Home Again Home Again!

First off, I want to apologize for falling off of the blogging band wagon since leaving Fiji…and let you know that I will probably be off of it until we are settled into our new home and have internet installed.

You are probably wondering just how our house hunting is going, and I am pleased to report that today we found a great house! Tomorrow we will make it all official with the paperwork. Today has been an amazing day! You know some days you wake up and just know that God is on the move; well that was how today was. We woke up early, climbed the Mount as we talked to the Lord, and then headed to Starbucks to use their internet to look for newly listed rentals (believe it or not we managed to stay away from their addicting coffee). After having a nice little divine appointment with a full on Christian man, Josh suddenly looked at me (while I was talking to NZ immigration) and said, “I think we found our house”. After about 5 talks with the owner, a drive by, and then a walk through, we are pleased to announce the frantic house hunting project has come to a close! The house is perfect for us, looks surprisingly American, is under a year old, has walk in closets, is in a great central neighborhood, and is right next to a greenbelt so we can stay fit for free (gyms are way too expensive in this country). What can we say besides it is awesome!

We will move in on December 24th and are negotiating being able to put all our stuff in the garage on the 22nd when we have to move it out of our present apartment. So, yeah that is our prayer point for tonight. It would not be fun to have to move it all twice in three days. Now we just have to find and buy the basic furniture we need, like a refrigerator and a couch.

Thanks so much for praying for us in our housing search. We are so happy with the house and will put pictures up after we move in and get a bit settled.

Would you like to trade coffee for a speeding ticket?

On Friday morning at 4am, we left Suva for the last time in 2006. I must say it was rather relieving to be driving out of the city given all the current political tension. One of our students, Pita, kindly volunteered to drive us all the way to Nadi and bring the van back on the same day. However, Taubale was the driver to Nadi, and at about 5:00am shortly after we had stopped at a service station to purchase kona coffee, we were pulled over by the police for speeding, and the police officer showed the radar detector at 13km’s over the speed limit, and pulled Taubale out of the car and directed him to walk over to his car parked on the other side of the street. With our eyes straining to stay open, we watched and prayed as Taubale stuck hi head in the police car window and explained that he was late for his flight and in a rush to get to the airport. Surprisingly they said “ok well just give us our breakfast, and we’ll let you off”. Next thing you know we’re watching Taubale run across the road with the biggest grin on his face you’ll ever see. He got his kona coffee and ran back and gave it to the Police Officer saying “sorry I was drunk on this stuff”. It was the funniest let off we’ve ever seen.

After going through 7 Army check points, we made it to Nadi, and after dropping Taubale off we checked into the hotel were we are relaxing for two days before flying out on the 10th of December. Josh was stoked as we ended up having breakfast with Matt Gitteu from the Wallabies rugby team, and then later in the afternoon we spotted Joe Rokacoko, an all black, from our sun lounge, who are both staying here at present. We’re blessed to be here and we’re pretty happy with the “coup special” they gave us with over 60% off the normal rate. Apparently all Fijian hotels are due to drop their normal rates by at least 40% over the next week, right through to April. If you want a nice holiday, this is the place to be.

Well next time I speak to you we’ll be in New Zealand.

IT IS FINISHED!

Last nights graduation was huge success. A great time was had by all. In true island style there was tons of food, and Josh brought one of the best graduating challenges I have ever heard. I'm not just saying that because he is my husband, he was making everyone get teary eyed. One of the highlights for me was the student testimonies. It was amazing because from the lips of the students came what they felt like they learned. Overall the testimony was the same, but it wasn't about public speaking, or navigating their way through building the IWT structure. Nope, by far they testified that they felt like they had learned more about intimacy with Jesus than anything else in the school. Wow...what an awesome thing for them to say. That of course made Josh and I smile.

Celebrating in the Midst of the Coup!

The coup has officially taken place as of 6 pm last night. Suva is still peaceful and Josh and I are still OK. No worries! The Military Commander is announcing his interim government later today, and in a few months they will have another election. Next week the Great Council of Chiefs will meet together and if all goes as planned, the President will be reinstated. Apparently the President sided with the Military Commander.
Tonight we are going to celebrate the completion of the school with Graduation. Our students are busily preparing the "Lovo" for the feast. It has been cool to watch them burn stones until they glow and then bury them in the ground with all the food. It will be great to celebrate all that God has done in these guys tonight. Honestly, they have changed so much...becoming so much more grounded in the love of the Lord and confident. We will post some pictures of graduation soon.
As for Josh and I, we have one more day in Suva (you simple have to clean house and pack). Then to the relief of everyone, we will head over to the Western Division of Fiji to wait for our flight on Sunday morning. Pita, one of our students will drive us and the National Director westward at 3am Friday morning.

How We Are Doing

Many of you are probably wondering how we are doing being in the middle of a politically unstable country, so I thought I would tell you.

Josh and I are doing fine, really well in fact. We love our students, believe in them, and want to give them all that we have before leave here. We have two more days of class after today, graduation, a couple days to pack up, run errands, clean house, go to the other side of the island where the airport is, and then we should fly out on the 10th. That is if the planes are still flying. (Prayers wanted on that one)

The coup that was supposed to take place on Friday was postponed until who knows when, leaving the country in an interesting state of mind. It's like a sense of foreboding is settling over the city. The weekend was very quite in the city as most people stay inside, hunkered down, waiting for the coup to erupt. It never did. Josh and I listened to Mike Bickle, prayed, played cards, and cleaned house.

This morning brought with it more deadlines of when the coup was supposed to happen. As of this minute, still no coup though there are military personnel with guns in downtown. So we are praying together as a couple, as a class (we had a great prayer time this morning), and as the body of Christ in this country. It's the best thing we can do.

Global Pastor's Network

Last week we had the priviledge to attend the Global Pastors Network meeting for Oceania held in Suva. Becasue of the impending coup, a lot of the big name speakers like Bonke didn't come. YWAM leadership was here in force though. Lauren Cunningham and Mark Anderson took on a large leadership role in the four day event, and it was awesome to have them around.




This was a great opportunity for IWT and our students to get connected from different pastors thoughout the Pacific. Here are a couple pictures of the time. One is of Lauren Cunningham, so you can put a face with the name. The other is of the pastors comming to place their commiments to reaching the lost, over the next 10-15 years, at the alter.

Coup Set for Today at Noon

This week we have had the Global Pastors Netowrk Congress, which our IES students and ourselves were invited to. It’s been amazing to rub shoulders with some amazing men and women of God, including Loren Cunningham, the founder of Youth With a Mission. When Loren met Misty and found out she was from Austin, Texas, He said to Josh, “I think of you much better now that I’ve met your other half”.

The Political situation here in Fiji continues to be unstable as I’m sure you’ve seen on the news. The Coup is set to take place at noon today. However, we’re safe and ok, and everything should be fine….In saying that we are ready to evacuate if need be. Life seems normal here in Suva, and if we didn’t read the news we would barely know anything was happening.

We only a few days left with the first ever IES here in Suva. We’re looking forward to catching our breath for a couple of days after graduation, next Wednesday, before heading back to New Zealand on Saturday the 10th. We’ll be moving back to our place at the beach for 10 days and will be looking for a new place to stay. Christmas with the Coles @ Ruahihi Rd should be great and we are so looking forward to it.

Extra Extra Read All About It

Wow what an exciting last few days. Josh, myself, and a van load of students headed over to Nadia, in the Western part of Fiji. We had a banquet on Monday night with hosted by the local Christian Mission Fellowship. It was great for the students to experience a fundraising banquet...and as usual the Lord showed and we raise almost 18,000 from a crowd of maybe a 150 people. It was great. The eight hours of driving really wore us all out though.

Most of you are probably hearing bad news about Fiji's political situation. The media is really having a field day. I would like to report that things are still peaceful here. Keep praying though. The Global Pastor's Network Meeting starts in just a few hours, so as news blares "Don't Come to Fiji, especially Suva" over 600 of God's generals are gathering in this city. Over the next 4 days they will be meeting to come up with stratigies for total world evangelism in the next 15 years. Ourselves and our students will be right in the middle of the mix, which is a huge privilege and honor. Now with something like that going on, is it any wonder there is turmoil? I think not.......

Never a dull moment in the islands.

Well after a full week of teaching, and a full on Thanksgiving celebration, Josh and I are enjoying the weekend (we get to sleep in), however thus far it has been pretty interesting.

After class on Friday afternoon, Josh and I came home with headaches. It has officially become summer here in Fiji and it is SO HOT. You literally drip with sweat when you are just sitting still, so I think we got dehydrated despite the 4 liters of water we drank between us throughout the day. At 5:45 I decided I better do the last few dishes from the Thanksgiving feast the day before so into the kitchen I went. As I turned on the water I noticed the pressure was really low and immediately thought, “Oh no there is another water cut!” Quickly I went into the bathroom, cleaned the tub, and then began to fill it with the small tickle now coming out of the taps. By 6pm there was no water. As the DTS team arrived home from a nice sweaty day of prayer walking, we all groaned as we realized it meant no showers for any of us after sweating all day, and no water to flush the toilets and with 15+ people in the house, that is a non-negotiable….GROSS!

A couple hours later we suddenly heard thunder, the sound of torrential rain, and a bunch of people screaming outside. As we looked out our window we saw the boys from the DTS team doing a rain dance in the middle of the yard. They were yelling out “thank you Jesus, we get to shower!” It was quite funny, and Josh and I went out to have a good laugh. Suddenly, Forest yelled out, I’m going to get shampoo! Moments later a bunch of boys were soaped up, letting the rain wash them clean. It was awesome! Full shampoo and conditioner followed. And before I knew it, Josh and I were out there with them, enjoying a natural shower in our backyard at about 9pm.

Never a dull moment in Fiji, too bad the water is still off and it is Sunday afternoon.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all of the Americans reading this! Last night we had a huge Thanksgiving dinner with our friends from the New Castle DTS. After visiting 4 grocery stores, it was as close as to American Thanksgiving as you can get in Fiji. Here’s a pic!

Thanksgiving in Fiji

Today is Thanksgiving in Fiji…and we are so thankful. After seven and a half weeks of waiting for Josh’s computer to be fixed, we have a working computer back in out possession! It is truly a miracle and we are so thankful! Josh has been smiling since we picked it up yesterday.

VJ from the HP office called at 3:55pm saying that the computer was fixed. After seven plus weeks of having our hopes raised only to crash back down again….Josh asked him if VJ if he was joking. VJ in reply said, “No I am not joking, it is really working, I have it on my desk now, you can come get it….but we close at 4:30”.

As you can imagine, as soon as Josh got off the phone all work ceased in the office. We packed up all our equipment in record time and jumped into a taxi. Making to the office just in time we tested the computer one last time, rejoiced at its’ working state, and brought it home. I have never brought home a newborn from the hospital, but I can imagine the excitement was about like that!

On another note, tonight we are celebrating Thanksgiving at our house with the New Castle DTS. We couldn’t find a turkey…but roasted Chicken will do just fine! I can’t wait for dinner! It’s time to celebrate and give thanks to God for all he has done and is doing.

Meditating on the Word

One of the things that Josh and I have been trying to teach our students to do is to dive deep in the word. One of the best ways we know to do this is by using the Meditation Model from the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. With this model you basically focus on one verse and ask the questions who, what, when, where, and why about a verse. After a set period of time, we all come back together and share what we feel like the Lord has shared with us.

Today as a class we meditated on Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God”. It was amazing to hear what everyone had been speaking to everyone. One of my personal favorite revelations was something Joshua shared. He was captivated by the words “shall see God”. He said that seeing God is our destiny in this age, and the age to come.

I don’t know if you think about eternity very often, but it is fascinating. The heavenly scene in set in Revelation 4 and 5, talks about creatures with eyes everywhere. The bible says that those creatures are continuously moving around the thrown gazing at God. They are just looking at God with all their eyes. God is so fascinating that for thousands of years these creatures have just been gazing and worshiping God. Now if God is that awesome…don’t you think we will be gazing at Him when we get to Heaven? It made sense to me, and I am prety sure it is scriptural. Check out the Book of Revelations it is facinating!

Giving Week

Last was giving week in our school. We started the week with a giving day, and things just kept rolling from there. It was amazing! Out of a group of about 12 people, over 1000 was raised toward paying off the outstanding school fees. People gave all kinds of things, alarms clocks, food, duty time, (where they give up sleep and take another’s breakfast duty) and even a Bula shirt to Josh. Doesn’t he look great!

Fundraising Banquet

Tonight we have our first Fundraising Event for the IES students. Just like Josh and I, they have to raise their personal support to be able to work for IWT Fiji as coordinators. So tomorrow night we are going to have a little event to try and get that ball rolling. Julie from Townsville, Australia is here with us this week teaching on event management, so it is prefect to have them practice by planning their own event. I wish you could see the wheels in their heads turning as they plan out all the details.

Mike and Pensey are still in Fiji as well. Their second week in Fiji has been full of strategizing the follow up discipleship for IWT Fiji and speaking at seminars. Their adorable son Josiah, who is 18 months old loves hanging out with Luke. Isn’t he cute?

Kids and the Army

Over the weekend and pretty much every afternoon and evening, a new trend has begun to occur at 55 Lovoni Road. Around 4 pm kids begin to come to hang out with the DTS teams, enjoy food, and hopefully get a little closer to Jesus.

It’s a bunch of kids getting together, so most of the time there are fun sports and games going on in the yard. Here is a pictures of the kids doing what they do. Our driveway is now a skate park…but hey, at least there are no pot holes!

This morning, Josh and I jumped in a Taxi ( it was a nice taxi and complete with island chill out music playing the background) and headed to the office. We had to drive right past the army base....and boy was it busy. We passed two platoons walking down the road with huge guns, a large bus filled with army personell in full uniform, and a truck filled with soliders headed somewhere.

At first we thought, something must have happend at the meeting between the Army Commander and Prime Minister yesterday at the meeting. But after a quick scan of the news we discovered that was not it. So it is a big mystery....hopefully it is nothing.....but totally pray!

Taxis in Fiji

Because Josh and I don’t have a car here in Fiji, we have been using taxis as our most frequent mode of transportation. For those of you reading this from the USA, Australia, and New Zealand…you must be thinking, “How in the world can they afford that?” The answer to that question is simple….taxis are really cheap and plentiful in Fiji. According to my calculations, which of course are very precise (I look out our front window and count how many taxis drive by verses normal cars), there are about 3 taxis out of every 5 cars.

These taxis however can be quite an experience. Sometimes they are really nice, sometimes they are about to fall apart. Sometimes they are station wagons with tons of space for things you are carrying, and sometimes they are so small you have to squish yourself just to fit inside. Sometime the drivers are literally driving like they are on the autobahn, and sometimes the car can barely make it up a hill. Sometimes they have to stop and get gas mid run, and sometimes the cars literally fall apart as you are driving down the road.

Yesterday, Josh and I had an interesting experience on our way into town. We jumped in a “relatively nice” taxi and headed into town. After we had been in the car about two minutes our Hindu taxi driver started speaking broken English about something and pulled into the gas station. Apparently his engine was overheating and he needed to add some water. There was Fijian attendant there that came up to us and started joking around about us not paying the driver because of the breakdown. We just laughed and went on our way.

On our way back from town we were in one of those “not so nice, hardly moving” taxis. Then all of the sudden, without explanation, our driver pulled over in front of the Australian Embassy. Apparently, he had a near flat tire and thought it was about to blow. So in we went to the same gas station where we had another conversation with the same Fijian attendant. This time though, when he saw us….he just started laughing and told us we had the worst luck ever. It was quite comical….but as the car was going to take awhile to fix, we walked the rest of the way home.

Simply Beautiful…Simply Homesick

Today, I am defiantly missing Tauranga, our community, and the House of Prayer. I miss going for runs by the beach and have Josh beat me by a mile, climbing the Mount and looking out over the ocean, eating fresh Snapper that Josh caught a few hours ago, being able to cook almost anything I could want to eat, hanging out with friends, having cribbage tournaments that last into the night, singing at the House of Prayer….being able to pick up my guitar (I had to leave it in Tauranga because of airline weight limitations….but I did play one that someone let me barrow last night), enjoying the perfect summer weather of New Zealand, and a whole truck load of other things. All in all I am homesick and can’t wait for Christmas.

Impact World Tour

When Josh and I first talk about Impact World Tour many people ask….”How do you plan such a big event? I would like to shed some light on this. This picture is our IWT Fiji timeline. It works just like an excel spreadsheet, and you read it like a grid. There are tons of different categories and lots to do in each one. By putting it all in a time line we can clearly see what needs to be done each month until the campaign happens. Isn’t it grand?

Unexpected Visitor

Today we had an unexpected visitor from Josh’s past…..Sam Brown. Sam Brown is a part of Lifeway College (which is a really great Christian College in New Zealand) and knows Josh through his sister Anna. Josh and Sam met on a very historic day….the only day, that the Lifeway students beat the Lifeway staff in there annual Staff/Student Rugby game. Apparently the student team needed some more players so they allowed two YWAMers (Marty and Josh) to play on their team.

Sam is a very interesting character, he is getting a Masters Degree in Insects. Now how many people do you know that do that? Sam has been in Fiji about 6 weeks, traveling the islands, collecting specimens for his Masters project. So we spent the afternoon talking about bugs over tea. According to Sam, Roaches actually do have a purpose….and Mosquitoes are the most deadly type of insects. Spiders are not classified as insects, in case you forgot that fact from high school biology. Also there are between 5 million and 10 billion insects in the world, and only 1 million of them have been named. Fascinating stuff huh?

Fiji Political Update

We have some good news about the political situation in Fiji. Over the weekend the Fijian Government dropped one of the two bills that the Fijian Government and the Fijian Military where fighting over. The bill that has been dropped is called Amnesty Bill which basically said that all those involved in the last coup would be set free…with no consequences. The Amnesty Bill was unjust to say the least. Keep praying for peace in the Fijian islands....Thursday is the day the Government and Military sit down to talk. Hopefully things will be as peaceful as this country is pictured.

Political Situation In Fiji

Josh and I wanted to ask you to pray for the political instability in Fiji. You might, or might not, have heard about some of the things going on in this country. In brief, there is a standoff between the Military Commander and the present Government. The Military Commander is asking the Government to change two corrupt government policies. If the Government will not change the policies, then the Military is asking for the government to step down. In the Government’s place, a Military Government will be put into place (by force if necessary). The Australian, USA, and New Zealand governments are threatening trade sanctions to put pressure on Fiji for a peaceful reconciliation. When the Military Commander returns, to Fiji the Government and Military will come together for talks. The talks are set for next Thursday. Hopefully they will be able to work out their differences.

The country feels very peaceful at this time, and we don’t feel like we are in danger. However, we have taken precautions and registered with the New Zealand embassy here in Suva. We are watching the situation from this end and will follow any recommendations from the New Zealand government concerning New Zealand citizens in Fiji. Presently we both feel like the disturbance is just a lot of talk and feel confident about remaining in Fiji at this point in time. Please pray for the situation.

Blessed by Island Hospitality

The verse the Lord gave Josh and I as confirmation to run the IES in Fiji is Acts 28, paraphrased “the islanders showed them great hospitality”…..and yes indeed they have. Island hospitality is an interesting thing because as a people, Fijians, really honor their guests by giving them their best....even though they don’t have much.
Just the other day during a corporate worship time I was reading Acts 28 again. Just as I read “the islanders showed them great hospitality”, Eta, the owner of a spa walked up to me and handed me a voucher for free Pedicure. Eta, an ex-ywamer turned spa owner, said she felt like the Lord told her to give me the voucher earlier in the worship time. I was so stoked….because my feet really needed some TLC and I had not taken the time to take care of them myself. I felt like God was putting an exclamation point on the verse that I had just read too. I love it when God does that.
When Josh and I got home that day, we found we had presents waiting for us. What a surprise! Vinni, our friend, and one of the best cake makers in Fiji (she operates a bakery out of here home and even makes cakes for the President and other VIPs), had left us little gifts. When I opened mine I found a beautiful black pearl anklet (Josh got deodorant…which gave us all a good laugh). God defiantly knows how to show us love.

Why we are in Fiji.....

Today, I want to give a shout out to God and testify that He still speaks to his people today. I realized that some of you reading this blog have no idea why Josh and I decided to come to Fiji to facilitate the Impact Evangelism School. Fiji is a challenging environment in the natural, and it is not a normal environment for a couple from the west to spend their first year of marriage. However….
When Josh and I were made aware of the need for school leaders for the IES, we went round and round talking about it, and pretty much decided we were not comming to Fiji. We had a wonderful little beach batch to live in, and a fulfilling job helping to get the Tauranga House of Prayer of the ground. There was no reason to leave New Zealand…however we kept praying about it.
Then one morning while I was in the Tauranga House of Prayer studying the book of Acts, I began reading Acts 28. It is when Paul gets shipwrecked on the island of Malta. Several verses really stood out to me, especially verse 2, “The islanders showed us unusual hospitality”. Then at lunch Josh said to me, “I really need to show you what God showed me this morning in the THOP”. He pulled out his bible and turned to Acts 28 verse 2.
That was pretty much it for us, what a great confirmation. We knew we were going to spend some 3 months in Fiji. When God separately shares the same scripture to both husband and wife on the same day, you know He is trying to get your attention. When God does that with scriptures talking about the islands, when husband and wife are praying about going to the islands....well it is pretty clear…you should go to the islands! So we came, and we’re here, and that is the story!

Curry, Lemons, and a Computer Geek

Well we’re into another week here! Aaron left us on Friday night, after an incredible week with the students and even some people from the local churches who heard word of what was happening, and wanted to come and sit in. Jenny Mollison is up this week, so it should be good.

On Friday lunch time we had the most amazing chicken curry with Roti, made especially for us by an Indian lady named Kathy, who was blessed by Aaron during the week and wanted to feed us. It was the real deal!

Josh and I had a very relaxing weekend hanging out at home….with the 27 DTS students living above us. Since getting married I have been on this quest to become a good cook and having 27 hungry teenagers living above us, 7 Fijian students with larger than average appetites in class, and at least one guest with us at all time, is as good an excuse as any to cook. This weekend I got inspired to do some baking, and a couple hours later we had white and dark chocolate chip cookies and a banana cake complete with lemon icing. Making Lemon icing with lemons straight off the tree from the backyard was a new experience.

The best news of the week so far, is that it looks like Josh’s computer will be ready to pick up this afternoon according the Vijay, the local HP geek! So we’re crossing our fingers…..

Lovo

Tonight, we are having a Lovo. Our students and the New Castle DTS students decided we needed to hang out more...so what could be better than hanging out over a traditional Fijian feast. For those of you that have no idea what a Lovo is, it is basically a big smoke out. You put chickens, kasava (which is a root plant kind of like potatoes), and anything else you want in a pit in the ground, filled with coals. You leave it to slow cook for about half a day...and Bingo, you've got a Lovo. Pretty cool, huh?

To bad it is taking longer to cook than we thought and presently we are all getting hungry.

The Real Fiji

Today we woke up at 5:30 only to discover that there was absolutely no water in our house. Of course that means no shower and no flushing toilets, which is literally stinky. On the plus side however ….it also means no washing dishes! It’s kind of funny to think that we are living in the most modern city in Fiji and on a normal basis we lose power and water…. but it is true. So pray we can get water soon….other wise it will be a smelly situation.

Last weekend we took a day and went to the closest beach to Suva, Pacific Harbor. On the hour long drive to get there, we saw the villages that most of the population lives in. Here are a couple pictures of the villages. One incredible cool village we saw was built into a hillside.

Diwali, A Weekend Long Party

This weekend was the Hindu celebration Diwali. Diwali is the celebration of lights….so they celebrate with tons of fireworks. I mean tons, like from dark at 6pm till 1am. It actually seemed like there was a war outside. It was constant cracks and booms. Children of all ages were literally playing with fire. It was crazy.

The outreach team living above us decided to have a party and invite everyone they have met since arriving…..so instead of fighting the noise coming through our roof…we went up and joined the party. Here is moment of the celebration captured on film.

Grossness!

Okay this is the last time I write about this but....Over the weekend this article appeared in the local Fijian paper. Gross, huh?

It felt like I was in Kansas City

This morning we had the YWAM DTS team that is living above us come join us for worship (Our house kind of feels like a college dormito. For over an hour people from different countries worshiped together. A skater dude from Kauai, Hawaii lead us in worship. It was an amazing time of worship where spontaneous ministry just broke out. At one point I actually felt like was in the middle of an Tuesday Fasting meeting at the International House of Prayer. For those of you who have been at the International House of Prayer in KC, you know what I am talking about. The presence of GOD was just thick as we worshiped and prayed for Fiji. God loves unity and when many people of many ages and cultures comes together unity….well Jesus blesses us with his presence. It’s awesome.

Attached is a picture of the skater dude's guitar. I thought it was pretty cool!

Elephantiasis??? Who Knew??

Have you guys ever heard of Elephantiasis? Being from America, I’d heard about the disease that causes body parts to swell up for a lifetime, but I’d never really given it a second thought…until last night. Last night we all went to one of our students (Vika’s) birthday party and we got on the topic of Elephantiasis and worms. Apparently in Fiji, some of the mosquitoes are currently spreading Elephantiasis (mostly on the outer islands). As soon as I heard that, I immediately freaked out as all the Fijians just laughed.

Apparently the Fijian government is trying to eradicate the disease and is giving out medicine for free. The medicine makes you really tired, but it prevents Elephantiasis and as a bonus kills any kind of worms you might have living inside of you. Isn’t that terribly exciting and just plain gross? So, this morning the first thing on our agenda was you guessed it, sending someone to get the medicine for Josh and I, our students, and the DTS team that is living above us.

What an adventure Fiji is…we go from singing happy birthday to talking about real disease threats. All I can say is “Praise the Lord for the medicine”. I don’t mind a little bit of tiredness if it keeps us from becoming deformed.

My new friend Taylor and the Community Gathering

Friday night the IWT staff and 13 member DTS outreach team gathered at the IWT office here in Suva. We had a great hang out time, and I really enjoyed watching our Fijian students mix and mingle with the team consisting mostly of Canadians, Australians, and New Zealanders. It's amazing that 3 of 13 are Kiwi's - that is a big % for a country of 4.2 million.
Following local protocol, one of the local pastors came and officially welcomed us all into the nation of Fiji; declaring that Fiji welcomed us into the land to do the work of Jesus. After this we had two of our student stand up and “practice” public speaking by telling the overseas guests information about their nation. They did a great job instituting everything they had been learning all week long!
A spicy curry dinner was served soon after the speeches. Then we went into recruiting for IWT staff and students for the next IES. I have to say I really enjoyed myself. I spent most of my time talking to a young Californian named Taylor who is really seeking the Lord about her future. I’m glad the DTS team has come. They live upstairs from us and are really loud. Overall though, having young people around who love God is just plain encouraging. I’m sure many more conversations and random acts of craziness will occur with 13 under 25 year olds living above us, in a one bathroom house.

My Friend, Luke

Today I am sad, or as my husband would say “gutted”. One of my best friends from the International House of Prayer, Luke Simmons, died. He had brain cancer. He got healed once, and then it came back. As a community that prays for the fullness of God to be shown through healing, I know we are all grieving and have questions. At least now though, Luke is in a place where there is no more death, sorrow, or pain. He is with the man he lived his life for, Jesus. I am thankful for getting to be his friend. His love for the Lord, continuous belief in his goodness, and complete trust in Him through his illness, taught me more than many other things ever will.

Misty on Discipline

Almost every morning at 5:30 am, since landing in Fiji, I have been waking up, pulling myself out of bed and turning on my computer. There are a lot of demands on a YWAM Fiji IES school leader ..…you have to get time with God, host people continuously, prepare for classes, take time to be a wife and a girl, cook, and manage a house that seems to be continuously crawling with ants.

In addition to that….you also must maintain your physical health….and this is the one responsibility that has gotten me out of bed at 5:30 am almost every day. In Fiji, you can not just throw on your running shoes and a pair of shorts and go for a run…at least a white, blonde, female can’t. Thus, I would like to salute my computer, my Pilates DVD, and my amazing yet totally surprising show of discipline. I also want to recommend this video (shown in picture), Crunch Pilates, and my good friend and instructor Ellen.

A Long Weekend Full of Surprises

QUESTION: What do blackouts, fish, candles, card games, coconuts, strategy meetings, a national holiday, missing New Zealand, a tea kettle, chocolate, and Richard Betts landing in Fiji equal?
ANSWER: Our long, relaxing, chilled out weekend.

After a long day of listening to teaching on leadership and fundraising, Thursday night we had our first “community dinner”…and found out that Monday was FIJI DAY, a national holiday. In Fiji, national holidays are kind of like Thanksgiving in the USA. All the stores and restaurants close down and there are military parades. Apparently there used to be fireworks too…but the government stopped putting it on a few years ago. So we had a longer weekend than we anticipated.

The weekend started with a power black out, leaving us in the dark with our three little candles. Saturday was filled with preparing for Richards arrival, lots of pre-cooking and walking back and forth to the store. Sunday our friend, and the speaker for the week, Richard landed. He brought with him our kettle (so we can make coffee and tea without a lot of work) from New Zealand, gigantic chocolate bars, several card games, and a wealth of knowledge about living in the islands. It is really good to have him with us. Here is a picture to help you put name to face!

Monday was spent getting caught up on life in New Zealand with Richard, playing cards, and eating coconut fish and chocolate. I have to be honest and say that both Josh and I are missing New Zealand and are looking forward to Christmas! To be back in our own home (not that we know where that is right now), to be with friends, and to be able to exercising in the beauty that is New Zealand just sounds wonderful. We know we are supposed to be here for this season though…and we like being effective training up these 7 guys. Anyway, enough rambling….it is morning tea time…and Fijians make the best tea!

A Great Week and A Sad Goodbye

We have had a great week in Fiji with Dave Cole. It is so nice to work with your family. Suddenly business meetings become family time! The students really loved listening to Dave, he is so inspiring. I must say, I’m pretty inspired too. We are sad to see him go.
Fijians in general are a very quite humble people…and while the students have kept that humility…they are beginning to get loud. It’s been so cool to see the student come out of there boxes. Confidence is building, and as they set there eyes on a goal of nation wide evangelism, I believe they will really begin to soar.
This is a picture of Vili, one of our students, intently focusing. Quite cool, huh?

Did you know that 30% of the population of Fiji is unemployed? Isn’t that amazing? A lot of people are under the impression that Fiji is “transformed” – a nation in the throws of revival. While revival and transformation is happening in some small villages and pockets throughout the islands of Fiji; I would like say that Fiji is not totally “transformed” as of yet. There are still hundreds of thousands of Fijians who need to encounter the Lord!

Today in class we talked about what a transformed nation would look like here in Fiji. It would be a place with no abortions, bars, prisons, mosques, or Hindu temples. There would be no violence, no corruption in the government, no divorce, and no drug abuse. There would be no murders, like the murder that happened down the street from the IWT office last night. Fiji would have more interracial marriages, more entrepreneurs, roads without pot holes, and political stability. Society would have better infrastructure, there would be many Christian missionaries being sent out, and there would be a Godly government in power. That’s what Fiji would look like. That’s what we’re praying for.

This picture is of our IES class. We believe that each student will be a world changer, helping to bring transformation to Fiji.

The Rain Has Gone Away!

We are so excited! The sun is finally shining in Fiji. After 9 days of rain and flooding, and an extremely relaxing weekend (it was raining, flooded, and we didn’t have a car) we are beginning to experience a bit more of Fiji. We are no longer stuck in our house (the picture is of our house, we live on the bottom floor)! We can actually walk to the store.

Josh’s dad, Dave, is here with us now, and we love having him with us. He is doing a great job envisioning the students for Impact World Tour! Last night we celebrated his 51st birthday. We missed the real day because we were crossing the international dateline…thus it never existed in our life. So last night we ventured into downtown Suva and went to Jay Jay’s…..the same restaurant we spent our 10 month dating anniversary at. It was the best food I’ve had in Fiji yet.

Besides that life is beginning to settle into a rhythm in Fiji. Each day is different and the same. Wake up, exercise, go to class (there are tons of unexpected events during this part of the day), travel home, cook dinner, have a cup a tea time, and then to bed. Tea time is a great tradition…..the USA should really adopt the tradition!

Fiji is Flooding…and it is still Raining

Today is our 9th day in Fiji and the 9th day of torrential rain. This is not what I expected from Fiji. I though for sure I would be drenched in sweat from the hot and humid days…not wet from unsuccessful attempts to stay dry.
Apparently there is a hurricane somewhere near the Fiji islands. That hurricane is what is causing all the rain. We have not experienced any other symptoms of a hurricane, so we are very grateful…but it sure makes getting around difficult because a lot of the roads are flooded. It’s times like this that I’m grateful we live on a hill, and remind myself of the promise of the rainbow.
The picture is taken from where we are holding the IES. To the right of the picture there is normally a garden full of taro, (kind of like potatoes) and other native Fijian food. In the picture it is sitting under about two and half feet of water. Towards the top of the photo where all you can see is a body of water….that is normally a Rugby field. Fijians love their rugby.

Now does this look like the Fiji you've seen in the brochures or what? This is a local beach near Suva. Mosquito Island is a five minute boat ride from the mainland and a popular swimming destination for the locals. Unfortunately, there is a reason the island has the name it does. Make sure you take some bug spray if you visit here.

Bula Vinaka....we are in Fiji!
Today is my 6 month wedding anniversary and I am spending it on the island of Viti Levu, Fiji. Doesn't that sound great! Unlike most peole however, Josh and I didn't come here for a romantic getaway, we came to work.
My husband Joshua and I have been here 4 days ago, and wow what an adventure so far. I have to say, I think I am a little bit culture shocked! I'm so thankful that I am here with my husband and not by myself. Somehow, he seems to just put things into perspective and makes me relax. I would like to take this time to praise him publically for being really inventive and practical. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't have eaten anything; as it seems I have a disability when it comes to lighting a gas stove!
We have had some funny times already. My hair has definatly gone fro, we've had to run away from wild dogs, and we've walked for over an hour to find a pizza place we remembered was good from last time we were here. All in all, I'd say we are doing pretty ok. The Lord totally knows what we need: and the IWT office has KONA COFFEE!