Ba, The Most Wonderful Place in Fiji!

We had so many amazing experiences, it was hard to stop to blog and write about them. The day after the school experience we went to Ba to try to find people that Brian was friends with on his mission. We didn't know how to go about finding them because they didn't have addresses, post boxes, or email addresses when Brian was here last. Upon arriving in Ba we just "felt" that the right thing to do was to walk around town and let things just happen. After visiting a few places, like the post office, we were walking down a street and saw two Elders coming our way. We gave them a hardy Fijian hello and struck up a conversation. They were on their way to a personal appointment and then were going to visit the Ratu's (this family didn't sound familiar to Brian). After talking for a while they said they would just take us with them straight to the Ratu's. Sister Ratu had started a little business of selling home made juice to Saturday rugby game players and fans. She had joined the church after Brian had left, so he didn't know her before, but we became instant friends (this is how it is in Fiji and with the gospel). She knew most of the people that Brian was searching for. Her husband was currently the first counselor in their ward and was cleaning the church. He later came, met us, and helped us talk to a taxi driver to take us in the right direction. A very amazing, humble man. The missionaries came with us as well. It was so fun to see old friends' eyes light up when they recognized Brian. Every time we met someone there were hugs and laughter, and we usually heard something to the effect of "Elder Cheney, no specs and you got a little fat" (Fijians are well known for their bluntness, but there is never any meanness or criticism in these comments). The people just welcomed us right in. It was so cool to walk down a dirt road for a good 30 min or more and have Brian suddenly remember what other dirt road to take and which home was the right one.



One of the girls that he was friends with had moved to New Zealand, but her brother was living at the home and his family welcomed us in and even invited us for dinner.

The next day we woke up to a down pour of rain. It looked like a tropical storm with all the coconut trees swaying in the wind. We were staying in a city called Lautoka-about a half an hour away from the church building -which is kind of a funny story. When the teachers at the school asked where we were staying, we told them at the Ba Hotel-the only one in town. Sai said, "Oh no, you don't want to stay there, you need a "posh" hotel." We told him we already had reservations, it was fine, we only needed a place to sleep. Then they told us about a couple who had stayed there and had gotten rashes on their arms the next day. We told them, okay we will look into staying at your "posh" hotel. The place we stayed at was right on the bay overlooking the ocean. The price was a little more than we were going to pay at the other place, but a very good rate considering how nice it was. Again, a very humbling experience.

So, we were afraid the down pour would limit people from going to church. We actually got a taxi because we didn't want to walk in the rain. We were the first ones there and then people started to trickle in. I got to teach primary and Brian and I were the speakers in church. I felt overwhelmed by the Spirit when I started sharing my testimony of listening to the Spirit and letting it guide us here and in our lives. I talked about the only way to overcome obstacles in our lives is to let the Savior help us and to put our faith and trust in him. A year ago the city suffered a huge flood from the hurricane. Everyone is just barely recovering with their crop production and rebuilding. The church was flooded and they rebuilt part of it and expanded. Brian shared so many wonderful experiences of his time in Ba, how this place and the people here had continued to sustain him throughout the rest of his life. Serving and loving the people in Ba was where Brian's faith and love for the Savior had become so strong. The lessons and experiences he had among these wonderful people are still, 15 years later, providing strength and direction in almost every aspect of his life. It was a great time to visit the members there and encourage them to keep going, keep recognizing the miracles all around them.



Kalera became my instant friend. She remembered Brian coming over to her family's home and was so excited to see him. She is now married and has 7 kids! Her kids were hanging all over us by the end of the day. In classic Fijian manner, she handed me what appeared to be her engagement ring. I tried to refuse, but she insisted. This type of thing happended frequently on our trip. Brian had told me about this happening frequently on his mission, with some people giving their last handful of money, food, etc. Sometimes in the States we willingly give our left overs or extras to people, but here they truly give all, the most prized possession, and the best they have.



James Erastus Faust Bainivalu(2) Love the name! Brother Bainivalu loved President Faust, and so when his son was born he named him after him. I'm sure whevever this great kid gets in trouble he's already long gone before the full name comes out. His hair reminded us of Brynn's hair.

Sister Ratu had invited us with the missionaries over for dinner. So after much picture and memory sharing at church, we piled into the back of a pickup-taxi and headed to her humble home.





She had her sister's family living with her as well. She made a wonderful fish curry meal for us and we enjoyed hearing her conversion and Temple stories. Part of the meal was made by her neighbor, so afterwards we walked to their home to thank her. They invited us right in. Their family is Hindu and we were able to help the missionaries set up a time to teach them. It was awesome being with the missionaries during this time, and introducing them to families and friends they could now teach. We had another family to go visit so we said our goodbyes and set off down the dirt road to another home. It was so much fun just to walk with Brian and not know exactly where we were headed and how we were going to get there. Eventually a taxi or car would drive by and we would wave them down. It all worked out so well! We were very blessed! It's amazing how quickly we became so close to people and the tears we all shared when we said goodbye.

Taveuni

Good Morning from the Other Side of Heaven!

Ba School

More pictures from the school.


Here are all the students that were present on Friday -about half. Some of the children with more disabilities come for only 1-3 days a week. The boy in the wheelchair was so cute and tells everyone "I'm here". He read us a story and it was awesome to see all the other children pushing him around and totally including him. All the other children help around the school and each other.


They treated us like royalty when we were presenting the items to the school. We emphasized that we were just representing our family and community.


Here are the teachers and Sai (the head master) on the far right, blue print shirt.


I love their motto, Ability shines through!

Fiji Thank You!

Sa Bula Vinaka! We just finished our first day in Fiji and it was wonderful, humbling, and amazing! We visited the Ba School for Special Education, and spent the entire day there with the children. We have so much to write, but we realize that not everyone might want to read through a giant journal entry type post (we'll put another post below for those that are interested in all the day's activities). But please know how grateful and thankful we are to each of you that provided such wonderful assistance for this school. We were able to bring over 200 pounds of materials, equipment, technology, etc. We were able to provide them with cell phones, laptops, digital cameras, and numerous educational DVDs, books, and sporting equipment! Some of you stayed up late into the night or helped answer questions and transport items, just to make this all possible. We were also able to provide them with a generous cash donation that will be used to buy shoes for the children, uniforms, food, and other critical materials (there were actually some children with no shoes at school). Just writing this is making us cry all over again and turning this into a longer post then we intended, we'll leave it with our final thank you below for now.

Simply saying Thank You doesn’t seem sufficient, but it’s all we have. I suppose that’s why God sometimes uses unique and special ways in allowing His children’s gratitude toward each other to be felt and understood.

Let me try to summarize it best like this. Fiji time is one day ahead minus 6 hours. So if it’s 7:00 p.m. on a Thursday in the US, it is 1:00 p.m. on a Friday in Fiji (it’s always been easiest for me to think of it this way). With this understanding, there will come some day in the future when maybe you’re working alone in the garden on a sunny afternoon, reading a fun book with the kids just before naptime, or in process of preparing a bountiful dinner for your family and suddenly, without any apparent cause, you just feel good, real good. Suddenly you’re just all smiles, and it makes you stop and think for a brief moment, but you can’t put your finger on why. At times like this, perhaps you might think of a small generally forgotten farming town, with a small generally forgotten school, an ocean away. Perhaps you’ll remember that at these times a new day is just starting for an entire school of very special children. Perhaps you’ll be able to see a sweet young boy who can’t hear very well and hasn’t been able to communicate, is now laughing along with his teachers and friends as he is able to sign “ball”, “play”, and “thank you”, and his teachers and friends understand him because of the signing videos you provided and they all watch everyday. Perhaps there is a young girl that can’t walk well and has great difficulty in controlling her arms and hands, and it is now game time at school, and the interactive parachute game you provided has become her favorite game that always elicits squeals of laughter. And finally, perhaps there is a young teacher that just loves these special children, and until your kind gift arrived was feeling overwhelmed and underprepared, but now with the books, technology, and resources you’ve provided they are able to put their whole heart into a new school day, knowing all along that they are not a small generally forgotten school an ocean away. You didn’t forget them, you remembered them.

We don’t know what time it is when you are reading this note, but if you have a smile on your face that you just can’t wipe off, perhaps it’s because there is a special school of children, now a very short ocean away, that just started school and are smiling right along with you.

Thank you!