Well, we served in Fiji for almost 1 year (1 week shy of a year).  And on November 18th, we flew back to our home in the United States.  Couldn't have picked a better time to come home than for the holidays for sure.  But, I need to back up and tell the entire story.....

On Friday November 16th I was at some Elders flat and we wanted to put our names on a poster that was high on the wall.  So, I stood up on the arm of a chair to write, when all of a sudden the chair started to fall over.  I fell to the ground and broke my leg.  I had to go to the hospital that night and spend the night.  They wanted to do surgery on my leg and put screws and a plate in.  But the church medical said I needed to go home to have it taken care of.

So, the church flew us back home where I immediately had an appointment at UC San Diego Hospital and it was determined that I could heal with no surgery.  I just have to stay off my leg for a minimum of eight weeks.  And then I can slowly start putting weight on.  It's going to be a long holiday season.  But I can't think of anywhere I would rather be!

This picture was taken the day we left Fiji - we had to stop by the Temple and take a picture there.

WE LOVE FIJI!  We will miss being here - hope to return soon!

Joape's Baptism

Before we left Savusavu, there was an awesome baptism of a 14 year old boy and a 16 year old girl.  Bob was asked if he could do the baptism and he felt SO honored! 

 This boy, Joape, has found a place in our hearts.  We couldn't be happier for him to join the gospel.  The girl, Ana, was also baptized and she will be a great member of the Savusavu Branch. They were baptized on a Sunday morning in a river we like to call

"The Waters of Mormon."

Our new assignment

WE HAVE BEEN REASSIGNED!  We have been moved to the main island, Viti Levu, and now reside in Suva.  Although we will surely miss the great people we met and the villages we have come to love, Suva has many opportunities for missionary service.  It definitely was a tearful goodbye to all our friends but just knowing we are still in Fiji and can visit, makes that transition much easier.

We have a new mailing address:

Elder and Sister Ford

Fiji Suva Mission

PO Box 215

Suva  Fiji

This is what God gave us on our last day in Savusavu -

FIJI DAYS - Part II

Our last post was all about the SECONDARY SCHOOL and their celebrations on the day before the actual Fiji days (that's because Fiji Day is a holiday and there is no school on that day).

This post is all about the things we did on the actual FIJI DAY, October 10th. 

We have a family that we are very close to; it's Losena's family.  Their grandma was having her 87th birthday on the same day as Fiji Days so we went with them to celebrate their grandma's birthday in a village about 45 minutes away.

This is Grandma - here in Fiji the word for Grandma is Nau (pronounced now)

 

 

 

This is Nau's Birthday cake - she was so happy to have a chocolate cake!

 

 

 

I gave her a birthday gift - an afghan that I had made.

She didn't really know what to do with it....

 

After a tasty lunch (we got to sit at the table because we were the guests),

the broke out the Kava bowl and drank kava for the rest of the day!

At one point, we counted 22 men and a couple of ladies all drinking kava

 and having a wonderful time!

 

 

 Oh, how we LOVE this wonderful family!

 

FIJI DAYS

OCTOBER 10th was Fiji Days.  This is a huge celebration that focuses on their independence from England.  Fiji became independent in 1970 so this year was the 48th year of independence.

So on Tuesday (9th) we went to the Secondary School right by our house and watched the high school students celebrate through speeches and dances.  We went because there are several students that are also members of our branch.  So, we went to support them and to watch them as they participated in the festivities.

We were the only (parents) there and also the only white people there, so the Headmaster had us sit in the front with him.  (Quite the honor)!!

 

 

 

 

Teri and Ryan visited us!

We had visitors last month - it was awesome!  We had so much fun - here are some pictures of what we did while they were here......

This is at the airport when we picked them up -

Paddleboarding session out in our harbor -

Went fishing and snorkeling -

Such a beautiful place for snorkeling - one of the best i've ever been to....and then we ran into a reef shark!  Scared me like crazy!!!

So, I went and got Teri and told her to go snorkeling with Dad.  Which she did.

And guess what she ran into?

The same reef shark.

That was the end of snorkeling for her too.

Ryan wouldn't leave these poor starfish alone!  They are quite beautiful - you can't tell in the picture but the starfish are blue.

Dad and Ryan catching a huge fish called a 

Saqa fish.  

No trip is complete to Savusavu unless you've been to Grace Road and had their AWESOME Chocolate chip shake!

Teri got fitted by this lady and she made her a beautiful Fijian dress to wear

This is the dress:

 Teri wanted to go to the number #1 place to go in Savusavu (according to Tripadvisor) - 

THE MARKETPLACE

Where we get our eggs, vegetables, and fruits.

 On Sunday we took a boat to a neighboring island called Rabi and went to church there.  I think that was the first time they had ever taken a boat to church.

 Ryan is not shy at all!  Even though he didn't speak their language and they didn't speak his, it didn't really matter - I think kids have a language all their own!

We went on a tubing adventure down a river -

What a great trip we all had.  Doing lots of fun things.  It's so nice to have visitors - we just loved it!  And then all to soon, they had to leave.  

But, it was great while it lasted and we have such good memories forever!

Losena sighting

Losena was supposed to go on her mission in May but her visa wasn't ready so she got to be a VISA WAITER in our mission:  FIJI SUVA MISSION.  She is such an AWESOME missionary!!  Hasn't even been to the MTC and yet she just knows how to be a great missionary.

We went to Suva last week and found out where she is living. So, we got in a taxi cab and hunted her down.  We were so happy to see her in her new missionary life.  She is SO happy.

Our mission president told us that he wishes he could just keep this girl here because she is amazing.  But, I think she wants to get on with her mission and go to the MTC and then on to Zimbabwe, Africa.  Sure wish there were more Losena's in this world.