When the mission office staff talked of taking us on a river trip during our Senior Missionary Retreat in Suva April 13-5, 2015, we were excited! However, when we saw the final itinerary, it was a day and a half of solid classes and training. That did not sound fun at all. We changed our minds, though when we got there. 

They had us staying in a 5 star hotel on the ocean’s edge. The view was breathtaking. 

Sunrise view taken from our Novotel hotel room window

Our retreat began with a lovely dinner with President and Sister Layton and all the Senior MLS Missionaries at the Novotel Hotel. It was Sister Harward’s 70^th birthday. At the end of the delicious meal, a group came with a mandolin and sang Happy Birthday and brought one of the biggest birthday cakes I’ve ever seen. It was bigger than a sheet cake, three layers high, encased in thin chocolate sheets half again as tall as the cake, decorated with more chocolate and maraschino cherries. Sister Harward was so excited. I loved watching her smile from ear to ear as she relished the food and enjoyed every moment. It’s a birthday she will never forget.

After dinner, we stayed in the lounge and visited with the Smiths until 10 PM. They have been transferred from Taveuni to the main island. We took advantage of the time together since we might never see them again. They are new to the city, and they always wanted us to be their passengers in downtown busy Suva because, even though we got lost a couple times, we always ended up where we were supposed to be. He circled the roundabout a couple times, not just to have fun, as Rex does, but to decide which road to take. Rex loved it.

Rex and I went for a refreshing swim early both mornings before breakfast at the hotel. It was fun looking up at the clouds as they swirled and moved. At one point, the dark clouds were moving one way, and the fluffy white clouds were moving the other. We saw two huge birds like black ibis weighing down the prawns of the palm trees as they pruned themselves.

Ready for the day after a glorious swim

If our sons were judging the vacation by the food, it was an over the top success. I think I gained 5 pounds. We had a fancy all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet at the Hotel each morning. During the training, there were always treats and water on the conference table. The first day lunch was at the Mission Home with perfect chicken salad sandwiches on croissants, served with fruits, and lemon bars. Dinner was at a café the Laytons love. We filled a long row of tables and were having so much fun visiting that the hour and a half wait for the food didn’t seem so long. We both had tenderloin steak and French fries. The last day, the Laytons had fruit and muffins for a break, and lunch was taco soup, salad, homemade bread sticks, and Rocky Road Brownies. Rex loved them. The Laytons were the perfect host and hostess. Besides the training, they wanted to show their love and appreciation. We definitely felt loved and pampered.

Dinner with all the Senior Couples & President & Sister Layton

 In a garage between the Mission home and the Suva Temple, which is being renovated, behind a blue tarp, are the 12 oxen that hold up the baptismal font, plus chandeliers, etc. from the temple. While we were waiting for training to start, we asked permission from a construction worker to see them. It turns out he is the head of construction of the Suva Temple. His name is Bill Naylor from Midway. We told him our son works in Midway for the Local Book. Brother Naylor is a huge Family History buff and works with people to make family connections.  I also told him we were related to the Mahoneys in Heber, and that we are all related to Isaac Morley from early Church History. Brother Naylor took us to his flat, introduced us to his wife, and gave us a booklet.  He had also helped build the Winter Quarters Temple, and he and his wife served in Winter Quarters. He found that five sister missionaries who served there were all related through Isaac Morley.  He knows exactly where Lucy Gunn, wife of Isaac Morley, is buried. I have seen the huge plaque in the Winter Quarters Memorial Cemetery with her name close to the top. We felt honored to meet him and his wife. 

Suva Temple under renovation

Suva Temple under renovation at night

Back Row: Woodwards, Vermeerens, Smiths, Tanners,
Front Row: Mission Presidency - Vuatakis, Laytons, Harwoods

During the Senior Missionary Retreat, we had amazing speakers and learned many details that will help us in every area of our mission.  

In his mission newsletter, President Layton summed up the training better than I ever could:  "This past week we enjoyed a wonderful seminar with our Member and Leader Support (MLS) senior missionaries at the mission home. We talked about their role with the Young Single Adults, recent converts and returning members, helping individuals prepare for the temple, education, and other areas they offer support in. They all mentioned how much they enjoy their relationship with each of the missionaries they work with. We are so blessed to have the senior couples in our mission."

That was sweet. I'm not going to include all the training details. I have them elsewhere, but I do want to include the following from my notes: Resist becoming overwhelmed and reverting to natural man. Make it simple and know with the Lord’s help, we can do it. It is His work. Miracles are happening on a daily basis. Let go of our wanting to be in control and let the Lord direct us. What is Thy will? I will work hard today. Please guide me. Put the thoughts in my mind. Let me have the faith to make it happen. Let go. Soar. Let Him be the wind beneath my wings. Look back and see what a great experience we are having. I feel closer to God than I ever have before. We are mentoring the next generation to rise to where the Lord has helped us grow to be.

Besides the good training, we learned a few other things:

• I loved this: “God created Fiji on His happiest day!”
• The Oakland Temple is a beacon of light to ships.
• Brother and Sister Tanner are in CES working with 8 Seminaries and Institutes. Before their mission they lived in Washington, and Sister Tanner traveled to Salt Lake to escort one of her seminary students to the temple. She forgot her recommend, and as she was crying and talking with the temple presidency, they told her that they would issue her a new recommend. They said, “You reek of righteousness.” I could see what they meant. She and her husband radiate the Spirit. She is always smiling and happy. She is related to Dotty Casperson in Preston. Her father is a brother to Owen. I told her Dotty was one of my mother’s closest friends.

• As Sister Layton spoke to us, she told us she looked at the calendar that morning and noted the date. She and President Layton were with their two granddaughters at the finish line of the Boston Marathon April 15, 2013 when the first bomb went off, then the second, blowing the fronts off two buildings. They scooped the girls into their arms and started running with the crowd. They were doing everything they could to protect their little ones, fearing that more buildings might explode as they passed. It was the 2^nd anniversary of that frightening experience. 
• We are blessed that they are our leaders. They taught us, pampered us, and showed us all the love in the world!

We are armed with more knowledge and now it’s Ready, Get Set, GO!

Love you all!

From back deck of Mission Home
View of Ocean - the dark blue strip between the trees and the sky