Ending One Adventure...Beginning Another

As the end of our summer in Fiji is coming to an end, we are so thankful for the journey God has brought us through.  Thank you to those who prayed faithfully for us!  Thank you to those of you who supported us financially!  Without your financial and prayer support, this trip would not have been what it was, and we are sincerely grateful for your generosity.  Before we wrap up the blog for this trip, I wanted to update you all on our final days.

First stop....Navala Village!  THANK YOU if you prayed for us on our journey there!  We were heading into a village where the Gospel is not welcome, where Christians are receiving death threats, where demon worship is occurring, and where kids are getting beaten for attending Sunday school.  We were given the opportunity to not only meet the locals and share the Gospel with them, but to also pray for the Chief of the village along with all the elders of the clans!  It just so happened that all the elders were meeting together in one of the bure's (traditional Fijian huts) when we were visiting...I guess it doesn't happen very often.  Not only did they allow us to come in to the bure to meet them, but they also allowed us to pray over them!  This is truly an honor in the Fijian culture...a HUGE deal.  Praise God for softening their hearts.  I'm excited to hear news about what continues to happen in that village through Christine's family (one of the interns).

We had a bumpy and long ride to Navala.  We traveled about an hour or more on this rocky road.

Here is a shot of the entire village.  I was in a valley in the mountains...super far away from any other town.

Navala Village.  They had kava (a plant that has similar effects to opiates/alcohol) ceremonies and would make sacrifices to demons all around to fences to appease the demonic spirits. 

Traditional Fijian Bure.  Not all of the bures had a grass base.  We were told that the ones that did were made so that no outsiders could see their ceremonies to worship demons on the inside.

Rows of Bures.

Here is a bure being built.

This is the family that Billy visited.

Our team praying over the chief and elders.

The next day, we went over Matthew 5-7 (The Sermon on the Mount) with Norman Blackaby.  He was planning to come out to Fiji to teach us at the base, but because of health reasons, could not make it.  After hearing him teach, I was so bummed that he was not able to make it out here...He gave the best teaching I have ever heard on The Sermon on the Mount.  It was so cool to look, in context, at the beatitudes and then Matthew 7:7 ("Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.").  

Matthew 7:7 is not about just anything we as Christians want, but it is about all of what Jesus teaches about during The Sermon on the Mount. We learned about how the things that Jesus teaches about are not just suggestions for Christians, but should be characteristics of every Christian...they are expectations.  God knows, however, that we cannot do these things on our own...we cannot maintain these characteristics by our own doing...so this is where Matthew 7:7 comes into play...Ask Him, and He will help you...Keep seeking for these characteristics, and you will find them.  As we grow closer to God and continue to do His will, He enables us to be more like Jesus. Sanctification is a process continued throughout our lifetime.  Below, I took pictures of my notes...if they are confusing or don't make sense, please ask! I am excited to look at the Sermon on the Mount in further detail!

Lol...me peeking around the corner. :)

The last couple days of the internship pretty much consisted of debriefing and preparations for returning home.  We talked about what God spoke to us as well as encouraged one another individually.  The last night, we had a campfire, and went around to each person to tell them just encouraging words.  It was such an awesome way to end the trip. 

Once again, THANK YOU so much for all of your support!!  We are both so excited to share with you what God has spoken to us while being here. Please be praying for our transition back home as we will experience a reverse culture shock.  

Moce! (pronounced Mowthey--means "goodbye" in Fijian)

Being On Mission with God

Melanie here!  I feel like I have so much to blog about....so much goes on in a week here!  I will do my best to share what has happened without making it too lengthy.

Harry and Pam Goodhew were here this past week to teach us about Mission Theology.  He was the arch bishop of the Sydney diacese (basically means he was the head bishop in the Anglican churches of Sydney--the leader of the leaders), so we were extremely blessed to have him teach us on this topic.  We worked through the book, The Mission of God's People by Christopher J.H. Wright, and got a broad overview of God's entire story--from Creation to New Creation.  He opened my eyes to some really awesome things!  For example, Jesus' 40-day fast represented Israel's 40 years in the desert.  Jesus went through the same testing, but overcame the trials and brought glory to God.  Another thing I found interesting was how Jesus had 12 apostles....and how those 12 men represented the 12 redeemed tribes of Israel.  The book is full of practical theology, and I'm looking forward to reading it in more detail once I'm home.

Harry gave us a paper with part of God's story and had us put them in order.

We are a special bunch :)

On Friday, we got to visit a local special needs school and lead a program for the students.  We taught them some songs, shared a couple testimonies, performed a couple Meke dances, shared a skit (the Rescue Boat story for those that know E.E.), and taught a quick lesson about the Gospel.  I had a blast and we were all really encouraged by that trip.

Teaching the students some songs.

The "Rescue Boat" skit.  

Performing a Meke dance!

 

    

The group with all the students!

After the special needs school, we were able to visit the local prison!  They pulled a good amount of the inmates in a room, and we were able to share a couple testimonies and get in groups to connect and have gospel conversations.  Several of the inmates made the decision to receive Jesus and their Lord and Savior, so we were really encouraged by that visit as well!

Billy sharing his testimony with the inmates.

On Saturday, we had an awesome day of exploring another island!  We took a boat to Mana Island, and got to snorkel, get our grub on at a buffet, and just enjoy the "postcard" side of Fiji.

On the boat at the port.

Maba and Billy

Billy and I snorkeling

Enjoying the beach!

Sam the man and Billy

Yesterday was our last Sunday as a group...its crazy how fast the internship has gone!  We had 3 churches to choose from, so I decided to go to Nabila (pronounced Nambila) village, and Billy went to a place called Harvest Church.  Nabila is the first church we went to, so I thought it would be fun to go back and say goodbye to everyone.  There, I was asked to share a song, so I sang one that I had witten.  After the service, we at lunch with the church members, and had afternoon tea.  I left the village so filled and encouraged.  Some of our team members had done an OJT with some of the people near the Harvest Church, and Billy and a couple of the guys were hoping to see them there.  Praise God that the people they had led to Christ were at the church!

Billy, Alec, and Pete praying over a member.

Billy and Alec praying over a lady who needed healing in her ankle.

Sharing my song.

Lunch!  In the villages, meals are eaten on a mat.

Hangin' out at the ocean with some of the kids from Nabila.

Some of the kids.  They are so fun!

This week, Norman Blackaby from the U.S. was supposed to come, but he was not able to make it for health reasons.  Please be praying for his recovery.  

Today, we looked at Isaiah 55 in detail.  What I got out of it was to not limit God with my own human perspective.  I love verses 8 and 9: "'My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,' says the Lord.  'And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.  For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.'"

We also got to hear Langdon's story. He is the main leader of the internship and is an AWESOME leader! I was really encouraged by his faith, and his desire to trust God even in tough times.  After afternoon tea, we learned about support raising, and how to build a ministry team.  It was a very productive and encouraging day. 

Tomorrow, we are going to visit Christine's (one of the interns) village.  There is a lot of opposition to the Gospel, so please be praying for us.  She was telling me how there have been death threats towards the people who are attending church, and the children are being beaten up for going to Sunday School.  The village is very traditional Fijian, so I'm excited to visit there.

Thank you so much for all your prayers and support!!

Prayer Requests:

• Our team as we visit Navala village...pray for safety, for opportunities to connect with the locals and share the Gospel, and for encouragement to the locals.
• For all of us interns as we finish up the internship.  Pray for God's guidance as we transition back home.
• Pray for flights back home...most of the team is leaving on Saturday.  Billy and I will be staying until the 31st.
• Pray for Sara and Maba (two of the leaders) as they are moving to America (Sara is from Florida, but Maba is from Fiji) in August.  They need prayers for jobs, finances, and transition into a new environment (Sara has been in Fiji for 5 years).

Suva

This past week we traveled to Suva, Fiji’s capitol city, for an XEE clinic.  It was a lot of fun, but also hard work, so we are all enjoying a couple days of much needed relaxation back at the base.  One of the Fijian intern’s church let us sleep at their church, so we loaded the bus up with our mattresses and suitcases and headed to Suva.  There was a total of 17 of us sleeping on the floor of the church, and we had to pack up our beds and bags every day for the Hope for Kids clinic (kids EE), so it was definitely an experience.  I was thankful that our group worked together though, and it ended up being a really fun week. 

This is the church we slept at! So pretty!

Hanging out at the beach near the church we stayed at!

Cute tiny little pineapple! If you know me well, you know I love small things. :)

We had Sam the Man share a bedtime story every night which were always super random and hilarious.  One consisted of a group of Teletubbies having a picnic of spaghetti, and a big teddy bear came to give them a big hug.  The Teletubbies got scared and ran away, but the bear eventually caught up to them and gave them a big hug.

I really enjoyed the XEE clinic because the teaching style is more geared toward the younger crowd, so there are a lot of discussions, dramas, and short videos.  During our OJT, I wanted to really focus on connecting with people before sharing the Gospel, so we pretty much met with one girl every day.  Her name was Aliti, she lost her legs in an accident when she was younger, and her parents about 4 years ago so she was going through a rough time.  When we asked her, “How fulfilling is your life on a scale from 1-10?” she gave her life a 2 with tears in her eyes.  We shared with her how Jesus came to give us life and life to the full (John 10:10), and then walked her through the Gospel.  She went back home that night, and the next day when we came back, she told us she wanted to give her life to Jesus and accept Him as her Lord and Savior!

This is the church that we did our training in.  

Our training area.

Billy out on OJT.  His team shared the Gospel with these four students, and all 3 girls prayed to receive Christ! 

Some of our group on OJT.

This is Aliti...We got to know her pretty well over our meetings throughout the week.  She has such a sweet spirit; it was an honor to lead her to Christ!  Please be praying for her growth in her spiritual walk.

Billy and a couple others went out to meet with a lady after a day of training, but the lady ended up not picking up her phone, so they decided to walk around the town.  Billy ended up meeting a man named Vinesh, in a video store who was a Hindu.  Since we have gotten here, Billy has been praying to lead a Hindu to Christ, and for them to show an outward sign that they are giving up their idols to follow Jesus.  Anyways, Billy ended up walking Vinesh through the Gospel, and REALLY explained to him what it meant to follow Christ.  He was SO excited to give his life to Jesus, and he ended up cutting off his bracelet (which is a sign of their commitment to their Gods—sort of like a wedding ring in a way) in that shop to show how serious he was.  Billy told some other former Hindus what happened, and they were so shocked that he cut off the bracelet…I guess it is a really big deal to do that. 

Billy, Vinesh, and his cut off bracelet!  Please be praying for him as he grows in his relationship with the Lord. 

 It is so amazing to be a part of seeing people’s lives change and seeing people be set free.  If you are a believer and are not sharing your faith, you are really missing out on a blessing that the Lord wants to give you!  He allows us to take part in lives being changed, and I can’t even express how wonderful it is to be a part of it.  Billy and I would be more than excited to train you how to share your faith if you are interested.

We also got to be apart of St. Luke's Anglican Church's (the church we slept at) youth group.  A couple people from our group as well as a couple from the Australian group were able to share their testimonies.  It was such an encouraging night seeing how God works in everyone's life so differently.  We also learned another type of Meke (tradition Fijian dance) and got to perform that.  

On Thursday we drove back to the base, but on the way back, we got an awesome surprise by the leaders!  They took us to a beautiful resort on the water, and we got to hang out and eat dinner there.  It was a great way to celebrate all our hard work and what the Lord had done the previous two weeks.

Last night we celebrated the Australian team leaving by having Lovu—where they bury the meat and veggies in the ground to cook it.  We had two birthdays as well, so we go to enjoy some cake and ice cream!

Ed and Maba grating the coconut.

Maba digging the hole for the lovu!

Pastor Nakiti wrapping up the food with foil and banana leaves.

They put hot coals in the ground and cover everything for a couple hours.

Uncovering the food!  Those are banana leaves.

Billy helping out.  The leaves were really hot!

Taking out the cooked casava and meat! mmmmm :)

Thank you so much for your prayers!  God has been doing some amazing things, and I know He is hearing your prayers!

Prayer Requests for this coming week:

·         For the health of all our team members—a lot of us have gotten stomach bugs, and it’s still going around.  Especially be praying for Chanine; she has been sick pretty much the entire trip.

·         For our classes next week—the former arch bishop of the Australian Anglican Church is coming this coming week to teach us about mission theology.  Pray that we are all healthy, awake, and ready to learn!

·         For unity—that we continue to work together and get along…for no tension between personalities, and for love for each other.

·         For God to continue to reveal His will for our lives.

·         For all other interns in Washington DC, Africa, Fiji, and the upcoming Asia internship.