Experience Fiji or was it Fiji Experience?

Several days have past since our last blog so we had to dream up a fun place to go to just to add some excitement to this mission we are on. So what better place than the country of Fiji?  Okay, we were asked by the Pacific Area Family History Manager to go with him to set up a Family History Center on the a small island in Fiji in an area called Taveuni. Tough duty, I know but somebody......you know the rest!
For those of you who are now expressing how lucky the Kite's are, I'll dampen your spirits by letting you know we only had a couple of hours of sunshine the whole time we were there and this isn't a great place to be when it is raining hard. Actually, the weather being bad was good so we could concentrate on what we were there for. All in all it was great and we met some wonderful people who work hard at being the best people they can be under humble circumstances.
So here is the pictures, videos and stories to go along:

Once we landed in Fiji in the town of Nadi (pronounced Nandi) we had to catch this plane to travel to Taveuni.  We joked a bit about taking this old-fashioned plane just to cover up the fear, I think.



This is the inside of the plane. Most of you reading this are too yound to remember television show "Sky King" but that is what came to mind about this plane.  It looked 1950 vintage. As you can see, you could easily get to the pilot to hy-jack it, as though there was something of value to have or some high-value target to crash into.

We were in the very back of the plane for this trip and, as I mentioned above, the weather was full of storms and rain which gave us an "E-ticket" ride, if it were Disneyland!

 This is the enitre airport when we landed. So luckily we visited facilities before we left.

 And, of course, we had to make sure our luggage made it to the luggage carousel (thats the board in the middle, you know).

This is a photo of a fruit bat I happened to snap.  Actually, watch the video below for a little more on our hotel room and the bats.

 This was a beautiful bird that landed by the pool area while we were having breakfast one morning.

 Next, this neat-looking ship came by that looked like an old mariner ship of old.

 Here was a typical home in which these people live. We were invited into the Branch Presidents home (a little better than this) for dinner on night after we provided Family History training to the Priesthood brothern. The food was very interesting and Sister Kite even got to see a small gecko drop from the ceiling directly into the meatball (we think) platter.

 Brother and Sister Sinekuraciri (the "ciri" is pronounced "thidi") had friends in this village that manufactured black pearls by placing certain sand and stuff into oysters on the farm that is out in the sea nearby. They were pretty but not exactly cheap.  The pearl in the round silver loop you can see at the bottom just above Sister Kite's thumb went for $243 and another she liked was over $500. We weren't sure what they would go for in the states, so we passed thinking that was a bit too much.

These are some of the great people we had the opportunity of meeting here. On the right side is Sister Sunderlage from Salt Lake who is there with her husband working in a Mission Leader Support. The members there were so excited to have a Family History Center finally come.  We expected we would need to train them as they haven't had any place to do family history work before but soon found many had not even used a computer before. So we started by teaching them how to move the mouse around and click. Eventually, we had them get registered in newfamilysearch and showed them around the site a bit.  The night we gave a presentation to the Priesthood, we even had most of the men get registered as well. It was real fun to see there faces light up when we logged them into the family history program and they saw their children's names and sometimes their parents.  Another day we assembled the new microfilm readers and loaded some Fiji film that Sister Senikuraciri had brought with her. Then some were able to add several names to the church records and started to make preparations to have their temple work done.  A GREAT experience !!

 This was a sign several miles from the Family History Chapel that marked the lane to another meeting house. This chapel is below.

 Here is Brother and Sister Senikuraciri and one of the Priesthood brother that was at this meeting house mowing the lawn and grounds. The little girl in front was fun and I had a couple of "lollies" (candies) we shared with them. By the way, the sisters in the shot above at the Family History Center were equally pleased when we shared lollipops with them once they successfully completed their registrations for newfamilysearch.

 A couple of photos of the Bouma Falls we visited several miles from Taveuni.  The lady in the background had a massage chair and was selling massages there. But she left right after completing this lady so we were out of luck. But I imaging it was real relaxing by the falls with the spray vapor, veiw and sounds.

Brother Senikuraciri wading toward the falls.  We both wanted to take a swim as it looked real inviting.

 This was a shot opposite the falls from the bridge we were on shooting the falls.  Pretty stream...not for the flowers and foilage but because it looked like it should contain a good population of trout if it were in Utah !!

This is a Fiji bure (house) that folks used to live in. Honestly, when I pictured Tahiti, Fiji and Samoa, this is what I pictured by the ocean with white sandy beaches, palm trees, bananas, coconuts, etc.  Sorry, but that wasn't the case. A few nice beaches and clear water when the sun shines but I was a little disappointed.  But that was good as we were there to work anyway.

 When we finished our work the last evening there, I decided I better at least experience snorkling or my children would be upset with me. So I went out with this newly-wed young man who was there diving and mentioned we should go out sometime. He had an underwater camera so he gave me a few shots he took for proof to our children that we didn't go all the way to Fiji and not snorkel.

 We saw this blue starfish which was cool.

 This is a fish !  Sorry, but I saw several types and don't have a clue of the names.

 Adam might be able to name these but I just call them pretty fish.

 This was our Thanksgiving Dinner. The reddish looking thing on the plate was really turkey and about the only thing Sister Kite would eat.  The yellow is a form of potatoe. The bread-looking item is actually "Dalo" which is very abundant and exported.  It grows like a beet in the ground with very large leaves like a banana plant leave. However, the taste is very bland so they cook it in coconut oil to try to give it flavor. Given time, one could develop a taste for this Fijian food, but that's given time !

 Here is Elder and Sister Sunderlage from Salt Lake.  They were kind enough to shuttle us around when we had checked out and our flight didn't go on Friday night. We were having pizza at a restaurant they were familiar with, which wasn't bad but I'll take even Little Ceasar's anyday.

 When our flight didn't go on Friday night due to strong storms, we had to take another small-plane flight the next morning to Suva, rather than going to Nadi and then find a way to get to Nadi from Suva since all flights were booked.  So the only solution was a cab for a three-and-a-half hour drive from Suva in order to make our flight in Nadi.

 Along the way from Suva to Nadi, our cabbie stopped at a few stands to "check-out" the bargains along the way. Here he was negotiating with a lady for some nice-looking crabs.  However, she wanted about $60 Fijian dollars (about $40 for us) for these and he said she wanted too much.

Next he wanted some cooked corn here and though I couldn't see, Sister Kite whispered to me that he ate each row of the corn individually.  I usually take 3 rows myself....

Again, we cannot say enough about how wonderful an opportunity this mission is.  It is hard work, conditions are never close to how great we have it at home, and is often full of new and scary adventures.  But the people are tremendous wherever we go and they very much appreciate that the Lord is thinking of them and their ancestors.  It was difficult not to be with our family at Thanksgiving time and I know Christmas will be even harder. But we can only say that the Gospel is true in Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand and every other place there are God's children and He would have us work enrich their lives with the fullness.  We love and miss all there and say goodbye for now....

Northland Family History Center Visits

We were asked to go to the areas north of Auckland, which they call Northland, to visit 5 Family History Centers and visit with two Stake Presidencies there.  So we set up the appointments and off we went Monday, the 14th, to the north.  We had a great time and have a few pictures and even a video, if it will work, to share with you all.
We appreciate those of you who are following with us on this adventure and have had several positive comments about the blog.  So I guess we'll continue with it.
We'll start with the hotel in Piahia we stayed in:

 It was a nice hotel, by New Zealand standards, right by the Bay of Islands and even had a tub, which made Sister Kite happy!!

Here is a shot from our room of the pool and Bay. The weather was still cool and not many ventured to the pool or beach though this day it was at least sunny for a while.

This is the beach in front of our hotel and you can see a couple of the small islands that give it the name of Bay of Islands.

A shot in of the beach in the other direction.

 And a view of the main part of town in Piahia.  There wasn't much there and we even had a hard time finding something to eat the first day when we walked down this street to the small town.  There are a few shops that serve meals around noon and then close by 2:00.  Then they open again in the evening around 5:30. But if you want something, you'd better time it to these times.

 This is the first family history center (chapel) we visited.  We had called Krishna McKay (pronounced McKie) to let her know we were coming to the a center in her area and she met us there.  She is the mother of Ester Powell that Sister Kite worked with at North Davis Junior High School.  After we finished our business at the Family History Center, we went to lunch with her as well.  We can easily see why we love Ester so much as her mother is very delightful.  We really enjoyed our visit with her.  They live on the KariKari peninsula and her husband was out fishing for snapper, which made me wish I could have spent some time with him also!

 This shot includes Sister Pure (pronounced "Pudi"), who is the Family History Director for the Kaitia area.  The Directors work with the Ward and Branch Family History Consultants who, in turn, work with the members to encourage them and assist them in doing their family history.

 Just west of Kaitia is the west coast of New Zealand's North Island.  It also is the beginning of the "90 mile beach".  This is a shot to the south on the beach.

This is a shot to the north on the 90-mile beach.

And this is a shot of Sister Kite enjoying her visit to the 90-mile beach !!  Actually,  the wind was blowing and was not pleasant to be outside, despite the way the shots above look.  The sea-spray made it hard to see very far, although the pictures above don't look that bad. This beach really goes about 90 miles to the very north tip of New Zealand.

This is another of the Stakes we visited and we are in the family history center going over the computers, printers and network to ensure things are working properly.  This is Bro Shortland (1st Counselor in the Stake Presidency) and Sister Shortland (Family History Director) for the Whangarei (pronounced "Fangaray) Stake.  Great people there and we had an enjoyable time giving them training and the renewed focus the Church is giving to Family History.

 Another Family History Center and their Director, Sister Horsford in the Maromaku Stake.  This center was located in the middle of cattle country and Sister Horsford pulled up wearing rubber boots and working clothes with additional clothes to change into for our meeting.  She had been in the "cow shed" working just before coming to meet with us. She also teaches one day a week at the school, works at the hospital in Whangarei in the intensive care unit, serves as the Stake Primary President and a mother of six children. One son had just returned from a mission and one was about to go.  What a great lady !!  We have a fun visit with her and she was really greatful we could help her with her family history work.

 This is a shot of some wild turkeys (especially for Lloyd Waite) we saw along the way.  I must tell on myself about a stupid thing I did here.  When I saw these turkeys, I knew I had to hurry and take a picture.  So I quickly turned around down the road a bit.  On our way back to where the turkeys were, a truck on the side of the road flashed his lights several times.  I mentioned to Sister Kite "that man must need some help so we'll hurry and take the picture and come back to help him."  So we quickly flipped back around and took this picture.  While there, the gentleman in the truck came up to us and rolled down his window.  He politely informed us that we were driving on the WRONG SIDE of THE ROAD".  In my haste, I had reverted back to my U.S. driving skills !!  I was embarrased and thankfully explained we were from the US and I'd try to remember which side to drive on again.  We had a good chuckle about this. 

This is another Family History Center where we met with the Stake Presidency and leaders and gave them the training.  In the picture is Sister Cheryl Sadler (the Director) and Bro Rakete (Stake High Counselor over Family History).  Again, great people.  However, we must say that the people here in the Kiakohe Stake area have a greater struggle.  We arrived a bit early here since we didn't know exactly where it was so we killed some time by sitting in the parking lot of the main market area.  We perceived a darker feeling of the people here.  Their vehicles were dirty, a lot of youth "hanging out" and a sense they were lost, several folks smoking, and in generally the town had a bad feeling.  This was very different from the other areas we'd been to.  We found out later after talking to President Higgins (our leader) that there is a lot of un-employment and drugs in this area. We feel bad for them and pray for them there.
Finally, we are going to try a new thing here.  We shot some video with our still camera and want to share some "live" footage of our trip.  Again, this is an experiment and, hopefully, this will work and we'll try to improve on the quality for the future as some of it is shakey. Also, the narration isn't great as we felt weird talking on film.  However, here's hoping you all will be able to see it.  I tested it and found the image quality isn't great since I had to reduce the size of the file. So you may want to click on the "view it on Youtube" button on the bottom and view it there as it is larger. If you have problems, call Haley and maybe she can assist you....sorry Haley, but I think you've done this on your blog before and may be able to help !!  Thanks !!

Another preparation "P-day".

We have had a busy week, or so, and it's about time to provide another update.  Sorry, but our days at work aren't very good press for you all to enjoy but I'll just give an idea of what we are doing at work.  We were surprized to learn this week that the couple from New Zealand that we are working with (Elder Bob and Sister Jo Munro) have now been released from their calling as Area Family History Assistants.  They have been the great couple that has been serving for well over a year and a half longer than was expected.  And what a great couple they are.  Elder Munro (now Bro Munro) has previously been and employee of the Church in the Office, retired and was called to come back in as Missionaries.  So he has a wealth of experience and knowledge of the Area Islands and Family History Centers and people.  He will still come in once in a while to help us and straighten out messes we might make but we will greatly miss their spirits in the office.
We worked hard this week to capture electronically our notes from our Samoa visit and start the process to purchase new and replacement computers that the soooo desperately need in Samoa.  There's a bit of red-tape to get them purchased, the family history software loaded, shipped and set up at the Samoa Family History Centers.  We also worked on getting reports from the Area Family History Directors entered into the system.  Finally, we were trying to get information on progress of getting some-type of Family History Center activated in Christ Church, were the earthquake destroyed the Chapel and the FH Center there.
Finally, we were able to get away for a walk on the Takapuna Beach near our flat and those pictures follow:

This is a picture of the beach area just about a mile from our flat and just a few hundred feet from our office.  The beach in the background is unusual in that most of the coastline is more rocky than beach.  It is beautiful, though, and one can walk along the edge for miles and miles as there are trails from the tip of the Takapuna peninsula to many miles about Takapuna.

 This shows the more common beach-line.  It was a great walk with some nice homes along the coast. I'm not sure how folks can afford them, however, as most are many millions of dollars as real estate is very expensive here.  We are blessed to have found a small place to live in while here so our cost can be kept lower.

 This is a view from Devonport (which is the tip of the North Shore/Takapuna peninsula and is lookingback toward the city of Auckland.  Here Sister Kite is trying her luck at catching a snapper fish for dinner.  Not really, but I had here walk close to the fishing rods so it would look like it.  That's as close as I could get her to go as she was worried the real fishermen a few feet away would be upset at us giving them bad fishing luck (you know how finiky fishermen can get !!).