October 22, 2009
Bula Vinaka from Fiji, once again! I have enjoyed all the updates I have been receiving from the states. Now that we are here, it is like receiving the regular Christmas letters that we became accustomed to in December. Thank you so much to those of you who are keeping us posted on what’s happening in your families, as well!
It sounds like life in Northern Colorado hasn’t been dull. From your first snow fall, to the hot air balloon boy, to the fires in Estes Park, to injured ankles and babies soon to be delivered, we love hearing all about it. It was being shouted from the rooftops when we found out that Balloon Boy was safe in his garage, and not flying over Kansas anymore! We keep you all in our prayers, and look forward to hearing more of your news.
This morning, most of the dormitory is quiet with peaceful slumber all around me. We have had an emotional week, dealing with the Fijian government and shipping companies, that have full control over the bulk of our belongings, which sit housed in a 40 foot container in Suva, the capital city of Fiji. The container was supposed to follow us here within a week or so of us arriving at Buca Bay. We expected challenges, but did not know what a roller coaster it would be. After wading through piles of red tape, Mike was assured that the container should be released and shipped last week some time. Hour by hour, the news kept changing, and finally, in desperation, with a little bit of hope, Mike jumped on the 11 am bus, to head to Savu Savu, where our belongings were supposed to arrive by boat.
After being literally sandwiched between 2 large Fijian men for 3 hours, with no room to move, Mike arrived in the town with enough time to take care of business and find a room to stay for the night. Expecting to wake up at 4 in the morning, to meet the customs official and escort our container home, Mike received an unwelcome message from the hotel manager. Customs had decided to hold the container once again, due to the fact that there were building materials on board. This is a fact they have been well aware of for several weeks, so we knew something was ‘fishy’. Many prayers were offered up, asking God to release our belongings.
Mike decided to make the best of it, and followed the sounds of worship music that were drifting up the hillside to his hotel. He walked in to the little Assembly of God Church, just as the music ended. As he tried to sit down unnoticed in the back, a huge gust of wind slammed the door shut behind him. Suddenly, all eyes turned to the ‘Kai Valagi’ (white person) in the back of the building. After this bold announcement of his presence, Mike proceeded to enjoy the service very much, and was blessed to see the Spirit of God move through the Fijian people, as they worshipped with all their hearts.
The trip to town proved to be a much needed reprieve for Mike. He got his first Fijian haircut for $5 ($2.50 American). That was quite an experience, which you can ask Mike about if you want more detailsJ With lots of time on his hands, he was able to purchase building supplies, more tea tree oil (for lice prevention), some cookies and a rocket ship pepsi. (The bottle dropped to the ground and proceeded to spin and shoot Pepsi all over the grocery store to Mike’s dumbfounded horror). As he gazed in wonder at the mess, he glanced meekly at the clerk, who responded in typical Fijian mode, “No worries”.
Mike took advantage of the opportunities in Savu Savu to meet many shop owners, local people, and visitors. From the chief councilman to Kiowa, one of the nearby islands, to a pastor of a youth church plant in Savusavu, Mike enjoyed meeting a wide variety of Fijians. He now feels well connected to the community, and made many invites to the people to bring their sick friends and family to the Clinic.
His most memorable browsing experience was in a store that carried some unforgettable merchandise. He popped in to check out what looked like it might be a souveneir shop, while he was waiting for the bus. It turned out that this particular shop carried some very unique souveneirs. As he observed the items on display, he realized that they were replicas of tribal warfare weapons, made by local villagers. The assortment ranged from neck breakers, skull crackers, and brain stirrers, to warrior masks and heavy objects meant for throwing at your victim, as he tries to escape.
Shockingly enough, tourists purchase enough of this merchandise to keep the store in business. These replicas are a sad reminder of the true history of Fiji. Cannibalism was the way of life for Fijians for centuries. The last reported case of cannibalism, to our knowledge was in the 1960’s. I would not believe this is true, if the history books were not so consistently clear. I truly see the power of God evidenced in the smiles of the Fijian people. If I had come to serve here 50 years ago, I probably would not be sharing stories of sharing meals with these genuinely loving people. I would have been the meal for their cannibalistic ancestors!
A true story that a friend read to us, just before we left for Fiji, reported a visiting atheist’s conversation with a Christian Fijian. The atheist was very critical of the Fijian’s belief in God. He was hostile towards the fact the missionaries had come to Fiji, and corrupted the natives with this ‘delusion that God is real, and that they were deceived to ever believe in Jesus, or to convert to Christianity’.
The Fijian’s response was that if he had not been ‘so deceived to take on the beliefs of Christianity’, the atheist visitor would not have been welcomed into his home. ‘In fact’, he told the atheist, ‘do you see that object hanging from the wall over there? If I had not become a follower of Christ, I would have taken that weapon off the wall, and used it to crush your head. Then, I would have taken your head and baked it in the oven right there. So, perhaps you too, might want to consider the truth about the teachings of Jesus Christ.’
Truly, the gospel of Christ, and his message of sacrificial love has transformed the lives of the Fijians for the better. While, Fiji is considered a Christian nation, just under half the population are Indians, and their main religions are Hinduism and Islam. As we see the beauty of all the people here, we realize that while we have the message of God’s eternal plan of salvation to offer, they in return have so much that we have already received from them.
I have often heard it said that when you go to serve others, it is you that receives the blessing. How true it has been in our situation. The Fijians are such happy and giving people. They laugh constantly, and it is rare to see them get upset. Their often repeated motto of ‘Sega na leqa’ (no worries) needs to be adopted in America. Would you believe that the condition of ‘depression’ is unheard of amongst the Fijian people. They have very little in terms of material things. Their lives consist of hard work, and little room for ‘climbing up in the world’. They have exemplified the scriptures call to ‘have food and clothing and be content with that’. I have seen Fijians wearing clothes we would use for cleaning rags, but the adornment that I notice is their joy. They may go barefoot everywhere, and not be sure whether or not they can afford the bus to town, or their children’s school tuition, but they have a simple trust that everything will be okay. It is a contagious way of life!
Slowly, the Fiji way is becoming the normal way. I have said goodbye to boneless chicken breasts and ice cream, and said hello to cassava, and coconuts. I have said goodbye to trips in the car, and hello to walking everywhere. I have said goodbye to regular trips to the store, and hello to major meal planning, and trips to town once or twice a month.
It was my turn for the grocery trip to Savusavu this past week with the children. Riding the bus is always interesting. After jumping on the bus at 7 am, we made record time on this trip, as the bus driver was trying desperately to pass every vehicle on the road. I just couldn’t look when he was making a move to pass another bus, with blind curves right ahead. Even Lina, my Fijian friend and companion said she was praying the whole way on that ride.
Jessi was shocked on one of her bus rides, when a little boy dropped his drawers and relieved himself right out the window in front of her. The bus is a great place to meet people, and have uninterrupted conversations. You are completely windblown, and your teeth taste like dirt by the end, but it is not nearly as bouncy and painful as taking the truck. If we take the 7 am bus, we arrive in town by about 9:30 and then have to be at the bus stop by 2 pm to catch the last bus home. The day feels rushed, as we always have a bunch of stops to make.
This week, we made our first visit to the library, which was very nice, even if the selection was limited. We also went to an Indian run shop, where we purchased sulus (skirts) for the Nathan and Justin. They looked like little Fijian boys in their button down shirts and sulus for church. Everyone was very excited to see them in the native dress. Ben is needing some strong bribery, before he will be convinced to wear a skirt. Mike said I got him the wrong color, but he is willing to wear a sulu in the near future. It is amazing to me, that it now seems normal to see men in skirts.
Bailee posted a bunch of pics on my Facebook, if you want to see photos. We will post the boys in their native Fiji wear hopefully next week. I am hoping to get a blog up with pictures soon. It is quite comical for us to see the Fijians confused about whether Nathan and Justin are boys or girls, because they have long hair. We have the opposite problem, because most Fijian girls wear their hair VERY short. The only thing that helps us distinguish them, is their dress, and that can be confusing as well. We are careful before we make any conclusions in this area.
Many things have lost their shock factor by now, including HUGE spiders, ugly red centipedes and 2 foot bats. I don’t know that some things will ever change, though. Last Sunday, we had a big workday to clean out the dam, and improve our water supply here at the Mission. All the workers joined us for a traditional Fijian lunch afterwards. Apparently, the most coveted part of the fish is the head. One of the ladies served Mike his portion of fish, which he soon noticed, included the eyeball. Not wanting to eat it, but knowing that someone might enjoy it, he asked, ‘does anyone want this eyeball?’ as he was clearing his plate. One of the ladies said that she would like it, and popped it in her mouth like it was an m&m (to Sadie’s horrorJ) Mike inquired, ‘what does it taste like?’ Another gal chuckled and replied, ‘it tastes like eyeball!’ Hmmm, we’ll keep that one a mystery for now.
Along with the struggles of the container this week, we had some great high points. Our whole family went to visit a local village called the Vunikera this week. The Vunikera is the village that the last missionaries here had 'adopted'. The people in this village are among the poorest in Fiji. The children are not well cared for, and are the dirtiest we have seen. Sickness is rampant, and neglect is common. No one in Fiji goes hungry, because any able bodied person can live off the land. Dalo, cassava, fruits, nuts and vegetables grow wild everywhere. Hunger is just one of our human needs that must be met. The people of Vunikera are in need of a relationship with the one true living God. They need to know the love of Jesus Christ, who died for them, that they may have life abundantly.
Our prayer is that as we build relationships with them, they will experience the love of God, and be drawn to a lifestyle that honors God and will lead to eternal life. It was our joy to spend a few hours with these precious people, and benefit from the trust gained by the past missionaries. We were readily accepted, and were invited to try spear fishing, play games, and share in music with them. I know that this was a result of the previous missionaries hard work and prayers. We invited everyone to come see us at the Mission anytime, and one of the young Moms took me up on the invite the next day, with her little baby, Simon. We had a wonderful time visiting together, and l look forward to many more friendships being formed.
An exciting decision was made this week that we hope will make a positive impact on many Fijian families eventually. Education is an important issue for every family here. Unfortunately, options are limited, especially when it comes to older grades. While most families send their children to local schools thru grade 8, when the children finish primary school, they are usually forced to leave their homes for boarding school if they want to continue their education. This means that at the age of 13 or 14, young people must leave the support of their parents, and be separated by great distances. One of the couples on staff here at the clinic, Moses and Lina, have 3 children that have stolen our hearts. We were already mourning the fact that their son, Saul, age 14, was going to have to leave for boarding school in January. Lina had lightly mentioned that she was hoping that maybe Monique and I could help educate Saul, so he didn't have to leave home.
We didn't want to make this decision lightly, but after much prayer, and a long talk on the bus to SavuSavu, I told Lina that we would be happy to have Saul join our homeschool, if she and Moses thought that was the best thing for him. Yesterday, she told me that they would like him to start with us on Monday! All of our kids rejoiced at the news of our new student.
Saul and his siblings are a joy to be around. I am confident that our children will learn as much from Saul, if not more than we will be teaching him. He has already been working on many Fiji skills with them, such as climbing coconut and tamarind trees, making guns out of papaya shoots, and is working on getting them to hike the volcano. We may have to add a 'Fiji life skills' curriculum to our schedule, and have Saul teach it. We have also made an offer to another family, for teaching their daughter, as well. It is our desire to enable parents to keep their children home, where they can be discipled and gain an education at the same time. One of the Mission's goals is to start a high school, and we have truly come to understand the need for this endeavor.
Another highlight was the start up of our midweek small group. Moses, (Saul's father), who works at Natuvu and attends church with us requested that we start a prayer meeting on Tuesday nights, here at Natuvu. We announced the formation of the group Tuesday morning and had a great turnout that evening. We had a time of singing from our kids, and the Fijian children, who always blow us away with their built in speaker system. They sang 'Shine, Jesus, Shine' like I've never heard it. As Mike shared his heart for the group, and asked everyone for input, another new friend, Siwa, replied, "I will be beside you". It touched my heart, that so many people here have welcomed us as family, and we truly do feel them 'standing beside us'.
We have also enjoyed having our new friends 'sit' beside us. Movie nights have been another popular new tradition here at the clinic. We set up the TV from the clinic in the worship room with chairs and a woven mat for the children. Last week, we showed 'Facing the Giants', a movie about overcoming impossibilities with God's help. Moses' wife Lina, leaned over and told me, 'That was the best movie I ever saw'. Fiji doesn't have a wide selection of movies available, and much of what people have seen is not worth watching. Not many people have TV's, so movie nights are a big event. It was very exciting for them to get to watch their first Christian movie, and suggestions were made to use the movies as a tool to reach the nearby villages. We look forward to many doors opening thru this venue. As a side note, Jon knows how to fry up coconut in such a way that it tastes like microwave popcorn!
One of our small, but significant frustrations lately has been the visitation of many dogs. Some of the workers bring their dogs to work, and take them home with them, which would be just fine if the dogs stayed home. We have been warned against getting too friendly with the dogs, because they make a lovely home for fleas and possibly lice. However, one dog in particular, was very cute and for the most part, appeared clean. We found out he belonged to a gal who lives about a 40 minute walk away. She was visiting family nearby, and had brought this little mongrel, named 'Harmless' with her. Yes, the dogs name is Harmless:) Well, when the owner left, the dog stayed. We can not keep a dog on the mission property, and especially not at the cafeteria where we eat all of our meals. We tried everything to get rid of him. We got someone to take him all the way home, but sure enough, he'd come back the next day. We scolded, we growled (okay, I growled), we shooed, we (gently) scooted the dog away, but only had temporary success. We pleaded with 'Uncle Mesaki' to get rid of him. His response was the only way to keep him away was to kill him! That option was not going to fly with my animal loving children.
This morning, as I looked at the adorable, yet sorry looking little mutt, I asked God, 'Are you trying to give us this dog? Cuz I just can't be mean to him anymore!' An idea formed in my mind, and was confirmed by Mike and the kids. Harmless had adopted us. Dr. Annibal told us we could have a dog when we built our house, as long as we keep him tied up and away from the guests. It looks like we get the dog before the house. Everyone in the family is happy about this new development, and Jessi is ready for her first big job tomorrow. A bath for Harmless. We will use peppermint oil to kill his house guests, the fleas, and hopefully spray him with tea tree oil to keep other visitors away. He should be the best smelling dog in the bay, and not too poorly fed, with a diet of our two families leftovers:) We will give him a home by the creek and the mango tree, and everyone will have to learn to love the tied-up watch dog named Harmless!
October 28, 2009
It has been almost a week, since I started this letter. I start with some notes to myself, about what I want to share with you all. Then I fill in the details. Life is moving faster here than I thought it would. Homeschooling is truly a full time job, here just as much as in the states. Monique and I share some of the teaching, and the kids seem to enjoy their ‘together’ time. Today, we made cuneiform tablets out of sugar cookie dough. Felt almost like homeJ Our new Fijian student was very curioius about that project, and wondered if he might want to go back to elementary school.
Teaching an extra student has been a blessing. Saul will be 15 in November, and is enjoying picking up Marine Biology, Ancient History, Mathematics, Bible, and his favorite seems to be ‘Typing’! He works well and says homeschool is much less ‘boring’ than regular school. Although he did fall asleep reading one of the Christain biographies we sent him home with last nightJ
I will close here with an economic suggestion. We are recommending that all you buy stock in Johnson and Johnson. We have gone through more bandaids here in 6 weeks, than several years on the ranch in Colorado. A small box of bandaids from town was priced at $7, so we may be ordering straight from Jand J by the caseloadJ With continuos adventure to be had, our 3 boys have constant stubbed toes, along with all kinds of scrapes. Becka came to dinner with her stomach a bit raw from sliding down a coconut tree. Jessi took a dive, while trying to jog on the potholed roads. We certainly are working the angels overtime here.
Speaking of angels, I pray that yours watch over you and your families. Though separated by the miles, I am thankful for email, and snail mail to keep us connected. Our best to you all, and I look forward to hearing or seeing some of you soon!
Moce, (Bye or GoodnightJ)
Sara
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