April 29th

Goodbye to my Sweet Mother

My Mom passed away Wednesday, April 29th at 10:34. She was a sweet humble prayerful lady who we will dearly miss! She was a tender example of childlike faith. She always had a prayer in her heart ,She loved her friends and family unconditionally and worried constantly about their well being. She complimented everyone .She attended the temple often, right up until we left. She was determined to attend her church meetings and read her scriptures. She was my mother , my friend, my example. I Love her dearly and will miss her . It is true,we will be together again, but for now my heart aches to hold her and tell her one more time of my love for her.  
Her funeral services will be Saturday

April 28th

Somo Somo village...

Visits to the Somo Somo village with the sister Missionaries ...

Awesome big brother tending his siblings

This sweet sister is making cherry jelly for her family

She cooks the jelly over an open fire near her home.

The children love to have there picture taken. They seem to gravitate to us where ever we are.

The first sister cuts out material without using a pattern.

This sister sews the fabric with a hand wheel while she sits cross-legged on her mat.

She quickly turns the wheel of the machine.It is quite a sight to see. She said she would love to try an electric machine someday.

The children are content to play with whatever is available.

These are the cherries that the first sister was making into jam. The people literally live off the land . 

In the hot humid climate the water is so inviting!

A little fellow greets Elder Vermeeren

We are are always welcomed into the villages.

This little guy is enjoying a plantation bannana

Laundry hangs everywhere!

Note the baby gate behind this mother and her children.

This little pig went to market.....

April 27th

This week.....

This week had been a roller coaster of  events. Mom has been in hospital the last 3 weeks , last night she had another stroke, the family is gathering , I pray she will know of our love for her . We are grateful to be part of a loving family. We send our love to our family and extended family ..Please know that we love you all...We want  to let you know how grateful we are to be out here serving our mission. We know that the Lord wants us to be here and to be his hands as we serve the people of Fiji. It has strengthened us to lift others it has changed our lives for the better. We have become stronger in our commitment to each other and to the Lord. Our prayers are with our family and loved ones!

A family cleaning and sorting their morning catch they have just taken out of their nets.

These small fish , similar to our sardines are boiled or fried  or used for bait for larger catches. 

they are washing and counting the fish and sorting them for sale

This man is taking a piece of wood down the road for a house that is being built.

His fellow workers are helping him...

A group of chinese people are here to working on bringing electricity to the island. They are making concrete poles in the Somo Somo area . This will take a long time , but the people are excited to have this happen.

They have a area they are housed in.

This is reed drying to make mats and baskets etc. 

This lucky little guy has a swing in his house 

Brother and Sister Maikatakata in front of their house.

Our island post office.

We are standing on either side of the international date line. We are both on different days.

This is used to cart things around and also as a toy .

Everyone needs the Love and Support of OTHERS!

April 22

We LOVE Fiji!!!

We are really enjoying being here on the Island . The Elders and Sister are wonderful ...So Faithful and so hard working!  We seem to be busy all the time here one adventure after another! Jeff asked if we would send pictures of our House. We think one of the more beautiful on the island!

This is Cava drying!!!

This is our Kitchen, note the flame in the oven while we cook! All the cupboards have netting over them.  Sealed containers hold all  our food safely. The  bottles on the counters hold water storage to be used when water is unavailable. So fun to cook here!

This is our study area. The Elders made us an awesome welcome sign!

This is the living room.

The washroom

Our guest room..We host  visiting missionaries i.e. Humanitarian 

Our deck

Our beautiful view

Another view of our  deck

Our back area

 Our main entrance way. This is where our pet frog "Freddie"  waits in the corner for us!

Our bedroom...This is the nicest home in our mission. We Love it and don't mind no internet, intermittent water and electricity. The view is sensational !  We are out most of the time and very busy doing our  daily duties. We are just down the road from a village ...a contrast from what we have here!   

This is our neighbour village.

One of our cool dude  buddies

This is our cargo boat. When we order items from Suva  they arrive here.

If it is heavy , you can drive your vehicle onboard.

Everyone has to carry their own items on and off the boat.

Strong  men.....Eh!

This  is so common to see through out the villages...

This is not......

Have you ever seen this in your neighbourhood?