Bula bula!!
We landed in Nadi, Fiji at 5:15am after about a ten and half hour flight on August 25th. The cool thing about the 10.5 hour flight was that, essentially, we time traveled! We left at 11:30pm on Saturday August 23rd and I woke up on Monday August 25th! Check time travel off the bucket list!
God worked His magic big time.
We had no problems. Through the whole travel day. Smooth as peanut butter. All five girls found each other in LAX, checked in no problem, found our gate, bonded over our last American meal of Panda Express, and boarded the plane! We all found our seats, grabbed our pillows and stuffed animals and got comfy! We all slept at least half, if not more, of the flight!
The ocean is my favorite color. I swear when God decided on the color of the ocean He said, “This one. It will make Helena’s heart leap!” And it does. It makes my heart so happy. He is so good. Sadly, the flight was at night so I didn’t get to ogle at it for 10 hours straight, but the fact I am typing this from my living room and can see the ocean from where I am sitting is making up for it bit by bit. :)
We landed, and got in line for customs. No problem. Five cavalongi American girls and we breezed through. Even more so, immigration was piece of cake. You cannot deny God’s work!
Got through security and met our wonderful director, Chris! A little bit about the Garners; they lived in small town in Indiana where Chris was a pastor. Last year they began to feel God pulling them to pick up and move. Through the course of some crazy God moments, they realized it was Fiji. They sold everything and moved here this summer! So now we get to call Chris, Melissa, their son Wes, and twin girls Brenna and Cayla our family and upstair neighbors!
We live in a very nice area of Lautoka, about 20 minutes from Nadi in a ‘neighborhood’ called Simla! The Garners will be living upstairs for the next two years, and us five girls have invaded their downstairs for the next 8 months! It is a beautiful home, absolutely perfect! So simple and homely.
The first culture shock us girls experienced was when we jammed all our stuff into our van and pulled out onto the left side of the road. Crazy right?? Our director was sitting in the front of the van on the left side (the driver’s seat) and Oska, the base leader, was on the right. Chris kept looking back at us and talking, he was texting, and drinking a coffee from the drivers seat. All of us girls were a little concerned, thinking why is Chris driving so distracted! Well then we all realized, the steering wheel is on the right side! It took at least 3 or 4 minutes for that to settle!
We arrived to the beautiful house around 6am, met the family, got the tour, and moved in! We got about an hour to figure our rooming, beds, bathroom, and then had breakfast at 7am and dove right into orientation right after!
Along with taking online classes and serving in the ministry sites, we also receive discipleship training during the eight month. It is not surface level bible study that asks a few easy questions here and there discipling. It is challenging, deep, and gritty training. Where are you on your walk, are you willing to move forward, how do you respond to this and why, how does God speak to you, how do you respond, will you forgive, where do you find your happiness, do you show grace like Christ, what are your twangs, what does your peace look like, etc. At one point we were asked to write down a timeline of our spiritual journey. All of the events and times in our life that have gotten us right where we are on our walk with Christ. It. Was. Hard. Absolutely hard. But so gosh darn important and telling. I have never been challenged so much in my faith at any point in my walk. It is absolutely refreshing, necessary, and God intended.
This week has mostly been dedicated to orientation and getting ourselves adjusted to what life is going to be like, but we have also made a few trips to town! The market and shops are about 20 minutes away walking! Town was quite the experience. In America, everything is very specific and organized. In Lautoka, there is an absolute hodge podge of everything. You can buy school supplies, watches, track phones, shampoo, and bibles all in the same place. That sounds decently normal for a Walmart or Target. True, but these shops are probably jammed into a shop about the size of a subway. You can find just about anything you need in Fiji, but expect it to be about two or three times more expensive! Mom, here’s your fabric store. :)
The market has been one of my favorite places so far. So much culture and tradition! And of course food! The market we have been going to is in a pretty large warehouse-esque building jam packed with people, stands, and carts with people spilling out and lining around the building selling things. You can buy just about any fruit or vegetable you can think of and then some that they don’t have in America! Coconuts, papayas, and bananas are all very common here!
The Garners and us five girls all live in a house, and about 5 minutes away is the Students International base and where the SI directors, Oska and Aralie, live. This is where any short term teams stay when they come to serve! We have meals there at least once a day if not more! We had dinner there the very first night and here is what I learned real quick:
You take your shoes off at the door. My kinda culture. :) You do not linger at the door. This conveys that you think you are superior by lingering and standing. You come in and find a seat. Most houses have a large mat that is used for sitting and eating on. So not only are shoes not required, but sitting on the floor is encouraged! I think these cultural norms were created with me in mind. The first dinner we had at the base was very formal and traditional. You wear your chambas or, if you have them, kalavatas. Chambas are a combination of a sulu (a Fijian skirt) and a bula shirt. Kalavata’s are matching family chambas. We were formally introduced and accepted by Oska who happens to be a Chief of a village on another island! How cool, right! After, we dug in! The food is amazing! Rice, vegetables, meat, fruit, soup, bread, and juice galore! Aunty Ma and Tina are way too good to us when they cook for us!
This past week has been an absolute world wind! But the most fun and growth I’ve ever experienced. I am right where God wants me, and in that I find comfort and courage. These next 8 months are going to be the most important in my life up until this point and all I pray is that I do and see and learn as God intends. Please pray that the girls and I continue to adjust and find rhythm well. We begin serving in the various ministry sights next week and then the following week will be adding on our online class course load, as well! A smooth 8 months would of course be nice, but He is making it very apparent to me through scripture and prayer that discomfort and hardship are in my future. Please pray that I surrender and respond with my whole heart, and not only that but respond with joy and loyalty in every situation.
I am still in need of funding for my second semester! If you would like to support me in anyway, please send cash or checks made out to Students International to my home address! Contact me through facebook or email for my address. Thank you immensely for your prayer and financial support! It is very apparent that our Father has heard the prayers and has blessed us with an incredibly smooth journey so far!
Philippians 1:18-21
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Moce!
Helena Rose
The Adventures Of Helena Rose 