Untitled Document

November 2, 2006 Here I am in the heart of my dream, the one about uplifting humanity through an Indigenous Peoples Project. I am on the island of Qamea near the garden isle of Taveuni, which is next to one of the two large islands called Vanua Levu in the chain of islands in the Koro Sea. New Zealand lays to the south about 10 days sail. There is a snug harbor around the corner from us next to the village where the people we work with live. The Chief’s house overlooking the harbor It is a small village of about 20 or less people, built on a hills side over looking a bay about the size of Egg Harbor, Wisconsin. Mangroves line the estuary. Children sit on the old dock that was ruined by a hurricane about four years ago. The walk up to the top of the hill where the family we work with lives passes the chiefs house. The King of Qamea lives about a mile over another hill. Yesterday we went to the church Korvo Village. There were more people there who filled the small wooden schoolhouse up. The children sat on the left front side and were singing hymns as we came in. We were seated on a cushion in the front. Two elders sat in front of us on the right and the choir was behind us. Nothing sounded familiar except for “ameni” and “Yesu.” The district preacher was in town. He had huge gold-rimmed glasses, a suit with the label still on his right sleeve and a few sizes too big. He had a moustache beneath which his lower teeth were visible only. He talked in a monotone and soon the youngest children were snoring, punctuated by everyone rising to sing a hymn. Everyone sat on plastic tables cloth material, which covered a concrete floor. At the end the village preacher got up and started to talk quite animatedly about something. We asked our family member who had come for us in our boat to drive us to church, ”what was he saying?” He said, “It’s about the King. We have no King in the village. He left.” Evidently the King had moved to the other side of our family’s village, which is to the left of this larger village of Kovo. Two ladies hired an American to build a large house with out his permission, so he packed up and moved himself and his family away from the village. Three of Apisai’s boys and Lazaro being silly. Dickie is in Apisai’s arms. Our family: Jerry, his wife Lemba, Their two year old son Dickie, Her parents, Apisai and his wife, who looks just like Lemba: very large and round with beautiful African features, and seven sons starting at age four up to 23 years of age. Jerry is our main helper here and Lemba cleans and cooks and does the wash by hand. Lemba and her mum In addition we have Auntie Ruthie next door. Auntie is a year and half younger than me, a maiden lady who has raised the orphans and difficult children of the village. Phillip is her last ward, a troubled boy who came to her at age 19 years. Last week was his birthday, the same day as the good-bye party for the Balinese builders that are building our accommodations for our retreat. t. Aunties fishing boat with rainbow. In May my friend bought two bungalows and three gazebos complete with spa baths of polished colored concrete based off a tabletop book called “Island Style” by Gillian Beal. Five Balinese builders under the lead of Made Maryiana from Bali came to Fiji to begin assembling the buildings. They filled their days with making foundations for all the buildings, gathering sand from the beach and using the rock and coral to mix in with it, using lava rocks from a recent volcano eruption out at sea to create foundations for the structures. They stayed in Aunties bures. Bali boys Auntie went fishing, brought food from her garden and cook them dinner every night. As time wore on the Balinese grew very home sick and about a week or so ago left to return to Bali. They will be	On Phillip’s 24th birthday there was a lot of activity at Aunties place: a pit was dug for the Lavo, a method of pit cooking for fresh taro wrapped in baskets that Auntie and her boys made on the floor of their kitchen/house on woven palm mats Auntie made. These palm bags were filled with leaf wrapped fish, and pockets of coconut cream. Then a huge amount of Kava root arrived, the stones were heated to red hot in the pit and covered with wet palm fronds. The packets and bags were placed on top of that and another layer of fresh green leaves completed the inner layer. On top was placed a thick layer of sand. This took up most of the day. As evening approached the village boys played a ukulele and guitars and sang island songs. The food was cooking and as the saying goes in these part of the world “no worries- sega naleqa.” Fiji boys When the food was ready a wheelbarrow was brought over, the sand uncovered the smoking leaves and the packets and bags along with hot taro root were loaded it. We all assembled around a large woven mat lined with palm leaf. Candles were burning. The food smelled delicious! Each entree was served in the middle of the spread. The fish had a pungent coconut cream sauce with small bits of veggies. The taro was cut into bread like pieces and tasted amazing! Auntie Ruthie, in her understated way said “We want to thank you Bali Boys for coming and being part of our family. We hope you come back in January to complete your project and want to continue in this way remembering you in our hearts and see you soon.” Then it was Maryanas turn to speak for the Bali Boys: “We are sad to. We want to thank the Fiji Boys who are all good boys for all their help, especially Phillip, whose birthday it is tonight. We intend to come back in January.” The singing started: Jerry and his crew sang the songs of the island like they had many times at the Beach Club around the corner. The food was eaten with great gusto and before I knew it the food had been cleared and the bottom half of our buoy, which had been sawed in half, was holding the first round of Kava. The ceremony had begun. Lazaro and Made with the kava buoy Lazaro, the oldest relative of Auntie, was the majordomo. He took small cups taken from the top of the coconut shell, dipped it into the kava, a white milky liquid, holding his left hand on his right wrist and offered me the first drink of the evening saying “Bula!” which loosely means,” hello, and welcome.” The bowl was passed around. After each time a person drank the bitterroot liquid everyone would clap three times. I left at about 10 pm but evidently the ceremony went on for the youngest boys until the middle morning of the next day. They were very tired. This is an old tradition, the kava ceremony. Shore Acres My days are spent doing my version of nothing, a fine art: morning hot lemon drink, yoga, a walk along the beach to collect sea shells and swimming/snorkeling in one of the few living vibrant coral reefs left in the world.
I am creating a foundation to benefit the Qamean people. They have no sanitation, no electricity, and no health care and so there is a huge opportunity to partner with them to raise their basic standard of living. As I read with great interest the works of Francis Lappe and her daughter Anne in their book “Hope’s Edge” and Lyn Twists book “The Soul of Money.” each regarding funding and charity in the present world climate of change and upheaval, I saw this was the opening to my dream. The other day I saw something on AOl saying “50 years until the world resources run out.” On this island paradise the problems of the world are non-existent. The worst of it is if we have to go to Tavueni for fuel (generator and boat) and the Internet. This vision of Sanctuary is one that has been flowering in my heart for many years. I had a retreat center in Marin County we called "The House of Love." Many things transpired to vision this path towards realizing the dream of having holistic eco-tourist experiences worldwide starting in Qamea that benefit the indigenous peoples who I believe are “the meek that will inherit the earth.” We Begin in Fiji and as this idea catches hold, I have been told that there will be countless people who will join us in the dream and create their own experience worldwide. Beginning for me means walking my talk. For many years, especially after my mother, Ruth’s death in 1989, I began to change my life away from the householder to that of the spiritual. I surmised that the last half of my life would be the best half, the one where I fulfill my promise to God of what I would do and become in this life of mine. About 1996 I received a vision. I woke up to an inner urging to “write this down.” I sat on my computer and just let the information flow. Essentially what this information said was that there was going to be a world wide movement away from materialism towards the life of the spirit and that I would be joining others receiving this message to create “Centers of Light” or Light Houses away from fear and joining in love. For those of you who may think this is a bit of “whu” the interpretations I had were that I was not alone in this message and indeed as I have shared this vision with others they all say, “I want to do that too!” Just yesterday one of the people from the Beach Club who was at church said, “This trip has changed my life. I want to do missionary work. I am a nurse. What you are doing sounds incredible.” This is a typical response. To that end I registered Sanctuary Ltd. and am creating the foundation in the state of Nevada where I have residency. The main theme will be to build a rejuvenation retreat with at the Water Sport Center both on Qamea and on the Yesawa Islands and to create the funding/investment arm through 5 partner offerings a membership structure with a charitable donation arm. Eventually we hope that this fund will be able to sell “franchise memberships” to those going through the programs, those interested in starting a branch with other indigenous peoples, or creating Urban Centers to anchor their practices in their home towns: partnering with “Bridges of Hope to Island of Peace ” This is my destiny and to be in it and be aware of it is beyond description. Things are coming up: things that stand in the way of my realizing my bigger dream and are felt and seen for the resistant blocks that make up the compost of the eventual flowering of my soul. I am where God meant me to be, here on the Jewel of Qamea in the heart of Paradise. Come join us in Paradise. My new email is adyama86@yahoo.com. The po box I use is Mary garner Po Box 297 Waiyevo, Taveuni Fiji Islands 64 27 378-9623 Mary Garner PO Box 297 Weiryo, Taveuni Fiji Islands If you want to get involved, do a cleanse and detox program, partner with us, donate to the foundation or just kick back and enjoy the life, you can email me for more detailed information. I love you all and hope to hear from you soon. Love Maryma

November 2, 2006

Here I am in the heart of my dream, the one about uplifting humanity through an Indigenous Peoples Project. I am on the island of Qamea near the garden isle of Taveuni, which is next to one of the two large islands called Vanua Levu in the chain of islands in the Koro Sea. New Zealand lays to the south about 10 days sail. There is a snug harbor around the corner from us next to the village where the people we work with live.

The Chief’s house overlooking the harbor

It is a small village of about 20 or less people, built on a hills side over looking a bay about the size of Egg Harbor, Wisconsin. Mangroves line the estuary. Children sit on the old dock that was ruined by a hurricane about four years ago.

The walk up to the top of the hill where the family we work with lives passes the chiefs house. The King of Qamea lives about a mile over another hill.

Yesterday we went to the church Korvo Village. There were more people there who filled the small wooden schoolhouse up. The children sat on the left front side and were singing hymns as we came in. We were seated on a cushion in the front. Two elders sat in front of us on the right and the choir was behind us. Nothing sounded familiar except for “ameni” and “Yesu.”

The district preacher was in town. He had huge gold-rimmed glasses, a suit with the label still on his right sleeve and a few sizes too big. He had a moustache beneath which his lower teeth were visible only. He talked in a monotone and soon the youngest children were snoring, punctuated by everyone rising to sing a hymn.

Everyone sat on plastic tables cloth material, which covered a concrete floor. At the end the village preacher got up and started to talk quite animatedly about something. We asked our family member who had come for us in our boat to drive us to church, ”what was he saying?” He said, “It’s about the King. We have no King in the village. He left.”

Evidently the King had moved to the other side of our family’s village, which is to the left of this larger village of Kovo. Two ladies hired an American to build a large house with out his permission, so he packed up and moved himself and his family away from the village.

Three of Apisai’s boys and Lazaro being silly.
Dickie is in Apisai’s arms.

Our family: Jerry, his wife Lemba, Their two year old son Dickie, Her parents, Apisai and his wife, who looks just like Lemba: very large and round with beautiful African features, and seven sons starting at age four up to 23 years of age. Jerry is our main helper here and Lemba cleans and cooks and does the wash by hand.
Lemba and her mum

In addition we have Auntie Ruthie next door. Auntie is a year and half younger than me, a maiden lady who has raised the orphans and difficult children of the village. Phillip is her last ward, a troubled boy who came to her at age 19 years. Last week was his birthday, the same day as the good-bye party for the Balinese builders that are building our accommodations for our retreat.

t.
Aunties fishing boat with rainbow.

In May my friend bought two bungalows and three gazebos complete with spa baths of polished colored concrete based off a tabletop book called “Island Style” by Gillian Beal.

Five Balinese builders under the lead of Made Maryiana from Bali came to Fiji to begin assembling the buildings. They filled their days with making foundations for all the buildings, gathering sand from the beach and using the rock and coral to mix in with it, using lava rocks from a recent volcano eruption out at sea to create foundations for the structures. They stayed in Aunties bures.

Bali boys

Auntie went fishing, brought food from her garden and cook them dinner every night. As time wore on the Balinese grew very home sick and about a week or so ago left to return to Bali. They will be

On Phillip’s 24th birthday there was a lot of activity at Aunties place: a pit was dug for the Lavo, a method of pit cooking for fresh taro wrapped in baskets that Auntie and her boys made on the floor of their kitchen/house on woven palm mats Auntie made. These palm bags were filled with leaf wrapped fish, and pockets of coconut cream.

Then a huge amount of Kava root arrived, the stones were heated to red hot in the pit and covered with wet palm fronds. The packets and bags were placed on top of that and another layer of fresh green leaves completed the inner layer. On top was placed a thick layer of sand. This took up most of the day.

As evening approached the village boys played a ukulele and guitars and sang island songs. The food was cooking and as the saying goes in these part of the world “no worries- sega naleqa.”

Fiji boys

When the food was ready a wheelbarrow was brought over, the sand uncovered the smoking leaves and the packets and bags along with hot taro root were loaded it.

We all assembled around a large woven mat lined with palm leaf. Candles were burning. The food smelled delicious! Each entree was served in the middle of the spread. The fish had a pungent coconut cream sauce with small bits of veggies. The taro was cut into bread like pieces and tasted amazing!

Auntie Ruthie, in her understated way said “We want to thank you Bali Boys for coming and being part of our family. We hope you come back in January to complete your project and want to continue in this way remembering you in our hearts and see you soon.”

Then it was Maryanas turn to speak for the Bali Boys: “We are sad to. We want to thank the Fiji Boys who are all good boys for all their help, especially Phillip, whose birthday it is tonight. We intend to come back in January.”

The singing started: Jerry and his crew sang the songs of the island like they had many times at the Beach Club around the corner. The food was eaten with great gusto and before I knew it the food had been cleared and the bottom half of our buoy, which had been sawed in half, was holding the first round of Kava. The ceremony had begun.

Lazaro and Made with the kava buoy

Lazaro, the oldest relative of Auntie, was the majordomo. He took small cups taken from the top of the coconut shell, dipped it into the kava, a white milky liquid, holding his left hand on his right wrist and offered me the first drink of the evening saying “Bula!” which loosely means,” hello, and welcome.” The bowl was passed around. After each time a person drank the bitterroot liquid everyone would clap three times.

I left at about 10 pm but evidently the ceremony went on for the youngest boys until the middle morning of the next day. They were very tired. This is an old tradition, the kava ceremony.

Shore Acres

My days are spent doing my version of nothing, a fine art: morning hot lemon drink, yoga, a walk along the beach to collect sea shells and swimming/snorkeling in one of the few living vibrant coral reefs left in the world.

I am creating a foundation to benefit the Qamean people. They have no sanitation, no electricity, and no health care and so there is a huge opportunity to partner with them to raise their basic standard of living. As I read with great interest the works of Francis Lappe and her daughter Anne in their book “Hope’s Edge” and Lyn Twists book “The Soul of Money.” each regarding funding and charity in the present world climate of change and upheaval, I saw this was the opening to my dream.

The other day I saw something on AOl saying “50 years until the world resources run out.” On this island paradise the problems of the world are non-existent. The worst of it is if we have to go to Tavueni for fuel (generator and boat) and the Internet.

This vision of Sanctuary is one that has been flowering in my heart for many years. I had a retreat center in Marin County we called "The House of Love." Many things transpired to vision this path towards realizing the dream of having holistic eco-tourist experiences worldwide starting in Qamea that benefit the indigenous peoples who I believe are “the meek that will inherit the earth.”

We Begin in Fiji and as this idea catches hold, I have been told that there will be countless people who will join us in the dream and create their own experience worldwide. Beginning for me means walking my talk.

For many years, especially after my mother, Ruth’s death in 1989, I began to change my life away from the householder to that of the spiritual. I surmised that the last half of my life would be the best half, the one where I fulfill my promise to God of what I would do and become in this life of mine.

About 1996 I received a vision. I woke up to an inner urging to “write this down.” I sat on my computer and just let the information flow. Essentially what this information said was that there was going to be a world wide movement away from materialism towards the life of the spirit and that I would be joining others receiving this message to create “Centers of Light” or Light Houses away from fear and joining in love.

For those of you who may think this is a bit of “whu” the interpretations I had were that I was not alone in this message and indeed as I have shared this vision with others they all say, “I want to do that too!”

Just yesterday one of the people from the Beach Club who was at church said, “This trip has changed my life. I want to do missionary work. I am a nurse. What you are doing sounds incredible.” This is a typical response.

To that end I registered Sanctuary Ltd. and am creating the foundation in the state of Nevada where I have residency. The main theme will be to build a rejuvenation retreat with at the Water Sport Center both on Qamea and on the Yesawa Islands and to create the funding/investment arm through 5 partner offerings a membership structure with a charitable donation arm. Eventually we hope that this fund will be able to sell “franchise memberships” to those going through the programs, those interested in starting a branch with other indigenous peoples, or creating Urban Centers to anchor their practices in their home towns: partnering with

“Bridges of Hope to Island of Peace ”

This is my destiny and to be in it and be aware of it is beyond description. Things are coming up: things that stand in the way of my realizing my bigger dream and are felt and seen for the resistant blocks that make up the compost of the eventual flowering of my soul. I am where God meant me to be, here on the Jewel of Qamea in the heart of Paradise.

Come join us in Paradise. My new email is adyama86@yahoo.com.

The po box I use is
Mary garner
Po Box 297
Waiyevo, Taveuni
Fiji Islands
64 27 378-9623

Mary Garner
PO Box 297
Weiryo, Taveuni
Fiji Islands

If you want to get involved, do a cleanse and detox program, partner with us, donate to the foundation or just kick back and enjoy the life, you can email me for more detailed information.

I love you all and hope to hear from you soon.

Love Maryma