Learning Patience!

Week 23

08 June 2015

This past weekend I got to learn about humilty and patience. Patience with my companion and especially the members. The members and the Branch President rely on me so much, and it is so stressful when you have to take care of sacrament, teach priesthood in Fijian and try and keep the class energetic and not let everyone fall asleep. Make sure people are keeping the chapel clean and the list goes on. All I hear is Elder Elder Elder!!! or Lemusu, Lemusu Lemusu!! lol!!  At the end of it though, all the stress and pressure and many other things I have to think about,  I do love this area and am so thankful for it because I know I will be leaving soon. I have been here for a while  so I know my time will come to leave soon.

This past Saturday, I was confirming a appointment with a member to have a lesson with his investigator friend. There was a language barrier but we understood each other a little bit over the phone. We took the hour bus ride out to his village to have the lesson only for him to yell at me and say that he was busy and for him to repeatedly say to me "Lemusu, your the reason for my headache today".

While feelings of frustration, anger and discouragement ran through me I tried to hold it together. I am a missionary and I'm not wanting to get sent home anytime soon for going off at a member. His 20yrs old R.M daughter Koto told me not too worry and helped me a bit. My companion not knowing what was going on. 

After that appointment we were an hour late for every other appointment afterwards and members were calling me to say "Time is important".  While I tried to apologise and they understood my situation I couldn't help but feel discouraged still and I just wanted to pack up and go home for the day. My companion still not understanding what was happening kept being his chirpy happy self (fresh off the boat dude) .. I said to myself why is he happy, did he not just see what had happened with the member yelling at me and other members cancelling on us because we were late??

At the end of the day I told my companion how I felt and he said plainly and simply in his broken English "My last companion is my last area, member always yell at him even though the problems was not his fault but people just wanted someone to blame. The answer Elder is Humility".  I  couldn't understand what he meant because my pride and stubborness and hunger for justice was blinding me. But a few minutes later I understood. Humility is not a way of weakensss but showing that even though you are not in the wrong, we must be humble and take things on the shoulder and not to the heart otherwise if we take everything to the heart than Satan will find it easier and easier to target us until he shoots the right arrow and our heart stops all together. We must be humble even when the fault is not our own.

I learnt about Humility this week and patience, often we think the thoughts "ohh come on?? come on!!! hurry up already" we do not realise that those thoughts are complete selfishness and only thinking of us and not others. We often demand solutions immediately without realizing that Patience is needed. 

Patience is a virtue that learnt over time and the ability to not give under pressure of stress and refrain from getting angry etc. 

"Life is full of difficulties, some minor and some of a more serious nature. There seems to be an unending supply of our challenges for one and all. our problem is that we often expect instantaneous solutions to such challenges forgetting that the heavenly virtue of patience is required" -Thomas S Monson (PMG-Patience)

I met Brother Kumar who has just returned from his mission in Brisbane, Australia!