29 September 2013
Bula Vinaka!
This week has been very interesting,
challenging, educational and beneficial! A Dr. John Millar (spelling correct)
from Australia, has been here since Monday afternoon. His position is “Manager
of Pacific Church Schools (TVET).” Most mornings he picks us up at 8:00AM and
we have meetings throughout the day. We have met with the director and his 3
deputy directors, of the National Training & Productivity Center, a
department of Fiji National University (FNU); The Director of the School of
Trades & Technology, of the Australia-Pacific Technical College (APTC); The
director and Senior Educational Assessment Specialist of the Secretariat Of The
Pacific Board For Educational Assessment; two different officials of the Ministry
of Education (MOE); as well as the LDS Church College of Fiji (the school we
work with) Administration and also with the TVET faculty and the entire
faculty. Our mission call is ITEP-TVET, which translated stands for
“International Teacher Education Program – Technical and Vocational Education and
Training”.
The reason
we have been meeting with these people is to 1) attain approval to use the
programs developed by FNU and to be approved by MOE. 2) Some of the others are
leaders in TVET programs throughout the South Pacific, we are doing PR work and
introducing Joyce and I so we can work with them as needed. All are very aware,
and complimentary, of the Church schools and our programs throughout the area.
Our last meeting Friday was at 3:30
with the TVET faculty. When we came into the conference room, the table was
filled with pastries, bananas from the school farm, apples, oranges and a fruit
drink. They explained that it was a welcoming for Elder and Sister Collins.
What sweet people!
After the meeting,
and we were full of goodies, we went to dinner with Brother Millar and his wife
at the resort where they are staying – great meal – and were bloated!!!! Sister
Millar had a stroke, or something unknown, and has been in a wheel chair for
twenty years. She can use a walker but is unstable – on Wednesday she fell in
their room and was on the floor for about ½ hour before someone heard her calls
for help. Aside from her physical
difficulties, she is a pleasant, and enjoyable woman.
Saturday we went for a little drive – the first opportunity
for us to have the car, a Toyota Yaris (Corolla). We drove up the eastern
shore. About 2/3’s of the way up we ran out of pavement. The road progressively
got smaller. We actually traveled for a couple hours without seeing another
vehicle. The road at one point was a small 2 track, with grass growing not only
in the center and sides, but also in the tracks! We begin to wonder if we might
have to turn around and go back. Then as we reached the last two or three villages,
it begin to improve. After the last village the road turned west and we
traveled through a beautiful mountain range, going back to a paved highway,
which we reached just before dark.
The country was beautiful. We stopped frequently to
take pictures and visit with people walking down the road. While still on
pavement we saw a sign “Church of Jesus Christ of LDS”, so I quickly turned on
to a 2 track road. The sign indicated the church was 2 kilometers down the
road. As we neared the location, we could see through the trees off in the
distance, a building, but only a few homes. We were astonished when we arrived
at the church. It is beautiful, setting on top of a hill with a view out over
the country and to the ocean. There was a small village down off the other side
of the church. The missionaries must have converted the whole village!
Several
miles after leaving the pavement we saw another sign announcing the presence of
another LDS church. There was no road, just a trail leading off the road into
the woods. We were never able to see the building. Next time I go there, I’ll
walk back in!
Growing wild along the road were papaya, coconut, and
bananas. We picked one green papaya, hoping it will ripen. When we were way
away from civilization, we saw homes built as they must have been being built
for hundreds years – Thatch houses & woven split bamboo. We saw places
where they had cut down large trees, looked like mango trees, and cut them into
lumber with a chainsaw, and you wouldn’t believe the uniformity of the various
pieces. I had seen it done in Guyana.
The
people must go to a city very seldom. They farm and grow what they need to
survive. While back in in this remote area, we thought that this must have been
like much of what Chad had experienced while serving on the Cook Islands. We
saw farms growing Taro, Cassava, and many assorted vegetables. We were hungry
and decided to buy some bananas. We saw a bench with stacks of bananas and
pulled over and stopped – but as we stopped we were nott sure of what they were.
There were about 6 to a stack. They are about 2 ½” in diameter, and about 9”
long. The lady called them something like voondi (Vadi is
how it is spelled). We bought a stack and shared one – one is enough for two!
It was good!!! Later, on up the road, we saw banana trees growing these
oversized bananas.
On the dirt road, the only traffic we encountered was
the farmers going to or from their farms, either walking or riding their
horses. The horses were ridden usually with only a blanket, and the bridle was
just a rope that went through the horse’s mouth. I hope one of the pictures
shows it. We also pulled over to let a young man pass by, driving a team of “oxen”
– young steers! I hope you can see the harness used – basically a board over
and under their necks, tied together with small ropes or twine.
The people would all wave and call out “bula” (like
hello) or bula vanaka a very warm welcome! When we would stop, the kids, up
through teenagers would come up to the car just to talk to us. Four upper teens
talked to us about where we were from, what state, what were we doing in Fiji,
and what were we doing way back here! They were on their way to get vegetables
from their farm. They were pleasant, smiling, beautiful young ladies!
It
was a wonderful day! And a good week! We send you our love!!
Snorkeling on these little islands on the East Coast of Fiji and "spinning dolphins"! We will plan that for a trip one day when we have a chance. 
The reason
we have been meeting with these people is to 1) attain approval to use the
programs developed by FNU and to be approved by MOE. 2) Some of the others are
leaders in TVET programs throughout the South Pacific, we are doing PR work and
introducing Joyce and I so we can work with them as needed. All are very aware,
and complimentary, of the Church schools and our programs throughout the area. 
Saturday we went for a little drive – the first opportunity
for us to have the car, a Toyota Yaris (Corolla). We drove up the eastern
shore. About 2/3’s of the way up we ran out of pavement. The road progressively
got smaller. We actually traveled for a couple hours without seeing another
vehicle. The road at one point was a small 2 track, with grass growing not only
in the center and sides, but also in the tracks! We begin to wonder if we might
have to turn around and go back. Then as we reached the last two or three villages,
it begin to improve. After the last village the road turned west and we
traveled through a beautiful mountain range, going back to a paved highway,
which we reached just before dark.
Several
miles after leaving the pavement we saw another sign announcing the presence of
another LDS church. There was no road, just a trail leading off the road into
the woods. We were never able to see the building. Next time I go there, I’ll
walk back in!
The
people must go to a city very seldom. They farm and grow what they need to
survive. While back in in this remote area, we thought that this must have been
like much of what Chad had experienced while serving on the Cook Islands. We
saw farms growing Taro, Cassava, and many assorted vegetables. We were hungry
and decided to buy some bananas. We saw a bench with stacks of bananas and
pulled over and stopped – but as we stopped we were nott sure of what they were.
There were about 6 to a stack. They are about 2 ½” in diameter, and about 9”
long. The lady called them something like voondi (Vadi is
how it is spelled). We bought a stack and shared one – one is enough for two!
It was good!!! Later, on up the road, we saw banana trees growing these
oversized bananas.
On the dirt road, the only traffic we encountered was
the farmers going to or from their farms, either walking or riding their
horses. The horses were ridden usually with only a blanket, and the bridle was
just a rope that went through the horse’s mouth. I hope one of the pictures
shows it. We also pulled over to let a young man pass by, driving a team of “oxen”
– young steers! I hope you can see the harness used – basically a board over
and under their necks, tied together with small ropes or twine.
The people would all wave and call out “bula” (like
hello) or bula vanaka a very warm welcome! When we would stop, the kids, up
through teenagers would come up to the car just to talk to us. Four upper teens
talked to us about where we were from, what state, what were we doing in Fiji,
and what were we doing way back here! They were on their way to get vegetables
from their farm. They were pleasant, smiling, beautiful young ladies!
The School, where we will be serving, is called the LDS Church College of Fiji. It is however, only a high school. The Church also has a “Primary” (elementary) school, but it is at another location, and we are not involved with it. We were able to meet the faculty, administration, and staff; attend the vocational department meeting and attend some workshops. The equipment in the vocational areas leave a little bit to be desired; but, we understand in next years budget there will be monies to upgrade.
Monday morning at 6:00
AM we left for Fiji, landing here at almost noon. Flying over several little islands. They
were beautiful – surrounded by turquoise water inside the reefs, and covered in lush
greenery! When we got off the plane it felt warm and muggy.
We were picked up here
by Sister 
Tuesday morning we
received some small appliances, silverware, dishes, cleaning supplies, etc. Because we were
not replacing another couple, we had to establish new living quarters. Saturday morning we
finally got the stove hooked up with electricity (gas was hooked up on Thursday); and we had
our first stove cooked meal!
