We are Team Wicks: Road Trip to McDonalds

It is Wednesday afternoon in Fiji. We have our good days and bad days as far as our family morale goes. Some days are really enjoyable and rewarding and some days are a mental exercise in determination just to get through the end of the day. Strangely enough for Fiji, except for the first few days we were here, it has been cloudy and rainy every day. But God is giving us the strength to get through each day.

On Saturday we took a trip to the Nadi McDonalds. Our Fijian friend Tress went with us and recommended we take a van-bus for the 30-minute trip. We took a taxi to the bus station and then crammed into the 15-person van with about 20 people. Then, the driver was apparently in a race to break his personal record for making it to Nadi in the shortest possible amount of time. This included passing as many cars as he could on busy and narrow roads and also seeing how close he could get to the cars in front of us without crashing into them. I think Angie and my blood pressure reached a new high during the drive. It was quite a memorable ride. However, the Big Macs and Happy Meals made the whole trip worth it. Nevertheless, we decided to take a regular bus from the McDonalds to the Nadi Airport (also a good excuse for Angie to get a coffee at the famous Republic of Cappucino at the airport) and then a taxi back home to Lautoka.

On Monday, we went back to the hospital and visited the children’s ward. They allowed me to bring the guitar in and we sang songs to the kids, gave them comic books and candy, and prayed for the kids and their parents. Angie and several other of the moms on the team were able to really encourage the parents that were tired and depressed sitting at the bedsides of their sick children. It was a very moving time.

We have been continuing to lead the after-school program and are really enjoying that. Sam and Katie particularly look forward to those times.

Time is short to update the blog, so I’ll finish with just a few more pictures. God bless!