After some studying at the University of Google, I learned that 45% of people in Fiji are living in poverty. For Fiji, that 360,000 adults and children. One of the main causes of poverty is disabilities and illnesses not allowing the locals to work. Blood born pathogens such as mrsa, tuberculosis and hepatitis B and D are rampant in the small populated area. Many of the villages are considered "underdeveloped" to the Western world. Doesn't that seem so true for most "exotic vacation" destinations?
Overwhelmed by this idea, I searched for a way to "give back" to Christ whilst in Fiji. I google searched Christian missionaries that might live on the island, non-profit groups, and relief organizations. I thought perhaps we could bring a suitcase of items needed or wanted by missionaries, even if it was just CDs and reading materials not available in their region. I emailed contacts to see if anyone knew of a need. I mean, who wouldn't want to be a missionary in Fiji, right?! Well, most of my efforts ended in vain. I didn't find much, and the one non-profit group I found was on an island that would require a day trip for us. (remember Fiji's mainland is surrounded by it's 300 islands) And since we only had 5 nights, and flights to catch and grandparents to relieve of children, it didn't really fit into our trip. I was a little bummed.
The idea got lost in the trip preparation, anxiety of leaving the boys, and road trip with two kids and a dog to Texas. It really wasn't until we were in our cab traveling from the airport through some of the rural areas towards our hotel, that I remembered this idea of wanting to find a way to "tithe" this provided vacation.
Our driver was very friendly. And seemed genuinely happy to answer all our questions. He had never left Fiji and had no desire to ever leave. His family owned a small piece of land where they harvested and sold sugar cane. He mentioned his four children and I wondered about his wife what her life was like. I noticed many homes did not have dryers and laundry was hung to dry in nearly every line (maybe they had washers but not sure?). I pictured myself hanging laundry to dry in my back yard with Adler and Beckett pulling off each one after it was hung. When did she even have time to do such a task? How could I fit that into my day? How convenient it was, what a luxury for me to have a dryer, a red high efficiency one at that, to just be done with a push of a button. It wasn't much, but at the end of our ride, like a good American, we tipped our cab driver. He seemed especially appreciate.
Fast forward a few days, and we were having drinks with a couple from Hong Kong and a couple from New Zealand whom we had met on one of day trips. They were extremely curious of the standard American policy of tipping 20%. They revealed that they hadn't been tipping their servers in Fiji at all...that the Fijians didn't expect it, and that it wasn't custom in their home country. It killed them to know that even if we received poor service, we would probably still tip, even if it was like 10%. If you have poor service, why tip at all, they asked?! What's the worst that could happen if you didn't tip?! We didn't really have good answers, we just shrugged and said, "I guess we would feel bad?".
Later that night, I thought of two things:
1) The reason why the Fijians were so excited to serve us was that we were Americans and it was custom for us to tip (there weren't many of us on the island)
2) This was a way we could stand out from the other guests, and by tipping generously (even more than average), bless others. And not just monetarily, but to ask questions, invest, and get to know the people who were working at the hotel, restaurant, etc. I didn't have to visit an orphanage or bring medical supplies to a rural village (although this would have been grand) to make a difference in another's life.
It was a cool realization in the middle of our trip (wish I would have thought of it sooner) and it was fun to see the faces of some of the people we came into contact with. It was a lesson I hope to take on all our vacations.
I've been reading Crazy Love by Frances Chan lately and I thought this to be especially challenging:
"How would my life change if I actually thought of each person I came into contact with as Christ - the person driving painfully slow in front of me, the checker at the grocery store who seems more interested in chatting than ringing up my items, the member of my own family with whom I can't seem to have a conversation and not get annoyed? If we believe that, as Jesus said, the two greatest commands are to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind" and to "love your neighbor as yourself", then this passage has a lot to teach us. Basically, Christ is connecting the command to "love God" with the command to "love your neighbor." By loving the "least of these," we are loving God Himself."
I'm still pondering this idea and what it could look like in my daily activities and what things I could teach the boys through loving others as if they were Christ. It is not an easy task and requires continuous awareness and commitment. Maybe a day-challenge for a later blog post? "Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."
I'm glad God showed us a small way I could love the people of Fiji while we were there. But after further thought, shouldn't I be doing this all the time anyways? Sometimes I'm good at this and other times I'm not. Like when I'm in a hurry to pick up the kids from school or leave the school to get home for lunch, naps or whatever errand or activity planned. I'm challenged to make more room for Christ in my daily schedule and to love others better. But I'm going to need some Help!! Amen?
