Welcome home to the freezing Sydney weather! It definitely is a stark change from the warm 30 degree days and the balmy nights we experienced in Fiji. But the weather isn't the only thing that has changed since we've been away. Dare I say it, but everyone on the Year 13 Fiji 08 team has changed in one way or another.
As I was trying to comfort the Mum of our homestay family that we left a few weeks ago, I found myself saying "isn't it funny how quickly you can fall in love with people". We had only been there five days and yet the grief was apparent in her tears. As we leave Fiji after a month of engaging with the culture and falling in love with the Fijian people not only do we bring a little bit of Fiji home with us, we also leave a little bit of ourselves there.
God was definitely doing amazing things during our time away. Most of us have come back with a far bigger understanding of Him, of His love for the world and the amazing creativity He has shown in His creation. Most of us have fallen in love with Fiji " with it's stunning scenery but more than that, with a people that have a joy and a spirit that is found nowhere else on earth.
But falling in love with the people of Fiji wasn't always easy. When you meet a mother that is trying to feed her children, yet at times can only afford a cup of tea for dinner, your heart aches and your soul is stirred. Why is she suffering so much? Why do I have so much at home? Why has God placed us in the situations He has? And it hurts. It hurts to see such pain and suffering, and it hurts to know that it is all caused by others greed. Yet these people are joyful in the little things they have.
Yet on the other hand, when you meet a family that God has blessed materially with everything that they need, again your soul is stirred. To have such a large house with running hot water, and internet, you can't help but ask the same sorts of questions. Why has God blessed this family? But then to see them joyfully giving their time, love and finances to the Church brings a certain joy as they serve the LORD with what He has given them.
There are so many more images that I could write about " about the schools we visited, the prisons, the hospitals, the homes, the locals. These are the images that have changed the Year 13ers. These are the memories that they will carry with them into the rest of their lives. And I pray these are the images that stir them into joyful giving and service when God calls them to that " whether that is in their own Church or in mission overseas.
We have so much to learn from the people of Fiji and we have come back changed people. If you know a Year 13er who has returned from Fiji, please ask them how God has changed.
