Letter from Fiji #3

On Sunday, we raced home from church as Jaime's flight was due in Brisbane at 11:15. Got home at 11:25 and within 5 minutes the phone rang. We got to talk to her for a brief but sweet 2 minutes. She is now at Boot Camp till Saturday doing Debrief. They have the opportunity to share all the highs and lows of their trip and share and hear how God has worked in all the areas where the teams have had the opportunity to serve this summer. They also have one free day when they are able to go to a theme park or to the beach which will be a fun time to relax! On Saturday, she heads to Brisbane airport and has a fun day of waiting and then a flight home in the evening, getting to Avalon just before 10pm. We are praying she may be able to go stand-by on the morning flight or that Jetstar will let her fly to Tullamarine earlier in the day. We'll wait and see what happens!

January 8
"Bula Vinaka,
We have only one more week here Fiji and 2 until I return home. I can't believe how fast this summer has gone! Of the 6 1/2 days left staying at Lomani Au, only Tuesday and Thursday will be work days. We are going to be busy trying to complete the playground as we have only put the stumps in and there is still quite a bit of ground that needs levelling and the retaining wall extension needs to be finished.

Our work is coming along well. The landscape around the house has changed dramatically since we have been here. We have also managed to get almost all of the floor tiling done in the dorms.

We got swamped out of our tents a few days ago. Leonie (nurse at the children's home) has been kind enough to allow us to sleep on the deck. So that's where we've been for the last 3 nights and we will be here until we leave. They also allowed us to use the washing machine and dryer because it has been raining on and off with only a few short breaks since Wednesday afternoon.

This morning we are going on some sort of special outing that involves wearing a swimsuit and being on a boat. We will also be doing some swimming for a little ways. The leaders haven't told us exactly what is happening yet so it is a bit of a surprise. This evening we will be going to Frank's church and we will be performing a few skits and songs.

There is not really any stopping until we leave. Tomorrow we are going to a squatter settlement to put in a raised floor for a woman and her family. We will also have an opportunity for some of us to do some evangelism and do puppets for the children. Tuesday will involve attempting to complete the tiling in the dorms and to finish as much of the playground as possible. On Wednesday, all the girls are going snorkelling at a pearl farm and possibly going to a market afterwards. I think they are still trying to work out something for the boys to do. Thursday will be completing the playground and anything else that Paul needs done as well as some packing/cleaning. Friday will be totally taken up for us to clean and pack our stuff.

I forgot to tell you that we finished painting the inside of the community hall in Frank's village. The ladies prepared some lovely food for us again. They also made us a Fijian delicacy which is a gooey ball of cassava. (which is a root). I got some pictures of them. The ladies put lots of colouring in them so they looked really cool. Some of the girls were girls were fussing about them so I decided to try one. They weren't too bad - not a very strong taste and very gluey. I feel really bad though because after one bite my stomach felt wrong but we have a rule that we must eat anything we put on our plate. So I ate 2 more big bites. The third got halfway down before I had to run oputside and vomit. I feel really guilty though because that probably upset the lasies who made them. It's not that I diudn't like them, but that mybody couldn't handle it.

On that sour note, I might wrap up now. I am having a great time (and really hoping that a load of my wash will get done today so that I will have clean clothes to wear). Our team is all getting along fairly well. There were some issues earlier but I think they all got sorted out.

Oh yeah. I was on devotions on Thursday. I spoke about how all the stuff that we go through in life are actually gifts in a way. They serve to prepare us for the work God has planned for us. Each person has a unique part to play in the body of Christ to bring Him glory and further His kingdom. I pray that God used my words to encourage some people.

Au Lomani Iko

Jaime"

Here's a photo from the Children's Home blog - looks like they got the playground almost finished! Loving the boots and dress/skirt look :) Something a little Pippi Longstocking about it!

Jaime's in the blue and white dress - 2nd from the left