Rex and Betty Fiji Mission

Moving a House & Beach Fun:
Monday morning, April 27, we went to an appointment in Naduna to try to help Lucy Bulewa in her quest to get a better job. (She returned from her mission a year and a half ago and tried for a Returned Missionary Scholarship, but was not approved. They never told her why, and she was brokenhearted. She paid for her own schooling in business administration and is now working in a night club. She is criticized terribly for working there, and she is now less active.) Lucy was nowhere around. We visited with her mother while we waited for her.

They live in a little tin shack just off the highway with a small stream in the back yard with little waterfalls. The children fish and swim in the little pool, and the neighbors come there to do all their washing. This particular day, a few neighbors came one at a time with food and took it back towards the kitchen. Sister Bulewa mentioned that two 18 wheelers had overturned on the highway, and the last truck had come very close to hitting the house. They were going to move the little house further up on the hill for safety. We stayed for 45 minutes, but Lucy didn’t come. We were just about to leave when Sister Bulewa again mentioned they were going to move the house.

“When are you moving the house?” we asked, thinking it would be far in the future.

“Right after we eat.”

We told her we would be back after 3 PM to help. It gets dark at 6 PM.

We probably shouldn’t have offered because we had plans for the day to take the Sisters and meet the Elders for a special P Day at the beach. We called the Elders to let them know we needed to go to the beach earlier than planned and return earlier so we could help the Bulewas move. Then we called the Sisters to see if they could go early. They were ready. We treated the Sisters to an early lunch at the Chinese Restaurant. (Yes! Our very favorite place - $2.25 each if we share a plate. They treat us like VIPs and give us huge portions to share. We can't afford to buy food in the store, but we can afford to go out and eat.)

Instead of their writing emails at the Internet Café, as they do every week, we let them write emails on the beach using our two laptops and our portable Internet hot spot. They sat comfortably on the shady grass by the the beautiful blue ocean, and wrote to their families. They loved it. Then they climbed trees and walked and talked together on the beach.

When they returned, we had our big sling shot out to shoot rocks into the ocean. I bet those fish didn’t know what hit them!

Sister Eneri writing email

Sister Kora writing email

Kora & Eneri climbing palm trees

Raju slinging rocks. Palelei & Rex holding it up

Our district leaders throwing a rugby ball that later got stuck up in a palm tree. Someone will be surprised when that falls down on their head, but they will be happy it's not a coconut!

Rex played catch with them using the Ultimate Frizbee. Of all the things they could do at the beach, they sat on the grass, and said, “Elder Woodward, tell us some stories.” Everyone here loves Elder Woodward’s stories and jokes, and the sisters are his biggest fans. He started out with jokes. They laughed and laughed. Then he got into the Spartans and Greeks, and that took the rest of the time until the Elders arrived. They actually didn't show up until it was time for us to leave. We let the girls play with them for 45 minutes and then we took them home and rushed to help the Bulewas.

The house was only 11 x 22 feet not counting a small kitchen off to the back and an outhouse tucked back in the trees. One good thing about having a house made of poles, surrounded by tin is that it can be dismantled and moved, much like a big tent. The floor was just dirt leveled and covered with tarps and rugs. Monday turned out to be the day to prepare the new spot and put new poles in to support the tin. Bulewa’s son Billy had come from Savusavu to help. He is strong, and he is a worker! The branch president and his family and Naduna’s 2^nd counselor also were there to help the whole time. They are amazingly strong and hardworking, also!

Rex holding a huge bamboo pole they just cut down to hold the tin on Bulewa's new roof.

Look past the pond toward the top of the hill, and you will see them carrying up the bamboo poles.

When we got there Tuesday morning, the Branch President was slinging a knife in what seemed reckless abandon, but it was actually expertise as he chopped down cassava and pulled up the roots. (They use them as we use potatoes.) In doing so, he made a six foot wide friendly path up the hill to where the new house would sit.

Rex went with Billy and Oscar to where they found and cut tall dead bamboo and carried the long poles back. These they used for the roof supports. They had already dug the holes on the hill to put other poles for uprights. They were also digging a foot and a half deep trench around the house for draining away the water, throwing the clods into the center to level for the floor. Our job was to break up the clay-like clods. That was easier said than done. The big ones were hard to cut apart, and even the little ones would not mash. We had to cut them apart into tiny pieces. I worked hard with a shovel about 45 minutes when I had to take a break and get a drink. Sweat was streaming down my face. I couldn’t wipe it away fast enough. All of a sudden, I didn’t feel very well. I asked Rex to take me home so he could help without worrying about me. I slept for a while and felt better. I worked at home while Rex worked all day long in the hot sun. I was praying hard that he would be okay. It was the longest we had been apart on the whole mission. It was crazy, but I really missed him. It just didn’t seem right being without him. I was praying hard that he would be okay.

Rex came home in the late afternoon. He was filthy, but looked happy and excited. He had left a few things so he took me back up there. The house was already set up on the hill, and we helped carry more of the odds and ends up the hill to move in. They were so thankful for all the help, and they assured us they could finish the next day.

Without the house sitting by the river, it was just a huge level clearing. I told them it looked like a great place to have a party! I could just see our family setting up tents, building a fire, and putting watermelon in the river!

I am so proud of Rex for all his service! He’s a good one!

Have a great day everyone!

Love you!