School Break weeks

The last two weeks have been very busy in Patron Housing and the Temple.  We have had four branches one week(Nakawakawa, Vuna, Quelini, and Labasa) and two the next (Savusavu and Somo Somo).  Three or four families in each group so own work for  up to 13 people a day.  We had a branch from Kandavu as well, staying in Qaqa's boarding house.  A young couple from Kiribati and the three year old daughter were also here:

Quelini children eat lunch.

Lorenzo Snow Baleiwasawasa back for a visa,
now side tracked with a rheumatic mitral valve
insufficiency problem.  

We are still walking,when it isn't raining, down by the sea wall in central Suva.  There is one lonely mangrove standing off by itself that I take pictures of fairly often.  Also we see many colorful Church vans around Suva.  Our plain white vans are also well known but do look rather bland in comparison.

Another day, calm and first sun. Sept 2016

Morning walks, Another Boy's Camp, Hibiscus Festival

We try and walk two mornings a week in the park along the seawall near downtown Suva.  Somedays the sunrise is very nice.

We have had two rainy weeks in a row, so we see some critters out on the sidewalk. We have lots of ants and small lizards, but the snail and slug were worth a picture for Iva.

We had another sleep-over in Patron Housing before our first Tuesday early morning Temple session. Fish stew was on the menu.  Those who gather have a lot of fun.

The Hibiscus festival brings out some county fair type rides, circa 1965.  There are also handicrafts and multiple food vendors.  

Sea Breeze Park, tide out.  Canoe practice in the distance.

Mahi mahi for fish stew.

Rock cod

Srs Ramaqa, Tagidua, and Bogidua.

This night view brings to mind a story. Prior to the Suva Temple closure for renovation, there was an "Eco-week" event during which lights were to be turned off at night for symbolic conservation.  The temple cooperated and went dark.  There soon came a call from the Prime Minister, a former naval officer, "Please turn on the Temple lights, my boys can't find their way safely through the reef."  The Temple was used to navigate through the break in the reef, it was the upper light in the range that kept the sailors safe.  So keep both the lower light and the upper light burning. 

Teppan Yaki comfort food, Cola i Suva Park, New Palms for the Temple entry

We had a farewell for a missionary couple, the Knights, at a Japanese restaurant in Suva central.  We have always liked this style, from our Ft Myers birthday dinners up to now.  Good memories make life a pleasure.

Not a fancy chef, and no jokes, but the food was good.

This park is just north of us, it is a rain forest setting with streams, falls and pools for swimming.
A bit slippery here and there, not certain it is the best place to take Ward Horne when he visits..

Though there is a small playground.

One swimming hole along the way.

There are several fun bridges, no nanny state
to watch over every step here.

Cindy and the Andersons.

Small island and foliage. Very few ground animals are
seen here, a mongoose here and there.  Birds are common,
but even they, excepting the mynas, are shy.

Rope swing and the sign says,basically, you are
on your own.

Sunrise at our morning walk site, Sea Breeze park along the water near Suva Center.

New palm trees to line the Temple entry steps.

The project for Friday was finishing the landscaping,
this couldn't be completed before the re-dedication.

Home to Suva, Sticker shock, Bula shirt

We had a good drive home today,  the time away was good but we missed being in the Temple, where we belong.

We shopped on our way home, as the gas station is right near our main store.  I had been telling our family about the price of berries here, as they were buying cheap strawberries and picking buckets of raspberries and a ton of cherries off our trees and bushes.  These pictures show how small a sample of berries can cost a lot of money.  Generally food here is not that expensive, and restaurants are good value too.  Imported fruit is not very affordable though.

Even with the Fijian dollar converting two for one US dollar these are pricey.

I didn't have a Bula shirt to wear to the last Ward social, so Cindy found one while shopping on Tuesday.  That was while I went to the bank to pay my parking ticket I received at the Signa Toka market on Monday.  No parking that I could find near the central veggie/fruit market...

A Missionary Dinner, and a Driver's License

We had a Saturday night outing with the other Temple missionaries last week.  We went to the Yacht Club, The Galley Restaurant.

We three amigos went together to take our Driver's License test last Wednesday, actually we signed up with up trip on Monday and returned for the test on Wednesday.   It was a driving test, not hard and as you can see I passed!

Outrigger- a weekend off

We were able to get away for the weekend to the Coral Coast, near Signa Toka we are staying at the Outrigger.  A large resort with pool and a beach. It has been fun, the food good and we have had some good entertainment.  We attended Church in the Signa  Toka branch,and had a good day there.

Lami Town TR3 update

There was a post on Moss Motors website about a 1959 Triumph TR3 in a shop in Lami, near Suva Fiji.  I went to the address today and one of the shop workers showed me the car.  It still hasn't moved since at least 2000...

Dee Ace Motors, Lami, Fiji