Dearest Family,

Nov. 25-30, 2015

  On Thursday we went to the USP Culinary School and had a great buffet with several other Sr. Missionary couples for our Thanksgiving dinner. The food and service was great!  

  

Saturday, the Sr. Couples celebrated Thanksgiving at the beautiful Fiji Mission Home with Pres. and Sister Layton. They are great and we all contributed. I made a sweet potato casserole that everyone seemed to enjoyed and a veggie platter, also with fresh pineapple slices. As always there was plenty of delicious food. Elder and Sister Tanner from Lautoka, 4 hours away, stayed with us for 2 nights and was able to be with us. They serve on the West side of the Island near the International Airport. 

  

 We had our Thanksgiving dinner at 1:30 but, at 9 AM I left our flat and drove to our Stake Center taking other sisters to our Stake RS' Musical Presentation (Where Can I Turn For Peace) and Fair. The program was very inspiring. These sisters have been practicing on this music for several months. The music was all about the Savior. Milika Taito, Ned our manager's wife is the Stake RS Pres. She is a loving and lovely person. She is also the receptionist at the Service Center and we see her every day.

   At the Stake RS Fair today we did a Self-Reliance Booth. Many wanted to know more about SR. Sisters in each ward had matching tops and skirts. I also had one made that matched the sisters in our ward. 

   Sunday, we spoke at the Navatuyaba Ward on what is means to be Self-Reliant and how the Lord will help us to become SR. This ward is 45 min. from here and we were there before 8:30 AM. This area is referred to as the Bush and was a new experience. The Bishop works at the SR center and came in an told us a non member was there and said he really appreciated our talks and he learned a lot by listening to them. They always like the donkey story that explains the word initiative. The Bishop wants us to come again in the future. Right after, we drove back to Suva to Foki's ward (Nasinu 1st). She is the Stake SR Specialist and she is special. When we got there, the primary children were doing their Primary Presentation. They were all dressed in white or black and white. They spoke, sang, and looked beautiful. After the program we helped Foki with the 5th Sunday RS/Priesthood combined on Self-Reliance. The chapel was almost full with brothern and sisters in their ward. It is an active and large ward. We both bore our testimony of the blessings that come through becoming self reliant and the classes that are being taught. People made comments and also asked questions. We also showed 2 videos, faith and tithing. Everyone loved them. One brother came to the SR Center this morning that was at the class to talk to us more about SR and how some of the ward members in his ward could be helped. He is a the ward mission leader.  Love you all much, E. & S Smith (DAD and MOM)    

Dearest Family, (Nov. 20-22, 2015)

Here are few thoughts we would like you to think about and share with your children for Family Night.

To give people that which they do not earn is to make them think less of themselves and of you. The only way to help people is to give them the opportunity to help themselves.

When you choose to follow Christ, you choose to be changed. Can human hearts be changed? Why of course! It happens every day in the great missionary work of the church. It is one of the most widespread of Christ's modern miracles. If it hasn't happened to you it should. The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of the people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature. Ezra Taft Benson Conference Report October 1985.

  We have enjoyed another busy and great week. We were invited to attend the Church College graduation (grade 13)and their dinner and prom that evening. That was very enjoyable. The students welcome parents and visitors. The girls were in their beautiful, modest prom dresses with their escorts. 

  We attended Self Reliance classes during the week and we also spoke in the Suva 4th Ward (Fijian speaking ward) on Sunday. This ward meets in the building that Cornell (Carolyn's husband- Dad's sister) helped build and attended the dedication by Pres. David O. McKay, about 1959. This was the first LDS Church built in Fiji. It is a beautiful building with white coral rock.

  Heavenly Father loves each one of us and is a God of Miracles. We must always give him the credit. He wants each one of us to be happy and successful. We are teaching faith and prayer, obedience, tithing and education are key components to Self Reliance. 

  Scripture power keeps me safe from sin.

  Scripture power is the power to win.

  Scripture power! Ev'ry day I need. 

  The power that I get each time I read.

  Because I want the power His word will give to me.

  I'm changing how I live, I'm changing what I'll be.

We are sending our love to each one of you. 

                                 Dad and Mom (Elder and Sister Smith) 

Dearest Family,

   So much has happened. Diwali, one of the biggest holidays in Fiji was 11/11. To compare it is like our July 4th, Christmas, Halloween and prom in one holiday. Fireworks all day and night everywhere, beautiful lights on homes, beautifully dressed women and children caring lanterns and knocking on doors or gates for treats. We spent the day at Maui Bay Resort with the Maiwiriwiri family about 2 1/2 hours from here. They were so good to us and treated us like their family. Yes, they fed us well. Elder and Sister Jensen went with us. They are another Sr. couple who serve at the church college.

 Friday the Willis' invited us to their ward cultural night. They have some very talented young people in their ward.

 Tuesday we were able to share the value of and our testimony of the Self Reliance Initiative to the Suva North Stake Presidency and to some of the bishops that attended the meeting. That stake is catching the vision and is going very well. Classes are being taught in many of their wards. We are scheduled to share the SRI with the Suva Stake and bishops on Tues. Dec.1. That is also the stake we are assigned to until the end this year. We will be speaking in the Suva 4th ward this Sunday.

  Sat. the Sr. couples went down the Navua River. We were in long motorized canoes going up stream. The scenery was beautiful and being on the river didn't get us nearly as wet as the rain did that day. Here in Fiji the rain is warm. We did not have jackets and we were fine. We also experienced a bamboo raft river ride and ate wonderful Fijian food at the Village. We are traveling to Navua again tonight to visit the ward SR class. They have just started classes there. It is about 45 min. from Suva. 

 We came from the river run and got ready to attend the Fireside for the YSA with the Gen. Presidency of the YM and SS teaching us. We attended the returned missionary class on Self Reliance. I loved the perspective Elder Ashton (Gen. SS) taught on Self Reliance. He said we can do everything better, (schooling, work, life, etc.) when we have a strong personal spiritual foundation through prayer, a loving relationship with our Heavenly Father and through personal daily scripture study. The Lord will magnify our abilities. He also shared with us that the Lord has reveled that we need to ask HIM for more help. He is willing to help us, but we need to ask. 

Nauva Self-Reliance Group

 Monday evening we fed the Hindi E​​​​lders serving in the Suva 3rd ward. They were very appreciative and said this is like Christmas dinner and wanted to take pictures. Tuesday,we were invited to attend a Zone Conference with the missionaries at the mission home. Pres. and Sister Layton are great and do wonderful training. It was a good experience to hear their training and be with the young missionaries. Tuesday evening we did go up to the Navua Chapel and assisted and observed their Self Reliance class. They teach one class on Tuesdays and another on Thursdays. They have 7 non members attending these classes. They expressed love and appreciation for us being with them and sharing our love and testimony of this revealed initiative (SR). Today along with our office responsibilities, we have helped to prepared lunch for Sis. Fei and our group, she is leaving to serve a mission in Dec. She is a sweet widow and serves with us at the Service Center. 

 I will include some pictures that go with this letter. We love all of you and pray that all is well. May the Lord blessing be upon each one of you. We think of you often and love to hear from you. We appreciate your responses to our letters. I hope they don't bore you too much.  Much much love, Elder and Sister Smith  

Dearest Family and Friends,

  It is had to believe there is snow there, a least in Grace, ID. Our first banana bush in our yard dropped it's stem of over 60 bananas. They are so good. Dad wrapped it in a big black plastic garbage bag so they can ripen more evenly and to keep as many critters off of them as possible. We went on a short walk behind our flat and we could see another bunch on the same bush overhanging our fence. We also have 2 other banana trees in our yard.. We have an avocado tree that has avocados over 2 inches in size now. They may be ready to use in a month or so. 

  Dad and I gave our talks today in the Nasinu 1st ward, it is a Fijian speaking ward, but they all understand English and also speak it. The Stake Pres. also spoke explaining to the ward members that next week a member of the Gen. SS Presidency and YM Pres. are coming to visit this ward. These same people will be meeting with all 4 Stake Pres. etc., Bishops, and all leadership under them for Sat. meetings. The Stake Pres. said in his remarks that after our talks, the Nasinu 1st Ward has no reason not to become Self Reliant. (Thanks so much for your prayers.) The Self Reliance Initiative has only been thought of as connected with the PEF loan program. This is only one part of this revealed initiative that is directly under the First Presidency. We went to our ward after our talks so we could be a apart of SS and Priest./ RS. Speaking briefly with our Bishop, he has some of the same thinking. It is going to take a while for the complete purpose of SR to catch hold. When it does leaders, families, and everyone will catch the vision and everyone will be blessed. We are going to be speaking in our ward, Suva 3rd, Dec. 27. 

   The Stake Pres. ask us to present the SR program Tues. evening as part of their Bishop's training mtg. The Suva North Stake is catching the vision and already several wards are holding SR classes. 

  Tonight we are having our monthly fireside at the mission home with Pres. and Sister Layton and all the other Sr. couples. We all bring a dish that we have signed up for. I am making Potato Supreme and is in the oven cooking while I am typing this.   

  I shared this parable about a farmer's donkey as part of my talk. I will share a  shortened version of it, so you can just get an idea the point. A farmers donkey fell into the the farmers well and could not get out. The farmer tried everything he could think, so he decided to get his neighbor's help to fill in the well with dirt so nothing else would fall into the well and at the same time bury the poor old donkey. As the donkey saw all the dirt coming in on him, he could not believe what was happening so he shook of the dirt and stepped on top of it. This continued until the dirt was at ground level and the donkey happily trotted off. This donkey used his own initiative to get out of his serious predicament. (What does it mean that Jesus Christ is "mighty to save"? (2 Nephi 31:19) as it related to lack of work, lack of skills, consumer debt, addictions, or any other temporal challenge that keeps us from being self-reliant. Do you believe our Savior has the power to help us and to make more out of our efforts that we can do ourselves. I, the Lord am bound when ye do what I say, but when ye so not what I say, ye have not promise. Faith, prayer, work, listening to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and using your own God given talents were also parts of our talks.

   With all the voices we hear in the world, I was touched by Pres. Russell M. Nelson's admonition to the women in the church: This world needs righteous covenant keeping women. We need your strength, your conversion, your conviction, your ability to lead, your wisdom and your voices. 

   Our RS lesson today was on Leadership: Effective leaders stand firm in the faith and set a good example. People respond to effective leadership. We are instruments in God's hands and should seek the spirit in leading and building others. 

  We have got to leave for the fireside at the mission presidents home. We love you all! Dad and Mom (Elder and Sister Smith)  

Dearest Family and Friends,                                       Oct. 22-28, 2015

   This has been a very event filled week. Sister Willis and I were asked to make a Self Reliance display/booth at the Church Primary School K-6 Career Week. The kids were dressed as soldiers, firemen, nurses, doctors, The neighboring school was also invited to attend. As the students rotated we shared 5 min. of information of why Self Reliance is important. We shared the Chinese proverb: "Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." We made laminated posters and fish handouts with the proverb.

 The children love when the missionaries come. They always want to give us hugs and to help. We had no idea what to expect, but Heavenly Father guided us. Fiji's Permanent Secretary of Education was the guest speaker and the school's principal brought him over to our booth to show the materials that is available, he was so impressed that he asked if he could get a copy of our books. He said this is what Fiji needs. We need to get this into our curriculum. Since we did not have a copy to give away we took his information and plan to take it to his office this week.

  

   Because of what was seen at the school, we were asked to also set up a booth at the Suva North's Stake Relief Society Expo the next day. Fiji's Minister for Women Affairs was the guest speaker also the Permanent Secretary for Women's Health attended. She advocated the importance of prevention and early detection of breast cancer and Self Reliance, not depending on Charities alone. Elder Johannson brought them both to our booth and this time we were prepared to give them each the books (3 and 2 pamphlets). They were very impressed with the material and what we are teaching our people.

  Many sisters had spent hours making pillows, etc. to donate to the Woman's Charity. The rooms were decorated with hand made handy crafts, some for display and some for sale, also food and baked goods. The money was donated to this charity. The Fijians love to have fun and celebrate. There was a live band and ladies dancing.

   Dad and I were asked to speak at a ward fireside last night and had one day notice. Heavenly Father really blessed us in what to say. We attended 2 ward classes and 1 stake on Self Reliance. This initiative is inspired and is powerful. 

   Dad was called about a company that wanted to hire LDS people because of their good reputation. Sunny, a Stake Rep. for Self Reliance told his class Sat. that this job opportunity was available and 7 people came to the SR Center to be trained on the best way to interview and present themselves. All are going to be hired. The spirit and purpose of this initiative is starting to snowball. We are looking forward to doing a lot more training. Yes, this is the Lord's work and there is plenty of work to do.

     We sure love all of you. May you be blessed always.

                                                                 Love Elder and Sister Smith