Thursday,
February 4 was a glorious day! We got a text at 5:30 AM from Brother Naidu.
“Good Morning. I have opened the chapel. Sister Naidu is there with others.”
They were anxious for the optometrist Dr. Nielson and his wife Ann to arrive, giving
free eye exams and free glasses on a first come first served basis. Brother and
Sister Naidu had prepared well and had set chairs all around for people to sit
on while they waited. Fijians are used to waiting in line. They are patient
people. We got there at 7:30 and greeted the people. The Nielsons arrived at
8:45 and handed out the numbers 1-80 in order of arrival. They were all handed
out before 9:00. After they got their numbers a few people went into the chapel
to watch LDS movies. It helped to pass the time. We passed out carrot sticks
and later brownies to supplement the treats they had brought for the wait.
Sister Kumar had arrived at 5:30 AM to
make sure she could be seen. The doctor said her eyes were really bad (probably
because of her diabetes.) He did not have her prescription, but he promised
her, he would order glasses to be made just for her and to be sent to Fiji and
delivered through the Lion’s Club.
One thing that tickled Rex was an old man
who came after they had run out of numbers. He was given a ticket with a 5 on
it. He kept coming to Rex and asking what number it was. Rex says, “It’s 85.”
The man looked at the ticket and said, “It looks like a 5 to me!” Rex repeated,
“It’s 85!” We’ve already passed out 80, and we’re starting over. That number
means you are 85.” The man asked Rex to write on it so he could see 85, but Rex
didn’t want to mess up their laminated number. The man went over and sat by the 30’s and slipped
into the doctor when Rex wasn’t looking. It was a standing joke whenever Rex
asked where 85 was. The people would laugh and Rex would realize, "Oh yeah, he’s already gone in."
We got to bond with a few people as they
waited. I had just printed out a new CMIS list where I noticed a big family I
didn’t know. I asked Sister Singh as we waited. She said, “Oh, that man with
the big family is standing over there.” I introduced myself to Viliame Gukiyalo and visited a little. We also
had the Elders there to visit with people.
Sister Reo came with her baby, got a
number, and quietly waited. Just before lunch, she told me “Goodbye” and said she
was leaving. She had given her number away. I said, “But don’t you need to stay
and get glasses.” She is a person of few words. She just smiled and left. We
found out later that she had come early to reserve a number for her
mother-in-law from Rabi who had stayed an extra day just to be examined and get
glasses. She was so excited that she could see. What a sweet gift for Sister
Reo to walk all that way to the church, carrying her 18 month old daughter, and
wait just to hold a spot for her mother-in-law.
The doctor and Ann worked from 9 AM-3:30
PM with just a half hour out for lunch, which Sister Roth had asked us to
provide. Rex asked them for their orders from the Chinese Restaurant. Dr.
Nielson said his favorite was Sweet and Sour. He had never been to our
restaurant before so we knew he was in for a real treat. We ordered 9 helpings
of Sweet and Sour to include the Naidu’s, the Elders, a helper from the Lion’s
Club, and ourselves. It was loved. While we were out getting the Chinese food,
the Relief Society had set out a few tuna sandwiches, pineapple, papaya, a
special yogurt bread, and juice. During the meal, they were just sitting on the
side watching. (I’m a little slow. It dawned on me the next morning that they
had thought they were responsible for the luncheon.) After everyone was served,
there was a lot of sweet and sour left over, I invited the ladies to come join
us. After they went through, there was still more. Brother Latianara and a
couple others came in and ate, and I invited Lucy and the Nasova girls to come
polish it off. All together, we fed twenty people, and they all seemed well satisfied.
Of course Dr. Nielson probably says this to everyone, but he announced, “This
is the best lunch we have ever had!” He and his wife are very gracious.
More people came after lunch without
numbers and waited to see if they could get in. One of them acted a little
upset with Elder Luatua for asking her to leave. She said no one had told her
she needed a number, and she had been told to come in the afternoon. I went
over to talk with her. She is a less active member, a single mother with a 17
year old and a 5 year old daughter. It turns out that Sister Kora visited her
often. In fact, she is the one who baked the special yogurt based dessert for
the lunch that day. I had seen that dessert a few times before. Kora had asked
her to make it for baptismal refreshments so I would have something to eat
without sugar. I thought the Sisters had made it themselves. They were very proud
of it. Now I knew the rest of the story. I visited with Reshmi for about 45
minutes. We bonded, and then I went in and asked if she could be seen without a
number. They said, “Yes, of course!”
Besides the three movies we showed, Rex
was entertaining the captive audience. At the end, as they opened the door, he
was down on his hands and knees begging, for the last few people without
numbers to be able to go in. They just left him kneeling there and, without
saying a word, rushed around him into the examination room. It still brought
some smiles and laughter. It turns out that they saw everyone who had waited. By
the end of the day, about 100 people had been examined, and they were all happy
with their new glasses.
After everyone else had gone, a man came
rushing in the gate. Rex told him they were done for the day, and he would have
to go to Seaqaqa the next day. The man said, “But the taxi driver just told me.
I’ve gotta get glasses! He ignored Rex, and burst into the examination room. Rex
just let him go. They helped him, too.
We thought the Nielsons had just come to
Fiji for a couple weeks, but they have been living in Suva since October,
traveling out to different areas, working long hours 4 days a week. They had
brought 7000 pairs of glasses with them. They say they are here to pay back a
little for their many blessings. They will be staying and serving until March.
Rex told him that is a little like Christ go around and giving people sight.
The Dr. said, “Oh, no. I wouldn’t profess to be like Christ!” Rex came back
with, “Well, you are helping people to see! It is very much the same.”
The doctor will be working one day a week
when he gets home, and after he retires wants to serve a “real” mission with his
wife. It seems to us that this is about as close as it gets.
After everyone was gone, they asked to
examine our eyes. Rex let them examine his. Everything was fine with him. When
they insisted they check my eyes, I said they had been working long enough!
They said I had to at least pick out some reading glasses. The first few pairs
didn’t fit, or didn’t work. Finally, I found a pair that was perfect, but when
I asked, she said it was more a man’s pair; but no one would be watching me
read. The pair fit like a glove, and I could see perfectly. At the time, I
wondered why a man’s pair of glasses would fit me so well. It just seemed like
the pair I was supposed to choose.
The next Sunday before church, I saw Viliame Gukiyalo, the man with the big family. He had come to church alone. I asked him to look at the list and help me know if any of his family had moved. He took the list, but just squinted. He couldn’t see. I asked if he had brought his new glasses. He explained that he had come after all the numbers were gone. He had watched a movie and left without glasses. I was strangely excited! I asked Rex to go out to the truck and bring in my new glasses. I gave them to the man and asked if he could see. He could see perfectly! And wouldn’t you know it, they fit him like a glove and looked amazing on him. Rex said I was slow to take them, but quick to give them away! I knew that those glasses were meant for him, not me! I sent a note to the Nielsons to tell them the rest of the story.
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| The Nielsons |
