Bula Vinaka (A Very Warm Welcome) To Fiji

 On our way to Fiji our one and only stop was at Christmas Island.  It is somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Fiji.  There was a medical team getting off there.  As we were flying in we saw this view of the beautiful turquoise water.

This is the airport terminal at Christmas Island.  We were the only plane there. 

As you can see it is an international airport. 

On our second day in Fiji we took a drive along by the ocean.  This is the sign that greeted us by the beach.

This is Mike learning to drive.  It is really hard to get used to driving on the left side of the road and on the other side of the car.  The turn signals are on the opposite side of the steering wheel too.  Every time he wanted to signal a right turn he would turn on the windshield wipers.  We were laughing so hard every time the wipers would come on.  Actually he is doing really well with his driving.  I haven't tried driving yet (I am going to wait a few weeks.)

 This is a view of the valley and the bay from the temple.  It was an overcast day, but it has been drizzly and overcast most days since we arrived. 

The Suva, Fiji Temple

 This is the view from the LDS Church College.  It is a beautiful campus.  Mike and I have our office here at the college.

They call the high schools, colleges and the elementary schools, primary schools.

They have a few buildings that have thatched roofs like this. But the other buildings are larger and also have walls that are made out of some kind of woven plant material.  Most of the buildings at the school are made from block.

OUR FLAT

 We are pretty much settled into our little flat.  This is the shower room.

 And the room for the toilet.

The Kitchen

The living room.

                                  

This is the biggest and best part of the flat.  There is a very large deck that we share with the neighboring missionary couple.  We had dinner on the deck tonight.

We finally arrived in Fiji late Wednesday evening.  Bishop Prasad, his sweet wife, and their daughter, Channel, picked us up at the airport.  We stayed at the apartments at the Suva temple for a few days until our apartment was ready.  We thought we had a choice between 2 apartments, but then the larger one near the church schools wasn't available, so we moved in to the other apartment.  It is actually very nice and fully furnished.  We are very thankful to have it.

We have met so many wonderful people already.  Everyone is so friendly and welcoming here.  Today we went to church.  It was a very small branch, but the spirit there was very strong. There was no accompaniment to any of the music, but the members sing beautifully and with all their hearts.  Most people here are very poor, but also very humble and so happy and thankful for the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  They are so kind to the missionaries.  The children just love us and want to be near us.