Where to Start

so it's been quite a while since i was able to really post something. i guess i should start off with Fiji. we had an amazing life changing time there. in case you may not know i went with my boss (a dentist) and we were going with some dental students to do some dental work at some of the villages in Fiji. here is my summary of the trip. there are alot of things that i left out but i had to or this post would be super long.

we left the US on june 13th and after a 10 hour plane ride we arrived in Fiji. the plane trip was pretty cool too. it was the biggest plane that i have ever been on. it was a boeing 747-700 (i think) and it had 3 seats on each side and 4 in the middle. not only that but it had a upper deck that had 2 rows of three seats. i have to say that i was definatelly amazed.

so we arrive in Nadi, Fiji on june 15th. june 14th must have been lost over the pacific ocean some where. from there we had to go in shifts on some smaller planes to the city of Savu Savu on the 2nd biggest island. i think that there was three trips that were made. we were on the second one so we waited and looked around the city of Savu Savu. once everyone was there we all got on a bus for a 2 hour bus trip to the bay (Buca Bay) that we were staying at. the bus trip was fun because of all that we were able to see but we were definatelly tired after it. luckily when we got there all we had to do was get settled and have dinner.

june 16th started with many questions. we woke up early for a 6:00 breakfast and then met in the chapel for a short worship and to discuss how the day was going to work out. i have to say that it went okay for a group of people that had never really worked together before. i went into the clinic and started to get the dental instruments ready that i thought would be need and orgnaizing all of that and the sterilization process. eventually the students got organized and were on a roll helping people and getting them out of pain. the day went pretty well for the first day and we at least knew what to expect for the next couple of days.

june 17th was Sabbath. the school that we went with was a Seventh Day Adventist school and the village was also so we had our usual early morning breakfast and then went to chapel. chapel was great because we were able to hear some of the children sing and i think that by far that was almost all of our favorite things. we all loved to listen to them singing.
after that they planned to take us to another island so that we could go snorkeling. the boat ride was great to be able to see the surrounding islands and to snorkle was fun too. after a while there we went to the village of Kioa where we were able to purchase some handicraft from the people there and then they put on tribal dance and singing for us. it was so much fun to see them and how excited and happy they all were. while we were there is got dark so the boat ride was in the dark which normally would be fine accept there are not lights on the boat they just use a flashlight to let other boats know where they are and then it strated to rain on top of that and then the boat ran out of gas on top of that. luckily they prepared for the gas running out and we were quickly on our way again. we couldn't complain to much though because we were in the middle of the south pacific, riding in a boat, under the briliant stars.

june 18th today was another day of working and this day went a lot better than the first. some of the students were more confidant in what they were doing and the front desk team had a great system on intake.

june 19th -21st was much the same and half of our team went to another island for these three days to work there. over all we saw over 800 dental patients and there was a medical team there as well and i think that they saw over 400 medical patients. God truely blessed us and the ministry there.

june 22nd was another fun day. we took a ferry to the island of Tavauni and we went to a waterfall and then we went to some rock slides. it was such a beautiful lush island.

june 23rd and 24th were a little more laid back. we did see a couple of patients but on the 23rd we took another boat ride out to do some snorkeling and on the 24th we went to the village of Nawi and hung out on the beach, bought a fish to cook that night, played with the children, and took in a rugby game, Nawi vs. Kioa. that evening the ladies that cooked all of our meals for us also had a going away party for all of us where they gave us Sulu's which is a sorong and sang this really pretty Fijian song about leaving. there were hugs and laughs and tears. i don't know how someone can experiance something like that trip and not come out changed and appreciative of and for it.