Fiji25 Blog 21 - Abi

Abi

Blog 21

       The people of Nanuku have become a family we will forever call home. Each and every one of us has built special relationships with our families, the little kids, and the whole entire community. Although I’m not able to interview every person that has made such a huge difference in our stay and lives since that would be pretty much everyone, I decided to talk with a group favorite, Moses. I still remember the first time I met Moses. One of our dance leaders, Wilson, randomly started laughing while we were performing the dance we had learned at Lakeside and I was trying to figure out why because I was depending on him to remember all the moves. I wouldn’t say I saw why but I definitely heard why first. The whole entire time, Moses was yelling “yes bro!” to his host brother which made all of us laugh and naturally smile for the camera. Ever since then, we knew Moses was going to be one of the funniest and most genuine people ever. You could say that we were right.

           Moses Wagasaga is a 25 year old prawn and wild bull lover (Lover as in loves eating them) who aside from this month lives in the neighboring village Tukuraki. One of the first things you notice about Moses is how easygoing he is which makes sense as he spends his free time making jokes, playing cards, and playing touch rugby. Moses plants and farms Kava for work but his lighthearted and playful demeanor is a façade for the fact that he is a secret rugby star. His dream used to be becoming a teacher but he has decided that he wants to be a full time rugby player instead. His fun and caring personality makes me know that he would be the best teacher ever if he wanted to be one, as he is all the kids favorite rugby coach. Although he is someone who is often looked up too, the person he looks up to the most in his life is Jesus. He talked about how he is who he is because of Jesus and how if he is ever lonely or stressed he looks up to Him for comfort and trust. As Moses puts it, “He gave me everything and He is my everything”. His message for all of us is to try to be happy even if you’re in a bad mood. “When you’re happy, you break every stronghold”. It’s such a Moses quote because whenever I look at him, he always has a bright smile on his face which automatically makes me smile too. No matter how tired I am, a quick conversation is all it takes for me to be laughing again. I’ll miss the joy he brought to us each and every day but I hope we can bring it to our families and friends back home as well.

Moses loves telling stories, most of which are really funny. Moses had been a tour guide in Nadi for 8 years to which he had one most memorable experience. As the favorite tour guide, he took two couples to get married and take photos at the shark enclosure which was super cool. What was cooler was that at the end of the wedding Moses went in the shark enclosure and started riding a hammerhead shark. I didn’t know that was possible but Moses always knows how to get a good surprised laugh out of me. I knew Moses and I had that telepathy when we were talking about what animal everyone would be and I said Moses would be a hammerhead shark before I heard his story. Another time Moses was sleeping in the farm when three little elves woke him up at 2 am in which they warned him that there were two lost people who kept saying “ow”. He took them back to his camp to take care of them and let them stay there until they were okay and wouldn’t be lost in the dark. He spent the $3k they gave him as a thank you on some rugby equipment and a new iPhone. In January they came back to visit him which was a sweet ending to the story. It’s his hope and ours as well for him to come to Seattle one day where we can all experience the excitement we feel hearing these stories directly from the hammerhead shark rider himself. I wish that I could write it out the way he said it.

              Although he’s known for being super funny, he hopes that people know his heart and the sincere, caring person he is. Even if he’s joking about random things, his genuineity and light is always there to make you feel like family. As I was asking him about his favorite things about Nanuku, he shared exactly what all of us have felt in the past three weeks. Everyone is always so sweet and no one makes me smile as much as the friends I’ve made in Nanuku. Whether it’s a laugh from doing silly dance moves or even a forced smile from a tickle attack I did not see coming, there hasn’t been a period of time that I haven’t been so so happy. I’ve never met so many people that care and want to listen to me talk for so long. I’ve also never met so many people willing to feed my addiction of tea and biscuits.

Moses has also been so excited to see us and know us and get to learn more English. His favorite English phrases and slang he’s learned so far are “duh” and “I like your cut G”. Not sure who taught him the second one but it’s been spiking in popularity recently since everyone’s been getting haircuts. As I asked him about what he wanted us to remember about Nanuku, he told me to take a look around me and just soak everything in. I’m not sure why but it made me really sad to look around at everyone and the community that I now call home. Not because it made me sad, but because I know that it’s our final week. It’s his hope and all of ours as well to remember everyone of Nanuku and the sweet community that has welcomed us to be apart of their home. His words of advice for us were to always have good hearts for our families and friends. Just as people of Nanuku have shown to us every day.

Moses’ last words of advice to all of us was to always, always be happy. I hope he knows that whenever any of us are with him we already are.






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