FIRST Week in TAVEUNI -- Already!

rLn's art, on nau Tuvi's cupboard... JISU sa rauti au -- JESUS is enough for me.

Beni... "my" boy! -- ready for school, stopping by to say yadra (good morning) to his nei merlin...

Very typical gunu ti (breakfast) at nau Tuvi's house...

Nau Tuvi with grandkids Jotama, Kani and Leone...

My "new" backyard... We've got some plans to make this our cegu (rest) area, when the scorching sun is too much to bear indoors.

Leone, ready for school -- Class 2...

Viubani -- all green once more, after cyclone Tomas...

Naselesele Primary School...

Net-ball practice, getting ready for the Lavena four-village tournament...

Someone's "pet" snake... comfortable on its uvi "home"...

Maria, doing business in Naqara...

Ana with my ice-cream cone, with Buna Akeneta (a Facebook friend) and little Keiti...

Melania helping with the morning laundry...

Jotama... "my" boy! with his new backpack...

Nana Ana putting coconut oil on Jo, getting ready for school...

Ligani, Teci, Talei, Filo, Pule -- just posing for nei merlin...

Sepo and Tevita -- cooking cassava by firewood...

Nau Ana with her luvena, Make... a pretty couple indeed!

Ratu Jone's rooftop and Naselesele Village waters...

Mango tree framed by my window sill...

(April 16) Well, i've been here a week already! Every day has been busy, filled with activities of settling in to village life. Already i've painted (a do-over) a cupboard for dishes and for food storage... for fried fish we don't want the house cat Goldie to nab.

The Naselesele Village school kids are playing a tournament of games (rugby, netball) with three other villages (Lavena, Bouma, Qeleni). i painted the letters worn for the girls' netball team... for two bu (young coconut) per pair of bibs showing their playing positions. That was quite a job... with the humid heat and flies and mosquitoes and very curious kids surrounding me, cutting off any flow of fresh air. WheW!!! i earned my drink!

i'm the official photographer for the Naselesele teams tomorrow...Saturday. i'll post the pictures in the GODventureZ blog after this post... GOD willing.

This time around, i'm fitting in much better with the family. My Fijian (the little i know) is back and improving day by day, with the help of our reading our English and Fijian Bibles in the mornings and evenings before meals. i've designated myself the floor cleaner/sweeper; and with four kids running in and out, with bare feet, i'm usually saying to them: gusing gusi! (Wipe your feet!)

i've also talked to the Ratu Mika's wife, and now i'm allowed to wear a hat or open my umbrella within the village (which is taboo for the villagers), being a "half-cooked" Fijian... a kavalagi (non-Fijian blood). So i'm very much at ease in the village...

i'm posting this from Tovu Tovu Resort -- the only place so far in Matei where i can connect with y'all! Please feel free to follow/subscribe to this blog if you're interested in seeing more of the real Fiji -- vaka Viti... bula sa dina!

GODventureZ in TAVEUNI -- Day ONE

Thursday -- DAY ONE -- April 7, 2011 -- after leaving San Diego, Tuesday (7:20 pm of the 5th)... finally arriving in Taveuni, Thursday morning at 8 am! i've taken many videos and pictures since then, but because of internet connections being troublesome and vERRRyyy! slow, i'm only posting pictures for now. Hopefully, i'll be able to download the videos soon on Youtube so that all may see the REAL Fiji!

Here's nau (grandma) Tuvi's kitchen area, with her voivoi (leaves, dried, then cut and woven into large floor mats)... and rLn art in the background. Naselesele Primary School kindergarten class... doing their masu (prayers) before eating their brunch snack.Here's Leone, with his State-side soccer shoes from nei (aunty) merlin...Friday -- DAY TWO -- Nei merlin with Kani and funny-man Jo!Naselesele's au naturele laundry -- sunshine and fresh air free!Saturday night -- DAY 3 -- Captain Cook (cruise ship) meke -- Naselesele and Wiwi villages putting on a traditional Fijian dance program for the tourists... A couple of the talented performers... Ana and Kalera... Kata and ... Sunday -- DAY 4 -- Jo and Kani, in their sulus... ready for lotu (church). The little girl in one of Rose's ShoppE's (Ocean View Church) fashions... Little Maria...another in-fashion fashionable toddler, modeling one of Rose's ShoppE's very own... Seleima with her sister Maria...Ana, my sister-in-law... chef, fisherwoman, home-engineer, godly mother and wife, with four children in tow -- DEFINITELY the Proverbs 31 woman!Nau Tuvi -- posing for her i.d. picture... Nau Tuvi receiving her communion wafer from Akosita (in-house, as nau Tuvi is house-bound). Surprise feast -- Vili went diving last night near Walegalala and caught two lobster for me (moi!) and some awesome fish (which we shared with Kuku Vili). Ana, our resident chef, cooked (with husband Seru assisting) fried fish into curry vakalolo (with coconut milk); lobster with fresh squeezed coconut milk with chili, onions and tomatoes; fried with with onions, dolloped with ketchup, the family's favorite sause; and our neighbor Salote gave us waci vakalolo (dalo leavews with tuna cooked in coconut milk). Needless to say, i was very sinai (full!) after i've eaten my lobster and a little of everything else!

Fly swatters Leone and Jo... Yummm! Kana (eat) at last!

Mi La ULTIMA DIA En "LA MAQUILADORA"

Muchas gracias, companeros y companeras, por su amistad bueno! El tiempo que yo trabaje` contigo en nuestra compania es una experiencia especial que yo no olvido.

Gracias, "Yaya" -- por los tamales son deliciosos! Maia, mi hija bonita, con una sonrisa grande. Y Eric disfrute mucho porque le gusta la comida!

Mi amiga Victoria, una mujer seriosa y trabajadora buena... la vida es duro, pero confia en El Senor... nuestro Padre divino.

Mis companeros -- Jaime y Jose Luis... cada dia son amables.

Memo! Gracias por su ayuda con el compresor.

Tostadas de Victoria -- super! tan rico! Aqui mis amigas Mari, Eva, Lydia, Alicia, Mari, Vicky, Guadalupe (se lavado), Lupita, Maria, Elario, Lolita, Leti y Juanito.

Oy, Miss Lucy -- mi pareja de baile... hacemos cumbia durante pausa del almuerzo.

"Yaya"... pero me gusta mas su otro nombre -- "Lala" -- es una mujer siempre simpatica y muy inteligente porque tiene mente de negocio!

Mis companeros -- Savino, Paco, Jorge, y Alfredo.

Senoras Leti, Merlina y Alicia... con una pintura de rLn's Off-the-Wall Art.

Oni, la otra Filipina... su adobo con arroz es siempre especial -- tan delicioso!

Companeros y companeras -- gracias por su compartirse de la cultura de Mexico, las comidas buenas (y interesantes... nopales!) -- pero mas importante para mi, sus corazones amistosos y sinceros. Yo agredicida por este bendicion de Dios.

Por favor, toman a poco momento para leer los pasajes: Sea Parte de La Familia de Dios

Si no ha llegado al momento en su vida en que usted invite a JESUCRISTO a ser el Salvador y Senor de su vida, le invitamos a que considere lo siguiente:

Los 5 pasos del Camino Romano Para Salvacion. (Se llama asi porque todos los pasajes estan en el libro a los Romanos.)

1) Reconocer nuestra necisidad del perdon de Dios. ("Por cuanto todos pecaron, y estan destuidos da la gloria de Dios." Romanos 3:23)

2) Darnos cuenta que nuestro pecado tiene consequencias. ("Porque la paga del pecado es muerte, mas la dadiva de Dios es vida eterna en CRISTO JESUS Senor nuestro." Romanos 6:23)

3) Saber que Dios quiere que recivimos su amor. ("Mas Dios muestra su amor para con nosotros, en que siendo aun pecadores, CRISTO murio por nosotros." Romanos 5:8)

4) Creer en JESUCRISTO y entregarle nuestra vida. ("Que si confesares con tu boca que JESUS es El Senor, y creyeres en tu corazon que Dios le levanto` de los muertos, seras salvo. Porque con el corazon se cree para justicia, pero con la boca se confiesa para salvacion." Romanos 10:9-10)

5) Comprometerse a vivir para los propositos de Dios. ("Ahora, pues, ninguna condenacion hay para los que estan en CRISTO JESUS, los que no andan conforme a carne, sino conforme al Espiritu." Romanos 8:1)

La Oracion de Entrega y Compromiso

"Padre Santo -- Te doy gracias por mostrame el camino que lleva a Tu presencia. Reconozco que soy pecador y que Te he fallado muchas veces en la vida. Me doy quenta de que mi pecado me separa de Ti y merece el castigo eterno. Te doy gracias porque me amas, me arrepiento de mis pecados y Te pido perdon. Creo que JESUCRISTO murio por mis pecados, hoy Te entrego mi corazon y mi vida. Dame El Espirito Santo para vencer, me comprometo a vivir para Tus propositos. Te doy gracias por la nueva vida que me das el dia de hoy, en el nombre de JESUCRISTO."

Mi oracion por todo -- Vicky, Mauricio, Ariadna, Lala, Ana, Alesandra, Jesica, Flori, Thelma, Angel, Eva, Oscar, Alessandro, Bobby, JR, Lucas, Jose, Savino, Laura, Rita, Carmen y Jorge, Marta, Jaime, Angelica, Mari, Lydia, Jose Luis, Jose Luis, Jose Luis, Jose Cruz, Paco, Juan, Eric, Kedid, Oni, Jon, Wayne, Carmen, Lolita, Leti, Eva, Juanita, Zenaida, Felicitas (Licha), Teresita, Cristina, Rafa, Susan, Eric, Rich, Tiffany, Jaimee, Jonathan, Lucy, Alicia, Guadalupe, Esperanza, Marina, Marta, Concha, Maria, Juanito, Horacio, Ignacio, Alicia y Reynado, Urbano, Candido, Lupita, Floricita, Sergio, Memo, Jesus, Armida, Elario, Alfredo...(((Maia))) -- vaya con Dios!