Sunday, Sept. 20, Rex wrote: I went to church alone for the first time on our mission. Betty had a low-grade fever and dizziness, and she didn’t want to get anyone else sick. Our plans had been to go to Seaqaqa for their branch conference. They were going to have a pot luck dinner afterwards. We had bought all the fixings for a beautiful lettuce salad; but since Betty didn’t go, I went to Labasa seven minutes away instead of Seaqaqa a half hour away. It was a good thing that I went. Besides enjoying the regular meetings, I gave them a printed announcement congratulating the six ladies who had graduated from our business class and announced a new My Foundation and Education for Better Work class starting soon. I stood in on the confirmation of the Chief’s daughter. I helped scan in yet another document for Rahul Prakash, who is still trying to get into BYU Hawaii. I gave a blessing to a sweet tiny old lady, and talked to Lucy and Arieta Bulewa to ask how we can help them now their mother is gone.

Then I went to Branch Council Meeting. They congratulated us on the beloved youth activities and the business class. They talked about how to reactivate the recent converts who are not coming.  They are going to have Visiting Teachers and Home Teachers target these families first. They want to give everyone jobs, but they need them to come to church so they can ask them. They are giving names of 20 Prospective Elders for the missionaries to visit. (I called the Elders later and told them we would be happy to help drive them around, since they don’t have a truck.) All in all this new Branch Presidency has hit the ground running and wants to do all they can to support the members and get more members to church.

In the first two weeks as Branch President, President Bull has already had a Branch Party, has had to address Sister Bulewa’s death and has comforted a mourning mother. Sister Dyer lost her 40 year old daughter to a heart attack and had to go away to her funeral. President Bull did another amazing thing. Sister Salei Prasad had been in and out of the hospital for about two months, near death, very weak and struggling, waiting for someone to do surgery in Labasa to put new batteries in her pacemaker. The team they made her wait over a month for finally arrived, but they said they didn’t do pacemakers. President Bull made all the arrangements and paid to send her to Suva. She has had the surgery and is doing well. The branch is in good hands. We will do all we can to support our new presidency.