Christmas letter 2015

Greetings to you from Peceli, Wendy, George, Bale, Epa, Grace,  Jordan, Andrew,  Andrew Snr, Eka and Linlay. Yes, that’s the lot of us who will be together for Christmas this year – filling up the two houses and the bungalows and sharing the tidying up and the cooking.  Perhaps a lovo (underground oven) and seafood. We are reminded of Christ’s birth with the carols, messages, decorations and the bling conical tree in Geelong that lights up the Geelong waterfront sky. Let us honour and pray for one another, for miracles in our difficult world  today and may this message of good will give peace to you. 

Our compound,  now called Vatuadova Kisi is busy with the large family and often visitors, so kava is occasionally flowing. This year Andrew’s 13 year old daughter Linlay came over from Tonga and started school at Form 2 at Geelong High School.  It has been a joy to have a teenage girl join our household. Young Andrew is also at Geelong High and completed Year 11. Bale works down at Lorne and Jordan worked  there for several months this year. The boys are now sixteen and eighteen so both do some part-time work.

Health issues for us oldies mean  pills and checkups and aches in the night mean I’m  on the internet at  2 a.m. with a hot water bottle and Deep Heat on  my knee.. The young ones in the family play tennis summer and winter for East Geelong Uniting, touch rugby, a bit of indoor cricket and Andrew Snr attempts to get them interested in athletics.  Peceli and I still go for drives and simple picnics and some sketching  to enjoy the beauty of the Bellarine Peninsular and discover new places nearly every week. Peceli gave up Rotary and we go to fewer Diversitat  or community meetings these days. There were no trips to Fiji this year, just a few days holiday at Port Fairy which was nice. Our Fiji Friendship Club continues with dinners and a lovely barbecue/lovo at Rippleside Park in December.

Peceli continues his relationship with  some of the Fijian families in the Werribee and Altona Meadows/area and I still play music at East Geelong.  A Tongan minister, Rev Ikani continues to be an inspirational leader of our faith community.  There has been sadness this year as we farewelled several friends as age or illness caught up with them.

Friday August 21^st  was a significant day at our family village of Vatuadova near Labasa with the opening of the new Methodist Church there. The former wooden church which opened in June 1998 will be used for cultural activities and a kindergarten. It was too small for the people nowadays. The building process took three years of fundraising and then the carpentry team stage by stage built the church. Congratulations to all concerned. Thank you to the men and women of the former South Geelong Uniting Church for their contribution of $10,000 to the final stages.

Loloma and  best wishes for the Christmas and New Year season. Our email is pecr@iprimus.com.au and we’re on facebook.

Wendy R and gang from Geelong.