Killing yourself in paradise, Music Therapy, Blue herring looking birds, the north pole, uninhabited islands, gass leaks and sooooo so much more

Well, um, A LOT has happened. We are so busy and will only be getting busier from the looks of things. it's all been very exciting but now I can't keep straight what happened when and what all I wanted to write about. The original purpose of coming to the cafe was to e-mail Ana, the headmaster that we will be working with in Ba. we met with her on Monday (Annie, Tacey and I). The meeting was awesome! things just started to fall into place. We are going to be working with the parents and educating them on the different disorders that their children have to help them better understand their child and how to interact with them. The Ba special school serve a huge range of disabilities so there will be lots of research. As the meeting went on we brought up musical therapy. Ana beamed as Annie and I explained what it was and the effects it has on all children especially those with disabilities. When we finished she talked about how she and her staff had JUST been talking about what to do on Friday mornings to help the children be excited to come to school. So in addition to teaching parents and staff about the disabilities at the school we will be setting up a music therapy program and training the staff on how to implement it when we are gone. we're going to make instruments and Annie is going to write up lesson plans. The project will run the whole term and we are all really excited for it. We start next Thursday. We have a lot to do before then. Once that is set up and running we will be able to add more projects to our plate. Annie Tacey and I will li9ve in Ba from Thursday morning to Friday afternoon and then head back to Lautoka.
After the meeting with Ana we went to a place called Lifeline. The are a counseling center in Ba that bases their counseling off of listening to people and asking them questions instead of telling them what to do or giving them advice. that way they can come up with and own their solutions. (kind of sounds like counseling in the states, but its a totally new concept here) They mostly need grants and even though I love what they are doing and want to help, I don't know how. But the reason I mention it is because The lady we met with talked about how the suicide rate has sky rocketed in Fiji. For some reason, it struck a cord with me. I found it sickly fascinating that people are living in paradise and killing themselves. I know that people here struggle and that they are living in paradise, but so many are taking their own lives. it made me so grateful for what I have. Not only my financial situation and living conditions in the states, but for the gospel. We went to church on Sunday and they were the happiest people we've met since being here. And that's saying something because these people have a knack for shining like the sun. I pondered in how incredible it is to know that life is more than money and more that sunshine and more that "making it". We are meant for such grand purpose and really can fulfill and feel fulfilled through the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm grateful for my understanding of the gospel and my life and the value that I have based purely on my existence in this world and the existence of A loving Father in heaven. It's that knowledge alone that brings me through darkness and tears and blood and sweat and laughter even. It gives the laughter meaning, and the tears too. I've spent a fair amount of time in the dark and feeling, sometimes actually being broken. But the light from that knowledge wont go out (thankfully). It keeps me going even if its the only light left on in my heart. I know God lives. That i am His daughter and that He loves me. That when I am sick or broken inside I can be healed and made whole again. With out that light I would go out.
On the way back from Ba or TuaBua or somewhere we met a girl named Letty. She told us about an uninhabited island the locals go for walks and picnics. SO excited. She gave us the name (malevu) and her number so that when we go she can show us some boats that we can rent. Done and Done.
We met another guy who introduced us to his family and talked to us about his childhood and growing up here and how to pick out coconuts. He hadn't heard of Idaho before (go figure) and wanted me to explain it to him. I told him to turn Fiji inside out. It's cold, snows all the time, flat, brown instead of green, dry, very little sun, no water to dive into. He laughed so hard and said in his thick accent "Yes! Yes! your skin! Your skin makes you look like you are from the north pole or something!" We laughed so hard. I love the people here. 
We have been leaving the house early in the morning and not coming back until late at night. Last night we had been gone about eight hours and the house smelled like gas. The hose to the stove had popped off and the gas was left on. But wait, before you freak out, it was NOT a big deal. There isn't any glass in the windows here. The windows had been open allllllll day. but everyone freaked. Spencer and I found the whole thing comical and so did the locals. Our neighbor was trying to hide her laughter as she told us to just air the house out. The country director called the fire department for advice and a fire truck ended up showing up. it was sooooo funny and ended up being a lot of fun. We went out for pizza at a local hotel while the house aired out and the island stirred up a pretty good thunder storm. The night proved that we have some drama queens among us and also confirmed that there are a couple of people that consider themselves experts on various if not all topics. Meh. it makes for funny times if you can find the humor in it.
On the bus ride into town one morning I saw tow big blue herring looking birds and i thought, "My gosh, i live in paradise"

Paradise has NOT been paved over. <3