Week 3!

Monday afternoon we were supposed to go to the beach but our plans were cancelled due to rain and clouds. This is the end of the rainy season and it seems as if all the rain is coming down at once. We hung out at the hotel till about noon when it finally started getting sunny and warm, so we all ran to our rooms and got our suits on. After 2 1/2 hours in the sun I finally got some sunshine and tanning in which I was really excited about! Monday night we all went out to dinner and just hung out.

Tuesday was an awesome day because FNU, the Nasinu campus, started back up and we finally had somewhere new to begin sharing at. I went out sharing with Josh and we talked to a group of girls, about school and life and just tried to get to know them first. Afterwards, I felt a little bad that Josh was stuck in a group of all girls so we went and found a group that had some guys in it too. This was fun because I talked to the girls and they were already meeting with one of the Student Life leaders every Tuesday night, so we just spent our time hanging out and talking about the United States and Fiji. This is a common topic here in Fiji because they like to hear the differences in weather and foods that we have. Tuesday was very sunny and Fijians do not like being out in the sun at all so after a while these girls left to go sit in the cafeteria where they weren't out in the direct sun. I caught up with Nick, Bobby, and Derrick and we found this group of students that were playing volleyball so we joined them. This was really fun because I miss playing American sports and they were very welcoming. The only downer to the game was that they did not have an actual volleyball so we played with a soccer ball which really hurts every time you hit it. If anyone spiked the ball hard we just would let it hit the ground so we didn't have to get hurt. I plan on taking a volleyball with me when I go back tomorrow (Friday). Derrick, Josh, Bobby, and I went out for dinner afterwards and shared our life maps with each other. In the afternoon we had Bible study for the Summer Project group and Fijians. This is always a fun time as we go deeper into the gospel and talk about it with each other. On Tuesdays the movie theater plays movies really cheap, $5 Fijian which = about $2.75 American. I have not gone to a movie while in Fiji because I don't like the idea of being in Fiji and sitting in a movie theater with Fijians when I would rather get to know them in the short time that I am here. A group of us stayed back and played Scum which is the go-to large group game to play at night.

Wednesday is our Bible study day and our group went to Tappoo and ate at the food court there and did our lesson. Our lesson was about Convictions, Persuasions, and Opinions. This was a really cool to talk about and learn things that I hadn't really even thought or heard about before. We also talked about Galatians some more. April, Rachel Sauer, and I went to MHCC afterwards, which is the mall here, and got some groceries and other random items that we needed before walking back to the hotel. When we got back Rachel Sauer and I had the brilliant idea to go for a run together since we are both NOT natural born runners. It turned out to be really good, we ran a little over a mile, and even though we were sore the next day it was totally worth it and we will go out again! We had to get back in time for our team dinners where my group talked about how we thought our team was encouraging each other this past week and what else we could do to make everyone feel encouraged. We ended with sharing 1 persons life map which we hope to do every week. We headed back to the hotel and caught up with Jane and some of the other leaders. We talked to Jane about her finger and she had gone and had it fixed that morning and was doing great! She finally has a straight finger and now just has to wait for it to heal which is a huge blessing! We were all kinda tired when we got back so we played some Euchre with the guys but then Rachel, Rachel, Marcia, and I went back to my room and taught my roommate, Rachel Sorrel, how to play euchre. She caught on very quickly and now can go back and show her family that she knows how to play.

This leads us into today, Thursday. When we woke up this morning it was sunny and nice and within an hour it was down pouring and rained most of the day. I ate lunch with Merideth and we had our discipleship time together. She told me that the Stinters officially got the boot and are no longer allowed onto the USP campus. The Student Life organization is no longer allowed to meet on campus at all, but we are tring our best to find other places to share. I only had a raincoat because Kyle said that was all I needed, although he denied ever saying that this afternoon. I got completely SOAKED which riding on the bus to Sports City to meet Maria for follow up. Water had gotten into my raincoat even though it was zipped up completely and my shirt was soaked. It turned out to be fine and our meeting with Maria went really well! She was one of the girls that accepted Christ after we had talked to her and she had lots of questions she wanted to ask. She thought it was the coolest thing that once we accepted Christ into our lives that we now had the right to be called children of God. She just assumed that everyone was a child of God when actually when we are born we are creations of God but not his children until we accept him into our lives. Another thing that she thought was really cool was that God never leaves us. Even if we don't want God in our lives, or we sin big time, or we just stray away God never leaves. Once you accept him, he is always in your life and you will always have a relationship with him, the thing that is broken is your fellowship with God. The illustration that we always share is that if you are really mad or angry at your parents and decide to move really far away, does that mean that your parents aren't your parents anymore? NO! They will always be your parents no matter what and you will always be their son or daughter but your fellowship with them is broken. If you came back they may be a little upset with you but they will still love you and welcome you back with open arms. It's the same way with God. No matter how far away you try to get you will still be his child if you accepted him and he will always try to get you back. When you do return he will welcome you with open arms! Our God is amazing and he gives us so much grace! This was my favorite part of the day because she was so interested and into learning more that I cannot wait till we meet with her again next week. We had dinner at Bad Dog Cafe, which we go to ALL the time and now I am here at the internet cafe.

Please continue to pray for our team. Many of us are tired and the newness of being in Fiji has warn off. Pray for rest and motivation to go out and spread the Word. Also pray for the Student Life organization and that we may find a way to get it allowed on campus again. Pray for this Glenn Pope guy as he is doing anything in his power to knock us down and get us away.

Thank you all for your prayers and support! Moce (Goodbye)! (That word is actually pronouced mo-th-e)