Dave and Becky in Fiji

Report of Mission

2011-01-09T12:39:00.002+13:00

Fiji Suva Mission Report

Dave and Becky Seare

Sunday, January 9th 2011

We were so happy to see Luke Stoddard and his wife, Chase Nay with Fiance and Parents and Irene Reeves!

We were called to the Fiji Suva Mission and served in the Mission office in Suva. Fiji is made up of over 300 Islands. Viti Levu is the largest and Suva is the Largest city. Our Mission also included New Caledonia and Vanuatu.

Our time in Fiji was one of the most life changing experiences of our life. We are grateful for the opportunity we had to serve for the past 18 months.

As I think back on our mission two words come to mind. “Gratitude” and “Blessings”.

I am personally grateful for the events that lead us to Fiji. Two years ago this month we were in the South Pacific on a Vacation. Our final stop off was Fiji where we spent 2 days before our departure for home. While there we learned of a need for a Missionary Couple to serve in the Fiji Suva Mission. I will never forget the experience of those two days. With very little discussion between us about the matter we both came to the same conclusion and followed the same promptings that we needed to serve a mission at that time in our lives and that we should serve in Fiji. We both felt the same about it at the same time. As soon as we returned home we immediately started the process. In July of that year we were on our way.

There was never any doubt in our minds that we were doing what our Father in Heaven wanted us to do at that time in our lives. We never regretted our decision nor did we ever look back.

We will be eternally grateful for the opportunity the Lord gave us to serve Him in Fiji.

We are grateful for this experience and for the things we learned. We were blessed beyond measure as we served. We learned things we could not have learned in any other way. We loved serving together.

Fiji is a very 3^rd World Country and we were humbled as we met members of the church there and as we sat in their Humble homes but felt of the great spirit they radiated. They had very little in worldly wealth but had far more than us in Spiritual wealth. We were always in awe of how little the things of the world meant to them and how much the things of the spirit meant to them. Their families were strong and they learned to rely heavily on each other.

We are grateful to have been able to serve the missionaries in our Mission. As we arrived in Fiji and met with President and Sister Ostler we were asked to take care of the missionaries by meeting their Temporal needs. We worked as a team in this responsibility. Becky was to attend to the Medical needs of the missionaries and Dave attended to the other needs of their day in and day our living. We made a concerted effort to improve the living conditions of the missionaries thus improving their physical and spiritual health. Dave also took care of all of the mission vehicles and phones. We were on call 24/7 attending to these needs but we were greatly blessed. We were able to get to know the missionaries on a 1 on 1 basis. Although we grew weary at times with all the crazy phone calls we got from them, we grew to know them and love them in ways we would never have had. We still laugh about some of the calls we received. They varied from “Sister Seare I cut my finger” to Elder Seare I just rolled our truck down the mountain”!

I would like to share a couple of stories of blessings that came to some of our missionaries because of their willing service.

Elder Taburuea was an Elder from Kiribati, A very small island in the South Pacific. When he arrived in Fiji he did not know English nor Fijiian. He had to learn both of these languages and was blessed as he “pressed forward with a steadfastness in Christ”. Not long after he arrived in Fiji he became very Ill. The nurse prior to me got him medical help and it was found that he had a congenital Kidney problem. Had he not gone on a mission he would have become very ill and because of the lack of medical help in his little Island he would have died. As it was, while on his mission he was able to have the problem diagnosed and resolved. He knew that he owed his LIFE to the service of our Heavenly Father. As he bore his final testimony the day before he was to go home he testified with tears in his eyes that his life was spared because he served a mission.

Another Elder was a native Fijian, Elder Kalougata. He was a loveable tall Fijian but was always complaining of aches and pains. I took him to the clinic so that I could put his mind as ease that nothing was wrong. Dr. Lavenia examined him and had x-rays taken. She called me in to relay the findings, She found nothing on the x-rays that would explain the aches and pains but that she was a little worried about his vision problem. I was shocked, I didn’t even know he had a vision problem nor did he. We took him to the eye specialist and found that he had a cataract and that his vision out of that eye was almost gone. He remembered back at a time when he was 14 that he got hit in that eye with debris while using a weed wacker. That was the cause of the cataract. Through approval of the mission he had surgery to repair the cataract and restore his vision 100%. He also knew in a very humble way that had he not served a mission he would have gone blind in that eye.

My final story is that of Sister Pariyar. She was from Katmandu in India. What a beautiful young sister she was. She served her mission in Vanuatu. About 6 months into her mission she began complaining of foot pain. She was taken to a couple of doctors in Vanuatu but nothing was found to be wrong. Medical help there was very minimal. She was told she needed to wear different shoes. For the last year of her mission she got up every day and went on with her work. Some days her feet hurt so bad she could barely walk but never used it as excuse to not do her missionary work. She was probably the single most effective missionary in our mission. She was responsible for over 53 baptisms. The President had to tell her that it was not required that she have a baptism every week.

At the end of her mission she came through Suva before going home. Sister Ostler asked if we would take her to the Doctor I used a Suva Private Hospital which I did. As she was examined, x-rays taken and blood work done it was found that she had 7 of 10 criteria for Rheumatoid Arthritis. It was devastating to look at the x-rays of her feet. All of the toes of both feet had serious irreparable deterioration. We were able to extend her visa and get her started on the necessary medication to begin necessary treatment. None of the doctors in the Hospital in Suva had ever seen anything like it. Through Contacts, including the Arnolds we were able to find a Doctor in Katmandu that could carry on with the treatment. We talked a lot about the seriousness of her illness wondered what her future would be. With tears in our eyes we talked about what her illness meant but also shared testimony that the Lord would not forget all the days she got out of bed and carried on with her work even when her feet were too painful to walk. We know beyond doubt that she will be blessed.

Missionaries are blessed and are taken care of. Our family was blessed and taken care of in our absence and we heard story after story of families of missionaries being blessed.

Another experience we had that we will be forever grateful for is the opportunity we had to meet our dear sister, Neelam. Neelam is a 38 year old Hindu woman with 4 children and a husband who is muslum. She has believed in Jesus Christ her entire life and has waited for 20 years to gain permission from her husband to become Christian. We were blessed to have been one of her links to becoming a member of the church. We met her and she was interested in what we believed. She told us that she had looked into many other churches but didn’t feel right about any of them. She wanted to know what we were all about. We contacted the missionaries in her area which happened to be in our ward, and had her taught. We joined them in the teaching and felt her spirit as she absorbed what we had to tell her. He husband granted her permission to go to church with us and eventually consented to her Baptism. What a wonderful day that was as Dave had the opportunity to Baptize and Confirm her in the presence of her husband and 2 daughters. We spent the final 9 months of our mission spending as much time as we could with this wonderful family. We did not see any of the other members of her family go to church or be baptized but we saw their lives change. Neelam had the faith that if she could wait 20 years to go to church she could wait another 20 years to have her family joint her. She believed strongly that “nothing is impossible in god’s eyes.” As we became close to her we had many heartwarming discussions with her about her faith and testimony of Jesus Christ. Her favorite hymn in the hymn book was “Count your Blessings.”

This has become one of our favorites as well:

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,

When you are discouraged thinking all is lost,

Count your many blessings, name them one by one.

And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?

Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?

Count your many blessing every doubt will fly,

And you will be singing as the days go by.

When you look at others with their lands and gold,

Think that Christ has promised you his wealth untold.

Count your many blessing; money can not buy,

Your reward in heaven nor your home on high.

So amid the conflict, whether great or small,

Do not be discouraged, God is over all.

Count your many blessings; angels will attend,

Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Count your blessing; name them one by one.

Count your many blessings; See what God had done.

Count your blessings; name them one by one.

Count your many blessings; See what God had done.

She is a special spirit in our Heavenly Father’s eyes and we are so grateful to have become a part of her life and to be accepted as part of her family. We love her very much.

We would like to express gratitude to our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ for the love we feel from Them and for the blessings that he has poured out upon us and our Family. We have been blessed beyond measure. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve with. Our mission changed our lives and our relationship with each other forever. We will forever be indebted to our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ for this.

Our Mission

2010-12-02T15:52:00.000+13:00

Our Mission

As we stared out the window

The tears still in our eyes.

We saw the faces of those we love

We just said our last Goodbyes.

The ride was long and tiresome,

As two questions played our minds.

Do we want the life that’s up ahead,

Or the one we're leaving behind?

18 months is such a long, long time,

For going so far away.

And our reflection, we thought to ourselves,

There must be another way.

We dragged ourselves down off the plane,

And the world was within our reach.

When President turned us the other way,

"The Temporal Affairs of Elders we must meet"

Is it, reflecting once again,

As this day is our last.

Please Lord, it isn’t fair.

The time is gone by way too fast.

And we stare out the window,

The tears again in our eyes.

We see the Elders, Families, and Friends we love.

And we just said our last good-byes.

The ride home is long and tiresome,

As two questions play our mind,

Do we want the life that’s up ahead,

Or the one we left behind?

(paraphrased from a poem of one of our Elders)

Nasinu 1st Ward Goodbyes

2010-11-21T13:00:00.002+13:00

We gave our going home talks in church today. It was tough as we looked out over the members of the ward we called our Home Ward for the past 16 months. We have grown to love these people and they will always be a part of our lives.

Our talks went well. We were both filled with emotion and expressed gratitude for all the blessings that have come to us and the things we will miss here and the things we will take home with us. This ward will always be a part of us.

Following the closing prayer, to our surprise, the entire congregation stood and sand "God Be With You Til We Meet Again". Wow, what a "tear jerker". We had no idea it would be so difficult to say Good-bye. Watching Milika Taito and her girls, were crying so hard they couldn't even sing. Milika has been our Bestest Fijian Friend Forever.

Nasinu 1st Ward

Pillai Family

The Singh Family


Tevita and Lomani Kacibalavu

Mereisi Talemaitoga - Best Gospel Doctrine Teacher Ever!

Last Night out with Kastelers in Fiji - Til we meet again in Utah!

2010-11-20T10:49:00.000+13:00

We went to a movie with the Kastelers tonight then they took us to Dinner at our Favorite Chinese Restaurant. Although we knew of them before our mission, we have grown close over the past 17 months while here in Fiji. We have been so glad to have them here with us.

More Fun Pictures

2010-11-17T14:48:00.002+13:00

Lunch with the Missionaries

Flooring Department at Courts!

Making Cakes and Celebrating Missionary Birthdays!

Just Hanging Out at Denarau

Everyone loves watching the Island Dancers at Denarau

So Cute!

Dave makes friends everywhere he goes

Teaching Neelam about the Finer things of Life


For Neelam's Birthday we gave her a book about Our Story! She was overwhelmed and said it was the most wonderful, unique gift she has ever received. She Loved It!

31 Days to Go!

2010-11-17T14:28:00.002+13:00


Everywhere we go we run into Missionaries!

Celebrating Neelam's Birthday at Denarau

We are down to our last month here in Fiji. Time is going quickly and we both agree that this is a fun time of our mission for us. We have been able to think back on all of the things that we have experienced. We laugh a lot about all the crazy phone calls we have gotten from sick missionaries and missionaries who try to explain how they wrecked their vehicles. Of course it was never their fault! We both agree that we will be glad to not have to deal with some of the headaches that have come with our jobs here but we also agree that we will remember this experience with fondness forever.

Last weekend we were in Nadi for Church. At Sacrament meeting we met 2 couples traveling here from California. We visited with them for quite a while after Church and began sharing stories from our mission. Later that evening they looked us up at the hotel we were staying at and invited us to go to dinner with them. We continued to share experiences with them and told them stories about our mission. Yesterday, they came to the Temple here in Suva and we went downtown with them afterwards for lunch and to show them the city we have grown to call "HOME". As we shared with them we realized how much this experience has become our life for the past year and a half. All of the difficult times took a back seat in our minds and we remembered and shared many wonderful experiences. We have realized more than ever how grateful we are for this experience. Was it "hard"? Yes, very hard but has it been "worth it" most definitely. We have learned through our lives that the things that really make us happy and that make a difference in our lives have not been "EASY". This is one of those experiences.

We had the chance this past weekend to celebrate Neelam's Birthday with her in Nadi. She is now working at the Jack's in Denarau. She has been there month and is already earned the "Employee of the Month" award. She is a very special person. She is waiting for her family to join her the first of December. This journey for her has not been easy but we continue to reassure her that her Heavenly Father will guide her through her journey. The thing we have learned through our experience of meeting her and her conversion is that things like this experience don't just happen by chance. Heavenly Father is mindful of each of us as individuals and he gives us opportunities that we would never dream of. We both believe strongly that Neelam is one of the reasons we came to Fiji. There are many reasons we feel that we were guided here but we can't help but feel especially blessed to have been her link to joining the church. As we hear of many experiences of conversion it builds upon this belief we are guided into the lives of others when we would least expect it. It all happens with a purpose. Our job is to recognize the opportunities and to take advantage of the opportunities as they arise. What a blessing our experience with her has been in our lives. It will be very difficult to say goodbye to her and her family.

As we approach this point in our mission we have become very reflective of all the things we have done, the experiences we have shared and people we have met. Although we are so excited to return home to our family we are also feeling very nostalgic. As we look back over the past 17 months the one word that would sum up our experience is "Gratitude." How grateful we are for this opportunity in our lives. We have been blessed in so many ways. We have grown close to and have learned from people we would never have had the opportunity to know. We have seen things we would never have had and we have had many life changing experiences. The blessings that have come to us and our family are unbelievable.

We have felt the love, support and prayers from family and friends. We look forward to being back home with great anticipation. (31 days to go!)

Mission Tour, Elder Hamula and Diwali Weekend

2010-11-05T15:23:00.013+13:00

The Sunderlage's

Breakfast with Ronald McDonald

Today is Diwali here in Fiji. Diwali is the biggest Holiday of the year in the Indian Culture. It is some type of an Indian Religious Holiday which we don't really understand. All we know is that President and Sister Ostler gave us the day off and closed down the office!

Everyone dresses in the traditional Indian Saree or Kameese. Houses are decorated with lights like we do and Christmas, only Fijian Style.

The evening skies light up with fireworks.

Yesterday was our big Mission Tour Day with Elder Hamula, from our area Presidency. All the missionaries in Fiji came to Suva for the conference. We were richly fed by the words of Elder Hamula and President and Sister Ostler.

Following the Main Conference we met as senior missionaries with Elder Hamula. What an opportunity for us to meet with him and feel his spirit. He let us know in no uncertain terms how much we are appreciated and how much our families will be blessed for our service. Something we have already experienced.

We also fed all 80 missionaries. Since Dave and I were it for the catering of the lunch, we got a little help from our friend and Guava. We had them make chicken salad sandwiches and served them with chips, bananas and ice cream bars. It was simple, delicious and almost no work.

We have 2 new mission couples here in Fiji who attended the Conference. The Sunderlages are serving in Taveuni and came here for the weekend and the Tait's are the new ITEP missionaries at the college. They live right next to us. We have had a lot of fun visiting, eating together and just getting to know each other. We have a great group of senior missionaries right now.

They have not yet found our replacement yet. We are wondering who will carry our load when we leave. I guess that is in the Lord's hands.

Elder Cegaudrau

Elder Cegaudrau, the missionary who hurt his knee has had quite the struggle with his recovery. It is going to be a long slow recovery because of the extensive damage done to his knee. He was told by the Physiotherapist that he will never be able to play Rugby. This is huge for a Fijian who see's Rugby as his life. He is struggling to keep his spirits up. We remind him that the Lord takes care of his faithful servants and that if he does his part as a missionary the Lord will bless him. I take him to therapy 2 times a week. It is draining on me to see him struggle to take even a small step but our goal is to have him off crutches and able to get around better by the time we go home. We have grown to love this young man and feel it a privilege to be able to help him through this difficult process.

Needless to say we are keeping busy, time is going quickly and we are satisfied and happy with the work we have done here.

We Love the Lord and are so grateful for the experiences we have had over the past 18 months.

Back to the Outrigger!

2010-11-03T20:39:00.004+13:00

"BULA!"

Welcome to the Outrigger

Well, we got an e-mail saying that all of the water in Suva would be off from Satruday 7:00 AM to Sunday Evening. What a great excuse to get out of town. We left Saturday at noon with the Kasteler's, Tait's and Andersons and went to the Outrigger. My personal favorite to "get away to". We stayed over Sunday, Attended Church in Sigatoka and returned home on Monday morning. A great rest from a busy week and gearing up for the busy week ahead.

Lunch at the Oasis - Pacific Harbor

"Come to Dinner"

Sister Kant at Church in Sigatoka
(one our favorite former missionaries)

Local Church Choir Singing for us Sunday Evening

Just a quick stop for fresh Prawns

A Great Weekend!

Interesting Things along the Road

2010-11-01T20:57:00.000+13:00

What time is Dinner?

Hamburgers

Chicken?

Shakes

And of Course the PlayLand

What would you like to Drink?

Pacific Harbour

2010-10-30T00:39:00.004+13:00

I think I found my dress for the Wedding!

These are a Few of our Favorite Things!

2010-10-27T15:59:00.001+13:00

City Bus

Suva Fiji Temple

MH Super fresh Market

Approaching Suva Private Hospital

Front Desk

The Chemist (Pharmacy)

Cafeteria and Hall towards Ward

Medical Clinic


The Doctors

Nando's Downtown

Downtown McDonald's

Jody's

Pizza at Jody's (Favorite Lunch)

This means "Get out of the Way!"

Jody's

ANZ Bank Downtown

Fiji Post Office

Movie Theater

Our Main Cell Phone Store

Our Money Source

Downtown McDonald's

Jack's Downtown (Where we met Neelam)

Pay and Park

MH Mall

Parking by the Canal

Main Street through Downtown

Dan's Dress Shop


Nando's One of our Favorites

Lacala Bay Nando's

MH Mall Food Court

Lunch with Kastelers

Entrance to Chee Wai's - Favorite Chinese Food

What we're missing in Utah!

2010-10-27T08:42:00.000+13:00

Fiji

Utah

And to think we only have 52 days to go!?!?

Quite a Week!

2010-10-21T16:41:00.003+12:00

Well, Just another week in Paradise. Only 3 truck accidents, 1 lost phone and one elder in the hospital with an infected gash in his knee.

Now for details!

A week ago, Saturday night Dave received a call at about 9:30 pm. It was the Zone Leaders in Nausori. They had just been hit by a drunk driver. Luckily, no injuries. When Elder Willis saw the drunk driver coming straight at him he swerved out so that the car hit him in the back corner of the truck rather than the driver's door. The Lord protects his missionaries.
The story doesn't end there. When the tow truck came to tow the truck away he punctured the front tire.
He tried to remove one of the other tires to replace the punctured tire but couldn't get it off so he just dropped the truck back on the ground doing even more damage to the truck. To top it off the cop and the drunk driver were in Kahootz and the cop didn't even give the drunk a citation. I guess our service center legal people will have to take over from here. Good luck with that one!

The other two accidents were caused by Elders driving where they shouldn't have been under rainy conditions. One high centered the his truck and the other slid off the road. Both needing to be towed out.

Two other elders lost their phone on the bus AGAIN!

Now for the injured Elder. It was a rainy Tuesday evening. Elder C and his companion were leaving their flat for a dinner appointment. They were horsing around and Elder A gave Elder C a push to get him going faster. Well he went faster all right! He flew down 4 steps and landed on the edge of the step with his knee stopping the fall. Off to the Hospital we went, He had a terrible gash down to the knee bone. In surgery the next day the doctor found 3 bone chips floating around. He removed the bone chips and sewed up the knee. He was admitted to the Hospital for pain control and IV antibiotics. after 3 days in the Hospital it was determined that the wound was infected in spite of the efforts of the antibiotics. It's been a week now and we still don't know when he will be released from the Hospital.

Back to Surgery

Two days later the infection and pain were much worse. The one and Only Orthopedic Surgeon was not available the night of the injury so the first surgery was done by a General surgeon who did not know what he was doing, leaving his knee in quite the mess. The Orthopedic Surgeon returned so we fired the general surgeon and got the Orthopedic surgeon on the case. Back to surgery he went to clean out all the infection, a bone fragment left behind in the first surgery and a scraping of the bone to clear away any infection that may invade the bone. The surgery went well. Hopefully he is on the road to recovery.

Finally out of the Hospital!

Looking good!

"Baby Steps"

Weekend in Nadi with Neelam

2010-10-19T09:12:00.000+12:00

Well this weekend was definitely better than last weekend.

Neelam has moved to Nadi and is working in the Jack's at Denaurau. As promised, we went to visit her and show her where the church is and introduce her to the Elders there. She is so happy where she is and definitely feels that the Lord has a hand in her decision to move to Nadi. Her family will join her in December.
We had a wonderful weekend with her. We spent all day Saturday with her. We had breakfast at McDonalds, shopped, then went to the Radisson for the afternoon swimming and enjoying the sun. We took her to dinner later that evening then took her back to where she was staying. She like a little kid going to Disneyland. She told her friends at Jack's that she got to be an "Amerian" for the whole day.

She experienced things that day that she has never before experienced. I was so fun being with her and sharing this experience.

Black Sand Dunes at Sigatoka for our P-Day activity with the Andersons.

2010-10-09T13:02:00.018+12:00

Unlike the Sand Dunes we are used to in Southern Utah the Sand is black. It looks a lot like ground pepper.

Doug and Diane Anderson (Temple Missionaries from Canada)

Following our stop off at the Sand Dunes, we drove up to the InterContinental Resort for Lunch and a quick swim to wash the sand off.

Trip to the Islands with the Mohammed Family!

2010-10-04T11:21:00.002+12:00

What a great Day. Billy rented us a boat, The kids took the day off from school, Neelam was on leave. Dave and I took the day off and we headed out to Sea. We went in the boat to 2 Islands, We had a picnic lunch, climbed in the trees and played in the Ocean all afternoon. One of our Best Fiji Days!

Billy our Navigator

Dave and Zainall

Zainall - Like that Shirt!

The Kind of day we dream about1

Makuluva Island

Neelam

We visited 2 Islands. the first, Makuluva is a very small Island that we walked around in about an hour which included gathering sea shells along the way. The bigger Island Nukulau used to be where the Prison was located.

Sooooooo much Fun!

Neelam, Alisha and Becky

Rariyah and Alisha

Dave, Neelam and Rariyah

Our Captain and his Mate!

Time with Neelam's Family

2010-10-03T09:11:00.001+12:00

Dave and Billy

We spent some wonderful quality time with Neelam and Her Family while she was on leave from her work. The girls and I went with Neelam to have her hair Cut and Straightened. Quite a process but she looks darling.

Saturday Evening I took her to the Stake Center to watch the Re-Broadcast of the General Women's Meeting. She was sooooo impressed with the words spoken and the video of the Conference Center.

Dinner with the Mohammed's

Getting Dinner Ready

Playing "Golf" our favorite game

Raiyan loves Cake and Ice Cream

The Next day we had her family to our home for a good old American Dinner! Sour Cream Cheese Chicken, Corn, Rice, and of course Cake and Ice Cream. Although it was a dinner they had never had they ate everything. They even used their knives and forks instead of their fingers which is their traditional way of eating. We are growing to love the Mohammed Family more and more. It is our prayer that the spirit can touch their hearts as to the importance of the Gospel in their lives.

Neelam's Visit to the Temple

2010-09-28T09:00:00.000+12:00

Neelam's first trip to the TEMPLE!

We each did 15 Confirmations then 15 Baptisms.

According to Neelam, "We did a really good thing today!"

Neelam with President Ostler

In 8 Months Neelam will be able to attend the Temple for her Own Endowments. Something she is looking forward to with great anticipation.

Isa Lei to Sister Erickson

2010-09-18T22:41:00.002+12:00

"Sister Yaris"

Isa Lei to Sister Erickson,

How can I possibly sum up the past 14 months?

First of all, Thank you! You have been a rock and have been a great example to both Dave and I. We love you and admire you for your courage to come on a mission all the way over here to "Funny Fiji" on your own. I don't know if I could have done it.

I admire your initiative to go above and beyond your call in the office to take upon yourself the tireless task of visiting, visiting, visiting. You may feel at times that your effort has not made a difference but I assure you that it has. You have touched lives of many people. You will be missed and I know they will always remember "Sister Erickson".

Your Diapers have left your mark all over Fiji. Everytime someone sees one of your diapers you will be remembered with fondness.

You have been the "Rock" of the office. We feel like we have been a 3 legged team and that one of the legs just fell off. What will we do without you? Already we feel the void and we miss you. The Missionaries all admire you and will miss you greatly.

We will miss your smile as we walk into the office everyday. We knew we could count on you. I cherish the time we spent making Pillow Cases, Table Cloths, Sloppy Joes, Chicken, Ham Sandwiches, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Chocolate Chip Cookies. Not to mention trips to Prouds for rice and Cashew Chicken and Guava to pick up platters of sandwiches then returning the platters. yes even the free entertainment for the guests at my expense. We can't forget the shopping! Shopping at Materialized, shopping in the Vegetable market, MH, and all the funny stores downtown.   Picking up badges and running our tails off trying to keep up with Millie as she ran us all over downtown.

Our get-a-ways to the Radisson, Hard Rock Cafe, and Out Rigger helped carry us through. Dinner at Nando's, Pizza at Jody's, a quick burger at McDonalds, Lunch at The Pearl, Mangos and the worms at Tiko's.

Memories, Memories and more Memories.

We have shared a lot the past 14 months and we will never forget our time in Fiji with you. We made a unique team and it has been a pleasure working with you in the office.

We are so happy that you are finally able to return home to your family. They have missed you. I loved meeting some of them and I feel that I know all of them. We learned together that "Sacrifice Brings Blessings". Both of us know that our sacrifices have made a difference in our families. You are going home to 4 beautiful new grandchildren and Tyler who endured much while you were here. We are most grateful for the 3 new girls that have been added to our family. I will forever cherish the opportunity we have had to serve.

We will miss you but know that you have served well and it is finally time to go "Home". Our time is here is almost gone and we too wait with great anticipation to be reunited with our family.

Good bye for now, and we look forward to going somewhere Really Good to eat with you in Salt Lake.

Sister Erickson's Family

Farewell Dinner at the Ostlers

The Three Amigos

Forever Friends

All of the Senior Couples

Taveuni "The Garden Isle"

2010-09-14T10:13:00.000+12:00

Taveuni Sunset

Up date from Taveuni

2010-09-14T09:21:00.000+12:00

New Curtains for the Sisters

We are alive and well! We have both recovered from the wicked flu virus we both picked up and are doing much better. Life in the mission has been busy, busy, with a intake of 13 new missionaries we have been consumed setting up new flats. President Ostler opened up 2 new Islands and added 2 sisters in Taveuni. This has involved finding places for the missionaries to live, then getting supplies to them via boat. We have a new senior couple, The Sunderlage's, coming to Taveuni so we have been trying to find them a place to live. Dave had to send a truck over to Taveuni for their use when they arrive latter this week. The work is endless.

Sister Pariyar (Kathmandu) with Sister Logo and Talei

We've had a elder with a severely infected toe which put him in the hospital for IV antibiotics and an incision and drainage of the infection. We had two elders with food poisoning and a few with the flu. It keeps us hopping. One of our sisters that served her mission in Vanuatu had been complaining of her feet hurting for over a year now. The medical care in Vanuatu is very limited thus they never found out why her feet were bothering her. On her way home to Nepal, Kathmandu she stopped here in Suva. Sister Ostler asked me to take her to the Doctor here in Suva to see if they could do anything for her feet. Through x-rays and blood work it was determined that she has Rheumatoid Arthritis. Not a good diagnosis for a 23 year. According to x-rays the joints of all of her toes on both feet have been severely affected. The worst case the doctors here have ever seen. We couldn't believe she spent a year in the amount of pain she was having and still came out the missionary with the most baptisms throughout the mission. She is amazing young lady. We extended her Visa for a month so she could get some medical care. The doctors here started her on prednisone and Methotrexate and will send her back to Nepal with the hope of finding a good doctor there. Luckily the Mission President over Nepal is a Medical Doctor and can help her find good care. The Lord takes care of His chosen! She leaves for Nepal this Thursday. We have enjoyed having her around and getting to know her better before she leaves for home. Just a side note, She is knock dead beautiful and all the missionaries have gone goo goo over her. They get all goofy when she is around. It makes us all laugh. It will be good when she goes back to Nepal so the missionaries can get on with their work.

Taveuni from the Air

Sister Seare and Elder Malohifo'ou

This weekend has been one of the highlights of our mission. We are in Taveuni, "The Garden Island" Now we're talking "Paradise"! Wow this is one of the most beautiful places in the world. It is definitely the most beautiful place we have been to in Fiji. The ocean is blue, as is the sky. The greenery is unbelievable. There is no way to describe this place in words. While we have been here we have hung curtains in the Sisters flat, and we have spent a lot of time looking for somewhere for the Sunderlage's (our new senior couple coming to Taveuni) to stay. Yesterday we spent the morning in church. We both spoke in church and I was asked to teach Relief Society. We love the people here. We spent the rest of the day with the District President and his wife. We drove to the northern most part of the Island to see some members and went to see some beautiful Waterfalls, They were amazing, on our hike to and from the falls is rained and we got soaking wet but Loved every minute of it.

It has been a wonderful few days and we remember this place forever. Hopefully we can even come back again someday for a visit.

We will pick the new couple up at the airport in the morning and help them get settled here then back to Suva on Wednesday, just in time to say good bye to Sister Erickson. We will feel a huge void when she leaves. She has been what keeps the office running. We have been a great team and we will miss her but we are happy to see her get back to Idaho with her family. She is amazing lady to come all the way over here on her own to serve a mission!

We are ready to settle into the next 3 months giving as much as we can give and experiencing all we can before our time here has passed. We can't believe we will be home in 3 short months. We are excited to get home to our family and to meet the 3 new girls that have been added to our family (Cassie, Tess and our newest little bundle of Joy Chloe) while we have been gone.

Our newest Blessing!

2010-08-28T07:48:00.002+12:00

Claire and Chloe


"Chloe" Born August 27, 2010 7 lbs 4 oz, 19 1/2 inches

Sobering Week!

2010-08-20T14:56:00.004+12:00

Well, I had just finished saying that nothing too exciting has happened medically for quite some time. I won't ever say that again!

Last Saturday morning I received a all at 7:30 am from Elder Munton. He was treated for glaucoma several months ago and was doing quite well. No problems at all, We had pretty much decided that his glaucoma was stress related. He was serving as a Zone Leader in Labasa. He called to tell me that when he woke up his peripheral vision was gone in his right eye. He was freaking out as can be imagined. He was on exchanges with a couple of the missionaries about 45 minutes from Labasa. He headed for Labasa and I called the Dr. here in Suva that has been treating him. The doctor said we needed him to get to Suva ASAP. I called the AP's and they immedicately began looking at flights to get Elder Munton back to Suva. As luck would have it all the flights were booked out til Tuesday. I told the missionaries to take off and go to the Airport to plead their case in person. They did and were on the next flight here. I took him to the eye doctor who was perplexed as to what had happened. He sent us for visual field study. He was to see the Doctor first thing Monday morning. I was sick so he went to the doctor without me. after 2 hours he called for a ride home. Dave picked him up and got the news that Elder Munton needed to return to the USA ASAP for an MRI. It just so happened that a group of missionaries were leaving to go home on Thursday so he went home with the group. He was to be released in October so it cut his mission short by about 6 weeks. We haven't heard from him so we have no idea what the outcome of the MRI was.

During the same week a sister serving who had completed her mission in Vanuatu came through Suva on her way back to Napal. She was an outstanding sister Missionary, probably the best in Vanuatu. For about a year now she has been complaining of her feet hurting. Some days they hurt so bad she could hardly walk. It never once slowed down her missionary work however. About a year ago, she had her feet checked on two different occasions. The first time was by someone that was not a doctor who suggested that she may have Rheimatoid Arthritis. The second check was by a regular doctor who said she did not have RA. For a year now she has continued her work without complaint. Sister Ostler wanted to have her checked here in Suva before returning to Napal. I took her to see Dr. Lavenia at SPH. She examined her feet carefully, ordered blood work and did x-rays. When she got the x-rays back she came to me and said "we need to talk!" My heart sank. She showed me the shocking results of the x-rays. The bones and joints of both feet had large lesions indicative of ir-repairable damage done by Rheumatoid Arthritis. My heart sank because of my knowledge of the terrible prognosis of RA. We talked for a long time. She met 4 of the 7 criteria for RA. The final blood test which would confirm RA was not back yet but there was no doubt that she had RA and that the damage done was ir-reversable. It was a very sobering visit to the Hospital. Tears where shed and reassurance was given that she would receive what help she could get before going back to Napal. She was started on Methotrexate and Prednisone. We had to quickly extend her Visa so that she could stay here in Suva for a while for treatment. She has a follow-up visit with a specialist this week.

How sad for a young 23 yr old beautiful young return missionary. As I thought about it through the week I came to peace knowing that because of her diligence, hard work and because of all the days that her feet hurt so badly that she could hardly walk but got up anyway and went on with her missionary work, the Lord would take care of her.

In Sunday School Dave taught a beautiful lesson about Job. As we talked about Job my thoughts kept going back to Sister Pariyar. She is an elite spirit and has this difficult test in her life for whatever reason.

It has been a privilege helping her get the care she needs.

Fiji Update - Senior Seminar

2010-08-03T14:07:00.011+12:00

Fiji Suva Mission Senior Missionaries

The Village

Fresh Coconut

Fijian Handicrafts

"Moce"

Lovo for Lunch

Our Captain!

All suited up and Ready to Go

Loading the boats

Things are good here in Fiji. We just had a great weekend with all the Senior Missionaries from our mission. All 25 of us were here in Suva, including those from the outer Islands. It was so fun meeting everyone and getting to know each other on a different level. We have 2 new Temple couples that have only been here 2 weeks so it was good to get to know them as well.

President and Sister Ostler in true form!

Our Seminar was a 3 day event including a special temple session with just our group, good food, teaching presentations, more good food, games, church, more presentations, More good food and a Fireside of sharing photos and experiences from each of the various areas of our mission. Yesterday we went on an all day excursion going up the Navuau River in Canoes to a village where we learned of the traditions and culture of the village and more good food prepared by the people of the village. We traveled further up the river where we saw some magnificent waterfalls. We returned in the late afternoon, exhausted and soaking wet but recharged and ready to get back to work. Everyone left this morning for their various areas. It was a great weekend.

The Stenlund's family arrives next week to do a little traveling to Australia and New Zealand with them. They will then return to their home in Oregon. Sister Erickson's kids arrive next month to travel and take her home to Idaho. It will be hard to see them go home but we are the next after them to leave. We can't believe how fast the time is going now. We only have less than 5 months but we feel we still have much to do. We pray that we can accomplish all that we need to do and stay strong as we endure to the end. We are thrilled that we will be home in time for Chris and Tess's wedding.

Neelam is doing great. She is still strong and we have grown to love her and her family sooooo much. It will be very difficult to say goodbye to them. She has a master plan with her family to move to Nadi to get them away from Billy's Muslem family as they are very opposed to her joining the church. She feels strongly that if she can get the family away, she can get them to church with her. She spoke in a missionary fireside a while ago and said that if she could wait 20 years to get permission to go to church then she can wait another 20 years if thats what it takes to get her family to join her. She is a strong "little" lady. She took me to 2 Hindu weddings a couple of weeks ago. We got all dressed up in our Indian Sari's and went of to the festivities of the weddings. It was a great cultural experience for me although I felt that everyone was staring at me all night. You don't very often see "white ladies" in Sari's. I was quite the novelty.


Getting Dressed

All Dressed and Ready to Go!

We have learned so much in this past year and it has definitely been a life changing experience. We are so grateful for this opportunity. It has been challenging, but well worth it. We came here thinking it was our job to change the people here but they have changed us. We have learned so much about faith, families, and living the gospel in its simplest way. We have grown to love our Heavenly Father and our Saviour Jesus Christ at a much higher level.

The Weddings!

2010-07-26T10:01:00.010+12:00

Hindu Weddings are quite the affair to remember, Dressing up, celebrations, Indian Food of every kind, fashion show of the most beautiful Saris. Definitely a girls affair. I was a great Girls night Out.

All Dressed and ready to go!

What a fun weekend we had! Neelam invited me to go to 2 Hindu Weddings with her. Her husband Billy and Dave refused to go so the two of and her daughter went. I met here at her house at 5:30 pm to get ready. Her neighbor came to her house to help us get dressed in our Saris. It is quite the art to drape and tuck the fabric just right. We felt like princesses heading out for the ball. The weddings were quite the cultural experience. A fashion show of Saris like none other. Some of the women pay up to $1000 for a beaded and jeweled Sari. Considering the number of times I plan to wear mine I spent much less.

The Hindu Weddings are a 2-3 day event with a lot of ceremonial events for the Bride and Bride groom. Food, Dancing and Traditions galore! It was definitely a cultural event I will never forget.


Neelam with Brother, Sister-in-law and Daughter Rahan

4th of July in Fiji

2010-07-04T09:09:00.007+12:00

Today is Sunday, The 4th of July, here in Fiji and the weather has been delightful to say the least. This is winter here and if this is winter as most of us know it to be, we think we have died and gone to Heaven! The temperature is around 70 to 74 degrees and the humidity yesterday felt like a beautiful fall day in Utah. It was our P-day yesterday and we cleaned our flat than went and did some grocery shopping.

After we got home we were sitting in the flat and I had a great idea. I just love to go downtown and walk by the wharf where the cargo ships and fishing ships come in. It was really a decoy because I knew Sister Seare would go because she likes to walk the ocean wall. What I really wanted to do was go to the open market where fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, and foods I find fascinating are available. I love walking among the crowds and feeling the energy with the hustle and bustle of locals trying to buy that special item for their sunday meal. Becky does not find the crowds and spectacle as fun as I do! So we made a compromise and I told her I would go with her to the craft market and shop with her if she went to the fruit market. Big mistake!!! I bought some fresh bananas, mandarins, and carrots. Total cost $8 Fijian dollars. "$4 dollars American'. We than went over to the craft market and Sister Seare bought a beautiful hand carved wood bowl costing $150 Fijian "$75 dollars American". Next time I think I will be happy to just walk with my sweetheart along the wharf! In all fairness I bought a fun hand carved Lobster to hang in our kitchen when we get home. Cost not to be disclosed!

Last night we celebrated the 4th of July on our deck and had the senior couples over for a barbecue. One of the couples brought some good old American Patriotic music and played it to get things in the mood. I think the Fijian and Indian neighbors found our music a little bazaar. But it felt good to think of our American heritage and we feel so blessed to live in such a great country as America.

Only when you are away from Home do you realize how lucky we are to live in the United States. Of course our Canadian couples serving in The Fiji Temple beg to differ!

We love Sundays here in Fiji. As we drive to and from church we see all of the people on their way to their churches. The women are dressed in the most beautiful bright flowered dresses you can imagine. The men wear their Sulus white shirts and colorful ties. Fiji is a very religious country and it is great to see so many attending churches all over the towns.

We still have a hard time remembering all of the member's Island names. They are long and hard for us to pronounce. At times I put my big foot in my mouth and mistake faces with some of the people. Friday I had just one of those moments when a young Sister who was working in our service center called my name out loud as I walked in and said Hi. I thought she was a girl we have visited in her home when visiting her paralyzed mother. So I blurt out "how is your mother doing" and the office goes dead silent as she gives me this strange look and says "my Mother?" Then a sweet Sister who was close by whispers "Elder Seare I think you have made a mistake her Mother died seven years ago." Whoops!! So on the way back to the office I had two local Island Elders with me and as we rode back on the one story elevator I mimicked to them "so hows your mother", and they said "Dead" and started to laugh uncontrollably. Let's face it these are fun people to be around! At my expense!

I want to end this little note by expressing how many blessings Sister Seare and I have received while serving our mission. Things have happened to our family that we have prayed for for so long. So many of the things we asked the Lord to bless our family with have come to pass or are coming to pass. We have grown greatly and our values have been altered for the better.

Tess will be joining our Family as Chris's wife in December!

We still have our times of challenge but I feel we have better outlooks on life and feel what a blessing it is to be experiencing this life. We have never felt stronger about the gospel and how it changes lives. We both have seen miracles take place and we know with every fiber of our being that God lives, Jesus Christ gave us the greatest gift of all "his atoning sacrifice" and Joseph Smith did see God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son. Our travels through this wonderful Mission have given us a love for the people of Fiji. We feel loved and blessed that the Lord saw fit to change our lives and help us realize what the gospel means to both of us. Becky and I pray many more of our friends and family will feel the soft promptings of the spirit and heed the call of service. I testify the Lord fills the lives of those who heed the call to serve with an over abundance of blessings. If you feel as we did "hesitation" I say "let go" of your worries, the Lord takes care of troubling matters at home when you lose yourself in his service.

Celebrating 37 Years together.

2010-06-27T17:30:00.031+12:00

We celebrated our 37th Wedding Anniversary on June 21st. We continued our Celebration the following weekend at the Wellesley Resort located about 1 1/2 hrs north of Suva towards Nadi. We went with the Kastelar's who celebrated their 40th the same week.

We had a great weekend of Rest, Relaxation and of course Great Food. Some of the best food we have had since we left Salt Lake.

We played in the ocean and kayaked along the reef watching blue starfish, and several other flourescent colored, turquoise, blue and yellow fish.

Most of our time was spent resting in the sun by the pool and finding our way to the restaurant for breakfast, lunch and Dinner.

The Wellesley is small, quiet and quaint with a wonderfully relaxing atmosphere. It was an awesome get away. We arrived home just after noon on Sunday.

Sunday afternoon was the 10th Anniversary of the dedication of the Suva Fiji Temple, with President Callister, our Area President. President and Sister Woolley, Temple President and Matron spoke of the temple today and President and Sister Bale, the first President and Matron of the Suva Temple in 2000 gave delightful talks regarding the beginning of the Suva Temple. We also heard testimonies from 3 locals and then were addressed by Elder and Sister Wakolo our area Seventy. President Callister and his wife concluded the meeting with inspiring talks about the temples and why we should attend. A multi-stake Primary provided several musical numbers. It was a wonderful meeting. The college auditorium was filled with members and guests, and an adjacent huge tent with a large TV monitor, also filled to overflowing.

Besides our get-away and Temple Fireside we were able to talk on SKYPE to Jeff and Cassie to hear of the adventures of their new life together. They have a great apartment which we were able to see on SKYPE. Jeff has begun his new rotation int the ER and Cassie is just starting a new job as a CNA at a nearby Hospital. They have definitely made their little apartment their "Home". They are happy and adjusting well to all the many changes in their lives.

We also received the wonderful news that Chris and Tess are officially engaged. We talked to them on SKYPE where we met Tess for the first time. They are happy and excited and are making plans to be married on December 30th. We will be home on the 23rd just in time for Christmas but more importantly, just in time for the wedding. How grateful we are that we do not have to miss another wedding.

We continue to count our blessings as our testimonies grow that "Sacrifice Brings Blessings"

Scott is actively engaged in the MBA program at Westminster College. He is loving being in school and progressing towards his future goals. His kids adore him and will be in Salt Lake for 2 weeks starting July 3rd.

Ryan, Jill, Calvin and Claire will be adding a new little baby girl "Chloe" to their Family in August. All are Happy and Healthy!

We are so grateful for all the blessings our family has received while we have been serving. We pray that we can show our gratitude through our continued service while here in Fiji on our mission and when we return home.

Tour Continued . . . New Caledonia

2010-06-13T19:33:00.005+12:00

From Nadi to Wallis to New Caledonia!

View from our 12th floor Hotel Room

We were in the office only two days then flew with the Ostlers and the AP's to Noumea, New Caledonia. We wondered if we would ever get there. We flew to Nadi Wednesday morning. We were supposed to fly to New Caledonia at 5:00pm but our flight was cancelled due to mechanical problems so we stayed the night in Nadi. We finally got on our plane after waiting in the check in line for 2 hours. Instead of going straight to New Caledonia we flew north 1 hour to Wallis, then another 3 hours back to New Caledonia. We arrived in NC about 18 hours later than originally planned.

Although late, it was more than worth the wait!

New Caledonia is a beautiful Island. Noumea is a beautiful City. It is French and everyone speaks French. It is totally different than Fiji. The streets are wide, smooth and they drive on the "Right" side of the road. They even have freeways! The city is clean and modern, cooler and beautiful.
We attended Zone Conference and had the opportunity to put the missionaries names with faces. There is very little illness in NC compared to Fiji and Dave does not have to deal with their cars or apartments so we have had very little contact with the missionaries in NC. It is like they are in another mission. President Ostler speaks French so it is very beneficial to the members and the missionaries here. There are only 27 missionaries here so it is a very close group. The spirit is strong and they are a great group of elders and sisters.

Saturday morning after having breakfast we spent the morning exploring. We caught a little shuttle train into the city. It made had a 15 minute stop when we arrived in the city. We got shopping at the open market and missed our trip back to the Hotel. We spent a couple of hours walking around until we could get hold of Elder and Sister Mautz (the senior missionaries on NC). They picked us up and took us back to the Hotel. It was a fun day just walking, talking and shopping. In the afternoon we visited the Aquarium and Saturday night we met with all the Missionaries for games and socializing. It was so wonderful to get to know them.

We attended Church on Sunday. It was another wonderful experience of witnessing how the spirit speaks to us in the same way no matter what language we speak. One of the members that speaks English volunteered to interpret for us during Sacrament Meeting. We were so appreciative to him. In Sunday school we were on our own. The Old Testament is a language all of its own when taught in English so you can imagine how difficult it was to understand what was being taught in French! A sister interpreted for Sister Ostler and myself in Relief Society. It was a beautiful lesson on the "Life of Jesus Christ".

We loved New Caledonia and feel a little jealous that we don't live there. However it also made us think about all the things we love about Funny Fiji! The other night we were talking about the experiences we have had in the past 10 1/2 months, and the things we have learned. We would not trade this experience for anything in the world. When we first arrived in Fiji we wrote home that anyone who thought we were in Paradise either had never been to Paradise or had never been to Fiji. A good friend responded to us telling us that by the time we go home Fiji will be "our" Paradise. As we were talking the other night we made the comment that Fiji was becoming Paradise to us. It is amazing how our experiences soften us.

We have done so much and learned so much but we still feel that there is still so much for us to learn and to do in the next 7 months. Our love for the Lord grows everyday as does our love for each other. We love serving together for the Lord. One of the most valuable things we have learned after so many years of spending our lives together but "doing our own thing" is that we have become "WE" not "I" and "you".

We love all of you an think of you everyday. We have missed important things at home but the blessings we have felt far outweigh the things we have missed.

Life is good!

Boats, boats and more boats!

More of the Bay

Noumea Sunset

McDonald's. . . Where would the world be without You!

2010-06-12T12:35:00.004+12:00

McDonalds in Noumea

Future Missionary from Naduna

2010-06-07T12:45:00.003+12:00

Tour of Mission

2010-06-04T17:19:00.001+12:00

This has been an awesome month. We have been to almost every part of our mission that we could go to. The only places we haven't been to is Vanuatu and Taveuni. We spent the first part of the month traveling with Dr. Fuller and his wife. He is the Area Medical Advisor. He has been wanting to see Fiji since he arrived in the South Pacific. They go home in September and Fiji is the only country they have not been to. We drove one of the Mission Trucks to Nadi were we met them when they flew in from Auckland. We spent the night in Nadi then flew to Labasa on the Island just north of us. We arrived there just in time for Zone Conference. It was great to see the missionaries in that part of the mission. Dr. Fuller did the medical training that I usually do so it was nice to just sit back and enjoy the Conference.

Following Zone Conference we just drove around Labasa then went back to the Grand Hotel where we played games and waited for President and Sister Ostler to join us for dinner. The next morning, Saturday, we drove through the middle of the Island to the other side which is Savusavu and to a village named Nabua. It was a beautiful drive. Savusavu is the resort area for the upper Island. You may have remembered when we went there last fall. The Village we went to is on a beautiful beach. We loved the drive there and back. The next morning was Sunday. We went with the Ostlers to a small branch in Naduna for Sacrament meeting. Church was held on the outside porch/carport on the side of a home. There were only about 30 members there but the spirit was so strong. Our favorite part of the meeting was watching the young Teacher prepare the Sacrament table prior to the start of the meeting. He put the table cloth on the little table with such preciseness then arranged the 2 sacrament trays just as meticulously. He covered the sacrament with another cloth making sure that every corner was lined up covering the Sacrament. He treated the Sacrament with such respect. I was touched to tears watching him. It was just as touching to watch the Young Priest bless the Sacrament then to have the same young Teacher pass the Sacrament to each of us. It was one of the most special meetings we have ever attended. Everyone spoke Fijiian but the message could be felt strongly through the Spirit. We learned a valuable lesson that day that the Spirit talks to us in one language that can be understood by anyone no matter what language is spoken by the people. President Ostler spoke with the help of an interpreter. He delivered one of the most wonderful talks we have heard him give. What a blessing to have this special experience.

Right after Church we flew back to Nadi where we stayed for the next three nights. Zone Conference was in Nadi on Tuesday so it gave us Monday to have a little R & R. We stayed at our favorite hotel, the Radisson and enjoyed the day relaxing on Monday. We attended Tuesday's Zone Conference then visited the Hospitals in Lautoka and Nadi. What an eye opener. Wednesday Morning we drove back to Suva. Thursday was spent showing the Fullers Suva and visiting the two hospitals in Suva. Friday was our Zone conference in Suva. We ate dinner with the Fullers that evening along with the Stenlunds and Sister Erickson. They flew out of Suva on Saturday morning. We had a wonderful week. We learned so much and thoroughly enjoyed our trip.

We were in the office only two days then flew with the Ostlers and the AP's to New Caledonia which is where we are today. We wondered if we would ever get here though. We flew to Nadi Wednesday morning. We were supposed to fly to New Caledonia at 5:00pm but our flight was cancelled due to mechanical problems so we stayed the night in Nadi. We finally got on our plane after waiting in the check in line for 2 hours. Instead of going straight to New Caledonia we flew north 1 hour to Wallis. We then flew another 3 hours back to New Caledonia. We arrived here about 18 hours later than originally planned. Although late, it was more than worth the wait! New Caledonia is a beautiful Island. It is French and everyone speaks French. It is totally different than Fiji. The only reason it is in our mission is because Fiji is the closest Mission. The streets are wide, smooth and they even have freeways here. The city is clean and modern, cooler and beautiful. We attended the Zone Conference here and had the opportunity to put the missionaries names with faces. There is very little illness in NC compared to Fiji and Dave does not have to deal with their cars or Apartments so we have had very little contact with the missionaries here. It is like they are another mission. President Ostler speaks French so it is very beneficial to the members and the missionaries here. There are only 27 missionaries here so it is a very close group. The spirit is strong and they are a great group of elders and sisters.

Yesterday Dave and I spent the day exploring. We caught a little shuttle train into the city. We had a 15 minute stop in the city. We got shopping at the open market here and missed our trip back to the Hotel. We spent a couple of hours walking around until we could get hold of Elder and Sister Mautz (the senior missionaries on this Island). They picked us up and took us back to the Hotel. It was a fun day just walking, talking and shopping. Saturday we met with all the Missionaries for games and socializing. It was so wonderful to get to know them.

We attended Church here today. It was another wonderful experience of witnessing how the spirit speaks to us in the same way no matter what language we speak. One of the members that speaks English volunteered to interpret for us during Sacrament Meeting. We were so appreciative to him. In Sunday school we were on our own. The Old Testament is a language all of its own when taught in English so you can imagine how difficult it was to learn when taught in French. A sister interpreted for Sister Ostler and myself in Relief Society It was a beautiful lesson on the "Life of Jesus Christ".

We have loved New Caledonia and feel a little jealous that we don't live here, however it also made us think about all the things we love about Funny Fiji! The other night we were talking about the experiences we have had in the past 10 1/2 months, and the things we have learned. We would not trade this experience for anything in the world. When we first arrived in Fiji we wrote home that anyone who thought we were in Paradise either had never been to Paradise or had never been to Fiji. A good friend responded to us telling us that by the time we go home Fiji will be our Paradise. As we were talking the other night we made the comment that Fiji was becoming Paradise to us. It is amazing how our experiences soften us.

We have done so much and learned so much but we still feel that there is still so much for us to learn and to do in the next 7+ months. Our love for the Lord grows everyday as does our love for each other. We love serving together for the Lord. One of the most valuable things we have learned after so many years of spending our lives together but "doing our own thing" is that we have become "WE" not "me and you".

We love all of you an think of you everyday. We have missed important things at home but the blessings we have felt far outweigh the things we have missed. Life is good!

Nurses, You gotta love em!

The Three Amigos

2010-05-25T18:35:00.011+12:00

Greg and Freddie Jewkes

London South

Dave and Becky Seare

Suva Fiji

Steve and Kathy Postma

Wasington D.C.

We go back to 1978 with the Jewkes and the Postmas. Dave and Greg go back even further as they both served their first missions together in New Zealand as young missionaries. We raised our families together, played together, served in Church Callings together, prayed together, traveled together, boated together, ran Marathons together, laughed together and cried together, We have ridden our Harley Bikes together and now we are all blessed to be serving Missions together. How blessed we are to share this experience with our Dear Life Long Friends.

The Postma's will enter the Provo MTC on July 5th and the Jewkes will enter the MTC on August 23

Neelam's Baptism

2010-05-23T09:56:00.013+12:00

Getting Me Dressed in my Saree.

Neelam made a special request that I wear a "Saree" for her Baptism. She helped me pick it out at Jack's, of course. At first it looked like nothing but a large piece of fabric. After much, wrapping, tucking and pinning it ended up looking pretty good! Neelum's oldest Son asked Elder Seare if we had an arranged Marriage or a Love Marriage. When he told him it was a Love Marriage, he asked how we met. Dave told him. He told Dave that he must have been able to look into the future and see me in my Sarree which made him fall in love with me! He told me I looked very NICE!

The Girls loved helping dress me. What a fun Day!

The Baptism was so wonderful. Everything went flawlessly. What a blessing it was for Dave to be able to Baptize and Confirm Neelam. Her Husband and Daughters were there. The spirit was strong and the girls asked many questions. Billy was touched and was tearful as the speakers spoke and as Neelam bore testomony. Neelam's Testimony was strong. She is strong in her conversion and feels strongly that someday either all or part of her family will join her in Baptism. How grateful Dave and I are that we could be a part of this beautiful occasion. We love Neelam like a Daughter and pray that the Lord will continue to bless her and her family because of her decision to be Baptized.

Just a little side story. Neelam has been waiting since the missionaries taught her about tithing to pay her first tithing donation to the Bishop. She brought her tithing for the entire month of May and proudly handed it over to our Bishop. What a Special Daughter of our Heavenly Father she is. Neelam's Family following the Baptism

Sacrifice brings Blessings

2010-05-20T08:49:00.005+12:00

Another Busy week. 13 Missionaries left this week. It is the largest intake group the mission has seen. All of these missionaries were in the MTC together and all served well and were able to leave together. It was a wonderful week of mixed feelings as we were missing Jeff and Cassie's wedding. The day Cassie took out her endowments was bitter sweet. Although we were not able to be in the Draper Temple with Jill, Cassie and our Boys, we had a unique experience of going to the Fiji Temple with the 13 missionaries that were going home along with President and Sister Ostler, the AP's and Sister Erickson. Following the temple session which was exclusively our group we had a Testimony Meeting in the Ostler's home followed by a dinner of Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy and all the fixings topped off with Chocolate Cake and Ice Cream. It was delicious. The Missionaries were great and it was great as usual to fix dinner and have them enjoy it so much. And of Course the evening wouldn't be complete without playing Wii with the President!

Although it was difficult for us to be away from home during Jeff and Cassie's wedding we were blessed beyond measure as we met with Neelam for her final lessons and Baptism interviews. The Lord has compensated us for the sacrifice of missing all that has taken place at home this month. Neelam will be Baptized and Confirmed by Elder Seare on Sunday, May 23rd. She has truly been a blessing in our lives and has made being away from home at this time much easier. Her Husband Billy has been very gracious and kind. Dave invited him to the Baptism and told him how much it would mean to Neelam to have him and the Children there. He said he would talk to the Children about it. We pray that they will attend and that the spirit will touch their hearts as it has Neelam's. Dave has been doing great things with Billy by being his friend. Today the Missionaries are painting their home for them. We have a lot to accomplish with this family in the 8 months we have left of our Mission.

A funny Story to Tell

2010-05-18T11:01:00.004+12:00

Dave has been asked to help with the Young men in our ward so the Bishop asked us to go to the young men's camp at the Taito Farm one evening with him and his wife. We were a little nervous to go to BOYS CAMP but we figured if we were going with the Bishop and his wife it would be okay. As it always rains in Fiji they told us to wear shoes that could get wet and muddy because we had to walk in a little ways to the Taito's Farm. Little did we know that as we looked down over the hill there was a river to cross. The only problem was there was NO bridge. We took a deep breath and thought oh well. As we started down the little hill, I in my flip flops hit a patch of slick mud and before I knew what was happening I was on My Butt sliding down the hill. I had to swallow my pride and get up and carry on with my skirt covered with mud. We then proceeded to cross the River. At one point I took a step and went down in the mud up to my knees. One of the Young Men had to literally pull me out. We were all laughing so hard! My legs were covered with mud and my skirt was soaking wet and muddy.

Brother and Sister Taito

We laughed about it all night and into the next day. We do believe it one of the funnest things we have done! Loving Fiji! Elder and Sister Seare

May Update - Hello From Fiji!

2010-05-04T15:10:00.009+12:00

Neelam's Home
Missionaries coming and going.  Last week we had 11 new missionaries.  We fed them and they spent a lot of time "hanging out" at the office waiting to be sent to their various areas.  They broke 3 of our office chairs and left their suitcases and stuff strewn all over.  What a great group but we were so glad when they left for their individual areas.
Next week we have 13 missionaries going home.  It will be a huge void when they all leave but one that will quickly be refilled with new missionaries.  We will be involved with them when they go to the Temple.  Fixing them their farewell Dinner at the Mission Presidents home and with their Farewell Testimony meeting.  These are some of the highlights of our mission.

On top of all the new missionaries coming we had zone conference.  It went well.  We served beef Stroganoff with rolls and cabbage salad.  Ice cream and Home made Chocolate Chip Cookies for dessert.  The missionaries loved it.  We are always glad to see Zone Conferences come and then glad when they over. I had a great Birthday!  Dave invited the Senior Missionaries that we do things with over to our place for a BBQ on the deck and then we played games.  He did a great job and I appreciated his thoughtfullness so much.

The other wonderful experience we have had is with Neelam, our friend from Jack's. She has been continuing with the lessons and she came to church with us last Sunday. It was her Husband's Birthday last week so she wanted us to come to her house after church to celebrate his birthday. When Dave told her that it was also my birthday she was excited and said she wanted to celebrate both birthdays We went Sunday and had Roti, green beans, rice, coleslaw and Chicken Curry. And of course a birthday wouldn't be a birthday without birthday cake so we brought a Chocolate cake with candles for dessert. It was a wonderful day. She loved church although it was a little overwhelmimg for her. She talks about when she gets baptized and that someday her husband will change over to the Mormon Church too. It has been a wonderful experience to share in her conversion.

Neelam

Celebrating Birthdays - Sister Seare and Neelam's husband Billy

I can't remember if we told you about our experience with Dr. Lavenia and Russel M. Nelson's book but just to fill you in.  Sister Schern (one of our Senior Missionaries) was over here from Vanuatu for some health issues.  On one of her Visits to see Dr. Lavenia she had Elder Nelson's book with her.  When Dr. Lavenia saw her reading it she lit up and was distracted by the book.  She had studied Dr. Nelson in Medical School and had great admiration for him. Sister Schern came back to the Mission Office and told us of her experience so we went on-line and ordered the Book from Deseret Book.  It came last week so we took it to Dr. Lavenia at the Hospital.   When she saw what we brought her she hugged me and had tears in her eyes.  She couldn't believe that we got it all the way from Salt Lake and that we knew part of his family.  She hugged me again.  Along with the book we left her a note expressing to her that we hoped she would feel the spirit of the Gospel as we know it as she read the book.

Dr. Lavenia and her Husband Dr. Craig have been the main doctors that we have used for the missionaries here.  Unfortunately for us they have been offered the opportunity to move to Australia to continue their medical careers.  It is a huge blessing for them and we wish them the best.  We expressed our appreciation to her for all of their help with our missionaries.  We expressed to her how overwhelmed and scared we were when we arrived here in Fiji because of responsibility to care for the medical needs of all the missionaries here.  We told her that They were truly an answer to our prayers.  Through their exposure to us and the missionaries we have had the opportunity to teach them a little bit about our church.  Hopefully we have planted a seed for them so the next time they become exposed to the Church they will remember us with fond memories. We do plan to send their names to the Missionaries in Australia.

Life is good here in Fiji.  We are going into our winter which isn't really much like winter at all although it is cooler and very rainy.  We both stay busy with all we have to do.  We can't believe that it is May already.  We don't know where March and April went.

We miss home especially with all that is going on with Jeff and Cassie's wedding but we also feel that we as a  family have been richly blessed.  Thank you all for all your love and support.

Loloma,

Dave and Becky
Elder and Sister Seare
>

Taveuni

2010-04-27T15:04:00.006+12:00

Sister Watikini

We were scheduled to go to Taveuni to the Chapel Dedication. It was Wednesday night, our bags were packed and we were ready to go when we got a call from Sister Erickson telling us that Sister Watikini had a terrible pain in her abdomen. She was crouched over in the driveway and couldn't stand up. We were in our PJ's doing last minute preparations for our 5 day trip beginning Thursday Morning. I put on my clothes, went to pick up Sister Watikini and then off to the Hospital. It was determined that she had appendicitis and she needed to be admitted to the hospital with surgery scheduled for early Thursday Morning. We unpacked our bags and spent the weekend at the Hospital with Sister Watikini. The surgery went better than expected and she recovered quickly. At first we felt a little cheated that we missed our trip but then Sister Watikini wrote us the most precious Thank You Card with her picture included.
It read;

"Dear Elder and Sister Seare,
How priveledged and blessed I am to be serving with you in this mission. I just want to say my big Vinaka Vaka Levu for taking good care of me the whole of the last weekend. I really do appreciate it because I know that you really do care a lot about us missionaries. You play a very important part on my mission to full fill my purpose on my mission. I guess all the other missionaries would feel the same way as I do. I know that Heavenly Father will richly bless you for serving us missionaries. Both of you are great examples to all of us especially me. I really do care a lot about you and I always thought to myself, if Fiji is really treating yous OK because if not they would have to answer me. I love you both so much and your dedicated service and cheerful heart has strengthened and boosted my desire to serve my guts out. Once again Thank You for the best weekend on my entire mission.
Love you tons,
Sis. Watikini"

Nothing we could have experienced in Taveuni could have meant as much to us as this note from Sister Watikini. By the way she is from Taveuni. I guess we had the BEST part of Taveuni with us.

We are blessed to be here and we are grateful for the experiences we are having!

Stories to Share

2010-04-19T09:11:00.008+12:00

We have a couple of stories that we would like to share.

About a month ago Sister Seare was shopping at her favorite store in Fiji called Jack's. We go in there every time we go downtown just because they sort of have normal stuff. We don't buy much but we love to go in and just browse.  One day Sister Seare was walking through the store with another of our senior sister missionaries.  As they were leaving the store a young Indian sales clerk, named Neelum, stopped us at the door and began asking about our religion.  She wondered what Bible we study and what we believe.   Wow! They were amazed. Neelum went on to tell them that she has been watching Sister Seare every time she came into the store for the past 7 months.  She said there was "something different" about Becky and she wanted to know what it was. Sister Seare and Sister Schern visited with her for a while and told her about the JST Bible and the Book of Mormon.  She said she has been looking into religions for a very long time.  And she wants to know the truth.  This was on a Friday and they told her they would be back with a Bible and Book of Mormon for her on Monday.

That was the weekend of our Hurricane scare so they weren't able to go back to see her til Wednesday of that week.  When they went in she said she was disappointed that they couldn't come in on Monday but she "knew" they would be there on Wednesday. They gave her the Bible and Book of Mormon and she was so appreciative.  She said she would start reading it. Sister Seare asked if we could have our missionaries come to her house and teach her.  She willingly agreed but wanted us to be there with them.

Sister Seare got back to the mission office and looked up her address.  To our surprise we found that she lived within the boundaries of the ward we attend. We talked to the sisters in our area and gave them her phone number. Sister Seare has stopped in to see her on a weekly basis and her spirit is so strong.

She told us that her husband is Muslem but she believes that in God's eyes nothing is impossible.  During our first visit with her the spirit was strong.  Her husband was so gracious, he just sat back and listened to what we had to say. We really hit it off. The next time Becky saw her she said that for 19 years her husband has not allowed her go to church but that he felt good about this one and told her she could go to church if she wanted,

The sisters went another 2 times to teach her without us and said that she remains very interested and that she is reading the Book of Mormon.

We went back with the sisters last night.  The spirit was so strong.  Her husband wasn't there but all four of her children (18 yr old son, 16 year old daughter, 12 year old daughter and 5 year old son) listened in on parts of the lesson.  To make a long story short it was an amazing experience for all of us.  We all bore our testimonies to her. We were so touched when she expressed gratitude for us coming into her life. We, in return told her How grateful we were that she came into our lives. We can't even describe feelings that we had.  She wants to be baptized and is going to start coming to church with us next week.  It all seems too good to be true.  As we sat there we felt the spirit with her children.  She made the comment that everything was going to be different in there familly now. We will see what happens over the next few weeks and months. All we can do at this point is pray that the spirit will continue to speak to Neelum and her family.

Because our mission assignment is so temporal we are so grateful to have this experience. We made it clear to Neelum that it wasn't Sister Seare that touched her but that she was merely the vehicle for her to feel the spirit. We realized that you never know who's life you may touch or who is watching you.  The Missionaries call it "Matching the Message". We more completely understoood how important it is to wear our badges with pride and that we are here as a representative of Jesus Christ!

Another Story we would like to share is about Wendy's Dad.   Many of us have been to the Church college library.  The book about Russell M. Nelson caught our eye.  So we began reading it a passing it around amongst us senior missionaries.  One of the Senior sisters took it with her to a visit to see the doctor.  The doctor she saw is a Female Fijian Doctor.  She and her husband have been a God send to us because they have been so helpful when we have had medical issues with our missionaries.  We have had the opportunity to talk a little bit about who we were and what we were doing in Fiji.  A couple of missionaries have even been able to give a minnie discussion during an appointment.   Anyway the sister that was seeing Dr. Lavinia happened to have Russel M. Nelsons biography with here.  The doctor saw it and recognized "Dr. Nelson"  She asked if he was a famous heart surgeon who developed the heart/lung machine.  She had studdied him in medical school here in Fiji.  She always marveled at what he has done for the development of heart surgeries.  Sister Schern said that yes he is the famous heart surgeon and that he is also the father of 10 children and an "Apostle".  Dr. Lavinia began asking questions about what it meant to be an Apostle.  It was a wonderful opportunity to explain to her how our church is organized just as it was in the time of Christ.   We ordered the book from Deseret Book and as soon as it gets here we are going to present it to her with a letter.  Once again,  You never know who is watching and what they are watching.  She and her husband are special people and we are trying to let them know more and more about our church.  Hopefully someday the missionaries will be able to teach them.

We love the Lord and we are so grateful to be here serving HIM.

Family and Friends update From Fiji

2010-04-15T14:36:00.002+12:00

Bula from warm sunny Fiji! How is your weather?!

Today we are sitting here in the Suva Mission office waiting for Sister Seare [MOM] to take me to a town called Nausori. There I will meet the Zone Leaders and they will drive me to a port town where the Elders and myself will get on a boat and travel to an island called Levuka. We will be gone three days and I am excited to see this beautiful island. Levuka is where the capital of Fiji used to be many years ago when the British were controlling Fiji. It is a very old English style small city and is full of charm and history. We are going over to inspect the Elders living quarters and visit the area. I love these trips and most of all love being with our missionaries. Sister Seare has to stay back because the mission is receiving a new intake of missionaries and she has to help orient them regarding health issues. Like how to stay alive on the outer islands! I also should be there to orientate them to vehicle use issues and living in our flats and maintaining our properties. But since all I say is "if you crash one of my cars I kill you!" or " if you burn down one of my flats I kill you!" that pretty much is my training speech. Just kidding!! Or am I?

Last week during conference "which we get one week later than you do" Mom and I went with two other couples and our office secretary Sister Erickson to Nadi. Nadi is on the other side of the Viti Levu the main island of Fiji. This is where a lot of the resorts are and we stayed at a resort called

TheOutrigger Hotel.

It was a wonderful break for all of us and the resort is beautiful. It is done in Fijian design and made us feel like we we at a Disney retreat for adults! The pools were beautiful and the food is the best we have had while serving here in Fiji. We also get conference on line with our computers so we listened to conference over two days. If you only know how much we crave and miss listening to such uplifting talks. We try and get away at least once every three to four months and take these type of breaks. Even though these breaks only last the weekends it is enough to recharge our batteries and

give us the rest we all need.

We have reached half way mark and I fear our remaining time will come to an end far too fast.

Au Lolomni iko "we love you"
Elder and Sister Seare

Sister Seare's weekend in Salt Lake City

2010-03-30T09:50:00.012+12:00

Here's the story of how Sister Seare ended up in Salt Lake City for the weekend. 23 hours to get there, 23 hours to get home. Way too long for such a short stay. This is how it happened.

One of our great elders on the other side of the Island had a weird episode while sitting in Sacrament meeting the Sunday of the Hurricane warning.  He was just sitting there and had a period of blacking out and his entire left side went numb.  When he called Sister Seare that Evening there was really nothing we could do so he asked if they could go to the ZL's flat incase something else happened and so they could give him a blessing.

For the next couple of days he was fine and there was no way of getting him medical help anyway because the entire country was on Hurricane warning.

On Wednesday after the Hurricane had passed he called Sister Seare and said he felt that something was really wrong and could he come to Suva and get checked out.  We immediately had him get on the bus and come to Suva.  The next morning Sister Seare took him to see Dr. Craig.  The doctor couldn't really see anything wrong and suggested that maybe he was just dehydrated.  He wanted the elder to stay in Suva for a couple of days just to be sure. That afternoon he had another weird black out episode. Sister Seare called the doctor back and he scheduled him for a CT scan the following morning.

The CT scan showed something very concerning to the radiologist so he asked him to come back in on  Monday for another CT scan with contrast.  That CT scan showed an accumulation of fluid in one of the ventricles of the Brain.  He was very concerned and it was recommened that the Elder go to New Zealand for an MRI  (they don't do MRI's in Fiji). Sister Seare returned to the office and called the Area Medical Advisor who said he wanted the Elder to go to Salt Lake for the MRI because it sounded to him like he had had a mini stroke.  He didn't want to waste time by going to New Zealand.  He immediately called the Main Mission Medical Advisor in Salt Lake who was immediately on the phone with President Ostler.  They wanted the Elder on the next plane to Salt Lake and they wanted him to be accompanied by the Nurse (that would be Sister Seare!).

The next thing we knew Sister Seare was on her way to Salt Lake.   All went well with the Elder and the Trip to Salt Lake.  His parents picked him up at the airport and took care of him from there.  We haven't heard yet the outcome of the MRI but the President said he would stay in touch and let us know what they find.

When we heard Becky was going to SLC we made the decision that it would not be a social visit. Reservations were made for her to stay at the Radisson in downtown Salt Lake. We did however decide that she should take  advantage of the opportunity and meet Cassie (our soon to be Daughter-in-Law).  The president and his wife agreed due to the fact that we have never met her and that we would not be home for the wedding.

Sister Seare met up with Cassie and went shopping for things people wanted her to bring back to Fiji. They had a great visit and dinner at Mimi's Cafe. Becky felt like they had known each other her whole life and she felt the comfort and reassurance that she would make a wonderful wife for Jeff.

She asked for Freddie's help on Saturday, Freddie brought her a suitcase to take all the stuff she had bought back to Fiji (by the way, Everything she bought were requests from all the other Senior Missionaries including HoneyMaid Graham Crackers and Wheat Thins for us, which they do not have in Fiji!) they had lunch at Cafe Rio and then Freddie took her to the airport.   Next thing we knew she was back home in Fiji.

The fast trip took it's toll on Sister Seare physically but emotionally it was a great experience. She was really glad that she had just stayed in a hotel and that nothing distracted her from our mission. We feel sure that everything happened the way it was supposed to.

Hurricane Tomas

2010-03-24T09:27:00.000+13:00

THREE-hundred and eighteen homes were either damaged or completely destroyed in the Eastern and Northern divisions at the height of Hurricane Tomas.

The National Disaster Management Office's situation report as of Friday night revealed that 97 homes were totally destroyed in the Northern Division.

In the Eastern Division, the NDMO reported 174 houses were damaged while 47 homes were completely destroyed.

Hurricane Tomas

2010-03-20T10:51:00.000+13:00

We spent 4 long days awaiting Hurricane Tomas. We first heard about it on Friday afternoon. The kids were dismissed from school and the Island was put on alert. As we waited through Saturday, then Sunday we kept hearing that Hurricane Tomas had been upgraded from a Category 2, then 3 until it reached category 4. As time went on the storm was moving slowly but with more and more power. It was headed Southwest through Vanua Levu, the northern Island, through Taveuni and then straight to Suva. By Sunday evening and Monday the entire city was put on a curfew. All was so quiet it was eerie. No traffic, no dogs barking. Everything was closed down for 2 days while we waited and waited. By Tuesday midday, the news came that it crossed Vanua Levu, Taveuni and the entire Lau group as well as many surrouning islands. The devastation was unbelievable and Suva was bracing itself for similar devastation. By Tuesday afternoon we received news that the Hurricane had changed direction, first due south which meant it would skirt Suva and the Eastern side of the Island. It soon was on a South East course which meant it would miss Suva completely and that we were expected to have ony winds and rain. By Tuesday Evening all was calm and the worst was over. Wednesday, everyone was back to business as usual however the talk of the town was how lucky it was for all of us that Suva was spared from the the effects of this devastation. Many prayers were answered and much thanks was offered to God for sparing us from the devastation on Viti Levu, Fiji's main island.

Our thoughts and prayers were with those people devastated by the Tomas in the northern Island. All of our missionaries were accounted for and reported safe and unharmed. We were unable to make contact with the 4 missionaries on Taveuni for another 2 days. Our prayers remained with them assuming that "no news was good news" til Thursday evening when contact was finally made and all 4 missionaries were safe and out of harms way. Relief efforts began immediately, our missionaries are assessing the damage done, and New Zealand sent help immediately.

Taveuni has a brand new chapel that we are scheduled to go to the dedication of it the end of April. Our concerns were that the new building had been destroyed or damaged but word came that it did not sustain any damage at all. Amazing!

Needless to say we were more than relieved that we did not sustain any affects of the storm other than a few branches blown from trees, No fierce rain, no power outgages. What a blessing to all of us.

2010-03-18T16:11:00.001+13:00

Tomas' trail of horror

Thursday, March 18, 2010

IT was the same scene from island to island. The trail of destruction of Hurricane Tomas was visible from the air.

Flattened houses, roofless buildings, belongings strewn all over the ground and plantations left in ruins.

Most visible was the sign left on the ground of huge sea swells that rushed into coastal villages, destroying vegetation and forcing villagers to flee for their lives to higher ground.

The Fiji Times team was the first to view the damage left behind by the category four hurricane, from Taveuni up to Cikobia further up north of Vanua Levu as State officials started their damage assessments before relief supplies can be distributed to those affected.

On Cikobia (pictured), plantations were lost but some of the homes, rebuilt after previous cyclones, were spared.

Villagers struggling to recover from the ordeal waved as we flew over. Help from New Zealand arrived on a Royal New Zealand Air Force aircraft, which dropped off relief supplies in Labasa for distribution.

2010-03-16T02:14:00.000+13:00

Western residents flee

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Update: 2:14AM MORE than 10,000 people are sheltering in 178 evacuation centres around the country.

2010-03-15T15:59:00.002+13:00

Get ready for 15-hour ordeal

Monday, March 15, 2010

FIJI is expected to feel the full brunt of Hurricane Tomas today.

At 4pm yesterday, Hurricane Tomas, which was close to becoming a category four hurricane at press time last night, was located 260km north-northeast of Udu Point, Vanua Levu .

Close to its centre, the hurricane was estimated to have average winds of 160km/hr with gusts to 220km an hour and was moving southwest at 18km per hour.

Black, Brown and White

2010-03-14T20:20:00.004+13:00

Bula Vanaka From Beautiful Fiji,

We can't believe we have been out eight months now and realize nearly half of our mission is already over. To say we are different people today than when we left is an understatement. I have never learned to rely on the Lord more, love my companion deeper, and learn to love another culture as much as we have come to love the Fijian people.

As a little boy in the sixth grade I used to look forward to a radio program called, "Those far away places with strange sounding names". The weekly broadcast was piped into the classrooms at Canyon Rim Elementary and made me want to explore strange places far away. Little did I know the Lord would send me twice to the South Pacific. First at the ripe old age of nineteen I was blessed to be called to serve the Maori people of New Zealand, and now to the wonderful islands of Fiji. At times I still hear the theme song, "Those far away places with strange sounding names, those far away places I'll be, those far away places are calling my name calling calling to me."

My Great grandfather was called as a young man to the Isles of Hawaii and later when he returned home was asked to migrate a colony of Hawaiians to Utah and create a small town outside of Grantsville. He also had a deep love for the people of the South Pacific and dedicated his life to them.

I feel these special people are given the gift of simple faith. To them spiritual closeness is a way of life. Often when they offer prayers I feel guilty that faith comes so matter of fact to them. When they pray I often want to peek to see if the Lord is standing right next to them. They feel spiritual promptings and guidance in their lives as easy as I feel warmth from the sun on my face. The warmth they feel is from the Son of God. When they discuss teachings from our church manuals I can not believe their insight and comments they make. I ask myself weekly who was sent to teach who!

A good friend Reed Hurst sent us a letter some time ago relating some of the experiences he had while serving a mission here in Fiji some thirty eight years ago. One story he shared was advice he was given by a man who years before Reed had served here in Fiji. Reed was advised to put two stones into a bag. Have one stone white and one stone black. As time passes look into the bag often and when you no longer see white and black than you have served well and it is time to come home.

I really did not understand the full im-pack of his story until two weeks ago when I was invited to participate in giving a blessing and conformation of the Holy Ghost to a special little eight year we nick named "Sparkle". Sister Seare and I have become very attached to the Taito family who is Tehana's family. Seven months ago we had our first encounter with the Taito family when they invited us to a family home evening. The spirit in their home was sweet and strong. As soon as Tehana was introduced as the youngest member of her family we were impressed by her countenance and nick named her "Sparkle". Durring the lesson she pulled out invitations she had made with loving hands and excitedly asked if we would attend her baptism in seven months. The invitations were well worn letting us know she had been planning this special event in her life for some time. How many seven year olds have that kind of insight to prepare for such an important event as baptism in their lives!

As the time came to confirm her she asked three people to be part of the confirmation. Our Bishop who is Indian and as black as night, Her Father who is as olive brown as Fijians get , and me a White man as light as they come. I will never forget the overwhelming feeling of love I had as I looked at our three contrasting colored hands resting themselves on this special spirits head.

I than realized I no longer saw contrasting colors but only one. Three men preforming a saving ordnance on a small child.

With joy also comes challenges. Right now We are sitting in our small flat waiting the arrival of a category four Hurricane named Tomas. It will hit our area with full gale force and we are gearing up for a wild night ahead of us. It is forecast to be one third stronger than our last Cyclone which did great flooding and damage in December. Our candles are ready, our water has been put in every container we own, and our phones are charged. We will probably loose power and water service when the storm hits for who knows how long this time. I would not change this mission experience for any price.

So Sister Seare BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES!!!!!

All our love,
Elder Seare

The Only Survivor - Elder Kalougata's Father

2010-03-07T19:46:00.003+13:00

Only Survivor
By Joeli Kalougata

Joeli Kalougata, “The Only Survivor,” Ensign, Oct 2004, 40–43

Even after being saved from drowning, I still needed rescuing.
   It was an overcast morning in December 1973, but the weather did not reflect my mood. Standing on the deck of a cargo vessel with my parents and two younger siblings, I was in high spirits as we began to pull away from our small South Pacific island. The ship was the Uluilakeba, bound for Suva, the capital of the Fiji Islands.
   For a 12-year-old boy from the outer island of Ono-i-Lau, a trip to the big city was no everyday experience. Along with my parents and two of my siblings, I had eagerly awaited this day. The five of us were traveling to Suva to be baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Finding the Truth
   The light of the restored gospel had first shone in our home in an extraordinary way. My father, Mosese, was raised a Methodist. But through years upon years of personal study in the Bible, he had concluded that the true Church of Jesus Christ as described in the holy scriptures was not known on our tiny native island. He never once allowed our family to attend church services of any kind, yet we would gather together daily at his feet as he taught from the Bible. With each passing year, as my father continued to search the scriptures, he became more convinced that the true Church of Jesus Christ was not in existence.
   Thus we remained in darkness until, finally, in 1971 our cousin Siga returned for a short visit. Siga had settled in Hawaii. We were excited about this unexpected reunion. Straightaway my mother prepared tea for our visitor, but to our surprise, he would not accept it. He explained that while in Hawaii he had been baptized into the Mormon Church and no longer drank tea. Having never heard of such a religion, my father questioned, “What kind of church is that?” Siga suggested that he look it up in the dictionary. Under the entry “Mormon,” my father read, “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
   Immediately my father jumped to his feet and pounded the table with his fist. In that instant, the Holy Ghost had confirmed in his heart that this was what he had been searching for all of his life. His whole countenance changed as he asked Siga to tell him about this church. A long conversation ensued as they began reading from the fourth chapter of Ephesians, discussing “one faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:5) and the need for apostles and prophets. Siga suggested that my father contact the missionaries for further information.
   And so it was that we learned, for the first time, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My father began corresponding with President Ebbie L. Davis of the Fiji Suva Mission, who sent us a copy of the Book of Mormon. Other books and pamphlets regarding Church doctrine soon followed. All of these my father devoured, and he found answers to his questions. Within a short time, he desired with all of his heart that our family be baptized. The Church, however, was not on our island. We soon realized that to be baptized, we would have to go to where the Church was. And for us, that meant Suva.

Amid Angry Waters
   At long last, after we had spent nearly two years planning and preparing, the day had finally come, and we stood aboard the Uluilakeba. Energy was thick in the air as we crowded on with the other passengers. Hope and excitement filled our hearts as we waited to depart on our journey.
   The ship left the dock at approximately 8:00 a.m. on Monday, 10 December 1973. With all the emotions of that day, I hardly noticed the gusty winds and threatening clouds that loomed ahead. As the boat crawled into the open sea, however, the weather worsened. Soon forecasts came in of an approaching tropical storm. Despite the warnings, our captain was confident of a safe voyage. We continued onward, while around us the sea steadily grew fiercer and the rain fell harder. Before long all passengers were instructed to take shelter inside, while the crew navigated the rough waters.
   The captain was a relative of my father, and he gave us his personal cabin to rest in while we endured the storm. There we huddled together as a family and waited. In spite of the now heavy rocking of the ship, after a few minutes, my brother and sister and I fell asleep.
   After what seemed only an instant to me, we were awakened by my mother’s scream. Water was now coming in through a small porthole. Sitting up, I noticed that my father was not with us, and thinking he must have gone on deck, I left my mother and two siblings. Climbing up to the deck was quite difficult, although in my panic I did not realize why. I did not understand that the ship had taken too much water and was sinking. Just as I reached the deck, the Uluilakeba began to capsize, and I was plunged into angry waters.
   My only instinct was for survival. Desperately I swam with all my strength to stay on top of the monstrous waves. Within a few minutes, I caught sight of an older man holding fast to two floating bags of coconuts. Managing to swim to him, I pleaded for a bag, and he mercifully gave me one. I took hold of the bag and clung to it for my life.
   Minutes passed, and suddenly I spotted my mother. Seeing me as well, she swam over and we embraced. With words I will never forget, she told me to hold on to that bag no matter what, for it would save my life. Then, after kissing my cheek, she left me to search for my brother and sister. That was the last I ever saw of my mother.
   As the storm continued to rage, I did not think about what had happened. I only fought to stay above the waves. Bobbing up and down in the sea, I could see many other people, but I could not find my family.
   The hours stretched on like a terrible dream. Soon night fell, and we swam on in the darkness. After what seemed like forever, the sun rose again, and I held on through another day and another night. Finally, around 5:00 in the afternoon on Wednesday, a rescue boat discovered us.
   More than two full days had passed. Of the approximately 120 passengers who had boarded the doomed ship, 35 were found alive in the water. We were taken to Suva and admitted to the hospital. There, I learned the details of what had happened. Less than four hours after leaving the dock, we had been struck by Cyclone Lottie, a short-lived Pacific storm. The Uluilakeba was never found. I also learned that of the five members of my family who had been aboard, I was the only survivor. My family’s plans to be baptized into the Church had sunk in the depths of the ocean.

Lost and Found
   Time moved forward, and I remained on the island of Viti Levu, the main island of Fiji. I went to stay with my older sister, who had moved away from home years before. In the chaos of the tragedy, President Davis lost track of me, and I lost track of the Church. Learning that I had survived, however, he instructed the missionaries to search for me. They looked for months but to no avail. President Davis’s time as mission president came to a close, and he passed the search on to his successor.
   The years passed, but because of poor communication systems, I could not be found. The family I was staying with was not interested in the gospel, so I had little hope of finding the Church during my teenage years. I struggled with the loss of my family and wondered why I had been left alone. But I carried in my heart the truths my parents had taught me. Although at times I gave in to weakness and temptation, I always remembered my father’s testimony concerning Jesus Christ and His true Church. Eventually I got married and settled on Vanua Levu, the northern island of Fiji.
   In March 1985 I was at work cutting coconut copra not far from the main road when an elderly couple in a small car stopped and called out to me. They asked me if I knew a man named Joeli Kalougata. But before I told them they had indeed found him, I asked what they wanted. They introduced themselves as Elder and Sister Kimber and explained that they were missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Finally they had found me! It was a glorious moment. Following six missionary discussions in two days, I was baptized on 18 March 1985, along with my wife, Elenoa. Our lives have never been the same since.
   I look back on the great blessings my Heavenly Father has poured out upon me during my life. I will always be grateful for my loving parents and the principles and truths I learned from them. Because of my parents’ example, my wife and children and I now belong to the true Church of Jesus Christ.
   In 1998 Elenoa and I flew to Tonga to enter into sacred eternal covenants in the Nuku‘alofa Tonga Temple and to perform temple ordinances for my parents and siblings. A few years later, our children were sealed to us in the new Suva Fiji Temple. I look at my family now—my eternal family—and thank the Lord for remembering me and bringing the gospel back into my life.

[illustrations] Illustrated by Gregg Thorkelson

2010-03-06T17:43:00.001+13:00

We have had a pretty uneventful month with sick missionaries, that is until this week. We have had several missionaries to the clinic for various things. Nothing serious and nothing too stressful. Dave has been business as usual and learning to deal with all the crazy things 19 and 20 year olds do. Some days he just shakes his head. Never a dull moment for him.

Our ward has come light years since we got here. They are almost functioning like a normal ward. They even had enough priesthood to divide the elders and high priests (7 Elders 9 High Priests). We hope the mission president doesn' realize that we have been in the ward for over 6 months. He usually assigns the senior missionaries to another ward after 6 months but we want to stay right where we are. Dave has made a real impact on the ward and has seen a lot of change since we arrived. He has learned that to love them and accept and be an example to them is the best way to bring about change. We read a quote somewhere that if you want to change someone you can't criticize them. A good lesson for us to learn here.

We went to a funeral of a man, Brother Prasad, who Dave and the bishop visited and invited back to church the first week we were in the ward. Dad grew close to him and we grew to love them as a couple. He had diabetes and his body completely gave out. It is sad because he was only 55 years old but had the body of an old man. That is when we realize how lucky we are to be in a country with such good medical care. The care here is good but very limited. They just don't have the tools we have.

Any way the funeral was pretty much like ours but the man was Indian so most of the people in the congregation were Hindu. Another weird thing is that they don't imbalm people here. they just seal them in a casket with a window in the top. After the service everyone filed past the

casket, looked in the window and said their good byes. We like our way better.

Oh well, another experience to write home about.

Things are good. All the Zone Leaders are here today for a ZL Training Conference. We always love it when the elders come and we always love it when they leave. Lots of fun commotion!

More of Sister Seare's Sewing Projects

2010-03-04T19:17:00.006+13:00

14 Tablecloths for our Mission Christmas Dinner

90 Missionaries from all over Fiji for Christmas

Sulu's for Sister Erickson and I and of course, a matching sash for our greatest support, Elder Seare

Sister Seare's Sewing Projects

2010-03-04T19:01:00.010+13:00

I have had so much fun creating and making all of these projects. A great way to unwind after a stressful day or week. I have made White Ties and Envelopes for temple clothing packets out of a beautiful White on White Floral Fijian pattern.

Pillow Cases for Missionaries, The Taito Family,

Grandkids and more. I think I lost count how

many but they are fun to make.

Bedspread and Pillow Case Shams for spare

bedroom.

Bedspread with Pillow Case Shams for our Bed!

My personal Favorite!

Ties made from the Traditional Fijian Tapa print. For the men in the Service Center that have been sooooo helpful and patient with us as we have stumbled through all we have needed to learn and do since we have been here. I don't know what we, especially Dave, would have done without them.

Christmas Sewing Projects and More

2010-03-04T18:42:00.004+13:00

At Christmas Time Sister Erickson and Sister made pillow cases to give to all the missionaries. A total of 150. We decided to make Christmas Table Cloths for the Big Christmas dinner. 14 in all. We made us Sulu's to match the table cloths and a Sash so Elder Seare could match us. Just before Christmas Elder Seare bought me a sewing machine. I made Pillow Cases for Each of the Taitos all of our Grandkids. And a few more for whoever. Bedspreads with matching pillow cases/shams for both of our bedrooms. I made ties out of Tapa material to give all the men in the Service Center that have helped us so much. I also made White on White, print ties that could be worn in the temple as well as Envelope for temple clothing packets. I have had so much fun creating and sewing. Our most recent project was Rice Hot Packs.

Tehana's Baptism - our Favorite little Fijian Girl!

2010-02-27T16:00:00.003+13:00

Tehana Was Baptised and confirmed today by her Father. They asked Elder Seare to be part of the Confirmation. It was a special occasion. We were a part of the program which we didn't know til we got there. Sister Seare was a speaker and Elder Seare said the closing prayer. We had lots of good food afterward including of course Birthday Cake.
Tehana has become like a grand daughter to us. Dave nick named her "Sparkle" It fits her perfectly because of the sparkle in her eye. We love her very much!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TEHANA!
Tehana with her sister Viema age 10 and Grace age 16.
Tehana in her new Birthday outfit.

Tehana's Birthday

2010-02-24T15:07:00.002+13:00

Tehana's Birthday. Her mum couldn't be there so she asked us to take a Birthday treat for her school class. We made Chocolate Chip cookies and surprised her. She had no idea we were coming so she was very excited. We passed out juice and cookies, sang Happy Birthday to her and gave her a gift. It was so fun. She is a special little girl who we sort of adopted as a surrogate grand=daughter. It was a very fun day. She couldn't stop talking about it to her family that night.

2010-02-23T15:21:00.000+13:00

One of our favorite pictures, We bought the bananas to take to the Elders on our mission tour

Answers to Many Questions

2010-02-13T12:13:00.001+13:00

February 12, 2010

When the missionaries come into Suva for Special Occasions, a lot of them live here or within easy driving distance. The ones from the outer areas stay with the elders or sisters here. The GA's stay at the Holiday Inn in Suva. It isn't much but it is the nicest hotel here in Suva. The missionaries are on there own for food except the meals we furnish. For those, we eat at one of the chapels. We got so burnt out at Christmas with 5 days of big meals and snacks that The President's wife decided that if she wanted me to make it another year she better make things a little simpler. This last time we had one big lunch during zone conference and the rest of the time they were on their own.

We have a really good doctor here. He and his wife are both from Fiji and they are both doctors. Their experience is limited but they are very thorough and we have a very good rapport with them. They work out of a clinic at the Hospital so we usually take or send the sick missionaries to them. They are both amazed at the vast experience I have had and the things I have done in my career. We are so glad to have them here. The Hospital isn't bad but certainly nothing like IMC.

For any other medical questions I need help with I call Dr. Fuller, the Area Medical Advisor. When I sent the elder to New Zealand Dr. Fuller met him at the air port and took care of him in New Zealand. The Elder is doing much better and because he is from a tiny island here in the pacific he realizes that to be hospitalized and have his problem taken care of is a huge blessing for serving a mission. He is great. He goes back to NZ for a follow up visit in March If the stents worked he will not have to have the major surgery on his Kidney. Another blessing. I often wish I could accompany him to NZ but it works much better to have him stay with Dr. Fuller.
The other missionary with the headaches and possible glaucoma is stable and will just continue with daily eye drops til he goes home in 8 months unless his headaches or white spots get worse. In that case he will either go to NZ or back to California where he is from for an MRI. I called Dr. Doty, in Salt Lake, the medical advisor for the entire church to get the name of an Opthamologist that the church uses to consult with. I called the Opthamologist and he gave me a lot of reassurance that we were doing the right thing for this Elder. As you can see we am not all alone for which we are very grateful.

The bush is way out with very little resources for any medical care and very primitive living conditions. Basically shacks. Lots of bugs, and no filtered water. All of the flats in our mission have filtered water systems to keep the missionaries from drinking dirty water. They do fine if they drink only bottled or filtered water but when they get lax and drink the unfiltered water they get a mighty dose of diarrhea. They don't get a lot of sympathy from me when they do.

About half of out missionaries are native from here in Fiji or surrounding Islands. The palangi's (Caucasion) are from all over America. The natives are healthier because they are used to the conditions but they are usually the ones that are always in trouble for obedience issues. The Americans are tough, good, strong missionaries but they have more of an adjustment to the living conditions. We also see a lot of stress, related illnesses with the palangi's. Missions are tough, especially when you are in such a different part of the world and in a third world country.

We take care of a lot of problems by phone. Some experience has taught me what to tell them to do to take care of their ailments. The biggest problem we have found is infection of open sores. Missionaries are not the cleanest any way and with the humid, warm climate it is a breeding ground for infection. When they call with an infection we send them to the clinic for Antibiotics. Infections rarely get better on their own. We get a lot of calls about heacaches and stuff that. I think they just need a "mom" to talk to.
We have a lot of resources but we carry the load of finding the right resources.

One of the biggest problems we have is the missionaries on the outer areas. I have learned good assessment skills that have helped me a lot. Usually on the first call I just tell them to take Tylenol or Ibuprofen see how they feel in in a day or two. Usually on a second call i send them to the closest clinic. It usually just involves getting an antibiotic. In the case of the two elders that were really sick, they were on their way here for Zone Conference anyway but if they hadn't been i would have had them brought here the on the first plane they could get on. They were scarry because they were so sick and so far away. We said a lot of prayers for them that day.

We are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We are getting better dealing with things by phone but sometimes we have to tell them we'll call them back after we have had time to think about it. We then call them back and tell them whatever we feel prompted to tell them. We have received a lot of help this way. Sometimes we have them e-mail pictures of any skin problems they have. One elder took a picture of his tonsils covered with white spots, definitely needed an antibiotic! Another one sent a picture of a large infected boil. Definitely gross and in need of medical attention! Another sent me a picture of a fungal infection of his foot. Again a definite gross and antifungal treatment! That Elder actually had to come to Suva for Medical treatment. Anytime we feel a need to bring them to Suva we consult with the Mission President and his wife and get their permission. It is nice to have someone to bounce things off of. They have been very supportive and trust my judgement.

We hope this has answered most of your questions. As you can see we are busy but things are getting easier and experience is helping us a lot. By the time I get home I won't want anyone to call me about anything wrong with them physically. Even now some days I want to tell them to "take a number" or "take two deep breaths and call me in the morning". It works for me.

We have both been healthy for a while now so hopefully our physical adjustment time is over.

Life is good, we have been blessed and we know we are here doing what needs to be done. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that "It isn't doing what you like to do but liking what you have to do that builds strong character"

Well that's life in Fiji from my perspective. Dave will have to give you his own perspective. All I can say is that he is FANTASTIC. He loves the missionaries and the Missionaries LOVE him. He is known as the guy who gets things done. Everyone says, "If you need something done, Elder Seare is the one to do it". We love serving together and we love serving the Lord.

2010-02-08T12:07:00.000+13:00

Bula Vinaka Everyone,

We want you to know we are still alive and well. January has been another busy month. We had a wonderful visit from Elder Christofferson, Elder Jay Jensen (presidency of the seventy) and Elder Hamula also a Seventy over our Area. It is such wonderful experience to have these men and their wives come to visit and give special instruction to the Missionaries. Once again we brought all 90 missionaries from all over Fiji to Suva. It made for a busy few days with preparation of lots of food. We also once again had the opportunity to prepare dinner for and serve the GA's. They are such wonderful people and we have felt it a great opportunity to be in their presence.

Along with Zone Conference and Visit from the GA's we have had missionaries coming in and going home. Saying goodbye to these elders is difficult. We have really grown to love serving with the missionaries. I also had 2 missionaries in the hospital at the same time. They were companions. They were probably the sickest elders i have seen. They came in from the other island and by the time they got here they had temps of greater than 104, and they were severely dehydrated. Nausea, Diarrhea and everything. They never did find out what was wrong but they think it was dungee fever or something they ate or picked up while out in the bush. Pretty scarry stuff. I feel a great responsibility for these sick elders. We have seen lots of Stress related illnesses, boils, infections. stomach aches, centipede bites, flu type ilnesses, cysts, rashes, fungal infections eye infections and even hemorrhoids. Sometimes i have missionaries come to me a tell me that what i suggested worked, the problem is sometimes i can't even remember what they talked to me about but I am glad whatever i told them worked. My latest stressful case is an elder who has been complaining of migraines and seeing white spots for the past month. Because of high intraocular pressure, the eye doctor here has diagnosed him with glaucoma, not good. Our area doctor says it may be a brain tumor or just stress. Wow what a choice. He is having a CT scan on monday. He really needs an MRI but that means going to NZ. We will make a decision about the MRI after the CT scan results. I have felt the weight of the world worrying about these missionaries. It is difficult to know how much to trust the Doctors here. I have had to rely on suggestions from the AMA, my gut feeling and promptings of the spirit to help me know what to do. Our Mission President respects my opinion and never questions my concerns. The other day I e-mailed him and asked if i could talk to the Mission counseler in Salt lake who counsels with missionaries about their stresses and worries. I told him all these stressed out missionaries are stressing me out. He wrote back and told me to take 2 deep breaths and call him in the morning! He has a wonderful way of defusing stressful times. We really love him and appreciate his good sense of humor. His favorite show is HOME IMPROVEMENT. He loves Tim the tool man and refers to him frequently.

Dave's days are filled with phone calls from the missionaries sun up to sun down. You name it he takes care of it. Dents, broken down cars. Accidents and more accidents. Closing down flats, Flat tires and problems with Flats. floods from broken pipes, broken water filters. Landlords not getting paid, missionaries needing more money for transport, special needs. He has become a master problem solver. The missionaries LOVE him and the President appreciates the load he carries. We made a trip to Nadi last week to deliver furniture for a flat and a truck and to bring another truck back to Suva. We took advantage of the trip and stayed at the Radisson at Denerau for a day to regroup. It is our favorite place to get away to. It is definitely the Paradise of Fiji.

We are both far busier than we ever imagined but we also feel the help of our Father in Heaven in dealing all we deal with. We have been blessed beyond measure and are grateful for this experience (well, most days). We feel your love and support and appreciate your letters and words of encouragement.

It has been hot and humid here, much different than at home. We miss the snow however but we are glad that we have not had to deal inversion and extended cold temperatures. Luckily no more cyclones but we have had some pretty bad rain storms causing us concern.

Elder Christofferson's visit with Elder Jensen and Elder Hamula

2010-01-25T12:02:00.007+13:00

Sister Erickson, Sister Seare, Elder Seare, Elder Jensen, Sister Jensen, Elder Hamula

Sister Erickson, Sister Christofferson, Elder Christofferson,

Sister Seare, Elder Seare

Fiji, Suva Sister Missionaries

2010-01-21T12:06:00.003+13:00

Sisters Erickson, Kant, Childs, Mailo, Bakaua, Nair, Reeves, Logo, Nair, Watikini, Soli

2010-01-21T10:35:00.001+13:00

Visit to Mission by Elder Christofferson (Twelve Apostle) with his wife; Elder Jay Jensen (Presidency of the Seventy) with his wife; Elder Hamula (Seventy, Pacific Area Presidency); Elder Wakolo and his wife of the Pacific Area.

The Taito Family

2010-01-06T15:07:00.000+13:00

December 2009 Report

2010-01-06T11:30:00.002+13:00

January 2010

It has been a busy, different 6 weeks. Our December was definitely different than any we have ever experienced. It began the first weekend of December with our big Fiji Zone Conference with Elder Callister our Area President and Christmas celebration. It was overwhelming. Sister Erickson and Sister Seare made 150 Pillow Cases for all the Missionaries for their Christmas gifts. In addition we made 14 Christmas Table cloths and 7 other table cloths. In the course of our 4 day conference we prepared 3 major meals for 90, each in a different location. We also supplied them with 2 snacks. Our big Christmas Dinner was a lot of fun with all the missionaries. It was followed by a talent show that was so much fun. On the Sunday night we had a Missionary Christmas fireside with many musical numbers, naration and of course the Nativity. It was awesome. The missionaries were amazing. The spirit was strong and everyone performed their best. It was a great event.

The rest of December was pretty much business as usual until Cyclone Mick hit, practically blowing us off the island. We were without power for 4 days and Sister Seare spent most of that week in bed with the flu for the 3rd time since we arrived here. We had one of our elders in the hospital 2 different times with several other trips to the ER/Clinic on many other occasions. Infection grows like crazy here, The warm humid climate is a breeding ground for fungus and bacteria.

By Christmas weekend we went on a much needed vacation with some of the other USA couples. We are all about the same age and we had a great time together. On Christmas Eve we went to the Hard Rock Cafe then went back to our room to play games. On Christmas Morning we got up early, walked the beach as far as we could go. Had a good breakfast all while Fijiian Christmas songs filled the air. The Missionaries in that part of the Island had a Lovo with is like a Luau, fiji style. We had Chicken cooked on hot coals wrapped in leaves with squash and snicker bars for dessert, compliments of the senior missionary couples.

We spent the afternoon laying out by the pool, bobbing in the ocean and then returned to the HRC for dinner. We spent the next two days doing absolutely nothing but relax. It was a great way to spend Christmas. We didn't even have a chance to get homesick although we would have loved to have spent Christmas with all the kids.

Over the Holidays we were able to talk to all of the kids, grandkids and Parents. It was a good Holiday season although very different than at home. Although it felt very different being in Fiji at Christmas the spirit of Christmas was definitely present. Things were very simple and non commercialized. Very little gift exchanging. We have to admit we missed the shopping and gift giving but there will always be another year. Thanks to all of you for all of your notes and thoughts during the season.

January is here now and we are ready to go again. We just said good bye to 6 elders that we have grown very close to since we got here. 2 more elders go home next week. We will loose about 20 by may. With all the elders going home it really shifted things around with almost every companionship involved in transfer. We have a new AP, and several new zone leaders. It is hard to see the elders go but it opens the door for many more elders to rise to the top and see how they so naturally fill the slots of the leaders that went home. We love our missionaries and love serving them. Although at times it gets a little crazy, we will be forever grateful for the experiences we have had with them. It is so amazing to see the difference in the maturity level of the elders going home and the new ones just arriving although it doesn't take long for most of them to catch the spirit and rise to the calling.

President and Sister Ostler are amazing. They have to juggle so many things at one time i don't know how they do it. They have many challenges that other Missions don't have. Our mission includes 4 countries. 5 languages and the only way to get from place to place is either by plane or boat. Just prior to this last trip the left on they had logged 75,000air miles which included 150 trips. I think they are in the air more than they are on the ground. I don't know how they keep up with everything. We realize how much they depend on us to help keep things running smoothly here in the mission office. The Lord definitely has a hand in helping us all do what needs to be done.

Our experiences just keep coming. Every day is a new adventure, we never know what we will deal with in a day but we are learning to just jump in and do what needs to be done. It is so wonderful to feel the hand of God in our callings.

The end of January Elder Christopherson will be here to visit. During this past year this mission has been visited by 2 apostles, Elders Scott and Christopherson, President Uchtdorf and Sister Liefert or the General Primary presidency. The people here are humble and feel blessed to have been visited by so many. It has been an honor to be apart of all of it.

Fiji has it's problems but the people are faithful and are gaining the knowledge slowly but surely. It will be interesting to see how much the Church here changes here in the next 20 years. The young people here are being trained well. Most of them attend the LDS Primary School then the LDS Church college. As many as can go to BYU Hawaii and many serve missions. They will be strong leaders in the years to come.

Life is good. We love the Lord and love serving Him. We appreciate all of you for your love and support. Your prayers are felt. Take care!

2010-01-04T09:06:00.000+13:00

Getting Ready to Go Home. Elder Lloyd was the trunkiest mission ever!
All we heard from him is "I want to go home."
What a group of great missionaries they were all leaders when we arrived and will be our first big group to send home. We will miss them.
Front Row:Elder Nay, Elder Kennington, Elder Larsen, Elder Stoddard and Elder Lloyd

Second Row: Their companions. We all had the blessing to attend the temple this morning together.

2009-12-26T08:36:00.000+13:00

Eating Lovo on Christmas Day with the Missionaries! in Lautoka Zone

2009-12-26T08:34:00.000+13:00

Elder Finch serving Lovo on Christmas Day!

2009-12-25T08:33:00.000+13:00

Christmas Eve Sunset!

2009-12-25T08:31:00.000+13:00

Christmas Tree at The Radisson! The only real CHRISTMAS TREE we saw in Fiji

2009-12-25T08:30:00.001+13:00

Christmas at the Hard Rock Cafe at Denarau Island.

Left to Right, Elder Kasteler, Sister Kasteler,

Sister Stenlund, Sister Seare, Sister Erickson,

Elder Seare, Elder Stenlund

2009-12-25T08:30:00.000+13:00

My new companion?!?!

Christmas Eve Day 2009

2009-12-16T11:23:00.000+13:00

Wow,

Things are crazy here in Fiji! We are in the middle of the first Cyclone of the year. It is called Mick and is wild. The winds are 120 miles an hour and the rain is like I never thought could happen. This will be our way of getting in the spirit of Christmas!
(I think I miss snow.)
We are seeing lots of Elders getting sick and it is wearing us out going to the private Suva clinic. I love the sight of fresh boils and wonderful looking rashes! Oh dear excuse me a minute I have to go and tie the pig and chickens to our palm tree so we have something to eat after the storm!

My weeks are flying by as I get calls all hours of the day giving me the heart warming news of another truck or car has been smashed. My favorite thing to do in my spare time is read the accident reports sent in telling me how things just get in the Missionaries way. Like my favorite this week was a call explaining how this large pole jumped out of no where and crushed the rear end of the Elders truck! Funny I thought that is why the driving handbook says always have your companion get out of the car and help the driver back you up. But Elder Seare he was helping me back up and I lost sight of him so I hurried and went faster to help get him back in my sights!
I must say I was horrible with being patient before I came out here, but now I just yawn and ask Sister Seare How Elder Rabukawaqa's dungee fever is while listening to an Elder tell me on the phone he just nailed a moving coconut tree in his super charged 4x4 Hilux Toyota truck!

Well enough about physical things lets move on to Spiritual. Remember our Bishop I was telling you about? He last fast and testimony meeting stood and gave a very powerful testimony and asked the members to please forgive his ups and downs
and being late to most meetings. He bore a beautiful testimony and I felt like all we are trying to do to help the ward is worth the effort when I hear something like that. The members came in droves to the pulpit all giving some of the best testimonies I have ever heard. I just love the spirit of the Holy Ghost as he prompts us to do good things.

Becky and I have been sick this week and it is hard to feel 100% doing the Lords work. I feel the work still goes on because we get help to still keep going. (Wait a minute there goes the palm tree I just tied dinner to!) This storm is really something. The wind sounds like a deep rumble and strange noises are coming from our building.

If there is anything I could say about our Mission it would be that we have grown more in 5 months than we did in years back home. Is a Mission easy? NO. Is a Mission worth the struggles? Absolutely YES. We feel the spirit more in our lives and we have learned to love these Sisters and Elders we serve. I admire their strength and purpose for doing the Lords work.
We were blessed being able to go out at this time of our life. I am glad I am here while being young enough to have the strength and health to do the work. I also realize how much I owe to all of my church teachers and leaders over my life time. What they taught and gave of themselves to me is paying of in a big way. I often pull from years of church training
principles that I learned to help those here who need the help. If you ever wonder if your job in the church is making an impact on anyone I would say it is. We often think success is measured by titles of jobs we hold. I say that is furthest from the truth. It is often the primary teacher, ward clerk, Activities committee member, or any type of secretary, that keep the church functioning. We are not judged by position we are judged and blessed by our willingness to be of service to our Father in Heaven and Savior. When we serve with love we receive blessings of being loved.
We pray you all have a peaceful and spiritual Christmas for Christ is who will make it happen if we just remember him and all he does for us with love.

2009-12-16T08:40:00.000+13:00

After affects of Cyclone Mick!

2009-12-16T08:39:00.000+13:00

Cyclone Mick

2009-12-16T08:37:00.000+13:00

More of Cyclone Mick Flooding

In the Eye of the Storm

2009-12-13T00:14:00.001+13:00

Wow,

Things are crazy here in Fiji! We are in the middle of the first Cyclone of the year. It is called Mick and is wild. The winds are 120 miles an hour and the rain is like I never thought could happen. This will be our way of getting in the spirit of Christmas!

(I think I miss snow.)

We are seeing lots of Elders getting sick and it is wearing us out going to the Suva Private Hospital. I love the sight of fresh boils and wonderful looking rashes! Oh dear excuse me a minute I have to go and tie the pig and chickens to our palm tree so we have something to eat after the storm!

My weeks are flying by as I get calls all hours of the day giving me the heart warming news of another truck or car has been smashed. My favorite thing to do in my spare time is read the accident reports sent in telling me how things just get in the Missionaries way. Like my favorite this week was a call explaining how this large pole jumped out of no where and crushed the rear end of the Elders truck! Funny I thought that is why the driving handbook says always have your companion get out of the car and help the driver back you up. But Elder Seare he was helping me back up and I lost sight of him so I hurried and went faster to help get him back in my sights!

I must say I was horrible with being patient before I came out here, but now I just yawn and ask Sister Seare How Elder Rabukawaqa's dungee fever is while listening to an Elder tell me on the phone he just nailed a moving coconut tree in his super charged 4x4 Hilux Toyota truck!

Well enough about physical things lets move on to Spiritual. Remember our Bishop I was telling you about? He last fast and testimony meeting stood and gave a very powerful testimony and asked the members to please forgive his ups and downs

and being late to most meetings. He bore a beautiful testimony and I felt like all we are trying to do to help the ward is worth the effort when I hear something like that. The members came in droves to the pulpit all giving some of the best testimonies I have ever heard. I just love the spirit of the Holy Ghost as he prompts us to do good things.

Becky and I have been sick this week and it is hard to feel 100% doing the Lords work. I feel the work still goes on because we get help to still keep going. (Wait a minute there goes the palm tree I just tied dinner to!) This storm is really something. The wind sounds like a deep rumble and strange noises are coming from our building.

If there is anything I could say about our Mission it would be that we have grown more in 5 months than we did in years back home. Is a Mission easy? NO. Is a Mission worth the struggles? Absolutely YES. We feel the spirit more in our lives and we have learned to love these Sisters and Elders we serve. I admire their strength and purpose for doing the Lords work.

We were blessed being able to go out at this time of our life. I am glad I am here while being young enough to have the strength and health to do the work. I also realize how much I owe to all of my church teachers and leaders over my life time. What they taught and gave of themselves to me is paying of in a big way. I often pull from years of church training

principles that I learned to help those here who need the help. If you ever wonder if your job in the church is making an impact on anyone I would say it is. We often think success is measured by titles of jobs we hold. I say that is furthest from the truth. It is often the primary teacher, ward clerk, Activities committee member, or any type of secretary, that keep the church functioning. We are not judged by position we are judged and blessed by our willingness to be of service to our Father in Heaven and Savior. When we serve with love we receive blessings of being loved.

We pray you all have a peaceful and spiritual Christmas for Christ is who will make it happen if we just remember him and all he does

2009-12-06T15:25:00.000+13:00

Elder and Sister Seare Serving dinner to the Elders at Christmas!