Fiji Report

I’ve been home for 2 weeks but am just now getting to write up a report of our trip to Fiji on the Miessence leadership getaway.  It was a wonderful trip from start to finish, on so many levels.

We left Saturday evening, the 12th, in order to arrive in Fiji by Monday morning the 14th, thanks to crossing the international date line and loosing a whole day in the travel process.  We met up in LAX with the three other North American reps, and then hunkered down to sleep on the 11 hour overnight flight to Nadi (pronounced Nandi).  Thankfully, little Stephen, now 4 months old, did great on all the flights both to and from Fiji.  🙂

We arrived around 5 am and then had an hour and a half van ride along the coast and countryside to the Hideaway resort.  Despite being tired, we stayed awake and enjoyed a relaxing day catching up with other Miessence folks – founders, HQ staff, and reps – as well as enjoying the warm hospitality of our Fijian hosts.  “Bula!”  And Stephen quickly became a beloved member of the resort community – we heard “Bula, Stevie!” every day.  Very sweet.  🙂

Since we arrived so early on Monday morning and our flight home wasn’t until 10pm Saturday night, we had 6 full days to enjoy.  Although there were plenty of fun adventurous things to do around the island, we had Stephen with us, so we mostly just relaxed at the resort and spent time talking with people, swimming in the pool, walking on the beach, admiring the birds, watching the sunset, chasing the frogs that came out in the evening, swinging in the hammock, napping, eating amazing food, learning about Fijian culture and history, and reading books too long on our to-read lists.  I did get to go snorkeling just off the resort’s shoreline and saw some amazingly bright-colored fish – so beautiful.  The fire walking demonstration, kava ceremony, lovo feast, and village tour were especially fun – I love connecting with cultures around the world.  It was especially neat to learn about how only 150 years ago, Fijians were cannibals.  Now, they are known as the friendliest people on earth – and the tour guide credited the transformation to the missionaries who came to the island.  From our brief experience, it seems the Fijian people are a great example of the transcultural power of Jesus to bring love and peace to a people while still maintaining the beauty of their culture.  Contrary to the tragic experience of “missions” in history obliterating or “westernizing” world cultures, the Bible is pretty clear that people from all nations, tribes, and tongues will be clearly and distinctly represented in heaven one day.  What a beautiful day that will be when we see true unity in diversity.  🙂

A day and a half out of the six was devoted to business and training – but this was so much fun it felt like vacation still.  It was wonderful getting to meet with other reps from around the world and hear from the hearts of the founders and HQ staff.  Particularly special was how transparent everyone was about the company’s history, current status, and future vision.  In this day and age, one might expect a company to “blow smoke” and put forth a rah-rah message at such a meeting.  But not Miessence.  Always valuing truth and transparency, it was beautiful to see how strengths and weaknesses were openly addressed, as well as positive and negative outside forces such as the current organic boom and the global financial crisis of 2008.  It was inspiring to hear the challenges addressed with tangible solutions and see the emergent, fresh, vibrant commitment based on a time-tested and trial-deepened conviction.  It is truly an honor to work with such genuine, transparent people.

For a 2-minute video from Miessence’s founder, Narelle Chenery…

And here are the official vision and mission statements of Miessence…

Miessence Vision: We are a global community of heart centered, empowered individuals, grounded in deep reverence for Mother Nature, and our connection to one another, gratefully prospering through inspired actions that contribute to a thriving world.

Miessence’s Mission is to provide a haven for people who want to be part of a global transformation. As a pioneer in holistic business we create 100% pure, potent organic products that nurture true beauty and vibrant health. We aim to educate, inspire and empower our Customers & Independent Representatives by offering an exceptional business opportunity, fair & generous compensation, exciting leadership pathways and transformational education. We invite people everywhere to to be part of our vibrant, global community knowing that by doing so, the world will be changed.