Thursday, March 10, 2011

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!

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