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.