Heading to The Rock

Things are ramping up in the Area Office as we move forward to implement the 2015 Area Presidency goals for family history.   We have had some busy days.  A big part of today was making travel plans for our first overseas trip.  In just a little over a week we will be headed to the island nation of Niue.

I learned a few facts about the place over at Niueisland.com:

Niue is a large upraised coral atoll, and is a standalone land mass in the centre of a triangle of Polynesian islands made up of Tonga, Samoa and the Cook Islands. Located 2400km north east of New Zealand, on the eastern side of the international dateline.

The general formation of the island takes the shape of two terraces, the lower terrace being 28m above sea level and the upper terrace is about 69m above sea level. The island’s isolation and coral makeup creates an exciting rugged coastline and reef which provides intimate swimming coves as opposed to the typical long stretches of sandy beaches so predominant elsewhere in Polynesia. The whole island is dotted with a myriad of caves and sheltered rocky coves, some of which have yet to be explored. The Huvalu Rain forest is home to some amazing indigenous trees and has been designated as a Conservation Area to protect and conserve the islands primary rain forest and natural fauna and flora.

The reason we are going there is to support the members and leaders of the church in recording their family history information on FamilySearch.com   Also, our Mission President wants us to connect with the young elders who are serving there to see if they need anything.  

We are making arrangements to get a new computer sent to the Family History Library in Niue.  When we go we will be sure it is set up properly and that the people there know how to access the program. 

While we are there we hope to get to also get a chance to explore a bit so we can experience some of the beauty of this small, somewhat isolated Pacific island.  I'm excited to be going and look forward to the experience.