I'll Be Home for Christmas

We are back in the U.S.!!! We left Fiji on Sunday night, November 19, at 11:00 pm. The kids did really well with the whole airport thing and slept pretty well on the plane. Even with a few Advil PM’s in me, I still couldn’t sleep on the flight. It could be that it is because they don’t really design plane seats for 6’3” guys to sit comfortably in, let alone sleep in. Nevertheless, the fact that we were coming home to the States made it all okay.

We had a two-hour layover in Honolulu and of course made a beeline for Starbucks. Mmmm, we never knew a mocha and cappuccino could taste so good!!! We made the quick flight to Kona and arrived at around noon on Sunday (the morning of the same day we left because of crossing the date line). It was such a unique feeling to be back in the states after being gone so long in a foreign country. We got to our hotel and ordered a cheeseburger for lunch. We were actually laughing out loud because it tasted so good!

On Monday, we came to the YWAM base and reunited with all our old classmates that had traveled to other parts of the world. It was so great to see everyone and to hear some of the stories. We had a pretty busy schedule that week of debriefing meetings. On Thursday (Thanksgiving Day), we had a big Thanksgiving celebration on the base and also a "graduation" ceremony. Of course there was turkey and mashed potatoes, but it just wasn't quite the same being away from home.

But then, on Friday, the day we had been anticipating finally came. We flew out of Kona at 8:50 AM for the short flight to Honolulu. We had a six hour layover in Honolulu, so we decided to catch a cab and go visit Pearl Harbor with our extra time. It was a busy day at the visitor center, so we were not able to see the U.S.S. Arizona, but we were able to take a tour of the U.S.S. Bowfin and spend some time in the museums there.

We caught our flight to Seattle and settled in for what must have been the longest 5-hour flight we have ever taken. Angie and I followed through on plans we had made to stick in the iPod and listen to "I'll Be Home for Christmas." Finally, we arrived in Seattle at about 10:30 PM and were greeted by our entire families. We had a belated Thanksgiving with Angie's family on Saturday and an additional Thanksgiving dinner with my family on Sunday. The homecoming weekend was highlighted even more with a snowstorm in Seattle that has continued through this week. What a stark (but welcome) contrast to go from tropical heat and humidity to snow and Christmas music. This week we have been househunting and I have been having some meetings in the city as I prepare to go back to work.

It seems that only now are we truly able to look back on these last months and realize how faithful God has been to our family as we have been on this adventure. This will be an experience for the four of us that I know will be foundational for our family’s future, whatever that may be.

We plan to continue to update this blog on some kind of regular basis, although likely less frequently than we have on this trip. We sign off from this phase of the journal of our adventure with a prayer for all our friends and family and for those that we don't know that may have been following our blog:

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. (Ephesians 3:14-20)


No rest for the weary on the plane


















Swarming the Starbucks in the Honolulu airport














The best a cheeseburger has ever tasted














Our team giving a report to the rest of the base














Thanksgiving dinner in Hawaii














Aboard the U.S.S. Bowfin at Pearl Harbor



















Hmmm, can we drive this home?













Finally home in a snowy Seattle reunion with cousins Maddy and Isaac

Last Day in Suva!

It is Thursday afternoon, and our last full day in Suva. Tomorrow, we will take a 7:30 am bus back across the island to Nadi, where the airport is. We will take a couple days to rest in a budget hotel there and then fly back to Kona on Sunday night. We are so excited to come home, but are almost too exhausted to realize how close we are.

Last Saturday, Angie taught her second sex-ed class for the moms. I could hear all the ladies laughing from up the hill (so not sure what that means). Then on Sunday, she and our friend Jen hosted another tea party for the ladies. It is amazing to see how much sugar they put in their tea and coffee. It is literally almost a 1:2 ratio of sugar to coffee!

I taught a finance class for four of the ladies each day this week. They were so excited to learn some basic principles and I was able to help each of them draft a budget and savings plan by the end of the week. However, because they only earn $5 per week, it makes it difficult to budget!

Angie has continued her nursing rounds and training. Also, she has spent two days this week taking baby Rani to the hospital and to some specialists to evaluate her leg. It is very difficult to find someone who really knows what they are talking about and then to get a straight answer from them on the diagnosis and prognosis for her condition. Also, we have spent some time researching the possible loopholes that would allow us to adopt her. The Fijian adoption laws require a US citizen to live in Fiji for two years with a work permit to even become a candidate to adopt a Fijian baby. At this point, this is something we are unwilling to do. So, we will continue to pray for a miracle and/or for another family to come along that can adopt Rani and give her the love and care she needs. We have given her back to one of the moms to care for so that leaving her tomorrow isn’t so traumatic. We take comfort on behalf of Rani with the following promise from God:

Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—this is God, whose dwelling is holy.

God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.

Psalm 68:5-6

Last night, all the staff and moms put together a going away party for us. Many of them shared what they have enjoyed and appreciated about our family and then they did some traditional dances for us. It was pretty cool.

Sam and Katie are doing very well. Sam has become best friends with two 11-year old boys here. He takes off in the morning and comes back in the evening very tired after playing with them all day. The boys, even though they are older, have been so kind to Sam and take good care of him. Tonight we are taking Sam and his new friends into town to play video games at an internet café and then to McDonalds as a going away treat.

Did I say that we are leaving Fiji in 3 days and back to Seattle in 8 days?!!!

Sam and his new buddies Simone and Shalom













Katie and her new best friend, Pirate

Harvesting crops

After-school activities

Sam and baby Rani

Sam playing Rugby with the kids

Ruthie, Lynn, Angie, and Rani

Two of my finance students, Solote and Angeni

Baby on Board

This last week has been extremely busy and rewarding here at Homes of Hope. The biggest event in this past week is that we have taken in a little orphan baby to care for during our remaining time here. Her name is Rani and she is 6 weeks old. One of her leg bones was bent back on birth and, despite the treatment she has received thus far, she still has a bend to her leg right above her foot. Our family has absolutely fallen in love with her. Sam and Katie call her their little sister and beg us to take her home to Seattle. In fact, if it were not for the stringent adoption laws and processes they have in Fiji in relation to foreigners, we would likely bring her home with us. Instead, we will have to just love on her as much as we can while we have her. I will admit, it is a little hard to get used to nighttime feedings and crying again, but we are glad to do it. It will be very difficult to say goodbye to her in a little over a week and release her to an unknown future. But, we know that she is God's daughter and He will be watching over her. He has a hope and a future for her!!!

Last week, the director of HOH had asked Angie to attend a class that was being held on Saturday for the moms on sex education and childbirth. When Angie arrived, the person in charge asked her to teach the class. So, she did! Angie was amazed at how little these moms knew about their own anatomy and how the babies that they have had even developed and were delivered!!! Angie will finish a second class on Saturday.

Angie has continued to train and organize the nursing and nutrition programs here. I have been helping with construction and also working on some materials to use for some classes I will be teaching next week on basic financial management and stewardship for the moms. Otherwise, we spend a lot of time just hanging out with the moms and children, building relationships with them and giving them training on various things. For example, nutrition and cooking is foreign to them. Many of the moms have never even scrambled an egg for their kids. So, there are many things we are doing to equip and help them. Sam and Katie have formed quick friendships with some of the kids here and have a great time running around the property, playing with the dogs, and playing with little Rani.

Please continue to pray for us this last week of our adventure in Fiji. We are feeling very homesick, and we want to finish strong. Also, Angie is already heartbroken about leaving little Rani.


Burping baby Rani














Angie loves to play dress-up with Rani



















Angie hosted a tea party for some of the moms and their babies














Joti (or Georgie as we call him)


















A view from the hill. Our guest house is the one on the bottom right.

Homes of Hope

Bula from the hills of Suva! We are settling in to Homes of Hope and absolutely loving it. While we enjoyed the work we were doing in Lautoka, God has blessed with this opportunity in doing exactly what we had hoped to do when we came to Fiji. To live among the people (not just in a hotel room) and work alongside them has been very rewarding already. Angie spends the mornings with one of the mothers doing "nursing rounds" and visiting and examining each of the children to check for lice and scabies and also to care for some of the skin conditions they have. Angie is able to train this mother with some basic nursing skills. Angie is also spending some one-on-one time each day with one of the mothers who has had some mental and suicidal history and giving her some basic counseling. And, of course, Angie has been excited to cook with the moms for the meals and also is hoping to go with them in the afternoons when they go into town to sell the fresh bread they have baked that day.

I am working on a financial project for the director and he has also asked me to draft a workbook of basic financial teaching for the mothers. I will also be building a swing set for the children and assisting with the construction of additional cottages for the mothers.

The kids have been going to the preschool they have here in the mornings and Sam is officially one of the leader helpers. They have loved being able to go outside and run around in the hills here.

On Thursday, one of the mothers wanted to take us for a little hike into the jungle to show us a waterfall. It ended up being more of a climb than a hike up and down slippery slopes and rocks. It was beautiful and quite an adventure. However, apparently, I owe Angie one after taking her and the kids on that.

Being in the hills here brings new bugs and critters that we haven't seen yet. Yes, the cockroaches are everywhere we go. We also now have centipedes that can give a very strong sting similar to a black widow bite. We have to check under the covers and pillows for them whenever we go to bed. The first evening we were there, Sam called me out to come look at all the eagles that were flying above the house. Sure enough, it looked like a whole flock of hawks or something that were soaring in the air. Only when they swooped down low did we realize that they were giant bats!

We have been listening to the radio closely over the last few days as there has been tension in the city and threats of a military coup as the military commander has threatened to overthrow the government. Australia sent in some warships to prepare to evacuate their citizens if necessary. We have been keeping in close contact with the US Embassy, but especially in the last day or two, it appears that things are settling down.

Have a great weekend!


The Homes of Hope property, looking up the hill














The view from our guest house














More views














Sam and Katie hanging with some of the kids














Angie tasting some fresh bread














Hanging with moms and kids














On our hike in the jungle. Angie is smiling, but I don't think she is happy!














Team Wicks in the jungle














The kids playing soccer with Joelli














Angie cooking dinner with the ladies

Pancakes for Dinner

Bula!

It is Tuesday afternoon here in Suva. The last few days have been enjoyable as we have explored and settled in to this new city. The city of Suva is much bigger and cleaner than Lautoka and has more traditional retail and restaurants. The hotel where we are staying is very modest but we have a great unit with a living room and two small bedrooms, plus a small kitchen. It is the first time we have been able to cook for ourselves in over 4 months! Last night we had homemade pancakes for dinner. Yes!

While the hotel has been relaxing, we have confirmed our plans to leave the hotel and go live in the mountains with Homes of Hope (HOH). We will leave tomorrow and be there until we head back to Kona on November 19th. The Homes of Hope property is absolutely beautiful and is situated on a ridge that overlooks a valley and other mountains in the distance. There are a couple main buildings, a handful of small houses for the mothers, and a guest house where our family will be staying. We had a nice surprise when our friends Nick and Jen came back from the outer islands early and decided to go with us to HOH. So, our two families will be living together in the guest house and ministering together to these lovely people.

Homes of Hope takes in single mothers, some with unborn children, and gives them a home and training to help them provide for their families and break the cycle of poverty and hopelessness that traditionally accompanies single moms in Fiji. From what we understand, we will be spending the bulk of our time helping in the preschool, tending the large garden, playing with the kids, etc. Angie will be able to fulfill her desire to use her nursing skills in teaching the women proper care for their babies, teaching hygiene, and helping with other health issues. Also, the women bake fresh bread every day to sell to the markets, so we will enjoy being able to help with that (by helping, I mean tasting!).

We are so excited for this opportunity to really engage our family with these people in such a big way and to build relationships with the mothers and staff living on the property. We are pretty sure they do not have internet there, but we will be driving in to the city once or twice a week and will update the blog with pictures of the property.

Till next time!

The Suva harbor from our hotel













From another angle













The Tropic Towers apartment/hotel where we have been staying the last few days













Our room with a kitchen!














Having breakfast with our new friend, Sadi, in the Tropic Towers "coffee lounge"

Bula from Suva

Bula from Suva!

We had a wonderful mini family vacation as the four of us spent several days at a hotel between Lautoka and Suva. The hotel was so cool as it was really geared for families and had activities all day for adults and kids. Sam and Katie would take off in the morning and stay busy almost all day with egg throwing contests, crab hunting and crab racing, ice cream eating contests, crafts, feeding the fish, etc. It was just what we needed to get refreshed and re-energized for the rest of our work here. So, now it is back to reality. We arrived in Suva yesterday and got settled in to the hotel where we are staying. Suva is on the rainy side of the island and it has been raining here for five weeks straight.

Today we drove out of the city, literally into the jungle, to the top of a mountain ridge where there is an organization called Homes of Hope that is building a little community where single mothers live and where they educate them on caring for their children and train them in various skills in order to support their children. The property is absolutely beautiful. We immediately felt like this would be a perfect place for our family to work for the remaining time here. In fact, the tagline for their organization goes something like "providing a hope and a future for families." You may remember from an earlier blog that the scripture verse that Angie has been reflecting on daily during this whole adventure is Jeremiah 29:11:

"For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

While Angie has been reflecting on this verse in a personal perspective, we now realize that God may also have been preparing us to help provide a hope and a future to others. Also, as Angie and I have been praying together over these months about what our plans will be once we return to Seattle, we have felt a desire to have some kind of family ministry to unwed mothers. All of this has felt like confirmation that the Lord has been preparing us for these next three weeks in the mountains with this organization. In fact, it seems likely that we will leave the hotel and go live there for the next three weeks so we can be really effective in our work there and in building relationships.

So, please be praying for us. If we go, we will try to update the blog once more before we head to the mountains. God bless!


Katie getting her hair braided by some of the local Fijian women














You've got to love those faces!














Hmmm, I think Angie is smiling a little too big next to those Fijian men!














Katie, the underwater mermaid














Future Olympic swimmer?













Sunset in Paradise

Leaving Lautoka

It is Friday afternoon here in Lautoka. This week has gone well as we have continued our ministries in the hospital, the after-school kids program, and the disabled school. Sam and Katie are doing an amazing job of connecting with the children.

Some have asked about the practical details of how we are living. For food, we have a pretty light breakfast and lunch in our hotel room usually consisting of peanut butter and jelly, crackers, fruit, and ramen noodles. We have become pretty creative with what we can prepare with only a hot water kettle. For dinners we meet with the whole team at one of two restaurants here in town. We have been pretty lucky with food we are used to which has included baked fish, fish and chips, Chinese food, and even pizza! Angie has been amazing to me as she has done all our laundry in the bathroom sink and then hangs the laundry on the ceiling of our hotel room. What a woman! The weather has been pretty mild and mostly overcast and rainy. All in all, not bad living conditions.

Sam and I took a bus trip to downtown Nadi on Tuesday to hunt down a new power cord for our laptop, which had burned out on the higher currency. It was a memorable experience traveling through the town and country villages together by bus and turned out to be quite a scavenger hunt once we got into town as we kept getting referred by one store to another store to another store in search of our part.

We have also met part of the reality of living here as a couple people in our team have contracted scabies. It can be pretty contagious, so we are praying that our family will be able to avoid that.

Most of our team will be leaving for one of the outer islands this weekend for two weeks to live in one of the remote villages there. Our family will instead be traveling to the south side of Fiji to take a break for a few days. We will then meet up with our team leaders in Suva on Thursday. It will just be the six of us for a week and a half and we will be helping them lead a youth conference and a women’s conference as well as laying the ground work for when the rest of the team rejoins us on November 6th. From what we can tell now, our work in Suva will include orphanages, hospitals, and single mothers’ home.

We are currently right about at our halfway point for our time in Fiji with four more weeks to go! Since this is the last entry from Lautoka, I have included some pictures of the city below as well as more pictures of our ministry times.

God bless!


An outdoor market in Lautoka














One of the main streets in downtown Lautoka














As is probably obvious, the fish market














One of the shops advertising Diwali, an Indian holiday that is celebrated this Saturday the 21st















One of my favorite places, The Hot Bread Kitchen. Mmmm, mutton pies!


















With our team and some of the students at our after-school program














Sam and friends at the disabled school














Angie and friends at the disabled school














Katie, Kuma, and Yeji













Angie and Kuma, a very sweet deaf girl at the disabled school