Fiji 2011

Adam and I just got back from a DREAM vacation to the island of Viti Levu, the mainland of Fiji. Adam served his mission there and, of course, has been wanting to go back for a long time now and we actually got to go! (Thanks to many family and friends who helped us with our kids!)
We flew to LAX then to Fiji and we crossed the international date line, which was kind of a fun experience, so we never lived January 13th of 2011. =)
I took about 800 pictures so of course I can't share them all but I'll put a bunch on here, even though it might still be an overload, just look at as many as you please.
I thought of a kid-less trip to Fiji as pure relaxation but we were on the go from morning til night from the first moment that we got there! There were so many friends that wanted to see Adam and there were lots of places Adam wanted to show to me so we didn't have much down time, but it was probably a good thing so I didn't miss my kids. I just had to trust that they were safe, cause I knew deep down inside that they would be fine and that we would, too.

In LA waiting for our flight

 the plane was huge! never seen a double decker plane

 This is a typical house in a village in Fiji, and some cute Fijian kids.

We just gave them chocolate so they were quite happy.

 The view from our room in Nadi, where we stayed the first 5 nights

 since I didn't blend in with my skin color, I tried to blend in by wearing a flower in my hair some days =)

 hanging out at the beach just after breakfast

 the market where everyone buys their produce, it's the only place to get it. can't get it in the grocery stores.

 Adam and Eve (pronounced Evey) and Chantel at the park. When Adam was a missionary Eve was born and her Grandmother, (Sis Lala, who you will see pics of later) asked Adam to give her a name and a blessing so they have a strong bond. This was the first day that we met her on this trip and she was a little timid for a while but then broke out of her shell and loved being with me and Adam.

 At McDonald's...only the "rich" can afford to go there. Most of these kids had never been.

 another view from our hotel

 at church

 the flowers were AMAZING!!

 Adam and Eve playing after church. She was so adorable.

 Lunch at the Varo's home after church. Adam baptized Brother Varo. Long story short he was sick, in the hospital and not doing well, and the missionaries came to give him a blessing per his famiy's request and in the blessing he was told that if he joined the church, like he knew he should, he would be healed. He told the missionaries that he would be baptized and the next day the doctors found nothing was wrong with him.

 Fiji water, in Fiji, cool huh?

 This is Malti and her husband, whose name I've forgotten, (sorry), and she and Adam served in the same ward for a long time, not as companions, of course, =). One night Adam woke up suddenly and told his companion to that they needed to go to this sister's flat and take her to the hospital, so they did and saved her life. And she was also hit by a car on her mission. The driving is CRAZY in Fiji, so it doesn't surprise me but she went through a lot on her mission.

 Me and Edrika, She is Tevita's niece. (Tevita is Lynsie's fiance, yes, he is from Fiji)

 the fruit was amazing

 FHE at the Varo's house with some of Sis Lala's (bottom row on the left) family and Brother Moses (next to me)

 One day we took a break and took a day cruise out to this remote island. It was a beautiful day and we had lots of fun!

 Adam found a hammock

 The boys kayaked, (I'm not a fan of ocean water, I'll only get out there to wakeboard)

 Brother Moses works for the cruise line and taught me how to tie a sulu

 us

 a new church building in Nadi! isn't it beautiful!?

 drinking coconut juice, it's quite tasty. tastes somewhat like 7up. Many families have stands on the side of the road where they sell what grows in their yards, so we stopped on our drive to Suva have a drink.

 view from our room in Suva

 sure love that guy!

 Fiji temple!

 This is the LDS Elementary School

 The Qaqa Family, well, most of them. There are 11 kids! They are such a great family and we had a blast with them! The dad is the principal at the above school. We introduced them to root beer floats and they had never heard of root beer so the kids eyes got really big when we told them to pour "beer" over their ice cream. But after a while they inhaled it and loved it! It was so great to meet them!

 This is the delicious pineapple that I could have lived off of for the week. It just melts in your mouth!

 The Varea Family, had lots of fun with them. The parents are from Rotuma, a small island off of Fiji where Adam served half of his mission.

 The rugby field at the high school

 Christina, me and her son, Nicolesh, they are a great family

 The lady next to Adam is a member that he baptized while on his mission along with the boy to the far left. They didn't know we were coming and when we showed up she ran from her porch with her arms wide open screaming "Elder Chase! Elder Chase!" It was sweet to see. Then she asked where his companion was...and I was thinking um, it's been 8 years. He has no idea where that guy is and I'm the new companion. She was really sweet to us. Her name is Siteri.

 After the first session that we did at the temple, Brother Varo, Adam, and Brother Qaqa, (pronounced nga-nga)

 Adam's 1st flat as a missionary

 Temple at night, don't ya love it lit up?

 This guy was a bishop when Adam was serving in Fiji and one Sunday Adam noticed that he is in the Gospel Principles book, so Adam mentioned it to him and he pulled out a copy and signed it! He had a stack of them beside him in the car, like he carries them around for people to have. Sure made us laugh.

 Watching rugby

 There were lots of funny signs there. This was my fav

 Adam and Jash, the first guy Adam baptized on his mission

 One night the members put together a Rotuman party for Adam and even prepared dances and tons of food for us! It was amazing. The parents in the back were beating on the drums while the kids danced.

 This is Talei. She is in the Varea family (I know it's confusing), anyways we had lots of fun with her and she was a great dancer.

 Some of the older folks at the party

 Adam and one of his former companions on the mission, Masada, who is in line to be the next cheif of his village. He's also an amazing dancer and used to be the main act at the PCC in Hawaii.

 After a long Saturday in the temple, we did sealings, then a session, then watched 5 live sealings. It was such a great day! The guy 2nd from the right is named Tevita and Adam baptized him 8 years ago when he was serving and this day that we were there he went through the temple for the first time and was sealed to his wife who is standing just below to the right of him.

 Adam's former mission president is now the Temple President so we spent the afternoon with President and Sister Whoolley. They are so in love and made me and  Adam laugh at how they still treat each other so sweetly after having been married so long. And they both have such a great sense of humor that they can have a good time anywhere.

 Beautiful sunset

 back at our hotel

 more sunsets

 Went to church at the Nausori ward the 2nd sunday we were there are Adam invited so many new/inactive people that the missionaries came up to him and said "how did you get them to come?" and he said "I just asked them to come and they said ok." Adam loves the people so much, he just wants to see them succeed in life.

 More pics after church

 At the Whippy's home for lunch after church, Adam served with Marji, the one in the middle who is expecting, and Adam's brother Cory plays basketball with Marcus Whippy at BYU-H currently. They are such a great family.

 Here is Sister Lala with a few of her grandkids, and 2 of her daughters. All of them live in a small home together, like 20 people, no joke. On this trip I really learned what a lot of the world lives like. We take so much for granted! It was so hard to leave their home, because we knew it would be a while before we would return and we had so many good conversations in that room.

 Adam and Eve at the airport.

 Some of the people who came to say goodbye. Adam said it was tougher this time to say goodbye to the people he loves so much. Who knows when/if we'll get to go back but we sure hope we can. The people are so wonderful and giving. They all had presents for us when we were leaving, even though they don't have money to spend on us.

It was an amazing trip and we saw many miracles while we were there. The people are so kind, and loving, and strong in the church. They don't have cars and have to save up their money to take the bus or a taxi to church each week and to go to the temple (it's on the other side of the island). We miss our Fijian friends so much! Much love to you and God be with you til we meet again.

*Adam only drove on the wrong side of the road once and as a car was coming at us I had to remind him to get into the other lane. But it all worked out.