Fiji LDS Church College and Primary School

When we arrived in Suva, the schools were out for a 2 week break between terms.  I really like the way the school calendar works here.  They begin school in January.  The school year is divided into 3 terms, each around 16 weeks long.  Between terms they have a 2 week break and then there is about 7 weeks off after school ends.  So it's really nice. They go to school 16 weeks, have 2 weeks off, then 16 weeks again, and another 2 weeks off, and then one more 16 week segment before they end the school year.  Plus there are holidays they get days off for.   School for this year will end on November 22 and begins again in the middle of January.  So, just like in China, we will have almost 2 months of free time. 

This last week school resumed.  The first day back was a teacher in-service day.  Kim and I were asked to do a short presentation to introduce ourselves to the college teachers.  The college isn't really a college as we know it.  It is grades 7-13.  They go a year longer here and the students are allowed to stay in school until they are 21.  They might stay longer because they maybe had to miss a year because they didn't have funds or some other reason.  They also do not advance them if they don't pass the end of year testing.  So they may be longer because they failed a test.    Once they can pass the 13th year exam, then they must graduate and move on.  It's not like home but the students are kids just like in America.  We've enjoyed walking around and meeting some of them and visiting classes. 

It took us a couple of days to get over to the Primary school because of things they needed us to help with at the college, but once we were there we both felt at home.  Elementary kids are just so adorable and loving.  They all want to shake our hands and tells us hello.  I wish we were able to work more with the students.  Kim and I are trying to find a way to tutor one student in reading.  Materials are slim but I think we'll find a way. 

The plan is to start teaching the teacher courses next week.  There is basically one teacher who needs the courses so we are trying to get some other teachers to join the class just for a refresher.  We wanted to start with a class management class but Daniel, our teacher who needs the courses, has already taken that particular class.  So, we are going to teach the computer and technology class and we have 2 or 3 other teachers who are interested in taking it.  It'll be good to get started.  Most of our days right now are spent checking out the courses and looking at how we can teach them.  I'm feeling a whole lot out of my comfort zone.  It's one thing to teach a first grader, another thing to teach English as a 2nd language, BUT it's a whole 'nother ballgame to teach college courses to teachers that have degrees of some type. 

The College is about a 10 minute drive from our "flat."  The Primary School on the other hand is about a 1/2 mile from where we live.  It's just down the hill from the temple, so there is a beautiful view from the play ground.  Here are a few pictures.  I really need to take more. 

 LDS College Campus-there are several small buildings with 3-4 classrooms in each building attached together with these walkways.  The building in the back is an old traditional building and not one of the classrooms.

 This is the gymnasium.  It's quite nice.  And YES Kim is wearing a sulu--not a skirt as it appears.  He is learning how to handle it, how to sit with his legs down and together!  It's a bit difficult. 😂😅

They have a "farm" in the back.  They raise chickens for laying eggs and for "meat".

 Edward is the man in the boots.  He is the manager of the farm.  Here they are peeling Taro and cooking it in a fire pit off to the left.

 This is the home economics room.  The stoves and equipment in here are top of the line.  It's pretty amazing.  Sad part is they don't use the stoves hardly at all.

This was the teachers in-service day on their first day back.  Kim and I were asked to introduce ourselves.

 Chicks that they will raise for meat.  I'm not sure if they sell them or give them to students. 

These are new dormitories--one for boys and one for girls.  Starting in January, the new school year, they will bring in about 100 students from the neighboring islands to live in the dorms and attend the high school.  They have to be at least 11th graders.  These are kids that haven't had a lot of opportunity for education so it'll be interesting to see how it all unfolds.

 Another picture of the college (jr. high and high school) campus. You can see the ocean in the background.  It is so gorgeous.

 This is the cafeteria.  The students are getting their home-style cooked meals.  They cost about $2.50 which is less then $1.25 American dollars.  They have about 4-5 hot dishes and then sandwiches and other variety cold foods.  I'm impressed with their lunches.

 You can see the view better in this picture.

Last week, 3 couples from Utah brought boxes and boxes of donated supplies to the Primary school.  They also took supplies to other primary schools on the island.  The school had an assemble to thank them and present each of them with wrap around sulus.  It was a very touching assembly.

The lady in the red in Meisi.  She is the principal and is a "character" to put it lightly.  We are enjoying her strong personality.

 The Primary children in the assembly.  They have all their assemblies in the church which is right next door.  They sang their school song which is to the tune of the Baptism Song (about rainbows).  The one line that says "I want to be the BEST I can..." is the same and they really belt out "BEST."  It was adorable.

Here they are singing a Fijian Traditional Song.  It was BEAUTIFUL!  It really touched my heart and I couldn't understand of word of it!  The kindergarteners (Kindy) do not wear uniforms like the rest of the school.

 We walked around and visited all the classrooms.  Elementary age kids are the best.

I have to say the Fijian People especially the children are beautiful.  It's hard to beat the Chinese children but these Fijian's are right up there at the same level.  I think we are going to truly love serving in the schools. 

Life Changing

When we were in China, Kim always said, “This is a life changing experience.”  Today I have to say, “Fiji is a life changing experience!”  And we’ve only been here 2 weeks and we haven’t started working in the schools yet.  We went to our branch out in Korovou this morning.  Last night Sister Blackburn, who is also working at the schools that we are at, gave us a sewing machine that she asked us to take to Shirley, a sister in our branch.  It is from the church charities.  I don’t know what she needs it for and it doesn’t really matter.  As soon as we got to church there was a young girl, about 19, outside the church.  We said Bula to her and then she asked me if Sister Blackburn had sent something with us for her!  AH!  Yes she had.  She said it was really for her mother.  Then she proceeded to tell me that she had received her endowment on Saturday at the temple and she was preparing to go on a mission.  Wow! Awesome.  Then after Sacrament meeting we met her mother and a younger sister, Nada (pronounced Nonda).  Nada is 12 years old and seemed to quickly attach to me.  I talked with her a bit and she walked with me down the hall as I went to Relief Society.  As soon as church was over, there was Nada again by my side.  She asked me about my necklace that I had on.  It was a gold chain with a small round gold plate with an engraving of Utah with a heart in the center that my daughter Katie had given me before I left for China 2 years ago.  I wear it always!  She asked me if I could give it to her.  I told her I would try to find her a necklace similar.  Now I’m not so sure that I should give her a necklace.  I’m not sure what to do there.  I’ll have to think about that one.  Anyway, we connected back with her mother.  In talking with Shirley, we found out that she walks to church each week, about 3 km.  We, then told her we would give her a ride and deliver the sewing machine to her.  Nada also rode with us.  The other children were going to walk home.  As we drove we found out that Shirley’s first husband had an affair and she divorced him.  She has remarried but her husband is “lazy” and doesn’t work.  She gets money any way that she can. She sells vegetables when she has them.  She served a mission for the church when she was young.  Her oldest daughter that is preparing to go on a mission doesn’t have enough money to buy a passport so her mother doesn’t know if she’ll be able to go.  After she had her last child, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer but has been cured of it.  She feels very blessed.  Her house is way up a hill on a narrow, muddy road full of ruts.  It was hard driving.  We never got to her home, we had to stop at the end of the road.  She carried the sewing machine the rest of the way.  All the houses in this small village are tiny and run down.  They are made of corrugated steel. This woman has nothing in terms of material goods.  But she has a family and she has the Gospel of Jesus Christ and she is very happy.  Shirley also told us that on Tuesdays she goes to work in the temple in Suva.  I asked her how she gets there since she doesn’t have a car or any money and it is over an hour drive to Suva.  Because Tuesday has only morning sessions, 8:00 and 10:00, she has to leave “in the middle of the night” and hope she can find a ride from someone.  I asked her if that was safe and she told me that the Lord takes care of her.  This woman has so much faith. Then Nada asked to be taken to a different house on our way back down the hill.  As we went along she asked if we had any money.  Then she asked if we could give her 20 cents to buy a popsicle or something.  Her English isn’t the best and I had a hard time understanding her.  When we got to the house, Kim gave her a $2 coin (this would be like $50 to an American kid). She said thank you and you could tell she really was.  She also reminded me that she wanted my necklace.  I started to wonder if she was taking advantage of us but I understand she has NOTHING! And she’s 12 years old and just realizing what “things” are available.   I realized that we are so spoiled.  I felt guilty driving my “fancy” car and wearing my nice clothing.  We complain that our ear rings don’t match our outfit. That we have to drive an hour to church.  That our bed is too soft. And on and on… When these people don’t even have a car!  They have to WALK an hour to church or any where they need to go and they have a "nice woven mat" to sleep on the floor with.  “Grateful! Grateful! Truly Grateful I Am!  Grateful! Grateful! Truly Blessed and Oh So Grateful!” (song sung by Brian Mitchell Stokes).  LIFE CHANGING!  Sorry no pictures today.

Korovou Branch

On Friday, Kim and I traveled to our new branch in Korovou so we’d know where we were going on Sunday.  It is located on the top of a big hill (small mountain) in the middle of a jungle.  What a breath-taking view!  To get there we drove for an hour on a 2-lane highway.  There wasn't a lot of traffic, gratefully.  Then out of nowhere there was a sign that said “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Visitors Welcome  2km”. And an arrow pointing left.  We decided this must be our turn.  We turned onto a narrow one lane gravel/dirt road.   The further we drove the more we kept questioning if this was the road.  We met 2 large work trucks coming our way.  Kim’s first reaction was to pull to the right side of the road, but since we drive on the left side of the road here, the driver of the truck stopped and just looked at us!  OH YEAH!  Wrong side of the road.  So, we maneuvered over to the other side of the road, and he barreled on down the road past us.  Then we met another truck!  OH GEE!  At the top of a hill, we could see the church on the top of the second hill in front of us.  The next hill we climbed up, there was a truck stopped at a small house on the side of the road.  As we squeezed by, we saw an Elder Missionary in the door way.  We stopped and waved and he came out and talked to us.  They live at this house in the middle of the jungle—literally the middle of nowhere.  WOW!  Elder Kutterer, from Heber, Utah,  said we were on the right road and not to try the road that continues on past the church and goes into the village of Korovou because it has NO gravel and is pure mud.  We took his advice and did not venture into town by the dirt road.  We went on though and did stop at the church and took a peek around.  What a blessing to these villagers to have this beautiful chapel to meet in on a regular basis.  It’s beautiful and the grounds are as well.

On Sunday when we went for church, we met three young girls walking to church.  The oldest looked like she would be about 15-16 and the youngest was maybe 8-10.  The teenage girl was carrying her shoes.  There had obviously been a good rain the night before and the road was in worse condition then when we had driven on it just 2 days before.  We stopped and asked if they’d like a ride.  We assumed they were going to church—where else would they be going?  And we were right.  They were going to church and they gratefully took the ride. There were probably about 50 members in attendance.  There are no pews in the chapel, just folding chairs.  The podium, though, is complete like any other church.  Some of the men were barefoot.  This is quite common here, especially out in the villages. Almost all the men wear sulus, (sooloo) which Kim has purchased a few of since they are much cooler than pants.  There is a piano, but no one played it.  The chorister sang the first line as a prelude and to set the tone and then we all sang.  They have strong and beautiful voices.  They obviously love singing.

How fun it was to attend church with these native Fijians.  They were all so friendly and welcoming.  They all spoke English although some of them don’t feel real confident with English.  I thought they spoke perfectly.  The meetings were held though in Fijian.  We couldn’t understand a word!  But the spirit was there! I had a Fijian hymn book and was amazed that I was able to sing along…mostly.  I’ve learned the vowel sounds their language makes and I know the consonants that make different sounds than ours.  So it wasn’t too hard. 

Sunday School was my favorite.  Every once in a while the teacher would say something to us in English and she’d ask us to comment on different verses in the scriptures we were studying.  At the end she asked if we had anything to add.  I made a comment about my feelings on the topic of the lesson and how I related to it.  Kim made a comment about how he really enjoyed being there and how he’d had the impression how much he loved this branch already.  And he knew that when it comes time for us to go home in 23 months, that he knows it’s going to be difficult to say goodbye.  He got a bit emotional talking about it.  It was an interesting thought and perspective.  The longer I’m married to him the more I realize he is a very sentimental man. His comment was quite sweet.

 This is mostly to show Kim in his sulu.

 The gravel road as we turned off the highway.  😲

The Church!  Isn't it beautiful!

 Looking out over the area.  That is the ocean between the tree line and the distant mountains, which is another island.

 

The gateway into the church.

 The Chapel.

 Looking at the view from the church.  Yes, that is a banana tree.  They are everywhere!

 

Another view.

 At the base of the driveway.

 This is where the 2 Elder missionaries live.  It's super tiny.  They were installing a chain link fence.  What for we're not sure.  They weren't sure either.

This is the house we live in.  It has 3 apartments.  We live in the one visible.  There is another one to the right of us and one behind them.  Then in the basement there is a daycare/preschool. 

Let's Fly to FIJI!

On August 10 we left the MTC.  Being at the MTC was definitely a spiritual high.  I think I realized the importance of the simplicity of the gospel.  The basics, Heavenly Father loves us and gave us the Savior so we could repent and be forgiven.  The Savior also made it possible for us to live eternally.  Because Heavenly Father loves us, he gave us families. Families are SO important.  After the great apostasy, Joseph Smith was directed by God to restore the true gospel of Jesus Christ.  We have a living prophet on the earth today.  And if we endure to the end, we can have eternal life with our families and with our Heavenly Father.  What a great blessing to have the gospel in our lives.  Saturday morning of the 10^th, I took a few pictures…one of our cooks who provided great meals 3 times a day and the missionaries that were up early enough to eat breakfast.  After we ate, we packed up our things and then because it wasn’t raining, (it had rained every day but 1 while we were there) we went out and explored the city a little bit.  We found the train station.  There was a train loading going in to the city.  So, we quickly bought a ticket and road the 40 minutes into the city.  Once we got there we only had time to get off, look out onto the street and buy another ticket back to where we started.  It was fun to see a little more of Auckland.  Once we got back, we went and said goodbye to most of the missionaries and headed for the airport.

While waiting to get our boarding pass, one of the Fiji Airlines employees noticed our missionary tags.  She came over and talked to us.  Such a friendly happy woman who was a member of the church.  Because we  didn’t have seats together they put us on standby to upgrade us to business class if there was a place.  While they were working things out, another employee came over and she talked to the ticket registrar and somehow just bumped us up to business!  Wahoo.  So then the woman who was a member took us upstairs to the lounge where we could wait until we boarded.  They had food and drinks available.  Of course, we ate and then it was time to board the plane.  Why have we never flown business class before?  Oh, right….money!  That’s the way to travel!  We boarded the plane and they fed us again.  Gave us all the drinks we wanted.  Had a TV screen with NICE headphones.  AND we were the first ones off the plane.  Which was a good thing since we had to go through customs, collect our luggage, send it back through security, walk out of the airport and down the street to domestic flights just in time to recheck our luggage and board our tiny plane for Suva.  What an adventure.  We loved every minute of it—even though we had no time to spare getting on our next flight.  Once we got to Suva, we waited for our luggage just off the plane on the tarmac.  Then we found Elder and Sister Blackburn, VTEP missionaries here, and off we went to our next adventure.

 Our Kiwi Cook.  Such a happy, friendly guy!

 Our last breakfast.

 The MTC

This is where the new Temple will be built, Right between the MTC and the church house on a hill over looking the valley.  It's a beautiful spot.

Riding the train.  There weren't too many people riding.

Downtown!

And jumping back on the train.

 These trees are all over Auckland.  They are beautiful.  I was rushing to get back to the MTC and didn't get a very good picture.  😔

Back to the MTC.  We snuck into the conference room and snapped a few pictures of the missionaries studying.

 Saying Goodbye!  💗

 Sisters from Japan and Taiwan.  So sweet!  😍

 Our sweet member who works for Fiji Airlines and was such a blessing.

 Good Bye New Zealand! 

Hello Fiji!

 Welcoming Committee as we came through customs.  :)

 Flying from Nadi to Suva. 

Suva at last!! 💖