Sept 11, 2007
Dear Friends, Brethren and family
Bula Vinaka
Settling in
We have been busy this past month but not as busy as I would like
to be. We are still settling in, getting to know the people,
customs and some of the language. Please say an extra prayer for
my patience as we are in a holding pattern awaiting finances to
buy land for the school and get things going towards building
what will be necessary to get started next year. We are aiming
for a Jan-Feb 2008 start because that would fall in line with
government school year as well. We are looking at perhaps renting
a storefront/room which we can use for temporary classes here
in Lautoka. I have built a couple of drawer stacks for my office
which I am getting organized. I put drawers in the kitchen cabinets
for Kathy where the existing cabinets had none. Still settlin'
in!
Driver's License
Right after we arrived here I went to the local office of the
Land Transport Authority to apply for a Fiji driving license.
If you have a license from a left hand drive country (America,
Vanuatu) you have to take a test, written and driving. However
if you have a license from a right-hand drive country (Australia,
New Zealand etc) they will, for a $45 fee change-over the license
to a Fiji picture license. When we were in New Zealand we had
a NZ license which was good until your 70th birthday. I still
have mine but Kathy has misplaced hers, so I changed mine over
and bought her a book from the LTA on Fiji Road rules. What a
waste of $20! Nobody follows the road rules here. Since I do
most of the driving here we have decided that if she needs to
drive I will lease her the car. If you lease a car you can use
your existing valid license. Works for us.
Car Fixed, Finally!
In August we finally got the car fixed. Right after we bought
it the car started acting up. We took it into the local dealer
four times. It got to the point where it would not go up our
driveway and I was not going to push it uphill so we took it to
Nadi where we bought it and told them to fix it or give us back
our money. And let me tell you they don't like giving money back
here so they elected to fix it! While we walked down to McDonalds
for lunch, came back and sat under the shade of a coconut tree,
they finally fixed the car after checking the fuel lines and fuel
tank and muffler bearings. They ended up changing the points,
condensor and plug wires which is where I told them the problem
was.
I updated our Web Site last month. (http://cibs-fiji.fiji.com/CIBS-Fiji/Index.html)
Move that box, boy!
The local council drove up to the house one day and presented
a "move the container" notice to my landlord because
they said it was parked on a footpath down by the road. We were
home but the council truck came up to the locked gate honking
their horn and the landlord answered. He argued with them that
there was no footpath because the people walked in the middle
of the road, but they were persistent. He asked them why they
were hasseling us when they were not doing anything about the
outhouse that was right next to his boundary line with the neighbors.
Regulations are enforced on a "need to prove who the boss
is" basis. We needed to know so they were serving notice
on us. So be it! They said we had 24 hours to move it from the
date of the notice. The notice was dated 5 days prior. (Talk
about a time warp!) Since we had retrieved most of the things
out of the container we needed for the house and office we called
a company who came and moved it out to the property where we meet
on Sundays at Sabeto junction. It is parked under a large mango
tree.
August was also a month I learned to check EVERY door on the car to see if they are locked when we go to the store. I was in town and on my way home I popped into a grocery store for some juice and bread. When I came out in 5 minutes someone had walked off with our digital Sony camera and ipod with transmitter. They were in the middle console and I had forgotten to check the passenger side door. Lesson learned! I hope they like country music because the ipod was password locked in Apple Mac mode. They also don't have the charger.
Kathy started going out with Anna Convanua (Josua's wife) and some of the other ladies where they go visit some of the sisters who have had new baby's or have not been coming to services and the like. They take local buses out. Her first trip was out in the bush area and when she got back she commented "shades of Papua New Guinea roads".
Strike Called off!
The nurses and school teachers who were reported on strike our
last newsletter finally went back to work last month. In fact
when the school teachers went on strike the government just moved
the scheduled school holidays of two weeks up. The teachers decided
since it was going to be holidays anyway they called their strike
off the following week but were told they would not be paid those
two weeks anyway. They did not win any of the concessions they
were after because the interim government said they did not have
the money. (But the government did buy a fleet of new cars for
the ministers and gave several hundred thousand dollars to sporting
teams representing Fiji overseas. Priorities you know!) We are
and will be for awhile still under military rule. Elections might
be in 2008. Just last week the military re-invoked the Public
Emergency Regulations because the former Prime Minister was back
from his island and saying things the Interim government didn't
like to hear. The military said they will not be putting up roadblocks
this time and the Regulations could be revoked at any time. Again
there is nothing dangerous about that to the everyday person on
the street, only if you criticize the government!
Islam Study!
Because we live in a country with a large population of Muslims
I have been doing a study on Islam and to say the least I have
found it is a very dangerous belief system. I am preparing lessons
on "What the Bible says" in regard to these beliefs
and anticipate some resistance once I proclaim "the God of
Allah and the God of the Bible cannot in anyway be the same God".
Possible sites for The Christian Institute of Biblical Studies-Fiji
We have visited two more sites which are potential areas for The
Christian Institute of Biblical Studies-Fiji". I have posted
the information and some pictures on the web site @ http://cibs-fiji.fiji.com/CIBS-Fiji/CIBSsites.html.
One site is 21 acres: it has two small houses already built, electricity
and a water bore. It is already planted in sugar cane with an
agricultural lease. It is located out of Lautoka close to Primary
and Secondary schools at the end of a dirt/gravel road. They want
$55,000 FJ or $35,000 US$ for it.
The second site is further from town and in the hills: it is 52 acres for $35,000 FJD or $22,000 US. There is some sugar cane planted as well as lots of fruit trees. No houses, electricity is across the valley and we would have to dig a well and level ground for the buildings. This site still has 23 years left on the lease. There is road access and schools as well.
We are praying that the sale of our house there in Joplin goes
through in next few weeks. It will not clear much more that what
we still owe on it but every little bit helps. We still need
to sell our Dodge Ram pickup truck. (contact our son Jason @ j13huff@yahoo.com)
Please pray and consider the following needs we have: (feel free to copy and send this email to any and everyone you know for their consideration)
1. Personal support: we have about $2800 monthly. The budget we have proposed we need an additional $700 plus $800 monthly for work fund expenses. We have been able to cope up until now on what we are getting but will need to get additional funds especially as we get more involved in the work here.
2. "The Christian Institute Of Biblical Studies - Fiji"
>Immediate funds of $50,000 to buy land and build basic facitities (URGENT!)
>Additional funds to update facilties: classroom, office, student & faculty housing $75,000-$125,000
>Monthly funds of $3,600 for 5 years or until the school can be self supporting from planted cash crops
Thank you so much for all who presently financially support this work and especially all your prayers for us and the work. We beseech you for your continuance of both.
In Christian Service and because of the Cross of Jesus Christ
Tobey & Kathy