Breath Of Heaven

One of my favorite quotes…Life is not measured by how many breaths you take but by the places and moments that take your breath away…never seems more true than when I arrive on the deck of the Hot Springs Hotel in Savusavu on the Island of Vauna Levu, Fiji. We will be here for both a sunrise and a sunset and we will catch our breath before beginning our week of medical ministries. To reach this point we will have left our home at 4:30 p.m. and traveled by air to LAX. From there we catch the Air Pacific flight at 11:20 p.m. and arrive in Nadi, Fiji by 5:20 a.m. We will take the four-hour bus drive to Suva, which is on the other side of the main Island. We shop for some supplies and then catch the night ferry to Savusavu, Vauna Levu. We arrive early Saturday morning. We have lost a day as we have crossed the International Date Line but our bodies feel as if we have been in continual transit for at least three full days. As we breathe today, we must also prepare and train our team about the medical clinics. This year we are traveling with a group of about forty people who have never been a part of a mobile clinic so we must equip them the best we can. Tom often says that this is an “extreme mission trip” and all this means is that this day will be the last day we have running water, electricity, and that we will see anyone other than the village people we will soon be living with for a week. We will battle the elements, bathe in the rivers, and eat what is served to us. We pack up supplies each evening and transport them to the next clinic, which may be hours away. Often times we hike in to the more remote areas. The rest of the trip is always filled with adventure and surprises and so in this breath we breathe and get ready for the next phase.

This is our ninth year traveling to the Fijian Islands and each year we travel to a different place. A local Pastor and the missionaries who live here on this Island have prepared our way. The medical clinics provide a much-needed service to the remote areas of the Island – most have never had anyone visit them let alone live with them and take care of them. This done to remind them of the Great Physician, the true Healer.

We will visit the villages of Vanuavou, Nabua, Nasinu, and Nukubalavu. Here we will sleep in the homes of the villagers or outside in a shelter prepared for us. We will awaken to the sounds of roosters crowing, children crying, and the rain hitting our faces. Because we are the leaders in this group and Tom being a Ratu (eldest, therefore chief) and a Talla Talla (pastor) we will get to sleep inside in the pastor’s home. They will give up their bed for us. Their home is up on stilts to prevent an invasion by bugs and to keep it a little cooler.

In the morning we hear the roosters under the floor reminding us that 4:30 a.m. is approaching and we must soon get up and get ready. Our clinics began at 8:00 and we must eat and bathe before we go. The village women will prepare breakfast for us and they are often up an hour or so before we are. They prepare a feast… banana pancakes, pudding cake, bread and fresh fruit. All this with the ingredients they have on hand and cooked over a fire.

We drink hot coffee and tea and are ready to start our day. I am reminded that no matter how early I have gotten up or far I have traveled to work in the the clinic, the Fijians have gotten up earlier and traveled just as far (and by foot) to attend it.

I am humbled to be here.

I do not keep track of the number of people we see; I just know that we will see them all. When it is over I will have been told that we saw about 1,100 people. The medical providers will see each and every one of them where a non-invasive physical exam is done. We will answer their health questions and give them some basic health instructions while trying to be culturally sensitive. This is always challenging. It might be tempting to say to a diabetic patient that the elimination of sugars and carbs from their diets would be most helpful, but we have to remember that those are the staples here on the Islands.

We must be creative and sensitive. I have been blessed the last few years with a wonderful interpreter named Isaac.

We talk about these issues of health and then he translates it in a way that is both sensitive and clear.

We are further blessed this year by the addition of our family. Last year our youngest son Matt came with us and it was an incredible experience.

This year our daughter Amy and her family were along side us. They were incredible travelers and

invaluable to us.

I found such delight in watching Jacob interact with the people he met, boldly stepping out of any comfort zone he might have been in and conducting himself as a

fine Godly man. I never heard either of the kids complain

about anything (endless bus rides) and I think they might have had just cause a few times! It also gave us the opportunity to be with both Amy and Brian.

And while we have always known of their goodness, we know we have had the opportunity to see a beautiful side of them, to be with them and to work with them. Our time in Fiji has given as bond that we will forever cherish.

And while we experienced so many beautiful things, met some

of the loveliest people ever, watched the sun rise and set in one of the most beautiful places on Earth my breath from heaven came in another form. For me, it was sleeping with my grand daughter Haley each night while we were in the villages. We would bathe together in the river and then snuggle up on our mat under the mosquito netting and chat about all the things we had seen and done today until sleep overtook us. There was no better way to end my day.