August 10, 2009 What's goin' on? Where are we? Still in Fiji! It's like the four blind men describing the elephant-the West side of Viti Levu is fabulous! This is my newest favorite place on the earth! Wow, what a paradise! We've been baptized into the culture; feels like we've lived here a long time. We were in Suva for nine days ministering and teaching at several churches and fellowships. Seini, a prosecuting attorney for the government, has been our super duper diligent, faithful, efficient planner, executor, liason. She arranged for me to address the Fiji School of Medicine, School of Nursing, and Institute of Technology on four separate occasions. What a privilege! I taught on the ministry of an advocate, a Kingdom understanding of faith, the significance of creation, and being purposeful in the "end-times." The students are the crème de la crème from the Solomons, Tonga, Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoas, Niue, and other small islands. It was so exciting to get to play a role in equipping them. Clint spoke at different churches, leader's meetings, and city-wide fellowship gatherings. Abbey even talked about her experiences on the trip and how they have impacted her life. While in Suva, I had to seek out some medical care for a cyst that developed from a mosquito bite I got below my right eye 7 weeks ago. I attempted to aspirate with a sterile 20g needle 2 weeks into the ordeal with no fluid results, I sought out a few doctors along the way who said to wait, leave it alone, and put antibiotic creams, compresses, etc. on it. It grew and grew 'til it was pressing on my nerves. I ended up having it excised by a-correction-the only plastic surgeon in the entire region. He saw me immediately when I arrived in Suva and removed it the next day. He sent it to Australia for histology just to be sure. It was about an inch in diameter, very well-defined fibrous cyst. I thought I was going to have to fly to the states to have it taken care of, but it all worked out well. Now I have 40 year old looking skin under my right eye, and 50 year old looking skin under my left. I guess I will save money on using expensive eye creams now. I'll just let the one side go to catch back up with the other! We sailed from Suva to Musket Cove in Malolo Island. It is the perfect cruiser's hangout! It really doesn't get much better than this. When we arrived, one of our cruising friends greeted us with, "Welcome to the vortex." Once you enter, you never want to leave! It's a large clear bay able to accommodate a hundred or more boats. There is a small marina. The island is surrounded by powdery sand beaches, and there are white sandbars to play on that emerge with the low tides.

A barrier reef keeps the anchorage protected and calm and makes for world class surf break and excellent diving and snorkeling. Three resorts are built on the lagoon and all welcome cruisers to use their pools and facilities including laundry and showers. There are well-stocked stores and many cafes and restaurants, and there's a special little sand spit connected by a bridge just for the cruisers with a bar, complimentary bar-b-ques, and plenty of tables and chairs. Kevin, unfortunately, the internet situation is very poor, slow speeds, we'll keep checking. Around Nadi, Denarau, and Suva on the main island of Viti Levu they have G3 technology though. The cruising pack moved on to Vanuatu. We sailed in to Nadi to pick Alicia up at the airport. She will be aboard for a while. We are very excited to have her with us. Abbey is sooooo happy to have her sister here! Colin made it to British Columbia aboard Tamsen. He'll sail down to San Fran then on to Santa Barbara. Write him on Facebook if you want to connect with him. We are at a great anchorage called Robinson Crusoe's. There is a backpacker's resort here and tons of fun- filled activities like volleyball competitions and horseback riding on the beach. The girls should like it. Ok, I will step it up on the frequency writing now that we are cruising around these little islands. Lots of love, the Glennys.