Waiheke Island and Fiji - Bula Vinaka

It has been a very eventful month here in paradise! The missionaries have been doing well for the most part, but we still continue to battle Dengue Fever in the islands and of course there are the usual number of bush knife, bicycle and other accidents and illnesses. The applications continue to pour in. So many faithful young people in this area, especially the island nations!

Well, maybe you are tired of our changing view out the window, but we are not....always so beautiful day or night, rain or shine!

We finally were able to locate the Southern Cross constellation with a little help from an amateur astronomer! Certainly not on this moonlit night!

Elder Brown always justified having his own plane by saying
" You can't fly a house, but you can always live in an airplane"
Seeing this creative hot air balloon over the harbor I beg to differ! HA!

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We joined a few other couples and took the ferry to Waiheke Island for a Pday.
Was very quaint  and we enjoyed a nice lunch and a chance to look
around this well-visited island.

Elder Taylor relaxing in the shade.

Elder & Sister Broberg, Sister Brown, Sister Taylor and Elder Brown enjoying Waiheke Is.

Rather comfortable carved chair...from one tree stump!

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On to Fiji!

After getting up at 4AM and landing in Nadi (pronounced Nandi) we finally made our way up the West side of Viti Levu (the main island) and visited numerous health facilities and physician offices. No, Dorothy this is not Kansas! With the exception of a few clinics that serve the tourists, the country is very third world and some of the facilities we viewed were lacking in all but the very basics. This has given us an idea of what can and cannot be done for our missionaries in the islands. Fiji has the best medical care in the Pacific Islands, so this has given us a valuable perspective. Was a tiring 7 days, but well worth the bumpy roads and hot, sticky weather!

Lest you think we slaved away and stayed in a hut, be assured that we found decent places to stay as Sister Brown needs her sleep!!
Voli Voli Beach Resort was our first stop after a long day...but well worth the drive over 3km of rutted dirt roads!

Actually this was the best part of the dirt road. In some areas it was gullied and nearly washed away from the rains!!

Woke up the next morning and this was the view off of our deck!

Voli Voli is a diving Resort, but we just enjoyed the view for a few hours over breakfast, then back on the road!

Everywhere we went our dear Sister Limburg (island nurse) had arranged for the missionaries to meet us and show us the facilities in each area. As you can see Elders Abplanalp and Peterson are in traditional sulus and sandals. They are both taller than anyone else we had seen on the island...great young missionaries!!

The houses in the countryside are mostly tin roofs with simple board structure. Many are on stilts to help with water drainage and to keep things cooler. Very few people in the villages have running water, electricity or indoor plumbing of any kind. Many still cook over open fires and wash by hand. The one thing that almost all the village houses did have- brightly colored curtains blowing in the breeze!

Found this little gem out in the countryside. This hut is a more an old traditional building
and is made from woven bark with a thatched roof. Very few of these left to be seen.

By comparison the city of Suva (capital) is quite modern and sports numerous 8-10 story buildings. There are buses and taxis galore as most cannot afford a car when the minimum wage is 2 dollars and hour! Mostly western dress in the city and many Indians here. Apparently when a British colony, the Indians were brought in to do much of the labor. The Fijians, like most islanders, are pretty laid back!

 In this waiting room of a doctors office you can see many Indian and Fijian faces. The Fijians all have tight curly hair and resemble Africans while the India folks are finer featured and have straight hair. Lovely people! The Fijians are so friendly! They all want to shake your hand and every one of them has a big smile and a quick "Bula" for a greeting! Loved them!!

After seeing much of Viti Levu, we took a plane to the north island of Vanua Levu. Tiny airport, they did not even care what flight we were on! HA! Drank my water right through "security". Too funny! The baggage was unloaded from the plane and brought into the airport on the baggage cart...everyone dug around to find their bags!

This photo was taken from our little plane. This is for you Autumn...the 80 mile reef
makes for world class diving!!!

On the south shore of Vanua Levu we were able to see the medical facilities in the town of Savusavu. Not far from here are all the resorts that you see in the travel brochures. Sad to say they were all fenced, so you had to pay to enjoy the view. We thought the view from our little hotel was certainly breathtaking with the early morning mist in the air!

Looking out to the harbor island, we were told that there is a new resort going in there.
Very charming harbor area with that gorgeous light turquoise water!

Made it back to Suva to spend one more night with President and Sister Klingler. Stellar people and so very kind and careful with their amazing missionaries! We love them!!

We were able to address the zone leaders at their conference and were thrilled with the spirit we felt! Some of them came in barefoot and in Sulus, and this picture was priceless!

Before we left we had the opportunity to attend the Fiji Temple. It is the same floor plan as the Spokane Temple. Was delightful to be there with the three young ladies from Kiribati who were getting their endowments before embarking on their missionary service!

Went out to dinner with Sister Limburg and Sister Newsom. They are great gals and Sister Limburg has been instrumental in keeping all those missionaries going in Fiji....I am sure she will be an expert on Dengue Fever along with many other things! We SO appreciate her!!

Enjoyed the dinner on this floating restaurant!

Our drive back to the other side of the island (Nadi) was punctuated with the usual resorts and interesting ocean views like the one above. I call it dolphin point!! There is only one paved road on the island and it circles all the way around...Kings Rd on the south and Queens Rd on the north. Everything else is gravel and dirt!

Besides encountering potholes to lose a VW in, we nearly missed goats, horses and cows that wander all over the roads. Although the most dangerous are the people who walk in the road and at night, they are dark, their clothes can be dark and they are slow to move off the highway...these goats had the good sense to move!

This mountain can be seen from many places around the island and is called "The Thumb"
Makes sense! Fascinating landscape...was odd to see Palms and Pines in the same place!

Coming into Nadi we saw the Sri Subramaniya Temple. Many Hindus living on the islands. Also saw numerous mosques, temples and churches.

Have to admit, it was an amazing trip! Very exhausting, but full of beauty and my, did we learn a lot!! Back to the office to attack our assignments with renewed vigor! 

Oh the joys of serving the Lord!

Another Month in Paradise

Kia Ora!

February was a lovely summer month filled with blue skies and warm breezes.

Our work is keeping us busy and we are enjoying the people we have met and the loveliness of the countryside. Now and then we get out of the city!

We are now teaching an ESL class two nights a week and two of our five students are meeting 

with the missionaries, so we are enjoying some personal missionary success as well. The Chinese Branch is also baptizing and we have some stellar converts. It is such a joy to see others come unto Christ!

 There will probably come a time when you will tire of the beautiful vistas from 

our apartment windows, but until then, this lovely scene greeted us one morning!

The War and Cultural Museum is not to be entered with less than awe and a great deal of time! After 3 hours we had barely seen all there was to see!

The museum has an entire floor devoted to the Maori culture. They have been in New Zealand for over 1000 years and they currently make up about 14 percent of the population. Their culture and language have greatly influenced life in New Zealand. This relief above is on the front of a 

"wharenui" (pronounced far-a-nuee) or meetinghouse. The carvings and weaving are amazing!

 The Maoris put on a performance for us and explained weapons, cultural norms and songs and dance.

This particular stance with eyes widened, tongue sticking out and weapon in hand, denotes a warrior prepared to kill (or possibly scare) his enemy! 

Many of the island cultures were represented, but the Maori had the most beautiful carvings and beadwork. When a young woman was to be married, her family made a beaded apron for her to wear, like the one above.

This intricate carving was done from a single piece of wood!

This beautifully carved war canoe built about 1836 could carry as many as 100 warriors. It is 25 meters long and was adze -cut from a single huge Totara log. 

The workmanship of the carvings and construction is extraordinary!

Sister Trammell right after surgery...looooopy!

Our sweet Sister Trammell is nearly healed up after being with us for almost two weeks! She is from California and is serving in Fiji. She had to come to New Zealand to have her tonsils removed so we acted as her substitute parents (more like grandparents!) for her stay. The first week was rough and I spent 6 days in our flat, but after that she was able to work in the mission office. She heads back to Fiji today! We will miss her!

 We had a real treat this past Saturday! Many senior missionaries and friends of the Area Office were invited to a sailing race! The exciting part (besides holding on for dear life) was the fact that our vessel was an actual participant in the 1995 Americas Cup! Wow! We were honored!

 Team A - all the old folk

Team B - everyone else

Elder Brown said they might have all the strength, but our team had all the ballast! We were proud that they did not beat us by very much!! 

The boats were long and sleek with masts that reached 115 ft into the blue! They were fast and relatively smooth as they skimmed through the bay waters.

 They sit quite low in the water and when tacking you do not want to be on the low side, unless you have need of a shower! Here we are neck and neck with the youngsters!

 It was a perfect day for sailing and we have the sunburns to prove it!

We came home to a perfect sunset...no this photo has not been photoshopped! 

Just another day in paradise!

Haere ra!

Running Here and There

Beautiful replica of the Christus in the Visitor's Center of the Hamilton Temple

The weeks seem to fly by as we are busy at the office most days and the weekends are filled with as much fun as we can squeeze in! Many Sundays find us attending the Chinese Branch and the Takapuna Ward, where I get a lesson or two in English!

Many wonderful people here of many nationalities. Tongan, Chinese, Samoan, Maori, European and even a few Americans running around!

You may think this silly, but one of the other missionary sisters came over and helped me cover our dining room (horrible) chair cushions...now they look very ""smart!

By our parking garage there is this brick wall with the most 

beautiful vine on it...and behind the wall is a very nice pool!

Pretty temple dedicated in 1958. They will be closing it one of these
days to reinforce the foundation....making it earthquake proof.

We made the two hour trip to the Hamilton temple. It was a beautiful day! They say the summer has been chilly, but we are loving it!!!!! Auckland is much like San Francisco and Hamilton is more like central valley in CA...was much drier and warmer.  
                         

Friday night Jan 31 was Chinese New Year, so we joined our little Chinese Branch and celebrated.

These are three adorable sisters from mainland China. Sister Dong, in the center came with her sister on the left to visit their sister who lives in NZ. The missionaries talked with her and she was baptized on Christmas Day. She bore a beautiful testimony on Sunday and is now on her way back to China to help "save her people"!!

This gal did a traditional sword dance. Was very controlled and graceful

These three cuties had fun with the balloons! (The one in the middle is named Ariel!)

 This photo is for Mel Marker....a corrugated metal elephant at the zoo! 

At least it doesn't eat much!

 Yes- we went with the Taylors to the Auckland zoo on Saturday. Was fun and the setting for the zoo is  quite natural. After being out in the wild in South Africa, I feel sorry for the animals confinement!

 This lioness moved very stealthily from the shade to the edge of her pond...following oh so quietly the movements of a medium sized Koi....finally she leapt, but sad to say (for her) she missed!

This NZ Kea bird is the size of a large Falcon and incredibly drab (olive drab), 

until he spreads his wings....then..wow!!

Had to pull an image off of the internet so you could see how pretty

they are in flight

Kiwi's are nocturnal, so there is little hope of finding one roaming around...this 

was the picture outside of the area where they were simulating 

night...complete with moon and stars....still no Kiwi to be seen!

They are flightless, have huge eggs and can live up to 35 years!

This boy was rather unconcerned about being gawked at!

At beautiful Muriwai Beach, we saw a Gannet colony. Very interesting. 

They fish Kami-Kaze style and are rather amazing to watch!

Thousands of them on these cliffs. They migrate to Australia and 

return each year...always finding their mate!

Very graceful and a bit bigger than a seagull

This beach is on the western side of NZ where the Tasmanian Sea is so gloriously blue!

Let the Adventures Begin

Happy New Year is in order. Had some dandy fireworks off of the sky tower in Auckland Bay and the learning curve has continued into the New Year. We do go into the office most days and have been known to spend many hours dealing with missionary applications and health issues. This is just so you will know that we are not out playing ALL of the time, even though the photos will look like we are on vacation! Learning to drive on the left side of the road and finding the things we need, ie. groceries, fabric, housewares, clothes and stationery has kept our free moments occupied! Life is good and we are loving what we are doing and meeting some very fine people in the process!

Fireworks over the city- Happy 2014

We know you will eventually get tired of the view from our apartment, but thus far 

we are loving the changing sky and harbour!

Seriously, no photoshopping here. Mother nature needs no help from us!!

We are learning that some things are not to be had here by way of groceries, but the tricky part is finding common things by another name!

Many many very old trees and some of them have "air roots" which is a system of fine roots hanging from the branches of the tree. They are able to pull water out of the humid air!

Another unusual tree called a Norfolk Pine, but nothing like we have in the states.

The trees are tall with needles that can measure up to 14 inches long. They are very lovely!

Took a drive with another senior couple and enjoyed a natural rainforest on the coast. 

Biggest ferns I have ever seen! 25 - 35 ft high!

Here is the doc, as they fondly call him, at his desk on the 3rd floor of the Area Office Building.

I have a similar desk over by the door where I do my bit!

We are attending the Chinese Branch here, which of course makes Elder Brown happy. We will be teaching English two nights a week. There is a huge Chinese population here and they are hungry for the Gospel, so we are hoping to have great success in helping the Branch grow. Most speak some English, but I am working on mastering a few Chinese phrases!

The Chinese Branch had an outing on Saturday (a good activity for Elder Brown's birthday!)

We rode the ferry to the volcanic island of Rangitoto. Above is the old refurbished Ferry Building. It is in great contrast to all of the modern buildings downtown. So charming! So we took a 15 minute ferry ride out to the island to conquer it's heights (all 850ft of it)

The lava from this relatively new volcano (600yrs old) is mostly scoria and it is rather amazing how well the vegetation has taken hold. There are still several barren places like the one above.

After hiking for almost 2 hours, we reached the summit! That was quite the workout!

The caldera is still very visible. The Maori people called it Rangitoto meaning "blood sky". No doubt the forming of the island was amazing to behold!

Here is the view of the uninhabited volcanic island as we approached on the ferry

Although the hike was hard work, the view from the top was well worth the struggle....kind of an allegory for life!