Busy is Better than Bored

 We have been so busy.  Busy is better than bored.  We've been here 11 days.  We ended up spending 3 nights in the hotel.  Wednesday we had a good friend, Soko come and help us clean our apartment.  We washed walls, baseboards, cupboards, closets and floors.  I cleaned all the dishes in the kitchen.  We worked hard all day Wednesday and Thursday we spent a good part of the day finishing up.  Actually I think it probably took me through the week to really finish.  The mission president bought us a new bed.  We still haven't talked to the landlord to see if he will reimburse us. We had to buy new sheets because we bought a king size bed where as we had a queen size before.  The old mattress is still sitting on the porch. On Friday, as we were putting things together, we found 1 big fat full of blood bedbug.  That didn't make us too happy.  So we did a little more spraying and more scrubbing furniture and baseboards.  We haven't found anymore since than.  BUT, I either have new bites on my leg or a rash.  I'm really not sure.  So today, I pulled all the bedding and boiled the blankets and sheets, scrubbed and vacuumed the mattress seams, and resprayed.  We still haven't used the couches for fear their might be bugs in them.  We've sprayed, scrubbed and vacuumed them a couple of times.  We are determined to win this war!  One of our teachers in our class is also fighting the same battle.  Daniel said his boys and wife moved out until he is victorious.  Unfortunately he decided he needed to burn the couches and his bed!  I'm not ready to get that drastic.  I did read that you don't need to burn your things, unless of course you are ready for something new! Enough of the bedbugs!

Last week, Pres. Markus asked us if we would shephard 7 "stranded" missionaries from Kiribati.  They are starting the pathways program and just need someone to help them along the way.  We are not familiar with the program but are definitely willing to help. The two sister missionaries have been on their mission about 33 months.  A sister missionary usually serves for 18 months.  They both started their missions in Barbados.  When Covid hit, they were sent to the Dominic Republic.  When they closed their border, they were sent to Croatia.  Finally they were sent to Fiji waiting for the borders to Kiribati to open.  When Kiribati allowed one large group of returning missionaries home, one of them tested positive to Covid and neither were allowed to return.  Both of them see it as a blessing because now they will be able to get a free ticket (so to speak) to BYUH.  They must complete 3 courses with pathways, receive at least a B in all three classes and then they are automatically accepted into BYUH.  BYUH will take care of them and help them find employment on campus.  The 5 Elders are in similar situations.  They have all come from different missions.  Two from different places in Africa, two that had calls to places in the US but never got there.  They have served their whole mission in Fiji.  I can't remember where the other Elder served.  One of the missionaries hasn't been home in 45 months!  Twenty-four months is a normal mission. They also see this opportunity as a blessing.  None of them want to go home.  They are wanting to go to Hawaii and get their educations.

Kim started teaching our first ITEP course last week.  We now have had 3 classes.  There are 7 teachers enrolled in the class and all are excited to be there and come to class ready to learn.  It's great to see their enthusiasm.  They are all from the college (the High School) and three of them are new hires.  The Primary school has one new hire but she has already taken the pedagogy class that Kim is teaching.  Both schools are in need of hiring 2 more teachers, and yes we are in the 3rd week of a new school year!!

Sunday as I sat in Sacrament Meeting in Korovou, it began to rain.  The windows were all open and the fresh breeze flowed through the chapel.  The words of a song came into my mind..."I see leaves of green.  Red Roses too.  I watch them bloom for me and for you.  And I think to myself, What a wonderful world!"  I looked out the windows. It was breath taking.  I could see the ocean in the far distance.  The rain was streaming down.  Everything was green and lush. We are blessed with a wonderful world. And the Fijians have the most beautiful!

We learned in Come Follow Me this past week not to run faster than we have strength.  We learned that we all have to share the load.  One person cannot be expected to do it all.  Moses father-in-law was a wise man as he advised Moses.  "Moreover, thou shalt provide out of all the people able men....and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens....and they shall bear the burden with thee....If thou shalt do this thing...then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace." Exodus 18: 21-23. I think that is beautiful.  Pres. Markus is so appreciative of Elder and Sister Denney who have helped bear his burdens the past 6 months. Now we have come to help a little as well.  This weekend, two more senior couples will enter Fiji to help carry the load. We can't be expected to do the work alone.  We all need to help and share the burdens.  And if we do so, we can all have peace. What a great principle.  The Lord truly looks after his people.  

Here's a few pictures of our week. 

Primary students switching classes.  Notice the rain! :)

So happy to see Sister Talemaitoga, the Primary School Principal.

Orchids at the Primary School.

Our personal helper at Rup's Big Bear Market.

Youth singing intermediate hymn in Korovou Sacrament Meeting. It was beautiful even though they said they didn't practice.

Dalo and Fish in Coconut milk.  A gift from Sister Tabua in Korovou for giving her a ride.

The fish was delicious!

Pedagogy Class

Learning to fold a fitted sheet. The purpose was to teach monitoring progress of students.  "You haven't taught until they have learned." 

SUCCESS!  Very proud students!

Hit the Ground Running

 We are in Suva Fiji.  Before we got here, Kim and I were both having a hard time visualizing ourselves back in Fiji.  It's been really weird the feelings we have had, a little hesitation, a bit of disbelief, a little anxiety and some excitement.  Now that we are really here, it just feels good. It feels normal. It feels right.  We spent the last week with Abbie's family.  Abbie, Millie, Katie and Annie (our daughters) left on Monday April 11 for a 5 day cruise out of LA.  We had to return our rental car to California so we came out the Friday before their cruise and spent the weekend with Abbie and her family.  On Monday, the girls all met up and off they went.  Kim and I agreed to babysit Macie, Maverick and Luka so James would be able to go to work.  I'm really glad we did.  It was great to get to spend the next 4 days with the Schramm fam.  Thursday evening we went to dinner with James' parents and then James took us to the airport.  We left LAX at midnight.  They fed us a dinner around 2 a.m. and then turned the lights out to let us sleep.  I think I actually slept for awhile.  About 7 a.m. (California time) they turned the lights back on.  They fed us breakfast and then began the dissent into Nadi, Fiji.  We landed about 6:00 a.m. Fijian time on Saturday morning.  The flight was 11 hours but because we crossed the international date line, we lost a whole day.  No Friday for us!  We transferred our bags, went through customs and boarded our next flight to Suva.  It was a 30 minute quick flight.  President and Sister Markus met us at the airport and took us to our apartment, the same one we had when we left 2 years ago. We love the Markus's already.  What a great couple and what a time they have had running the mission with only Fijian missionaries and over 200 missionaries that were sent to Fiji while they waited to return to their home countries in the South Pacific. Almost all have either returned home or have been able to go to BYU Hawaii.  I'm so impressed with them.  They are really great people.  We got to our apartment about 9 a.m.  Pres. Markus invited us to baptism that was happening at 11.  Of course!  We were thrilled to be invited.  When we were here before, we never were invited to baptisms. We unpacked a little, showered, and off to the baptism.  When we got there we met 3 sister missionaries from Kiribati who had been at the MTC with us in August 2019.  They remembered us before we recognized them.  I pulled up my pictures and found that I had pictures of 2 of them from the MTC.  They had all served in Australia or New Zealand.  When COVID hit, they were sent to Fiji waiting to be able to return to their own country.  They have officially been on their 18 month mission for 34 months! What dedicated sisters.  Some of the Kiribati missionaries returned home in February but these sisters failed their covid tests and weren't able to return.  Now they have completed the Pathways Connections Program and will going to Hawaii in a week to attend BYUH.  It's not home, but at least they will be officially released from their mission and will start a new chapter and adventure in their lives.  It was great to see them and reconnect.  The church makes the world a very small place.  We also were able to meet the only other senior couple in the mission, Elder and Sister Denney.  What a wonder couple they are. Their neighbor back home is a young woman who grew up in our Orem ward whom we know very well and love!  Like I say, the church makes the world a small place.

Pres. Markus asked us if we would be willing to attend the Korovou Branch again.  This is a small branch an hour drive outside of Suva.  We didn't hesitate to say yes as we love this Branch and the dear people who attend.  We decided to leave early to make sure we were on time so we wouldn't make a commotion during Sacrament Meeting.  But as I went to make our bed, I noticed blood on the sheets. Doing some investigating I noticed several bugs! I called Kim into the room and he had a look.  It appears, our bed is infested with bedbugs!   We took pictures and sent them to the mission president.  He gave us a call just as we were trying to get out the door.  We talked a bit about the possibilities of what to do and decided we would talk further after church.  We left, but unfortunately we got behind several slow cars and didn't make it to church on time.  We slipped in the back!  Everyone turned, several waved, and Brother Turavu who was conducting welcomed us.  I was a little surprised when tears welled up and my emotions got the best of me. I was so happy to see these beautiful families. Let's just say there was a lot of hugs and kisses after the meeting.  And getting to go to Relief Society with the lesson being taught in Fijian was just like old times.  "Sister Roper, do you have something you would like to add?"  One of the sisters beside me, tried to fill me in on what was being discussed.  I was reading the conference talk they were discussing as they discussed so I was able to just share my own thoughts on each section.  Oh how I love those 7 sweet sisters and pray for them as they go through their struggles in life.

Tonight we are staying in a hotel so that we don't have to be sucked by bedbugs tonight. The exterminator will come in the morning and we will stay another night in the hotel. The mission president would like the landlord to buy us a new mattress.  We will see what becomes of that.  Haha!  We have to laugh at the adventures that we are already having.  Thank goodness there is no school tomorrow, for Easter Holiday.  We will be able to devote some time to getting our apartment cleaned out.  

So we are hitting the ground running.  I wouldn't want it to happen any other way.  Except for maybe the bedbugs!  

Saying Goodbye!  Last night in St. George with Millie, Bryan, Ellery and Aayla.

 

Our little rental car was packed to the brim!

 

Three of the sisters off to pick up Annie at the airport and then on to the port. I think they were pretty excited for their getaway.

Maverick loves to ride his "motorcycle" and finding lizards along the way is a bonus!

Luka discovers Grandma's water bottle.  I don't know why water tastes so much better in my water bottle but my grandkids sure think so!

Pool Time!

After pool time relaxation and warming up!  "Grandpa, we need some cucumbers!" 

Homemade play dough is always more fun then the store bought kind!

Bedtime Stories!

Off to the airport! James said we had 500 lbs. of luggage.  I think he was exaggerating! 😂😂😂

 Settling in for our 11 hour flight.

Landed in Nadi.

Next flight to Suva!

Suva!  Notice the rainbow that greeted us.  Tender Mercy for me!

President and Sister Markus picked us up at the airport.  They don't come any better.

Sisters from Kiribati at the baptism.

Sister Denney and Sister Markus.

Is it bad to take a picture during Sacrament Meeting?  I just couldn't help it!

Elder Roper gave Joji his Easter tie.  He was thrilled.  Did you know the Easter Bunny doesn't come to Fiji? 😏

Bedbugs and Blood Smears!  :(

Happy Easter Everyone!  Love from Fiji.  It's nice and warm and humid! And green! Just the way I like it!

The Time Has Come :)

    After two years and 3 weeks, the wait is over.  We returned home on March 22, 2020.  We received a new call to Fiji in June 2021 and on January 3, 2022 we were officially set apart as ITEP missionaries to serve in the Fiji Suva Mission, to begin our service January 6.  Yesterday, April 5,  we received word from our mission president that Fiji had granted us our visas.  WAHOO! He sent us a copy and we forwarded them on to our supervisors, Elder and Sister Johnson, who are serving in Hawaii.  Elder Johnson called us a little bit later and hesitantly said, "we may have a problem." What??? The date on our visa says "10/3/2022".  Elder Johnson thought that meant that they are active beginning October 3.  Gratefully we have been to Fiji before and know that that date actually means March 10, 2022.  HaHa!  So no problem here at all.  In fact, it looks like we could have gone a whole month ago.  But we won't get into that.  Today, we received word from the missionary department that we have been cleared to fly to Fiji on April 14.  We haven't seen a ticket or itinerary yet but I'm sure we will soon.  We are just delighted beyond words to finally have a date.  

    I'm not going to lie.  The last 4 months have been hard.  We worked diligently to get our visa application in before Christmas.  Then the week after Christmas, we were told that we had to do additional work that took another 2-3 weeks.  On February 11, our mission president told us he had finally received our application and had submitted it to the immigration office along with applications from 2 other senior couples who also have calls to Fiji, the Baldwins and the Pattons.  We are anxious to meet them and serve with them.  At that time, Pres. Markus told us it might take up to a month.  After a month we started getting impatient.  Every week seemed to drag on and on.  Every week we asked, "heard anything?" Every week it was, "not yet."  We were beginning to wonder if it was going to happen.  I definitely have learned that patience is not one of my virtues.  Or Kim's either.  

   Studying the Old Testament this year in Come Follow Me has really been helpful since we see so many examples of those that have had to wait upon the Lord.  Poor Joseph, who was first sold as a slave by his brothers.  Then he served the Pharaoh well but was sent to prison after being falsely accused by the Pharaoh's wife.  He "patiently" waited in prison for years before finally being released and finding favor with the Pharaoh again.  And years later, he finally reunited with his brothers and his father.  YEARS of waiting on the Lord.  And then there was Jacob.  Jacob who only wanted to marry the love of his life but was willing to wait 7 years for her.  And then, after serving his father-in-law to be, he is tricked into marrying Rachel's sister, Leah.  But Jacob was patient and served his father-in-law another 7 years before being allowed to have Rachel as his wife.  Fourteen years he waited.  Moses also had his share of waiting on the Lord and being patient along with the children of Israel.  So I guess 2 years to wait for the pandemic to calm down and 3 1/2 months for our visas to come through was not too much to ask.  But boy, it sure wasn't easy. 

   Just looking through the pictures and definitely getting excited for our return. Our next 8 months will go by far too quickly.