islander.

One year ago today I left for what would be the most amazing 2 weeks of my life. I didn’t know what I was doing. I knew not one person on my team so I didn’t know who I would meet, what I would experience or if I was even going to want to be there for 2 whole weeks. I didn’t know what I had to offer or what I would be taught, all I knew was that God was doing everything in his power (which is literally everything) to get me to this place I had never been. A place that people dream about going to for honeymoons, vacations, etc. But there I was, being called there not for a vacation or a homeymoon, but for showing love, working harder than I have ever worked and experiencing God in a whole new way.

The people of Fiji captured my heart. I left a part of my soul there with them. After day one I felt like the people living in Homes of Hope were my family.

I don’t really like the beach that much and I’m not a fan of the whole touristy idea of “island life” with the grass skirts, flower necklaces and living in bikinis… but while I was there, I belonged on that island. I didn’t even want to think about going back to America. Leaving your shoes at the door, spending the morning looking out over the rainforest, no furniture, no makeup, doing nothing to your hair, baggy clothes, walking everywhere, not caring about whether it was raining or if the sun was out, not having TV, cell phones, computers, or ipods became a lifestyle I fell in love with…

And now here I sit, one year later, in a Fijian inspired cafe remembering the everlasting effect that my Fijian family left on me, people that “have nothing” through consumer eyes but who have everything through the eyes of God.