Our Mission Statement: The
Dream Machine Foundation is a Christian non-profit organization dedicated to helping
children and families in Fiji with medical, dental, educational and farming programs to
improve their quality of life. Click here
to read all about the Dream Machine Foundation.
If you would like Stephen Arrington
to speak at your church or academy call or email him
steve@drugsbite.com.
There is no charge, his is a faith ministry. He would do the
church service and a Saturday night vesper program; it is only at the
vesper program that he would ask to take an offering for Fiji.
Steve's Speaking Schedule:
- Camino SDA Church,
Camino, CA
July 11 at 11:00 AM and 7:30 PM
- Laguna Nigel SDA
Church, CA
July 18 at 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM
How Project Fiji began:
The morning song of an exotic bird stirs me gently
from my sleep. The melody drifts through an open window on the back of a warm tropical
breeze. It is still dark outside here in the South Pacific as I listen to the drumming
sound of an approaching rain squall. The cascading water marches in rapidly from the
ocean, hammers across the tin roof, then it tramps up the mountainside leaving a moist
freshness in its wake. Click here to
continue...
News Flashes: (Updated July 1, 2009)
Urgent: Please read our July email newsletter below, there is a critical
need for your attention. This is a chance to make a huge
difference for families in Fiji and may indeed save lives...
Dear Friends of
the Dream Machine Foundation
I have good news and bad news, but the bad news
has an excellent solution. I
am leaving for Fiji on July 19 with a team of six physicians, one
dentist and a support staff. We will be manning the new free clinic in
Buca Bay, Mission at
Natuvu Creek, built and funded by Doctors Tom and Marta
Tooma. There is a full-time trauma surgeon and nurse at the
clinic that sees patients five days a week. However, there are many
Fijians who cannot afford…or are too sick… to make the journey to the
clinic using the limited public transportation, (one bus, once a day
that the patient may need to walk several miles to reach). With this
large of a medical/dental team we are making a very big effort to reach
out into the more remote villages to those who have little hope for
help. We are making a large financial commitment by hiring Fijian
trucks and boats with drivers to bring these particularly needy patients
to the clinic.
In early July, a mission group is preceding us
from Calistoga, CA. They will do construction at Rabi Island and
identify patients on that island. We will also have patients coming
from Taveuni and
Kioa Islands. Our Project Manager, Roger Lutz, who was a medic
in Vietnam, will travel to other outer villages looking for those with
the greatest need. We give priority to children and the elderly. Any
patient who uses public transportation to reach us will be re-reimbursed
for their travel expenses when they arrive at the clinic (about $3to 5
USD). This is necessary because Fiji is suffering from extremely hard
financial times, the coup in 2006, combined with a 20% devaluation of
their dollar has hit the families hard.
How critical are the needs in Fiji? The closest
government hospital only has electrical power for two hours a day, at
which time they run the pumps to fill every water container and power
the X-ray. When the power goes down for the rest of the of the day and
night they use flashlights and kerosene lanterns to treat patients. The
morgue is closed…lost loved ones are placed directly into the ground.
If you could help us with the finances for this
project your donation will help to save lives and give medical and
dental attention to those who need it the most in rural Fiji. Our
clinic sees patients from five islands.
Now for the bad news. I already advised everyone
last year that Fulton Adventist College has been evicted from the land
that they have leased for over sixty years. They must vacate the
property by December 31st of this year. We offered to sell them 150
acres for $1 to relocate to Buca Bay, ours is the second largest island
in Fiji, however the Trans Pacific Union is opting to lease 200 acres
that is close to the international airport on the main island. Now, we
have just been advised that the Fiji Mission will not be renewing the
lease for Vatuvonu SDA School because the land owners have
drastically increased the rent far beyond the mission's budget. The DMF
has assisted in keeping this school running for twelve years, but now it
has no more options. Vatuvonu School was established in the
1930's and now its doors
are closing forever. Now for the solution!
Our companion foundation, Mission at
Natuvu Creek, owns 750 acres, the Dream Machine Foundation owns
100 acres. On the DMF property we will build a vocational school, i.e.,
wood and medal working, outboard engine repair, vehicle and boat
maintenance, and we will teach Fijian traditional canoe making and roof
thatching (these skills have been dying out and are important to their
heritage). On the Mission at
Natuvu Creek property we are going to built a
K - 8 Christian elementary school. We already have the full
cooperation of the Fiji government. Since we already own the
land and we have the water and power system in place we simply need to
build the classrooms and do the wiring and plumbing. Later we will
build a cafeteria and library. Our immediate need is funding for the
classrooms. We will use missionaries, Fiji volunteers and Fijian
builders for the construction. Note: We can hire Fijian builders for
less than a dollar an hour. It helps the economy and gives the local
people pride at a modest cost.
Our time frame is critical. I am going to Fiji on July 19 and if we
have enough funds we can begin the planning and building process and
hopefully be ready for the 2010 school year, which starts in January.
If you would like to help, send your tax deductable donation to Dream
Machine Foundation, PO Box 3234, Paradise, CA 95967.
A
last piece of excellent news to share is that the other SDA school that
we help is called
Nagigi. The Fiji Mission had to let it go in 2006 for financial
budgeting reasons. At the time there was sixty students at the school
when it was turned over to the local community to run. With the help of
the DMF it has now grown to over one-hundred and fifty students and has
added two more grades.
Thank you for your time and please feel
free to share this newsletter with others.
May the Lord bless you and yours richly,
Attention all
Physicians, Dentists, Nurses & Physical Therapist.
The Mission at Natuvu, the new eye
and dental clinic is now open five days a week and we are
looking for volunteers. You can
come out on your own schedule. The need in the area is huge!
The closest government hospital only has power two hours a day, during
which time they have to quickly fill every water container, then when
the electricity is shut off see patents using flashing lights, kerosene
lanterns and candles. We can get you full government approval to
practice in Fiji and they are eager for your help For more info,
call or email steve
(stephenarrington@msn.com) .
Looking for
Mission Groups.
After the powerful cyclone that hit on Jan 28 we've had some children in
the villages come down with typhoid fever, which prompts the DMF to step
up our water filtration projects for four villages. If your church
would like to accept one of the villages as a mission project please
contact us. We are also eagerly seeking mission groups to help us
develop the DMF 100 acre property. We need to build housing
(bungalows and tree houses), a shower house and other projects.
Steve and Cindy want to film documentaries of life and soul saving mission work
in Fiji and show them worldwide on Loma Linda Broadcasting Network.
Having a mission facility with a Swiss-Family-Robinson look to it would help to capture the
attention of the world, particularly Christians who have never done
mission work, and un-reached youth. We are youth oriented and very
much like to see young people come to Fiji for a life-changing mission
trip.
Catch Steve & Cindy on
our weekly half-hour Satellite Television program
on Loma
Linda Broadcasting Network:
High on Adventure is a youth and family program that seeks to inspire
youth and young adults to go for their dreams through positive choices,
to encourage a commitment for doing good and to cement a sincere working
relationship with Jesus Christ. Cindy's and my goal is to share
our path to adventure, challenge and satisfaction in life. As the
name implies this is an adventure quest with whales, dolphins and
sharks, but it goes way beyond that as we dive into life quests that
lead to a purpose-driven life. We'll talk about health issues,
examine exciting careers, spend time tramping around beneath the ocean
and go on mission trips to Fiji. Fun for the whole family!
If you don't have the satellite connection, then catch it all on the
internet at http://www.llbn.tv/
High on Adventure airs six times a week, this is the Pacific Daylight
Time: Sunday 2:00 pm, Monday 6:00 am, Tuesday 12:30 am, Wednesday 8:30
am, Thursday 10;00 pm and Friday 5:00 am
The DMF has almost completed its first bungalow, which can sleep
20 people. This has been a real financial challenge
for us because the coup of 2006 has pushed-up the prices of construction
materials and we had to hire the work out instead of using volunteers.
The take over of the Fijian Government by the military meant we had to
cancel our 200708 mission season. Note: no one was hurt in the coup,
which went forward with the permission of the Fijian president. All remains calm in Fiji and
we expect to begin our 2008 mission season as planned. The only
reason we had to cancel for 2007 was because we could not obtain
Accident Risk Management Insurance from the GC. Our relationship
with the Government of Fiji is excellent. The Ministry of Health
is particularly interested in our continued support and free service.
Terrific news, the Fiji Mission has decided to renew the lease for
Vatuvuon School. There was a very real threat of the school being
closed because of the financial crisis. The Fiji Mission is
receiving less tithing because salaries are severely reduced. Fiji
has been expelled from the British Commonwealth and is receiving no
foreign subsidies due to the current government takeover. The DMF will provide financial
assistance as we can though we are still modestly in debt. We also
help to support Nagigi SDA School which now has an enrollment of over 180
students.
Cyclone
Gene hits Fiji. A
powerful cyclone has struck Fiji knocking out electricity to much of
Fiji and contaminating fresh water supplies. Buca Bay has been
particular hard hit. Buca Village has been evacuated and is
flooded with four feet of water. We are receiving many requests
for urgent assistance. For more information on the situation in
Fiji please visit Fiji Live or Fiji Times on the internet. We are
hoping for rapid financial assistance. If you can help, please
label your donation for Buca/Fiji Assistance Fund. 100% of your
donation will go directly to help the people in Fiji devastated by this
Cyclone.
- Make Donations To Specific
Projects:
To make a donation to a specific project & see our project needs click here.
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