An island...An unexpected appointment...Fijian Sports

     Two weeks ago, after the spring break team left to go back to the States, we got to welcome Jane Armstrong (a Campus Crusade for Christ staff at Miami University and my Bible Study Leader/Discipler from my senior year at Miami), Courtney Evans (a Miami CCC intern), Ryan Elliott (our STINT partnership director) and another CCC intern at Miami to Suva/USP for our STINT Encouragement/Development week!  After 3 days on campus where they got to spend time with some of the students we have been meeting with all month, we jumped on a bus and headed to Nadi.  From Nadi we got on a ferry and made our way to Mana Island.  For 3 days we enjoyed time with each other, encouragement from the team in regards to our walks with the Lord, relationships with each other as a STINT team, and our ministry at USP.  We also enjoyed sailing, snorkeling, swimming and kayaking.  It was incredible, definitely what I thought Fiji was going to look like (before I realized we'd be living in a city without a beach).  It was a much needed time of relaxation.  As we made our way back to Suva last Sunday, it was such a blessing to gain a sense of finally being back 'home' when our bus drove through downtown Suva.  I could not wait to get back on campus last week and see what the Lord had in store!

Sunset Beach on Mana Island

The Ladies 

      The week ended up being incredible, though truly exhausting!  I was repeatedly brought to a point where I needed to depend fully on the Holy Spirit because my own strength had failed me!  Friday I found myself sitting at a table by myself, realizing that my 10am appointment was not going to show up. After a few minutes another student came over and sat down across from me.  I introduced myself and found out her name was Reea.  We started talking about her year at USP so far, where she was from (Kiribati) and whether or not she has heard of Student Life.  Our conversation led into an opportunity for me to share my faith, and before I knew it, she was praying to ask Christ into her life!  She doesn't have a phone, and has class Thursday nights when we have our weekly connexion meeting, but I'm confident that the Lord is going to place people in her life to help her grow in her faith!  I just love how the Lord showed me that day that His plan is so much greater than my own!

Nice, Brian

This past Saturday found most of my STINT team and about 50 USP students on the campus rugby grounds for Student Life Sports Day.  This consisted of a group of students playing Rugby (the guys), a group of students playing volleyball, and a group of girls that taught me different fijian games.  One of these was called Ferry and consisted of increasing your jumping distance each turn.  I don't want to brag...but I may have won this game :)  I then got to teach them how to play freeze tag!  After about an hour of playing these types of games we sat down on a tarp in the shade and just started talking.  It was such a sweet time to see different groups of girls that I have been hanging out with this semester come together and become friends with each other.  They are so inclusive and accepting here, which is so refreshing, especially when you bring new students to the Student Life weekly connexion meeting, or introduce them to some of the student leaders.  It makes me so excited to think of the year ahead and the relationships that the Lord is forming between them.

Me and Jenny with some of the girls at Sports Day!

Thank you so much for your prayers!  It is incredible to see the Lord move here among the students.

From the mouths of students...

"I had no idea that God has forgiven all of my sins, past, present AND future!  I had thought that when Christ died on the cross, He died for all of my past sins and it was up to him if He wanted to forgive the sins I have committed since then.  But NOW I know that He forgave all sin when He died in my place on the cross, even those sins in my future that I have not even committed yet!  That is incredible, and makes me SO thankful!"


"Since growing in my relationship with God, I now feel free to not care what people think of me!  Even though it is not always easy, I know that living for Christ is so much greater than living for the world."

-The above quotes were said by 2 different 1st year students who I have the privilege to go through the Follow-up Bible studies with!  It was such an incredible day today on campus as I saw the Lord bring different girls my way to share His love.  I had the opportunity to share with a few girls the vision of Student Life, (coming alongside students wherever they are in their walk with God, and helping to not only teach them more about Christ, but also train and equip them to be lifelong laborers for the Lord, wherever He calls them serve or work) and they were so excited!  It is so fun to be a part of a ministry that I know will continue growing and thriving long after I leave Fiji, because the Lord is behind it all, and His name is being glorified!

Thank you for being part of my team!  The Lord is moving in mighty ways!

An unforgettable week...

You know how we sometimes associate something good with something bad, just because they happened close together?  Well that has been the story of my life for the past five days.  


Friday morning the spring break team took off to mana island to debrief.  Well, as we all know, it was friday that the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, and threatened to come towards Fiji as well.  Friday night our cell phone provider sent out a mass text stating that there was a tsunami warning in effect and to move to higher ground.  It was definitely scary, but I had a sense of peace that the Lord was going to protect us.  So we all went to bed, unaware of how devastating the tsunami ended up being for Japan, and not sure if it was going to make it out here to us.  


I woke up Saturday morning and looked out my window to find Fiji as it always is.  Loud buses going back and forth down the road, taxis honking, and the sun shining.  It was not until later that day, once we finally were able to get our internet service back, that we realized just how bad Japan got hit, and how many people were wondering if me and my team here in Fiji were alright.  Once I set my family's mind at ease, I began to wonder how this terrible tragedy in Japan was going to affect ministry here at USP (later I would find out that the father and brother of one of my students that I'm meeting with was in Japan but thankfully they were not harmed, and they are on their way back to Fiji today!).  It's amazing how these kind of experiences bring people to a point of really questioning life itself, and making them face the reality that no one is promised tomorrow.  


Well, these thoughts were put on hold as my team headed out with a USP student to find a waterfall.  It was an incredibly hot day, and quite an intense hike to get there.  Now I'm usually really good about drinking water, but I was being stubborn that day, and wanted to wait until we got there.  Well, once we got there I was distracted by how nice and cold the water was below the waterfall, jumping into the water from the waterfall, etc.  So before I knew it, as we made our way home I began to get a terrible migraine.  And this migraine pushed through until the next morning and has left me battling dehydration for the past 3 days.  I know this was mostly my fault from the start, but it has been so frustrating.  


It has kept me off campus for the most part this week (except for a few hours I was able to spend with some students yesterday) and has definitely brought me to a breaking point.  This week is our "Encouragement Trip" week, where we are blessed to be hosting Ryan Elliott (out STINT coordinator), Jane Armstrong (my Bible study leader and discipler from last year) and Courtney Evans (an intern at Miami University who Stinted in Rome last year).  They have been coming to campus with us, leading nightly meetings, etc.  And I have absolutely hated missing out on such sweet time with them.  But, God is in control.  


I called home today and the moment I heard my mom's voice tears came to my eyes.  It's amazing how helpless and broken you feel when you are sick, and far from home.  But soon my family had me laughing again, and this day home has truly proven to be a blessing.  So as I look back upon this past week I know it will be one that will stick with me for years to come.  It definitely had it's ups and downs, but the Lord has shown me that through it all that He has never left my side.  Even when I can't fathom how to pray for those families who have lost so many in Japan, or when I'm lying sick in bed at home, wishing I could be on campus meeting with students and spending time with Jane and Ryan, God is good, and His plan for my life is better than anything I could imagine, even if it does not always make sense :)


Thank you for your prayers!
Please continue to let me know how I can be praying for you!

Miami at USP, a new Bible and LOTS of questions!

We have had the most incredible time getting to host a team of 10 that came from Miami University for their spring break!  6 students, and 4 staff arrived in Suva, Fiji on Sunday afternoon.  After a welcome lovo (traditional Fijian meal) held in their honor at Koli and Jeanette's house, we gave them a tour of USP and of our apartments.  The following days found all 16 of us walking on campus starting up conversations with students.  

The Spring Break Team!

After only 2 days on campus, the spring break team saw 26 students accept Christ!  God is moving, and we are so thankful to work beside them to share our faith with USP students.  Yesterday, I joined with Allie, a senior at Miami and we met with Namrisha, a hindu student.  After using soularium (a great tool Crusade uses to help initiate spiritual conversations through the use of photographs), Allie and I were able to share the gospel with Namrisha, and she expressed to us that she had a desire to ask Christ to come into her life!  I loved seeing the joy in her eyes, and hear how excited Allie was to have been used by the Lord to see Namrisha come to have a personal relationship with the Lord!  After 4 days on campus, the team shared their faith with over 100 students, and saw 30 accept Christ!

 

Pictured Above: Meredith, Allie, Laura (Miami students and intern) and Shareeza! (the muslim student who is so passionate to become involved in Student Life and share her faith!

The Miami Spring Break Team Touring Suva!

Today, I met with a lot of students to continue going through the follow-up Bible studies.  As I went through the 1st follow-up with Gulsan, a hindu student who accepted Christ last week, I loved seeing her put the pieces together as she began to understand that Christ will never leave her nor forsake her, and all of her sins are forgiven (past, present, and future!).  She told me, after I asked her how her first week had been as a new believer, that she felt "like something had been lifted from her.  She no longer has to feel guilty."  What a joy that was to hear!  I had the privilege of giving her a Bible!  She has never owned one before, and I loved being able to explain briefly how the Bible was written and broken up into books, chapters and verses.  She got to use it right away because I challenged her to use the index to help her find where the different books of the Bible are.  I had forgotten what it was like to look at a Bible for the first time, and felt so humbled when I saw her eyes of gratitude as she held the bright blue Bible in her hands for the first time!  I put the date she received Christ in the front cover, and I'll be praying that she never stops looking to the Bible for guidance and strength as she walks with the Lord for the rest of the life!





The day flew by, and before I knew it I was meeting with four girls (some pictured to the left), 2 of which had accepted Christ in the past few weeks, and we were going through follow-up 1.  Usually, these Bible studies take about 45 minutes, but this one took 2 hours!  These girls were asking me and Laura (an intern at Miami) tons of questions, like...
-is having a tattoo a sin?
-is listening to secular music a sin?
-if you marry a man who is of another religion, do you have to convert?
-if you hate someone in your mind, is that a sin?
-why do we feel guilty walking into a church after we've sinned, or not attended in a while?


It was incredible!  I was so thankful to have Laura beside me to help me answer these questions to the best of our abilities!  These girls are so hungry to learn how to follow the Lord, and glorify them with their lives!


What a privilege it is to come alongside students as they begin or continue in their relationships with God!   Thank you for joining me in being used by the Lord to help reach the islands for Christ!

In just this week, I have met with students from Micronesia, Samoa, Kiribati, Korea, and Fiji!  Please be praying that the Lord continues giving us strength and energy as we seek to meet and follow-up with students at USP!

Read my February Prayer Letter!

Awkward experiences are so worth it!

I'm pretty much becoming a pro at making normally awkward situations ever more awkward here in Fiji :)  So it's usually pretty awkward or uncomfortable to call someone to meet with you that you have never met/seen before, but then I take it a step further and the following is a common occurrence on campus these days: I am expecting a student to come at any minute for an appointment I set up the previous day to talk about the Lord.  I have already texted and tried calling this student a few times to remind her, but have not heard back.  At this point I am looking all around me for a student who looks nervous and shy as she scans the tables for "the white girl wearing a blue shirt" (as I often describe myself!).  Then it happens!  I see a student walk up to another group of girls and ask for Mary...well that's what I thought I heard.  She then looks towards my direction and I yell, "MiJee!!!" (the student I was supposed to be meeting)...no response...she walks past me and I call out to her again!  This happens about three more times before I surrender and take the advice from my teammates who have been laughing at me during this entire escapade, to assume she is not MiJee.  Two minutes later a young student walks up to me, and I assume it's MiJee!  Well...it was Soohyun, Miee's friend!  After a bit of an awkward introduction (sometimes my joyful laughter is taken the wrong way, but it ended up being fine! haha) I headed off with Soohuyn to find MiJee!  The three of us sat down beneath a huge tree on campus and I spent some time getting to know them.  Both of the girls are Korean, Soohyun had just returned to Fiji from Korea to go to school at USP.  They both told me at different times that hearing about Student Life and going through a Bible Study with me is exactly what they had been praying for!  What an incredible encouragement for me to hear!  I absolutely love these girls and their teachable hearts!  Please be praying that as we begin to go through the 4 follow up Bible Studies together, the girls will be challenged in their faith, and grow deeply in their relationships with God!  I told the girls how incredible our God is to bring a girl from Korea, Fiji and America together to learn more about Himself!  


After this meeting I had the opportunity to go through the first follow up Bible Study with Lavonne (she accepted Christ with me last week!).  She was so excited to learn more about the Lord and to hear the truths that she is now a child of God, her sins are forgiven, God will never leave her, and so on.  She got the biggest smile on her face when she realized that she can be 100% sure that she is a child of the Lord and gets to spend eternity with Him in heaven!  Sometimes experiences on campus can be frustrating, especially when students continue to miss their appointments, but I have been learning again and again that God is faithful and in control.  He has been preparing the hearts of the students He desires to meet with me and my teammates, and His plan will not be thwarted!  What a mighty God we serve!  Thank you for your prayers, and please keep it up!


PS: I'm getting better at recognizing students on campus!  Imagine meeting over 50 students in 1 1/2 weeks, who all have names that I am not familiar with, and who I rarely get to spend more than 15 minutes with, and be expected to remember all their names!  It especially breaks my heart when I'm walking on campus and see a group of students walking towards me, and one gets a huge smile on her face and yells out, "Mary!"  My mind starts racing to remember her name as a big smile comes on my face and I respond with, "Hey girl!"  Sometimes I swallow my pride and ask her name...again...but sometimes I try to pull out the old, "Hey!  Do I have your phone number?  How do you spell your name?" hahaha...very sneaky, but doesn't always work.  I've been praying that the Lord would help improve my memory as I continue to meet students, and He is being so faithful in this!  But it's definitely a humbling experience!