Michael's Adventures In Fiji

You see it on the child on the street. You see it in the eyes of the old man sitting in his stand hoping to sell his vegetables. You see it with the tourists walking along the beach. And you see it on the face of the young girls who have been victims of forced sex. The need for: love. As I am looking to wrap up my time in Fiji, there a few prominent things I need to accomplish with the human resources database, misc. network projects, and the computer and infrastructure upgrades. But the reason for doing all of this is for the residents and their children. Really, you could simplify my motive down to one word: love. I have been loved by God, and out of my overflow, I love others. This past week, we lost 3 residents/moms; either running away, graduating or leaving to be with family. As the holidays come upon us, so many of the moms are missing their families. Even though most of their families are the reason behind the forced sex, abuse and trauma in their lives--these young girls ar...

It's amazing how quickly time goes by.. It feels as if only a few weeks ago I first heard about Homes of Hope, but the reality is that I've been here in Fiji for 2 months! This past weekend was my first, proper, experience alongside the ocean. I had the opportunity to take a 4 day holiday with two families at a local resort located in Sigatoka (about 2 hours from HoH). Most of my time was spent collecting baby hermit crabs and playing in a pool with some young girls (1, 3, 5 and 8 years old), and it was a blast! The weather was (semi) cooperative which also allowed me to go snorkeling for the first time! It was great, despite the fact that the coral had bleaching due to fresh water drainage (from the city) and increased temperatures.. Nonetheless, was great to literally swim with some fish.. among other living things.. sadly, when out in the water, the reef sharks (most less than 1 meter in length) were not out; suppose I'll have to go back another time to say I've ...