Up date from Taveuni

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.