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).
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| We had a bumpy and long ride to Navala. We traveled about an hour or more on this rocky road. |
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| Here is a shot of the entire village. I was in a valley in the mountains...super far away from any other town. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| Rows of Bures. |
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| Here is a bure being built. |
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| This is the family that Billy visited. |
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| 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!
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| 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)
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