Changing the world begins with strengthening your own family – Bonnie L. Carson
A couple hours away from 2018 is always a great time to reminisce the year that was. 2017 was eventful and I like the quote above from Bonnie L. Carson (Read more here: The Needs before Us).
If there was one theme throughout this year for me, it has been about strengthening my family.
February: The newest Katafono
We welcomed Elias to the Katafono and Tagaloa families in February. He’s been such an amazing gift to us and Shauna and I are truly blessed to see him grow every day.
June/July: Elias visits Samoa
We took Elias to Samoa to see the rest of his family, especially his Grandad. This was his first trip abroad and we all went to Savai’i too, my first time. We loved it!
Even managed to fracture my foot in Samoa. It was that good!
August: We finally started living together
We put behind the long distance and finally settled down together as a family (I wrote about this earlier – A new journey). But not before Elias and Shauna joined me in Honiara, Solomon Islands for one last time.
September: We start a business
Something I’ve always wanted to do was to start my own business and I managed to tick that off when Shauna and I started TraSeable Solutions Pte Ltd together. It’s a startup and something we’re growing slowly but are very excited about its potential and what 2018 has in store for it.
October: A step closer to eternity
I became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and we took a step closer to being an eternal family (Learn about The Eternal Family).
This was a major personal milestone for me after over a year of learning about the church through Shauna and especially through the lessons from the missionaries, Elders Kioa and Lee Chip Sao.
November: Blockchain opens opportunities
I’ve been active in trying to develop the blockchain scene in Fiji and was successful in starting the Fiji Blockchain Community with a group of enthusiasts. This has opened up many opportunities which isn’t surprising given the interest in this technology.
It took me to Bonn, Germany for Hack4Climate. My first time to Europe and to a hackathon.
Elias, Shauna, and Rina also took my absence from Fiji to sneak off to Samoa for another family visit.
December:
Was hectic trying to get things organised with our business while tending to other opportunities.
We welcomed some great new team members (Jasha, Leba, and Shaazreen) to the TraSeable Solutions team.
Blessed to spend Christmas and a (working) holiday in Auckland with my Samoan family!
Interestingly, it seems more has happened in our family lives since we started living together in August.
2017 has been a blessing and we look forward to 2018!
If you’ve read until here, wherever you are, we wish you a Joyous 2018!
Kenneth Katafono 