Mon. Dec 22, 2014

We had to prepare for Zone Conference. We bought groceries, made chocolate chip cookies, helped the young elders as they took Elder Walker’s old pickup in to sale and brought them home to pick up Elder Walker’s new pickup they will use while theirs is getting fixed. We then picked up Brother and Sister Smith from their hotel. Sister Smith stayed with me to make Brownies while the brothers drove to the airport to pick up President and Sister Layton. Sister Layton helped cut up veggies while her husband joined the men to check into the hotel and try to fix Brother Smith’s portable hot spot. We met them at the hotel where the President & Sister Layton treated us to a delicious meal. We visited and then President Layton told us his vision of what our mission responsibilities should be. Amazingly enough, they were right down the line to what we had been working on and plotting and planning previously.

1. Work with the Young Single Adults –have activities, be their friends, and help with education
2. MLS -Get to know the branch members and fellowship recent converts. Spend time with them and socialize.
3. Help Brother and Sister Roth with Humanitarian Aid Projects in our area.
4. Prepare members for temple attendance and help those who haven’t been endowed get to the temple. Since the Suva Temple will be closed most of our mission, the members will be going to Tonga. We need to ask the Branch President to set up a Temple Prep Class.
5. Clean us Labasa branch records. Know who is here and who has moved and get their records sent off.

Besides what the President asked, our main calling as Education Specialists is to make sure children get in school, stay in school, and that they and their families value education. Too many families pull their children out early to help on the farms. We have a survey we need to hand out and have completed by the end of January.

Rex was sad we didn’t have more to do as we arrived on our mission, but now it’s Ready, Set, GO!!!

We went early to Zone Conference, Tues. Dec. 23 to decorate, etc. The conference started off with talks on Jesus Christ from the pre-existence, as God of the Old Testament and Book of Mormon, through mortality, and developing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Sister Layton talked about her love of  nativity scenes and what it means to be a good shepherd. It ended with President Layton’s talk on the atonement which struck me the hardest. After he described the Last Supper and the washing of the feet and how Jesus served his apostles, he said, “We will now have the sacrament.” The sacrament was blessed and President Layton by himself passed it to each and every one of us. I kind of gasped to myself as I felt the symbolism of his serving us as Christ had served his apostles. I had to wipe away a few tears during that time of total love and reverence. It is an experience I will always treasure and will never forget.

After the talks, Rex and Elder Smith picked up 10 large pizzas to eat with pop and all the veggies, pineapple, and treats we had made. They loved it.

President and Sister Layton gave each of us a Sulu with the mission logo printed on.

 

Next we had a talent show. It was the best I have ever seen with skits, and talents, and pure entertainment. What fun!

While President and Sister Layton were interviewing the elders, Rex was playing games with the rest of the missionaries. They had a great time. Again, Rex was in his element.

I helped with dinner and copied some primary song cd’s. I had waited for the cd’s Sister Layton brought from Suva. They were $5 each here.  I had just passed the cd’s out to the Elders to take to their various areas when an Elder from one of the little isolated islands came up to me and asked if I had any more of those cd’s. He said the primary children in his branch don’t have anything. They seem so neglected. I grabbed two cd’s I had in my bag I was going to use for Labasa and Naduna and also gave him a page I had typed out of monthly themes, scriptures, and when to teach the new songs. He was so excited he could hardly contain himself. It made my heart sing with joy to help them.

Dinner was incredible. The elders cooked two huge pans of pasta and the senior sisters helped them make white sauce and spaghetti sauce. Wow! That was good! The Roths had worked all afternoon making amazing food to go with it. We all ate our fill and some was even left over, which doesn’t usually happen with missionaries!

After the tables were cleared, they watched the movie “Frozen.” They loved it.

The next day, the missionaries from the outlying islands had left, but the ones here on our island stayed for their interviews. We brought pineapple, watermelon, and water for treats. Rex again joined in the fun and played games with them. He taught them a few they hadn’t seen before. While they were playing, I was typing in information from Elder Read’s address book. His time is short with us, and we need to get all the info from him we can before he goes. It was another fun morning.

It was our Christmas Eve. We had prearranged with Ray to read the Christmas Story with his family. It has been a treasured tradition for our family. It was fun reading of Christ’s birth and inserting appropriate songs. We loved it.

We also got to Skype with Becky’s family. Technology closes the gap of the miles.

We were exhausted so we went to bed early. I had just gone to sleep when I woke up with a start, and I knew I needed to check the Internet. Rose had just sent a message that she was leaving for the hospital. I stayed awake and received another email an hour later with pictures of Rose and her new baby boy. He was born 1 AM on Christmas Eve in the US, and it was still Christmas Eve in Fiji. Rose had slipped into that four hour window where we were on the same day. Since we had just read the story of Christ’s birth, it seemed especially fitting and proper that our little Andrei Rex should be born on Christmas Eve. Just as there was a new star in the sky for baby Jesus, we know he will be a new light in our lives.

We are loving our mission. Thank you for all your love and support. Thank you for all the prayers in our behalf. We know we are being blessed because of them.

We love you all!