"Getting to Know You"

16 July 2016

We have been here 4 weeks and and now getting to know the area, people and what is expected of us here in Savusavu Fiji. The people are so wonderful. I know I have said that before but it needs repeating.

We are working with a young man to get his mission papers in. Because he doesn't have internet in his small village, I go and pick him up and bring him back to our flat so we can enter the information. We are also working with several families and a sister and future elder with temple prep classes. It requires that we travel to their homes and present the lessons. We also have a Sunday School class for this on Sunday, but a few people live so far away from the chapel they cannot get to church on Sunday.

We also work with returning missionaries in areas of education, church activity, employment, etc. We will be trained in September about the Self Reliant aspect of all this. There is such a problem that these missionaries come home and fall back into a life of doing nothing.  Some are so far away from any kind of "town" and unemployment is so great here that they live from one day to the next. They have such strong spirits, but they have a tradition of living off the land/sea and work and money seem to be a low priority. Education is desired but not a high priority for most. Our calling is to work with them and help them see the advantages of that so they can break that cycle of poverty. The cyclone was devastating for many people, particularly for those who were already struggling for survival. Homes were destroyed and there are many that still need to be repaired or rebuilt.

We are in the process of undergoing a reorganization of the District Presidency in the next couple weeks. They had called a new presidency a couple weeks before we arrived and two weeks later he had a heart attack and died, he was 42 years old. President Layton has been involved in completing zone conferences for the entire mission and this reorganization process. It is a time consuming process, but in two weeks we will have the pleasure of sustaining the new district presidency. President Layton is going around to all the Branches to complete the business of sustaining and training for that leadership and the local leaders.

We live next door to the branch president and his children will stop by to say hi and we will show them a Disney movie. They are so excited to see these movies. they always have a smile on their faces when we go for a walk or see them after school. When we go to church, they are the first to run up and shake our hands and say "Hi".

We are constantly learning about this area, where the members live, how to get around, where to go for food and services and just getting to know how to better serve the Lord with His children in the part of the world.

We love meeting with the saints and being able to assist them in receiving blessings from the gospel. The Church here has many programs that can assist the saints in improving themselves, both temporally and spiritually. We love what we are doing, where we are and we know that we are being blessed daily by our Father in Heaven for our efforts. We are constantly praying for His guidance and assistance in our ability to do the work He requires of us here in Fiji. We love the Lord and pray that He will continue to lead us and help us in the work He has sent us here to do.

 This is the Cagilaba family. They are taking our Temple prep classes.

 This is the daughter.

 This the road we have to drive/walk to get to one of the families we are working with. It is narrow so we walk part of the way. I can't turn the truck around in the narrow spot by their home.

 This is the view when you get to their home. The view is beautiful. Their home is still not rebuilt.

 These five pictures are the road I had to drive to go to FHE this past week. Keep in mind, it was in the dark and we didn't know for sure where we were going. In the day it doesn't seem as daunting.

These three boys come running when we arrive to present a temple prep class to their sister. They haven't spent much time in a truck and were so excited to be there. They love having their picture taken.