was with him. He asked her if she wanted to add anything and she politely declined. Then we had our picture taken and he greeted each of us one by one. One of the senior couples, Elder and Sister Patton, who are ITEP missionaries with us, had been Elder Anderson's bishop at one time. One of the other couples was Elder Anderson's sister. I was so shocked to find that out. But once I learned it and saw them together I could see some resemblance. She's quite a bit younger and she said they were never super close. She also said he was one of those kids growing up that was always a good kid.
The area presidency was also there. Elder Nattress spoke first. Then Kathy Anderson, wife to Elder Anderson, spoke. I really enjoyed her message. She commented that God is a God of miracles and that sometimes God gives others the miracles we may be praying for through us. I saw that happen just last week when we were on the way to the store when we saw one of the teachers at the side of the road looking for a taxi. We stopped and she was going to the exact store we were going to. Not a great huge miracle, but who knows but that was a miracle to her that we came along at the exact time going to the exact store. We were able to be her taxi.
Elder Anderson began his talk speaking about the spirit. We pray to feel the spirit and sometimes we do. We may feel the spirit strongly in a particularly meeting or situation but someone else in the same meeting may not have felt it at all. Sometimes it comes when we least expect it. He talked about the importance of bring others to Jesus Christ--not just get baptized. We need to bring ourselves to Jesus Christ. That's who/what it's all about. He talked about the atonement and the importance of the Book of Mormon and learning about Jesus Christ and his mission from this powerful book. He challenged us to memorize 5 scriptures from the New Testament that we can believe in. Then he challenged us to do the same from the Book of Mormon. I'm terrible at memorizing but I want to find 5 scriptures from both that I can truly believe in. He promised that if we memorize them, the Holy Ghost will bring them to our recollection at the moment we need them. He closed by telling us to be a disciple of Christ all our lives.
After the meeting we had lunch. Waited for ever for our buses to come. This time we were sent a better bus that had air conditioning. We had our same bus. And we were off. Back to Suva. We got home about 8 p.m. It was a long day, but worth every minute.
Greeting each missionary one by one. We were told they would take pictures of each of us and we MIGHT get a copy. That hasn't happened as of yet.
These two sisters are also amazing missionaries. At our last transfers, Sister Vakalala was transferred. They both just hugged and cried for the longest time. Powerhouse Sisters. Sister Vakalala was in the dorms in 2020. We love her.
