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!! 💖

THANK YOU MTC

Elder and Sister Dil are the MTC presidents here.  They are wonderful people and have lived an amazing life.  Elder Dil was the mission president in Ghana a few years ago.  They have some great stories of their experiences there.  He has also served as an Area Authority for the Church here in New Zealand.  And now they are serving for 2 years in the MTC.  They work so well together.  They are a powerful couple.  We went out to dinner with them on Tuesday night.  Not that the MTC food isn't good but the restaurant had fabulous food and was a nice change.

 Lamb Shank for Kim

 Salmon for Rhonda

Dinner with the Dil's at Melba's

This week we have been taught so well. As we've sat through our classes with Sister Langkilde we have felt the missionary spirit so strongly.  I have felt many times that the Preach My Gospel book and program is definitely inspired for the missionaries in today's world.  I have felt how important it is to understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ, how much our Heavenly Father loves us and how Joseph Smith truly restored this gospel for the benefit on all people but especially families.  I understand more fully how important our obedience is to all the commandments of God.  The Book of Mormon truly testifies of Jesus Christ but it also testifies that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God called to translate the Book of Mormon and to restore the Church after the great apostasy when the early apostles were killed. I've loved our week here.

 Our great instructor, Sister Langkilde.  She is Samoan by birth but has lived in New Zealand since she was 12.  She served her mission to Samoa and changed the lives of many while serving.  Now she changes many by preparing missionaries.  She is in the picture behind us as a missionary in Samoa.

We have loved being with young Elders and Sisters getting ready to serve missions.  They have a great responsibility and are being prepared so well.  There's one Elder from the Great Barrier Island who makes us smile every time we see him.  He often has treats that his family sent with him that he offers us.  Or I should say "lollies."  Tonight he showed us a jade necklace that is unique to his homeland.  He was very proud of it.  The other night as we were out walking the halls, the missionaries were on break from their classes.  We didn't have class that night and had finished our afternoon classes early.  That afternoon we had left the center and had gone walking through the neighborhood and had done some exploring.  Some of the missionaries had noticed us leaving.  They asked us about our schedule and asked us about some of the things we were able to do.  We obviously don't have the restrictions that the young missionaries have.  One of the Elders asked us, "Do you have any rules?"  We laughed and said..."We still have to obey the commandments."  I suppose they are feeling pretty restricted.  The privilege of being a senior missionary is that you really don't have any rules.  At least it feels that way to the young missionaries. 😂😂😂

 Going for a walk in the neighborhood.  Everything here is green.  Even though it's winter it never freezes.  Some of the trees loose their leaves and some do not.

 This is Sister Shariki from Japan, Sister Teo from Tonga and Sister Lin from Taiwan, who came to the MTC with NO English but has had 8 weeks of instruction and can carry-on a fairly good conversation.  Miracles happen with these missionaries.

 This district sang a song Sunday at the evening devotional.  It was beautiful.

 Sister Soli on the left is a cousin with Elder Tauiliili.  They are not going to the same mission but at least they get to be together for 9 weeks in the MTC while they both learn to speak English.  Don't you think Sister Soli and Sister Teabi are so cute in their matching shirts?! 💖  Sister Teabi is from the small country/island of Kiribati, pronounced kid-a-bus.

 Elder Tauiliili sprained his ankle playing basketball shortly after we got here.  Today he is back in his shoe so he's making progress.  He told me NOT to take a picture of their feet--but I just couldn't resist.  😂😬  Elder Tauiliili's parents are on a mission in PNG (Papua New Guinea) and will be going home next week.  He will not get to see them until he finishes his mission in 2 years!  Now that's sacrifice.

Yesterday we went to the Area Church Office Building.  This is where the whole education department works.  We met with them and found out their responsibilities and their role in helping run the 17 church schools that exist in the Pacific Islands.  There are schools in Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and Kiribati.  We will be working at the high school and a primary school in Fiji. The only 2 church owned schools there.  Kiribati has a high school.  The remainder of the schools are in Tonga and Samoa.  I don't know if we'll get to visit the other schools on the other islands.  We learned that the school's purpose is to bring individuals unto Christ.  This is what the ITEP missionaries objective is: "Our purpose is to help youth and young adults understand and rely on the teachings and Atonement of Jesus Christ, qualify for the blessings of the temple, and prepare themselves, their families and others for eternal life with their Father in Heaven."

 Abinadi took us to breakfast on our way to the church offices.  He is an assistant at the MTC.   This was Kim's hot chocolate!

 My orange juice was delicious!

 I've never had such good egg benedicts and Kim said his omelet was amazing.

 One of the laundry rooms here.  I think there are 3 laundry areas.

 Court yard in the middle of the center.

 The hallway outside our room.  The door at the end goes into the Elder's area.

 Apparently this is quite common for the New Zealanders to eat vegemite on their toast.  We've never heard of it.  It comes from yeast.  Is a black paste and is quite salty.  It's very high in vitamins, especially vitamin B.  They say it's quite good if you have nausea.  Pregnant women with morning sickness eat it quite a bit. 

 Sister Dil bought this beautiful wood carved nativity while in Ghana.  One of the members of the Church had carved it and sold it to her when he needed some money.  She and Elder Dil tried to help him understand that if he would make more of these he could earn a lot of money.  They had several missionaries put in an order for a set but he just didn't have the motivation or insight to fulfill the desires of the other couples who wanted them.

 Notice the sheep.  It didn't quite meet the rest of the set.  Sister Dil said it was his only mistake.  😂😂😂 It really didn't match as far as the sizing goes and it looked more like a dog.

While in the church offices we met Elder and Sister Saunders.  They are in charge of the medical needs of the mission.  We had their daughter Cortney in our BYU ward several years ago.  Cortney had messaged me and told me her parents were here and to look for them.  I never thought we would but we were delighted when we did meet them.  The world is such a small place when it comes to the gospel.  💗💕

Tomorrow we will say goodbye to these wonderful young missionaries as we head out to Suva.  We are excited to finally be going on our way.  Our hearts are full.  Our testimonies are stronger.  Our desire to serve has grown as well.  "Moce" New Zealand.  Suva here we come! 

The couple in the middle in the front is the mission president and his wife.  The couple on the right is the first counselor and his wife, Elder and Sister Sorensen.  The second counselor and his wife were both sick on Sunday and weren't able to make it to the picture.  We didn't meet them at all this week.