Quesadillas and Skim Milk

These past 2 weeks....

-Our STINT team and Campus Crusade for Christ staff here in Fiji had the opportunity to practice our acting skills in front of the camera the week after we got back from New Zealand!  The Pacific Islands Regional Team is putting together over 150 different talks to train new Campus Crusade for Christ staff in countries that are low on staff (Papua New Guinea!).  I got to give three different talks, and although it was a little weird at first, it ended up being kind of fun, and definitely incredible to think about how the Lord is going to use those videos to equip staff for the next 15 years!

-Just before 2nd Semester started, we hosted a girls night at our apartment.  It was so much fun to see students that we hadn't seen in a few weeks.  We spent time catching up, laughing and teaching them how to make quesadillas (which they LOVED!).  

-Last night we had a Student Leaders meeting at our directors' house, Koli and Jeanette.  Over twenty students attended.  It was so cool to see students take the initiative to plan out this next semester and trust the Lord!  I help head up the prayer committee and last night our group grew from 4 members from last semester to 9 members this semester!  These students will take turns leading Prayer meetings for students at USP on Fridays.  They have also planned a prayer breakfast for students as well as a prayer walk on the 2 different FNU campuses over their mid-semester break.  I'm so excited to see what the Lord has in store as they take the initiative to walk with the Lord and make a difference at USP!

-And finally, last night, after a month of not being able to find skim milk in Fiji...we FOUND IT!  And how did we respond?  Jenny and I stocked up a bit...so we're good to go!  That's Fiji for you...you never know when a key food will go missing from the store for weeks at time...so we've learned to improvise :)

We made the girls Quesadillas, they had never eaten these before!

Pretty much a movie star in the making!

Koli, our director, leading the students in the meeting yesterday

Enough skim milk to last us for a while :)

Thanks so much for all your prayers and support!  

Until next time,

Mary

 

Conferences, Rain, Cold Showers and Lots of Cake

3 weeks ago today we were packed and on our way to the Coral Coast Christian Camp for the

2011 Student Life Conference.

75 students from both USP and FNU came together for a 5-day long conference that was themed, "Just Be It."

Seru, one of the pastors from a local church in Suva as well as a past Student Life President when he was a student at USP, was the main speaker at the conference.  Each day he spoke on the different attributes of God, and how we are called to trust Him, and live our lives striving to be more and more like Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.

  Along with these sessions each day, students had the opportunity to attend seminars on topics like discerning God's will, time management, God is good, etc.  They were also each put into teams that would meet together after the main sessions to talk about the discussion questions, and apply what Seru had spoken about to their lives.  There was lots of free time during the day for students to enjoy the beach across the street, go kayaking, play volleyball, go on the zip line, play a pick up game of rugby, or just sit and talk.  The nights were "theme" nights and consisted of "Find Your Tune," "Bible Hero Night," "Pacifica Night," and "Banquet Night."  

Although it rained most of the conference, students had a blast and the Lord was so faithful!  On the final night, Matt Anderson (a Campus Crusade for Christ staff member who is serving in New Zealand), gave the commissioning message.  He challenged students to come forward if they felt the Lord call them to be willing to Go or Do whatever He led them to in the future (being a life-long laborer for Christ; whether that's in full-time ministry, in a job, in another country, etc.).  Over 30 students went forward!  I am so excited to see the continued fruit that the Lord produces from this conference!  

On the last day there were a lot of tears shed as the Summer Project Team said their goodbyes and headed off for their debrief and then back to the States.  It was a reality check for me as I realized how much these American students had grown to love the Fijians in only 6-weeks.  It is definitely not going to be easy at all to say goodbye to all the incredible people I have had the privilege of getting to know and love while here in Fiji.  But I still have 4 more months here, so I'm striving not to take any of it for granted!

Below are some pictures that describe some specifics from the Student Conference!

Students registering for the Student Life "Just Be It" Conference

I got to lead the "Time Management" Seminar, which was a lot of fun.

Students worshipping the Lord during one of the main sessions

Odi (with the red hat) is the cousin of one of the girls I disciple.  She raised enough money for both her and him to come to conference!  He was raised with a muslim background, but while at camp, some summer project students as well as a student from USP, got to share the Gospel with Odi and he accepted Christ!  Please keep him in your prayers!

Our STINT team on the Banquet Night

And then...

WE WERE OFF!

The day after Student Conference ended, we jumped on a plane and headed to the beautiful country of New Zealand!

It was there that we would meet up with about eighteen USP students to go to the 

International Student Life Conference, V20.

It was an incredible week-long conference where 500+ students from over forty countries joined together to learn about and worship the Lord!  Rodger Hershey (the former Campus Crusade for Christ director at my Alma Mater, Miami University!) was the key-note speaker and he did an incredible job!  He challenged students to remember our purpose on this earth, to glorify the Lord, and how to become life-long laborers for Christ in our own cities, states, countries, and even around the world!  

During one of the days we had an opportunity to go and share our faith around the Hamilton community outside of the camp where the conference was held.  It was so incredible to come back that night and hear the testimonies of students who took a bold step and shared their faith, many of them, in a foreign country for the first time!  The final night we had a commissioning night, and again, it was such an encouragement to see students from all over the world surrender their lives to serve the Lord, wherever He may call them!  

Some fun facts from the conference:

-We stayed in RV's the whole week (international students/staff were allowed to stay in campers b/c the dorms would be too cold!)

-The food was incredible!  Seriously, the best food I've ever had at a camp!

-We had cake almost every day!  New Zealand is a great country :)

-They put off fireworks on the 4th of July in honor of the Americans!

-We had cold showers almost every day...that was definitely an adventure

-It was pretty chilly there!  For the first time in 7 months we weren't hot!

After the conference ended, we got to tour around New Zealand (the north island) with the students from USP.  This was a ton of fun.  We went to Rotorua where they have lots of geothermal things like boiling mud, etc.  We also got to go to lake Taupo, which was really pretty.  We stayed in hostels along the way and I got to drive one of the cars!  We had a caravan of about 5 cars the whole time.  It was quite a sight to see :)  I loved getting to drive though, especially with having to drive on the opposite side of the car and the road than what I'm used to in the States!  

After a few days, the students went to spend time with family/friends in New Zealand, so my team and I took off to explore this new country for ourselves!  We squeezed into 1 car and drove all over the northern part of the north island.  It was absolutely beautiful.  We went to tons of beaches, saw where they filmed part of "Prince Caspian," walked around small cities, drank coffee in cafes, saw some waterfalls, did some hiking, and just enjoyed the beauty that surrounded us.  After about 3 days, we headed back to Auckland to return to Fiji.

Below are a few pictures to give you a glimpse into our 2 weeks in the beautiful country of 

New Zealand!

Hello New Zealand!

Team Fiji arrives in New Zealand! (Rob stayed back in Fiji)

Us STINT girls just loved getting to spend time with the Crusade staff women in Auckland!

Luke, one of our Student Life leaders from USP, had the opportunity to give his testimony at one of the main sessions!

Students at V20 during the Commissioning Night, going up to sign a poster that indicated that they desired to be a life-long laborer for Christ!

Some of our students at Crescent Moon in Rotorua

The view from Cathedral Cove

And right now you find me back in Fiji.  We just got back from a Student Life BBQ, which was held at our directors' house.  This coming week we will be doing some filming of us giving different seminars/messages for the new staff who join Campus Crusade for Christ in the future.  We will also be planning this coming 2nd Semester!  Where does the time go?

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support!  And please let me know how I can be praying for you!

God Bless!

-Mary

And We're Off!

The past six weeks have been a complete blur, yet so incredible!  Last night we joined with the Summer Project team to process what they have seen the Lord do here in Fiji this summer, and it was such a blessing to be a part of!  Students are truly returning back to America with a new heart for the nations, having made an eternal impact here in Fiji, and closer than ever in their walks with the Lord!  


Now it's time to hit the road!  In just a few short hours we are jumping on buses with about a hundred USP/FNU students to head to the Coral Coast Christian Camp for the Student Life Conference!  For five days students will have the opportunity to learn more about the Lord, attend seminars, meet new friends, and pray about taking leadership positions within Student Life back on campus!  The American Summer Project Team will be joining our students for the majority of this conference, which will be so fun!  


Then on June 30th my STINT team and I head off for New Zealand!  We'll meet the rest of our Fiji staff and about fifteen USP students there the following day for the V20 international conference!  For five days we will be joining over five-hundred students from all over the world to learn more about the Lord and worship Him together!  I am so excited to see how this experience is not only going to encourage us, as staff, but especially our students, who for many of them this will be their first time outside of Fiji!


Please keep us in your prayers!  We will take a few days following the conference to see different parts of New Zealand, and then head back to hot Suva to plan 2nd semester!
God is Good!


I can't wait to tell you all about it!


-Mary

Semester One Coming to an End!?

What a semester it has been!  Below are a few snapshots of life here in Fiji the past few weeks.  Things have definitely looked a lot different with exams taking over students at USP, launching ministry at FNU, the Miami Summer Project team joining us, preparing for the Student Life Conference in less than two weeks, and the V20 New Zealand conference in July!  

Meet Hannah!  Hannah is from Minnesota, and has been studying here at USP this past semester!  She will be returning to the States in less than two weeks.  We have been meeting for discipleship this past semester, and she has been such a blessing and encouragement in my life!  It's incredible how the Lord brings two American's to Fiji to meet and get to grow in their walks with Him together!  I will definitely be missing this girl!

So one day, Jenny and I joined the Summer Project students at the nearest beach (about a 45 min. bus ride away) for the day.  Well, Jill, Jenny and I decided to stay a bit longer and take the later bus home.  This turned into waiting on the side of a road in Fiji for over an hour, praying that the bus would come!  Eventually, just as it was getting dark and the mosquitos were attacking, a bus came to our rescue!  Oh the adventures we experience on this island :)

Last night we got to help lead the first girls night for the Summer Project team!  We went to a really fun cafe to eat dinner.  Afterwards I had the opportunity to talk to the girls about renewing our minds in the Lord, and thus finding true contentment in our relationship with Him!  It was so neat to see the Lord give me the chance to share with these other girls what the Lord has been teaching me a lot about lately.  After this talk, we got to get some coffee and eat dessert as the other staff women answered questions from the students on a panel.  The girls seemed to really enjoy the night, and it was so fun to get to love them that way!  The girls in the picture above, (from L to R) Abby, Kori, Jill and Natasha, are so fun, and have definitely kept me laughing!

Flowers in Fiji are pretty incredible!  After we finished up girls night, we were packing up to leave and one of our waiters came in and told us the following, "I'm so sorry to bother you, but I wanted to tell you that I'm an atheist and an alcoholic, and my manager is wanting me to go to a recovery program and church, but I haven't gone.  Well I have been eaves dropping on your talk tonight, which I'm really sorry about, but I truly think that it was the Lord's will that I heard what you were talking about because it really opened up my mind to learn more about God."  Seriously!?  We serve an incredible God!  Please keep this man in your prayers!

Apt. 10!  I love living on this island with these girls :)

So overall, things have been incredibly busy lately, but it's been so awesome!  The Lord is so faithful, and it has been so neat to see how He has been stretching us all and helping us give the Summer Project team a glimpse of what the Lord is doing in Fiji!  I have a feeling a few of these students will return to Fiji on STINT in the future!

Thank you for your continued prayers!  Let me know how I can be praying for you!

Blueberry Pie, Americans and becoming truly Fijian!

I have fallen asleep multiple times while trying to write this blog/upload pictures!  Not because it's boring (obviously!), but because ministry here in Fiji is incredible, and absolutely PACKED!  Below are some pictures that I hope give you a glimpse of what's been going on here in Fiji the past few weeks!

I am still trying to hone my pie-making skills!  So far I have successfully made a blueberry pie (Jenny made me start jumping up and down in the grocery store when she surprised me with her find of frozen blueberries!) and two apple pies!  They turned out so well that Rob wanted an apple pie for his birthday dessert last week!  This past week we got to celebrate Brian's Birthday on Monday, and then on Wednesday we sang "Happy Birthday" To Rob!

The picture above are the Student Life students who came to our Welcome Lovo to help us welcome the twenty-five Americans involved in or on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ at Miami University!  We are LOVING having them here!  We have the opportunity to join their Summer Project and help to give them a taste of STINT life, here in Fiji!  We are praying the Lord uses this project to put STINT on some of their hearts for the future!  They will be helping us launch a new Student Life movement at Fiji National University for the next three weeks!  USP students will be on study break and then taking their exams, so it's such an incredible opportunity to have twenty-five additional laborers join us!

We finally look Fijian!  A few weeks ago we got traditional Fiji Sulu Jabas (the top/skirt outfits pictured above!).  The boys on our team got shirts in the same pattern and we wore them to welcome the Summer Project team!

This is a picture of me with my new friend, Lindsey, from Eastern Kentucky University, and Piniana, a 2nd year USP student I am going through follow-up Bible studies with!  Lindsey is one of the American students on the summer project team.  Just last week that team saw over sixty students put their faith in Christ!  What a blessing to have them join us! 

Finally, as I have mentioned before, while our directors, Koli and Jeannette, have been away in New Zealand to raise support, I have had the opportunity to work alongside La, another Student Life staff woman, to head up prepping students to attend the V-20 Conference!  We are prayerfully taking about twenty students involved in Student Life to New Zealand to attend the V-20 Conference during the first week of July.  This conference will be hosting students involved in Student Life from Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, Australia, the US, and so many more countries!  What an awesome opportunity for students to gain a vision for how the Lord is working all across the world and meet other students from other countries who love the Lord, too!  

Now, the challenging part is that I have been put in charge of helping coach these students in support-raising!  That has definitely not always been easy, but these students want to go so badly, and their faith in the Lord to provide is so encouraging!  Above is a picture of one of the girls I get to disciple, Lani, (in the red t-shirt) setting up at her "tea" this past Saturday.  A lot of the students have hosted similar events where their family and friends can come and give a free-will offering and get to talk with them about this opportunity to travel to NZ!  Many of the students have never been out of Fiji before!  I am so excited to see how the Lord continues to provide!

Thank you so much for your prayers, please keep them up, and let me know how I can pray for you!

God Bless!

The Lord will Provide!

These past few weeks have been a whirlwind!  Students are in their last two weeks of classes before they take exams!  Where did this semester go?!

Right now, along with encouraging students to use their time well as they begin studying for exams and completing assignments, and continuing to meet weekly with students for Bible studies, discipleship and follow-up appointments, we're seeing the Lord move in students' hearts!  They are currently trusting the Lord as they raise money to go on the 5-day long Student Life Conference at the end of June and/or the V20 conference in New Zealand during the first week of July!

For the past few weeks my team and I have been working alongside students and encouraging them to send out support letters, print out Buy-A-Block sheets (raising support by asking friends for different cent amounts, each completed sheet is over $50!), and set up appointments to meet with potential ministry partners!  

We're praying for over 150 students to attend the Student Life Conference!  Registration closes THIS FRIDAY!  Please be praying for the Lord to continue to bring in the money for these students to attend this conference!  Students who were involved in Student Life last year told me that this conference was their favorite part of the year!  They grew so much in their faith, and it's a great opportunity for students to get plugged into Student Life and make lasting friendships.  Please also be praying for our team (especially Kori and Dave as they head up the conference team) as we plan the details of this conference, and trust the Lord to provide the students!

Our Student Life directors, Koli and his wife Jeanette, have been in New Zealand this past month raising support!  While they have been gone, La (a Student Life staff member) and myself have been heading up the V20 conference prep.!  We're praying for the eighteen students who are signed up to continue persevering and trusting the Lord to bring in their support!  I have had the opportunity to lead weekly meetings with these students, encouraging them in their support raising efforts, and it has been so incredible to see some of these students take bold steps to send out sponsor letters, and follow-up these letters with phone calls!  There have been times where I've asked a few of the girls I'm discipling for one of their support letters, they are so encouraged by this!  After they give me one of their letters, I challenge them to now go and ask ten people they were afraid to ask because they need to take the initiative, leaving the results in God's hands!  People want to join their team, they just need to be given the opportunity to do so!  THIS THURSDAY marks the first deadline for these eighteen students.  They need 2/3 of their money in at this time so we can purchase plane tickets and apply for visas.  Please be praying!  While some students are in awe at how the Lord has provided, many are still desperately praying to see some money come in before the deadline!  God is sovereign and I'm confident He will provide for the students He desires to go, but students need to be bold and trust Him!

THIS SUNDAY we are so excited to welcome the Miami University Campus Crusade for Christ Summer Project Team!  Twenty-five staff and students will be joining us in ministry here in Fiji for five weeks!  Please pray for their safe travels!

Thank you so much for your continued prayers!

What do disciples, Easter, Garnet and Gold, Bible Study and God's intimacy have in common?

They all happened in April!

Kele, Maina, me and Lani!

This past month I have had some incredible opportunities to get to hang out with the six girls that I am discipling this year!  A few weeks ago I went to a basketball game that Lani, one of my disciples, was playing in.  Kele and Maina, two of my other girls, came with me and it was a blast!  I love getting to see the Lord’s hand guide these relationships!  I meet weekly with each of these girls to go over a specific concept or idea (like how to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, how to be a good steward of your time, why we’re called to obey the Lord, etc.).  In addition to this, I try to hang out with these girls as much as possible just to live life with each other.  We grab lunch; go on walk, run errands, etc.  The goal is to equip these girls to become lifelong laborers for Christ wherever He leads them!  I want to teach them as much as possible about what it means to multiply their lives for the Lord’s kingdom, and what it looks like for them to take leadership roles within Student Life, share their faith and lead younger students in Bible study or Discipleship.  These relationships have definitely become a highlight of my time here in Fiji so far!

Celebrating Easter here in Fiji was definitely a new experience!  Fiji pretty much shuts down for Easter weekend.  On Good Friday, Jenny and I went into town to meet some students and had to search around for a while to find an open coffee shop!  It was a great weekend though.  On Easter Sunday we went to church and had lunch with some Fijian friends.  It was definitely a little different than in America, but it was very memorable!  The Monday after Easter my team had an Easter dinner, which was delicious!  We even got to dye eggs (although they were brown…so that was a new experience!).  We took communion as a team and it was so incredible to come together as Americans in a distant island and remember that even way out here, we worship, serve and remember the Lord who took our sins upon Himself when He died on the cross over two thousand years ago, then rose again, defeating death and thus offering His children a way to enter into a personal relationship with Himself!  How great is our God!  I hope you had a great Easter!

Last week I had a surprise come in from Upper Saddle River, NJ!  I went to the post office and picked up a package from Brian, my boyfriend!  Inside, on the top of the box was a huge Florida State University Flag (his alma mater)!  He is definitely doing a good job at converting me to become a Seminoles fan, even all the way over here in Fiji J   The package was such an encouragement though, and he provided me with more than enough candy to share with students for the upcoming weeks! 

Vilisi, Luisa, Nani, Lavonne and myself at our first Bible Study! (Mere is missing)

Last week I started my first Bible study!  There will be about five girls in it, and I just love them!  We are going through a Bible Study called the Discovery Group.  It covers foundational truths of what it means to be a believer, how to walk with God, and the importance of sharing your faith!  Yesterday, before Bible study, I encouraged the girls to go with me onto campus to share our faith!  We split up into two groups (because three of them had never shared their faith before!) and an hour later we returned to tell each other what the Lord did!  The girls were definitely nervous as they went out to talk about the Lord with classmates, but they were so encouraged to see the Lord move in the hearts of students, and lead the conversations!  Then we went into Bible study where we talked about God’s forgiveness.  This was definitely God’s perfect timing, especially in light of Osama Bin Laden’s death, and the controversy that surrounds that even here in Fiji.  We talked about God’s love for all people, and that only He knows hearts, it’s not our place to judge.  These girls ask great questions, and are so eager to grow in their walks with God!  I’m really excited to see what the Lord has in store!

Finally, last week I had the awesome opportunity to speak at Student Life’s weekly meeting, called Connexion.  We are studying the attributes of God this semester, so I talked about the intimacy of God!  I was nervous, but more excited to get to share!  The Lord has been teaching me a lot about His intimacy these past few months, and how He loves me just as I am, so it was really fun to tell students about that, and encourage them to pursue the Lord intimately as well!!  I definitely felt like I reverted back to my “teacher” voice, which I haven’t used in a few months, but loved the chance to get to trust the Lord and see how He chose to use me to impact students!

We are now preparing for the Miami University summer project team, which will be here in just a little over two weeks!  Twenty-five students and staff will be joining us in ministry here for a month!  We are so excited to see what the Lord is going to do!  We’ll start at USP for the first week, but since it’s the students’ last week of lectures, we’re prayerfully going to begin going to FNU (Fiji National University) to begin Student Life there!  It is so cool how the Lord provides twenty-five additional laborers just in time to help us pioneer ministry on a new campus!  Please be praying for those American students as they finish raising support, and get ready to see the Lord change their lives forever as they follow His call on their lives to come to Fiji for the summer!

I promise, I will get better at updating this blog!  We had some interesting internet issues this past month, so prayerfully, that is behind us!  God Bless!  Please let me know how I can be praying for you!

-Mary