We went to our branch Christmas Party last night. We are still not quite used to Fijian time. The party was scheduled to begin at 6:30 PM. There were members there, and others trickling in, but it didn't officially begin until 7:30 PM when they had an opening song and prayer, and then they asked Brother Woodward to give the message for the evening. He did a great job talking of Christ and the real reason for Christmas. Then everyone sat around and visited and waited for the rest of the people to get there so they could start the entertainment. Once it started, it was amazing! A trio sang "O Holy Night." They sounded like angels," Primary kids sang "Feliz Navidad," the men were passed out sheet music and all sang "Joy to the World," young men performed a comedy dance routine, and all the youth performed a Fijian dance. I couldn't believe all the talent and effort that went into the entertainment for one evening. It was amazing!
The following is just a taste of the Fijian dance they did. It gets a bit pixely in full screen.
When the entertainment was over at about 8:30, we started to eat the dinner. It was potluck, but the main dishes provided were special Indian dishes they make for celebrations such as weddings, prepared and brought in pots bigger than I had ever seen before. I bet the one must have held about 20 gallons and the other was almost as big. They scooped out the seasoned rice dish using a plate and almost filled the eating plate. Then they piled it with lots of other food. A piece of dalo was placed on top. We all ate with our hands. It was delicious. I had already eaten some, including the chicken wing before we thought to take this picture of my plate. The angle doesn't do it justice. Many of the plates were piled over 4 inches high in the middle before the dalo.
Just after we took the picture, the sisters came and asked Brother Woodward to give Sister Heitonga a blessing.She hadn't been able to sleep much for the last two weeks. Part of her problem was homesickness. We understand. It's hard being away from family this time of year, and they don't have Skype and Facetime as we do. We left early and drove them home, and gave the blessing in their apartment. The spirit was strong.
We found out at church today that the branch presidency had wrapped and given cute, simple presents to each of the children. The kids were so excited it made the parents cry with joy.
Love you all!
No comments:
Post a Comment