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!