Name That Tune

Each Sunday we attend church at a different Ward, Branch, or Unit throughout Fiji. It's a wonderful opportunity to meet good people, hug beautiful children, and share wonderful experiences and thoughts with some of the most Christ-like people I've ever known. Then after the Sacrament Meeting, we work with the bishops and financial clerks to provide them with a few tools to help them in their important responsibilities.

Now, being old and fairly stupid, I've not been able to learn any language besides English. Yup, Beginning French in Junior High, Beginning French in High School, and Beginning French in College. And for all of that, I can count to 10, recognize a few colors, and recite the days of the week...  Oh well, back to today. We were in a Fijian speaking ward, but I was prepared.  Although I did not understand what was being said, and my name was not announced (whew), I had my Sere Ni Lotu (Hymn Book) with me.  In addition, someone provided me months ago with a little cheat sheet so that, for example, when Hymn #40 was posted as the Opening Hymn, I could quickly refer to the sheet and immediately recognize the song to be sung.  Yes, I know that if I just opened the Sere Ni Lotu to #40 and looked at the music, I should be able to identify the hymn, right?  Big emphasis on the "should". Needless to say, my musical education is fairly lacking - but that's another story.  So I confidently looked at my cheat sheet and this is what I saw.

Yes, Hymn #40 is that old, beloved, well known Welch Hymn "Arglwydd, arwain trwy'r anialwch". Ummmm, I'm guessing that at this point, rather than diving into the study of Welch (and any other language we've borrowed hymns from) I had better bite the bullet and learn to read music!

Wheelchairs, Walkers, and Canes

Last week we had the opportunity to witness some of the good works happening with LDS Charities working with The Spinal Injury Association of Fiji.  Over 700 wheelchairs, built for a very rugged environment, plus hundreds of walkers and canes have been made available to those in need in Fiji.

At the handover ceremony were the Country Welfare Managers, Frank and Susan Stanford, the Area Seventy, Elder Johansson, the Permanent Secretary of Health and Medical Services, Dr. Meciusela Tuicakau, the Executive Officer of The Spinal Injury Association of Fiji, Joshko Wakaniyasi, and members of two stake presidencies, President Varea and President Cava.

The humanitarian organization, LDS Charities, focuses on self-reliance and partners with other organizations to serve all races, nationalities, and religions throughout the world.

To see Christ-like love in action is a wonderful thing!

Little Rachael

As Assistant Area Auditors for the Fiji Suva Mission, we travel around to a different church unit each week, working with bishops, branch presidents, and clerks.  We sincerely thank them for all they are doing, and leave them with tools to make their financial record keeping process easier.  It's a positive experience, the meetings are short, and we leave them with a bag of candy. What could be better?

Well, last Sunday as we walked into a church building, a little girl grabbed my hand and introduced herself as Rachael.  She tightly gripped my hand and told me that she was eight years old.  As she lead me into the chapel and sat very close to me, I looked around to try to spot her parents to make sure they didn't mind, however I couldn't tell to whom she might belong.  She told me that she liked school, especially English, and that she had no brothers or sisters, "just some cousins."  We sang the opening song together, pointing to each word and musical note. Then suddenly she looked up at me with her beautiful dark eyes and asked, "Is your mother dead?"  I hesitated for a moment, then replied, "Yes Rachael, she is."  She searched my face for a moment, then said, "I'm cold."  Although the room was warm, I immediately knew that she was asking me to hug her, as a mother would.

So there we sat, through the church meeting, hugging each other tightly - one small girl deeply missing her mother, and one big girl deeply missing her mother, and being grateful for the opportunity to love this little soul. At the end of the meeting, I found a small key fob and gave it to her.  She said, "I will remember you."  Rachael, your mother remembers you.  Your Heavenly Father remembers you.  And little Rachael, I will always remember you.  

Bilibili - HMS No Come Back

A bilibili is a traditional Fijian raft made up of bamboo lashed together and is steered with a long pole.  People use it to transport goods down the river.  As we were walking through a museum the other day we came to an amazing bilibili exhibit, and I immediately thought back to our time in Taveuni, where these little boys were floating down the river on their own bilibilis.

The bilibili has been christened, The HMS No Come Back because, you guessed it, once the goods have reached their destination downstream, it's easier to leave the bamboo there rather than carry it back up for the next journey.

In life, we each lash together whatever we can in the form of abilities, talents, hopes and dreams, to embark on this river ride we call life.  Sometimes it's calm and smooth and we can "go with the flow".  Other times, it seems to be one wild rapid after another.  However, our ride in life could not be called the HMS No Come Back. Ours is not a one-way journey, but a round trip voyage, returning to our heavenly home - with a few bumps and bruises, but with much more knowledge and appreciation for one another and our heavenly parents.  HMS All Come Back is more appropriate.