Rex and Betty Fiji Mission

Suva Day 2,part 2

Saturday, after meeting with President Eyring, having a delightful lunch, and visiting a while, we all climbed into busses and went to the huge enclosed Vonofone stadium. Rex and Elder Willis were among those who had to stad. We learned Elder Willis was a fighter jet pilot in the Vietnam War. He later flew for American Airlines. When he was little, he told his mother that when he grew up, he wanted to be a fighter jet pilot. His mother said, “You can’t do both.” I guess he never grew up. Rex and he had a lot in common, and they had a great time visiting. Willis told a story of a jet pilot ready for takeoff on an aircraft carrier. You will have to ask Rex to tell you the story when we get home. It has actions that have to be seen.

The celebration was scheduled to be in the outdoor ANZ Rugby Stadium, but because of bad weather, it was moved into the Vodafone stadium across the street. The youth were excited to perform before President Eyring and to celebrate the Suva temple being rededicated. There was a lot of laughter and smiling as they got in their places to perform, which some might think strange ahead of a category 5 cyclone. All the youth circled the stadium, parading past President Eyring in their colorful costumes. It was a joyous occasion. The first three large groups performed, and Taveuni was lined up ready to do their dance when it was announced for everyone to get in position to perform the finale. The finale was spectacular. The Vermeerens and the Czieps were very sad that their youth did not get to perform after all their hard work. The Labasa girls did not get to perform their dance either. Michael, one of the main cameramen for the event, said it wasn’t President Eyring who had shut down the event. The government had called. The person receiving the call had ignored the first few calls trying to allow the performances to take place. When he saw a stopping place, he answered the phone. The government said to either close the event, or they would come close it for them. The edge of the cyclone was bearing down on Suva, and everyone had to be off the streets and in shelter by 5 PM. There was a lot of strong wind and rain. We all looked like drenched rats by the time we got into the bus. We were still giddy and had a great time with the other senior couples. Rex called Rose and President Harward took the phone. He said we were all dying in the Cyclone and announced that we had left nothing for her in the will. He was amazed that she couldn’t be teased. Rex just laughed. He knew who had trained her. On the way up a steep hill, Rex said that it must have been a strong cyclone because it blew out one of our front tires with a loud pop and a hissing sound. The driver pulled off the road and called for help. In about 15 minutes another bus came to take us. We felt sorry for the poor bus driver who would have to get out in the storm and fix his flat tire. When we got back by the temple, there was a big group of young missionaries looking a little confused as to how they were supposed to get home. We went down to the street with the Roths to get a taxi. There were none. We didn’t know about the curfew, and they were all off the streets. When Elder Allldredge saw our predicament, he offered to drive us back to the hotel. We could definitely see there was a problem as he had to swerve to dodge branches flying off trees right in front of him. He made the comment that he had never seen the road so bare. It was usually hectic traffic. We got safely back to the hotel, and Elder Allldredge made it safely home.

When we got to our room, there was water on the floor, but it seemed to be coming from the hallway, not the outside. The boats were being tossed hard in the harbor, waves were coming a little over the retaining wall, and rain was coming into the lower floor of the lobby. They sandbagged the upper floor to prepare for the worst of the storm predicted to come about midnight. Since our hotel room was on the bottom floor, we asked if they were going to sandbag outside our glass door facing the ocean. We could visualize waking up in the middle of the night with water 2 feet deep in our room. The restaurant was closed so Rex bought some pop, Twisties (like Cheetos), and peanuts for dinner. We had brought apples from home so I was good.
Vermeeren's were very worried about their beloved Taveuni that had taken a direct hit and went to bed early. Refusing to let the storm dampen our spirits, and trying to help them keep their mind off what they were going to face when they got home to Taveuni, we played cards with the Czieps and laughed and talked until 10 PM.