We are Team Wicks: Week #3

We have just finished week #3 here in Fiji. This week we continued to go to the hospital to visit with the patients there. It is especially difficult to visit the children’s ward as many of the kids are very sick. But, all of the patients have been very thankful that we have visited and prayed for them.

We also were grateful to discover an additional ministry we can do with the kids. We visited the Lautoka Special School which is a home for disabled children, which includes physical deformities, deafness, and other disabilities. Despite the hardships these children are facing, they were some of the most joyful kids we have met so far. We sang songs and because some of the children are deaf, one of the hearing children helped teach us the signs for the songs. Even though we know some American sign language, they use Australian sign language which is totally different. I let the deaf kids put their hands on the guitar and strum the strings so they could fell the vibrations they were creating and they loved it. Sam and Katie did crafts with the kids and had a great time. The hit of the afternoon was our digital camera. They loved to take pictures with the camera and then look at the images. It was just the kind of experience we wanted to expose Sam and Katie to on this trip. Later that evening when we were putting the kids to bed, they had so many questions in their minds about the things they had seen that day. “Did Jesus make those children? Why did Jesus only give that girl two fingers? Can the deaf girl hear herself talk? Can she hear Jesus talk?” What a great opportunity to discuss tough questions of life and for them to see how blessed they are to have their health and so many comforts of home.

On Thursday, I went to a village outside of town that sits right next to the garbage dump. It is a very poor village and, because of the dirt and disease that is there, Angie chose to keep the kids back. My friend Nick and I led an afternoon of songs, games, and bible stories with about 30 kids ranging from age 5 to 14. It was a very different dynamic from the kids we have been working with at the after-school program here in town. Apart from the obvious poverty they are living in, there was a roughness to the way they interacted and behaved with one another. It was another great experience and opportunity to share God’s love with these children who were born into such a tough environment.

We have one more week here in Lautoka until we head off to our next town to minister in. Have a great weekend!