Rex Wrote: Sunday the 7^th day of February, 2016, We had the 2^nd councilor in the mission presidency and his wife come to our branch to have church with us, and he was there to sign temple recommends for those whose recommends had expired. They need a current recommend to get into the chapel to view the Fiji Temple Rededication.  Sister Harward is very sensitive to the heat. If she gets too hot or stays hot too long, she gets migraine headaches. During Sacrament she had the fans cooling her. Betty had the idea to start the air conditioner in the Family History Center so that when church was out, she could go in there to stay cool and wait for her husband to finish his interviews. She was very appreciative When they were done, we had them come for dinner at our flat. Our air conditioner in the front room is very poor and only cools a little spot right under where it sits. Betty helped me put the table in that spot. We had a good chicken dinner with potatoes, watermelon, salad, Sister Harward’s homemade rolls, and ice cream for dessert. Sister Harward gave us both a haircut. She does a great job. We had an enjoyable visit. They are very good friends.

     We try to go the Old folks home once a week on Tuesdays. At the first of our mission, we only played with Roop, a member. Then we met his sister “The Little One” who is also a member. The game that seems to work the best is Toss Up using “Woodward Rules.” As we have gone through our mission more and more people want to play. We have bought more dice and started taking the young missionaries when we can. On Tuesday the 9^th of February 2016 there were about twelve playing with us.  Roop was asleep and one of our other regulars was too sick to play. We are now using 6 sets of dice. (Each a set of 10.)  We had the young elders with us to try to keep everyone happy. We have trained two to play on their own. The Ashram is a place we know where Christ would go if He were here. Most of them do not speak English. Half do not speak at all, but they do enjoy the game and are happy to see us and sad to see us go. The game is not the important thing. The important thing is they know we care about them. It is one of the things we will miss when we leave this beautiful land and these loving people.

On the way to the Ashram we saw another Fiji first.  We saw a red “L” on a tractor.  It stands for student driver or ‘Learner.” I call them “Losers” because they do all kinds of crazy stuff. We have seen them on cars, trucks, and busses; but this is the first we’ve seen on a tractor. Learners always have a teacher riding with them to talk to them and give instructions while they drive. This young boy was on the tractor by himself. I risked life and truck as I got close enough to let Betty get this picture.

We had the most amazing day yesterday. First we met with the missionaries and watched a two hour training DVD from Salt Lake. It was inspiring.

Just as that was ending, the rest of our Zone arrived for Zone Training Meeting on how to help investigators and returning saints. It was wonderful! Of course, Rex was impressive as he acted in a role play on keeping the Sabbath Day Holy. He was the father who was telling his son they had two free tickets to the Super Bowl. The son was telling why they couldn’t go on Sunday, and Rex was countering with some very convincing reasons why they should. He wanted the ending to be positive so he finally agreed to sell the tickets and go with his son to Sacrament Meeting. Afterwards, the Elders came up to him with big smiles and said they loved it. They thought it was so good that it should have been caught on video.

When it came to accountability and making our zone goal, we insisted on an extra high number that I think will be a first for Taveuni Zone. 20! February will be a hard month to do it with the sisters gone for 1 ½ weeks to Suva, and the rest gone for 4 days to the temple celebration and rededication. However, we know with the help of the Lord, we can do it. Again, we are holding to the promise of President Layton that miracles will take place. It is deemed to be the most incredible month of our mission!

After ZTM, we ate at the Wong Tungs and then went to the old folk’s home. I love how much they love us. We need to train the workers there to play with them so they won’t be so sad when we go.

Last week, we received a call that Brother Salabogi needed money to enroll his son in a Cabinet Making School starting the next week. He asked us if the PEF loan could help. The answer was no, on many levels. Since we are instructed as missionaries not to just give people money, we came up with a plan. We met him at the fish market, where he works for President Bull, and paid him in advance the $140 ($70 US) needed for his son in exchange for craft items his wife would make for us. We were invited to their home last night to pick out the items to order. They laid out a huge mat for us to sit on. I could tell it was brand new. As we explained what kind of mat we wanted made, I kept looking at the beautiful mat on the floor. Finally, I just said, “I like this one! Could we just buy this one?” We asked them how much and gave them $10 more to equal $150. They were very excited! Now wish us luck in folding it so it will fit in our suitcase!

The work is on fire here in Labasa!

Our missionaries and members are the best!

Hope all is well at home!

We love you!

     Saturday and yesterday were amazing. 
     Rex wrote this paragraph: Saturday we had 2 baptisms Meli Rauluitoga and Meresalina Wait Isoa. Elder Sieverts mixed up the baptismal prayer and had to baptize Meresalina three times before he got it right. He was a little embarrassed and a little sad until I talked to him. I told him that just before I came on this mission, I was Young Men's President. One Sunday I was blessing the sacrament, and I had to do it twice. Bishop Atkinson came up to me after and thanked me. He was happy that I had made the mistake to show the young men that we all can make mistakes; but the sacrament prayer, just like the baptismal prayer, has to be exact. Then I told Sieverts that is one of the main reasons we get baptized and partake of the sacrament is to have the opportunity to fix our mistakes and do it right. He was happy again after that. 

     Sunday we went early to the Labasa chapel and met with Lorenzo Snow Baleiwasawasa to help more in completion of his mission papers. For some reason, I have a special bond with him. Oh, yes, I guess it’s that his first name is also my Father’s. He had already gotten his physical, but we found out his forms were outdated, and would not be accepted by Salt Lake. We printed out some new forms and are sending him back to the physican. We gave him a “Preach my Gospel” and a flash drive with church songs to thank him for the extra trouble.

     We shook hands with or got hugs from everyone in the chapel. After I had been around once, a sweet member named Bisun Kumari came quickly up the outside aisle to me. I told her that was so sweet of her to come all the way up to give me a hug. When I moved away, she quickly got a tithing slip off the wall. That’s what she had actually come for; but I still got my hug, and I am happy that she is paying her tithing.

     Just as I had left the chapel to leave for Naduna, Rex told me to go back in. The Vosa’s had come. Two of the daughters have been baptized. The man was taking lessons at the same time, but he wanted to wait for his wife to be baptized, and she seemed very satisfied with the church she was attending. He had backed off and quit coming to church. The Elders visited them Saturday, in the Sister’s absence, and challenged them to come to church as a family. When I walked in, the whole family was there. The missionaries were ecstatic, as were we. Someday he will be one of the church leaders here. He is that great, and she has a special light that absolutely radiates from her. We are hoping they will both be baptized soon. We will celebrate the day!

     We went to Sacrament Meeting at Naduna. They were happy to have 2 extra speakers! We talked on the temple. Rex used the same talk he had given in Labasa. It was beautiful! As I watched him speak, I know I am so blessed to be his companion for eternity!

     Next we drove to Seaqaqa. The counselor took Rex aside and said the missionaries were supposed to be the speakers, and they weren’t there. Could he please talk on “The Rescue.” Just before the sacrament, the Elders arrived. They had been attending meeting with a small group in Naduri. Rex thought he had been rescued, but the counselor announced him as the middle speaker. He talked of William Woodward and the Willie’s Handcart Company and the rescue, and he tied that into missionary work, rescuing our neighbors and bringing them to church. Then he talked of temples and doing temple work to rescue our ancestors. We are happy to be part of the rescue. It was a beautiful day in Fiji! 

One of the first things I saw here that amused me was a bird sitting on the back of a bull eating insects as the animal grazed. I have been waiting to get the perfect picture. My wish before we leave Fiji was to catch a picture of two birds on a bull's back. We have tried many times to get the shot, but pulling over here is difficult, and the few times I could convince Rex to stop, the birds flew away. Today Rex saw two birds on a young bull's back. It took him a while to slow down and pull over so we were a long ways away, and I was shooting backwards out of the window, zooming in with his iPhone. Just as I looked back, a third bird landed. I had to snap it quickly so I sacrificed part of the bull's head, but I got the shot of the birds. Rex asked me to assure you that no animals or birds were harmed in the shooting., The bull was still standing with three birds atop when we drove away.

I also have a fascination with finding crazy horns.
This is my favorite cow I see every time we drive to Siberia.

Today Rex was in perfect form as he actually did a u turn so I could get a shot of this beauty with her incredible horns.

Amazing! Don't you agree!

Rahul, Kumar, Singh song:

Our experience with BYU Hawaii has come full circle. First we helped Rahul Prakash apply. Elder Kumar saw us helping him, and said, “I would love to go to BYU Hawaii!” and we helped him. They were both accepted, which is really hard for them here. Elder Kumar and is now released and is helping Elder Singh, serving in his area, to apply to BYU Hawaii. Singh is trying to meet the Feb 1 deadline, about a week away. When he couldn’t get into iWorks on the computer, Kumar said, “Call Elder and Sister Woodward!” We get a call from the other island from an Elder we don’t even know asking for assistance. We called admissions in Hawaii to see if iWorks was down. The secretary said, “It works great for me!” However, it wouldn’t work for us. We finally called our sweet friend Janey in admissions; and she sent paper forms for them to fill out, scan, and send back. Elder Singh’s father got involved because it needed his information and documentation from home and a letter from the home bishop. The father emailed us a few times on his progress and called us two times for assistance. We were the go between since he couldn’t talk with his son. We had him email everything directly to Janey. She is the real heroine here. Once it is in her hands, there is no worry. She is competent, and she quickly makes things happen. In the last phone call from Brother Singh in Suva, he revealed that he is Rahul Prakash’s uncle. Rahul and Elder Singh are cousins. There is also now a sweet connection with them and Kumar. In fact, Kumar had just stayed at their home the two days before while he went to an interview with the US Embassy for his Visa. He passed and will be going to BYU Hawaii the end of February. When Brother Singh heard we were serving in Labasa, he said he used to be the Labasa District President, equivalent to a Stake President, over all the LDS branches and groups of our island Vanua Levu and of Taveuni. He also said when we come to Suva, he would love to meet us. His wife cooks some amazing curry. Small world. Great to be part of it! Loving this experience!

Love you!

We have been missing our sisters. We are elated that neither was affected by transfers, and they will both be returning to Labasa, I saw a post on Facebook of the Suva Temple invitational open house. The first picture was our own Sister Elias and Sister Raga. They were honored to give the introductory video presentation to dignitaries invited to tour the Suva Temple before it opened to the public. Our Mission President, the Pacific Area Presidency, and the Fiji Prime Minister were among the guests.

Sister Elias and Sister Raga

We have been working hard with the branch and the branch clerk to clean up the records in Labasa. When we arrived, there were 742 names on our branch list. Since then, Naduna has been demoted from a branch to a group and combined with our branch with over 70 names. We also have had many baptisms, and people move in. We have finally gotten the list down to about 470. Brother Mahen printed out a new list, and I spent a full, hard day typing in all the extra names to add to our current data base. I know it seems silly to do with it already on the church computer, but we have no access to the MLS without Mahen doing all the work. What we are trying to do is too complicated, and the info on the branch list way too out of date to accommodate our efforts. We need to be able to sort and print out the names in different scenarios. It is crazy to see that in one family, the wife keeps her maiden name, and many of their own children are given all different last names. I would hate to have to do their genealogy! When we print out by last name, such as on a Relief Society List, unless we know them personally, or have a list of families to compare it with each time, we would have no clue which family they belong to. Also, many of the children are listed alone as heads of households. We have an extra category that puts the families together by numbers. The printout by area is the one that would take hours to modify on MLS before it would work. Many involve turning at the big mango tree. Since our branch area covers very many miles, and most people walk, go on bus, or get taxis, area lists are essential to help make up Home Teaching and Visiting Teaching Routes and organize missionaries and leaders to visit the members. As it is, not many members are getting visited except by the leaders and the missionaries. One of the main reasons we hear of why members have left the church is that no one comes to visit them. No one cares about them. We would like to change that and have Home and Visiting Teaching assigned by area so they can more easily visit in their own village. The timing seems right since we have a new Relief Society President I need to help.

Love this picture of Rex with the missionaries after playing ball on P Day. People are forced to retire in Fiji at 55. The other day Oliva asked Rex how old he is. He was surprised at the answer and announced that his grandfather is the same age and barely gets around. He is basically home bound. He is amazed at how in shape and active Rex is. They all love to have him play with them. Of course, Rex makes everything fun!