The Adventure Continues

In less than a month we hit the one year mark in Fiji!

It is crazy that Sabeto, Fiji, has now been the place our family has been most settled since before COVID. It has been a year full of new experiences, learning, places and friendships. Our kids rarely complain about the heat anymore and we’re no longer surprised by the random goats, dogs, horses, cows, potholes or piles of gravel in the middle of the road. We’ve become accustomed to a pace where things often go slower than you’d prefer and plans always change. But there is a certain beauty to experience in this culture by taking things slower and embracing the unexpected changes. Fiji time, sega na leqa, no worries!

Koa and Kaila were happy to pose for a photo with us.

Rainy season

We are told that this year's rainy season was worse than normal, I’m also grateful it was not as bad as New Zealand’s. It seemed like New Zealand got the weather that we were expecting. We found ourselves with daily floods, where the sky would go dark, the streams would flood and the roads to our house would be impassable. The power would often go out with the daily 3pm thunder and lightning storm and we had plans of what we would do and where we would go when we couldn’t get home. It was nerve wracking when the kids were at school and I was at home on those days. More than once I purposely went into town early so that I would get stuck on the same side of the bridge with the kids.

We are thankful that with the heat of Fiji, the roads can dry out in between floods. The truck was forever caked in mud and we were happy to have our 4WD Toyota Prado. It is great that the rain has been easing since March and we haven’t had to worry about flooding or cancellations due to weather for a while now. The cyclone season is coming to a close and we haven’t had one here this season. Now the truck is caked in dust instead.

Dropping off the workers at the flooded ford with their taxi waiting on the other side. 

Island Acro

Gabrielle and Kelepi are loving their time with Island Acro Fiji. Gabrielle is now doing three classes a week, Gymnastics Level 4, Performance Class and an Acro Class. Last term Kelepi did Gymnastics Level 2 and Acro Class and has decided to take a term off the Acro class. In September the performance team is heading to Australia to compete in the Australia National Club Carnival. They have been working hard on their routines and skills ready to compete. Island Acro has been a great way for our kids to be regularly challenged physically and mentally. Gabrielle continues to do gymnastics wherever she can and she has been doing nightly workouts and stretching with Kelepi to help be the best that they can be!

Gabby in her happy place - upside down.

Schooling

All three kids spent the first term of 2023 at Champs International School. It was a big transition for the whole family to get back into early mornings and the school routine. I did appreciate handing the schooling back over to someone else and having some time and space to think and get work done in the day. The kids all got to meet new people, have some interesting experiences and try school life in Fiji. How crazy is buying a school uniform with no sweatshirt needed?!

We have decided for this term to try Gabrielle and Kelepi in a different school, Fiji Agape Mission School. Josh is switching to Te Kura, New Zealand Correspondence School. We are lucky to have got into Te Kura just before we hit the one year mark since leaving New Zealand which is great as we qualify for the free pathway. Josh even has a boy in his Te Kura class who lives about half an hour away and we have already met. I have already been impressed with Te Kura’s correspondence and introductions. We look forward to this journey. 

We are hoping Agape will be a good fit for Gabrielle and Kelepi as it is closer to home and with a later start time. They use the ACE curriculum, which is used by some homeschoolers in New Zealand and it will mean they will get to work at their own pace and level which will suit them well. They already know a few kids at the school from gymnastics and church which is great. But for now it is another lot of new school uniforms and new starts. Apparently Gabrielle likes being the new kid! Both kids are excited and looking forward to it. Hopefully this will be the last ‘first’ for a while.

Celebrations in Savusavu

In March we travelled back to Savusavu for Nathan and Asenaca’s wedding. We first met Nathan when he was a child in 2006 when we stayed with his extended family and worked with his dad. We had planned to go for a week, and despite Cyclone Kevin not actually hitting Fiji it still caused a lot of rough seas and heavy rains which flooded roads between home and the wharf where the ferry leaves, cancelling all ferries for three days in a row. We eventually made it for a whirlwind trip but it is a long journey for only four nights. It was still an amazing time to catch up with friends, help with wedding preparations and to be a part of the celebrations.

At the wedding, wearing our family 'kalavata'.

February projects

In February we had three volunteers come over from New Zealand to help us out with some projects. We had worked with Terry Meads quite a few times around New Zealand and always enjoy his company, so we were stoked to have him here as well as the two others he recruited for the adventure, Daniel Slabbert and Mike Taylor. We were also joined by our dependable local volunteer Giles who came along for most of it too.

Evening game time, trying our best to beat Kelepi at Exploding Kittens.

We kept them all busy with a tiki tour of projects around Fiji. We spent a few days in Sabeto working on the roof of the MMM tool container and a few jobs at the house we are staying at, plus screwing a roof down at Sabeto Christian Camp. 

They then headed to Homes of Hope in Suva for a week where they did some work on a staff house. New kitchen benches and front doors were made and installed, a new wastewater line and soak pit was completed and they ripped apart a leaking shower. That part will take a bit more work, with all three bathrooms in the house needing to be completely renovated so we will spend about a month there later in the year.

Roy, Mike, Daniel, Giles, Terry and with Siri and son from Homes of Hope.

They were also able to check out some other ministries enquiring about assistance while in Suva. It is tricky when we have ministries in Suva ask for help when it is a bit of a trek to take a look, so they made the most of being there by scoping out other projects. Mike had to leave after two weeks, while Terry, Daniel and Giles went with Roy back to Anand AOG to finish the gutters, downpipes and flashings that he started before Christmas and put in a day working at Pastor Liki's just down the road in Sabeto.

The Seahawk

Roy spent a couple of weeks working on a yacht called the Seahawk, which is part of ‘Yachts for Life’. In the dry season it makes trips to outer islands where they seek to serve remote communities by distributing bibles, running discipleship classes and facilitating seamanship training for their Yachts for Life students. They intend to head away in May, so it was great to help them get the yacht ready by repairing cabinetry, seats, foldaway tables, floors panels and more on the boat.

Building a new seat on the Seahawk.

Lunchtime on the Seahawk.

New learning

We have had a few major learning curves in Fiji, one of which is learning about termites. They are still fairly new in Fiji (~10 years) and pose a huge problem; no one seems to definitively know how to eradicate them and there are conflicting opinions about the effectiveness of timber treatment. We are grateful to have received great advice from MMM Australia, where termites are endemic. However Australia has great building supplies to combat this issue that aren’t available here. Materials like plywood are only available untreated in Fiji but it is the wall lining of choice for the typical Fijian DIYer so the termites are doing a lot of damage. Concrete blocks and steel framed roofing seems like a safe bet, but a completely different building technique for Roy.

We have also been learning about the legalities of buying, renting and building on land in Fiji. There are several different land classifications with their own pros and cons. We find that people ask us the questions on what is the right thing to do, so we have had to figure this all out to help them. It is also good learning for us as we think and pray about the future of MMM Fiji, where it will be based and what would the ideal facility look like. 

New rental

In June, the owners of the house we have been housesitting for come home. We are stoked to have found a rental property in Nasoso which is just next to Nadi airport and have signed a tenancy agreement for our next season. We have enjoyed having the space to host lots of teams and visitors and our kids have loved having lots of pets, but we are also looking forward to moving to Nasoso. Downsizing and living closer to everything will be a huge benefit to our everyday life.

The future

Despite getting three year work permits, we already have less than a year left on them and the process to get them renewed will take months, so we intend to start on this soon. We have a busy schedule of projects throughout the year and our plan is to visit New Zealand for December and January to escape Fiji’s wet season in the hope that New Zealand weather plays nice for us.

We will spend time in the Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Kapiti and Lower Hutt and plan to be at the New Wine Festival over Wellington Anniversary weekend in Masterton and Festival One on Auckland Anniversary weekend in Cambridge. We would love to catch up with as many people as possible over this time as you think towards your next summer. If, of course, you feel like you missed summer altogether, maybe it is time you booked a ticket to Fiji! Our pop-up swimming pool is being well used and we are enjoying dips anytime of day or night at the moment! 

In many ways we are only just starting out and the longer we are here the more impact we will be able to make. There is always so much preparation, relationship building, learning, discussion and communication for every project. We have to find that balance of the meticulously planned in advance mindset, with the cultural awareness of the slower paced lifestyle of those who we are living and serving with. We don’t know how long we will be here, but we don’t need to know that either, because for now we know that it is where we should be.

Burger King, always a great pitstop with aircon so strong you actually get cold.

We do weekly update emails with prayer items if you want to hear from us more often and join our regular prayer supporters. Let us know if you are interested and we can add you to the mailing list. 

Vinaka vaka levu, thank you all so much for your ongoing love, support and encouragement. We love it when we hear from friends and family from home. If you haven’t seen our older posts and you want to check out our story over the last few years, you can do that here.

Loloma levu, lots of love, Roy, Rachael, Josh, Gabrielle and Kelepi

A note from Gabrielle…

Thank you very much to everyone who gave money towards me going to Australia for a gymnastics competition. I was really excited that I raised all the money to cover my trip very quickly, I even helped pay for my mum to come. I am really looking forward to going and I am practising my routines and skills wherever and whenever I can!

Some Bonus Photos...

The boss is doing the emails onsite today.

Continuing with the gutters at Anand AOG.

Terry and Roy doing some framing at Pastor Liki's.

Ready for the Zipline, celebrating Kelepi's 7th birthday.

Another happy Zipliner.

7th birthdays...also the perfect time for a buried treasure hunt.

On the ferry to Savusavu with Frank, father of the groom. Perhaps the Interislander should ditch the seats? 

Some cuties at the wedding.

Exploring the Garden of the Sleeping Giant.

Palm Sunday is an important day in the church calendar in Fiji.

His first time on a horse and at Natadola Beach.

Natadola beach is a popular spot that we hadn't got to yet, so why not check it out by horseback?

The kids and Rachael have started volunteering at PASH.
(Pacific Animal Shelter and Hospital) 

They get to play with cats, kittens, dogs and puppies that need loving homes,
often because they have been dumped or abused.

Meet Griffin, we're hoping the kids can get their animal fix here!

Koa is very snuggly with his humans, but any strangers better watch out!