Our adventure started on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2009. Originally, our plane was to leave at 11:30 pm but had gradually been moved to 10:30 pm then to 9:30 pm by the airlines a couple of weeks prior to our departure. No worries, we were going to Fiji and the earlier the better! Our team was made up of Dr. George Ricks, a primary care physician in Riverside, CA and his wife Mary Ricks, a high school counselor at Jurupa High School in Riverside, my husband Richard “Dick” Davidson, owner of Davidson’s Air Conditioning and Heating in San Bernardino, but trained for this trip to edge lenses and make glasses, and myself, Dr. Sandra Akamine Davidson, an
optometrist in Riverside. We were headed to The Mission at Natuvu Creek in Buca Bay on the Fijian island of Vanua Leva. The Mission was built by Drs. Tom and Marta Tooma with the dream of serving the Lord and providing the best health care to the Fijian people without charge. Carmie, the travel agent for the Mission, had booked our travels, so we confidently arrived at the airport with all of our 9 suitcases, 4 carry-on pieces, 2 huge boxes, passports, and the precious voucher that said we could travel with all of the extra luggage. One box contained 400 OTC reading glasses and the other was the valuable IOL Master machine needed for cataract surgery. Our suitcases were filled with more than 200 pairs of lens blanks to make eyeglasses, tons of eyeglass frames, medications, batteries, band aids and other “stuff” for the clinic, plus our clothes and scuba gear. We got to the airport about 3 ½ hours early, so
we were able to check all of our stuff and get our seats...no lines, no hassle!
The plane was a huge 747 and it was full to capacity, not an empty seat! We tried to sleep during the 10 hour flight, but we were too excited to get much shut eye. We arrived in Nadi, on the Viti Levu Island, on Dec 26th. Yes, we totally missed Christmas, but I think somewhere over Hawaii, we were able to wish each other “Merry Christmas!� In Nadi, we had to collect all of our 15 bags and take them through customs. There we met Roger, the engineer who has helped the Mission with many of their projects. He seemed to know the customs agent, which was a good thing because the agent only gave one of our carry-ons a cursory once over and then cleared all of our bags and boxes. We then showed the immigration official our passports and we were officially in Fiji! Pacific Sun was the airline that took us to our next stop on the Island of Taveuni. We carted our luggage out of the airport and to the next
terminal. Our next plane was a small twin prop “Otter.” It held about 15 people, but I think due to weight limitations, they could only put about 10 people on the plane.
We were only able to take our carry-on bags with us. The airlines told us they were going to fly another plane over with just our luggage in about an hour. We also had to negotiate with the desk agents how they were going to get the IOL master over because the box was so big it wouldn’t fit into the cargo door. Our pilot, who happened to be standing
at the desk, suggested that they could load it with the passengers and put it on a
seat, so that’s how we left it. We took off for Taveuni! The flight was really pretty because we only flew at 9000 feet and it was clear with white puffy clouds. We could see all of the green forests and the beautiful ocean in all different shades of blue.
The flight was a short 1 hour and 20 minutes long. Then we landed on the shortest runway ever, did a u-turn on the runway and
headed back to the terminal. Since they told us our luggage would be arriving in about an hour, we went across the street to the Coconut Grove Resort and had the most wonderful homemade
papaya bread and breakfast. We sat on the patio and overlooked a couple of islands, the blue sea and picturesque coconut trees.
After a nice relaxing lunch, we walked back to the airport only to find out that our luggage had not arrived and they were still in Nadi. They really weren’t sure when the plane was going to leave, yes we were learning about “Fiji time”, so we decided to head on over to the Mission. We hopped into a small truck from Dolphin Bay Divers and drove about 30 minutes along the coast and through the rainforest. We came to a small town and our driver picked up some produce at the produce stand.
Then we came to the end of town and to our surprise, our driver pulled off the road to a dirt path. There, tied to the shore was a small, 16 foot fiberglass boat with an outboard motor bolted to the back and it was going to take us to the Mission!
(The Mission at Natuvu Creek is on the island in the distance and to the right) So, yes, we rolled up our pants, (except for Dick) and waded in the wonderfully warm ocean water and climbed aboard! Lucky for us, the seas were calm as we crossed the passage to Vanua Leva Island. Our “captain” pointed out Rainbow Reef, which was a pristine white sand beach on point of the peninsula. We then continued on past a couple of bays and then arrived at The Mission at Natuvu Creek! We were so warmly greeted by Sara and Misaki and several of the children! We
waded onto shore and were instantly enchanted. We stopped at the outdoor kitchen and had a lesson on coconut opening or Misaki’s
version of holding a coconut in his hand and then hitting the coconut as hard as he could with this huge machete knife. We tried the coconut milk, which has a
unique flavor and somewhat refreshing. We then went and checked out the clinic. It was really big and equipped very well. We entered in the center through the waiting and reception area. On the right side was the dental clinic, with 5 or 6 chairs in a big clean bright room. There were several big boxes with recent deliveries waiting.
On the left side, there was a large central area with exam rooms along the back wall. There were 2 medical exam rooms, and eye exam room, lab area with the lens grinding machines, pharmacy and
storage. Then in the far back area were 2 surgical rooms.
After our tour, we went upstairs to our rooms. Dick and I took the corner room overlooking the ocean and Mary and George took the room overlooking the grounds and the volcano. The rooms were very clean and comfortable. A welcome ceiling fan was noted overhead, queen bed, night stands, foot bench
and bathroom. After we put our few things down, we were able to change out of the clothes we had been in for the past 24 hours. Thankfully, we had brought a change of clothes and our swimsuits in our carry on. (George didn’t have enough room in his carry on, so he ended up borrowing a pair of Mike’s shorts) Dick and I went to the clinic, to familiarize ourselves with the lens edging machine and inventory the lenses and frames that had been donated. We were worried about how we were going to make all of the glasses the next day, because our luggage with all of the lens blanks and frames was in limbo. After an hour or so, we had done all that we could, so we went for a very nice refreshing snorkeling swim around the bay.
While we were checking out the equipment, George and Mary went to a nearby village. They got to tell Bible stories and sing with the children, and play some games.
When they came back, it was time for dinner. We had a delicious and relaxing dinner with Sara and Mike Hawthorne in the outdoor patio kitchen/dining area. Sara and Mike are the most dedicated, warm and friendly people, who have dedicated this part of their life to serve and spread His word. They have 3 boys and 3 girls ranging in age from 18 to 6. After dinner, we met John and Monique Thompson. They are the other missionary family at the Mission. They have 5 very sweet girls ages 15 to 7. The next morning, Sara came by and woke us up at 6am. It was breakfast at 7:00am. Since we still didn’t have our luggage, getting dressed was easy, because there were no hairdryers or curling irons, (enough electricity to run a hairdryer
was not available until the generators were turned on at 8:00 am) and it was too humid for make-up, so just a clip in the hair and we were ready! We had found some donated scrubs the day before, so that’s what we ended up wearing in clinic. That first day our clinic was scheduled to start at noon because it was Sunday. We intended to use the morning to set up, and I wanted to train Mary, Lina, (one of the staff), and the older girls, Sadie and Mary Sue to help. They
needed to learn to use the autorefractor
to take visual acuities
how
and do the frame selections
and dispensing. But word was out and patients started arriving by 9:00 am, so we saw them as they came. Around noon our luggage arrived!!! All of the pieces including the IOL Master had come! We were so relieved. We now had the frames and lenses so that we could
make the glasses, poor Dick had quite a back- order going by then. And all of George’s medications were there too. George wasn’t so busy the first day, so Monique took him to another nearby town to make a house call on a very sick lady who was not able to travel to the clinic. That first day we saw 27 or so patients. It was a wonderful experience. The Fijian people are so shy and soft spoken. They are so sweet and grateful. Everybody came in their best clothes. Most were barefoot, but those who wore slippers always took them off before they sat in the exam chair. I felt so honored to be able to examine them. Many of them had traveled for 5 hours just to get to the
clinic. On the second day, as we were walking back to the clinic after breakfast, the bus arrived bringing all of our patients. The bus doesn’t have any windows and looks like a school bus just painted different. The road as far as I know was dirt all the way. The closest big town was 3 hours away.
The clinic day starts with worship and singing to thank the Lord for the opportunity to serve. So on the second day, I think everybody came! Dr. Ricks was just as popular as me, with many patients seeing both of us. It was our busiest day, but we were
able to see everybody who came. 65 eye exam patients and just as many medical checks.
We saw
Dick decided he needed more help in the lab, so he trained two of the older boys, Ben and Saula, how to read the lenses and use the edging machine. Dick assembled the glasses and oversaw the operation!
He even had the chief of the local
village watching in amazement as his glasses were made.
Some of the patients had to return the next day to pick up their glasses, but not very many needed to because Dick and the optical team had finished them the same day. That night we had a “little” get together with the Thompsons and Hawthornes, between the 11 children and 8 adults, it was quite a house-full! We passed out little gifts and shared candy with them…it’s the simple things that they miss the most about the States, and candy is one of them! It was a fun evening.
On the third day, we weren’t quite as busy and we were all quite good at our jobs, so everything ran really smoothly. I decided to wear my tennis shoes, because standing on the cement floor all day had made my back a little tired. We even stopped for about an hour or so and had a nice lunch. When we were done, we examined some of the staff and made them glasses too. That night, we had a very special traditional Fijian dinner prepared by the kitchen. It was really wonderful food made with coconut milk, taro leaves, fried barracuda
fish and some fried taro root. On the fourth day, we ended the clinic by 11:00. Dick and the lab crew finished making all of the glasses by noon. Jessi tallied up all of the patients that we had seen. In total we saw about 250 patients. 150 eye patients and 100 general medical patients. We didn’t count the number of glasses we made, but we figure it was about 125. Many of the patients needed 2 pairs of glasses, one for reading and one for distance. Fortunately, we had a good stock of OTC glasses to give out, so we didn’t need to make all of the glasses. We put about 20 patients on the list to come back for the next ophthalmological surgical clinic for cataract or pterygium surgery. The staff made us a yummy lunch for our last meal. We were then entertained by the children from a nearby village. They performed a Meke, which is a traditional Fijian dance. They even got all of us up and dancing! It was a very happy way to
end the most successful and rewarding experience.
Since Dick and I had not been to the local village, we decided to take a trip to Loa. We met the minister there and Dick had wanted a machete, so he was able to
purchase one from him. The minister had a 2 year old grandson appropriately named “Wild Bill�. When we drove up he was waving a 20 foot bamboo pole up into a tree so that he could knock down the
fruit. It was really fun to watch him.
Around 4pm, our boat to Rainbow Reef Resort arrived. We sadly said our good byes and thank yous to the Hawthorne’s and Thompson’s. We had become very good friends with the two families and we were truly sad to leave them. Their hearts are so big and loving. We could not have had as successful a clinic as we did without their help and the help of their children. They are truly a blessing to
the Mission!
We waved good bye in calm seas. As we turned to leave the safety of the bay, the wind picked up and the waves became huge. Soon the waves were crashing over the side of the boat and we were drenched as our little boat crested wave after wave. The ocean water was warm, so it wasn’t so bad, but EVERYTHING got wet.
We arrived to Rainbow Reef with the entire staff standing on the beach singing to
us. As we stepped off the boat and waded to shore, we were warmly greeted with hugs. The guys unloaded our suitcases as we wandered onto the patio for a refreshing coconut drink and to
start to dry out in the sun. We were then taken back to our room; it was like in the romantic movies and magazines. The bure’s were good sized thatched roof huts with a nice patio balcony, bamboo lined rooms and a beautiful white bed with white netting hanging from the ceiling‌it was romance to the max!
The bath room had a round nautical window, and the showers were outdoors with a private bamboo wall. If you stood on the balcony, you were only 20 feet or so from the white sand beach.
We had the best time there. We went snorkeling and kayaking. About 100 feet off shore is the most beautiful shallow coral reef with tons of colorful tropical fish including the brightest blue starfish I have ever seen.
On New Year’s Day we went scuba diving to Rainbow Reef.
It is a world famous reef with some of the rarest and most beautiful corals and fish. It is only a 10 minute boat ride to the reef. It’s so close that you go back to the resort to get a second tank for the second dive. The water was 80 degrees all the way to 95 feet, although most of the diving is around 60-70 feet. And the visibility was 100 feet or better.
On New Year’s Eve, we had a special feast and watched them prepare some of the food. We had to experience Kava. Kava is a local social drink. Everyone sits in a circle and usually someone has a guitar for singing and telling stories.
The Kava drink is made from the root of the pepper
plant. The root is dried and ground into a fine powder. The powder is then wrapped in a cloth and put into a ceremonial bowl of water. The cloth is wrung out to mix with powder in the water. The Kava is served in a half coconut shell. Before you drink it you clap once, then drink it all at once, then clap three times. The cup is then passed back to the Kava bowl for the next person. Kava numbs your lips and tongue for just a few minutes. If you drink enough of it, you will feel
quite relaxed and lazy. Life on Fiji is so relaxed. The weather is always 80+ degrees with lots of humidity. It can rain whenever it feels like, but it really doesn’t matter. You are never cold. When the sun comes out, the water and sky are so blue they sparkle. Things never dry, but no worries…you’re in Fiji and it’s supposed to be like that.
We are ready to go back in an instant!
Maps of Fiji
Figure 1The Mission at Natuvu Creek is located on the Island of Vanua Levu, on the peninsula just to the left of the Island of Kioa. (It is not marked on the map)
Figure 2: From LAX, the plane lands at Nadi airport and then there is a 1 hr 20 min flight to Matei Airport on Taveuni. A short drive to the town of Waiyevo and then a boat ride across the straight gets to you Rainbow Reef and The Mission at Natuvu Creek.