Diwali (Hindu Holiday)

The Hindu religion has a holiday called Diwali. It is a celebration of one of their religious leader’s birth. I asked a store owner about it, and he is the one who gave me that information. I said that it was like the Christian holiday of Christmas. He replied, “exactly”. It is a celebration of light. The coming from the darkness to the light, leaving evil for good, etc.

It is like three holidays wrapped into one for us; Christmas, Halloween, and the 4^th of July. They decorate their houses with lights and have them lit like we do our Christmas lights. They make goodies so when friends and neighbors stop by they have some “sweets” and the light fireworks all night and even well past midnight lighting them off.

The holiday was on Sunday, October 30^th, and they celebrate all day and then because there is a National Holiday on Monday, they celebrate then too.

They are so accepting of us and others, that if you walk around and then up to a house with the lights on, they will have sweets for you. We visited two different homes last night and it was very nice to share in their holiday. The young girl who is a member was very accepting as was her mother and family who are not members. Her grandfather was in his 80’s so I was not the oldest there.

Hope you enjoy the pictures and videos. We have been to Suva for some Senior MLS missionariy training. Love you all.

Houses decorated with lights

This one is at the end of our paved road and very nice

This a house we visited. We did not know them but they invited us to sit and eat.

This lady lives below our member. Her daughters were dressed to the "nines" as do all the women for this holiday.

This is the "snacks". they were different but quite nice.

These are rice paintings. They die the rice and then put it on the floor in a pattern. This is a peacock.

Inside of our members home

Jackie and some of the girls

They put a light on each of the spots. Not sure what or if it means anything.

Paradise Island Savusavu Carnival

We had a Savusavu Carnival a week or so ago and one of the young sisters in the branch was a queen contestant. There was four days of the carnival. Wednesday thru Friday, it was just and evening event with local and historical entertainment and, of course, the judging of the queen contestants. They problem was that they had lights on the stage but much of the Fijian entertainment was done in front of the stage and there were no lights. Saturday things began with a parade through the entire town and ending at the site of the carnival. It was hot and humid and we had to go home to cool off after the parade and then we came back for the final night of activities. Our girl did not win but she represented herself well. She had support of her family and we spent some of the time at the carnival with them.

We love being here and are learning about the people and the culture every day. The gospel is growing in Fiji and the humble saints are learning the gospel, “line upon line, precept upon precept.”

We Love you all and hope you enjoy the blog.

 Elder and Sister Roberts (Kurt and Jackie, mom and dad, grandpa and grandma)

Jackie and Makalesi, she is being tutored in English

Our contestant being carried (traditional)

Former Branch President's Family

Missionaries returning home Celebration

Just a small interim blog to show some of the activities we can be part of here in Fiji.
When missionaries are leaving, the branch holds a big party for them. The ladies spend a lot of time making a special lei for them. Food is served and the party begins. The missionaries are expected to give a farewell talk at this party. We were a bit concerned that we had not seen the Fijian people have a party or having fun. We were very happy to see that they do have fun and can party with the best of the islanders. Even the small children join in with the dancing, singing and of course the eating of the food.

Here are a few pictures to try to show the feel of the farewell and the fun spirit of the Fijian people.

Elder Lautogia

Elder Court (his lei was still being made)

All the missionaries in the District

Goals, Activation, Serving, Faith

The work here in Fiji continues. Each month the mission sets goals for number of baptisms they think they will get. The zone leaders meet with the president in the Mission Council Meeting once a month. After discussion and prayerful consideration, they set a goal for the mission of the number of baptisms. This goal is based upon feedback from the different zones. Each week of the month the districts meet to discuss progress and ways to be more effective. Each set of missionaries in the district report on those they are working with; what lesson they are on, have they attended church, have they been given a calling, have they given a baptismal challenge and what date they think the baptism will take place. The district leaders then report to zone leaders who report to the president and the mission council.

We are on the North Island of Vanua Levu. Our district is the southern portion of that island. The branches that we are responsible for are Rabi, a small island that is a 45-minute boat ride on a small 14’ fishing boat across the channel between the two islands, Tukavesi, Nabua and Savusavu. Each branch has 2-3 groups that are attached to them. A group is like a HP group in a ward, but they meet on their own except for fast Sunday, when they meet with the branch they are attached to. We try to get to all the places on different Sundays but as you can guess, it is difficult to meet with all of them on a regular basis. But the members are very humble and try very hard to live the gospel in their lives.

We found out that there are over 270 members in the Savusavu Branch. We live in a nearby “village” to Savusavu. As you can see we have plenty opportunities to work with the less actives of the branch. Our problem is that we don’t know who they are. We have requested a printout of the branch members from the clerk and the branch president. We are planning to go through the list and color code those we know, have been working with, and the members that are active. We will then ask the members for assistance to help us make contact with those that have not been to church in a long time. It is a daunting task but we know the Lord will bless us if we stay focused, be diligent, have faith and learn to listen to the spirit.

The Elders need a place to burn some old foam mattresses. We were the only one with a yard.

As you can see, they even have a lumber industry here in Fiji. They have large pine forests on our island. If you get behind one of them, you have a very hard time getting around them. I also put in a picture of one of the many bridges that we have to cross to travel to the northern town of Labasa on this island.

A big yacht at the dock.

We are entering the yachting season. Most are sailboats, but this was huge.

Narrow one-way bring on many rods of the island.

Right of Weight!

Painting a members home.

Today we had the privilege of helping a less active member paint his home. He built this home himself and needed some help with the exterior painting. We bought a tray, roller frames and covers. He already had the paint, it was Swimming Pool Blue. He had never painted anything before and was asking for our help to be the “experts”. The Elders came, so we had 4 painters and one foreman, Sister Roberts. We were able to complete all four sides of the house in about 2 ½ hours. His wife made us lunch. Not sure what it was but it was rice, potatoes and some kind of seasoning. It might have been curry but the mild kind.

Education, Testimonies, Revivals

Sorry that this one is for a month, but we do get busy here. We have been given some new assignments that will keep us busy and challenge our resourcefulness.

We are now facilitators for the Self-Reliant program here in the Savusavu area. We work with missionaries that will be going home in the next 6 weeks and work with them on the first 6 lessons in the manuals. The program allows for differences in abilities, education, etc. and it can give assistance in helping them prepare for education upon their return home. Check the Self-reliant program out on LDS.org or on your apps for Gospel Library. It can be a help to you as your children prepare for life after the 12 years of school.  We have also started a class called self-reliance in one of the villages with the members, although this program is open to all. They want to find something they can do to earn more money. Prior to submitting missionary paperwork, potential missionaries must have $195 Fijian in the branch account. This is 3 months the costs of a mission.

We visited Dreikeniwai, a small village, for Sacrament meeting today. As usual we were asked to bear our testimonies. The members are so humble and accommodating to us when we come. It is also the village where the District President lives, but he was in Savusavu, our “home” branch, changing the branch presidency. Our relief society president grew up there and owns the house the members meet in. Her husband did a year ago and they put a tomb in their front yard.

Sister Roberts and Sister Rabuka (owner)

Ready for Sacrament meeting

Jackie bore testimony that we all have something special that we can do. It may not be the “big” things that are considered great to do, but we all have a work to do here; that our Father in Heaven has designed especially for us. Through these trials we learn and grow and become more obedient and submissive to the promptings of the spirit.

Told the story of the two pots, one pot was cracked, and water leaked out and fell upon the flowers on his side of the road. Jesus Christ knows our “cracks” and has promised that He will make our weaknesses strong. We only have to be obedient and be better today than we were yesterday and better tomorrow than we are today. As long as were a moving forward in a positive manner toward the ultimate goal of eternal life, we are successful.

Tonight I went with the Elders to talk to an investigator. He was with his wife and child looking for work here. He is from Labasa, a town north of us. He was baptized a while back to the Assembly of God church. I not sure what religion he was prior to his 1^st baptism. I met him at church today and didn’t know he was not a member. But he is staying with a member. He is very smart and inquisitive about what went on in church today. Who knows what he and his family will do but the message was that we have a way for him and his family to be happy in this life and be together as a family after this life.

Sunday night we went to a village and attended a village “revival” that is hosted by the different churches in the area. The hosting preacher gave a grand sermon, all in Fijian so we didn’t understand a word. But he was loud and it reminded me of the Neil Diamond song, “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show”. Then there is a village picnic outside the building. We had to miss the picnic due to a need to take the sacrament to a blind sister that cannot get to church. The Elders take her this each week. She was so humble and had such a strong testimony. She seems so positive, even with all the difficulties she is going through. We met her a few weeks ago in Savusavu, when her niece brought her to town to shop. Her kindness and sweet, happy disposition was so uplifting.

Dancing

Singing

Praying

Temple Worship, Dirt Roads, and Surprses!

10 September 2016

We had our first “graduating class” for our Temple Prep classes go to the Suva Temple a week ago and we were on the dock the morning they returned. They were all smiles and like little children at Christmas time. There were 3 couples and one single lady who received their own endowments. The couples were then sealed to their children. Our branch president was sealed to his father and mother. There were 17 people in all that went and made eternal covenants. Those young men and women that had a “limited use” recommend, were able to attend and do baptisms for the dead. I was so nice to see how their faces had changed from the experience.

A few days after they had returned, I had need to be in the village of one of the fathers, who is the group leader in that village. Now, usually we can ride the 20 minutes into town without one word, but this day was different. He told me he had had a dream, in which he saw many of his ancestors smiling and looking at him. He was so taken by the dream; he woke his wife to tell her about the dream. He asked me if I had any idea what it meant? Talk about feeling the heavy load of responsibility, I told him that I thought that his ancestors wanted him to do the family history and then take their names to the temple. I told him that not everyone had an experience like this after going to the temple.

Another sister we visit, who is less active, told us that after Cyclone Winston had leveled their home, they re-built. It is a very small home, with two rooms that has plywood as walls. They do have power and gas for their stove. But not much else. I noticed a picture of Christ on one of the walls and she told us after they re-built, that fire that burned two walls and melted one of their mosquito nets. But she said that the other net had that picture of Christ on it and the fire didn’t burn or melt the second mosquito net.

We have been given a new assignment. We are facilitating the missionaries that are going home in 6 weeks, with the Self-Reliance program. There are 12 lessons but we only do the first 6 and they are to complete the last 6 when they return home. We started our first group of 2 elders and 1 sister last Monday and will be organizing another group in a village of Tukavesi. The Branch President in this village wants to take the course also.

When couples are called on a self-reliant mission they get a week of training in SLC after their week in the MTC. Our training was a phone call, email and a USB drive with all the lessons, videos, etc. on it. We were told to “teach ourselves”. I must say that the lessons are very well organized and fortunately the instructions are to not deviate from the lesson material. It is timed so you really can’t go too far off course.

Today we went to a neighboring island to do some “official business” of the mission. We have been asked to do the flat inspections of all the elders and sisters and to check the temple recommend books in each of the branches, to make sure they have the only the books that are required. All I have to check is the beginning and ending numbers of the recommends in the booklet. Some of the branches have both English and Fijian recommends and some only have the English.

The island we went to is called Rabi, (pronounced Rambi). We had to take an hour drive on paved roads, then 1 ¼ hours on dirt roads, they a 45-minute boat ride to the island. The boat was a fiberglass 18’ motor boat. Then after an hour on the island we made the return trip. We do not stay on the island. It is very rustic and rats in the houses. Yes, rats! Even the Elders would not let us stay overnight.

Brother Matai and Wife

Savusavu Branch at Temple

Brothers at Temple

Sisters at Temple

Brother Sepo and Family

This is the Brother who had the Dream

Jackie and Lucia and Matai

As we visit families in the area and work with the children, in particular, we fine the people to be very religious. They are humble and are happy with what little they have. One young man, the branch clerk, said that Fijian people are not poor.