Monday, the 8th of February. Just another day for most people in
Fiji. However, in our tiny corner of Buca Bay a room full of Fijians
get to watch the Superbowl for the very first time. And my husband
watches his first football game of the year. The doctor here has a TV
with a satellite dish, which is the only one I know of for miles. It
doesn’t get used very much, to my knowledge, but today his living room
is busting with sweaty bodies tasting a little bit of American
entertainment.
I am experiencing an unusual day here in Fiji. A flu is passing
around, and fever and exhaustion have taken over my body, resulting in
my sleeping most of the day away. No worries about missing the
Superbowl on my part, although I do miss my dear friends that used to
come over and chat with me, while our husbands screamed at the TV
screen. And yes, I do miss the meatballs in bbq sauce, and the
chicken wings, too☺ But today, I lay in my room, feeling the cool
breeze (thankfully!) and listen to a variety of sounds, which cause my
mind to wander. My body doesn’t really want to sit up to type this
letter, but my thoughts strongly desire to be shared with you all.
So, I will see who wins this battle☺ For now, I write.
As I have drifted in and out of sleep today, the sounds have competed
to wrestle for my attention. The first unwelcome sound to disturb me
was the tune of the Ghostbuster’s theme song ringing on my cell phone.
This reminds me of the fact that Fiji is a strange combination of
technology and the stone age. For several months, we had no phone
here. To my surprise, even Jessi didn’t miss having a phone.
Something peaceful about no phones ringing, and no one vying for your
attention, except for the people in your immediate presence. However,
when we found out how inexpensive the phones were, and realized the
inconvenience it is to not have any way for people to reach us, we
purchased some $20 phones, which you pay for as you talk.
It has been a blessing to be able to communicate with our new friends,
and people we meet, as well as be able to reach each other, as we are
all spread out across the Mission property. I would say about ¼ of
the people in the village have a cell phone. But very few have
electricity. So, it is a very common sight, all over our property to
see cell phones charging. People waiting for the bus, come to ask is
they can plug their phones in. Can you imagine not having an outlet
in your home to charge your phone? That is normal in the villages.
Most people here wash their clothes in the river, ocean, or under the
tap. They have no refrigerator, and they cook over an open fire.
Some villages have a generator that runs for a couple hours at night,
so they can have a light on for that time. Others have solar power
that charges during the day, so they can have light. Not enough
electricity for a fan, though. The ‘well off’ people in the villages
have their own small generators, and they might run a TV or radio off
of that. Their homes are the popular ones in the village☺
The past couple weeks has been a challenge for us, in terms of
electricity. We have 2 large generators that power the Mission
property. Normally, one runs in the morning from 8-12 noon. The
generator provides us with electricity for the kitchen, washing
machine, dryer, fans, lights, etc. The generator charges our
batteries, which keep us going until evening, when another generator
runs for 2-3 hours to charge us up for the night. When we are on
battery power, we cannot run most appliances, etc. The children have
had to learn to turn off lights, fans, etc., and not take electricity
for granted. The American outlets do not work when the generator is
off, so we have to be mindful of what we need to do and when we do it.
Unfortunately, our electrical system has been experiencing many
difficulties. One generator broke, and then shortly after we got it
fixed, the other one died.
Technicians don’t live right down the street, so getting things fixed
is difficult. Our batteries have not been charging the way they
should, so the power has gone out repeatedly over the last couple
weeks. We have had some very hot and sleepless nights, and learned to
get around in the dark. Mike has learned a lot about generators, and
spent hours trying to figure out how to improve our system here.
Every day is a learning experience. A couple weeks ago, Mike drove
the Mission truck to town loaded with our first money making cargo.
We have begun to produce dried copra (coconut flesh) to sell in town,
and the profits will help to offset the expenses here at the Mission.
Never in his life growing up, did Mike imagine himself driving a
1970’s truck 4 hours over a dirt road to sell 30 bags of dried copra
to make money to pay for diesel fuel to keep the lights on at a
Mission in the middle of the south Pacific☺
Which leads me to my next thought. After the ring of the cell phone
stirred my from my restless sleep, I listened to the constant whirring
of a weed whacker. (or grass cutter, as they call them here). From
the comfort of my pillow, I can picture one of the men on staff geared
up in sunglasses, and long pants and shirts running the weed whacker
outside my window. I have come to love all of the people on staff at
the Mission. Several men receive their livelihood by working to make
the Mission grounds beautiful. Tropical plants are positioned with
care, and the lawn and gardens are maintained more like a resort than
what you would think for a Mission. When I look out my window, I
remember that I live in a place that postcards are made from, and
destination for many vacationers. And I remember the day that Mike
told me he felt the Lord was calling him to be a missionary to Fiji.
Fiji??? I remember very clearly the response of my heart.
Missionaries don’t go to Fiji. They go to Africa, or India, or even
the inner city of Denver, but not Fjii!!! That is where people go on
vacation.
Or so I thought☺ I have been asked by several people how we ever
ended up in Fiji in the first place. So, please bear with me as I
share with you the ‘long version’ of the beginning our of our new
life. I have prayed for years that God would use me as a missionary,
to serve him wherever he might call me. First, in my home, and then
to the endless frontier of Africa (in my dreams)!! I have dedicated
my children to the Lord, and asked that he use them all as his
ministers of the gospel to a lost and dying world. I have asked him
to use them to reach people that have never heard the good news of
Jesus before. Because of the fact that my husband loved the creature
comforts of America, I was content to take 'short term' mission trips,
and prayed that my children would be the next Hudson Taylors and Amy
Carmicheals of the world.
The Lord, however had a different plan. During the year, 2007, life
as we knew it began to unravel. Mike has always done well in
business, and although he has never been a workaholic, success seemed
to chase his every step. After acquiring all that he had dreamed
of... a loving family, a 35 acre ranch in Colorado, a ski condo in
Granby Ranch, and his most cherished Range Rover... an unpredicted
chain of events threatened to change everything.
Without going in to every detail, circumstances outside of our control
began to ebb away at the secure life Mike had worked so hard for.
Fear and panic moved in, and nothing in his power could fix the
mountain of challenges and hardships that appeared imminent.
As I watched this apparent disaster of our lives unfold, I held fast
to my Saviour. I believe the promises that God has made, and asked
that he would use all of the trials we were going through for good in
our lives. I prayed that God would draw Mike close to him, and give
him the strength to get through each day. There were certain people
who had chosen to attack Mike's company, and spread malicious lies
about him and his partner. Others who had made promises and signed
contracts, but failed to follow through. One who stole over a million
dollars, and left the country, leaving Mike's company to shoulder the
blame and loss. Many enemies had arisen, along with the turbulent
economy. I prayed that Mike would trust God to be his provider, and
that he would be able to forgive those who had intentionally hurt him.
The Lord was faithful to do much more than this! He gave Mike a
challenge which would ultimately change his life and send us to Fiji!!
What kind of challenge, you ask? This journey began in our hot tub!
A certain friend of ours used to enjoy long soaks in the hot tub with
Mike, as they would discuss life's joys and sorrows. During this time
of intense stress, their hot tub conversation turned serious. As Mike
shared the struggles of holding it together, and his concerns for the
future, our friend encouraged him to listen to a series of lectures by
a man named Herb Larsen. Mike had the mp3's sitting on his desk for
weeks without picking them up. At our friend's insistence, and God's
divine timing, we were able to listen to about 6 of the sessions on a
trip to the mountains. Mike was captivated by Herb's story, and drawn
to the challenge that Herb gives to everyone he meets. Herb's story
was one of deliverance from the onslaught of the pressures of this
world, by pursuing the most important thing first.
When Herb shared his similar struggles with business stress, anxiety,
and a lack of peace in his life, Mike's heart was engaged. He knew
that he needed something in his life that was desperately missing. He
had always been in control of things. He always planned everything
out to the last detail, and could manage problems with his own
intelligence and resources. All of a sudden, when he realized that
the new issues that had come up were beyond human fixing, he was at a
point in need of supernatural help. This help was what Herb's
challenge offered.
The challenge was this. Simple, but not easy. Give the first hour of
your day to God, through prayer and Bible study, and do it for 60
days. God promises that if we seek him first, and seek his kingdom
and his righteousness that he will give us all that we need. Mike
decided to take the 60 day challenge. God had always been an
important part of his life, but he had never been the object of Mikes'
pursuit. He realized he spent many hours a day working just to
survive. Why not give God a try? After 60 days, not much had
happened. Mike was still pretty miserable, and wondering why God
seemed so far off. After 90 days, things started to improve. Not on
the outside, where circumstances continued to spiral out of control.
The change was internal. Mike started to internalize God's word and
his promises. He realized that God did answer prayer, because the
word of God became alive to him.
As God's Spirit was being invited in, the stress and worry started to
fade. Mike could handle the stress with greater peace, and gave each
new ordeal to God, as they came. He could sleep better, and regained
confidence for the future. As God started to work miracles in helping
resolve the business issues that had come up, Mike realized that even
when everything was resolved that his heart was no longer in the
business world. He no longer had the desire to make a lot of money,
and acquire a more luxurious life. Instead, the commands of Jesus
seemed to resonate with him. The charge to care for the poor and the
needy, and the orphan and the widow seemed to fill his thoughts more
than buying the next gadget. He told God that he had lived the first
half of his life for himself, but that he wanted to give the rest of
his days to serving Him. For possibly the first time in his life, he
offered a prayer of true surrender to the Lord. Mike told God that he
was willing to do whatever he wanted, and go wherever he wanted him to
go. He prayed for direction and guidance for the future.
About this time, we had some friends over and we were discussing this
whole situation. Mike shared his heart to do something with his 9-5
hours that would make a significant difference for eternity. Our
friend suggested we look into a particular ministry in Fiji. He
followed up by sending Mike a link to the website for this ministry.
From the time Mike looked at the website, he could not stop thinking
about Fiji. The ministry is called the Dream Machine foundation, and
Mike was so interested in their work, that he told me we may be called
to go to Fiji as missionaries! I actually laughed at the idea! Fiji?
None of the missionary books I have read were about Fiji! And I
also reminded him that we were not going anywhere as missionaries,
because we had a lot of problems to deal with here in the states! My
initial thought was that he just wanted to run away from everything
and hide in Fiji. Nice, huh?
Well, God set me straight in his gentle and patient way. When I
realized that Mike was not kidding, and he really didn't want to run
away from things, I opened my heart to the idea of Fiji. I
prayerfully looked over the website wondering if God truly had a plan
for us to serve him in Fiji. I saw that Fiji truly is a very poor
country, in great need of help. Much of the population has no access
to decent, if any, medical care. Only a couple of generations away
from extreme cannibalism, the people of Fiji are in definite need of
Jesus' love and truth. Religion is mixed in Fiji between a form of
Christianity, Islam, Hindu, and occult. Many residents take on the
religion of their chiefs, and are regular church goers, but they never
hear or see the way of salvation that they need more than anything.
As I came to the conclusion that God may be leading Mike in this new
obsession with Fiji, I called him, and told him that the possibility
of going to Fiji was looking more appealing to me. I told him that I
understood that there are true needs there, and that perhaps, someday,
we could do something down there.
It was just a brief conversation, but seemed to be pivotal. A little
while later, Mike called me and told me that his business partner and
friend, Jon Thompson wanted to get together to pray with us about the
possibility of going to serve in Fiji. He made it sound urgent, and
they wanted to meet that night at a coffee shop to seek the Lord's
direction in the matter. I was somewhat amused as I consented to meet
them. Surely, they were pushing this thing a little faster than
necessary!
When we sat down, with our chai teas and coffee in hand, Jon opened up
by saying he felt this was a crossroads in our lives. He felt that
this could be the beginning of a whole new chapter in our lives. Mike
was somewhat quiet, probably wondering how Jon had attached himself to
this calling to Fiji. Jon's wife, Monique was definitely guarded
about the idea, having first heard about it, possibly an hour before
our meeting. She had the same objections that I had expressed,
including, 'how can we consider missions with all of our issues going
on right now?' All that being said, we each prayed a prayer of
surrender, offering up our lives to the Lord, opening ourselves up to
his leading.
A few days later, Monique called me with a request. She had been
praying about this whole idea of Fiji, and really felt convinced that
we shouldn't be considering going anywhere with the guys' business in
the state it was in. They had an abundance of houses for sale at this
point, none of which had been selling. The dead market was a source
of grief for many builders, at this time, and Mike's company was
suffering greatly. Monique felt impressed to make an audacious
request of God. She wanted us to pray in agreement with her that they
would sell 5 houses within 30 days. I agreed to pray in agreement
with her, and shared this request with our children. My son, Ben,
asked me this question. “Mom, if we sell 5 houses in 30 days, does
that mean that we are going to Fiji?” I remember my reply as if it
was yesterday. “Well, Ben, its not like we are telling God that if he
sells 5 houses for us, then we will go to Fiji, but if we do sell 5
houses in 30 days, that would be an absolute miracle, and could very
well mean we are going to Fiji!”
I never told Mike about our little prayer agreement. So, about 10
days later when he called me with excitement in his voice, he had no
idea what we had been praying. “Guess what happened today!” What? I
asked. “We got 5 contracts on houses to build!” Yes, in one day,
Mike’s company received 5 contracts. This was the first of many
miracles, and direct answers to prayer.
From that point, we continued to pray that if Fiji was Mike’s idea,
and not God’s idea, that he would shut the door. The last thing we
wanted to do was to pack up our family, and move across the world on a
whim. However, as we prayed, it seemed like God continued to open
doors wide. As this letter is already getting too long, I will
summarize some of the highlights.
*After an opportunity to meet with the founder of the Dream Machine
Foundation, he told us we had his blessing to go to Fiji, and work
with his ministry and their sister foundation, the Mission at Natuvu
Creek.
*After meeting with the founders of the Mission at Natuvu, we also
received an invitation to come and serve full time in Fiji. They had
both turned many people away from coming down to serve, but felt we
were the ones they had been praying for to help them further the
ministry.
*After returning home from our initial visit to Fiji, we told God that
we were willing to go to Fiji, but that he had many ‘giants’ that had
to be slain before we could go.
*The hardest thing to do was to share this new direction in life with
our friends and family. To my surprise, no one tried to talk us out
of going, and even my precious Mom, who it was the hardest to leave,
gave me her full support and blessing.
*Mike and Jon’s business partner gave them full permission to leave
the business in his hands, and was also selflessly supportive in our
decision to go.
*Our 35 acre ranch, which easily could have taken a year to sell in
the current market, went under contract within 30 days for the price
we were hoping for. Actually, I have to give you more details on that
answer to prayer.
As soon as we returned home to America from Fiji in February of 2009,
we felt certain that we should prepare our home to sell, so that we
would be ready to go to Fiji, whenever God opened the door. We
thought maybe it would be a year, before we could put things in order
for us to go. So, when we put our home on the market after a couple
months of fixing things up, we were patient for things to move slowly.
However, after showing the house several times within the first week
or two on the market, I realized that this was going to be no easy
endeavor. It is a lot of work to make a home for 6 children look good
enough for a showing, and then clear everyone out of the house for 2
hours. So, as I closed the door one day after a showing, I silently
cried out a prayer to God, “Lord, please let the next showing be the
person who buys this house. I really don’t want to go thru this
process over and over again, so please don’t let us get any more calls
until the it is the right buyer!”
We had just attended a church service, where the speaker had reminded
us to make our prayers specific. This prayer was specific, and
perhaps a bit selfish, but it was a cry from my heart. Well, as a
result, the telephone stopped ringing. Uh oh. Mike did not like the
lack of interest we had in the house for the next couple weeks.
Should we drop the price? What is happening, he wondered? Finally,
the phone rang again with another showing! Could this be the one? I
told Mike about my prayer request, so we were hopeful that we would
have a buyer.
To cut the story short, I will just give God all the glory in telling
you, that he did answer this prayer with a YES! I never had to show
the house again, and this showing resulted in the sale of our home.
To make the story even better, I will tell you that God provided the
perfect closing date, and the perfect place to live, while we waited
for our move to Fiji to solidify. To him be all the praise!
*The sale of our home was not without consequence. It meant that we
had to find homes for our donkey, 5 horses, 1 colt, 3 dogs, 2 goats, 4
chickens and one barn cat. This was no small feat to conquer in a
short period of time, especially considering that each pet was more
like a member of the family. I will keep this praise simple in
telling you that every single animal went to a home that we felt good
about, and each one has a great story to go with it! For lack of
time, just be confident that God cares about every detail of your
life. From where you live, to what you wear, to what happens to your
dairy goats when you sell your ranch☺
*Acquiring our visas was a daunting task, as well. We were given the
run around from people in Fiji many times, and were not sure how to
proceed with getting to stay in Fiji for more than 4 months at a time.
At a point, when we didn’t know how to proceed, the name of a Fijian
contact here in the states was given to us. After a long and fruitful
conversation with Mike, this contact was able to secure us 3 year
visas within about 2 weeks time! One more giant slain, and miracle
secured☺
*How does one go about moving to Fiji from the middle of the US
anyways? We know we had to take a good amount of our belongings with
us, and that packing a container would be the best way to go. But
where do you get one of these, and how do you pack it and then ship it
to Fiji? This was one more of the many answers to prayer. God
connected us to a ministry in our very own hometown of Loveland, CO,
that had been praying for a way to help the people of Fiji! When they
heard our story, they not only opened up their warehouse to us to use
to pack, and store our belongings, and to load our container at, but
they also donated another container full of donations to bless the
people of Fiji. This whole situation blew us away, as without the
people of H.E.L.P. International in Loveland, we may still be in
Loveland, ourselves☺
*One of my biggest prayers during this time of transition was that my
family would be unified in our decision to move to Fiji. With 2
teenage girls, and 4 other children who loved their comfortable life
in Colorado, this was not a simple desire. Everyone who talked to us
about our decision to move our family across the world especially
wondered about our oldest daughter’s plans. She was almost 18 and
could have chosen to stay in America with friends. My heart was
delighted that the Lord spoke to Jessi individually and showed her his
plan was for her to go to Fiji. This did not mean it was easy.
All of the children experienced pain and loss, as we prepared to
leave. Buckets of tears were shed, as we said goodbye to SO many
loved ones. Jessi and Mike especially mourned the loss of our ranch
and their precious animals, but we all clung to the promise of Jesus,
which says that whoever gives up houses, or fields, or family for his
sake will receive a hundred fold in this lifetime. After the first
few weeks of being here, we have seen the promise being fulfilled.
Truly, in giving up all we had in America, we have received much. I
already feel like we have gained more than we have given.
*The stories are endless about how God led us to Fiji. When there
were so many distinct answers to prayer, we were convinced that God
was paving the way so clearly, so that when we found ourselves on a
lonely island in Fiji, and we wondered how we ever got here, we would
not wonder if we had made a huge mistake.
So, now here we are. And this question has sometimes threatened to
enter our minds. Especially as we saw Mike’s health declining
rapidly. Mike has struggled with back and neck pain in the states,
but he was confident that if God was leading him to Fiji, that God
would provide the strength for him to serve. Building a house from
scratch was going to be quite a challenge! So when his body seemed to
be weakening, discouragement was trying to conquer Mike’s mind.
However, I saw God prevail even in the trials. Mike would not allow
himself to lose heart. The anxiety that was common to him in the
states, before, was absent in this trial. Even though things looked
bleak, he was confident in the God who had sent him to Fiji. He chose
to look at the good, instead of the bad. And now, I can tell you that
he is getting stronger again, and feels the worse has passed. Mike’s
team that is working with on the house has been so amazing and such a
source of encouragement to him. Peals of laughter and praise music
trickle away from the jobsite regularly. This home that we are
building is an offering to the Lord, and he is already being lifted up
in the process.
We laugh when the locals talk to us about the size of our house. At
about 1900 square feet, they think we are building a palace! Just
over half the size of our ranch in America, we thought it would make
quite a humble home. Compared to the Fijian’s homes, though, it does
look like a mansion. And we have to ask, should we have chosen to
live more simply? Should we learn to wash our clothes by hand, and
cook over an open fire? Should we eat more cassava, and less
potatoes? One of our friends commented that we are living in ‘little
America’ in the middle of Fiji. This is true, in a sense. And this
is another reason I praise God.
You see, God has a mission for all of us. He birthed us, and wired us
all with a genetic makeup that is meant to worship him, and serve him.
And he has planned out all of the steps we are to take, and the
places we should live. He has chosen people to live for his glory in
all walks of life. From Laguna Beach, California to the ghettoes of
Newark, New Jersey. From the desert plains of Namibia, Africa, to the
earthquake shaken island of Haiti. He has his people everyone, and he
uses his people to be his hands and feet on this earth.
He knows us and knows how we will thrive and what we can handle. He
knows that a slightly pampered, rural family with 6 children from
America may struggle more than they can handle if they are thrown out
on to the streets of India, and forced to live like the natives. He
knows how he wants to use us, and how much we can adjust, and he
designs the plans for us accordingly. Which is the beauty of this
Mission in Fiji.
Designed by Americans who are used to the comforts of home, but who
have been changed by serving the people of Fiji, the Mission at Natuvu
Creek allows people to come and serve without completely leaving the
comforts of home. We have been able to give up many things, but not
all things, and for this, we praise HIM!
While I haven’t driven a car for 5 months now, and we have grown used
to riding on a dirty, bumpy bus, I can still take a hot shower and
cook in an American style kitchen. While we haven’t watched TV in
about 5 months (no loss there:), we can still show movies on our
projector, operated by a generator on the outdoor walls of our
cafeteria. While I haven’t been able to run to Walmart to pick up a
loaf of bread when we run out, I have been able to mountain bike 15
minutes down a muddy, potholed filled road to pick up most things that
we can’t live with out. We have no complaints here.
When people ask us how we chose to come to Fiji, the answer is simple.
God chose Fiji for us. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I
would serve God is such a remote, hidden paradise. Never did I dream
that I would have 4 Fijian students in my homeschool that call me
“Madam”. Never did I imagine the kindness of my 16 year old student,
who just peeked in my window to make sure I was alright. (Yep, the
fever seems to have backed off as I am still typing away!!)
Never have I experienced the pain that comes to the surface, as a song
or event triggers a memory or sensation from ‘home’, and I realize
that I can not just go back to the states on a whim. Never have I
experienced the joy that has come from seeing God work here in such
tangible ways.
When we spoke to one of the missionaries who lived here about 10 years
ago, she reflected on her year in Fiji. She told us that her year
here was the best year of her life, and the hardest year of her life.
I can relate to those feelings. When God takes us out of our comfort
zone and our normal routine, it is then that he can become the most
real to us.
How about you? Is God calling you to take a risk for him? To visit
the widow down the road from you? To invite the noisy children next
door over for some cookies? To give a hug in Jesus’ name? To turn
off the TV, and go serve dinner at a homeless shelter? Wherever you
are, God has a purpose for you.
I would encourage you all as I close what is probably my longest
update ever. Take the challenge. Seek God first. Pick up that dusty
Bible off your shelf, and see what God has to say to you. I promise
that it will be the most rewarding decision you ever make.
May God’s richest blessings fall on all of you!
Love,
Sara
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