Jan 30, 2014

   Last night we met the missionaries after dark and drove them to visit Brother Narayan. He lives high in the mountains. Good thing we hadn't washed our truck before we went up. We had a beautiful rain storm yesterday, and the unevenly spaced pot holes on the gravel road were filled with water. Rex says they were expertly designed by Chinese torture masters to give the ride maximum misery. 

   As we arrived, we could see a light in the house and the daughter hurrying to put lacy cloth coverings on all the chairs and couches to prepare for our arrival.  We used the flashlights on our phones to walk down the muddy path with make-shift steps to his home. In Fiji, every night the frogs come out. We see them everywhere on the roads or in the grass. They were especially numerous at the Narayans. They were sitting and hopping everywhere. The smart ones hopped under the house. Rex says we needed Moses to part them and let us walk through. It was, after all, one of the plagues of Egypt. I had to be careful not to step on them as I walked through the dark with my flashlight. Rex was walking in front of me. I saw him step squarely on a big frog. I looked quickly away without assessing the damage. The ground was so squishy Rex had not even noticed. He said he just planted him in the ground where two will now grow back. That's is the way it works in Fiji.

   We had a real treat as we visited with Brother Narayan. He has a soft, quiet spirit about him. Elder Read first took us to visit him. He was baptized two years ago and has been coming back to church since we got here. He is waiting for a calling from the Branch President so he can receive the Melchizedek Priesthood. We have visited his home several times. Last night we listened as the missionaries taught him. The Spirit was strong. Brother Narayan’s mother-in-law and daughter came out to listen. Even though there was an empty couch, they sat on the wooden floor to the side and didn’t say a word. We assume it is their custom.

   I saw a glimpse of why the Lord loves the high mountains. The air was fresh and clean. It was too dark to see. Yet, as I looked up, the tall palms were silhouetted against a quarter moon shining brightly in the sky. Amazingly, the sky was still blue and the clouds an incandescent white. What a magnificent sight!

Love you all!