E&S Smith Fiji posting 9/22-26/15

                          Dinner with E&S Knight and Whiteheads in Whiteheads flat Wed.
                                   

 Dinner at the resort where many of the senior couples went a ways out in the ocean to a reef by boat to see the spinning dolphins. We also snorkeled and saw many colorful fish. Our 2 hr. drive there was very scenic. In this area the Fijians really do live off the land and are very happy.  

 Pictures of the driveway, car port,

                                 car, and deck at our flat. We are enjoying our comfortable place.

 

Sister Smith, Taito (our boss' wife) and Jensen at their ward's dinner, dance activity. It was great and we were able to mingle with the members and meet the Bishop of that ward.

Sept. 22, 2015 --New Beginnings of our Mission to Fiji, including our training in Auckland, NZ.

 Picture was taken from the street below our flat. Our flat is on the lower deck. This is a beautiful home, especially for Fiji. It is beautiful and green here and does rain a lot. That is why it is sooo green and lush.

  

Our first sighting of Fiji!!!!!!! Sorry, we are still learning how to blog. Some of these pictures are out of order.  

The Fiji Temple will be rededicated in Feb. with a very special cultural celebration. We are told we will be heavily involved with the open house before the dedication.           

Elder and Sister Smith helping to escort Elder Nelsen to the Nadi Airport.

 Self Reliance picture and theme: Feed a man a fish, you have fed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you have fed him for a lifetime.

View of Auckland, NZ from One Tree Hill. Our driver was so kind to take us there on our way to the airport.

(L to R) Lautoka Stake Pres., Pres. Nielsen, Elder Smith, Pres. Layton and Counselor Pres. Harward

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 Leaders and youth preparing lunch on Sat. for Lautoka Stake Leadership Conference.

We had an incredible weekend with Pres. Gifford Nielsen at the Lautoka, Fiji Stake Conf. The spirit was so strong, the messages were inspiring, and the people are full of love. They treated us like we were royalty. We were in the same car with Pres. Nielsen to take him back to the airport: the driver and us. We were honored to be with him. He is a man filled with knowledge and the spirit. Vito, the driver took us back to Suva, a 4 hour drive, Sunday. We are assigned to oversee that Stake in Self-Reliance. Friday afternoon we were driven there by a taxi. 

  We love our cute apartment. We are told it is the nicest in the mission. We are trying to get time to get settled in. We bought our internet hot spot today and went grocery shopping. We went through a lot of money today. Some things are very expensive here. 

  Pres. and Sis. Layton took us out to their favorite restaurant tonight. They are wonderful people. They love their their missionaries. Pres. was Drew and Ambree Kimball's bishop in Draper before this assignment. They sure talk highly of them, especially how talented Ambree is. They told us before we left on our mission what wonderful people they were.   

   We have great pictures from the Stake Conference, too many to post.

 The Fijian Saints sure love Pres. Nielsen and he was very personable with them.

Monday night dinner with Pres. and Sister Layton at their favorite restaurant.

This is the Area Office where we have been training for three days.

After 4 days in Auckland New Zealand,we wished we had more time here but we are leaving tomorrow for Fiji. This is a beautiful land and great people.

These pictures were taken from our hotel ( looking west than east)

We were able to visit the Auckland Mission home. They knew Elder and Sister (Kent and Jill ) Sorensen well. They are serving in the Cook Islands which is part of this mission 

Great couples in our District and a teacher at the MTC.  

 So happy we could be with Kylie and Jed at SL Temple a few hours before we we went to the airport.

Meeting Pres. Gifford Nielsen in the Pacific Office where we are being trained in New Zealand. 

Going to lunch with 2 of our great training leaders at a mall in Auckland, New Zealand.

Pres. Kevin Pearson (Pacific area President) and his sweet wife at the family home evening with the Sr. Couples serving in the Auckland, NZ Mission.

  We have enjoyed our first day of training at the MTC. We met 16 great young missionaries (4 Sisters and 14 Elders) that are flying to Fiji in 2 weeks. They are learning Fijian. They were as excited to meet us as we were to meet them. 

   There is over 150 Sr. Couples. They are going all over the world. The cafeteria seemed very full. There is over 2,000 missionaries at the MTC now. Missionary work is on fire. 

  During our blessing of being set apart, one stated to keep a record of the blessings that will come to each family because we are serving this mission. Please, each family keep a journal and share your experiences with us. This would be a great blessing that we can share on our mission. Kristi being able to have a baby is for sure one.     

  This is what Pres. Kimball said about setting apart: "The setting apart can be taken literally; it is a setting apart form sin, apart from the carnal; apart from everything which is crude, low, vicious, cheap, or vulgar; set apart from the world to a higher plane of thought and activity. The blessing is conditional upon faithful performance."    

Setting apart by the Stake Presidency

First day at the MTC

                              Elder and Sister at the MTC famous world map, pointing to Fiji

           Six of the 19 missionaries going to Fiji next week. A great group of Sisters and Elders.

             

                                  New Provo Temple (renovated old tabernacle). Open house and dedication in near future. 

Start of our Mission to Fiji

This is our 1st blog. On August 15 we were able to go to the MTC for a fireside with Elder Robert C. Gay. He was able to talk to us for about 2 1/2 hours which was an excellent meeting. He is a very outstanding general authority.
   On August 16th, 17th and 18th we went to the church office building in Salt Lake to be trained by the Self-reliant Mission Committee. Dionne and I are very impressed with the outstanding individuals that are on this committee. This committee reports directly to the 1st Presidency.
  There were five senior couples that were being trained to serve as Self-reliant Missionaries. The countries they were going to serve in were Chile, Manchester England, Samoa, Indonesia and Sister Smith and I are heading to Fiji. This Self-reliant Mission is a fairly new mission initiative to third world countries. We are very excited to be part of this new initiative because we think it is going to make a great difference for all the members in these countries. The statistics are showing its effectiveness.

Sister Smith at the MTC

Bro Braithwaite lives in ward and Bro Roper our leader.

View from Bro Braithwaite's office.

Here are the 5 couples plus our 3 leaders. Bro. Roper, Hunsaker and Boam 

After this training was over, we went home to get ready for our sacrament meeting talks and to prepare for the group that would be coming to our home after our this meeting. The highlight of the sacrament meeting including the sacrament, was that Tyler and Kirstey had their little baby girl blessed. Dionne and I are appreciative all those who came and supported this special day.

 

This is our 1st blog. On August 15 we were able to go to the MTC for a fireside with Elder Robert C. Gay. He was able to talk to us for about 2 1/2 hours which was an excellent meeting. He is a very outstanding general authority.
   On August 16th, 17th and 18th we went to the church office building in Salt Lake to be trained by the Self-reliant Mission Committee. Dionne and I are very impressed with the outstanding individuals that are on this committee. This committee reports directly to the 1st Presidency.
  There were five senior couples that were being trained to serve as Self-reliant Missionaries. The countries they were going to serve in were Chile, Manchester England, Samoa, Indonesia and Sister Smith and I are heading to Fiji. This Self-reliant Mission is a fairly new mission initiative to third world countries. We are very excited to be part of this new initiative because we think it is going to make a great difference for all the members in these countries. The statistics are showing its effectiveness.

Sister Smith at the MTC

Bro Braithwaite lives in ward and Bro Roper our leader.

View from Bro Braithwaite's office.

Here are the 5 couples plus our 3 leaders. Bro. Roper, Hunsaker and Boam 

After this training was over, we went home to get ready for our sacrament meeting talks and to prepare for the group that would be coming to our home after our this meeting. The highlight of the sacrament meeting including the sacrament, was that Tyler and Kirstey had their little baby girl blessed. Dionne and I are appreciative all those who came and supported this special day.