Bula!

Bula! This is “Hello” in Fijian, and so I greet you from across the ocean.

I am about half way through my third week here at Homes of Hope, and I am settling in well. While my time here has not been without its bumps-among which is spotty internet connection, illness, and the requisite home sickness-but as far as “bumps” go, they have been small and so surmountable.


My tasks thus far have been to settle in to my new role here, get to know the residents on campus (some 30 young mothers and their little ones). However, for now, I must tell you about one:

I had the opportunity to visit Homes of Hope in Fiji during the summer of 2009. While here I met a new resident, a young girl all of 14 years of age. This girl, whom I’ll call Nal, (to protect Nal, her true name is not given) had been sold by her family to a man 30 years her senior in order to pay for her family’s groceries.

At the time I first met Nal, she had a new baby boy fathered by the man whom purchased her. Nal was a belligerent, rude, and stubborn teenage girl. Yet, after watching Nal for a brief time it was plain to see that the anger Nal cloaked herself in was worn to protect herself from further betrayal and pain. I left that summer not liking this woman-child, yet understanding that her attitude and behavior was purely a posture of defense.

Today, Nal is still at Homes of Hope and she is 16; her little boy is 2. And the change in her! The angry, cantankerous, terrified girl is now a leader, setting an example and guiding other young girls who come to the campus. Nal smiles now. Yesterday I heard her laugh. Her eyes no longer scale people, searching, measuring them as if to see what gain they may bring her or if they pose a risk. Nal is changed. Nal has hope. Nal has a future.

This has been the very best welcome.