On Monday our son Tylor and his girlfriend Nicole came to Fiji for Christmas. We picked them up in Nadi and headed down the coast to a place called The Beachhouse on the coral coast of Fiji.
First on the list of activities was getting open water certified for scuba diving. Nicole is already certified so it was Tylor and I going to the “Diveaway” shop just up the road and completing our training. That took 2 days. We had already completed the PADI training online prior to going to Fiji. Then on the third day we had our certifying dive and became certified.
Nicole came with us on our certifying dive to take some pictures. Tylor had bought a waterproof case for his iPhone and it worked great. Here are some pictures of that dive.
Each day Susan and Nicole stayed at the Beachhouse and relaxed. Tylor and I usually would get back around 2:00 so we would all go snorkeling. Here are some pictures we took while snorkeling.
Then we did a shark dive that was great. When the workers would start feeding the fish you never knew what would show up. We had a lot of fish and sharks come in. We saw lemon, white tip, black tip, nurse, bull, and other reef sharks. Then there were grouper, cod, trevele, and a miriad of reef fish. The picture captures some of the excitement but you really need to have been there to fully appreciate it.
Some more pictures from our certifying dive.
Our dive instructor was Spencer Finn from Australia. Here we are with our open water dive certificates. The young man, who was 16, got certified so that he could start diving with his Dad.
We often went for walks in the evenings. The sunsets were spectacular and we always took time to take a few pictures.
The locals were a friendly bunch and we enjoyed visiting with them. There were also several resident dogs that adopted us especially at dinner time.
One day we took a day trip on the boat to Yanacu Island for some more snorkeling, fishing and a little hiking. It was a fun trip.
On Sunday Susan and I attended church at one of the local wards, Navua. We were asked to speak. Susan spoke on the devotion that Mary and Martha had for the Savior. I spoke on the importance of latter day prophets and in having a testimony of them. We met a young woman who is best friends with a Sister missionary serving in Tarawa that we know. Then the Elders also had ties to Tarawa. The one from the US had served in the MTC with several Missionaries now serving in Tarawa. The other Elder is from Tarawa serving in Fiji.
The New Year came in with a bang. Dinner was great, the music was good and the fireworks were awesome.
We got up the next morning and headed to the Marriot Resort for our last couple of days in Fiji befor heading back to Tarawa.
My next blog will cover Tylor and Nicole’s time on Tarawa with us.
Susan and I look forward to 2018. We anticipate a very busy year doing the work we have been assigned to do.
