The Sunday before Christmas, we visited Nakawakawa and spoke a few minutes on Christ and Christmas in Sacrament Meeting. It is such an honor to visit this faithful branch. It is hard to imagine that two years ago, the only members were Pita (Peter) Vakalala, his wife, and his baby daughter. His story of how he took the words to heart from his patriarchal blessing and brought the Gospel to his village is inspirational. His dedication and commitment and that of the congregation is unbelievable. They consecrate themselves and all they have to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They fast and pray every week for the members, the investigators, and more people to teach. The attendance level is near 100%. Even though living conditions are hard, the Elders cry when they are transferred from this area, and members cry when they leave. There is such a close bond here as everyone helps and loves one another. As is expected each time we come, we had two big cookie sheets of brownies to share.

From there, we drove to Savusavu where we stayed Sunday through Wednesday with President and Sister Harward. They are the best people ever, solid in the Gospel, quick to share their testimonies, and always happy and caring for the missionaries and the people. President Harward is full of wisdom. He taught seminary and institute for about 35 years, and is always sharing his knowledge and training those around him, along with his jolly spirit and quick wit. Sister Harward is dripping with talent and creativity. She is incredible at anything that goes with homemaking, crafts, and interior design. To make her flat more enjoyable, she cleaned it to perfection, reupholstered the couches, and made all new curtains. Everything is lovely and perfectly coordinated. In her spare time, she made pillowcases for almost 200 missionaries, including the Senior Couples for Sister Layton to present as a gift on the Mission tour. We played games Sunday night and were joined by the other missionary couples, the Roths and the Vermeerens on Monday. The Harwards and the Roths had orchestrated a Service Project to give huge baskets of food and supplies to the people of Savusavu. The Roth’s children had all donated money for the project, over $1000 US dollars. We helped put the baskets together, and they got others to distribute them anonymously to needy families. It felt good to help. We also went out to eat and went shopping with the couples and played games. The last night, we had a Christmas Program with the Christmas Story and other talks and tributes. We even had a surprise visit from Santa Claus. Sister Harward had brought some canned snow from the US so we even had snow in Fiji for Christmas. We had amazing food, company, games and entertainment. We couldn’t have asked for more. We are grateful to everyone for making our Christmas away from home a happy one.

Hope you are all enjoying the Holidays!

We love you!

Sister and Elder Roth. Each of these baskets had over 50 pounds valued at over $60 US dollars besides the basket made and donated by a member.

Rex gave me the perfect job sorting toothbrushes by color so they each got a different one.

Sister Roth was so excited about this project.
At the end, they also added lots of small bags of chips, etc.

Elder Woodward, President Harward, Sister Roth, Elder Roth

We wrapped them with ribbon so they wouldn't think someone had dumped off a bag of garbage.

Betty & Santa. What fun!
Notice the Christmas tree on the wall with strings of garland and a string of lights on each one.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Greetings from the North Pole!

Merry Christmas, everyone! We had the most delightful Christmas Day in Fiji with all of our district here taking turns contacting their families and sharing Christmas lunch together. We had a chicken dinner browned and baked in the oven with my Aunt Eva’s Hawaiian Sauce spooned on top near the end. I didn’t have any corn starch here so I thickened it with flour, as Mom used to do to make gravy. I liked it better. It was heavenly. We also had rice, lettuce salad, pineapple, watermelon, rolls, pop, etc. with brownies and ice cream for dessert.

While one missionary at a time was talking with families, the rest of us were playing party games and card games. Elder Sieverts from Bountiful, Utah called, but his brother quickly reminded him that everyone was gathering on their Christmas Day in the US to talk with him. He would have to come back the next day to Skype.

Rex had mentioned Sir Francis Drake while driving in the truck with Sieverts earlier, and he asked to hear more of the story. He and others were totally enthralled. They couldn’t get enough and kept asking for more. Rex ended up showing his Powerpoint presentation from school and taught them about one of his very favorite heroes in history. Oh, yes, Rex was in Heaven. He was in his element. Sieverts said he would have loved having him for a history teacher. I am always in awe as I watch him perform. He has an incredible talent to teach.

The Seaqaqa and Nakawakawa elders left later in the day to go to a big feast with the Petero family in Seaqaqa. We played games and had slush while they were gone. It was during that time that Matt and Rose Facetimed and let us watch the performance of the Christmas Story starring their children and some of their neighbors’ children. Rose had put together costumes and built a creative life size manger and a stable for the performance. It was perfect. It is always one of my favorite parts of Christmas. Thanks, Rose and Matt for that special gift.

The Elders came back with a big box of food to share including part of a pig. The district exchanged presents with one another and gave us a special gift. (We had taught Sister Aumua our family sign holding up the index finger to say “I love you forever!” She had taught the others as they got to the top of the Three Sisters mountain, and she had given us the sign on her video.) Our present from them was a laminated 8 x 10 picture of the district all showing “1.” It almost made me cry. I told them it was the best gift ever!

To end off the night, Rex made a humongous bowl of popcorn we all shared as we watched “Frozen.” What a beautiful Christmas Day! It bonded us as a district with our four brand new missionaries. I told them it is incredible that even though missionaries come and go, our district is always number 1.

Elder Seiverts came back the day after Christmas here, the real Christmas Day in the US, and talked with his family. I love this young man! He is always smiling, always happy, always asking how he can help. It was fun listening to him laugh as he talked with his loved ones. While they visited, we played 3 handed Spades. Elder Talamai showed us how it is done!

We got to Facetime a few loved ones before President and Sister Harward came to Labasa. They had to bring a missionary to fly to Suva to get medical attention. He will be replaced this week. While they were here, Rex suggested they use our Skype to phone home. They visited for over two hours with several of their loved ones they hadn’t been able to talk with for about a year. They were so excited! Rex made popcorn for snacks and later made tacos for dinner. They were grateful and tickled. They had been sad with the three hours on the road that they wouldn’t be able to talk with anyone. Rex made it happen. It was sweet to watch. I now know how much of a bond exists among senior couples who serve together. We become family.

Thanks for all your well wishes. We missed being home, but we had a wonderful Christmas!

Happy Holidays!

We love you!

Christmas Dinner in Fiji with our District

     Our four PEF Students have officially finished all the self-reliance classes -- My Path, Education for Better Work, My Job Search, and My Foundation. Now we are just waiting for the universities to give them invoices,  and they will be ready to apply and upload all their certificates and supporting information. It is always a little nerve wracking hoping that we can get the applications in under the wire. People here do not worry too much or stress about planning in advance. It is really hard for them to decide what they want to do as a vocation for the rest of their lives.

     As Education Specialist Missionaries, the message that we are trying to convey is that they need to go to school, stay in school, do their very best to succeed and excel, and plan early for their future university goals and job plans, deciding early what work they want to do in life to provide for themselves and their families. Education is a gift, and we all need to take full advantage of it.

     It is transfer time again, and we will be losing four of our missionaries to transfers. They have all become so dear to us that it is hard to see them go. I must admit it is not as hard as the first couple of transfers. We have learned that they need to go on to grow further spiritually, to have more amazing experiences, and to bless the lives of people and be loved in their new areas. Elder Aoina, Elder Stock, and Sister Aumua will all be going to the Suva area. Elder Mong Yen will be a District Leader in Lautoka. That’s perfect because Elder Kumar, his old companion, is getting released this week; and he lives close enough that maybe he will be able to go out as a member present or at least meet with him to visit.

 We spent four hours Wednesday & a couple hours Thursday driving Elder Mong Yen around for him to say goodbye to his families. We love him so much! He is a quiet, gentle giant, beloved by all. Wednesday night we met as a district and had a farewell dinner and activity to say Goodbye to everyone. It was great to get together one last time. It’s always hard to see them go and realize we might never see them again in this life. Our lives have been enriched and improved by working with them. We wish them success and happiness.

     Rex worked nonstop Thursday putting together a highlight DVD  for the departing missionaries. It is a well done, beautiful keepsake to remind them of their time in Labasa. I am proud of him for his diligence and his expertise. It takes many hours and is definitely an act of love. He will give them to them today at the airport when we say our final goodbyes.

 

Yesterday, Sunday, Dec. 13, we left to help the Elders at 7:20 AM and got home at 6:45 PM. I think that is the longest Sunday I have ever had except driving to Nakawakawa. We helped the Elders with transport; picked up the sisters and drove them to church, and greeted the members at Labasa. I love all the hugs and kisses the women give me. That’s my favorite part of Sundays. We had picked up some DVDs at the airport the day before we were to distribute to the branches. We tried and tried, but they wouldn’t play on our computers. Finally, we tried them on the church computer, and they worked so Rex set up the projector, and just before sacrament meeting began, he showed the special message from the Pacific Area Presidency presenting the 2016 goals. We left and went to Naduna where we were asked to be the speakers. That is the prettiest spot for a little open church. There were baby ducks in a pen and baby chicks running around with the hens. A perfect breeze was blowing. The view is breathtaking, and the people are some of my favorites. It was fun talking about Christmas and our Savior. Since it was the last time we would see them before Christmas, I read the story of the Savior’s birth from Matthew and Luke. We left after Sacrament Meeting and went to all the meetings at Seaqaqa. Then we talked a little to our PEF students and waited while they had their PEF Priesthood interviews. We enjoyed a visit with Sister Patero. As we were driving home, Rex got the impression we should stop at the chapel to see if the Roths were there. They had mentioned coming to meet with President Bull. They were sitting and waiting in their truck with the air conditioning going full blast. We unlocked the gate and escorted them into the air conditioned Family History Center. We were invited to stay to the meeting where Brother and Sister Stanford taught President Bull about the Humanitarian Aid opportunities in our area. It was an honor and pleasure to sit in on the meeting. According to the weather predictions, we are in the middle of a drought that will last until next November. It is projected that there will be more Cyclones and that they will be much more severe. Even though they will bring rain with them, there will be no other rain in sight. We have been praying for rain, but have only had about 5 light showers/sprinkles in the last 5 months. We noticed yesterday that the sugar cane is suffering and in great need of moisture, as are all the crops, trees, and flowers. We will continue to pray for rain here. It was a full, productive day. Rex didn’t stop there. He started putting together a DVD for the missionaries. I was done. I went to sleep about 7:00 PM.

We are thinking about you and praying for you every day!

Hope you are all happy and well!

Enjoy the holidays!

Love you!

A lot of ducks all in a row.  A grown duck is $30-$40 They are prized possessions here.

The babies are so adorable!

This is a proud rooster.

Such cute baby chicks. They ran so fast and sporadically that it was hard to catch this pict.

This type of clothes line is ingenious! A bamboo pole lowers the line to hang up or take down the clothes or holds it up high to keep away from the animals or so trucks can drive under it to go into the parking lot by the little church; although, we are usually the only vehicle there.

We had a wonderful, successful Branch Christmas Party, program, dinner, and dance. Rex started the night out with a joke to break the silence while we were waiting. Brother Reo was the emcee. Rex was the only speaker. He read the true Christmas Story and expounded on it. Our branch loves him and listens intently when he speaks. Rex also helped the missionaries with a skit of the Wee People. It was darling. Sister Bull helped the youth come up with some dance routines for entertainment. The dinner was delicious. When I saw there were well over 150 people, I was worried that there wouldn't be enough food, but as always there was plenty of food and to spare.

A portable fire pit they made to cook the cassava.

Sister Vasu filleted, battered, and fried fish donated by President Bull. She made over 200 big pieces.  It was delicious! It was fun to watch her.  She didn't have tongs so Brother Reo whacked a branch off the flower bush outside and removed all the leaves and bark. She used it as a skewer to turn the fish. It tickled us as she stabbed each piece to remove it from the oil. The women here act as if it's no big deal to do a huge assignment. They know how to do everything, and do it well.

On time waiting for Christmas Party to begin

Why is it so fun to take pictures of people taking pictures? It just is!

The Sister Missionaries brought President Nasova, the man with the dark glasses. He just had cataracts removed. He is a former branch president, released years ago when his wife died. Since then, he had been totally less active. We all visit him often. He is a spiritual giant, but this is the first time we have seen him at any church function.

Brother Baleiwasawas and his wife were a real kick out on the dance floor.  It reminded me of how Grandma Woodward used to kick up her heals and entertain the audience.

Some of our branch young men danced for our entertainment - Oliva, Tubu, Joji, Manasa, Josh 

Other side of room patiently waiting. They said the party would start at 6 PM.
This is now about 7 PM

Everyone won't fit inside. 
These people will watch the program through the open window slats.  

Climbing the basketball standard is great entertainment! 
They climbed down when they saw me coming.

Rex gave our little boy with the cleft palate a balloon

President Nasova always had plenty of people surrounding him and visiting with him.

The outdoor basketball/volleyball court makes a perfect place to sit and eat!

We have such incredible youth here!

Our Kitchen crew. 

The man in the front is homeless. He has a keen nose for food. Anytime there is a function anywhere, he is there waiting for a plate. 

Sister Aumua and Elder Luatua posing with members. 
Notice how Aumua is spelled the same forward or backwards. I like that!

misc picts

This is our corner as we drive from our flat onto the main highway.

Fiji First: Transport truck acting as Fiji school bus --nice soft cushions

Sandalwood tree. When this is full grown, it will be worth over $30,000 Fijian dollars.

It still blows our minds to see Palm Trees in front of Pine Trees. When I get home, Pine trees will make me homesick for Fiji.

Rex calls this tall, skinny tree a Dr. Seuss Tree

     Rex Wrote: On December 1, 2015, we were in charge of a dinner at a mission tour with Elder S Gifford Nielsen of the Seventy. He is also a counselor in the Pacific Area Presidency.

     We ordered Chinese, picked up bread, made salad, bought ice cream and pop, and had the other senior couples bring fruit and cake. It was good!

     We met President and Sister Layton and President and Sister Nielsen at the airport. They were both friendly and acted interested in everything we said. I told President Nielsen we were attending BYU Provo when he was the quarterback there. We graduated the same year. Betty thought Sister Nielsen was darling. She visited with us as if we were her best friends. She had their first four children in 4 ½ years. We had our first four children in 5. They have 6 children just as we do. Sister Neilson is in great shape and looks up to the challenge of the rigorous schedule they meet. She says, “Bring it on!” She just comes up to her husband’s shoulder, but her spirit is giant, and they both radiate energy and enthusiasm.

     In the missionary training meeting, Sister Nielsen taught us the importance of having a balanced life. She compared life to a wheel with the spokes being mental, physical, spiritual, emotional, and social. She noted that if anything is off balance, it becomes a wobbly wheel that can’t roll smoothly.

     Elder Nielsen talked about connecting with the people around us and especially strategies for missionaries to quickly connect with potential investigators. He used the example of Ammon on his mission to the Laminates in Alma 17-27. Ammon made such a great first impression that the King offered him to choose one of his daughters to marry. Nielsen made the story of Ammon come to life.

     At the end he opened it up for questions and answered with some personal stories. I had asked him at the airport, “What is your favorite game that you played?” He didn’t have time to answer then; but in the meeting, he told about playing Arizona State in Provo. Arizona State was ranked 10^th in the nation. He said Coach Doug Scovil had designed a special play to use against them. It was a slight modification of a regular play. He told Gifford what defense it would work against and to be looking for it. As Gifford came to the line, he saw Arizona  in the right defense. He smiled as he knew he was about to throw a 70 yard touchdown. He got the snap and dropped back and looked to the left where the play would normally go. The defense converged on the receiver to the left. He shifted and threw the ball down the middle of the field where another receiver was waiting. He caught the ball in stride and went all the way to the end zone for a touchdown. Gifford went to the sideline and told Coach Scovil he was a genius. The coach replied, “Was it fun?” Gifford came back with, “Yes!” Coach Scovil said with a smile, “We’ll do it again.” BYU won that game, and it worked the next time they tried it, too.

     He told another story about what is was like in the NFL. He was the only member of the church on the Houston Oilers. The other players smoked, drank, many did drugs and chased women. He was married with two children. He told the other players he wanted to be their teammate, but he would live his religion and not party with them. His first start came against the Dallas Cowboys. They won the game. He had given it his all. He was hot and thirsty and tired and might have lost about ten pounds. Before he had a chance to get a drink or do anything, he was bombarded with reporters. For over an hour, they askied him questions about how he was able to beat one the best teams in the NFL as a rookie. He told them it was a team effort, and he was just one of the players. After the media were sent out of the locker room, the young quarterback sat on his bench exhausted. He said, “I was totally spent, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually!”

At that point a teammate come to him with two ice-cold beers and said, “I know you don’t drink, but I want to celebrate this victory with you. One beer won’t hurt you!” Gifford said at that moment the cold beers did look pretty good. Before he could answer, one of his offensive linemen interrupted, “I never want to hear you ask him that again! Don’t you know Mormons don’t drink!” After that, they always had his back on the field and off.

     President Nielsen also showed the group what he was up against as a quarter back in the NFL.  He took our broadest missionary, one about six-foot tall, and told him to stand on a chair, hold his hands above his head, and growl. (It looked like a big bear.) He said, “This is an example of what was coming after me, and they were paid to try to hurt me.”

     President Nielsen and his wife have so much energy. They were both fun to listen to. They trained all of us from 9 AM -2:30 PM only breaking at noon to eat and take a group picture. I have never seen a day go that quickly and never enjoyed a training more.

     At the airport parking lot, Elder Nielsen had a minute to answer my question from that morning. He said the Arizona State game in Provo was his favorite collage game, and his best NFL memory was a play-off win against San Diego, a game they were not supposed to win. I asked, “Was it hard not being allowed to pass very much?” He said when you have Heisman trophy winner in Hershel Walker, as a running back, the coach wants you to give him the ball. I said, “But if you had thrown a little more, it would have loosened up the defense, and Hershel Walker would have had an easier time running.” He just smiled and nodded. I could tell he wanted to pass more, but he was a team player and did what the coach wanted. He waved and went into the airport.

President Layton commented:
"Elder and Sister Nielsen commented several times about the spirit they felt in our mission and how respectful and obedient they found our missionaries.
Just another confirmation we have the best missionaries serving in the best mission."

Taveuni Zone with President and Sister Nielsen

Front row: Elder Alonzo, Elder Davis, Elder Mumford, Elder Tupou, Elder Tera, Elder Mong Yen and Elder Condie

Second row: Elder McLean, Elder Talamai, Elder Aoina, Elder Lemusu, Elder Jonutz, Elder Barnaby, Elder Boyack and Elder Fong

Third row: Sister Malito, Sister Fanene, Elder & Sister S Gifford Nielsen, President & Sister Layton, Sister M Elias and Sister Aumua

Back row: Elder & Sister Woodward, Elder & Sister Roth, Elder & Sister Vermeeren, Elder Dunn, Elder Afatasi, Elder van der Linden,Elder Stock, Elder Larsen, Elder Lemalu, Elder Luatua, Sister Buring, Sister Kevaru and President & Sister Harward

Master Teacher

Three of our district - Elders Aoina, Luatua, and Sister Aumua  joined Elder Afatasi and sang a special number for the Mission Tour. Their voices are incredible!

At the end of the training, we were all asked for a few of our spiritual impressions. 
Following is our impressions plus more from the other stops of the Mission Tour:

• Nothing is impossible- We are Children of God

• Who are you? Whose are you?

• Be totally in!

• Never stop preparing

• His Game time

• Prepare yourself-Receive Revelation

• Plan of Happiness = Love

• Connect with others

• Spread Good News- Temple

• Keep your Saints! Fellowship!

• Let your light shine!

• Don’t waste a minute

• Don’t be objects to be acted upon. Be agents.

• Obey leaders; exact obedience

• Be the solution not the problem

• Preparation brings the Spirit

• Be grateful for our Redeemer and our leaders

• You have a special mission

• Begin with the end in mind

• We are on the Lords errand, we are entitled to his help.

• We all grow at different paces

• This is your time!

• Balance your wheel

• Live a balanced life

• Choose someone balanced to marry

• Marry the right person, in the right place, at the right time

• Ask inspired questions

• Be consecrated

• Where are you in the gospel?

• Don’t compare your wheel to others

• We need to connect

• Listen to the Spirit

• Appoint the Holy Ghost to be your teacher

• Turn to Christ

• Engrave in your hearts

• Be a walking Epistle

• Be thou an example

• President Monson is a prophet of God

• Give it your all

• Miracles are possible 2 Nephi 32:9

• Share your light

• Be an agent, not an object

• Talk to everyone

• We’re not here to be average

• Preparation brings the Spirit

• Be thou an example

• We are called by God through a living Prophet

• Be optimistic!

• Are you in the game or on the bench?

• Attitude is the mind’s paint brush

• Align yourself with Savior and companion

• Be equally yoked

• Faith becomes knowledge

• God loves to be asked to fix broken things and broken people

• Listen to the Spirit

• Doubt not, fear not

• Temple = Temporal and Spiritual light

• Expect and act on miracles

• Christ’s grace is sufficient

• There is no end: Endure

• Be one with the Savior

• There’s no excuse to fall away

Written Sunday, Dec 6: We had the most amazingly spiritual day yesterday. We went to Seaqaqa to witness our first baptism performed in a river. (We have been teaching Aloisi to renew his PEF Loan. Yesterday his sister was baptized. She is 18 and has just finished Form 7, Grade 13. This is a very intelligent family. The missionaries said this girl was “golden.”) The meeting before the baptism was beautiful. We walked down to the river behind the church. The water was a little low so they had to walk around to find the deepest part. I couldn’t help thinking of how Christ walked into the River Jordon with John the Baptist to be baptized. It was a glorious day, and the Spirit was strong. Merioni was glowing.

Sister Petero had awakened at 3 AM to make all the refreshments, She had tuna sandwiches, egg sandwiches, punch, muffins, cinnamon rolls,  and pineapple pie with coconut cream topping made from fresh coconuts. She is an excellent cook, and everyone kept going back for more. She has a policy that she never takes any food home so the missionaries and members had to sacrifice and divide up the rest of the food.

As we were returning home, we asked the Hindi Elders if they had scheduled refreshments for the Labasa baptisms. They said, “No!” We raced to the market and bought bananas, pineapples; and we took a bag of cookies. We had just enough time for me to print out the program and for Rex to cut up the fruit before the program started. This was a day to make things right. One of the baptisms was Joana’s little sister, Lusia, a child of record. She had been baptized last year, but her baptism was never recorded on the MLS. They baptized her again and will record it this time.

The other baptism was Tubu. He was a convert baptism a year ago, but that very same day, he went swimming with a group and broke his leg. He stayed with family in Suva to recuperate and was never confirmed. He came back after several months, but his father died, and his aunt would not give him permission to come back to church. Daniel Bull, his good friend, never gave up on him. He finally started coming back to church, the missionaries taught him the lessons again; and yesterday, he was rebaptized.

Today they were both confirmed. I had tears in my eyes as Tubu was being confirmed. He had waited so long for this day, and it had happened beautifully. 

We shouldn't have worried about refreshments. The Bulls came fully loaded. They had pizza, colorful treats, fruit, and punch. We didn't even have to use ours. They never cease to amaze me. Everything they do is off the charts perfect.
I love Fast and Testimony Meeting. Rex bore his testimony first. Brother and Sister Naidu’s daughter was visiting. When she got up she said, "Age is just a number. I was going to get up here first, but Brother Woodward was just too quick." That made him feel good. She told of a terrible incident that just happened where men broke into her girl’s housing complex and stole anything of worth including laptops, cameras, jewelry, etc. She had chosen to decorate her room with pictures of the Savior around the wall. The only thing missing from her room was an old broken, ipad. It is her assumption that the person who came into her room, saw all the pictures of Christ, changed his mind, and left all her valuable items. She feels very blessed. The faith of these people is so strong! They know without a doubt that the Lord will be there to help them through every trial they will face.  They are a great example to me of love, humility, service, and sacrifice. We are here to help them and support them in any way we can; yet, they are the ones who have taught me, and strengthened me and my testimony.  

Elder Aoina, Merioni, Elder Talamai, Mother

Lucia

x

Elder Luatua, Tubu, Elder Mong Yen

Just ready for prayer. It was a party!