Announcing:

After a few solid months of praying and planning, I can now finally say that I'm heading to India next year to live and work.  There'll be a full post soon about the details of the work I am going to be doing and how to get involved, but for now, I'm excited about what is to come, and busy with all the preparation, and sad to be leaving!

Something I read today:

"Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,

        (and go where?)

To a land that I will show you."

(Gen 12:1) with commentary

These are the days!

We will rejoice and be glad in them!

The past few weeks has been a wonderful time of life and ministry.  I've enjoyed the many delights of ministry, as well as all the bonus catch ups and coffees on the side!

Ministry at Church has been a wonderful encouragement.  A few priceless moments:

Conversation in the back of my car between two teenage girls: "I used to be like that once, but I realised that I had to change my attitude towards them."

Super shy boy: "Joy, I just really need to talk to you sometime"

One leader: "I'd really love to meet and read the Bible with him."

Thirteen year old: "How do I live for Jesus' Kingdom in every day life?"

Being on campus is always a highlight.

- a really cool gospel conversation with some international students

- a couple that I read the Bible with became Christians last week

- new Bible reading groups and a chance to read the Bible with a new friend

And every day life has so much joy and delight:

Monday evening walks by the creek

Spent a couple of sweet days with Olivia and Sabrina from America

Footy Times

Took some of our youth group up to the Northern Suburbs to visit a Church, visit a Mosque and meet some refugees living in the area.  A great time of learning and serving.

Had a sweet catch up with the Vines family: chatting about ministry - current opportunities and new ones, played with guinea pigs, did school pick ups and more!  So great to see old friends!

Moved back into "my mum's basement" - Japanese style!

Coffee Times - and heaps of them!

~ waiting.....

Pacific Internship 9

What did I learn:

I find reflection and processing really difficult.  I need to talk things through for me to work things out.  I'm so thankful that God's given me so many great and gentle opportunities to begin to talk about our internship.  At first, I was totally overwhelmed by how you even begin to unpack what went on, but as people would ask questions, and I would begin to talk, I began the reflection process.  Here are the two main things I can articulate that changed for me over the six weeks.

Firstly, I was challenged about my attitude towards evangelism.  I am always open for opportunities to share my faith with people, and I even try to put myself in situations where I will meet people who aren't Christians.  BUT, I would kind of just hang out with them, wait for them to ask me questions, try and be godly, and be happy just hanging out in that safe zone.  I was so challenged while we were away, that you actually need to be intentional in your relationships.  There is actually a bigger picture and agenda going on in life, and that people might come to acknowledge Jesus as King and glorify him!  If that is the case, then I need to have that same agenda.  I remember an incident so clearly, which just changed my thinking.

We were at the airport waiting to board our flight back to Fiji.  There were two Aussie girls in line with us.  I was just chatting with them, finding out why they live in Fiji, what they do, all those kinds of things.  We chatted for a little while, and after we went through and said goodbye, Langdon asked me, 'Joy, did you get an opportunity to share with those girls.'  And my immediate thought to myself was, 'Umm...no?  Why would I do that?'  I was just chatting with them, they were strangers, I was just being friendly...why would I ever try and talk about Jesus with people I was just standing in line with...  

Even as I write it here, I feel so ashamed of what I was thinking!  It wasn't until we came back to Fiji, I was wrestling through how it's possible to be intentional about being open to having conversations with people.  I think it's the difference between 'doing evangelism' and 'living evangelism'.  I was happy to get into evangelism mode as long as it was this set time of day where I was in the zone...but praying for opportunities in every day life...and then taking those opportunities that God affords, well that's totally different!  I've been so challenged by this, and I've been praying a lot about how I can live like this here in Australia.  Just being aware of the possibility of conversation, of moving the conversation towards Christian things, of asking good questions, then actually sharing the gospel with people!  Wow!  It's awesome!



Secondly, I was totally encouraged, challenged, blessed, confronted by the way God is at work in life.  I believe in a sovereign God, in control and ordaining all areas of life.  What I experienced while I was away was that God was also intimately involved in all the tiny areas of life.  I started to notice this change on the day I was in the rain waiting to meet the girl to share with her, and I prayed that God would bring someone along who he had been working with, and that was when we met the guy who had already met members of our team.  Read the full story here!  I was blown away by how obvious it was that God was at work in the whole situation.  Then I started to think about this some more.  For me, it was so clear that God had brought me to Fiji...if it was up to me, I had a million reasons to be in Australia, but I wasn't - I had 6 weeks in Fiji.  Wow!  What was God going to do over those 6 weeks.  Well, if my agenda is to become more like Christ, and to faithfully share the gospel with those in life, then I had a very small window of time here in Fiji, to pursue those two things.  Then I started to think bigger.  Wow!  God has me exactly where he wants me to fulfil his purposes in and through me!  The implications of this are endless.  God has me and has brought me, to exactly the point in life where he wants me, so that God might be at work in my life, wow!  All the things I'd been reflecting about in terms of my identity and who I am suddenly fit into this big picture of God, at work achieving his purposes, but in an intimately involved way.  He loves me and his purpose and plan and timing will always be perfect.  It brings two massive implications straight away: firstly, contentment.  If I know this, then contentment becomes the most natural response.  It's not about me and my life, it's about God's big plan for the world, and the way he is using me in that.  Secondly, an awareness of God in life.  Just the way he provides opportunities and the way he uses the circumstances he has placed me in to be a witness around me.  I love that I've been able to know and enjoy God more over these last 6 weeks!

Pacific Internship 8

How do I ever begin to explain everything that has happened over these last 6 weeks.  We reflected last night on how easy it would be to go home, to withdraw from normal life, because it's too hard to go from here and explain what has happened, and it's too hard when you miss everybody.

How do you begin to explain what it feels like to sit for slabs of hours, soaking up Scripture and reflecting on application.  How do you begin to explain how it feels when someone you've been sharing with, comes to Christ.  How do you begin to explain the community you've enjoyed when you can't really understand it unless you were here.

Withdraw, enjoy in quietness, reminisce ... I'm determined not to do that.  I'm determined to do everything I can to be able to share this experience as a witness to others.  Because it's only in sharing that I will really be able to reflect and work through this experience in the context of reality.

How do I feel?  I'm sad to leave.  I'm sad that this time is drawing to an end.  I'm sad that the relationships I've enjoyed for 6 weeks, won't be the same ever again.  I have loved, enjoyed and shared with so many different people.  We know each other better than people in Melbourne know me.  We've served together, prayed together, 'angsted' together!  We've had to work through issues, chat through problems, engage with Scripture.  It's been everything I love about life and ministry.  And now it's finished!  

Our last 24 hours together: we had devotions, went to town for pizza, enjoyed new experiences, shared the ways God has worked in us, had a dinner feast, celebrated a birthday, had thank yous, danced, sat by a bonfire, roasted marshmallows to perfection, watched the stars, had last conversations, had a sleepover altogether, shared last minute angst (of course!), hugged and cried (I didn't cry), slept (maybe an hour tops), hugged some more!!

Some of our friends have left already...it's sad.  The rest of us are about to enjoy our last meal together before we fly out in a few hours. 

It's time.  Time to come down off the mountain.  Time to get on with the job.  It's time to see what God is going to do in life in Melbourne!  It's exciting!!

- Joy

Pacific Internship 7

Today, we had to fill out our evaluation for the internship.  What should probably have taken an hour max - took me over 3 hours.  I really enjoyed filling it out (most of it) and enjoyed working through my reflections and thinking through different things.

One of the things it really helped me to do was to begin to think about how the internship has impacted me, and how am I ever supposed to communicate those impacts to people back home!  So much has happened and so much has changed, and I'm still trying to put all that together and process it all, let alone being able to share that with others.  It's exciting to think through though!

So, tomorrow is really our last day together before we all fly out on Saturday.  This week has been a helpful week of study and training, but also a valuable week to begin wrapping up. I'm still not totally figured out, but getting there.  I want to be totally at peace with where I am up to by the end of tomorrow.  We'll see!

One story:  So we went out on OJT one afternoon this week and after visiting a friend in the market, we went into Chicken Express to get a coke.  While we were in there, I said to my team, 'Ok guys, we can't just hang out in here, let's talk to someone!'  So we spoke to the closest guy, who turned out to be from Vanuatu!  We were able to ask him a few questions about himself, and we learnt that he went to church every week, read his Bible regularly and wanted to live the Bible's way.  I wasn't sure if he was a true Christian or if he was trusting in his works for salvation, so we shared the truth of how Jesus saves, and Jesus alone!  And he said, 'Yes! That's what I believe!'  Awesome!  We didn't have a lot of time to continue the conversation, so we shared some details with him, so he could connect with people back in the church in Vanuatu.  We gave him a gospel tract which explained the truth we had shared.  He loved it, so he took another one to share with someone else.  It was a really encouraging time talking and sharing with this man!!

And this photo is not posed...it's just a sneaky shot I talk while I was sharing!

Pacific Internship 6

Two Conversations:

(While we've been out on OJT in Lautoka we've been able to witness the amazing way God moves in the lives of lost people here.)

We visited a household yesterday where we met a husband and wife.  The husband grew up in a Christian family, but when his parents died, his Hindu family members took him in and he became a Hindu.  The mother grew up in a Muslim family, went to a Christian Church as a young woman, but then, when she married this man, converted to his religion, because "We cannot worship two different religions in one household."  They welcomed us into their home and we shared with them for over an hour.  We were able to present the gospel to them as we learnt more about them and their faith.  It was amazing how receptive they were to the gospel and the truth of Jesus, even though they had another religion.  As I prodded further on this issue, they shared about how they weren't really convicted Hindus.  They didn't go to Temple much.  They prayed sometimes.  They also prayed to the true God sometimes.  It was amazing to see how easy it is to water down the different religions here and live in harmony together (even intermarry) considering that these different religions are so opposed.

After sharing the gospel with them, we talked about what saving faith in Jesus means.  We shared the costs of following Jesus.  We talked about the transfer of trust from other religions to Jesus.  We dialogued with them about what it means to commit your life to relationship with God.  It was such an exciting conversation.  Soon we needed to head back, but we left them with a small gospel of John, and we took their details and made plans to come back the next day!  We prayed that afternoon that the Holy Spirit would convict their hearts to seek God and that He might show mercy on them and save them.

This morning, we went back to the home.  I was a little bit more shy this time, because I wasn't sure how they were going to receive us.  They opened the door wide and welcomed us inside.  We asked them whether they had had some time to talk about things from yesterday.  After talking a little bit, Shabina (the wife) shared about how difficult it was to make a decision about committing to Jesus.  There are so many religions here in Fiji, that she was struggling with the life changing implications that the call of the gospel makes on your life.  They said they were desperately trying to seek the truth. If there are all these possible religions, then they want to know the truth.  I was so encouraged by their thirst for truth.  It was amazing to see the way they were so hungry to find truth and to seek the true God.  We encouraged them to continue seeking, to continue the searching, not to settle in apathy or to just wait around.  We prayed for them, and arranged for our friends from the Church will meet them to start to read the Bible with them.  I wish so much that I can stay in Fiji just to keep up that relationship with them!


So, as we said goodbye and headed back to Church.  Then, as I was walking back, I heard someone shout 'Joy!'  I looked around and saw Garrett grinning from a porch.  We walked up and said 'Bula' to the Muslim couple he was chatting with on the porch.  It was so cool!  They pulled up more chairs and I ended up having an amazing conversation with Irene, the wife.  We talked all about Jesus, who is God, who makes it possible for God to forgive sin, who lived and died (yes truly died) on the cross to save us.  She had a Catholic background but had converted to Islam when she married her husband.  She asked some really great questions, and I was amazed by the openness of the conversation.  They had previously met other members of our team, so we arranged a time to bring them back.  That afternoon, we went back again and they invited us onto the porch again.  It was great.  We sat and listened as they shared about their life in Fiji, their beliefs about Islam, their disappointment at some Christian youths who had damaged their mosque.  They shared about how Fijian Islams don't strictly follow the Koran, don't hold to Sharia Law and don't approved of the extremests.  My friend Garrett had been in ministry in a Middle Eastern country with Muslims and was enjoying sharing with them.  We couldn't share the gospel in too much depth in these times, and we longed for more time here to meet with them and share some more.  We're praying that God will use this positive interaction with Christians to challenge them to consider who Christ is.  We are praying that there might be more Christians coming across their path and that as they continue to study and learn, they might realise the darkness they are living in, and confess that Jesus is Lord and King.


Praise God for the way He is working in Lautoka.  Pray for changing hearts and Christians here to go and spread the gospel and continue the ministry here.  Thank God for the way He has drawn people to Himself even this week! 

Pacific Internship 5

Wow, midway through Week 5 already!! Time, please slow down!  I'm overwhelmed with the burden of how every minute counts!  Wow, I need to value my time better in life back home, because it is such a precious gift!!  

Things we've been doing:

Clinic in Latauka!  We've been running an EE clinic in Latouka this week.  So that's where all our time is going.  We've had opportunities to teach and train local Church people here in how to share their faith.  We go out on OJT each day and enjoy meeting and sharing with the locals.

I taught a unit on Monday morning.  I really enjoyed it and had a great time teaching.  We spent all of late last week preparing for the clinic so it's been a lot of preparation.  We worked through all the teaching units and giving feedback for each other for how we were going.  It's been a really fun time!

On OJT this afternoon we door-knocked this home.  This family is a mixed Hindu/Muslim family, with Church influence from the past.  It was very nominal - they didn't go to temple or worship or anything.  We shared the gospel with them for about an hour and I was amazed by how receptive they were, how they engaged, how confronting it was when we spoke about the love of Christ displayed on the cross.  We look forward to meeting again tomorrow.  PRAY!

Last Friday was a sneaky rest day which we spent on an island nearby.  I spent most of the day snorkelling or just chatting in the sunshine.  It was a beautiful place and really refreshing after a big week inside, working hard.

It's windy.

Things I'm learning!

- We've been reflecting on the importance of investing your life for the cause of the gospel.  I've been challenged to think about the 'talents'/'bags' God has given me, and how I can leverage that for the most effective investment into the kingdom.  It's always been a challenge whether I will choose to build the kingdom of Joy or the kingdom of Jesus, but the call to build the kingdom of Jesus can be a huge call!  So I've been spending a lot of time thinking about who am I, how God has worked in the past, what kinds of things he's given me as 'talents'/'bags'.  Jesus makes big claims when he calls us to invest not in earthly things, but in heavenly things.  This has helped me be refreshed in the faithfulness of our good God who has worked in the past in amazing ways.  I'm now spending time thinking and praying over how I can most strategically and effectively use the resources God has given me, in the things God would have me do.  I'm praying that more and more His heart becomes my heart, and I continue to be impressed by the challenge of making the gospel number 1 priority!

Pacific Internship 4

Wow, the days fly by - it's ridiculous!  I can't believe I'm half way through week 4 already.  I'm totally not ready to come home yet, and so thankful for every day to come.  I'm valuing my time here more and more as each day goes past.

Wow, what a special opportunity to have this time in my life to be so intentional about seeking God and studying Scripture and sharing the Gospel.  I love how we go right back to basics and I love how I'm challenged in so many ways about how the gospel should be impacting life.

Things we've done:

We spent a weekend in a village, serving (and being served by) the local Church members.  It was an awesome time.  We had a youth rally where we met lots of youth groups from the region, performed our Meka (Fijian Dance) and get to know them and hang out together.  We painted a Church there, and spent time mingling in the village and in the community.  We killed a pig (yes that is true) and ate it the next day!  We also shared in the worship service that morning.  It was just a wonderful time to be away in the slowness and quietness of the village community, spend time thinking and praying and talking.

We've also had a week of preparation for an EE clinic we are running next week in a big city, Latouka.  I'm actually really excited about this opportunity.  It's been fun to divide up the teaching responsibilities and watch everyone step up and work hard and teach well.  We spent the whole day today practicing our teaching units in front of each other.  I loved listening to my friends, giving feedback and getting excited about the opportunity ahead of us.

We also did OJT (On the Job Training) with a small village church yesterday.  We took the trainees out to meet people in their village.  After trekking across a river, up through a sugar cane field, and over a hill, my group finally arrived at the house we'd planned to visit, only to find no one home!!  (Haha! So funny!)  Instead, I saw a man in the house behind, so we went up and spoke to the Hindu lady who lived there.  We had a wonderful time talking with her about what she believes and what she knew about Jesus.  It's always a challenge with Hindus here because many of them 'worship' Jesus, but as one of their many many gods.  Explaining saving faith in the context of transferring your trust to the One True God, becomes so important and we are trying to be so careful to explain that distinction carefully.  I really love conversations we get to have on OJT - I could (should) do it all the time!!!!

Things I'm learning:

I've spent a lot of time over the last week thinking and praying about the claims the gospel makes on my life.  As I'm thinking through how God has called me, as a Christian, to share the gospel, actively and intentionally, it makes me realise how it should be a number one priority in life.  I say these things a lot, but that's not good enough!  It has to be a reality in my life!  God has called me to Himself, to produce fruit for Him, and aside from the strategy side of things, I mean, come on! -  there are so many lost people, and we as Christians have this life on earth to share the good news with them.  I only have one short life to live, and I need to invest it well - intentionally!  Wow, big calls!  It's hard to think about the implications this might have on life.  I know that I've been slack about this in life, so I think the implications are massive!

There are so many things I delight in - but since being here, I've noticed a few things.  I love sitting in conversation with someone, even a stranger, and sharing about Jesus with this contact.  I love trying to understand them, and I love seeing them wrestling with the truth of the gospel.  I actually love doing the walk up evangelism thing.  It is hard, starting conversations, and trying to intentionally move the conversation, but I love it, and I get so excited as we share!  It's great!  I also love being in our team.  I love the conversations we have, and the chances to sit together and read the Bible and pray together.  I love hanging out talking, talking, talking - I could do it all day!! I love the community - I'm definitely sitting on top of the mountain (I don't really want to come down, but I know that I need to...come down off the mountain and get on with the mission!) I love the bread and pineapple!  I love sitting in the Bora trying to think and pray.  I love walking through the sugar cane field behind our centre.  I love the routine - three meals a day, quiet times and study, training etc.  I love our sneaky adventures.  I love the way we drink instant coffee, and just get on with life.  I love asking questions.

After

Before

Before

After 

Dancing the Meka in Church on Sunday

Crossing the river on the way to visit the village people

I'm happy every day!

- Joy

Pacific Internship 3

Vanuatu!

Before we went to Vanuatu, I really wasn't sure what I was expecting.  Now that we are back, I'm sitting quietly in the Bora thinking and reflecting on our week on mission together.  There were so many unreal experiences!  I thank God for the way he was at work.  A few thoughts on our Vanuatu times:

The Vibe:
I loved Vanuatu!  From the moment we landed, I felt so comfortable! The sky was grey, just like in Melbourne, there was a bit of a chill in the air (not cold, just cooler than Fiji!).  The people were friendly and fun - lots of hugs and easy to chat with.  We dressed in long skirts and dresses, and it was surprisingly fun and easy!!  The culture was relaxed and casual and people just seemed easy to talk to and friendly and approachable.

Christianity:
In Vanuatu, many many people go to Church.  The Presbyterian Church is very big and when you meet people on the street, it's very easy to get into a conversation about Church.  It's not a strange question to say 'Do you go to Church?' and the answer is usually 'Yes!'  A lot of people lack assurance in their salvation because they haven't properly understood the gospel and the work of grace that Christ has done on our behalf.  It's an interesting culture to be part of, and it's quite refreshing coming from Australia where the culture is fairly atheist and antagonistic towards Christianity.

One 'Quick' Story:
As we were being trained in sharing our faith, we would go out on On the Job Training (OJT).  One night we had a big rally where over a hundred people came.  We sang and did a dance and skit and things like that.  Afterwards, for our OJT, we followed up the people who came along.  I had been sitting at the front at one point, but then we were asked to spread out more amongst the group.  I moved to the back and sat next to a girl, Nicole.  So when it came time for follow up, I turned to Nicole and we started chatting.  (Then it poured with rain so we ran inside!!)  We kept chatting and I had a chance to share the gospel with her.  She believed the truth of the gospel, but she said she hadn't confessed her sin before God yet.  We talked about what that looked like and read 1 John 1:9 together. We talked some more and eventually, it was time for me to leave.  We made plans to meet up again in Port Vila the next day after she finished school.

The next day, it was pouring with rain.  Instead of going into Port Vila for OJT, a lot of our team stayed behind to wait out the downpour.  I know that if I hadn't made plans to meet with Nicole, it would be very likely I would have made excuses not to go out that day.  Instead, I took Emily (15yo) and Tom (16yo), from the Australian mission team, to go and find Nicole.  In my mind, my plan was that we would find her, meet her and go to a cafe and sit and chat for maybe half an hour and then come back.  It was pouring (like bucketing down with rain), and it's about a ten minute walk to town.  When it was time to leave, a random bus pulled into our hotel (it didn't even let anyone out, it just came in randomly).  We quickly grabbed it and jumped in and it drove us into town.  We jumped out of the bus, stood under the verandah and spent some time praying for our time ahead.  Then we ran round to this park where we'd planned to meet.  We found a shelter to stand under and we waited.  We had planned to meet at 3pm.  When it got to 3, we started to get excited that she might come at any minute.  We weren't in a hurry, because we knew how island time works!!  Ten past three, and Tom zipped up his raincoat and ventured out to see if he could find a girl waiting for us.  Twenty past three........Twenty-five past three.  I knew we weren't standing under a shelter for no reason, I knew God wanted us there, I was just bummed that we couldn't find Nicole.  So we prayed again, this time praying that for whatever reason God had us there, that he might bring someone for us to talk to.  I remember saying that when it got to 3:30, I would call Nicole's sister, Vicky to try and find out what had happened.  At 3:29, this guy, also in the shelter, came up to check on us.  We obviously looked lost and had been hanging out there for almost an hour now.  I asked him if we could use his phone to call our friend.  He said Yes, but he needed to get some credit, so he sent his friend off to buy credit.  While she was gone, I started chatting and found out that he was a Neevan who lived in Fiji and studied at uni there.  His name was Bryan.  I told him a little bit about us, and he said 'Oh, I think I know you'!  In my mind, I was like, 'Noooo you must have met an Australian somewhere......'  Then he said, 'At the airport on Saturday in Nadi, I met Nathan from Australia and he shared some stories and religious things with me!'  I was gobsmacked!  WHAT?!?!  He'd already met and heard the gospel shared from someone in our team!  Amazing!

The lady came back and said she hadn't been able to get the credit to work.  Bryan, went off to work it out, and while he was gone, Tom and Emily and I decided that we had an amazing chance to follow this guy up.  When he came back, I spoke to Vicky (it turns out that Nicole had come to the park but left because she couldn't find us.  I'm still not sure what went wrong there....) and while I was on the phone, Tom asked the guy about his chat with Nathan.  He said he'd listened to the stories and prayed a prayer.  After I got off the phone, I said to Bryan, 'Thanks so much for helping us out and caring for us.  We're going to the cafe, can I buy you a drink?'  He ummed and ahhed for a little bit and then agreed.  I told him to bring a friend, so he brought Raymond.  We went over the street and ordered cokes and lemonades and chips!  We chatted for a while about ourselves and talked about why we were here in Vanuatu.  They shared a little bit about themselves and their response to the gospel so far.  I shared a lot of my own story of trying to earn God's love and favour through good works, and it seemed to connect well with where these guys were coming from.  They both belonged to SDA Churches, so we talked about that a bit as well.  As we were talking, they told us they were still unsure of their eternal life with God, so we shared some more about how your goodness cannot save you, only trusting in the goodness of Christ and his death on our behalf. I shared how impacting Romans 5:8 had been for me, that Jesus died, not because people deserved it, but precisely because they didn't.  That is God's big love for us!  God is a Father who adopts a son - not a beautiful, innocent son, but an enemy and a hater - and brings him into his family and loves and cares for him.

Tom and Emily shared and engaged with these guys, who were both in their mid-twenties.  They shared the way Jesus took our sin upon himself and died for it, and that's what makes us righteous before God.  They engaged so relationally and lovingly with these guys, I was so proud and encouraged to be on mission with them!

After chatting for over an hour, we challenged them to take their sin seriously before God.  Stop trying to earn your salvation, but accept that you need Jesus to live, die and rise for you!  Neither of them had a Bible, and I had two in my backpack!  We gave them Bibles and exchanged details.  We took a photo together and then it was time to go.  As we left, we were rejoicing in the way God had worked out his perfect plan despite what we had expected would happen that day.  We spent some time praying together for the people we had met, trusting God to continue His work of salvation unto completion in them, and rejoicing for the way He is so sovereign!

One Encouragement:
I have been really challenged and encouraged in seeing the way my God is at work in such an intimate way.  While I was in Vanuatu, my prayers were very specific, and maybe at home, they are far more general.  It has been amazing seeing God answer specific prayers, and has just been an encouragement to me to continue praying specifically and seeking God specifically.

Something to pray for:
Please pray for the people I was able to meet in Vanuatu:
- Gideon and Joyce who are Christians but discouraged about the state of the church in Vanuatu and really hungry to grow in their love and knowledge of God
- Nicole who understood the truth of the gospel, but hadn't yet confessed her sin before God
- Bryan and Raymond that they might know the fullness of the grace of God in giving up Christ to the pay the full penalty for our sin

Please pray specifically that God might save those who are lost, that he might provide other Christians to support, challenged and witness, and that he might reform and build the Church in Vanuatu.

-Joy

After our conversation with Bryan and Raymond
 

Vanuatu!

Our OJT team in Vanuatu

My Aussie brothers Mitch and Matt on their last day with us!

After many delayed and cancelled flights, we finally made it onto the plane and back home to Fiji!

Pacific Internship #2

I'm sitting in the Bure with the Fijian girls preparing for dinner, the sun setting slowly behind me, the pigs grunting, and some of my new friends playing volleyball or quietly chatting.  The Training Centre where we live is just the most amazing place to study, talk and learn.  It's been awesome being here, and there's so many stories already, and so many more to come, which I plan to share over the next few weeks.

But firstly, here's what a 'normal' day looks like:

7:00am: wake up

7:30am: breakfast

8:00am: lock down quiet time

8:30am: we study together 'Called and Accountable'

9:00am: we break into prayer triplets

9:15am: morning devotions

10:30am: morning tea

11:00am: we start to study (whatever we're working on that day)

12:30pm: lunch

1:30pm: more study

3:30pm: whatever we have planned for that afternoon

6:00pm: tea

7:30pm: whatever we have planned for the evening/free time

Some of our team in our brand new Sarongs - ready to hit Fiji!

Here's a bunch of things we've done in the initial days:

- Myers Briggs Test (to understand more about our personality and things we should know about ourselves as we apply it to ministry

- XEE (gospel stories to help us to share the doctrines that the gospel involves)

- a little bit about Fijian culture and people (as we went into town yesterday and started meeting and connecting with people in the streets)

- Strengths Training (to define our areas of strengths and think through developing those strengths and using them suitably in ministry)

One Encouragement:

- There's heaps of people here to talk to with lots of different perspectives and ministry experiences.  I'm looking forward to talking more and more over the next few weeks.  It's amazing how many stories people have to share and it's encouraging to hear different thought processes and decisions that different people make in regards to ministry.

This is at our home!  We get to sit out on the deck
and look at this view all the time.  There's some beautiful
mountains and sugar cane fields!

One thing to pray about:

- When it comes to sharing the gospel, today we learnt four things:

1. ASK for God to give you opportunities to share (specific opportunities)

2. BELIEVE that God will show you people in life who you should meet and share with

3. CONNECT with people that you come across - get to know them, learn about them, care for them and love them - this may (or may not) be the person God wants you to share with

4. DARE to share the truth of the gospel with that person if they are willing to listen - there is never anything worth losing

Please pray for these opportunities to share the gospel (especially next week when we go to Vanuatu), and please pray for courage to speak in those times, and for clarity and words to say.  Please pray that God will save people in Fiji and Vanuatu.

This is a funny photo from today when Rod was teaching us,
and then the power went out...classic Fiji!

- Joy

Shepparton 2013

Over the long weekend, Sophia and I organised to take a few of our international students over to her home-town Shepparton (country Victoria).  There were 9 of us who went up for an overnight trip.

Country trips are nothing for me - in terms of distance and time - so our 24 hour trip was a buzz!  I love a good drive through the countryside, and my carload got the full guided tour (including the Rooster Tree!)


I was the only person in our group who couldn't speak Korean (ok, my one liners don't get me very far), so it was awesome for me to experience what it feels like when you are really only catching phrases based on names and body language.  They were so kind to me though - trying to explain their jokes and keeping me up with what was going on - which must have been a bit of a burden, but I was so grateful!

Despite learning that you definitely can survive, the language barrier did cause one small disaster which ended up with Mook and Me in the freezing swimming pool...

We had a night drive out of town to check out our great Southern stars!  We lay down on the road and searched for shooting stars.  Mook got to have his first drive in Australia, and we also took a night walk around the lake.

The weather was amazing both days!  Sunday had a friendly soccer game with some local kids at the park, and Monday, we visited the Fauna Park so everyone got to see the kangaroos!  We had a nice drive back through some farmland, with the sun shining, windows down, and the girls fast asleep in the back......

It was nice to take a day out of busy Melbourne life to spend with these guys and to get out of town!

Our crew

Our car was aptly named the 'Fun Car'

My new friend Jusin with the cockatoos

This is Dobee's impression of being in the car with me!

Last day with Jacob before he goes back to Korea

2 weeks to go...

Hello June!!

Yes!! I survived May!  I know for sure that it's God who sustains his people, because I ran out of steam three weeks ago!!

It's a really good feeling when I flick the page on my iCal, and can see all the busy-ness of the previous month just slide away, and a new fresh month in front of me!

May Moments:
- two weddings, one including Kitchen Teas, hens weekends, preparation, set up, pack up, etc
- multiple birthdays (including 4 Moody birthdays)
- moving house (including cleaning, packing, driving to Mornington, calling the cops!!)
- ministry - being undermanned because two leaders were away on their honeymoon, meant we were stretched for resources (things were done less efficiently, and less polished, but we made it!)

So, on the first day of June, I've got the morning free to gently enjoy my latte, start researching about Fiji, and just sit for a few minutes!  In the context of the last 48 hours, this is amazing!  So I flick my iCal and browse over the month to come - Cheers to June, and all the good times!

June Moments:
- Internship - Only 3 weeks till we leave for Fiji (to be honest, I haven't quite been in the zone yet, unless I'm specifically having conversations with people about it), but now that I have a bit of headspace, I'm getting really pumped!!
- 3 soccer games left, 2 Futsal games, 4 training nights
- wrapping up Youth group for the term
- Council breakfast on the day before I leave
- multiple birthdays
- Long weekend!! Yessss!!!  I'm sure some sneaky adventures will be planned!

I feel like everything now is either preparation for Internship, or closing off my things here, so that everything will be ready for when I leave.

Lilly's Hen's Night - at Brunettis

Bridal Party at Lilly and Lem's wedding

Taking this wedding to soccer!

Sneaky selfie with Sam at the wedding

Enjoyed the Autumn Days - particularly with my nephew!

Jordan came back from overseas

The second wedding - reading

With Kath at the wedding

Soccer carries on as usual - we're doing quite well

With my nephew Andrew at the wedding

Pacific Internship 1

I feel sorry for:

The Bass Player!!

Normally a very competent musician, perfectly playing a single line of music, never getting to play a solo, and still, he has to rock up for a good couple of hours of rehearsals, while the rest of the musical group fumbles over keys, works out intros and outros, and perfects their lines of music.

Still, an essential part of the music team, bringing the bass line out, and usually the best looking, we can't do without them.  How can we, then, as musos, learn to appreciate the time and quality of our bass players, without dragging them through the muck of music rehearsals...?

"Hey, just rock up for the last 5 minutes of practice and we'll go from there!"

It feels totally different.

Anyone who knows anything about me, knows that there are a few simple life principles that I like to hold to.  No one really knows how long that list is, but somewhere, wedged between number 27: "Don't ever touch my stuff" and number 49: "Always take a jacket" is one of the classics: "I hate celebrating my birthday".  I'm going to resist the urge to write about why and how I am not a 'birthday person', you can ask me later.  Instead, because I love a good over-the-top declaration any-day, I've come up with some changes for the mid-twenties.

1. I will not be ashamed of choosing to read on my couch, instead of going out with you.
The fact that I choose to spend my evening with an awesome book and a blanket, or begin my conversations with, "Got any books you could lend me", has been pretty amusing for some.  Even so far as becoming a reason for people to try out their wit:  "Hey, Joy, want to come out with us?  Or have you got your Grandma undies on today."  Now, I've crossed the line, I'm excited about how much literature I'll get through before I'm thirty.

2. I won't be surprised when little people get married.
It's not that they're so young that it blows my mind (early twenties is totally cool!!), it's more just that I forget how old I actually am.  It's definitely a new season of life to watch your friends, friends' little siblings, even old youth group kids get married!  It's exciting and it's cool!

3. I will not let you waste my time.
I've always been pretty tough on myself in terms of using time well, and making the most of opportunities.  One of the areas this falls apart is if you make poor investments.  I've been learning lately how to be strategic in who and how much to invest, and I'm not going to be embarrassed by this.  I have totally limited time and energy to give, and one of the hardest (saddest) things, is if that investment proves a waste.  This could prove a significant change in areas of ministry, a place where people expect you to invest no matter what, but I hope to be more strategic and pointed in what that might look like.  It will be good to be less broad and have more depth!  That's what I'm going for!

Cheers to the mid-twenties!

Reminding myself

Lately, I've been learning to live with a new strange feeling, something that I've never really known or experienced before.  The closest I can describe it is that feeling of being kicked in the guts...perpetually.  And it manifests itself in different ways.  It looks like clenched teeth and hands on my head, or doubled over holding my stomach.  It sounds like 'bummer', frustrated groans and sneaky 'whys'.

It absolutely does not mean that I feel it all the time, out of control, or in every context.

But it's real, and it hangs around.  It's the obvious response to circumstances and experiences.  But I'm determined to take every thought and feeling captive, and to trust that the experiences I undergo are going to be used to transform me more into the image of Jesus.  There's a lot of truth and promise that I know in my head, but I need to inform my feelings of these truths.  I know this to be true, but day to day, or night to night (where all good thinking happens), it's a constant battle.  A battle against selfishness and pride.  A battle to trust and to be content.  I don't know if this feeling will go away anytime soon, but knowing truth definitely helps - bit by bit!

I read this in an autobiography I've been wading through:

"When mountains move, the earth shakes.  Mountains are big and we are small.  A moving mountain can crush us.  Splinters fall from the cross.  They travel a long distance and they pierce the skin - maybe even the heart.  And wrapped in this risk and danger is God's embrace and promise to work all things to the good of those who love Him...Many of the 'things' we will face will come with the razor edges of a fallen and broken world."

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 2 Corinthians 4:17

Out there...

Today I drew this.  Here's how it works.

The centre square is my comfort zone.  It has four solid walls, carefully invested in and intentionally built.  It has a lot of room in it to move around, swing my arms, run and stretch.  Within that space, I am totally cool - I know my own limitations, I know exactly how to operate within the zone.  I know what to expect, and I know how to respond to it, in fact, I can probably predict the comings and goings of that square.  I am safe to be assertive, to be a driver, mover, leader...as long as we stay within the zone!

Move out one square.  This is a scary place.  People who meet me here, think I'm shy.  I can go here, but I often don't know what to do.  Will I say something wrong, will I do something wrong, will I step on someone's toes.  In this zone, you lead, you choose, I will do whatever you suggest!  Sometimes I venture here, and good things happen.  Sometimes I venture here and get lost, and revert back to the safe zone.  Things can move from this zone to the safe zone with time, and effort and intentionality.  But it's normally a slow process.

Move out one square (no don't!!!).  This is the danger zone.  This is the world beyond my comfort zone, and even my 'uncomfort' zone!  This crazy wild area, has no boundaries, but it doesn't need any because I never go there anyway!  Well, not alone anyway.  If someone from the safe zone takes me beyond my zones, then it's as though I'm operating in the middle zone, but doing something I never would have thought.  I really want to go here, because here, I am pushed to go beyond my boundaries and expectations, I find this whole world of experience open up.  The excitement of the unknown and starting from scratch, learning, growing - I want to go here.  I know I look for easy ways - Who will take me here, who will show me, teach me, help me.  But sometimes, the easy way out is not the answer.  And if it was easy, it would be the safe zone.  But it's not.  I can't go by myself.

Or maybe I can.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

Things I don't know enough about

With 2013 being the Year of the Bookworm, I'm really excited about getting back into reading.  Mind you, I've mainly been shredding novels and fiction over the last month, but I have great hopes of leaving space in my week to read more, and to read better!!

Instead, of taking the biggest book about the hardest and driest topic off the shelf, I've been collating a list of topics that I desperately need to know more about, and I will slowly work my way through some reading on these different topics.

I'm excited!!

- what's up with science and Christianity - I definitely don't know enough about it from a scientific perspective, and the questions just keep on coming...

- what does the Bible actually say about families - not in vague terms like 'covenant' and 'headship', but I really want solid Biblical principles, that can be applied in our context

- ethics (of course) - always fascinating, never as simple as we think ... need to read more

That's enough for now!

Engage '13

As I look around, I can see three circles of young people, Bible's open, pens out, chatting quietly over a passage in Matthew 6.  I'm at Engage '13 conference where we're training young leaders to engage better with Scripture, and teach it well.

This morning I sat and listened to Raj preaching from Matthew 6 and the Lord's Prayer, and I was so challenged as he demonstrated from the passage that it's all about our attitude to our heavenly Father.  I'm so encouraged to pursue the petitions in the Lord's Prayer in the context of seeing the Name of God made holy!  It was just so refreshing and challenging to be able to hear such clear expository preaching on such a well known passage.

I'm also loving the way there's such an emphasis on the place of the gospel in our ministry, and the power of God's Word to change lives, and I'm so encouraged by the passion of the delegates to learn and engage with Scripture!

And what a joy it is to meet and share with so many young people from across Victoria, to hear what's happening in churches, to hear how God is at work in their lives and ministry, and to be able to support one another in striving to be faithful to Christ!