Week 4-5 (23/1-8/2)
"Rain, rain go away. Please come back another day..!"
If
you know Barney (the childrens programe) you know this song
and lately Jonathan has taken a habit of standing outside
our house, singing it with a loud voice! Everything is wet
after one week of constant raining and I mean everything!
Our walls have green mould growing on them, our pillows
feel like someone has poured water on them (which is what
we first thought had happened
),
our cloths are either wet or mouldy and our shoes stink
(mildly put…)! During this week we have come to realize
how blessed we normally are, with a weather that makes laundry
dry in 30 minutes. The other day we almost got our house
flooded and when we hear about the people living in low-lands
close to the river, or in sugarcane-fields, we really feel
the need for prayer. Many of them struggle with colds and
other health problems due to wet conditions and some have
been evacuated to nearby schools. Everyone keeps saying
that they never experienced anything like this in Lautoka,
but the good thing is that it's only expected to continue
for a few more days.
The
main reason for this weather is that we've had a hurricane
going past us in the northeast and as a result we've ended
up with heavy rains. Thank you Father that we didn't have
to encounter the hurricane! We haven't been able to go out
on outreaches because the roads are flooded and even if
we could get there, people would get sick just by sitting
in the rain waiting for their turn… Instead we've been
busy curing a cold (that almost everyone in the team got),
trying to get our laundry dry and planning for the future
of our medical team. As some of you might already know,
we've had some struggles in our team but we think that we're
back on the right track now. Our Father has been graceful
and blessed us in our humanness… showing us our mistakes
and weaknesses and the way to deal with them. Because this
is pioneering work, we have to take one day at a time and
try to stay flexible. This might sound a bit vague but we
don't want to go into details here, and all we can say is
that maybe the rain came at the right time because we were
all forced to sit down and talk things through.
Last week when we went to Viseisei, an Indian family brought
their 10 -year old daughter to our clinic.
She is suffering from Juvenile Rheumatic Arthritis and because
of her swollen, stiff and constantly paining joints, she
hasn't been able to play like other children or attend school
regularly. The treatment she's getting (Methotrexate) makes
her more susceptible to infections, lowers her appetite
and increases the risk for her to get other serious health
problems. The whole family is suffering from seeing this
little girl daily fight with pain and they've spent lot's
of money on doctors, medicines, witch-doctors and travelling
- money they don't have and therefore been forced to borrow
or beg for.
We
all got captured by this girl, her serious face and bright
eyes. Incredibly brave, patient and bearing despite pain
and several swollen joints. She could hardly move her wrists,
several of her finger joints where swollen and she limped
because of pain in her ankles. We gave her intra articular
steroid injections (a treatment that is included as a treatment
of choice for children with rheumatism in most developed
countries but not available in Fiji). Despite the pain that
the treatment itself caused, she gave me a big smile when
she left. When I saw her limping away, with a donated comforting
teddybear under her arm - I thought like so many times before
"I'll never forget this girl" and I know the Lord
won't eigther!
(2/1-22/1)
In the Presidents village...
This
last week, we had our first medical outreach for this year
and the result - like a thunderstorm... shaking but exciting!
Viseisei is the oldest village in Fiji, the place were the
first Fijians set foot when they came to the island. It
is one of the most traditional villages in the country but
also one of the richest... materially. Because of culture
and traditions it's been hard for teams like ours to get
entrance into the village. After a successful outreach to
their "sister-village" Lauwaki, we suddenly received
an invitation to Viseisei. And not only that, we got invited
to set up in the Chiefly meetinghouse - The very house where
the leading Chiefs in this region meet to discuss future
plans and politics. In other words - it's very rare that
anyone else get to use it and especially for us "palagis"
(= white men...and women) this must be seen as honouring
and encouraging for our ministry. On our last day we had
a majestic thunderstorm coming our way and because we were
on the mountain top we had the doors and windows shaking
and rain coming in flooding our floor in the examination
room. Opposition or support...?!
The
negative side of traditionalism is that sexual abuse committed
towards women and children is more common that anyone would
like to believe. Pregnancy rates, especially amongst teenagers,
are the highest in the country. How do you deal with this
problem? Well, in the village they say "we have extended
families" that is the mothers of young mothers look
after their grandchildren. Which of course is good for the
children in one way, but it also means that the rapes, the
abuse and the pain continues and the same thing happens
to generation after generation after generation. Catastrophe,
I say!
One of the young ladies who came to our clinic was 19 years
old and single. She needed help because of bleedings that
had been ongoing for 1½month. She was pale, tired,
freezing and with high pulse (tachycardia). Those are all
symptoms of quite severe anaemia - lack of blood. She lives
25 minutes from a hospital, is feeling considerably ill
and wants/needs help but still hasn't gone to the hospital.
Why? Fear? Probably, but of what? That it might be known
that she has been pregnant and now had a miscarriage? Maybe.
Afraid because maybe she was the one provoking the miscarriage?
Who knows? Afraid because maybe the father of the child
was one of her closest relatives?
I'm not saying that this is what had happened to this girl,
but what I'm saying is that it could very well have happened
this way? Do you think I'm speculating? I've heard stories
like this too many times, so I asked the girl if she could
have been pregnant when the bleeding started and that this
was an incomplete miscarriage she nodded yes. Her whole
appearance was so sad and I've worked with teenagers enough
to recognize when someone has been pushed to many times
into doing things with their body. Something vital is damaged
in their spirit. This girl had that appearance. Eyes shy
and avoiding, clothes big to hide them from others eyes,
quiet but under the surface desperately looking for help.
Am I generalizing? Yes, maybe but it felt so insufficient
not to be amble to meet her real need. I had to refer her
to the hospital so that the bleeding could be stopped and
her physical condition and need attended to. But she had
problems that were just as urgent as her physical ones.
We prayed together and after that she left our clinic with
a letter of referral and as so many times before, I could
only ask the Lord, our Father to go with her.
As
it is today, we cannot take on patients that need treatment
over a longer period. Our ministry is focused at meeting
more acute and urgent health problems. This young lady once
again showed us the need for more. Someone must meet the
needs that go beyond what is easily "fixed". We
have a desire to do that, but we need more staff and we're
trying to recruit both locally and oversee. God can do this
and maybe you feel an urge to come and join us?
When
it comes to us in the family, we are all fine. This week
Asena, a Fijian lady has started working with us as our
nanny. She is a calm, kind and believing lady, mother of
one but "extra-mother" of another three children.
Both of our children seem to like her and her personality
seems to go well together with theirs. We all went together
to last week's clinic and as usual our kind charmed every
lady in the room. Do I need to say that we were not lacking
cookies, chewing gum or coconuts... :-)
See you in two weeks!
22/12 - 1/1
A Peaceful Christmas
We
hope that you've had a wonderful Christmas, we sure have!
Compared with last year, when it was really hard to get
into Christmas-mood, this year's version was one of the
most fun ones we've ever had! Definitely in the same league
as the Christmases when we were in our 10's and waited eagerly
for Santa to come… This years' Santa was speaking Swedish
with a funny accent and his beard fell off just as he was
starting to hand out the gifts. This despite our 
efforts
to glue and tape it thoroughly in place. So he was holding
his beard with one hand and giving out packages with the
other, but when his eyebrows came falling down the situation
became emergent and we had to take a break. Santa had a
makeover in the bedroom and the most funny thing is that
the kids didn't even notice, busy as they were checking
out their presents..! :
A big "thank you!", to our Swedish friend Louise
and we can only say that next years Santa will have a tough
time living up the 2005's versions performance!
By
the way, we had everything you can imagine on our Christmas
table, including (too much) candy and as a surprise one
of our neighbours brought over a big home baked Christmas-Danish.
That's Fiji in a nutshell - so generous!
Thank
you! Everyone that has sent us Christmas greetings and written
in our guestbook on the website. We have so much enjoyed
reading them, even if it has made us miss you and sometimes
miss home. But the truth probably is that even if we were
at closer distance, everybody would have been to busy celebrating
Christmas and we would not have been able to see you anyway…
:
Well, well, life is full of everyday routines and "have
to's" but one thing we have already decided in order
to do something about it. When we move back to Sweden we
will ask our Father for a place to stay that is big enough
for us to have a guestroom always waiting for you to come
and spend a night or two with us!
We
haven't had any outreaches this week due to our Christmas
break, but we are desperately looking out for more nurses,
doctors, a pharmaceutics and leaders for next years CDTS.
So if you know of anyone or feel called to come and join
us… And we also need a Nanny!
Something to think and pray about during next year maybe..?
We wish you a Happy and Blessed New Year!
1/11-21/12
A
very Swedish tradition is to light candle every Sunday in
December. This is to celebrate Advent and is supposed to
bring a feeling of Christmas and excitement. It doesn't
work! Not when the thermometer shows 33 degrees (Celsius)
outdoors and 32 indoors... Nor when there isn't biting frost
and the only thing that makes your cheeks turn red is the
biting comments from shoe shiners. And just the idea of
celebrating Christmas on the 25th! I know you all do that,
don't you. But we've been celebrating on the 24th since
childhood and you just don't adapt to such a major changes
to quickly! Well, well... We've bought ourselves a Christmas
tree and we're celebrating with our Fijian/Indian family,
so we'll have a great time!!
Tomorrow
is our last medical outreach this year and we're looking
forward to it! Excited about tomorrow, when we're going
to an Indian settlement, together with 2 DTS-teams that
Fredrik has been working with. And at the same time relieved
that we're going to have a break after this. During our
time off, we'll have time to process our work and see what
we can improve. We will also relax and take the kids swimming
and just enjoy! One thing we would like to do more and better
is the follow-up. To a large extent this has been carried
out by the local churches and the church teams we have been
cooperating with. We have had a lot of reports on how people
have been healed from 
their
physical problems, but also on how they have given their
lives to Jesus and that is so exciting!
Fredrik is working hard, trying to organize everything
with the different teams that are coming in. He has also
been dealing with customs, immigration authorities and e-mail
inquiries, now that our Base directors are on furlough.
He's doing a great job and the rest of the Family are very
impressed and tries to encourage him - praying that "Dad
will have fun at work", as our second youngest member
would put it. :-)
We
wish you all a Very Merry and Blessed Christmas and an exciting
New Year! We will do some Christmas baking tomorrow and
invite you all to come and taste!
Heaps of Hugs and see you later!
10/10 - 30/10
A
lot of things have happened since our last update. As most
of you already know, Jonathan was very close to being hit
by a car a couple of weeks ago. Thank you all for encouraging
us through e-mails and supporting us in prayer! It meant
so much, especially the following days when feelings of
disaster and fear came over us. Chock grows afterwards,
this we know by experience now. Once again thank you for
praying for protection over our family.
Less serious is that Linn once again got head lice after
an outreach…
We
are back into having 2-3 days of outreach each week and
last week we went to the “Heart House”. This is
a place for people that for different reasons have lost
their land and their homes. Many of them are sugarcane farmers
and haven’t been able to renew their land-contracts
when the lease expired. These are very poor people and many
have lived and grown cane on the same piece of land for
30 years – some families even for 90 years! Now the
landowners want to raise the rent and the farmers can’t
afford it so they are kicked off the land. The needs were
great and we were all kept busy, especially our dentist
Rowena.
Most
memorable? That we had to cancel our first days’ clinic
because the Pastor that was going to arrange with localities
and inform the people living in the area, was indisposed
because of a boil on his “behind”… That God
turned it to good and we had a spontaneous clinic the day
after, with people from all different churches and others
living in the area all working together, serving each other!
Even when the rain was pouring down and people were sitting
under a leaking roof they all waited patiently and the day
after we got offered to use the community hall. The noise
from waiting adults and playing children were sometimes
so loud that patient and doctor had to shout to each other
over the table, despite sitting 50 cm apart… guess
how much you could hear of heart- and breathing sounds…
Privacy was great though, nobody could hear anything that
was said between doctor and patient!
Another
great thing that happened was that a Hindu Pandit priest
gave his life to Jesus! A pandit priest is a very influential
person in the Hindu belief system. He is performing special
ceremonies on behalf of other believers, as a way to please
different gods. This priest has a serious angina and as
we were having our clinic, his wife and sisters came to
us and asked us to come and pray for him. Some of our team
members went to his house and the following day he came
to the clinic to tell us that he had “surrendered his
life to Jesus”. Of course this is something that will
have to be seen over a period of time (many Hindus like
to “add” Jesus to their other gods), but there
was true joy 
in
the family as we visited them by the end of the day! Later
the same week he shared with team members how he had cut
down on smoking and drinking kava (the locally produced
drug/drink) and that is certainly something that will benefit
his physical health. Body, soul and spirit – they are
all connected, aren’t they? If this man stands firm
in his decision, it will affect and impact many other Hindus.
We can only pray and ask Jesus to continue to work in his
life and for the local Pastor for wisdom as he disciples
him.
5/9-4/10:
Is there a difference? Is life in Fiji any different from
the life we left in Sweden two weeks ago? Yes, yes, YES
Culture shock? Re-entry? Yes. Maybe more now then when
we first came to live in Fiji. Now we thought we knew what
it was going to be like, and so we were not prepared for
the differences being so great. Good and bad!
To
start with, coming home wasn’t as we had expected…
Our beloved apartment was smelly after being closed without
anyone living there for a while. There was black soot (from
the sugarcane factory) everywhere; on tables, beds and toilet
– everywhere. Our plane landed at 3 o’clock am
so when we came home the first thing we aimed for was OUR
BED. Just to find a giant cockroach heading for the same
place. We all fell in a deep sleep, especially the cockroach
that got to taste some very strong insect spray... J
After
spending our first days cleaning the apartment from roof
to floor (without finding any more cockroaches – thank
you Father!), we were back into feeling really at home and
we so much enjoyed putting away our suitcases for the first
time in 6 weeks. We want to take this opportunity to say
“Thank You!” to Granny and Grandpa. For several
weeks their home was our home and we never heard any complaints
over finding children’s shoes, toys, memory-notes,
tea-bags and suitcases in most unexpected places…
Some memorable moments and highlights from our 2 first
weeks back in Fiji; positive and negative:
First
time back on a bus here. I get on a really crowded bus and
like so many times before I immediately get offered a seat.
We all squeeze together, with a smile and a feeling of belonging
together. After me, another 20 adults and 3 children enter
the bus and they all get provided a seat – on an already
packed bus! That’s what I call teamwork! Nobody complains
and there are no angry faces, only smiles even when someone
gets their toes stepped on or their head bashed with a bag
of vegetables. It was so heart lifting and I must say I
don’t know if the same thing would have happened in
Sweden…
Employees’
rights seem to be an unknown expression here. For quite
some time, one of our closer friends from the Church has
been working as office staff with a governmental minister.
She has been the main breadwinner of the family ever since
her husband got laid off when the factory he was working
at closed down. She’s had major responsibilities at
her work and many times she has been asked to do work outside
of her regular duties. Now the minister (who has got Chinese
roots) decided to go and visit his home country for a while.
All of a sudden, our friend and her family are without income.
No salary during her employers’ absence, no information
about when he is planning to come back. Only his word that
she will get her job back when he returns… There are
so many people here that will tell you the same story, almost
shrugging their shoulders. That’s part of life in Fiji.
Everything is so dirty, mostly because of the soot. It
hits us how clean Sweden is.
We were overwhelmed by the reception we got when coming
back. People we had only known for a short time had become
our friends and they greeted us with open arms!
Our
children are taking the transition so easily and without
any hesitations they naturally embrace and adapt to two
so different cultures. They see our apartment here as our
home and to them Fiji and Sweden is within walking distance
from each other... J
That’s all for now. Lautoka has just won Fijis’
largest national soccer tournament and it’s high life
outside our window! All the cities cars are singing…
accompanied by our neighbours’ rooster. J
God bless you all!
Week 10-13 (11/3-3/4)
Finally!
Long
time no see... but everything that has happen lately and
kept us from updating this web page has been great!!
First: Our medical team is up and running! We've
finally got all our papers and Sofia got her registration
yesterday! The last couple of weeks we've gone to many villages
and settlements and we've seen our Lord ministering as we've
been praying with people and taken care of some of their
physical problems. We've met many and got new impressions
and experiences, but there are some that we remember especially.
A 3-year-old girl, Vilisi, had lost weight from 19 kg to
11 kg in just two months. When she came to us she had enlarged
lymph nodes on her neck, in arm pits, above clavicles and
a swollen liver. She also had high fever and pneumonia.
We admitted her immediately to the children's ward at Lautoka
Hospital because this little girl could have anything from
acute leukaemia to TBC and Hepatitis. My strongest impression
from this was how a teenage-girl from a visiting NZ-team
came alongside, supporting Vilisi´s mother 100 %.
In a moment, she became like family and stood by the mothers'
side all through the days in hospital. She brought her water,
took them between departments and encouraged this little
family in a difficult situation. In a culture where support
and family means everything in times like this, it was amazing
to see how two people from so different circumstances "adopted
each other" and became as close friends. We still do
not know the outcome of this but we'll get back to you about
Vilisi.
Another
special person, Nancy, lived just across the street from
the church where we set up our clinic for a day. Three weeks
earlier she had given birth to a beautiful daughter, and
now she could barely walk across the street and in to the
clinic. Her face was pale, eyes dim almost as if not being
aware of what was going on around her. She had high fever
and three large, severely infected wounds on an abnormally
swollen left breast. That something as common as breast
engorgement leads to severe infection, sepsemia, and in
worst case death is very rare in more developed countries.
Not so in a country where medical assistance can't be taken
for granted. In this case, with Nancy, it was only a matter
of hours before it would have been to late. She was also
admitted and taken to the Hospital for further treatment
We cannot take credit for the medical treatment of any
of these two, but we were at the right place in the right
time and because we come to people in their own back yard,
the dare to come to us for help. Many here feel that they
are not treated with respect when they come to the public
health authorities. In showing them respect, honour and
listening to what they have to share, we want to show them
that our Father does the same. And so many want us to pray
with them and that blesses both our patients and us so much!!
I sometimes wonder if the same thing could happen in Sweden…
Last
(but just as great): Fredrik's parents and sister have
been her to visit us and we've so much enjoyed having them
with us!
God blessed us with friends, who in their turn blessed
us in letting us borrow their house. For ten days. We've
been living on a point, surrounded by the ocean. We've admired
the sunset while sitting on the porch eating mango fruit
and papaya from our own garden. Our children are thriving
from all attention. They've had breakfasts with Grandma
and Grandpa, gon
e
swimming, read books and been to McDonald's (!) a couple
of times. Sometimes life as a Missionary can be quite comfortable…
Our parents came during a quite busy time but they went
with us on outreaches, helping with building a toilet in
one village and taking care of patients in another. We all
think (especially Linn & Jonathan) that Grandma should
take one year of from her work as an accountant and come
and join our team here!
Week 8 (21/2-10/3)
Miracles and wonders.
You
who are not Swedish might not know what the Vasalopp is,
but it's an amazing cross-country skiing competition and
it needs lots of snow in order to take place. If you read
Swedish newspapers you would now that Sweden has been very
"dry" on snow this winter. Despite of this the
race took place. God gave enough snow during the last week
and we had a wonderful race - Swedish victory and beautiful???.
Isn't that a miracle?! The other side of it is that 3 men
died during the competition, totally unexpectedly. A tragedy
for their families and friends. Tragedy or miracle - such
a difference in how we view and experience it during the
past week and a half we've been back in the "dump-village"
a couple of times. The first time we went there, we only
saw the church and our "clinic". The second time
we visited the people in their homes and for the first time
in Fiji, we saw real poverty. The dirt, the smell, flies
everywhere and a spirit of fear, violence and mistrust -
so apparent on the children. Such a difference to all the
smiling, happy and curious faces we've met before! Some
children expressed such hopeless-ness. Malnourished - not
on food but on love and care. A tragedy in itself.
We did what we could do, not much considering the needs,
but we also got to sit down and pray with some precious
people. One woman with several boils in her buttocks, a
young woman with generalized muscle and joint pain and a
mother who was very concerned about her husband. On our
way back home our thoughts were full of how and why. Why
was there such a strong sense of violence and fear amongst
so many of those living in the village? How would we be
able to do something about it? Yes, we could see the pattern;
unemployment - low self esteem - perhaps use of drugs -
hopelessness - violence. How could our presence make a difference?
Like so many times before here in Fiji, we quickly realized
how limited we are in ourselves and as before we said:"Father,
You have called us here. What do you want us to do and how
do you want us to do it?
We kept on praying and a few days later we returned to the
village. Our purpose was to do some surgery and help the
lady with the boils. If you are practising medicine you
know that boils in this region of the body are quite difficult
to deal with. They also have a tendency to come reoccur,
especially when you're living under conditions like this
woman. I had really stressed to our Father that we needed
His help in order for this to heal! Surgery wouldn't be
enough.
I
must admit that I was quite surprised when I, at our return,
discovered that the boils were perfectly and totally healed!
Instead of large infected boils and inflamed tissue, I found
thin scars and healthy underlying tissue. My spontaneous
reaction was WOW! (Followed for a second by a the slightest
disappointment for not getting to drain the boils…I'm
a doctor you know :-)
But God had answered our prayers in many ways! The atmosphere
in the village had completely changed. Men that previously
had an aura of violence ant threat were changed for the
better, the children seemed more relaxed and the lady who
had shared with us about her husband told us all we had
prayed for had happened! Miracles!
In
many ways the village still looks like a poor and dirty
place, but my eyes can also see the miracles and I now understand
why God sent us there. Not to change everything and help
everyone, but to ask Him change everything and help some.
Yes, you can ask the question:"Why doesn't He make
everything right for everyone, now if He's able?" I
can not give a full answer to that, but I know that ours
and other people's choices have made the world look like
it does today. And ours and other people's choices will
determine what the world will look like tomorrow.
PS: You find some pictures from the village in the Gallery.
Unfortunately the camera doesn't capture the flies and the
aromas… so the pictures are somewhat lying.
See you soon!
Week 7 (14-20/2)
On a garbage dump…
…
in Lautoka you find a little community consisting of approximately
100 people; families and elders. Food comes from mango trees,
kassawafields and leftovers from restaurants and resorts
being thrown on the dump. Very few have a job and cash to
buy medicines, schoolbooks, glasses and other things we
take for granted. In the centre of the village, in something
that resembles a barn, you find a lovely pink church and
in this church we had our mobile clinic set up. For one
day we treated people with different health problems. We
got to sit down and talk, listen to their thoughts about
the future and pray together. It touches my heart every
time and it amazes me that we are so alike, considering
our backgrounds are so different. The things a Fijian mother
is sharing with me about her daily life are the same things
I'm pondering in my life and immediately I know that we
understand each other - despite "language-barriers"…
People's health problems can in general be divided into:
arthritis, diabetes/heart diseases, infections and skin
problems. Treatment of arthritis is more or less non-existing,
so when we're coming doing something so basic as aspirating
fluid out of swollen joints and injecting cortisone, the
effect is almost considered being miraculous. Here's a little
story on that…
In
a little shed on the dump lives an older woman. For 4 years
she hasn't been able to walk because of knee-arthritis.
When she heard that we were having a clinic in church, she
started crawling towards it. She soon had to give up because
of her pain. Relatives came to get us and our orthopaedic
surgeon Kelepi, Fredrik and our translator Jeremiah went
with them to the lady. After aspirating large volumes of
fluid, injecting cortisone and praying with her, she stood
on her feet and walked for the first time in 4 years. Happy
and smiling, and with quite shaky legs she sat down afterwards.
Without pain for the first time in many years. All her relatives
ran to the church to get treated..!
Part
from medicines we also left two big boxes with clothes,
two bags with toys and a lot of toothbrushes and toothpaste.
We're so aware that our work here is dependant on the people
that are donating money and things for us to give out. And
believe us when we're saying that everything goes to the
ones that need it! So therefore we feel free to say that
if anyone of you would feel urged to donate things, tools
or money to buy medicine, you are as much a part of our
work as if you would be here in Fiji. Send us an e-mail
and we'll tell you how you can do this.
Week 5-6 (3/2-13/2)
Culture shocks and different personalities…
There
are moments when we realize how Swedish we are and how Fijian
the Fijians are… Last week I (Sofia) went to a very
beautiful place called Pacific Harbour, together with 100
other women. We went to listen to good teaching on "The
power of the Cross" (by Jean Norment from YWAM Kona),
enjoy the nature and our Lord without the distraction of
children and husbands… :
One of my roommates, a lovely Fijian woman, and I went to
the bathroom together the first morning. So here I am, standing
by the hand basin, taking my time and really enjoying not
having two little children climbing on me. Enjoying that
I don't have to hurry and that I only have to get myself
ready before breakfast. All of a sudden my peaceful relaxed
morning toilet gets interrupted when I realize that my roommate
is standing next to me, waiting for me. I try to tell her
that she doesn't have to wait for me, hoping that she will
leave so that I can enjoy my peaceful morning alone…
But she responds that of course she wouldn't leave me all
by myself (in a room with 6 other women doing their morning
ablutions!) That would to her be like abandoning me, something
she would never do. I would like to tell her that I would
love to be abandoned, but of course I don't do that. Instead
I hurry all I can not to keep her waiting, skip combing
and walk back to our room with my new found friend. Only
to smuggle my comb into my towel and sneak back to the bathroom
to finish my morning procedure - this time without enjoying
it…
The
most stupid thing with all of this is that I really didn't
need to hurry! I tried to be polite in a Fijian - make company
- and Swedish - not to keep anyone waiting - way, only ending
up being frustrated. If I only would have realized that
my Fijian friend didn't mind waiting at all. That she never
even reflected over how long or short time she had to wait,
but gladly would have waited for me the whole day if needed.
So, from now on I will only be polite in the Fijian way!
:
Here are some other examples of "good-to-know-about"
in the Fijian culture:
Never keep your head above others, especially those that
are in higher rank than you. This means that you sit down
at the entrance when you enter a house. If you are invited
further in you bend over as you quickly move inside and
sit down. Because most people sit on the floor, it can even
happen that you have to crawl in and out of a room. This
happens especially 
if
you enter the room where the village chief is. You shall
not touch an adults head while this is dishonouring or carry
a hat in a village. Sunglasses are not to be worn either
in the village, because you're hiding your eyes and some
might wonder if you've got something to hide. It's better
to give an untruthful answer that disappoints someone with
a negative answer. If you comment on somebody's furniture,
belongings or cloths, it's the same as asking if you could
have it and you will end up standing surprised with your
arms full of gifts! Your host would find it impolite to
deny you, being the guest, anything.
It is exciting, frustrating, educating and challenging with
cultures! :
Week 4-5 (23/1-2/2)
Busy weeks (getting bruised…)
Let's
start with the busyness. We took the truck on her "maiden
voyage" and did our first outreach as a complete team.
We went to an Old People's Home and gave them wheelchairs,
commode chairs, crutches and other practical equipment.
What they appreciated most though, was being invited up
to dance (!) We took out our guitar and sang some Fijian
songs and they all joined us in singing. After a while those
that could take a few steps got up and danced away from
their walking frames. We had great fun and the kids loved
it!
We also visited the local prison. In a prison built for
135 inmates there are now 165 prisoners and despite being
a bit crowded, the atmosphere was surprisingly good. The
officers were very helpful and translated for the inmates
when ever needed. Off course one can always say that they
were making an effort just because we were there, but I
think we've got enough experience now to be able to discern
whether the care is true or not. Especially one of the officers
was very helpful in taking care of our patients. During
a couple of hours we treated all kinds of diseases from
scabies and "frozen shoulders" to angina and cataract.
Several of the
inmates have developed severe cataract from fist fights
with hits towards the eyes. Sad, but treatable! Worse are
the inner wounds caused by there life style. Rowena extracted
one tooth, fixed many and removed so much tooth scrapes
that she had to wash out some of it from her hair when we
got back home… It was all together a great time to
be able to minister to the inmates through medical help
and prayers. It was also great to work together as a complete
team for the first time.
Now to the accidents… It started on the 23:d by Linn
falling against a couch resulting in 3 teeth being quite
loose. Her upper lip grew to three times the original size
and our little brave girl had to slowly tuck in her rice,
one by one and drink really carefully… After lunch
that same day, Jonathan all of a sudden got very high fever
(40,5C degrees). He was limp and couldn't care less about
what was going on around him. In a country like Fiji you
have to think "could this be meningitis?" But
since he lacked stiffness in his neck and skin rash, we
waited, gave Tylenol (with the result of one degree decrease
in fever…), put frozen towels around him and prayed.
After a night with not much sleep, Jonathan started to get
diarrhoea in the morning, the fever went down and he started
to be more himself again. Praise God for your protection!
(Fredrik takes over the "pen" from reasons written
down below)
A
couple of days later the adventures continued… Sofia
and Louise were about to clean and prepare the hospitality
room for arriving visitors. When they were about to move
a thick piece of glass board they suddenly dropped it on
Sofia's finger tip. After having adjusted the finger tip
herself (a typical thing to do when you're a doctor...)
which was pointing in the wrong direction, we fixated it.
Five minutes later our orthopaedic, Kelepi Paka, came by.
He offered an aluminium sprint to stabilise the finger and
arranged with an X-ray appointment. The plates showed that
the finger tip was clearly broken. Later that same day,
the series of undesirable adventures were completed when
Linn and Jonathan run in to each other with a big bang.
When we arrived to the scene of the accident Jonathan was
quite dizzy, Linn's loose front teeth were spread out on
the floor while lots of blood were flowing from her mouth.
Both kids were still very brave and while crying, Linn said
she felt some "rocks in her mouth".
Sofia is now walking around with her pointing finger high
in the air 
and
Linn is wandering about with a decent space in her upper
gum. The good thing is that big kids also walk around like
this!
If you are among the ones praying for us, please pray for
a little bit of rest from these kinds of adventures. We
feel that we've now had our share for a long time.
Thank you!
Week 1-2 (3/1-18/1)
The pieces are coming into places...
It's
been 3 months since we came and so far we've mostly been
preparing , planning and organizing for the ministry we
long to get into; the Mobile Ministry - our truckministry.
We've planned to "take off" in January and it
looks like it's actually going to happen! We'll be going
out to the villages on a more regular basis. Louise (our
nurse) has arrived and our team is now complete! With the
exception though of the driver-mecanic that we need and
are praying for God to send. (So if you feel called... :-)
This week we're going to visit a home for the elderly,
leave beds and other equipment, see what their needs are
and do some medical check-ups. Tomorrow we're going with
our medical team to the local prison. The prisoners health
are not very good and healthcare is not a priority. We are
also planning to go to the village Matawalu, preferable
next week and it's going to be our first outreach with the
truck. It's funny how much we've come to consider "her"
a member of our team! "She" (we've been thinkning
about giving her a name - just as with the ship..) has become
a crucial tool for us to be able to do our work. Without
her we would have to walk for hours on bad, winding roads
and still only make it to our closest neighbours...
Vecka 52 (24/12-2/1)
A catastrophe
A
disaster that can not be described. You've probably also
followed the news and read everything that has been written
about the Tsunami and the things that are happening in Asia.
Is it really possible to grasp? We- who weren't damaged
at all- can only take in the amazing fact that we're still
sitting down at our breakfast table every morning, as a
whole family. Our children are healthy and have full stomachs,
as if nothing has happened... Many times, I've started crying,
sitting in front of the computer, reading about children
that have been torn out of their parents arms. There are
many Swedes that have been killed or are missing and for
the first time since we came here, Sweden and how everybody
is doing there has become more important than what is happening
here.
To get shaken is probably good. That so many have lost
their liver is terrible. I cannot help but wonder how I
would have reacted. What makes it possible to lose so much,
in such a horrific way, and still be able to make it through?
This catastrophe has once again revealed what is really
important to us. I don't know if I could handle losing Fredrik
or Linn or Jonathan this way. I've been thinking about this
before and have come to the conclusion that I want to die
first! Still - maybe because my work; where death is a reality
every day and because here in Fiji death is a part of life
- the question comes back to me. "What if…"
"Do
you believe there is a Heaven?" The question came from
one of my patients who knew she was going to die. That we
will meet in Heaven one day - that is my hope and my great
comfort. That life here and now is only a small part and
there is an eternity where I can hold my husband and my
children again. It frightens me too that my children will
have to go through pain and difficult times. I tell my husband
to drive carefully, just like my mum is telling me. I would
probably react with extreme anger and a desperate desire
to make everything right again, if anyone hurt my child!
But at the same time I know I have a God who cares! A Father
that I'm talking to every day about things that happens,
not the least things like these. For somebody to say "I
will pray for you", is not a cliché to me. I've
seen things change completely after prayers - and often
amaze me in just how much God cares! No doubt things happen
that are almost too difficult to pull through, but as until
now I've only seen prayers change things for the better!
So we pray for all those who are right now in the midst
of this disaster. I think Jesus more than anyone else knows
how difficult it is for them. Maybe this catastrophe makes
us understand a little more what it's like to live in the
"developing" part of the world.
Week 50-52 (12/12-23/12)
Christmas gifts…
A
New Year is coming up and it's time to summarize this year
and the things that happened. In Sweden on TV you'll have
lots of programs doing this - in all different categories;
sports, economics, music etc… In Fiji we haven't seen
one, and we don't miss them. On the other hand, we miss
the cold weather and the snow… Arghhh!! Do you think
we're being ungrateful? Imagine coffee that never goes cold.
The water in the pool being heated up by the sun so that
it is 35 degrees C, air-temperature 32 and all you want
is to have a nice refreshing bath… Lovely candles that
give far too much heat (but a nice Christmas-feeling…
:) Thank you Lord for creating the Pacific Ocean big enough
to only be heated up to 25 degrees. Wonderful!!
But despite all these complaints… there is not a chance
that we would trade the heat against grey, wet Swedish snow
mud! We've been on the Internet and they don't seem to have
much more snow in Sweden at the moment. :! Looking back
we can see that our Christmas gifts started to arrive in
September… We will tell you, in short, what happened:
The car - We had in mind to get a car when
we came to Fiji, to be able to take the kids to the beach
or do things together as a family on our days off. We discovered
though that because of import taxes it's just as expensive
to get an old rusty Ford as getting a brand new BMW…
almost… Who said that Sweden was a country with high
taxes? You compare it to Fiji…!! So we dropped the
"car-project" - only to have the Lord blessing
us again! The next day, the Marine Reach base got a van
donated and we get to use it when we need to! Praise Him!!
Our
home - In December we moved in to the room that
is going to be our home for the next year. It's in the apartment
that Marine Reach is having as a base here in Lautoka. We
bought ourselves a lounge suite and our children got a corner
of their own where they can play with their toys, sit and
paint and do all "their stuff" :.Now We´ve
got a home where we can sit in the evenings, have a cup
of (strong) coffee, see the sun set in the Ocean and talk
about nothing and everything as the kids are sleeping in
their beds. Praise Him again!!
Patients (and patience.. ;-) - Despite the
fact that we've so far mostly been doing (necessary) preparations
for the truck ministry, there have been people coming over
almost daily wanting medical advice or treatment. They have
been an encouragement to us during this time of preparation,
inspiring us in our work and in our prayers. We're realizing
more and more what it is to do pioneer work. At first you
see little result of your work. Then, you see little result.
Then you see little result - and then you're stunned and
amazed about everything that is happening and what great
things God is doing!
Our work permits - Processed and approved
in 7 weeks! Normally that takes 4-6-12 months - at least!
To us it felt like a miracle. :
Healthy
children (and parents)! With Linn's adventure at
the Emergency Clinic as an only exception, we've been well
and at good health ever since we came here. Those of you
that were with us in Canada know this is a welcome change
and a "miracle" as well… Community living
is not always the most beneficial thing to your health…
;-)
Finally - what a Christmas gift it is to read your greetings
in our Guestbook at our webpage! Fun, encouraging, touching
and inspiring to see that you are all with us and to read
about what is happening in your lives. From all of us to
all of You, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Week 46-47 (15/11-28/11)
It's
been almost two weeks since our last update and it seems
impossible to give you a fair resume of all our impressions,
learning experiences and comic situations, as we're becoming
acclimatized here in Fiji We've learned how to walk with
the right pace (since everybody is staring at you when you
walk in a perfectly normal European way!). We think evenings
are starting to become a bit chilly (and when we look at
the thermometer it shows 30°C = 86° F…). We're
driving on the wrong - oh, sorry, left - side of the road
and Fredrik has bought a skirt. Yes, I know it's called
a "pocket-sulu" but it's the same thing and he's
got quite nice legs! One thing that we're having a problem
getting accustomed to though, is celebrating the first of
Advent, singing Christmas Carols in 35° (95° F)
heat and having Santa Claus with a flower-necklace. That
is not easy for a Swede!
For the last two weeks we've been working at organizing
for the ships arrival in Lautoka and her journey back to
NZ. On board, ophthalmologists and a DTS-team from Marine
Reach have been seeing and treating hundreds of patients.
After this she'll be heading for NZ where she'll stay for
4 months - during our cyclone-season (!). That will give
us time to focus on developing the truck-ministry and ask
the Lord for guidance in how to do that. This is all pioneering
work, where we constantly are evaluating, changing and trying
to find new solutions. We've put together a "wish list"
with medicines and equipment we need and it's been sent
to churches and supporters in Australia, NZ and USA. If
you happen to come across any of the items listed (download
here) and they are not being used, please drop us an
e-mail!
We've
got some encouraging good news from the village Naviyago
(see gallery for pictures). Knees that were injected with
cortisone are working perfect, many that were treated for
different infections and others with high blood pressure
are "moving around like they were young again".
We were two doctors and a team from Marine Reach going into
the village some weeks ago and we treated 84 patients in
one day. In Sweden that would have been impossible because
of all documentation we're obliged to do, but here - with
help from God - it all became possible! Language is sometimes
a barrier to overcome because many of the elderly mainly
speak Fijian. That is also one of the reasons for them not
going to the hospital even if they are very sick. It is
just too humiliating not to be able to express oneself.
With us coming out to 
the
village, to their homes, it gives the courage to come for
help and it builds trust for the future. We do feel that
part of the ministry God has given to us is to develop good
relationships with the local Ministry of Health, including
the hospital. We want to participate in developing and providing
health care for the Fijians in general and seeing God doing
it is amazing!
We've got some new pictures in the gallery, moments to
remember… Our personal favourite is the man painting
the lines on the street. Long live creativity!
Week 45 (5/11-14/11)
Our
first week in Fiji and what a week! Three hours flight from
NZ and we landed in another world. Here is extremly beautiful
with high mountains and exotic trees and flowers. People
on the street are greeting you with the friendliest smile
you´ve ever seen (coming from a stranger!). The roads
are narrow, sometimes paved but just as often dirt roads
and we suddenly understand why 4X4 cars are so popular.
Just as we suddenly realize that we now live in a developing
country.
What is it that makes you think like that? Is it that most
people are walking and you don´t see as many cars
as you´re used to? Or is it the sugercane field being
ploughed with an ox and a wooden plough? Or is it because
the Hospital Emergency Clinic lacks everything that makes
it comfortable for the person being sick? There are no chairs
or beds to lie down on. Only four quite dirty concrete walls,
neon-lights and a little table for the registering nurse.
She will ask you about your condition and everybody waiting
in the room will soon know all the details about why you´ve
come. No wonder nobody has got AIDS or other not so glorious
diseases... Sometimes she doesn´t have time to give
the really sick ones first priority so they have to wait
and hopefully the aid will come before it´s too late.
We went to such an Emergency Clinic the other night, with
our daughter.
Late
one evening Linn developed a rectal prolapse. Maybe some
of you already know all about this, but a short description
of the condition is that part of your lower intestine comes
out of your bottom and it sometimes happens to little children.
This can be totally non-harmeless if the intestine retracts
spontaneously back into its place, but it can also become
serious if the bowel becomes swollen and the bloodsupply
gets strangled. This could lead to severe damage and so,
in other words, the bowel needs to be manipulated back in
its place. In our "case" a big part of the bowel
came out and refused, despite gentle massage, to retract.
To further complicate the matter we had just eaten , which
made it risky to sedate Linn during the manipulation of
the bowel. So we had to face the risk of disturbed circulation
contra the risk of sedating with food in her stomach...
We started to pray, quite intense I must say, and went
to the hospital. Our "first" miracle was that
Linn was so peaceful! Our little girl with her bowel slightly
bleeding, discharging fluid like from a wound, became completely
calm when we prayed and stayed like that for the next 3
hours... When we entered the hospital I couldn´t resist
checking, to see if God had performed that wonderful healing.
Unfortunately the prolapse was still there. After a few
more hours waiting, being transfered from one pre-treatment
room after another and with sick children and adults patiently
waiting for their turn, we sat down outside the doctors
office. My skirt was all wet from the discharge and blood
coming from Linns bowel. For some reason we felt so calm.
Everything was under His control!
So, suddenly, she sits up and starts to ask questions about
the other patients. When will they be able to go home? Is
the lady that´s receiving oxygen well now? The discharge
from her bottom suddenly stops and I think "I have
to check". So, we go to the Restroom and the prolapse
is gone! The smile on Linn´s face when I tell her
that now we can go home, is something I´ll never
forget.
Yes,
I know that this could have been a spontanous healing caused
by her bodys capacity to heal. But Linn being so peaceful,
her total lack of fear and the fact that it healed without
her having to go through the stress of sedation and manipulation,
is something I thank our Father for! That we got called
in to the doctor just after coming out of the Restroom and
got to say "Thank you Sir, but we don´t need
your help anymore. God bless you!" was great. His smile
was quite memorable too! We feel like our daughter became
the first of many miracles that we hope to see in this island
in the middle of the South Pacific. This little island with
it´s people that in many ways have got so great needs.
God is truly good!
Week 43-45 (24/10-2/11).
It´s
difficult to understand that it´s November when the
sun is shining and it´s 32 degrees (Celcius) outside.
We´ve got a feeling that nothing is gonna be quite
the same this year and nothing like we´re used to...
We´re in Fiji and it feels fantastic! I´m not
exaggerating! We didn´t come with a lot of ideas about
how it was going to be. Maybe because we wanted to be open
to everything - or maybe just so we wouldn´t get disappointed...(with
food and housing - many of you know how it can be in YWAM
when you don´t have a lot of money... :)
There will be more details about Fiji next week. (Bad news
for parents, aunties and friends that wants to know everything
about how the children are doing. :)
Our last week in New Zealand was great despite diarrhoea,
vomiting and one-glass-windows, that makes being inside
no different from being outside...(remember we´re
Swedish). New Zealand is incredibly beautiful, as you already
know if you´ve seen "Lord of the rings".
It feels like traveling through the land of the Hobbits
with mountains, beaches and hills. - some almost like being
made in a different scale than you´re used to. We
felt a lot being very British and yet very much like in
an old Clint Eastwood-movie - if it´s even possible
to combine those two things!?
Sofia
had a brilliant opportunity to go Bungy-jumping but had
to let go...(ha,ha). It´s not easy when the rest of
the family is vomiting and running to the bathroom constantly,
or needs about 10 
diaper
changes a day... Do you want more details?
We visited the Marine Reach office in Tauranga and met
our international leaders. This felt important considering
that we´re going to have a lot to do with them in
the future and most of it´s gonna be through e-mail.
The highlight of the day though came when visiting the local
playground - if you ask our junior familymembers. Another
favourite was seeing penguins and sharks in a giant aquarium
in Auckland. We all had great fun there!
Week 39-42 (15/9-21/10)
We´re on our way!!
I´m sitting in our friends kitchen in New Z
ealand,
writing this. I expected it to be nice but I never thought
it would be so much fun, so emotional and so exciting
to be back where I did my DTS ten years ago. To meet up
with our friends Julia & Robbie, sit and share memories,
what God is doing at the present and just laugh away has
been such a blessing! Incredible sun-sets, beautiful bush
walks, what more can you ask for in life..!
We left Sweden on the 2th of October and arrived in Bangkok
the next day - 2 bags and 35-40 kilos lighter... Not
so fun to stand at baggage claim and realize that half of
our well-packed luggage, including everything we were gonna
use on our trip and our most "valuble" things,
had decided not to travel to the same destination as us...
We changed our plans and stayed in Thailand a few days longer.
Just in case our bags would decide to show up and also because
it´s a lot cheaper to buy new things there if they
would not. They didn´t. So we had holliday
in the south of Thailand. The kids loved swimming in the
Ocean and jumping from the pool-side. Sunshine was a blessing
after some cold rainy Autumn-days in Sweden.
Here are some clips from Thailand...
Linn tried feeding baby-tigers with a bottle. They had slightley
worse table manners than her brother. We patted crocodiles
of different size, python snakes, bears and cats. Linn liked
the cat best. Jonathan charmed everyone, including prominent
policemen, security guards and prostitute
s
(which tragically were outnumbering everyone else in Pattaya).
Sometimes you´re ashamed of being a westerner, when
you see all these white men that take advantage of the situation.
Finally, Sofia got robbed but got her wallet back and a
thousand excuses from a 20-year-old girl who hunted him
down and called the police. Fredrik jumped from Pattayas
highest tower. Yes, he did use a safety-line, but as I was
standing below with our children, I started to wonder if
maybe I should pray a little...
Unfortunatelly, we (or British Airways I should say) haven´t
found our suit-cases. Even though some things feels irreplaceble
(like Bible, diary, swedish DVD´s for our kids), you
realize that most things in this world is "excess-luggage".
We´ll travel in NZ for a few days, meet up with people
on the Marine Reach-base here and see a few vulcanos before
we´re flying to Fiji on the 30th.
Mr Jet Lag has been very kind to us this time and everybody
has slept well, but we´re actually longing for this
holliday-trip to end (no offense towards the lovely people
we´ve met!!). Fiji is our goal and we can´t
wait to get there. It´s what we´ve dreamed of,
prayed adn prepared us for. We´ll keep in touch!
