Looking back and moving forward Part 2

Since coming home I have felt the Lord calling me back into some kind of missions away from home.
I had thought I would be going to Salem, OR and going through FCM (foundations in counseling ministry) I had some input from my Fiji friends and thought that was it.
Dates and internet all confused and so it just was not the way the Lord works no chaos!
 My sister chick Becky and I had been thinking of doing something together and heard of TESOL.
 I checked into it and then forgot until I received a call from Courtney. We prayed together and then everything just fell into place.
TESOL is just a month long intense course and happened to fall right after my commitment to my daughter Terah.
My daughter Terah and her husband Aaron are youth leaders at their church in Estes Park. They have been planning a Missions Trip with their youth to an Apache Reservation in Arizona and had asked me to watch my 3 grand kids.
  My daughter, Tenaya graduated on May 4th and I worked my last week of OE (outdoor education) at Calvin Crest the 19th - 24th.
 I sometimes felt like this was crazy giving up a perfectly good job, but definitely knew the Lord was telling me to go, so in obedience I am going.
Many sad SEE YOU LATERS since I don't like goodbyes.
 My last life group which was very hard.
 I have come to love these people so much and enjoy our times together just sharing life!
With all of this my car decided to break down right before my trip to Colorado.
I feel like forces were working against us and did not want the kids to go on this trip or me not at TESOL.
We fought back and the Lord prevailed!
I trusted that the Lord was in control and through it all there was a peace.
I had no extra money to fix my car. At Christmas before going to Colorado my water pump went out in Azusa. I had it fixed at a franchise and off we went. I guess they did not quite tighten things because I was still losing water slowly.
So this week I called them and we had it towed to Fresno and they fixed it all under warranty!
Praise God
So early in the morning (4 am to be exact) off to Colorado I went with my car loaded.
Here I am enjoying my grand kids.

My daughters youth group had a phenomenal trip where they finished construction on1 home and began work on another.
I have a couple more weeks to visit and play before driving to Montana for TESOL.
Please keep me in your prayers.
 I am not working and have no income for the next few months. I have paid for my TESOL course and saved the money for travel. However I did not quite reach my goal of being debt free before leaving and do have a couple bills to pay on. I am close. So finances, traveling mercies and my car to run well and the ability to absorb all that is taught and then be able to do the same as a teacher.
Thank you to all for support, friendship and prayers.
May our Lord bless and keep you,
may He shine His face upon you
Shalom

Looking back and moving forward Part 1

        Well hello there! Yes I know it's been a long time since you've  heard from me, and I am overwhelmed at how fast so much time has gone by.
As I was considering how to start up this blog again, I asked the Lord" why is this so hard?"
 I was not ready for the answer I received.
"You should never have stopped" was my answer. However, as is my norm, I thought I knew better than the Lord.
" Lord, who wants to hear the mundane goings on of my life?"
The Lord said" take a look back", and as I did I found there was a lot to share and much of it was from Him!
 I always thought people were only interested when you were out"" in the field" doing the work of missions, the Lord has reminded me we are all out in the field everyday and everything we do is important to Him. A simple smile given can change a persons day. So here is a short re-cap of life since I returned from "the field".
          My last post I was in Colorado. I left there in May 2011 to find a place back home in Bass Lake, California so I could spend some time with my other daughter Tenaya. Tenaya was coming home for the summer from APU (Azusa Pacific University).Tenaya graduated in May 2013 from APU with her BA in Liberal Studies.

So it was much harder to find a good place to live than I thought and we endured some stressful trials. The Lord sent help.
My dear friend Christine and her husband Tom invited us to stay in their camp trailer. Not perfect, but it worked. Tenaya went back to school and I had found the perfect place to draw closer to the Lord.
 In March 2013 friends Traci & Eric offered their loft for me to stay in. What a blessing!
Many thanks to you both for providing a roof over my head. I have been camping since 2011 and still need to go through a large storage unit to lighten my load.
On returning to the area I  was reunited with my Sister Chicks prayer group. We met on Mondays and enjoyed sweet fellowship and wonderful time in prayer with so many answers and PRAISES.
 I worked part time at Oakhurst Beauty Supply and met new friends and also ran into so many older friends and shared my travels and revelations.

 In October I was blessed by the women of Sierra Pines Church with a scholarship to the women's retreat at Avilla Beach. What a great time of refreshment and getting to meet new friends.

At Thanksgiving I was invited to Tenaya's boyfriends family in Livermore. We had such a good time getting to know each other and enjoying good food!
 Our Christmas, both 2011 & 2012 was spent in Colorado. All  my kids together, my favorite time celebrating the birth of our Savior and having my family together. Adam (Tenaya's boyfriend) has joined us for the last two years, I think this might be permanent?

 I was blessed to return working at Calvin Crest in March 2012. What amazing healing! I was fired as registrar in 2009, which is when God took me to Crossroads at YWAM Kona (Genesis 50:20) and back as a cook in the kitchen with my friend from high school Elin. I really enjoyed my year at Calvin Crest and reconnecting. I was also able to touch others through baking. I will always have a family at Calvin Crest. Miss you all!

            

Home again, Home again!

My sister and her daughter picked me up at the airport when I arrived. (Late I might add bless you for staying up to get me sis) I spent the next few days getting things in order to head for Colorado and spend some time with my daughter who is expecting her third child in January. I exchanged all my tropical wardrobe for wool socks, long underwear and all the warm sweaters I could find! Terah and her family live at Covenant Heights Christian Camp and Retreat Center in Estes Park, Co. about 9,000 foot elevation!
Before we left I did have the chance to go with my sisters and visit my older sister in LA, whose husband has gone home to be with our Lord after a long battle with cancer. I so enjoyed just hanging out and being with her and my other 2 sisters. Sweet fellowship.
So that leads me to present. I have been working as Head of housekeeping at Covenant Heights and getting a manual written up for them to follow here at camp. I have been enjoying hanging out with my grandbabies and welcoming our newest baby boy Levi to the family. I am not sure what plans the Lord has for me but I am eagerly listening for His voice and being obedient to the Spirits leading.
I get to be a part of a Small Sabbatical for Pastors here at camp and looking forward to hosting a Prayer Labrynth and a time of meditating on the attributes of God. I will continue to share my journey and where I am. I hope to continue to go out into the nations and share the love of Christ with those who have not heard. What this will look like I do not know, but I do know that He has a plan for my life. I only pray that I will be obedient to all He calls me to do. Thank you for joining me thus far on my journey and I hope that you continue to grow in the knowledge of Him who so greatly loves us and travels the journey with us.

Coming Home

So coming home was a long trip with some confusion at the baggage counter but Sciri and Bill and Ladua worked it all out, some sad farewells and off we went. The plane home was more crowded than the way there but we managed. We were welcomed home by our wonderful class leaders Bob and Caroline Hopkins. What a blessing to see their faces. We spent the next few days debriefing in a group and then one on one with a leader. What care we were given. I must say I am not sure what to do with myself. Many desires but will wait to hear from the Lord. One by one we all left. Except for John who has stayed on with maintenance at the YWAM base, Byung Su (Joe) who is taking the Biblical Studies class and Jan & Dazza whowill be class leaders for the next Crossroads class! I will greatly miss all of my new family and hope to cross paths on this journey we are all on.

Our last week in Fiji

We spent the last week in Fiji in the city of Lautoka. We decided we wanted to finish strong so after 2 days of resting up from the island we hit the streets, literally.We went back to the area of Pastor Mikes church and went door to door in the Indian-Fijian population. Joe and I were sent out with Vere (an evangelist for sure) she knew the area well because it was her own backyard. We were able to visit with 5 different homes. We decided to revisit the homes all week rather than just stop in at many homes we would build relationship with these 5. What a Joy it was to get to know these people! This in retrospect was one of my best weeks.
We also continued our kids program for the last week. Visitation in the mornings and kids club in the afternoon. I was definitely spent at the end of the week. All in all a very good trip and I would not have done anything different except maybe try to give more of myself.

Adventures on Waya Island

Our adventure began at 6 am when we left the PTC Base and headed to the Post Office where we would meet up with the Awsome Adventures Tour Bus. The bus would take us to Denarau Marina where we would be catching a cruise boat to the outer islands.(Yasawa Islands) We made sure all our luggage got from the bus to the boat and some of the girls went and got the last of real food as they know it for 12 days! The cruise boat ride was about 2 hours and very nice from the sundeck. I took many pictures of the individual resort islands we made stops at for the tourists. WOW pristine waters and beautiful white sand beaches great vacation stops for sure. When we made it to Waya Island we all loaded onto a small fishing boat with all our luggage in the bow! The water was right at the edge of the boat and we had a 15 minute ride into the village. (exciting to say the least) There were 2 young Fijian boys (dads boat) riding with us and I think all the white faces scared the youngest because he began to cry (Sciri gave him her Coke and all was well) We arrived at the shore and unloaded into the water it was fantastic! Louisa and Lissi where there to greet us with fresh coconuts to drink and enjoy the fresh meat, so very good. The men of the village unloaded all our baggage and set us up in the Pastors house. (from the Methodist Church, they moved out into a Bure (traditional Fijian house) and let us take over ther home. Pastors wife had a 2 week old baby, incredible hospitality!) We all rested and got settled in for the rest of the day. We slept community style in the living area putting our beds away each day. (Dazza & Jan, Mark & Stephanie+Joshua, Keisha,Grace & Christie all had rooms the rest of us were together, great experience) Sunday morning we all went to church at the Methodist Church. It was "Bula Vou" the begining of a new month when each of the cell groups (similar to our home groups) gets up and sings in front of the congregation and then an offering is taken after each one. (there where 6 different groups) There are many traditions kept in this church, standing to sing(acapela mind you, no instruments)many announcements, the main sermon, communion (come forward to be given)and more that just did not translate for me. The service is from 10 am till 1 pm and in Fijian. I loved the singing but was lost during the rest and just read my bible. Some of us had trouble staying awake the whole time but all was well.When we returned from church for lunch we were told that we would be in charge of the Womens Ministry meeting from 3pm -4pm that afternoon. Semper Gumbie has been a great motto on this trip!(always flexible is translation for those of you that didn't get it)We had an excellent time with the women. Our theme was Proverbs 31:25 "she is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs with no fear of the future." I shared times in my life when God clothed me with dignity as a single mom and my journey with Tyson when I trusted in God and did not fear the outcome. Our diet has been a bit over starched! (casava, taro, potatoes, white dough fried,boiled,baked and any other way you can think of) and our guts are screaming! Curry and Dahl(which I actually like) are also staples. Monday we began house visits 2x2. We met many new people and began some great relationships.Tuesday we would be hiking to Natawa, a village on the other side of the mountain from Yalombi where we are staying. (15 minutes Fijian time 1 1/2 hours American time!) We would also be teaching here and so we spent Monday afternoon preparing for that. We were up early and left at about 6:30 am and made it to Natawa at 8 am. What a hike straight up the mountain then along the ridge and back down the other side! When we arrived we had tea and biscuits(cookies to my american friends)on our hosts veranda. At 9am the conch shell was blown calling the village together. The men would be helping with the buiding of a new house for the Pastor and the women would be teaching on a closer relationship with God (Sal did Father Heart and Jan taught on our own quiet times and what they could look like).We had lunch as a community (roti and curry begining to be a staple) and then visited with some of the women. More teaching in the afternoon (I taught the 8R's of freedom and walking them out in our daily lives and Keisha followed with her testimony that completely follows all I just taught, God is so amazing at putting it all together!) We all met back on the veranda for tea before we left for a little rest. Suddenly Landoa is up and telling us "time to go it is going to rain." Now if you had hiked the cliff we hiked there you would understand that rain and the path do not mix. You go from hiking to sliding! So off we went and some went ahead at a little bit faster of a pace (not my option of course, I am slow and steady wins the race! LOL)Well, the rain started and it was beautiful to see when we reached the ridge and looked back at the sky but at the same time dangerous for us hiking in. Jan and I are somewhat in the rear middle (if that makes any sense) and we are praying for John behind us who has some back and knee problems not even thinking of the young ones ahead. As we were desending we all came to a stop when Sal got her foot stuck in a root and then her body slid down the path! (the sound effects were definately not good ones.) Things went both fast and slow from there (I know it sounds odd but thats just how it went!) Dazza splinted Sals leg, Keisha fainted, the rain got heavier, Kim and Grace went ahead for help from the village, the Rugby players came to carry Sal off the mountain, we all followed going ever so carefully and John had a couple Tarzan moments off the side of the trail but we got him back on track and everyone off the mountain as the rain subsided. (doesn't it always work that way?) All the same it was an incredibly adventureous day! When we all got back to the house Sal had the nurse checking her, dinner was being prepared so Ladua, Bill, Dazza, Jan and I all went for an evening swim in the ocean! So relaxing after that day. Jan and I got out and headed to the shower room to help each other wash our hair and have our bucket shower. Joe was an angel that night and gave Jan and I both foot massages. I slept so well that night. Unfortunately Sal was being sent back to Lautoka for x-rays and to see what could be done. Wednesday Sal, Dennison and Sciri left for the mainland. We heard that evening that Sal had a vertical break in the tibia and would be flying back to Australia for surgery, pins and casting.


After they left that morning we continued with visitations and Kids Club in the afternoons. There is so much that happen in our visitations I can't wait to share with you but to much to put down here. Suffice it to say we serve an AWSOME GOD! The plan is to catch a boat this evening for Namara Island and go to the village of Yamata for a crusade. We will be preaching, teaching and praying.Jan is not doing so well and is in bed with fever and diareah.(we are keeping our eye on her and much prayer for her healing) We were all on the beach ready to go and waiting for our boat (and waiting and waiting) a few phone calls later and Ledua informed us that it was cancelled! There are many strange things happening here on the island. Jan is going to have to go back to Lautoka in the morning. She is very dehydrated and still has diaoreah. The enemy has not wanted us to minister in the places we have been going, many other forms of attack have hit our team and the pastors compound is very opressing. There is more here than meets the eye! Later that night we received a call and the schools teachers were all going to Lautoka on Friday for testing and the one teacher that was staying back was not feeling well and was asking if we would be interested in teaching about God to the 1st through 7th grade classes? What an opportunity! Of course we said yes and off we went with skits, the 10 commandments and the wordless book as our tools. What a great day, we spent the morning teaching and singing praises, went home for lunch and returned for an hour in the afternoon. That night fishermen from Nalwaki( a village we will be visiting next week)brought us some octopus and other fresh fish for our dinner. I was surprised how much I enjoyed the octopus(i only ate the inside meat, I could not get the tenticle part to go down hehe!)Saturday we got to have a day off and did some return visits to villagers homes.

Week 2 in the Islands

Sunday another long Methodist service at the church in Yalombi. Ledua did translate the passage the Pastor was speaking on Zechariah 8:16, so I followed along somewhat and read the scriptures.(I tried to apply this to what I knew was going on in the village)Monday we did more visitation through the village and we have been so warmly welcomed everywhere. The people are so kind and generous.We have also continued with kids club. Dan and Jarryl (our new names for them for some reason we have all picked up on this and find it very funny) will be coming back to Yalombi today. While in Lautoka she got intravenous fluids and antibiotics and is doing much better . We are looking forward to their return and have missed them. You really do become a close family over time and circumstances. Tuesday a group of us headed out early in the morning by boat to Naluwaki for a youth camp. We are going to do the Sin Chair skit and give our testimonies.When we arrived it was my turn to be sick...The team prayed for me and I felt better so Keisha and I went out in the village for some visitation until noon. I almost made it but my intestines where not happy with the situation so we headed back to the pastors house where we would be staying the night. Soon others were returning and they decided to walk over the hill (7 minute Fijian time and 30 minute our time LOL) to the Octopus Resort after we had lunch.


What a spread they put out for us! There was raw clams in lemon juice, fried fish, baked fish,fish head soup and cassava.Some very good lemon juice also. I split my small piece of fish with Christie and tried some of the clams and juice. Not long after ingesting my food it was all ready to come back out. Christie and I stayed back from the hike to Octopus, not feeling well. We both slept hard until the others returned. Then we were off to the church for a special service. The service went from 7pm till 10:30 pm, we went back to Pastors house to rest and Christie and I were out for the night. Ledua came and got everyone else for the dinner prepared by the villagers and they had some skits and lots of laughter. Bill had said we would sleep in and be ready to go around 8am. In the morning around 7 Ledua is calling us all saying the boat is ready lets go! We went out quickly and had some tea with the Pastor and thanked him for his hospitality then back in the boat. The boat trip went all the way around the island so we got to see Natawa from the sea and then arrived in Yalombi in time for lunch. Christie and I were feeling a little better now. This was going to be the last Kids Club and they would be making the bracelets that share the gospel through their color. Gold for the kingdom, dark/black for sin, red for the blood of Christ, clean/white for believing and having faith and then green for our growing in the knowledge of the Lord. I prepared everything and then rested more. We were all getting packed up as well so we could take off the next afternoon. Thursday afternoon and the Chief and villagers all came out to say good bye to us and gave us shell necklaces. We were all invited back and had some very nice relationships started. All the luggage was put in the bow of the boat again and we began loading. Out we went to meet the big ship at 3:00 we got to the meeting point and waited. At 4:15 the ship finally showed up, we had been kidding around singing the theme song from Gilligan's Island (especially a 3 hour tour!) and seeing which character each of us was. Lots of fun waiting on the open sea in a small fishing boat!!! LOL Getting on the ship was so nice. We all felt some sort of relief. We would be going back to Lautoka for the next 10 days to continue visitations and Kids Club.

Back to Lautoka

We are all staying at the Cathey Hotel near to town and PTC. We had the first 2 days off and just rested from the island adventure. Sunday we went to Pastor Ravioli's Church (that's how I remember but it is not right) where we have been doing visitations. That evening we were to do the service at Ladua and Vika's church at Prayer Mountain. What a sweet time with the Lord and so refreshing and renewing.We planned to have worship and prayer every morning from 8 to 9 before stating our days.Monday and Tuesday we all went on visitation(those that were not sick that is)Wednesday I stayed back with Christie so we could prepare for the craft for Kids Club and get some rest as well.After Kids Club Jan, Darryl, Christie and I walked up to Ledua and Vika's for fellowship and dinner. I was impressed with the great food Vika had prepared for us since they too are missionaries and dependent on support for there needs. It is amazing to see Gods faithfulness all around us. We were quite full after eating and had some great conversation and entertainment by Jeremiah(their 1 year old little boy what a joy!) We had an ice cream social next at Marou House( PTC's pre-school and one of the locations for our kids club) The staff had a wonderful good bye send off for us with many yummy treats! Thursday our last day and I was in a battle to finish strong. I thought I would only do one activity until I went to worship and the Lord spoke so clearly to me to finish strong! So we all went to visitation for a final good bye and then our last Kids Club. Exhausted, but I knew I had done all that God had asked of me and it felt good. Friday morning we all were packed and in the lobby at 9:30 to go to the TokaToka Resort across the street from the airport for our final 2 days and rest and recuperate.(signs are we might have Typhoid running through the group) More to come once we hit Kona. I praise God for His continued FAITHFULNESS in my life and our entire team.

MORE SUGAR FEST WEEK

After the fun of the carnival my body said it had had enough. With the change of diet and especially lack of my Juice Plus (my next shipment did not make it to me before we left for Fiji ouch!) I had the flu! I have not been sick in over 10 years so this was a difficult thing for me. I slept most of Wednesday and then off and on on Thursday. Friday I couldn't stand being in bed any longer and got up and had a frigid shower which woke me right up, had some toast and was able to go to the college and be in the Cross skit and give my testimony to about 15 mixed Fiji/Christians and Indian/Hindus. What a joy it was! I was able to pray with 3 Hindu girls and plant seeds of Jesus love for them. Back to the base for some rest and dinner. That night we were given 3 days off! wow. Most went out on their own that night, Jan, Kim and I made cookies and popcorn and set up the big screen and projector with Marks help and had our own movie night. Saturday night Christie was invited to an Indian Hindu Wedding and asked Kim,Tres and I along. She met them on house visits down by Nadi. So after we finally found the place in the dark I really enjoyed it. We went in and met the groom and gave a small gift, met the sisters and mom and aunt quite a family thing. This was the 3rd day of the wedding and I am not to sure of the customs but grabbed a quick video for you all to experience.

SUGAR FESTIVAL WEEK

SUGAR FESTIVAL WEEK

This week started off with a day off at the beach. We joined with PTC staff and their DTS and went to a great beach for some relaxing, volleyball, cards and nice walks on the beach.We all slept well that night. I think the highlight or one of them anyway was our bus ride and the guys from the DTS singing I am putting a video clip in to share with you.


Tuesday was time to once again get back to ministry. Jan and Dazza have been doing a great job of leading our team and keeping it all together. While we were in Ba last week another part of the team had been involved in a Crusade and doing home visits down near Nadi. We would continue doing that as well as Kids Club and the teaching at the College. The new addition was a class today by Mark on "friend raising" the class was good and let us know that it is biblical to ask for support as a missionary! We are not beggars but obedient followers of Christ. In the afternoon I went once again with Vicca to pray with a woman she had just met. Vicca has been wanting to start a prayer group of women to pray for their children and families. (reminded me of Moms in touch) WOW! is all I can say we were praying in the Spirit full on for over 2 hours. What a blessing for me. Again I am wondering if missions is for them or us? ( I am going to say for all of us, we just think we are coming to serve and end up doing and receiving..isn't God amazing?)
So home again for dinner and then on to the Sugar Festival Carnival. I went out with Dazza and Uncle John. When we arrived it was a surprise to see our Ba friends running a booth. We mentioned how we missed the tea and Pastor Benny said he would bring some the next day. We said "sota tale" see you later for good-bye won't do, and made our way through the carnival. I forgot my camera that night so went back to take these and a shot video. (you thought it was dangerous in the states?)

BA TOWN, FIJI

So this week 4 of our team John (who we now refer to Uncle John) Mark (who left us early for prep on another teaching) Keisha and I (Sal joined us cause she missed Keisha and I so much hehe) were sent to a town north of Lautoka at a little higher elevation. (they said it never got cold in Fiji, I beg to differ)We would be helping to put up a structure for church services in a squatter neighborhood. When we arrived the house we were going to stay in had been previously occupied by squatters and was in need of some TLC. We were blessed to have along with us some of the staff from PTC and they helped set up house for our short stay.The staff left behind Maryann to help us prepare meals. It felt so much like a camping trip in the high country only with an outdoor toilet and shower! Joining us from Christian Fellowship Revival was Pastor Benny, Bill, Tyto and Pa (a sweet 16 year old girl to help with meals)
Our first night we had some prayer time together and then made a prayer walk through the house, around the house, up on the hill where the building site was and above that the top of the mountain that overlooked the village. We claimed every footstep for the Kingdom of God! That night is when I found out that it does get cold in Fiji! I bet it dropped into the 50's and the next day Keisha and I headed into town and hit the thrift store for a sweatshirt and then found some socks (what sweet sleep it was after that, most of the time anyway)
John and Mark were on construction and Keisha and I were on prayer and hospitality. We climbed the mountain behind the site and had our own little prayer meeting the first 2 days, then we ventured out into the neighborhood and invited people to fellowship with us on Friday nite and also our first service on Sunday morning . The people are so very friendly on this island. Above are pictures of our mealtimes, the worksite and the first communion in their new structure (we had cookies and soda from the little store across the street)
Our mealtimes stand out the most for me. The fellowship was so sweet and I will forever remember the phrase from Pastor Benny, "have one more cup of tea". This was the best lemon leaf tea ever.(picked straight from the tree out back!) So many children came to visit us. (our white skin sort of stands out) You new they where home from school when you heard Auntie, Auntie! They have no boundaries and would run right into our sleeping room so we kept the doors closed after 3pm! The guys moved right along with building even through some cultural and language differences. The biggest challenge was for the right tool or equipment. They had to build an " A" ladder to put the metal roof on. They went to 4 different supply stores for bolts and such and ended up purchasing a new drill for the Lautoka Base. (the one we brought had seen it's better days) In the end, our fellowship night and Sunday service both went very well. The body of Christ in this little village will grow and flourish as well as drawing many from the town of Ba into the presence of God that exists in that quiet and unshakable little mountain top.

BA TOWN, FIJI

Our First Week In Fiji

So we had a wonderful trip to Fiji. We left Kona at 8am on the 29th of June and went to Honolulu to catch the flight out to Fiji. We were able to stop at Christmas Island for refueling and got to look out the door and see the International Airport. Quite a sight it was! We landed in Nadi, Fiji around 7pm on the 1st of July and made our way through Immigration and Customs and the crew meeting us had a van waiting to take us to the base in Lautoka. The rain was coming down and it was quite humid. We have been blessed since with very good weather, somewhat hot and humid but nothing we cannot handle. Above is a picture of the base and my view of the sun rising in the morning during my quiet time. We were given a wonderful welcome banquet and some great entertainment you can see below:




Our first week of ministry has been such a blessing. We have 3 days of Kids Clubs, Hospital visiting, Mens group, a 3 day conference on prayer and we sent one of our men to talk about World View at a mens retreat and 3 others off to the mountains to do Plumbline at a church camp for boys and girls. I was blessed this week to go help with the Kids Clubs and have a video for you to watch below.


On Saturday night I got to celebrate my Birthday with little Jerimiah (Landoa and Vicca,s 1 year old son - the first birthday is a very special one here)We had an incredible dinner, cake and ice cream and some wonderful entertainment. We led this Sundays service at the Assembly of God Church and performed our skit which is quite powerful (no I don't have video for that one sorry!)
So today was our day off and Vicca came to me and asked if I could go pray for a sick woman with her, of course I could that is what I am here for so...was I ever blessed one of the best days I have had yet. I am looking forward to what God has prepared for me in the coming weeks. Again thanks for all the prayers I am feeling much better and have started sleeping better.

Incredibly Blessed

So as I write this I am fighting off I don't know what but definitely
feeling on the attacked side. We had a good morning hanging out and then went to the beach where something came over me and it felt so overwhelmingly oppressive! I went and sat alone and just poured my heart out to God. I could not control the tears streaming down my face and could not understand where this all was coming from. I would love prayer as we go out to the mission field for this may be the cause of the attack, keeping me ineffective and oppressed. I would also like to share the remaining teaching we have had here I stopped at week 5 so will continue with Week #6 our speaker was Dave Bryant and he spoke on Spiritual Warfare.(how appropriate in my state at this time haha) His wife, her sister and her sisters husband were with us as well. His wife Cheryl and sister Juanita are the granddaughters of A.A.Alan. (an evangelist in the 50's)Dave told of a great book by Merrill Unger called What demos(or fallen angels however you look at them) can do to saints. I am interested in reading this . I liked Dave because he started out with I don't do weird, but when weird is staring you in the face you have to deal with it, so we went to the bible and found out what Jesus did with weird(only it wasn't weird then, they found it quite normal for Jesus and the apostles to cast out demons and heal the sick! what are we missing today?) God has given us the power and authority through Jesus Christ to forcibly eject (ekballo) evil spirits from ourselves and others. John 14:12 Sometimes God must offend the mind to get to the heart! There needs to be a balance between supernatural (which God is and has made us with a spirit as well) and knowledge. We cannot do kingdom life being heavy on either side of this there must be a balance.
Week # 7 was Mark Anderson who talked about the Acts church and where the world is headed. The top down church is not what Jesus had in mind. We run church like a business when it couldn't be further from that. Mark has been teaching on Neighborhood Centers and they are growing up all over the world. People meet together in their homes, places of business or even dorms. Elders are just that, older men of wisdom and integrity for accountability, overseers and deacons are the younger to be servers of the groups. The apostles, teachers etc. are the body of Christ, we have all been gifted to do this and need to step out in faith and take turns preaching
his word." My house shall be a house of prayer" and this is where we should start along with a time of teaching, worship, communion and fellowship over a meal. This is the simple church to come. We must also live from the inside out, letting Holy Spirit (who is the third person of the trinity) lead and guide us. I love this quote from Paul Harvey "We have turned from being fishers of men, to keepers of the aquarium." On friday we heard from Dan & Basil about preparing a sermon and giving our testimony. There is power in our spoken testimony because it is ours and noone can take that away! We are to glorify God through what He has done in our personel lives and help others who can relate to our personal story. Week #8 was Fred Markert.
Fred told us we need to know the times so we know what we should be doing! There is a cycle to our history. We go from a Multi-Polar world to a Bi-Polar World to a Uni-Polar World. We are in a Uni-Polar world now but on the verge of Multi-Polar if things don't change. The Gospel is spread through a Uni-Polar World much easier than any other due to the freedoms of travel and safety for the most part. The traits of these great powers are 1) Economic 2) Military 3) Political 4) Cultural 5) Morality (this is the one they leave out in the universities but is what is missing or starts to fade in a society and bring it down) They must also be effective and effecient. When we are blessed we forget about God, so He shakes us and makes us to have revivalin all the nations. Global harvest is the purpose. C.S. Lewis put it this way : What if what is on Gods agenda is not our happiness but that we grow up!" & core things to be a Christian: 1)Repentance, both individually and corporately 2)Be baptized and live it out 3)Prayer as a lifestyle 4)Love God and your neighbor in a practical way 5)Give generously, without the thought of return 6)Break bread, share a meal, fellowship 7)Be witnesses of Jesus where you live and around the world, help others to do the same. One of Fred's quotes that stuck with me is " Don't imminitize the Eschaton" We cannot have perfection in a fallen world, get over it! We can overtake the darkness withHis light if we so let it shine to all! The bible is a story with a relational God not a systematic study. Focus on what we know, love God love others and go into all nations(people groups, not countries) Only 1% of the Christian body needs to go into full time ministry. Are we being wise stewards? All men are equally lost, but all men are not equally needy. Dr. Ralph Winter Week#9
we had another corporate week with Jaison Ma and Eric Fish, both involved in the student led simple church movement. Jaison spoke on intimacy with Christ and waiting on the Lord as well as how Holy Spirit is a person of the trinity just like Father and Son. Holy Spirit wants to be known and experienced. (I know this was right up there with weird but when you experience it you know it is real and it is of God!) The day God stops using you is the day you stop seeking Him! We must be diligent and consistent in our seeking His face. Are you content with the level of God in you? Then seek Him out daily, we must make room for Him in this busy (Being Under Satans Yoke)life we lead. There is a price to pay but if you seek Him you will find Him. He delights in His children and loves for us to come to Him. Repentance opens the door to intimacy with Christ.How I walk is dependant only on me relinquishing my rights and allowing Holy Spirit to lead and listening to the voice of the Father. Jesus never did anything the Father did not tell Him to do, we are to listen to that same voice. Week # 10 was with Gord Whyte and he spoke more on Holy Spirit and this is where I again received more healing and partook in things I did not believe in. It is very hard for me to believe that someone could be blown on and fall over, however when you are on the receiving end of that and feel Holy Spirits presence and healing deep in your soul it is so undeniable. WOW I pray that all will come to a relationship with and enter into the circle dance of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It has been quite a journey and I will never be the same! We are packing up now and cleaning so we can leave early Tuesday for Fiji.
On another note God has been so faithful and has been my Jehovah Rapha (healer) and Jehovah Jirah (provider) I came her after paying my $1000 deposit and upon arriving paid another $575
of the total owing of $8000. The rest the lord has provided through the body of Christ and I am forever thankful to Him and my loving brothers and sisters. I will be continuing this life of service and would appreciate full time support from any who felt led of God to do so. I would love to share what has happened in my own life and talk with others as well. Feel free to contact me if you are at all interested. May His face shine upon you all and may we all shine in His Glory.

Publish Post

Mahalo (Thank you hawaian style) I will share more from Fiji soon. Love to all.

OFF TO FIJI

Yes I know the missionary life is a tough one but someone has to go to the islands as well as the other countries and God has found favor with my team to send us to Fiji. We are preparing and doing much cultural study on the people of the island. It seems a very hospitable culture and family oriented. There are a few Fijians on the Kona base and a couple who have just returned that are sharing with us and helping us to be prepared and not offend right off the bat! We are learning the do's and don'ts of island life and the importance of our unity as a team. There will be much interaction between the children and us and that leads to relationship with the rest of the family. The Fijians respect the wisdom of the elders and the preciousness of the young. In between are the young adults who work to train up the young and learn from the wise. What a concept! I was going to share the last couple weeks but will wait till I have more time. Until next time, May you be covered with the dust of your Rabbi..........

OFF TO FIJI

Transformation Process

So I apologize for not updating sooner. However we are on quite
a rigorous schedule! Monday thru Friday we start the day with
breakfast at 6:15 - 7:30 Mondays corporate worship for an hour in Ohana (family) Court from 8 am to 9 am and then on to class until lunch at 12:00. Wed. I have my one on one with our small group leader at lunch time. Monday and Wed. we have outreach prep from 1 pm till 2:30 and Tues. and Fri. we have small groups. From 3pm till 5pm every day we have our work duties.( I am getting to garden in tropical weather which is so very different from what I am used to! Learning a lot.) After that we have dinner from 5pm till 6:30 and we are free to do our class reading, work on our journals and our 2 book reports that will be due during this 5 months. Wow I am tired just going over it all. On top of that our class meets in the pre-school area which is at the bottom of this somewhat steep hill and our room is at the top! God has a sense of humor for sure..I had said I wanted to lose weight while I was on this Journey and He is making it all quite possible in His quirky little ways!
So the corporate worship is incredible. I am enjoying it tremendously. Our classes have been intense as well. We have speakers each week with specific topics and I will give you a little taste of each one:
Week #1 was Brian Brennt on The Character of God. Brian made class so much fun and confirmed that the Christian life can be fun and should be! God is LOVE.
The word tells us to pursue love, put on love, increase and abound in love, be sincere in love, unified in love and fervent in love as Jesus is fervent in love for us! God wants us to replicate His character on earth. There is only one problem, satan does too. We went through some of the Names of Jesus as well. I love this kind of study. There is so much meaning.
Week #2 was Doug Richardson on Hearing Gods Voice Doug showed from the beggining of class by knowing all our names and entering into relationship with
us that hearing Gods voice is all about loving other people. It's NOT ABOUT ME!
The Imagio Deo of God the Father, Son, Holy Spirit in relationship with me in the center of their love. Doug touched on a couple points I would love to share.
1) Don't believe everything you think!
2)The difference between "doing" and "being"
We are made to "be" not "do"
We must put ourselves at stake if we want to know God. We must live out LOUD!
The nature of the Kingdom is not to end evil but to overtake it, by hearing His voice and being obedient to His calling.
Week #3 we had Kristen (a man) and Cindy (incredible worship leader) from New Zealand - Corporate Week - we met in Ohana Court everyday.
They talked about how God will shake all of the things in our lives until He remains! The things that shake us can be our best friend, but others may think we are crazy. Matt. 22:14 all are called few are chosen ( Gods response to how we position our hearts, our desperation for Him, our hunger to be filled with Him.
Kristen told us we need to have better times in private with God than we do in public, to find that secret place and spend significant time with Him only then will He give revelation because His desire is relationship with His people!
Week #4 Dr. Bruce Thompkins -Plumb Line
This was a video series and very intense. Amos 7:7 talks of Gods plumb line and how we are all out of line with God. How we can swing to either rejection (unbelief) or rebellion (pride) or both. Thats where I was swinging back and forth between the two and not even aware of it. We had a day of ministry time for each of us in our small groups and it was there that I was delivered from so much pain from my past I had no idea was buried in there. I feel such a peace and am learning the love of God through these wonderful people He has put into our Crossroads class. I also have new eyes for so many of my friends back home and my dear sweet family. So exhausting physically and emotionally but well worth it! Praise God for His love and care.
Week #5 just ended and was done by Don Stephens (no not the guy in the book)
Don spoke on Biblical World View.
God created everything for His glory and wants that glory to shine through His people to other people until the evil in this world is overcome by the light of His glory. His glory is revealed in so much, music, nature, movie moments even. The seeds we sow we will reap. Truth produces life and lies produce death. However if we add truth to to death it can begin to grow! Praise God. Go to all the nations and bring the kingdom to them. We don't want to take over the world just influence it in the 7 spheres (education, family, media, church, govt., commerce & science, arts & entertainment) and as we do this we are planting seeds of truth that will over grow the weeds of the lies of the enemy. The church is the body (His people) visible and relative, the kingdom is the Kings territory ( all creation)
invisible and absolute.
I will post more in a week or so. Keep up your prayers God is doing a work.
Love to all in Jesus name!