2022 started for us in Fiji! We had been locked out of the country during the pandemic & it was very slow to open up again, with many new requirements needed to travel there. Among other things, we were obligated to take the vaccine in order to get on the plane, (as the Fiji government put it: ‘no jab, no jet!’)

Our house tenants had fallen seriously behind on the rent & we knew there were damages as well — one of our main reasons for deciding to sell the house, as it was too difficult to manage a property from the other side of the world. This was confirmed when we finally arrived in Suva & found the house to be in need of lots of repairs. Our main 2022 goal was therefore to fix up the house, sell it, try to get the money back to Europe & then get resettled there.

The Fiji part would all have to be finished within the space of our 6-month visa. Selling a house can take much longer though, so we had a real challenge on our hands! There were numerous obstacles along the way, including long bureaucratic delays, very challenging tax problems & the fact that Fiji makes it easy to bring money into the country but extremely difficult to get it back out again! We also needed to sell all our furniture & accumulated possessions through numerous garage sales…

donating our DVD player & 140 DVDs to a centre for juvenile delinquents

Finally we succeeded though & moved on to the next adventure: Malaysia! Our main aim here was to help a family member with long-standing alcohol & drug addictions to do 3 months of rehab, in order to give him a new start in life. We got his plane ticket & brought him over, at the same time registering with various food banks in order to keep our costs down. The heavy alcohol consumption we could stop immediately, but with the other drugs we needed to reduce his intake gradually to minimize side effects. It wasn’t always easy but we’re happy to say that little by little, he succeeded & we could see he was starting to move forwards. He came on hiking trips with our friends & became more outgoing.

When our 3-month Malaysia visa came to an end, we took him back to France, & despite a lot of ups & downs, got him set up in a seasonal job at a ski resort up in the mountains. At age 32, this is the first real job he’s had in his life! A big ‘thank you’ to those that sent us financial contributions to help us reach this goal.

our village in summer

Around the time that this job opportunity opened up, the Lord helped us find an ideal house in the south west of France. Unlike most lower budget village houses that need a lot of repairs, this one was renovated & fully furnished with everything one could possibly need from electrical appliances to sheets to cutlery to spices! The house is in a small village, surrounded by vineyards & with mountains in the background. At the same time, we’re not far from the sea & the Spanish border. And with the help of an efficient agent & a modern, high tech lawyer, we were able to complete the buying process in only 2½ months, moving in shortly before Christmas.

our village in winter

So what an amazing year: it started with completely emptying our Fiji house & moving out, and it ended with moving into a fully furnished & set up house on the other side of the world!!

2 questions might cross the minds of those familiar with our missionary & charity work in faraway places:
‘Will we go back to Fiji?’ We’d love to go back & visit friends if & when the Lord opens the door to go. We spent 20 years of our life in Fiji, so it will always be very dear to us.
‘Will we still be missionaries?’ Yes, definitely. We pray that we can continue to do our best to spread the Christian message in any way possible. We’re open to His leading & guidance in any new projects He may bring our way. Happy New Year 2023!