August 17

Today was a long day and we were tired after opening the institute.  We had decided that we would go to the ten o'clock session at the temple, but first we had to buy yellow sulus for the get together for all church employees including the church school teachers that was to begin at five o'clock tonight.  All week we have been practicing for two dances that we were to do at the get together.  The men were doing a Fijian war club dance and the woman were doing a dance about a little flower.  We needed yellow sulus to dance.  So early we went down to the flea market to buy.  When we got there we could find no yellow sulus, only orangey-yellow ones.  While we were looking a sister came up and said she was also looking, so since we were buying two and she was buying four we decided the orangey-yellow would work.  As a side note, orangey-yellow is yellow; ours were the same color as everyone else's.

We got back from shopping just in time for the temple session.  I love the attitude in our temple and I am sure it works because we are so small.  One waits for the session to start in the ordinance room and we do not start until the last person comes out of the dressing room.  It is so much more relaxing for me than worrying about making the session.  As I walked into the woman's dressing room one of the ordinance workers said, "Ah here comes our witness couple!"  I wondered how she knew as we had been asked at the recommend desk.  When I went in to sit down, our cute little neighbor was in the chair next to mine.  She leaned in and said, "Thank you for serving us today, for making this session possible."  I was overcome by such a love for this woman.  Her accent is so heavy when she speaks English that I have limited our conversations.  It is awkward when one has to say "I did not understand" "Would you say that again" "I am sorry?" too many times and really embarrassing when after all that one still does not understand what has been said.  But here she was being so kind.  I gave her a hug and asked her if she came to the temple everyday it was open.  She just nodded her head.

I did not think much about what she had said until after the session and I had time to think.  I put the statements from the two sisters together and wondered, so I asked one of the senior sisters who serves in the Temple about it.  It seems that most Fijian couples can not come to the temple together which causes a real problem.  Sister Browne explained that most of the time when Scott and I came we would be asked to do the job and that when no couples came one of the senior temple couples had to fill in.  Our neighbor had meant her comment literally.  Her gratitude has forever changed the way I feel about serving as a witness couple and about those who do it for me.