Vatulaulau Village

     There are so many sweet and humbling experiences as we move around among these humble people.  When you go into the villages, you can't help but be "put in your place" regarding the wealth we all experience in America.  Out in the villages there is so little but people are happy, joking and playing around.

Well, almost everyone is happy . . . 

Sikeli Luveitasau cooking up some dinner

     When we walked into Vatulaulau village a couple days ago, we were just coming up the footpath when the kids started noising about that we were there.  They ran out of the houses and came flying down the hill jumping into our arms and chattering about in Fijian.  Then they hold your hand and ask if you're coming to their home, and if not, they look very sad - so they walk with you hand-in-hand to the home you're going to.

   
As we entered a very poor home to visit a woman, we noticed that she has a large white spot on one eye where she is blind and we thought how easily that might be fixed if she were in America.  Sister Luveitasau is a wonderful, faith filled member of the Church and we visited about her children and the difficulties she lives with.  Then a cousin of hers came in from the cane fields, a big brute of a man - so strong and chiseled in appearance.  As we talked, prayed, and sang together I felt the promptings of the Holy Spirit to speak directly to him.  Turns out that he is a member but has not gone to Church for some time.  I felt full of love as we spoke of him being a child of God and that he was loved and needed back at Church.  Annie caught my attention and suggested I give him a blessing, something we do commonly in the villages due to the faith of the people and the fact that they have no other resources.  While giving him a blessing along with the young elders who we were with, I felt overwhelmed with guidance from the Lord particularly for this man.  I was also aware of the irony of the moment -- we had come to visit the woman and her family but the Lord also led her cousin to stop by right at that time, we were blessing him in ways he could not otherwise be blessed, and there we were kneeling in this home with flies all over our arms and legs and while blessing the man I felt the hands of a little child begin to play with my feet.  It was all so unique.  Afterward, the woman said her one son would be 7 tomorrow and begin to prepare for baptism at age 8 so wouldn't we give him a blessing also?

Adi Kelera Tabualevu and son

     When we left, we were accompanied by several children who wanted to walk with us to the next home and again were so sad when we weren't able to go to theirs (because we had other commitments). Annie and I walked down the hill past the banana and coconut trees and felt we had again participated in the Lord's work blessing these people as best we can but being twice over blessed ourselves for being here.