So, for those of you who may not know, yesterday morning at 5:30 AM, after 2 days of traveling, I arrived in the Fiji islands. I'll be staying here for the next month with a really great family. They work mostly in a rural area, building a community center, a sustainable community farm, and sharing in the love of God. So, through some unexpected turns of events, I get the privilege of being their "intern" for part of the summer.
This means I'll just be floating around helping out wherever help is needed. For the past two days, this has meant being a nanny. :) The family has three beautiful daughters, and right now the youngest is sick. So the two older girls and I have gotten to spend some quality time together while busy mom helps a sick baby get healthy again. Today, we went with the short-term summer team to an island for a day of fun and then sent the summer team off for their return flight back to the US. The island was beautiful, exactly like a postcard. There were fish and reefs that looked like they belonged in Finding Nemo; the ocean was warm, maybe 70 degrees; and palm trees were everywhere. I've posted some photos of our adventures today.
While Fiji is a very beautiful place, it also has an underbelly with many problems. Because tourism is the main economic activity (followed by sugarcane farming), the economy hasn't really diversified. This means there's little room for a middle class to spring up. So, there are the very rich in Fiji, which is what one usually thinks of - high class resorts, lounging on the beach, celebrity vacations. But there are also the very poor. Soon, I'll know a lot more about all this.
Love you all, and I hope to be in touch soon. :)
Britt!! Thanks so much for this update. I love your pictures, and I just see you being such a light and encourager to your family, the short-term missionaries and the people of Fiji. I'm excited to hear so much more!! I love you hermana!
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