Below in the front is a super deluxe model of a bamboo raft. This one has two extra platforms. Usually they don't have anything but the bamboo poles tied together. Often the women are the ones who use these to go out on the ocean fishing. I would be scared to death!

Savusavu Bay during the Mercy Health Fair

When we checked the Labasa Elders’ apartment, we saw one of their beds was broken. They had been using it as a couch. It had been scabbed once, but it couldn’t hold that much weight. Instead of trying to scab it again, Rex bought a new board. When you order a 2 x 4 in Fiji, they give you the full measurements. That was one big, heavy board. Rex did the fine tuning with a skill saw and long screws. The bed is fixed and looks tough now.

July 1, 2015

Rex wrote: Sister Harward appreciated all the repairs I did while at her new flat in Savusavu. She had one more request before I left. Her tiny stove sat too low. She had asked them for four 4” blocks of wood to prop it up, but when she got them, they were all different sizes, and her stove was lopsided. She asked me to make her a 4 inch high stand to put under her stove and also a 9 inch wide cupboard to put beside the stove so she would have a place to set something on. Betty suggested to make the bottom shelf high enough to store the large cookie sheets and cake pans.

I got the wood yesterday morning. When they called District Meeting off, I went to work. I was almost done, when we got a surprise call from Harwards asking us to pick them up here at Asco’s while the truck got serviced. We took them to town to run a couple errands, and brought them back to our flat while I finished the project. They took it home with them tickled pink and very grateful. They sent us a picture to show how it fit. Betty says it's perfection. They will sand it and paint it. Elder Harward commented that it is built to last through the millennium. 

After they oiled it and filled it. I love having a place for cookie sheets!

Ever wondered what to do with those old water bottles? 

Fiji shows you how to have your own balcony garden.

It's sugar cane season!
The man on the bike is keeping up with the tractor pulling the trailer with sugar cane. The leaves are chopped off. It looks like a bunch of straight sticks. Traffic is backed up even more than usual. Tons of cane are going to the sugar factory on trucks, pulled by tractors, trains pulling cars, etc. 

Sugar cane loads heading for the factory.
The farmers won't be paid for their cane for a whole year, and they will be told at that time how much they get for their last year's crop. Usually they are told terrible news, that prices have dropped drastically, and they are paid only a fraction of what the cane is worth. Most of this premium quality sugar is sent to Europe.

Loads of sugar cane waiting to be emptied at the Sugar Cane Factory. This line is over a mile long. Some of the drivers have stopped their trucks and are sleeping as they wait. 

We are loving our time here. Missing all of you at home like crazy, but time is passing quickly. Only 10 months left. We have to make the most of it.

Love you!

Rex wrote:Two Baptisms

 On June 13^th the Seaqaqa Elders had a baptism of a young man living in Naduna, Viliame. The former Branch President of Naduna had a daughter being baptized as well, Kalisi. We were in charge of making and printing the program. Naduna was a branch for two years, but as members have moved away or quit coming, it is now a “Group” under the Labasa Branch so President St. John is their Branch President, and the baptisms are under Labasa Branch authority. The elders planned to have Brother Jone, the group leader from Naduna, preside and conduct the meeting. At the last minute, they found he could not make it. They quickly called around in the Labasa branch to get someone to take charge. All the Branch Presidency were out of town or busy. Finally, Elder Kumar, our district leader, suggested they ask the mission leader to take the responsibility. He accepted. We had to wait at our flat for the name to put on the programs and print them here. It was time to start when we got to the church. Pictures had just been taken, and the parents of the little girl asked the elders where her dress was. They didn’t have one. It was a member baptism and should have been taken care of by the Primary President. The Naduna Group is not organized for that yet. The Labasa Elders said, “Drive us to our flat. We have a baptismal dress.” We hopped into the truck, drove to their apartment, and got the dress. As we got out of the truck at the church, Elder d’Aquin said, “The dress is for a grown lady. It is the only one we have, and we only have one safety pin.”

By this time it was one half hour past starting time. They tried the dress on the little girl. The sleeves were over a foot past the end of her hands. The bottom of the dress looked like a wedding dress with over two feet on the ground and the neck line was low, very low. The little girl was almost in tears.

I tried to cheer her up by saying, “It looks like a princess wedding dress.” It didn’t help.

Sister Kora said, “We have a smaller dress at our flat. It is still for a lady, but a much shorter one.”

The parents said, “No worries.This one is fine.”

They took pictures in the long dress.

Most of us went into the chapel to start the baptismal service. Betty was feeling sorry for the poor little girl. She looked so sad, Sister Kora went to work. She is an artist. About five minutes later, the little girl appeared in the chapel with a better-fitting dress. The sleeves were to her elbows. The bottom hem was at her knees, and the neck was just right. We were told later that Sister Kora and the mother had rolled the sleeves up on the inside. The bottom of the dress was rolled up inside to her chest with the sash tied around her waist to hold it up. They used the one safety pin in the back to tighten the neckline.

All was set.

After the prayers and the songs, as we headed to the font, Sister Woodward insisted that more pictures be taken in the tailored dress. They were. The little girl still did not smile. I think she was afraid of the water.

Elder Nuku from New Zealand baptized the teenage young man first. After the prayer, Elder Nuku took the young man down and back up so quickly that the water splashed out and the resulting waves went over the edge two more times after. It was so quick that the water barely had time to fill in over the top when he went down. He had been totally immersed, but not very long. It was the quickest baptism I have ever seen.

The father didn’t have his own white sulu so he had to wait for the Viliame to change and borrow the one the elders had provided him. As he and the little girl went down the steps into the water, she had a terrified look on her face. Her father was so gentle with her. Still she was very afraid. When all was ready, he slowly laid her into the water and lovingly brought her back out. There was hardly a ripple in the water. It was so sweet. The contrast between the two was stark. One was a strong brotherly baptism and the other a soft father-daughter baptism. Both were done to perfection the first time.

Such a spiritual baptism!

June 20, The Saturday after the Health Fair, the Mercy, & Zone Conference

Rex Wrote: Brother & Sister Harward moved to a new flat in Savusavu just across the street from the Roths. Their water filter needed a special fitting to hook it up. They had looked all over Savusavu and could not find one. They called Elder Terry in the office who knows everything, and he told them that the box of fittings was in Labasa at our flat.  He told me his problem and I said I would bring the box and come down and get his water running.

I loaded all my tools just in case they needed other things fixed. We had bought a new toaster to take down to the Roths and on the way picked up a new fan from the Seaqaqa Elders to take to the Harwards. Betty needed to get some pictures from the Roths of the Health Fair and ship Mercy. This unplanned trip was suddenly very needed.

In Savusavu I left Betty at the Roths and went to the Harwards with the box of fittings. We looked at what they had and soon found a fitting that hooked their filter up to the faucet. That was easy. Sister Harward asked if I could move a bracket that held the remote control to the air conditioner. It was a little harder because the screw that held it to the wall had a strange thread. I was lucky and got the screw out and used two new screws from my tool box to put it on the wall where she wanted it.

Then she asked, “Can you change the hinges on my fridge to have it open the other way?”

I said, “Sure.”

She was so excited to find out I was skilled at fixing things.

The fridge was not as easy. The hex screw that held the plastic cover over the hinges was stripped.

President Harward said, “I guess it can’t be changed.”

I told Elder Harward as a farmer I didn’t let the machinery beat me. I asked if he had a blade screwdriver. He looked at me funny and went to get one. I went to my truck and got a hammer. I put the edge of the blade on the outside of the screw and used the hammer to tap it loose. All I did was dig a groove in the soft screw. I reversed the blade to the other side of the screw and tried again with the same result. The hex screw now looked more like a blade screw. I got a small blade screwdriver bit from my socket set and tapped it with my hammer into the grooves I had made. I hooked the bit to a ratchet and took out the stubborn screw. 

President Harward made a classic statement, “I have never seen anyone remove a screw with a hammer.”

We changed the hinges and made Sister Harward so happy. She asked Betty to come take a tour of their house. Then they bought us dinner to tell me thank you.

She said before we left, “When you come back, I will have a list of things for you to fix.

Betty and I had to drive back to Labasa and get ready for movie night to show “Meet the Mormons”  at the chapel.That was fun, too. It was the end of a very busy day and week.

Sister Bull is an amazing person. She is the only one in our branch who plays the piano, and she plays it expertly and with feeling. She not only is a magistrate for the high court of Fiji, but also she is the Primary President. She is knowledgeable and gentle with the children. She planned a service project. The children arrange a huge fruit basket and presented it to Sister Ali. They sang to her like angels. It made her cry, knowing that she is loved.
Sister Ali is one who I always give a hug and greet with, "Good morning, beautiful."
One Sunday, I leaned over to give her a hug, and she said, "Good morning, beautiful!" 
I said, "I'm the one who says that." 
She replied, "I'm the winner!" Such a sweet lady. She is going away for two months. I told her I'm going to miss her!

Surprise for Sister Ali

Friday, June 20, 2015, the head of a little school in the eastern top end of our island called and said three students from BYU Hawaii who volunteer to teach at her school would be coming to Labasa to go to church. She said they would be calling us and asked us to take care of them.  When we picked up Sister Kora and Sister Fiu for church, they told us the girls had called them because they couldn’t get hold of us. We called the number and picked them up at the hotel to go to church. It was a wonderful meeting. They loved the spirit in Labasa.

Rex okayed it with me and then asked if they had any plans for lunch. They were starving and accepted our dinner invitation. We had fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and the trimmings. They loved it and were so grateful. We only had two hours. They had to catch the Sunday 3:30 PM bus. As we visited, they told how they had a visa for four months, but the man at the airport had stamped their passport for a 14 day visa and told them they would have to go to Savusavu to have it extended. They had been here a week and only had a week left. Their plan was to go home and come back the next Friday to go get it extended. I suggested they save a few hours on the bus, stay overnight, and get it done the next day. (It was a good thing because the next Friday was a national holiday, and the immigration office would have been closed.) They called the head of the school and got permission to miss Monday.

Rex asked if there was an immigration office in Labasa thinking it is the largest city on the island. The girls said, “No, they told us Savusavu.” Rex called Sister Terry at the mission office. She said they were to go to Savusavu. They spent time calling on the phone and texting home to find location and work out details.. The hotel was full so we invited them to stay with us. One of the girl’s mom said we are now her new best friends for taking care of her daughter. It was sweet to see how much they and their families trusted us as Senior Missionaries.

We spent the evening playing Golf and Rage. Rex got three of the extra foam mats from the elders, and the girls slept on our front room floor.

The next morning, we drove them to Savusavu. I love to watch others take that beautiful drive the first time. It’s like being in another world with the fern palms, waterfall, and lush foliage. We love talking and learning about those who ride with us. The girls were darling. Rachel Robinson from Texas wants to be an artist and possibly teach art in college. Hailey Page from California wants to be a secondary school teacher specializing in sports and English.  Her boyfriend is a professional basketball player from New Zealand. Emily Halls from Arizona has a bunch of options -journalist, international communications, videographer, and photographer. These talents complement one another nicely. She is motivated and wants to hit the ground running when she graduates.  She was especially enthralled, and took lots of pictures. We found the Savusavu Immigration Office, and the girls pled their case; but the worker said they had to fill out a form and it would cost $190 Fijian each to extend the Visa. That hurt. She told them to fill out the paper and hand it into the Immigration Office in Labasa since it was much closer, and they wouldn’t have to make the long trip back down to finish the process. 

Rex didn’t even say, “I told you so.” He just drove them back to Labasa. 

They got the form filled out and handed it in at the Labasa Immigration Office, and they will be back when the office calls them. We took them out to lunch, watched them shop at the market, and left them at the bus stop. That was an extra special experience not in our planner. It is wonderful to serve in any way we can.

Have a party!

Love you!

Emily, Hailey, Rachel

The day after we returned from the Health Fair and the Mercy was our Zone Conference. Even though I had blisters on my feet from all the walking, I didn’t even stress or worry that we were responsible for setting up, serving, and cleaning up after the huge meal for all the missionaries and leaders. These people have been trying to teach me to be a little more calm. Don’t worry. Be happy.  Or maybe it was the priesthood blessing I received before we left for Savusavu.

President and Sister Layton had requested food from the Chinese Restaurant and everything to be as it was last time. I did have to make a double batch of brownies, but I woke up early and got that done. We already had all the ceramic plates, and we had bought real forks to go with them. We had gone shopping before the trip so we had everything ready. We simply loaded the truck with supplies and set them up at the church. Rex made it all go smoothly, and he and Brother Vermeeren went and got the food.

I had observed that Sister Layton loved a fresh garden salad. We had bought the lettuce from a lady who grows it and sells it at her home on the main highway going into town. We made a nice salad with fresh lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, and had plenty of ripe tomatoes Rex had grown in his little garden to top it off.  Sister Layton was so appreciative. She loved it. Everyone loved the Chicken Chop Suey, assorted fresh fruit, rolls, brownies, pop and water. Everything turned out perfectly.

After the training was over, we gave them another special treat that they loved, Brother Chetty’s Ice Boxes. I wanted to show them off, and make Brother Chetty feel good. He farms, milks cows, and makes a special popsicle treat mostly from homegrown ingredients. He sells them to vendors in town. When individuals ask him for the recipe, he says, “I will sell one for 40 cents, but the recipe will cost you $40,000.”  Every time we go with the missionaries to his home, he serves Ice Boxes before a wonderful meal. He showed us his generosity by giving us almost twice as many as we paid for. When we tried to pay for the extras, he just smiled.

We did get to enjoy some of the training during Zone Conference. It was centered on Lehi's Dream and the power of the Book of Mormon. What a gift it is in our lives and a powerful tool to share with others. President and Sister Layton always do a wonderful job!

Thank you for all your prayers in our behalf. We feel them, and we know we are being blessed.

Have fun, everyone!

We Love You!

Our District
Back Row: Elders Nabuti, Nuku, Woodward, d'Aquin, Kumar
Front Row: Sisters Kora, Woodward, Fiu

Just a little history to put the whole story of the little boy with the cleft palate together:
Brother Salabogi (The g is pronounced n.) is a past branch president. He has a big heart and a great love of the gospel. He is always reaching out to help his family and others. Even though his children are grown, some are still living with him, 11 total, including this little boy. When we first met them, the little 1 ½ year old boy was sitting on his Grandpa’s lap. It looked like his favorite spot, and it reminded me of all the years I sat on my Father’s lap. We could tell there was a strong bond between them. Brother Salabogi told us his grandson was hurt. He had a cleft palate, and surgery is not performed anywhere in Fiji. They would have to take him to Australia or New Zealand at enormous expense, far beyond their means. It was impossible. He said the poor little boy would have to live like this throughout his life. They would not send him to school because he couldn’t talk.  

During the Senior Missionary Retreat in Suva, we were told the US navy ship Mercy would be coming to Fiji. The first thing we thought of was the little Salabogi grandson, now almost two. We checked out the red tape and relayed details to the grandfather. We didn’t know if surgery on a cleft palate could even be performed on the ship, but we wanted them to try just in case. For over a month, we kept reminding them that they needed a letter of recommendation from the doctor for him to be treated on the Mercy. They kept saying they would, but they didn’t. We reminded them again and again and again and again. This is something we couldn’t drop the ball on. We had to make sure they did it. Finally, a week before the ship arrived, the mother took her son in and got the letter of recommendation. When we asked what to do next, Sister Roth told us to go to the hospital and make sure he was on the list for the screening. We went and not only found he was on the list, but the kind nurse instructed us on the time, place, and everything they needed to bring to the screening to see if he was eligible for surgery.  We passed on the information and reminded them a couple more times. Sunday, the grandfather told us they were on the ship. We were so excited! It was going to happen!

During the tour of the ship, the doctor over the surgeries confirmed that all the cleft palates were successful except the one little girl. Two days after our tour, Brother and Sister Roth went with us to visit the Salabogi family to get the whole success story and celebration pictures for a church newspaper article.  

The interview went something like this:

“How is your little son doing?”

“Fine.”

“So the surgery went well?”

“No.”

“The surgery didn’t go well?”

“No, they just pulled out all his teeth.”

“We know they pulled out all the teeth of the little girl, but his surgery went okay, didn’t it?”

“No, they just pulled out all his teeth.”

“And they didn’t do the surgery?” 

“No.”

This hit Rex and me like a ton of bricks! He was the one who hadn't gotten the surgery! The head of surgeries on the ship had thought this two-year-old with black curly hair was a little girl. I was sick! We had put this family through all this for nothing! I was ready to cry.

Sister Roth just kept asking questions.

“Can you go to Suva to get the surgery?”

“No.”

“Suva doesn’t do the surgery?”

“No. Nowhere in Fiji.”

I already knew all this. I was dying. We had thought this little boy was the reason we had been called to Fiji. This was our mission. We thought we had made a difference. Now it was all for nothing. I just sat stunned.

Sister Roth continued asking, “What will you do now?”

“We go back to the ship for surgery.”

“The ship is gone. It hasn’t been here for nine years. We don’t know when it’s coming back.”

I was done. My eyes were full of tears, and my heart was broken. I just wanted to go home, curl up in my bed, and cry.

The mother repeated, “We go to the ship for surgery.”

“But how? I don’t understand.”

“In March, they fly us to America and do surgery on the ship.”

Wait! About face. This was too good to be true! She told us they would stay for three weeks. (Rex thinks the USNS Mercy docks in San Diego, California. He told her to take in Sea World while they are there.) The doctors will not only fix the cleft palate, but they will also put in temporary teeth to replace the ones they pulled and put a chip in his ear so he can hear. Evidently he is partially or totally deaf, too. What a miracle! All of this could not possibly have been done in the short time on the ship in Savusavu. 
Yes, we are cheering and celebrating again. Now we just have to start working to help them get passports, continue praying for them, and wait until next March to find out if all of this will really happen. Our prayers are being answered, but on the Lord’s timetable, not ours. What a blessing! What a miracle! The Lord is at the helm.

Sister Roth just kept asking questions until she got the whole story.

Wednesday, 17 June 2015 Mercy Tour

We left early after helping at the Health Fair the second day, and with the other Senior Missionaries, were privileged to take a tour of the USNS Mercy. We got to ride on a smaller boat out to the ship. What fun! The water was so clear!

The ship was an amazing floating hospital with state of the art equipment. The fuel consumption on the ship is 110 gallons of diesel per mile. It has 2 helicopters and a staff of 1300 people. It also has over 1000 hospital beds. Many who were recommended and passed screening had been operated on here. 

This is where we had sent Brother Salaboni’s grandson for surgery. During the tour, we were introduced to and spoke to the LDS doctor over the surgeries. He said that all the cleft pallet surgeries went well except one little girl whose teeth were so rotten that they had to pull them all out. Then her gums were such a mess that surgery on the cleft pallet wouldn’t have held and couldn’t be performed. How terrible! We felt sorry for the little girl, but we were happy and relieved that our little two year old boy had gotten his done. What a life changing gift they had given him! We celebrated this. We felt that even if we didn't do anything more on our mission, helping this one little boy was worth traveling halfway around the world to serve for 18 months. We are blessed! Rex bought a souvenir hat to remember it.

This is the little boat we get to ride out to the hospital ship Mercy.

I like riding boats, I like riding boats ....

Coming up to the USNS Mercy

Hard to believe this was an obsolete oil tanker. Gutted and rebuilt.

Nothing like taking pictures of someone taking pictures of you!

We have amazing Senior Missionaries to work with.

State of the art MRI

I guess it's not a hair dryer!

Pin pointing where the Mercy will visit this trip.

Feeling very privileged to be part of this.

Our tour group.

Senior Missionaries with a member, the commander, and 
the man from LDS Charities who gave us the tour.

Salaboni's grandson Inia made it on the ship!

Inia

Time to celebrate!

He didn't bring a hat on the mission. This will definitely do!

June 15-16, 2015

While the US navy ship Mercy was docked in Savusavu Bay, we and the other Senior Missionaries and young missionaries from the lower part of the island were privileged to help two days at the Health Fair in a large rugby field where servicemen and medical volunteers from the Mercy came on shore —doctors, nurses, pediatricians, optometrists, etc. with seven dentists including Dr. Larry Hogge and his wife from Logan, Utah.

While the people waited in the long line outside the gates, they were given color coded wrist bands for their major complaint --orange-optometry, purple-dentistry, pink-pediatrics, green-adults. We were there to direct the people where to go and expedite the process. Rex was especially loved and appreciated by all. After they filled out their papers, he greeted them and informed them if they needed to have their vital signs taken. Elder Hendrickson was there to translate. Then Rex visited and entertained them a little, and kept the line moving. From there, I escorted or pointed them to the man who was crossing off the numbers. That man would send them with escorts straight to the stations to be treated or would have them sit the bleachers and call them later in numerical order.

The first day it rained pretty hard a couple of times, but we took shelter, and the breeze quickly dried our clothes. The sun came out later, and it was beautiful. After the clinic was over the first day, it really started pouring. All night we heard the heavy rain and torrents of water coming off the roof. The next morning at 7 AM it was still raining hard. I looked outside and saw what my father would call a “valley rain” the kind that usually lasts a day or two. It seemed almost blasphemous for me to pray for the weather to cooperate, and maybe it wouldn't work this time. I knew it was in the Lord’s hands, and His will would be done. Still I kept praying that the weather would be good for the Health Fair that day.

At breakfast, Brother Vermeeren suggested we go to town and buy some yellow full-body rain gear. 

Rex said, “No, we will be fine. 

We told the Vermeerens and Roths a couple stories of how the Lord had blessed us with absolutely perfect weather in Washington DC the first of July when it is usually hot, humid, and unbearable; and again as we visited the Canyonlands and Disneyland. It would be raining hard while we were driving, but would clear up and be perfect for our activities, and start raining when we got back into the car. When we went to Disneyland, the parking lot was a lake, and they warned Rex that they would close the park with no refund if it started raining again. He bought the tickets anyway, and we had the whole park to ourselves with plenty of sunshine, smiles, and absolutely no lines. President Hinkley had that gift of having perfect weather, and our family has been blessed often, too. We always attribute it to the Lord and quickly thank Him for His Tender Mercies.

(Back to the story.) At 8:30 AM, as we drove to the park, water was standing everywhere on the sides of the road, and the gutters were whitewater rapids. We sloshed through the deep mud from our parking spot to the park. The park was extremely muddy and full of puddles; however, the storm had broken, the rain had stopped, and the sun came out from behind the dense clouds. The whole day was the most perfect weather anyone could ever ask for.  Not one drop of rain. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father and for the hundreds of other people who were praying for this miracle.

Deep mud was the only issue. Rex escorted a blind man straight to the optical tent, guiding him around the small puddles and any obstacles. He also escorted a couple of older ladies, holding them up so they wouldn’t fall in the mud. He warned them to let go of him if he went down, but if they started falling, he would catch them. What a gentleman!  Fajian Red Cross volunteers cut palm tree fronds and laid them down as paths to walk on so the people wouldn’t sink into the mud.

The two day Health Fair was a huge success. We estimate over 1700 people were seen.

As the old familiar story goes, that same day at 4 PM, after the Health Fair and our tour of the ship Mercy was over, and as we began driving home with the sister missionaries to get them to Zone Training Meeting, the rain started again so hard that we had to turn the wipers on as fast as they could go. 

Yes, we felt blessed and said many prayers of thanks!

Here are a few pictures to give you a taste of the Health Fair:

People lined up for blocks.

Rex found his niche helping people through vital statistics

Helicopter from the ship bringing supplies.

 The officer was the one who gave us instructions &
the one in the green vest had the chart to check the numbers off and coordinate.

Everyone helped

Sister Woodward, Elder Vermeeren, Brother Woodward, Elder Hendrickson

Rex with Vermeerens and Elder Hendrickson who is going home to Utah this transfer.

Helping them to see.

The band from the ship and these men on guitars entertained those waiting inside.

Hogges from Logan, UT & Brother & Sister Vermereen from Canada

The second day, those who brought umbrellas for heavy rain, used them for shade. Beautiful day!

Making a trail to walk above the mud.

Betty taking a break with those who wait.

Because I have been given much, I too must give....