Rex Wrote: 

Update to the tale of two ladies:

Anna is meeting with and taking the lessons with the missionaries at the Church.

Saturday night at 6:00 P.M. we had a branch movie night. Since it was the 24^th of July back home, we showed 17 Miracles. We used the branch projector and sound system and put the movie up on the big screen. A least 30 people showed up. I told them my great grandfather was one of the captains on that trek and had the same reasonability as Levi Savage in the movie. Betty had made chocolate chip cookies for the treats at the end.

After the movie and treats, we found that Shahila, the Muslim girl, had been kicked out of her home by her dad earlier that night. The Elders were trying to find her a place to sleep. She couldn’t stay with the Sisters. As Missionaries, it was probably not kosher for us to keep her, but as Christians we could not just put her out on the streets. She came to our flat. I told Betty we needed to not make it too comfortable for her or she might want to stay. We put a foam mattress in our extra room for her.

We were tired from the day when she asked to watch T.V. 

“We don’t have any TV, but we do have some Mormon Messages and other church videos.”

She’s a tiny drink of water. She said she was hungry so Betty had her cook her own food. She chose fried egg sandwiches. She ate while she watched TV.  We showed her “Come to Christ,” “Courage,” and since she was curious about baby Jesus, we showed her “Joy to the World.” At that point, it was midnight, and she said, “I want to go to sleep now.”

Sunday morning, as she was cooking more eggs to go with rice Betty had made. As Shahila and Betty were alone in the kitchen, she asked Betty, “What should  I call you?”

Betty replied, “Sister Woodward or Betty, which is my name.”

Shahila sweetly said, “Or Mom?”

Surprised, Betty insisted, “You may call me Antie.” (in Fiji older women are called Antie.)

When Betty told me, it sent off the alarms, and I warned her, “This girl wants to move in to stay!”

She got ready and went to with us church. We had her bring all her stuff.  She borrowed a skirt from the sisters, and Betty had her sit with them. After Sacrament Meeting, the Elders introduced Shahila to Shallot Chand who was close to her age. She went to the other meetings with her.

Betty and I had to leave right after Sacrament Meeting to go to Seaqaqa to help there. As I got into the back seat of the truck to get the chocolate chip cookies we had brought to share, I saw Shahila’s night bag and purse in the back of our truck. We knew she couldn’t stay with us again. As we drove back to Labasa, we called the Elders, got Shahila’s phone number, and then called her to meet and get her stuff to her. She said she was downtown at Chicken Express.

Sister Woodward said, “Could we meet you behind the stores? We don’t do shopping on Sunday.” 

Shahila excitedly answered, “I would love to go shopping with you!”

Betty reiterated, “We do not shop on Sunday!”

Shahila more excited then ever, “Yes! I would love to go shopping with you!”

Betty had the phone on speaker, and I could not help but laugh and say, “I would love to go shopping with you, too, Mommy!”

Betty told her we would call when we got closer.  As we circled around the main drag of Labasa town, Betty saw Shahila on a corner a block away from where she had told us she was. We stopped, and she got her things.

She said that she was having a family meeting later in the evening with her dad and mother to see if they would let her come home. She did not call so we assume all want well. When we told the missionaries the story, they laughed and then said maybe they should not teach her for a couple of weeks to let things cool down and see how things go from there. Elder Kumar was still laughing a day later and asked for her quote about shopping with us to write it in his journal.

Sister Fiu, Shahila, Sister Kora