Bula!

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to head off to Fiji for a few days of R'n'R. While it allowed me to cross another thing off my 30 by 30 list (visit a new country), the main reason was to catch up with Liz, a dear friend of mine who is volunteering over there for a year.

The trip was a real blessing from God, as I was basically able to fly free thanks to some Jetstar vouchers. The place we stayed at was a 2 hour bus trip from the airport, and while the bumping up and down on the road reminded me of a pair of wind-up chattering teeth, it was great to see some of the real Fiji. To be honest, it is a lot poorer than I had ever realized. Majority of 'houses' are thrown together from corrugated iron and whatever else they can find, and we constantly passed locals on the side of the road trying to sell whatever fruit and veg they could grow. I generally try and compare places I visit to places I have been, and I guess of the places I have been, Fiji was the most like Jamaica but without the American influence. Both have the stark contrast between poverty and the wealth of tourism, both have bright coloured school uniforms, lush tropical scenery, beautiful beaches and friendly locals. A rainbow out the bus window reminded me of God's faithfulness, and that he is the same no matter where we are. 

We were fortunate enough to stay in a beautiful place that proved the perfect backdrop to unwind. It was great to spend a few days with Liz, and another friend Kath. We had lots of fun, lots of laughs and lots of relaxing under palm trees while reading, chatting, listening to podcasts, and for me, falling out of a hammock. The scenery was amazing, and again made me appreciate our amazing Creator God.

On the one day we ventured out, we took a jet boat up to a local village. I really enjoyed having a taste of true Fijiian life. They performed a welcome ceremony for us, and treated us as though we were family. We had a great feast of local cuisine, a kava ceremony (yep, I tried it), some music and then danced with the locals. It was one of the highlights of my trip! Its so amazing to see how different life is for them, yet how content they are with what they have (much more so than us).

All in all it was a great experience. I am so grateful for the chance to have seen another country, and to have done so while catching up with Liz.

The right words at the right time.

I love it when God gives you verses from His Word, that seem to express exactly where you are at, or what you need. I had 2 big examples of this in the past few weeks.

First, I was challenged to read Psalm 40, and when I did it seemed so incredibly relevant. It says, 

¹ I waited patiently for the LORD;
   he turned to me and heard my cry.
² He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
   out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
   and gave me a firm place to stand.
³ He put a new song in my mouth,
   a hymn of praise to our God. 

Having just recently hit the light at the end of a tunnel of depression, this exactly described how I was feeling. God had heard my cry and helped me out of the pit. His faithfulness just made me want to sing His praises. I guess that is how David felt too. 

And then, as I was feeling apprehensive and a bit nervous about the new job I was to start, I came across 2 Corinthians 9:8 on a friends facebook post. It says,

⁸ And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

What an encouragement it was to set off for my first day of work, knowing that God would bless me and equip me.

Praise God for the Word!