New Room

Now that I have a sewing machine, I decided
to change my room from "the hippie pad"
to one done by the Fijian rules of design--
nothing needs to match, it just needs to be bright
and pretty. I don't think I'll be able to change
the very PINK paint...oh well.


This is where I sit for at least a couple of hours
each day to study. I love looking at the pictures
of my family. If you would like your picture
added to fabulous wall, just send it to me!

Sisters Night

The day after Zone Conference we had a sister
missionary night at Sister Ostler's. Tisha
Kwansing (the one in front) came and taught
us how to do Tahitian dancing. It was so fun.
I was pretty bad, but it was fun!


There is one missionary from New Zealand
and one from Hawaii and they were great.
Then all the fijian sisters were good too, but
us "palagis" were not so good.

We had such a good time!

We were making "flowers" during the dance.

This is Sister Mailo and Sister Kant.

The Invitation/Temple Cleaning

The temple has been closed for two weeks for
cleaning. If you look really close, you can see
the workers up by the spire, cleaning the out-
side of the temple.


They worked up there for two days. Last year
the had to replace the Angel Moroni, because the
gold leaf was coming off because of the weather
here in Fiji. I don't know what is different
about this new Angel Moroni, but he seems to be
just fine.



This is the invitation to Arti and Anurag's
wedding. The photo doesn't show all the sparkly
silver jewels that are on it.

The Wedding

Sister Reeves and Sister Vagarau and I wanted
to give the couple something for their wedding.
They were going right back to Seattle after the
weekend and we didn't think they would want
to haul back a bunch of gifts. We decided to
have Sister Radivukivuki make them a flower
arrangement. She is the one who brings flowers
to our office every Monday morning. Here is
the arrangement displayed on a cement post at
the wedding!


Arti and Anurag taking seven steps
toward the priest.



They are walking around the canopy
seven times.




Arti's brother is putting something in their
hands that brings blessings to them.





Anurag, Arti and the priest. (He took his cell
phone off his neck!)

Just a note.....All these posts are out of order,
because I should have posted them in exactly
the opposite order than I did...when will I learn?

The Wedding of Arti and Anurag

The women all sat together for the wedding
ceremony. It was in a large hall. All the walls
and posts were painted a different bright color.
The men all sat together outside the hall.



This is where the actual ceremony
took place.



This was the first view we had of the bride.
She had been living at the temple all week.
Her name is Arti and the grooms name is Anurag.




Arti is walking up the the canopy. Her
brother is following her. Her father
is not living, or I think he would be
doing this.





Anurag is waiting under the canopy for her.
A lady in the Samabula 1st ward made all
the wedding clothing!

Hindu Wedding, cont.

These are some of the women attending the
wedding. Sister Reeves and I were a little
under dressed!!


Even the little girls were all dressed up.



This was the ceremony outside the area where
the actual wedding ceremony took place. The
Hindu priest is in the orange, the groom to his
left and I'm not sure who the other gentleman
is. There was incense burning, water sprinkling,
forehead marking, and singing and chanting
involved. (the thing hanging around the
priest's neck is a cellphone!)




The mother of the bride. (our
landlady)





The brother of the bride. He is a policeman
here in Suva.

Hindu Wedding

This was the fancy canopy that they made outside
our flat for the grooms party. The poles are wrapped
in leaves. They looked really nice!




I wanted to take a picture of the car all decorated
for the groom to be driven to the temple. They
made me sit in it.....hence a picture of me and
not a very good picture of the car.




A welcome sign with Christmas lights right
below our window.




Here is the groom and his mother and sister
at some ceremony just before leaving for the
temple. I believe the man in the suit is the grand
pa.

Lovo in Navua

This is President Volavola. He is a member of
the temple presidency. Elder and Sister Wood
had two granddaughters come with a human-
itarian group to work in a village not too far from
his home. It is about an hours drive from Suva.
He decided they should experience a Lovo before
they left to go back to the states. If the Fijians
really want to celebrate, they make a Lovo. This
is where they cook food in a pit in their yards.
The Woods were kind enough to invite me to
go along. President Volavola is a chief over many
villages in Fiji. In 2000 he was elected to be the
chief over all of Fiji. Just after he was elected,
the military staged a coup and took over the
government and imprisoned President Volavola
for two years! He now says he wants nothing to
do with politics! Do you blame him?


This is President Volavola's granddaughter
watching the dancers and doing a little dance
of her own.



These girl did a couple of dances for us and then
tried to teach the high school kids from the states
how to to it. It was fun to watch.

This is a girl that lives just up the street from

me.

The Lovo

The chicken, dalo and dalo green were cooked
in the ground. Above the chicken is roti....Fijian
version of a tortilla. Next is chicken salad and
then of course, lots of pineapple.


They call this chop suey...and they eat it all the
tiime. This one has chicken and vegetables.
Notice that people use their hands to serve! (and
to eat!)



Raw fish in a citrus marinade....




This is the dalo leaf, cooked in coconut milk.





Dalo is a mainstay here in Fiji. It is a root plant.
A bit like our potato....only with no flavor and no
nutritional value. (Sister Bohman, the mission
nurse, told me that). Most of the young missionaries
end up liking it a lot. I have a hard time getting
down more than one bite.

Nola

This life size advertisement is in the "mall" in
downtown Suva. After the "Fiji Idol", Vodaphone
made Nola one of their models. Vodaphone is
a cell phone company.

I still don't know exactly what I am doing as far
as blogging goes, this picture should be at the
end of the previous post...sorry.

Fund Raiser for LDS Church College

Several weeks ago they had a fund raiser at the
Church College here in Suva....it is really a high
school. I'm not sure why it is called a college.
This man is from Tonga and did some fun fire
dancing.


The Fire Dancer



They had pacific island dancers. They are
so graceful...especially their hands.




This is Nola Sefeti. She is 18, attends the Church
College and is in our ward. She was on the Fiji
version of American Idol and was one of the
finalists. She performed at the fund raiser. She
is a beautiful girl with a beautiful voice!

Diaper Project

Here is the finished "gift" that I have been making
to have the sister missionaries (or whoever) give
to mothers who have no diapers for their babies.
It is one dozen diapers wrapped in a receiving
blanket.


The gift.



I could only find printed flannel...but I think
it looks cute. I make two sizes of diapers, small
and large. Both sizes can adjust to a larger or
smaller size as well.




I put three of each color in the receiving blanket
and tie it with a bow. (plastic ribbon....)