Farewell Nadi Town!! Hello Labasa

A beautiful sunrise at the Vunayasi base

Our last week in Nadi and it was an awesome and bittersweet week of events. Matt, Nathan and Leah went to the Nadi airport to pick up our long lost team member, Derrick!!! We were so excited to have him with us this week and share with him this amazing experience. Well in true YWAM style, his plane arrived late and we had to rush to make it to the youth group we were speaking at. That night Nathan shared on hearing God's voice, Ashleigh shared the word that she got for this group( Ezekiel 17) and then Leah preached a "harsh" message to the group! It was an overall amazing night and God really spoke:) If you were worrying about if we made it or not... We did!! You gotta love Fiji time lol

On Sunday, Ashleigh and Emily went to a Chinese church and it was so cool hearing about what God is doing in different churches arround Fiji. That afternoon we planned for the upcoming night of preaching and had an intense planning session. We love how God just speaks to us on what He wants to speak and what needs to be heard. Well the church was definitely an experience and God was able to totally move through the " Live in me" skit and the testimonies and prophetic words spoken. 

As a group, we spend alot of time in the back of carriers but God totally uses it to bring us closer together and to Him.
On Tuesday, we were under the impression that we would be speaking to primary kids but something got lost in translation and we ended up splitting into two groups and heading to two different high schools. It as such an amazing time of ministry and we had so many stories to tell each other once we convened back as a group.

Our last full day at Vunayasi:(. We decided to bless the base staff there and deep cleaned our rooms and the bathrooms. In between cleaning, we went to another school and Derrick was able to teach on Hebrews about how Jesus knows what we are going through and can relate to us because of that.

After we went to the school, we came back to the base and finished cleaning and writing a song for the base staff to let them know how much they mean to us. Our card even made it onto the missionary wall!!!

That night was our farewell dinner and it was soo delicious!!! There were a few tears shed and gifts given but overall we made a new family in Vunayasi. Noa and Jone were some of the staff members that we grew to love and really just learn and be encouraged by them. We got a really awesome war stick from them and we were able to bless them with a tea kettle:) they love their tea lol

They sent us off with a song and we were off on our adventure!! We stayed with our good friend Loli's parents in Latoka and they treated us like royalty:) We loved the way they loved on us and were grateful for their hospitality. 
On Friday, we were able to spend the day in downtown Latoka and just pray for people and worship in the park. We saw people saved and healed and God totally answered our prayers in more than one way. 

We didn't know what to expect from our trip to Labasa but it was a real adventure!! We left on the bus at 10:30pm and arrived on the ferry at 7am. We stayed on the ferry until 11am and then got back on the bus and finally got to our destination at 3pm!!! The roads were bumpy and the driver was crazy but we finally made it!

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Our adopted Indian Fijian family




When we finally got to our new home we were completely surprised by how flash it was and it totally brought smiles to our faces. Thank you God for being such a good Dad!!!


So that is basically all that has been going on in Fiji:). God is going to totally wake this nation up and start igniting hearts. We are so excited to be sharing our journey with you and please feel free to comment on what you would like to hear more about. Some weeks are busier than others and weather is definitely a factor in how much we do. Please continue praying for us and the people of Fiji:)
until next week
Moce,
Worship stream

 

Our Fiji Adventure Continues!!!

This is Cheyne the Girose(giraffe/horse) and he is what we get if we get Most Valuable Player of the Day. He is a prized possession because of cuddling awesomeness

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-So our week started off with an awesome prayer walk down the road that leads to the Vunayasi base and we started it off with lots of prayer at the base to see what God would have us pray into. We were led to sing" Breaking down strongholds of the enemy" and also declaring truth over the land. While we were praying, both Ashleigh and Matt heard God say that the land past the bridge belongs to God and it is for his kingdom. We declared that over the land and along the road we found a bubbling spring of cool water and were reminded of heaps of scriptures that talks about thirsty lands and God turning deserts into gardens. When we arrived at the bridge, we wanted to do a prophetic act so walked over the bridge onto the land while John and Matt crossed over through the river and that symbolized the Israelites crossing the Jordan into the promised land.

The rest of the Sunday afternoon we spent planning for the week and the enemy tried to foil our plans but as always God came and we were able to get a lot done.

 - So we had planned on going to two different schools but one rescheduled so we were aable to head back to Nadi District School. There we each got to teach for 30 minutes in each classroom about anything we wanted. There were 16 classes and we got through them in 2 hours. God was so awesome because he totally showed up and was doing work inside and outside of the kids. Some kids were able to hear God and others were crying because the holy spirit just convicted like crazy.

We were also able to make bracelets for the children at the orphanage and that turned into an awesome time of bonding for our team.

 At night, we were able to go to a local church and share/preach for two hours. It is so amazing how God can totally speak through things we have heard before and reveal to us totally new things about Himself and us as individuals. We were also able to go back to this church and speak to the youth. God totally moved during that service!! Ashleigh shared Ezekiel 17 with them and then Nate got up shared about hearing God's voice and the importance of being able to. Then Leah ended the service by preaching about Not wasting time and obeying God when He tells you to move. Overall it was an exciting night and we loved being with them!!

On Tuesday, we were able to go to Swasi Vivekenanda High School  with a thousand students and do an hour long program. In the program, we had Matt lead the tootsie wootsie and it totally helped get the students barriers down and ready to listen. Ashleigh shared a short testimony on how Jesus was the ONLY way and the best way and that led into the everything skit. Emily explained the skit and then John came up and talked about the cross. God really moved in some of the students and it was so cool to see it happen in a predominantly Hindu school.

Matt talking to the kids about nor caring what people think.

The prefects and us posing for a billion pictures:)

 Later that day, we were able to go to the Treasure House orphanage and just love on the kids there. They especially liked the guitar and singing. We were supposed to do a program but it didn't end up happening.Flexibility is our favorite word in outreach:). We met some awesome kids and got to hear some of their stories and just hang out with them for a few hours. Afterwards, we headed back to the same church and were able to share again what God has been showing us.

Caleb pushing the carriage and showing off for us! He was such a sweet boy and he loved Matt bunches.

Gloria is fascinated by the guitar:) She was so scared of us but couldn't withstand the lure of the guitar lol

This little girl stole the guitar and our hearts:)

 On Wednesday, we decided to plan more for the programs coming up and it was an all together relaxed day for us. It rained later that day so some of the ministry we were going to do got cancelled since most things are held out side and people walk to them. As a team, we decided to bless the base staff and write encouragements for them and get words for them. It was such an awesome time of prayer and hearing God's voice.

The raining season begins in Nadi Town!!

 We were able to have an "exciting time of intercession" with the base staff here and after that we were able to go into town to buy some food and fruit for the women in Bangladesh. We really wanted to bless them when we went to their community. We were able to do a program there and give them the gifts before we left. They were so sweet and hospitable. Ashleigh and Emily were able to go back and see the woman who had been deaf and was healed last time we were there.

On Friday, we decided to do a "Treasure Hunt" in the morning since the school we had planned rescheduled due to the rain that had happened all week. So a treasure hunt is when we pray and get specific details about people that God wants us to encounter. We all got 3-5 different things about people we were supposed to meet and pray for. All of us found at least 3 of our treasures and it was sooo amazing!! We serve such an amazing God!! Emily and Ashleigh went into a Chinese shop and ended up getting invited to a Chinese church and praying for the shop owner. John and Nathan prayed for a man that hasn't been able to walk for 5 years and they prayed and the man got up and walked!!! Matt and Leah found the girl with the white flower and she had been fasting and dealing with a lot. She was so encouraged and couldn't believe that God would tell us to come find her. All of these people were found because God gave us pictures or words about them. Our God is so amazing and He is just getting started in Fiji:)

Last but not least, we picked up Derrick from the airport and He made it safely to Fiji! We are so excited to have him with us and to be able to do a few days outreach with him. Please keep us in your prayers. We will be headed to Lambasa, Fiji on Friday and spending our last 3 weeks in Fiji there before heading back to New Zealand.

Moce,

Worship stream

Bula!!! First week in Fiji:)

  We are staying at the Vunayasi base in Nadi, Fiji. Since we have arrived last Saturday, it has been a whirlwind of awesome ministry opportunities and getting to see Christ move in this beautiful land. The staff at this base have already become family and we love getting to share this amazing journey with them. They have been such a big help in teaching us about the culture and the people we are to minister to. The food here is pretty amazing and definitely a new experience for us and we are enjoying every minute of it.:) (especially the guys lol)

 We have been able to minister in several schools by performing skits, sharing testimonies and basically doing whatever the Holy Spirit leads us to do. Some schools are more responsive than others but we continue to pray that God move among this wonderful and loving people.

 The kids love doing "Tootsie Wootsie" and it is a great ice breaker for us and the children. They see us acting silly and it allows us to minister to them about Jesus once their barriers are down. We have been performing many skits and just dramatizing different bible stories so that God's word comes alive for them as it does for us.

 We are so thankful to have a van that we can take to each place and we get to play games and just act silly together while preparing for each place of ministry. We have already spent hours in this van and have come to love the bumpy roads of Fiji!:)

 This was one of our favorite schools that we visited on Tuesday. The children were so lively and willing to jump right into singing and dancing and it encouraged us to even try harder. The picture below is when we do the skit "Sticky Chair" and we are showing that not even strength can get us out of sin but it is Jesus alone that gives us freedom. It is a school favorite among the primary:). 127 students plus teachers and us squished into this one room but it was soo amazing to share Christ with them.

We had the opportunity to teach Wednesday-Friday at a church and the Holy Spirit totally showed up and did amazing things for the people there. God also pushed us out of our comfort zones and was able to use us in crazy ways to minister to people. We were able to pray for the blind man at this church and he was is now able to see light and shadows!!!

 As a team, we were able to split up into pairs and go evangelize in one of the slums "Bangladesh". We saw so many healings including: a deaf person able to hear, knees healed, hips healed and others done. We are going back on Thursday to minister to a single mom/ single older women compound in that neighborhood  and bring them fruit and other basic necessities. We are so lucky to have been able to love on so many broken people and share the gospel with them. We were also able to attend a legit Fijian Funeral and it was 3 hours long.... We didn't really understand it but it was totally an experience and now we know to eat before we go to another one :)

 One of the schools we performed a program at allowed us to come back and clean and work outside and just spend time with the kids. It was such a fulfilling day and we got to love on the kids by playing and cleaning with them.:)  Nadi District School
We also got to spend one of the mornings learning from an amazing man of God, Joesph Hedgebeck, and just get a refresher on hearing God's voice. It was amazing and really helpful for the upcoming days ahead.  God was able to give us revelations and refreshment from the teaching.

 For our day off, we went to Natadola Beach and spent the day there. On the way home, John  gave his testimony on the bus which opened up doors for some of us to share with others on the bus about Christ. It was so awesome and we ended the day with a celebration dinner for our fearless leaders.:)

We were also able to share at a High / Vocational school and it was crazy how the schedule changes so fast and we have to be flexible to just go with it. God still uses these moments and we seem to do better when our plans fall through lol. A major part of this outreach is to just love the people of Fiji and share with them whatever the Holy Spirit lays on our hearts. We are so thankful for all the opportunities God has been giving us and the doors that continue to still open at more and more schools in Fiji and the churches here. We have been in:
Schools: 3 different schools and went to the same one twice
Churches: 2 and taught at the same one 3 nights in a row
Evangelism: the streets of downtown Nadi, bus, slum and just in random passing.


We have an even more packed week coming up so please keep us in your prayers and the people of Fiji too. We want to see soo many healings and crazy God things happen in the next 5 weeks. Until next week
Moce,
Worship Stream 2013

Let the countdown begin!!!!

I can't believe that we leave in less than 2 days for FIJI!!! God has provided all the money that we need and is preparing us physically, mentally and spiritually for this awesome time of ministry. Our first week in Nandi, Fiji we will be teaching at the YWAM base on worship for 2 hours every night and doing some kids ministry at the elementary school a little bit each morning. We basically do whatever they want us to do and listen to the Holy Spirit on what to speak about. This is going to be so exciting and we cant wait to start showing the pictures and telling you about all the amazing stuff God is doing:)
Keep us in your prayers and will up date soon!!