Emily's Expedition: June 2009

::Saturday::6.27.09::

Internet has been a big problem so my updates are all strung together! Please please please pray for our Internet to work. We paid $800 for Internet while we’re here in New Zealand, and it’s been a constant frustration since we got here 2 weeks ago. It’s crucial for our projects to work smoothly as well as wanting to keep in contact with people back home! It’s hard enough with a 17-hour time difference! Pray that it will not damage our group dynamic, and we can be patient!

Start at the bottom and work up. That way it's in order. Thanks for reading!

::Friday::6.19.09::

We’re finally getting our projects going! Currently our team is working on a story/poster of a boy named Junior. The goal of this poster is to share the gospel, make the medical ship less scary, and give simple tooth care suggestions. It’s a pretty tall order, but I think we have a plan that will work. We’re making the poster fold up so it reads like a book, but then has a poster they can hang on their walls for constant reminder. The Fijian people will hang up ANYTHING they can get their hands on as long as it’s bright. We hope we can create something that they will want to keep! We also have four other smaller projects lined up that we should learn more about soon.

PRAYER!

I’m so excited about how well our group is doing together. I have never been in a group of people that gets along as well as we do. I thank God so much for his grace in this matter! Please pray that our unity continues as we settle into more of a schedule as well as living together in one lodge. We’re so thankful for our accommodations, but living with professors and 11 other students can get very tiring.

Also, several in our group are having physical ailments (including one professor). Please pray those will be healed but also for God’s will in those ailments. We want to do our best for God and Marine Reach! Please pray for clear communication between Marine Reach and our team so we can produce the most effective material for the Fijians.

Thank you!

::Sunday::6.14.2009::

We made it to New Zealand Friday night and drove three hours from Auckland to Tauranga. Yesterday morning we met with Joanne of Marine Reach who told us some neat things about Tauranga. We spent the rest of the day exploring the city. We attended Joanne church this morning and went back at three for tea and to meet the Marine Reach team here in New Zealand. They are very enthusiastic about us being here, and we’re excited to take what we saw and learned in Fiji and apply it to making materials for Marine Reach to give to the Fijian people.

Pictures: The beach across the street from us! Apparently this cat hangs out with the fisherman all the time.

::Wednesday::6.10.09::

Today we were able to see people come onto the ship and receive dental care. Most of the people just need to have their teeth extracted because they don’t take care of them or don’t have the means to take care of them. They do have the equipment for other procedures as well. When they leave the clinic they receive a toothbrush and toothpaste to help them. Also, Marine Reach tries to share Christ with the people that come on the ship. They want to not only help their physical needs but their spiritual needs as well.

I’ve been surprised at how much the Fijian people value relationships and family. They are the friendliest people I have ever met. Walking around town it’s easy to see how important they are to each other. That could be a product of not having much in this life though. During my time in the dental clinic I was surprised most by a father and his young daughter. After the father had two teeth extracted (or what was left of them), his daughter climbed into her father’s lap and was treated while lying on top of him. He held her tight through all the pain of the shot and her four front teeth being pulled. I was amazed that the father cared enough for his daughter to humble himself into a position where he was able to just comfort her in her pain. It gave me a really clear picture of how God holds us in our pain. It’s something we must go through to be healthier and stronger, but he holds us close as we are experiencing troubles.

Marine Reach helped 17 people today with their dental needs. How exciting!

Picture 1: The father and his daughter

Picture 2: A girl coming onto the boat to go to the dentist

::Tuesday::6.9.2009::

We got the unique opportunity today to travel to a remote village three hours away from the ship. We rode a very bumpy public transportation bus to the village. We were greeted with open arms and smiles. The houses were absolute shacks, but the joy that overflowed from these people was incredible! They invited us into their homes, fed us (even though they have next to nothing), and talked to us. Many of the children were scared of us because they had never even seen a white person, much less one with a big camera taking pictures of them. Our group brought balloons to give to the kids and they loved them (even the adults liked them!). They were so sweet to open up their lives to complete strangers and we all walked away feeling more blessed than we ever expected.

Picture 1: The bus we rode to the village

Picture 2: Vika with a balloon we brought

Picture 3: A village house

Picture 4: A little girl in the village

::Sunday::6.7.2009::

Bula! (That’s “hello” in Fijian!) Well our team has arrived in Fiji after a long plane ride and a 4 hour bus ride from Nadi to Suva. We boarded the Pacific Link, a medical ship used by Marine Reach, a ministry of YWAM. Compared to the other ships in the harbor, this ship is very small. It is nothing like any of us expected, but the people are nice and accommodating. The Pacific Link had just returned from a couple weeks of giving medical help to surrounding islands and the villages there. They were able to minister to and give aid to many people.

This morning we went to church close to the harbor. The people were extremely friendly and happy to see new faces worshiping along with them. Every Sunday, services are broadcast (via radio and television) to several cities in Fiji as well as some surrounding islands. I was excited to see that they are trying to reach out to spread God’s good news to their fellow Fijians. It was so neat to see people in another country worshiping God in the same way we do. They sang mostly older songs and hymns, but I knew most of them and enjoyed being able to worship with the Fijian people. The pastor preached about the story of Mary and Martha, and how we are too busy for Jesus. Often I think of busyness just being a problem in the US, but it was interesting to know they struggle with it here too. It seems like their way of life is so much more simple, and it reminds me that we all fall short of God, and we all are in need of redemption.

Fiji is absolutely gorgeous. It is their winter here, but still in the 70s and 80s. Today we had a chance to go to a forest and take pictures. We also swam in some gorgeous pools. We all loved it.