So not a ton has happened since the last time I wrote but we have done some more sharing around Sports City as well as doing Followup with a group of girls Tuesday afternoon. Kristin, one of the team members was meeting with a group of about 7 girls and Michelle and I tagged along. These girls had already accepted Christ when they were younger but we were doing a Bible study with them to get involved and deepen their faith. In the follow up there is a section where it asks, if you were to die today how sure are you that you would go to heaven? This is a good question to ask yourself as well. Most of the girls were shy and didn't know how to respond but for those who did, they responded with like 50% or 75%. It was interesting to hear the reasoning behind their responses, because they know that they sin each and every day but the amazing thing is that no matter how much we sin, Christ died for us that if we accept him into our lives we can be 100% sure that we will spend eternity with Christ! That truely is amazing grace that we are given!

We ended sharing time short on Tuesday because we were helping out the Assembly of God church in Flagstaff hand out the Jesus film to Indian families in the area. We split up into small groups and headed out to talk to the families and hand out the DVD's and comment cards. We asked them to fill out these comment cards to see their thoughts about the video. We will be following up with this and collecting the comment cards on Friday. At night we had a group talk about how we can live a Spirit-filled life. Bill led this discussion and it was a fun and good lesson to learn about and talk about with each other. Many Fijians came to this and we learned about how we can truely live a life for Christ. Afterwards many people went to the movies and watched Men in Black because movies here are REALLY cheap. I, however, did not go to the movie and chose to hang back and pay some games with a few others who didn't go. We played the longest game of Uno and Skipbo that I have ever played, but we had a lot of fun just hanging out, telling funny and embarressing stories, and just getting to know each other on a deeper level.

Today (Wednesday) we spent the day together as small group Bible studies in the morning. We had lunch together, caught up on how everyone was doing, and spent time in the Word together. This was a really good time for me as we really shared our deep thoughts and feelings that we are having. This trip has really been a changing experience for me as I have been more open about everything that has happened in the past and being vulnerable. It's really encouraging to see how everyone responds and is there to listen to what you have to say now matter how happy, sad, embarressed, or guilty you may feel. This is how we spent the majority of our day is with our Bible study groups. We hung out until dinner where we broke up into different groups depending on what team you are on. There is the socials team, outreach team, prayer and praise team, and encouragement team which is what I am a part of. This was really encouraging tonight as we all shared how we really feel and how we have felt encouraged in the past week. We shared ideas on how we can make sure everyone on the team is encouraged and spending time focusing on encouragement and making everyone feel involved all the time. This was really great for me as it made me open up and really share how I am encouraged best. Everyone needs encouragement and likes being encouraged but not everyone feels it all the time. We spent over 2 hours eating dinner and sharing thoughts and ideas and just had a good time being completely open and honest about everything.

Continued prayers for the team's unity, health, and safety, as well as the people at USP who have not allowed us on the campus to witness. Pray that their hearts may be open and they will keep allowing the Stinters and Connection to be held on campus.

So I have made it back to the internet cafe to keep up with the blog..which is pretty impressive seeing as I really do not like writing but I am actually getting into this blogging thing. =)

Since I last wrote not a lot has happened.The scariest thing has happened so far and that occured right after I wrote to you all last. We left the internet cafe and grabbed some McDonald's on the way back. We walked back because it is not to far from the city. Kristin, Rachel, and I were walking down the backroads that lead to the hotel and there were some guys in a sports car sitting outside the club. They said Bula to us and it is normal to say Bula back otherwise you seem rude. So I gave them a slight wave and we kept on walking but when we turned down the next road we saw them drive past us, park, and rool down their windows to watch us. We thought is was weird but kept on walking because we were almost back. We turned down the next road and we were on the hotel road almost back when I saw a car coming up behind us again. It was the same car as earlier and it drove past us, parked in front of the hotel, rolled down their windows, and watched us walk/run into the hotel. This was very scary because this year many of us have been followed which is not normal for Fiji. But we were safe and haven't seen that blue sports car since.

Saturday we woke up and watched the guys play rugby for a while before all of us girls headed out to Mugs and Muffins at the Stinter girls apartment. Mugs and Muffins is an event where a group of girls meet together and just enjoy an afternoon drinking coffee, tea, water, etc. and eating muffins (which were really cupcakes), and banana breads and scones. We had fellowship with each other for a while before Jane talked to all of us on relationships. This was a really good talk as we realized that we can't always wait for other people to initiate the conversations or wait for them to ask what our name is before we ask them. It went into more detail but that was the part that stuck with me the most, because I know that I tend to wait for others to talk to me instead of going up to them first. At night the group went to an event called Synergy. I can't really give you much detail on what happened because I stayed back at the hotel and slept because I was sick. It was a huge bummer but it was fun to hear all the stories from the group when they got back. We spent the rest of the night just playing card games and hanging out which is the usual around here at night since it gets dark around 6pm.

Sunday seemed really normal for me. Most of the group went to Calvary church but a few of us hung back and went to Kyle's church that he normally attended. The service really reminded me of back home because it was small and was the same kind of worship I am used to. The Fijians were very welcoming and loved to talk to us and hear about our time in Fiji so far. We didn't get much of a Fijian experience of going to the other church but we really enjoy our time and the sermon was great. It was focused on 2 Timothy. We went back to the hotel and asked how the other groups experience was and found out that it was not good at all. They learned about speaking in tongues and they all said it was not Bible based at all and the person speaking was basically yelling at them. Needless to say they will probably be looking at a different church next week.

After church we got to participate in the real Fijian culture. We went to Colie's house and went to a Lovo. This was very different from anything we are used to back home. A lovo is a big hole in the ground where all the food is cooked in. When we arrived a bunch of the guys were drinking what is called Cava, which many of you have heard about from Kyle. Normally the guys are the only ones who drink it and if they drink enough that is what they consider their alchohol. But, it is part of their tradition so all of the guys in our group tried it once just to see as well as some of the girls from our group. The guys were a lot better at hiding how absolutely disgusting this drink was than us girls. I tried it and it was the most disgusting thing I have ever drank in my life. If any of you guys want to know what it tasted like then go out, grab some mud, mix it with water and then drain out the extra dirt. Afterwards, drink it and that is basically what it tasted like! We then ate dinner which consisted of a bunch of different foods that they typically ate. I tried some of it but after being sick the night before and then trying cava I wasn't too interested in tasting too many different things. I ate a lot of chicken which was really good, yet here in Fiji you need to watch out for bones. They don't take the meat off the bones at all, instead they chop all the meat up including the bone and serve it so you get used to spitting out any bones that may be in your food. I also tried some type of tree fern leaf which I did not enjoy much at all. It looked like green beans at first but when you ate it, it was chewy and really crunchy and rubbery. Some of the other foods they had were sweet and sour fish, rolls, lamb, and a few other interesting foods. Some of the food was really good while others were not good at all. We finished lunch and then just hung out with all the Fijians and played games, sang songs, or just talked. This was really fun and it was really cool to get to know more of the Fijians and just spend time as a large group.

Sunday night we ended the night by going to McDonald's and just spending some time with a little smaller group just talking and eating some good American food. After being here only a week I cannot wait to go back home and eat a HUGE juicy steak..so Mom, you better have that ready for me when I get home, PLEASE!! PB & J has become the normal lunch, dinner, and snack food so that we can save some money but you can only have it so many times before it just seems disgusting. We went back to the hotel and played some SkipBo and spent some time in smaller groups which here in Fiji you need. You can be the biggest extrovert in the world but everyone needs down time..it has taken me time in Fiji to really figure that out. A group of us went up to one of the bigger rooms where we all began singing songs and praying together as a group for our time here in Fiji. This was really cool that our group can just spend time with the Lord and just enjoy being together at the same time.

Today was our free day. We all slept in which to most, including me, was only until 9:30. We spent time hanging out at the hotel in the morning and at 12:30 a large group of us along with some of the Fijian guys went to the waterfalls. We spent all afternoon out there and we had a blast. Enjoying an amazing walk through the woods and see all of God's creation was really cool. We got to the waterfalls and there were a bunch of mini ones that led into little pools. At the very end of the path there was a rope swing and a larger pool that we could swim in. The water was freezing but after a few jumps off the rope swing you got used to the water quick. I believe that we all jumped off at least once and had a really fun time jumping and taking fun pictures. There was one downside and that was when Jane, who is one of our leaders, decided she wanted to try the ropeswing as well which didn't turn out so well for her and she broke her finger on the first try. She went to the hospital with one of the girls and finally made it back to the hotel just a little while ago. We came back and we were all starving and I was craving some BEEF! 4 of us went back to the hotel to quickly shower and clean up before going to dinner at the Bad Dog Cafe which served some good American foods. The burger was delicious and even though it was not beef from home it was the best burger I have had in a long time. We just spent some time eating and talking about our day and then headed over to the internet cafe which is where I am at now. But what is a walk without some guy asking us our names and us responding with fake names? lol




Please keep praying for team unity, good health, and safety for all of us here in Fiji.

That is all I have for you all right now but I wish you all the best back home and I can't wait to be able to share stories with you all in person! Love you all!

Hello again!!!

Words absolutely cannot express how amazing my time has been here and it has only been like 4 days!!!

Yesterday was kind of a relaxing day where we went back to Sports city to share our faith again and meet with our disciples. My disciple for the time that I am here is Meredith who is a Stinter here for the year. We had a really good time hanging out and getting to know each other on a deeper level. It is amazing to see how many similarities we have and how we can support each other as we are here together in Suva. I spent my afternoon with her at her apartment and not as much time out sharing but it was still an amazing day. 

Thursday nights here are AWESOME! We go to a thing called Connections on Thursday night where we meet with all the kids in Student Life and all the leaders and new brothers and sisters in Christ. We have met with so many people and so many students have already asked the Lord to come into their life and take control! So far in just 2 days we have had over 20 new believers join us as part of God's family and it's amazing to see their eagerness to learn and hear more about the gospel. At Connections we began the night with a few icebreakers to have a good time and meet new people. We played a game called Kitty Kitty Meow Meow which was very fun as well as loud! We then taught all the Fijians the Electric Slide dance and had a blast laughing and dancing along side of them and seeing all their faces light up. It was great to see all our brothers and sisters in Christ come together and laugh and talk to each other. We followed this with a time of worship where we sang praises to our Almighty God! This was so cool to just have a time of praise and worship together with people from all different places in the world! A few students then shared their testimonies with the group and they saw how everyone has different stories and that nobody is perfect but with God's love and Christ dying on the Christ for our sins he set us free and gave us new life in him! Through His son dying we can have a personal relationship with him and grow closer to our Lord. We closed the meeting and talked with some girls who I became very close with. 

Our group then went star gazing at one of Kyle's favorite places. God is awesome and it is absolutely amazing to see his creation so close! The stars here seem so close and there are so many! It's crazy to think that the stars we see here are the same stars you will see just after us. We get the first glimpse since we are 16 hours ahead of you. After star gazing a group of us went back to the hotel to just hang out and play games, as well as share stories from the day. 

Today (Friday) has been the most exciting day I have had yet. We started the day with a long time of prayer and diving deeper into God's word. After we went to Sports City to begin a time of sharing as we will do most days. Rachel Sauer and I walked around with one of our Fijian friends whose name is Nancy. We started talking to these 2 girls who were having lunch and shared the Knowing God Personally booklet. They were very shy at first but loosened up and started talking and answering questions more. We got to the end of the booklet and asked where they were at in their faith. One of the girls said that she was a Christian and had accepted Christ when she was about 11 but the other girl had not yet asked Christ to take over her life. We asked her if she would like to pray and ask Him to come into her life, if she would open the door to her heart and let him in and Etta said YES! We prayed with her and will hopefully get to meet with her again next week to go over Followup number one and answer any questions she may have. 

We started walking around again because they had to go to class and Nancy wanted to call one of her friends to have us share the KGP (Knowing God Personally) with her. Her friend Maria came and we sat down and asked her about her life and faith. She told us how she knew of Christ and so we went over the KGP with her and she was very excited and into it. She responded with lots of questions and at the end she prayed that Christ would come into her heart also! She was VERY excited and kept reminding us to call her next week so that we can all meet and go over the next step with her. We hung out with her and had some ice cream before she headed back to class. 

God has been making himself known in such amazing ways and I love being part of sharing his Word. Please keep our team and all our new brothers and sisters in Christ in your prayers that their faith may grow and that we may be able to answer any questions they may have. Pray for strength and knowledge that we may have answers for them and they may see Christ love showing through us and that they may grow and share their faith with their friends. 

Thank you for all your support and encouragement as we are here in Fiji. Vinaka to you all!! 

Blessings from Fiji! =)

BULA from Fiji!

I am starting a blog where I can share my adventures and stories with all of you back home. This will happen every few days maybe because we do not have the luxury of having internet all the time but I will try to share my experiences and talks that I have with you as often as I can.

So on Monday we arrived in Suva, Fiji and I cannot explain how amazing it is to be here. The minute we got off our plane we were welcomed with open arms by all the Fijians and it was amazing to see how loving and warm they were! We then got on a bus and took a 3 hour bus ride into Suva where we will be staying for 5 weeks. The ride was bumpy and the driving here is CRAZY! They drive so fast and swerve in and out of traffic with these huge buses. When we made it to our hotel where we are staying at we all went straight to our rooms and fell asleep instantly because of how tired and worn out we were from traveling for 40+ hours. 

Our Tuesday started off very entertaining as my roommate, Rachel Sorrell was straightening her hair and her converter popped and started smoking. It as a good time and we have been getting along great. We love talking together and praying together every night before bed. We officially began the day with our time with the Lord where we go find a quiet place to just spend time diving into God's word and praying about this trip and what God has in store for us while we are here. After that we got to meet all the STINTERS who have been here since the beginning of the year and meet some of the Fijians whom they have been meeting with and talking to. This was a really fun experience to meet them and hang out with them for the afternoon. We split into groups and had a Fijian or 2 in each group and began our mini scavenger hunt around the city where we learned where important places were and figured out what we will be doing during the 6 weeks that we are here. It was a huge bummer to find out that we as a group are not allowed on the USP campus but we have been praying that the Lord will open up other doors to where we can witness and spread the gospel. 

Wednesday, which is today we woke up and had a praise and worship time followed by a short talk led by one of our leaders. We are focusing on the book of Galatians and really spending time learning and talking about ways that we can spend time with God and how we can really study His word. So many times we get distracted or don't have time, or think we know all we need to know and that is completely false. You can learn something new EVERY time you read the Bible and study God's word. It's amazing to see the truths and see how we long for the Word and thrive on it. Following our talk we split into our Bible study groups and went out to begin our first day of meeting and starting conversations with students around the campus. Since we are not allowed on campus we will be spending a lot of time in a place called Sports City where there are many food shops, and little stores where the Fijians hang out at during the breaks between classes. Today I tried the minceloaf which is a loaf of bread with ground beef (mince) and potatoes and curry on it. It was different and not something I would eat often but it was fun to try something new. Tonight we are meeting in 4 different groups which will meet every Wednesday night. This has been an amazing experience so far these first few days and I am so excited to see what God's plan for us in the next few week's will be. Please pray for our group and the Stinters that we can find opportunities to share the gospel even while we are not allowed on the USP campus. A HUGE thanks to everyone who has supported me financially or through prayer as I could not have had this opportunity without any one of you. Vinaka! (not sure if it's spelled correctly, but that means "thank you" in Fijian!)