Back to Lautoka

I arrived Fiji safe and sound, but my last few days have been quite the roller coaster ride. While I was in Kona, I was told that one of my biggest strongholds (spiritual weaknesses that I am vulnerable to) is fear that leads to apathy...and for the first time ever, I experienced that in full force! I have no idea why i was so scared...so being scared made me more afraid...and the fear compounded until I was so scared that I cared about nothing. It is hard to find alone time...especially since the building is required to always be locked(to prevent intruders). God has made it clear that I am to be here now, and my (limited) alone time has been good. I have had a few people pray over me(and many more unknown praying for me) and God has spoken comforting words to me....well....more comforting than not. Basically He has told me that He is going to smooth out my anxiety, not take it away(whatever that means).

Good news on my health though: I was working at a medical clinic yesterday and today, and yesterday at the end of the day, I went to get my ear checked out, and she pulled out the largest piece of earwax i have ever seen! I was going to post a picture, but it was way grosser than my pink eye. So she flushed my ear out with warm water for a while and it gradually loosened and came out. This was why i have been getting dizzy, why I have had headaches, why i was having trouble hearing and why my ear made noise like a speaker cutting out from time to time. The medicine is really strong and makes me REALLY drowzy, yet I woke up just fine, so no hangover(as was expected).

thanks for the prayers...it's truly a battle in my mind right now...pray that I have the endurance to fight and not be too tired to love at the end of the battles.

Leaving for Fiji

My heart is heavy again. I only have 10 minutes left online, so I will do my best to explain. I have very much enjoyed my time here and the freedom allowed. The people are amazing and once you get past their initial shyness, they are a giving and loving people. I have had my own hard times that most of you don't know about, but it was these times that made me draw closer to God...and the alone time at the beach has helped enormously! I found God on the beach at night here, and almost daily had revelations in my walks that would go from 30 minutes to 3 hours. However, I return to the city of Lautoka, Fiji tomorrow. No more walks at night because they lock the building at 8pm(?...it keeps changing) and because it's in the city. My heart's burden is only heavier due to my sudden loss of freedom to have my alone time. I know that God is teaching me something, but I don't know what yet. My desire is to follow where He leads, and my burdens have only gotten heavier. I need prayer that I can have my alone time in Fiji and that my heart will be set free from this burden somehow. I trust God knows what He's doing, but I am still scared because my heart is so tender and vulnerable. Pray that I have discernment and wisdom in my actions. I love you all.

Day of rest...

Thank you all for your prayers and support. Sometimes I wonder if people even read my blog besides the 4 of you who normally reply...it is very encouraging to hear that my ramblings have blessed some of you...your prayers blessed me yesterday. For those of you who have been reading my blog, you know that I had been begging for a day off, and hadn’t got one…and once God had given me the rest that I had been begging for, it POURED down rain SO bad that we couldn’t do any ministry and yesterday we had basically just for praying and journaling and playing games with our team. It was amazing. Our morning activities these last two weeks have been a school for the kids in the village who can't afford to go to school, and afternoons has been going door to door, and last weekend was a "revival"ish thingie. But yesterday we had SO much rain. Not only that, but we had buckets and bowls all around our little shed to catch the water comming through the roof. It was funny until all our stuff was wet and the power shorted...I'm still laughing about it though. The rain made it so that we couldn't do our ministries as normal, and then just before dinner time, it cleared up and I went to my beach again for 2 1/2 hours and just walked down until I went around the point and then saw part of the sunset peering out between the rainclouds and listened to the ocean as God continued to sing to me.

I have been realizing more and more how when I refuse to surrender anything, it proves my lack of trust in Him. He is GOOD by nature. "God is Good." Yet, when I do not surrender something, my actions say "but I am better..." So as I sat there, I wrote things in the sand that God wants me to surrender, and then His powerful waves came up and washed the sand clean...just as it was before I wrote the words down. It is the same with us. When we surrender something, it is washed away completely, and only when we rewrite it in the sand does it need to be washed away again. So this old lesson was a good reminder that God is so eager to wash us clean. I just don't know what I am going to do when I move back to Fiji next week...I love the beach here, and in Fiji, we will be in the city and no more alone time...pray for me for that.

Learning to worship...

I have become accustomed to going to the beach at night to pray. Living in quarters as small with so many people makes it difficult for me to concentrate while I pray. I have tried doing a quiet time on the beach in the morning, but whenever we walk around during daylight hours, we are followed. Sometimes it is by little kids that don’t speak English, so it is just difficult to know what they want. So my quiet times have been at night on the beach when it is dark because then people are intimidated by the “creepy guy on the beach.” My prayers have been a little different too. I always open the door to God, close the door to Satan, and then tell God that I will obey whatever He tells me to do, and I will pray for whoever He brings to mind, and I will talk with Him about whatever perks my interest…keeping in mind Philippians 4:4-13. (if you don’t know it, look it up!!!)

This last week I felt like God told me to put my guitar down for a while. It has been a little difficult for me to worship, because it has been a growing part of my life. As I was at the beach last night, I had an interesting conversation with God about worship. It started with talking about how long I am going to go without playing guitar. He asked me “If you were dating someone and the only nice thing you ever did for her was write her songs and sing love songs…how would she feel? Wouldn’t she get bored with them after a while?” Then I understood that although music is good and helpful, worship is FAR more than just music. It is not even what I thought it was.

I always played the role of the seeker and pursuer in my songs. It only made sense to me. I am the male…I am to play the role of the male. The man is to pursue his love until she will receive him. His job is to prove his love, and to show that his love is real, because she doubts his sincerity. He is to be persistent, displaying over and over again until she lets her guard down and allows him in her heart. It was at that time that God showed me that I had it backwards this whole time. WE are the bride of Christ! HE PURSUES US!!! It is not our job to seek Him out, nor to prove our love. He doesn’t expect us to pursue Him. SO OFTEN we talk about how we found God and not how God found us! He has been seeking us out this whole time!

So worship has to begin with listening to His love song over us. We will not hear this song unless we are still…thus it says “Be still and know that I am God!” He is trying to sing to us. We overlook His songs to us too often. But EVERY sunrise, every sunset, every cloud and star, from the tiniest of organisms to the largest of mountains, he uses all that He has made to serenade us with His songs. This creation is His love song to us…but when we walk away in the middle of His song, we do not need to fret, because just as anyone who is in love, He will continue to sing to us until we acknowledge Him and listen to His love song.

Some songs he sings daily, like the sunrise and the sunset, other songs he sings in season, like the colors of fall, or the fragrance of spring. Regardless of what song He is singing, we need to realize that He will not quit singing ever…EVER! Once we hear these songs, all the worries and burdens of the world fade away. All our hopes and dreams melt into the desire of knowing God. We do not need to try to convince God to fall in love with us. Our job is not to romance God, but to listen to God as he romances us!

After we hear this song, we respond like any bride would respond to her loving husband who expresses his love to her. She doesn’t need to say “Give me a little while before I respond to you.” NO! She runs to his arms and expresses her emotions right then and there! Of course there will come a time where she does something in response to this love. But so often we have the mentality that when the music isn’t any good, worship is “bad” or “we don’t get anything out of it.” Well NEWSFLASH: Worship is NOT FOR YOU!!! If you have to discipline yourself to worship, you’re not listening to His song. Worship will naturally happen as a response to His love for us. If you have not had this revelation, continue to pray and ask God to sing you His song.

I have not had a day off yet, and I have not had my rest yet. We’ve been doing a school in the mornings and going door to door in the afternoons and bible studies in the evenings…so despite my lack of sleep, He has been granting me rest as I walk in the dark on the beach. So your prayers continue to change my life. I have been praying for God to reveal His love to me…and it became so obvious that I was shutting Him up in my attempt to hear Him. He wants us to just sit and be with Him. He wants to hear about my day, to catch my tears, hear my silly songs, and hear my inside jokes. So I hope and pray that you can stop long enough to hear this love song.

Vanuatu update

Thank you to all of you who have been praying for me. Our team has spent every morning with the children of the village who can not afford school (it is about 300 bucks us per term), and afternoons we’re going door to door. It is very tiring on me, and our team is already worn thin from the first 2 months of outreach. We are planning on staying here for 2 more weeks, then back to lautoka for 2 1/2 weeks, then 2 1/2 weeks in one of the outer islands, then the last few days in lautoka before we head back to kona. We had been talking about going to samoa, but it does not look like God will open the doors for us to go. So unless we get an invitation and a blessing from our leadership, we will not go.

Keep praying that we will somehow get the rest that our spirits need. I don’t even know what would do it. We need more than sleep, probably more than a day off (it has been about 2 weeks since we had a whole day off), more than something fun to do (I haven’t even played a game in weeks). I am just bored of being serious. I rarely learn or do anything new or fun and all we do is walk around talking about Jesus’ love and I’ve been struggling to feel His love personally, so it has been really hard for me to share it. I’m bored with movies and even getting bored with music. I have 7 more weeks of outreach and it’s not like I don’t want to be here, it’s just that I don’t want to do anything. The only time I have enjoyed honestly has been my times alone with God on the beach. No music, no people, no distractions…just the sound of the water and the feel of the sand between my toes…and sometimes stars or rain. Yet God keeps telling me to spend time with the people here…and I feel like they are bored with me. It’s quite the vicious cycle.

So pray for life for me and my team. We have plenty of things to do, but after so much being serious, I want to enjoy life and God’s creation…because that’s how I enjoy God. I almost went swimming the other night in the ocean during the lightning storm, but then I thought if the lightning didn’t kill me, my mom would. So I opted out.

I am learning how to surrender all, which has been a surprise how easy and hard it is at the same time. It’s as easy as saying the words, yet you need to conform your desires to God’s, and so it’s a daily process. Surrendering the same things daily was something that I thought was proof that you hadn’t really surrendered. Yet God has been showing me that it is impossible to completely surrender some things. So as a result, we need to admit that we’re not capable, and admit that God knows best. After we surrender it, when we leave our prayers, we will gradually forget that we gave it away and it sneaks back in, and as soon as you see it in your possession, admit it to God and give it back. Basically, we’re spiritual kleptos.

I will keep up the fight, because I see that good is coming of it despite my fatigue, so I will trust that God will give me strength until he gives me the rest I need. I hope this is insightful and helpful for you in more ways than just how to pray for me. I love you all.

Haggardness

Please pray for my team. We are all tired and weary...well not all of us, but a lot of us just need rest. We haven't really had a full day off in what seems to be a long time. We need prayer for our team to have life revived in us. We haven't laughed in a long time, nor done anything that brings a smile to our faces...i haven't felt joy in a while. We have had a lot of spiritual attacks and we're reading our bibles and praying and resisting the attacks, yet we have just been SO tired. Pray for wisdom for our leader in how God plans on reviving the life in our group. We're doing good as a team, getting along well, and God has been healing our pains (He healed mine sunday night). But i'm still just so tired. More than sleep, more than getting a meal that isn't rice, more than homesickness...just tired. Thank you all for your prayers. They continue to change my life...this last week was another extremely hard week for me. I would post it, but I believe the details are not suitable to post online...and would take too long. What matters is that God healed my pains...now he just calls me to obey. I am eager to obey, but I'm just so tired. Keep praying.

Pongo Village

This week has been a good one….VERY hard for me, but good. Pam and I have been leading. It has been nice to have some order to the schedule and more than 30 minutes of free time at a time. We have put all of our events back to back so that we get all of our free time at once. It has been terrible to try and go to town to check the internet or take a nap with so many small blocks of free time. This has made everything a lot easier for me.

In our scheduled time we have been doing a lot of things in the local community. We have done some prayer walks, painted a few houses (and each other simultaneously), as well as hosting a bible study a couple times a week. Vanuatu is a great place for our team right now. We were doing a team building exercise Tuesday and all the neighbor kids (and a few adults) came over and watched (and kinda got in the way)…but they are SO eager to learn what we’re doing and what we’re about.

The culture here is different than the other islands. Similarities include: Boys and girls can not be together 1 on 1 otherwise they assume you’re sleeping together, no garbage cans…they just burn it wherever, they are very shy until you know them, girls are required to dress VERY modestly, and how eager they are to listen to what we have to say because we’re white. Differences include: Guys can wear basically whatever they want to…even for ministry and church, the people here STARE at us wherever we go and watch everything we do. If you do one thing somewhere, and walk to the other side of the village, you do not need to tell them, because they already know. The missionaries here call it coconut wireless. News about anything we do (good or bad) travels faster than you can walk. It’s really creepy. So we need to watch our actions extremely closely.

We are still praying about where God has called us for the last month of our trip. We are thinking about Samoa because it was the original plan, but we have not heard from God yet. Our plan is to focus on prayer until we hear what God wants. This last week I have had a heavy heart. Not a depression, not a sadness, not self pity or anything similar. It has had a few different forms this week and some of you know about that…and I thank you so much for your prayers. The specific forms of heaviness have gone away, yet the heaviness has remained. I know that God is doing this intentionally and I’m not sure why yet. So please pray for me that I can learn to hear God’s voice. He wants me to understand this heaviness beyond any circumstances. Your prayers have been changing my life, and I’ve been doing my best to change the lives of all those I encounter. So thank you for all you have done for me.

Our Plan...

These last few days have been focused on settling in, getting to know the people and area, resting, and team bonding. The area we are staying in is right off the beach in an area where witchcraft is not completely hidden or thought of as bad. People who go to church will be the same people who engage in witchcraft. Our Plan is to pray for the people in the area and tend to their needs. We will be needing prayer for spiritual protection as we become vulnerable to those who practice witchcraft that oppose us. Your prayers have sustained me thus far, and for this I am eternally greatful! My prayer is that your blessing may be double the blessing that you have prayed over me. Thank you so much for standing by my side and fighting even if/when you don't know why or about what. I can not describe the times I have felt your prayers at the most unusual and needed times...from the 4:26am earthquake to the mid day crisis to the 17+hours on a boat when there wasn't any more motion sick medicine and I volunteered to be the one not to take any.(and didn't get sick)...your prayers are more powerful than you know.

Trip to Santo

Thursday night my team parted ways and the 14 of us going on extended outreach said goodbye to the half of the team staying in Fiji. We packed up and left for the airport around 7pm for Vanuatu. We arrived Vanuatu around midnight and drove to our sleeping quarters. Once our luggage was offloaded, we had a team meeting where we found out we were leaving at 5am for a 10 hour boat ride…that would have been nice to know in advance…but so would have the next few days. We got up at 4:45 and left around 6 and waited at the dock from 7 until 9:30 and then about 60 people loaded on with all their stuff onboard a 30 foot catamaran. The seas were a little more lively than our last boat ride and on a MUCH smaller ship.

We arrived Santo around 8pm waited for half an hour to load our things on the truck, then jumped on the bags and rode to our sleeping quarters where we dropped our bags, then left for dinner. We didn’t get back from dinner until midnight and we waited for half an hour for the director to look for a second room because it’s not kosher for boys and girls to sleep in one room together…but after that mission failed, the girls slept on one side and the boys on the other. So 50 of us slept in a huge cement room that echoed a lot(with the snoring and the children in pain(one with pink eye, one with boils, and a few with diarrhea.)) with the lights on all night to keep the centipedes out of the room(they are poisonous), using a water bottle as a pillow since mine disappeared and we were awoken at 5:30 to eat our 1/3 beget for breakfast before loading into the back of a truck to ride an hour ½ to go to a presentation all day long. Once we thought it was done, we drove downtown and it just continued downtown until about 9pm and then we ate dinner, got back around 11pm because we had to wake up at 5am because our truck was leaving at 6am. This time the journey was 2 ½ hours, so the 50 of us loaded in one truck bed because we were going to go take vans…but the vans were gone, so we rode like that for the whole time…I stood up the whole time with 5 other guys who didn’t have room to sit…both ways.

We got back the second night about 10:30 because our boat was leaving at 4am the next morning….but we were late and it waited for us…thank God! This time we were on a little bit bigger one hull boat, but the seas were BAD! We were avoiding 2 weather systems and the swells were on average 4-5 feet the whole way. In some of the bays it went down, and on occation we had some swells over 10 feet! After 17 ½ hours of this grueling part of our journey, most of the people on the boat threw up more than once…(luckily I was sitting on top of the boat with the crew so I got a lot of air and water for most of the journey…but it was really slippery. There were a few times I thought I was going to fly off the boat…God kept me safe and my stomach calm. By the end of the trip, I could see the salt crystals on my skin.)

Our whole team was physically and emotionally exhausted from the journey so we all stayed in a motel for the night. It is really expensive here. The ride from the dock (half a mile) for one van to take 2 trips was $30 US and its $90 per room per night here. We arrived the motel at 1:30am and unpacked and showered…OH the GLORY of a hot shower!!! I hadn’t showered since I left Fiji, and it has been almost 2 months since I’ve slept in a bed. So today I’m checking my email for the first time in a week, resting, reading, swimming in the pool, and I’m going to go to town and buy me some good food…It has been a week since I have actually had a meal. I’ve eaten a grapefruit here, some rice there, and an occasional cookie or cracker.

In this journey, I encountered a few men of God that were such a delight to meet. Two of them are locals to Santo and knew everything about the area. One of these two (Pastor Ben) had been there for his whole life and knew everything about everywhere and everyone. The other (Lester) was a graduated college student and one of the highly esteemed intercessors for the island. I learned a lot from these two and if I ever go back, they will be the first two I look for. Another powerful man I met was actually on the stage as an official guest to the ceremony. He sat a few rows behind the president and prime minister of Vanuatu. He challenged my faith very strongly and I will be keeping in touch with him.

Through these travels, there were certain specific times of the day that I felt some of you praying for me. It has been happening more and more. So either your prayers are becoming more and more powerful, or I’m just sensing the prayers that you’ve been praying for me this whole time. I can not tell you how thankful I am for your prayers. They have sustained me through this time…I don’t know how I would have survived without you fighting by my side this last week. Thank you all so much for being a part of my life and my adventures.

Arrival in Vanuatu completed!

I will be updating my blog soon...I just wanted to tell you all that I am okay. Everything is either VERY cheap or VERY expensive here. I got 3 of the HUGEST grapefruits I have ever seen in my life (about the size of my head) for a dollar, and a can of Coke is $3.00. Internet is $8 an hour, so I'll type up my last week's adventure and post it soon. It was one of the most memorable trips of my life. The story is soon to come.

Vava'u Pics

Here are the promised pictures from Vava'u.

http://wwu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2022416&l=30c5c&id=25902808

NEWSFLASH!!! 8.0 EARTHQUAKE!!!

This morning at about 4:30 I woke up. I turned in my bed and started praying and then the room started shaking. I jumped up by the doorway and waited for a little bit hoping it would end...we had a earthquake a couple days ago that was a 6.5 and we thought nothing of it because it was so deep, and it just felt like someone jumped and the house briefly shook. I was thinking this one would be the same. I was wrong. The house kept shaking....then I started shaking really bad...everything was flying off the shelves...we were on the 2nd story of a 2 story building...that doesn't seem to strongly built. After about 25 - 30 seconds, a few of us made a mad dash to the front door(the steps are outdoors, and not covered). The quake just kept shaking. It had to have gone on for over a minute. Nothing seemed to have broken though. Not sure how. We were running around getting flashlights and candles so we could see since the power was out. It wasn't until about 15 minutes later that I realized I was still in my underwear...everyone was so shaken up that nobody even noticed....Ooops.

The power was only out for a little bit, and then we gathered supplies, but none of us have cash and almost none of the stores that accept credit cards are open. THe 2 ATM's are shut down too for some reason. So our goal is to find cash because we were planning on getting it this morning. Everything is closed today in honor of the Prince's birthday. There is a party tonight on the pier for him and our plan is to have a prayer booth there.

Diane, the lady we're staying with is amazing! It seems like she is on every major committee. She was talking to prime ministers and the red cross, hospital, police, and even NBC. She is going to meet with a bunch of people tomorrow to help set up an aid relief for the Nation. Everyone is so chill here. They don't fret too much about it. They are all over it...or so it seems...the nature of a kingdom leaves those under the king to supress their feelings. Many people were afraid, but appear to be over it. I hope our prayer booth will be good. We leave for hte main island of Tonga tomorrow morning 10am. Thank you al lfor your prayers. Please email me with any questions or comments. I should have internet a couple times the next week. So please let me know what's going on. If there are tremmors, I'll let you know what's up.

Pictures from Tonga

The computer lab has a very fast connection and very slow computers. The server just went down, but luckily it came back up again. I am uploading some pics, so click the link below if you want to see some pictures from Tonga. None from Vava’u yet…no captions either. I wish I had time to write the stories I have left out. I figured I was lacking in the photo department more than the story department.

http://wwu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2022060&l=023df&id=25902808

if the link doesn't work let me know...sorry that it wasn't there. I will try next week to get you pictures from Vava'u.

Talk about Power....

I just found out the reason why my internet hasn’t been working. Strange story: It began on Sunday night, the Prince’s right hand man urinated in public and offended many (since it is illegal to wear a sleeveless shirt in public…palangi’s are exempt for some reason). One of the people offended was the chief editor of the Tongan paper. He told the owner of the restaurant that he was going to publish what happened. The Prince’s right hand man called the right guy and shut off all internet and telephone on the whole island. It could be days before the internet works. Very different from America. (what’s even funnier is that I was at that restaurant and left 10 minutes before that happened.)

Millionaire Ministries...

This last week was pretty crazy. Being in Vava’u is very different than being on the main island. Many things are the same: The people are friendly, they all call themselves Christians, and they still drive on the wrong side of the road. However, unlike mainland Tonga, this is a Coral island. We hiked yesterday to the highest peak and it was all coral. So there are hills here, whereas mainland is completely flat. The environment is even more relaxed here…though I didn’t think it was possible.

Friday, we went to a school and did a 40 minute presentation. Friday night we went to a youth rally (30 kids) and many of them were the same kids at the school that morning…so we improvised with theatre sports and a few other things. At the end people had some time to laugh, think, and worship. One girl dedicated her life to the LORD!! We were amazed at how God can use anything.

Saturday we went for a prayer walk in the morning, then went to help an organization with building trash cans, however we mostly just stood around. Most of our time was praying. After dinner 4 of us (Ryan, Callie, Ashawnae, and me) went to get home made Italian Ice cream! We sat and had too much, and just as we were about to leave, there were 3 guys who offered to buy us a round of drinks. We declined because we were about to leave. They started talking to us (in their inebriated state) and they insisted we sit down. So we sat with them and talked to them for at least an hour.

After we had declined drinks a few times, I realized that if I turned him down more, I could offend him, so I took a sprite(I had already had 4 scoops of ice cream and 2 dinners). They kept buying drinks and talking and we found out much about them. The “main guy” turned out to be one of the wealthiest Tongans on this island. He is a multi millionaire (Which is good in a country that has an average annual income of $700 US) and owns the hotel where the Prince of Tonga is staying. His name is Tommy. Everyone knows Tommy.

We went home and found out from Diane (the lady we’re staying with) that he is indeed a wealthy and powerful man in Tonga. She said that what we found out about him is very useful information in praying for him, so we told our pastor what we knew, and we prayed and prayed that he would come to church on Sunday.

Sunday morning we did the children’s church then packed up and went to the Hard Rock Island to relax for the afternoon. Since Diane knows everyone, we got a ride to a place where we got a boat ride for free(we gave them gas money though). After unpacking everyone went to the hardrock hotel. I stayed in the shade to put on my sunscreen(yes mom, I use sunscreen). As I was finishing, I couldn’t believe my eyes to see Tommy and his two buddies coming ashore. They came up and I asked if they remembered me. They said they did. UNBELIEVABLE! So this time I was certain it was a divine appointment.

We sat and invited them to join us, and they did eventually and we sat and talked about all sorts of things. They paid for anything I wanted (I just had 2 sprites and a juice) and then the owner started talking with us. After a while I found out that the owner was the keyboardist from the old British band “The Cure.” I thought it was hilarious. It just dawned on me that I was sitting at a table with multimillionaires talking about real estate, music, and adventures. I didn’t need to talk about God because they all know more than me. I just sat and spent time hanging out. The owner of the Hard Rock offered us a few days for free if we just wanted to hang out and explore…I couldn’t believe I had to decline. I have to fly back to Tonga on Friday.

The culture here is a Christian one, and their view on Palangi’s is not good. It does not matter what we say. They do not listen to a word we say. They only watch what we do. So we are planning on going to the hospital to pray and cleaning up the streets a little just so they see white people working. They think that white people are incapable of work. No exaggeration. They truly believe that work is for non-white people. So we are told that if we do something as simple as picking up trash people will do a double take and ask themselves “what are those white people doing?” Then when we talk, they will listen.

Vava'u (Va va Ooo)

Thank you all SOO much for your prayers. Our boat ride was longer than expected, but we traveled faster than expected. We are currently in Vava'u, the northernmost major island in the Kingdom of Tonga. It is known as the most beautiful island in the South Pacific. On our way through the islands on the boat ride in, it was like we were boating through paradise. In all my adventures, i've never seen such beauty. I will have to come back here sometime to explore and adventure, becuase we are here for ministry this time. here's a scenopsis of our journey here: When we arrived the dock to leave the main island, it looked like a scene in a movie where everyone was trying to immigrate. There was a funeral and they loaded up the cascets first then everyone dressed up from the funeral. Everyone was squeezing through a small fence gate and once a few people were on the boat, everyone was passing their bags up to people on the boat. While loading one of the trucks, the forklift tipped over and the truck fell almost all the way in the water...it got pryed inbetween the dock and the boat, so we left at 7pm instead of 5pm. On the boat there were no seats, no trash cans, and one bathroom with 3 stalls labeled girls, one labeled males and two urinals next to the sinks. There were about 3-400 people on the boat so we all piled in a huge group with our stuff on the outsides and two sleeping bags in the middle where we layed in a huge cuddle puddle. The larger group got off at Hapai at about 4am and while offloading the vehicles, one of the barrels fell inbetween the dock and the boat and spilled desil(from what I heard.) So we left hapai around 6:45 instead of 5. (3 hours wait) Just before 1pm we arrived Vava'u. The seas were expected to be "rough. Not smooth like you americans might think, but really rough." I can not thank you enough for your prayers. Our whole trip we got smooth seas and not a drop of rain. The stars were amazing and the seas were so calm I was suprised. I remember fishing in a 15 foot boat with swells worse than our 100 foot boat was going over. It was amazing...seriously. Today we went to a high school and just talked for about 40 minutes and then went on a prayer walk through town(which is hard to do because everyone is so friendly and talkative it's hard to pray because everyone is so interested in the Palangi's (white people)). We found out that we can go to one specific internet cafe for free when we go with diane. So we are here now. Not sure for how long or when I can come back. But it was a plesant suprise. Our living situation is wonderful. We live with a older lady whose name is Diane and her dog Roger. Not sure her story, but she is from the states and lives here now. She has 3 bedrooms (3 beds) and we are sharing them appropriately. It is a nice appartment and we (sometimes) get warm showers, and she showed us the best places to get palangi food. Tomorrow at 10am we are going to have an extra girl joining us.(Callie) She is flying here(3x as expensive as the boat ride..but worth it for her since she gets so sea sick). Our ministry here is not set in stone like it was in Fiji. We have a couple things planned and the rest of the time we will be praying about what God wants us to do. So I would really appreciate prayer in the realm of our team hearing God's will for our day as each day occurs. Everyone here is so friendly. At the pastor's house last night we met the noble's son, Sampson (14 years old ) and it was an honor for us to be in his presence. Very polite boy. He will be the noble of Vava'u when his dad dies(his dad just became the noble). All in all, it has been tiring being here, but good. We will rest this afternoon and then join the youth group tonight at 8pm. We will be leaving here next thursday or friday...so we will only be here a week. I will post pictures from Tonga and vava'u as soon as I find possible. Thank you all for being a part of my life and my adventures. Joel

Internet, TV, and a long boat ride

The interent has been down on the island for a few days, and they had to come reset it or something. So tonight it finally started working. Thank you so much for all your prayers. It has been really relaxing to be here in Tonga. We have mostly been helping out at the U of N base here. We have done everything from gardening to working in the kitchen to cleaning the bathrooms and showers. Sunday we found out that not only are we not allowed to work, we are not allowed to play sports either. The people here laughed at us because we wanted to do our laundry and weren't allowed. We all were itching to check our emails, and I'm sorry that I didn't reply to any of you. I just didn't have the time. There are a bunch of people who want to use the internet and we're taking turns now that we learned that it works better with two or less people using te wireless network. So for those of you who gave me money, thank you SO much! I have been spending extra money on food just because i am losing weight and do not always get enough food. Also, money does go further here. So every little bit has helped.

Saturday we drove around the whole island in a couple hours making a couple stops....just to give you an idea ofthe size ofthe island. the highest speed limit is 40kph, as a result, they are allowed to pile however many people they want. kinda cool really. But we went to bed early to get up at 5am so that we could be read to be on tv at 7am. We arrived the tv station 6:45 and we were the only onese there....we found out there was a miscommunication and we were on at 7PM! Most of us laughed it off, but some were quite upset. We had 2 hours until we left for church and we sat through the church(all in tongan...no english at all) and they said it could be anywhere from 2-4 hours. It took an hour and 45 minutes. The church was beautiful though. All day most everyone slept or watched movies. I walked around campus. That night we went to the TV station and at last moment I was asked to do my testimony, so I went on Tongan TV live and told a brief part of my life story. I still hate mics.

We just worked around the base and went to town on monday and today we went to a beach and hung out as a team for the last time in a while. Tomorrow we split into 3 teams. My team will be riding a boat tomorrow night 5pm(9pm Washington time) and the ride will be up to 18 hours from what I hear to Vava'u. Rumor has it that Vava'u is the most beautiful island in the south pacific. I don't even know what we'll be doing there. I just know that everyone says I'm lucky to go....I sure hope this isn't a joke.

This will be the last update for 2 weeks. Rumor has it that there is no internet on the island. So here are my prayer requests these next two weeks:
-The ride to the islands are on an old desil boat. People are known to get sick solely from the smell of the desil. So pray for calm seas! This is my biggest prayer request. Calm seas can shorten the trip in half. I would hate to start my ministry there sick.
-Wisdom and strength for each of the 3 teams
-Relationships and unity in my team
-Our outreach team is praying whether or not to go back to Fiji like we planned, or if we should go to Samoa like we initially wanted(now that we're allowed to go)...or if God wants us to go somwhere else. If we change anything, we will need more money. As of right now, I have $200 after I pay off my credit card from my dental work in Kona(My tax returns came in so that covered the rest)....so prayer for direction and if we change anything, prayer for funds.

That's all for now. I thank you all for being a part of my life and my adventures. John 3:30.

Joel

Live, Watermellons, and the Kingdom...

We are staying at the YWAM base here in Tonga. The culture is very different in many ways. The people are very laid back(and some people are downright lazy) because the #1 source of income is money sent by relatives overseas. Things here are either dirt cheap or bucu expensive. This morning we spent a little while picking watermellons. The weather has been strong winds...I'd guess they are about 25 miles an hour with gusts above 40....and the rain goes from a sprinkle to a downpoar. It is difficult to sleep at night with the wind blowing through the room and the rain hitting the roof sounding like it is an army with hammers. But at lest it's not hot.

This afternoon 8 of us went to the Christian radio station and we didn't know what to expect, but all of us went into a tiny 8x10 ft room and we went on the air. We didn't get any prep time, but rather we were put on the spot to answer whatever questions the DJ asked. He knew what we were about so it was all about our testimony and the difference between religion and a relationship with Jesus. All in all, it was good. We found out that most ofthe people on campus tuned in to our radio show from 4-6...with music breaks, it didn't seem like it was 2 hours...but it was fun.

Now about the Kingdom of Tonga....It is the last true kingdom on earth. The king became a Christian when a missionary came and talked to the King about an all powerful God. The king dissagreed and said that if his god was real, he could save him from the sharks. The missionary agreed. So the king had him rowed out to the shark feeding ground (not sure how far away from the island) and dropped him off and everyone forgot about him. He swam to shore(no man had ever survived swimming in those waters) and had to hike back to the kings palace. The king was shocked. He had forgotten about the missionary. After that the king became a believer and so did his kingdom. The believers on the island call the King a "born again" believer, and they say that the prince and the expected king to be is not. So they pray and intercede often on the princes and the kingdom's behalf.

Our main ministry until we leave on Tuesday for the outer islands will be helping out their campus. We have done gardening, cleaning and random jobs they have requested. It only costs us $5 per day per person for food and shelter. Unfortunately as a result, we eat the same food, and I haven't learned to like it yet. I weighed myself yesterday and I weigh 167....when I left for DTS in December I weighed 187....so for those of you who want to lose 20 pounds, have i got the diet plan for you!!! I told the guys my goal is to gain 7 pounds...basically, that I need to eat more and excercize more.

It only costs $15 to use the internet here for a month...unfortunately i'll only be here for a week, but still it's not bad. The internet cuts out often and the connection speed is 1Mbps, but it's way nicer than not having internet at all. I have read all your emails(and sean, you're not a better bus driver than me) and will reply if I have a connection long enough to do so. we do not have much free time here...but I didn't come here to have free time....I came here to serve God! ...and I can not reitterate how powerfuly your prayers have effected me. I hope this update is helpful. God bless my friends and family.

Tonga

I arrived tonga safely. The internet is very fickle here and it took me a long time to get it up and running. It cuts out very often. I will try to keep updated, but it took me over 3 hours to check my email and update this blog. I can not tell you how much I appreciate all your prayers. i have felt them. I will have internet, but it's SO fickle! I will do what I can to keep you updated. I love you all so much. I'm off to bed because we start 7am tomorrow.

...to be continued

My friends, being sick this week has drained me physically, emotionally and spiritually. I had a very hard week and very few people took any care of any of my needs(there were a few exceptions). As a result I am very weary. I have been told that I will not have internet access for 4 weeks, but I have been misinformed before. Actually I have not been informed of almost anything about Tonga. I am sorry that I can not give you any more details. Truly sorry. I can not emphasize how much I will be needing prayer. This last week was extremly difficult for me and my for my friend Samantha. She has been my only friend on this outreach and in Tonga we are going to different places....I believe my leaders did this intentionally. They do not want us together because we were the two under the strongest spiritual attack and in their judgment separating us will make it less vulnerable....if it was just mosquito bites and cannibals, I would not be in such despair, but why do I always get in situations where I feel betrayed? MY friends, how I long just for a simple hug or a smile from you! Tears fall as I write. My heart longs for home, but who am I to disobey God? If I don't update my blog before next Saturday, do not plan on an update before May 9th. I love you all and thank you for being a part of my life and my adventures.

And then there were 3...

I found out last night that our team is going to be splitting up into 3 different teams in Tonga. We will have 2 leaders and 3 teams. So for the 3 1/2 weeks in Tonga one of the teams will not have a leader. There will be one team on the main island at the main base (working with media like tv/radio)....and will have internet access. The other two teams will be in the outer islands doing who knows what with likely no internet access for the whole time...and MAYBE we'll have electricity. My leaders are being very cryptic about it. They didn't even tell us about the main island....someone else did accidently not knowing that we hadn't been told. For some reason they do not want to keep us informed, but would prefer to keep us in the dark. The unity of our team is still weak, and I hope and pray that our unity will be strengthened by having smaller teams in Tonga.

On the upside, my pink eye is getting better and I am feeling better. I should be better before I leave for Tonga. Please pray for me where I should go. God doesn't need all the details to speak...but it does help me...so if you hear something email me so as to hopefully confirm where I should go. I would really appreciate it.

Fiji pics

Let me know if this link doesn't work...here are a few pics from Fiji...when I have time I'll explain them.

http://wwu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020116&l=266f6&id=25902808

My favorite color....PINK!!!

This weekend we went to a very fun church and the preachers were very animated, charismatic and lively! My eyes started itching sunday morning...as I itched them, they got worse...I didn't think anything of it...then my right eye was getting swollen, so I went to see the doctor I went to the medical clinic with last week. She said it is pink eye...when I woke up monday, my eye was so swollen I couldn't open it. I got some eye drops and my eyes got worse...I then found out I needed to clean my eyes out before I put my drops in every 3 hours... My bad eye was better this morning, but my good eye is WAY worse...so my headache and light sensativity make me want to be alone in the dark...I always wear my sunglasses now. PLEASE pray for the health of our group. A few people now have pink eye(I am lucky enough to claim the worst case), and a lot of people have the flu and the runs. There is a lot of disunity and disorganization in our group...we really need prayer for a oneness in our group...it's not preventing us to minister effectively, but it is certainly hindering us. We are under spiritual attack for sure! So this also encourages us to know that we are worth attacking, but we need your help in prayer! Thank you all for your prayers!

Richard from Suva

I was walking from town saturday(getting apples and popsicles for the sick people) and someone called me over and asked if I was a part of marine reach.(the place we're staying) I explained what I was doig in Fiji. He immediately asked me "Will you teach me the bible?" I had been given strict instructions to come right back from the market for our team eeting, so I told him I'd be back in an hour. We didn't even have a team meeting, so I prayed and went to meet him with SunAwh(one of the leaders) and we talked with him. It was really cool. He was raised hindu, and converted to mormanism. His parents disowned him and he went to Utah for 2 years on his mission. He searched and found Jesus, so he went home (north of Lautoka), then he lost his only F$20 to get back to Suva, where he had been living...he was looking for a church and wanted to know the bible since the mormans didn't give him one. So we read John 15 and I explained it as we went along, and he just kept asking for more bible verses...he was very hungry for the word, then he told us that the bus was leaving soon, and asked us for a little money. I went back to the base and SunAwh read something out of James, so I gave him my last F$50. ($30) I felt like God really was telling me that he wanted him to have a bible in words he understood. He only makes $30 each week as a waiter, so he said he could save F$10 for 2 weeks and get a hindi/english translation so he can learn english too. It really felt like the right thing to do...and I feel like I blessed a brother! So for those of you who felt that the little money you gave me didn't matter, that $30 meant a lot more to Richard than I would have ever guessed.

Construction

Today I joined the construction team and we were sad that we had to leave the job without finishing. There was quite a difference in opinion in how to put the roof on and as a result, we humbly said we were not able to finish the project the way they wanted it done. The rain came and just dumped buckets...it was really warm, but we were soaking wet. We walked for quite a while before we caught the bus. This weekend we will have 2-4 productions at different places. Pray that we are available for God to use us in mighty ways.

Sanbeto

Today we walked around Sanbeto(maybe misspelled). Most of the people weren't home, but it was still a good experience praying for people. Afterwards we ate lunch at a family of the church we're working with this week and they made us amazing indian food(being indians). It was delicious! I climbed up part of a coconut tree because someone wanted one, but I came down because I knew my mom would have flipped if she heard I fell from a coconut tree...so don't worry mom, I'm being safe. But please keep praying for our team! I will update this blog every time I'm online.

Joel

Medical Clinic

Today I went to a village about an hour and a half away from our base here in Lautoka and helped with a medical clinic. We distributed medicine and a team of 3 of us walked around praying for people. It was really good for us to see God moving in the hearts of people. One older man accepted Jesus as his saviour, and one of the ladies working at the clinic had been witnessing to him for years and years, and after talking and praying for a little while, he decided it was exactly what he needed!

One thing I have noticed about the people here is their love for everyone. Wherever you go, you are welcomed with open ears and usually a cup of tea. If you complement somone of a painting on their wall, most of the time they will take it off their wall and give it to you. If you are staying at their house, they will sleep on the floor and give you their bed. They honor their guests in a way I have never seen before. Even when people know about Jesus and disbelieve, they will still welcome you into their house and accept prayer most of the time. All they ask for in return is respect.

My time is about up in the computer lab, but if you didn't get my email I sent out(and i 'm sure there are a lot of you who I missed), email me at joeloliver@gmail.com and I will send you a copy. I will be sending out an email at the begining and end of my stay at each place(hopefully).

BULA!!!

I MADE IT!!! I arrived safely. I need to send out a mass email telling people that. But for now, you get the brief version(probably more fun to read anyways.) We left Honolulu Sunday night at about 12:30am and flew all night through the roughest turbulance I've ever felt. Ethan(a 3 year old on our team) was sleeping in the seat next to me(and on my lap at times) and flew in the air at one point. We stopped in Samoa to refuel and arrived here went straight to our home base. We are staying in a building that is completely vacant, but 3 stories tall, and the ministry is called Marine Reach. We are about a 5 minute walk from town.

After we got here, we did some team time (which takes so long because our team is so big - 26) and then went to buy a lava lava (a long skirt with pockets...all the guys need them). We basically did nothing at all the first day and recouped from the trip. We sang worship songs on the roof and watched the sunset and the stars from there while singing. It was basically amazing. The weather changes rapidly and the humidity is always high so far. The first day people said it felt like it was 100 degrees. I would say at night it drops to the upper 70s. We get some rain briefly, but when it rains...it RAINS. Every night so far we have had lightning storms and the thunder is loud in the afternoon.

Prices here change frequently and vary greatly in prices. It is definately a barter economy, but not at all like Mexico. Internet costs from F$1- F$3 an hour...the lab i'm in now supposedly costs F$6 an hour, but they're having a F$1 special.

The internet here is really slow! It took me over 10 minutes just to open Gmail, but I figured it out. ALL the computers run on the same internet feed. There are only 3 people in here now and it's okay. So I need to check my email at times when the labs are empty(like 8am on saturday)

I will post pictures when I can. If you could pray, pray for team unity and communication(due to our huge team, it has led to miscommunication and frustrations). Our ministry here is based on prayer. Most of what we do is walk around the "villages" (which are not like I pictured Fijian villages to be like.) and talk about "the word of God". We have a translator and they just put us on the spot and said "Go ahead"...It was scary for us all, but we now know what we'll be doing from now on. Outside the city(where we live) is village after village after village. There really isn't a break. But the churches we've been helping out are tiny and need lots of work.

That's all for now. The computer lab is getting really hot. Send my love to everyone. I will be checking my email 1-2 times a week...but if it's slow I won't be able to reply...but know that I read every email and will reply when I have time. I love you all!

Leaving on a Jetplane...

Today we leave for the airport tonight at 4:30...which means we show up to the vans at 4:35 and we leave at 5:00. However, if you want to know my flight plans over the next few months, here is my itenerary...well a brief version.

March 26 7:38pm hawaiian flight307 hawaiian
March 27 12:35am air pacific flight 821
April 18th 8:00am air pacific flight 211
May 9th 11:20am air pacific flight 210
May 11th 9:30pm air pacific flight 511
June 13th 4:05pm air pacific flight 260
July 18th 11:59pm air pacific flight 822

I just passed my roomcheck so now all I need to do is finish packing up everything, take my last shower in who knows how long, and call home(no, mom, I didn't forget)...Less than 1 hour til I leave for the airport....pray for me! I will keep you all updated as much as possible.

Saying Goodbye

Today the majority of everyone leaves for their trips all over the world. One team left tuesday, two left wednesday, one leaves tomorrow, my team leaves sunday, and everyone else leaves today(none of the teams are bigger than 20 besides mine). So we have dozens of teams leaving today....very emotional. Excited that they're off to change the world, sad that I will never see them again. Pray for safety for everyone. (oh and pray that I can get my tooth fixed before I leave)

So soon...

I can't believe we're leaving so soon...Today we were commissioned by Darlene Cunningham she talked about the pile of stones that the Israelites left after crossing the river jordan. What we need are these stones. We need to remember what God has done in the past in order to keep our faith alive. She told a story at the begining of YWAM and how her and Loren needed $500 in a matter of hours, and it was totally unexpected. She prayed "Lord I believe, help me overcome my disbelief." A contractor came over and gave them the $500 specifically because he felt that God told him to do so that morning. So this was one of the first stones in her life....she walks around campus saying "Lord, I remember the $500." When God does things in our life, we need to be thankful and remember. So her charge for us as we leave is to write down and pile stones as a reminder for our future and for future generations.

Jeremy West

The speaker this week is talking about the Cost of Discipleship. He is very passionate and dedicated to what he speaks about. Yesterday he talked about what it means to be a disciple of Christ. He defines sin as an act of rebellion to God. He went over the steps of discipleship today. The five steps he used in class are
1) submission to God
2) Identity in Christ
3) Commitment to Christ (not just believing, but being unswervingly committed)
4) Love...(how God loves us unconditionally and he just wants us to love him back. If we don't love God, we turn our relationship into religion)
5) Obedience to God (Christ demonstrated this in his obedience to die for us)

...and I would drive 500 more!

This weekend I rented a dodge neon and I had another good weekend! Friday a group of us rented kayaks and went out to Captain Cook's monument and snorkeled (I'll try and get pics later...I didn't want my digital camera to get damaged in the kayak). Saturday after I did my chore, 6 of us drove 2 1/2 hours to the volcano and hiked 2 miles and waited for dark, but we didn't see too much of a glow. We were about a mile away(as close as we could safely get), so it was a fun hike, fun people, but I sill want to see lava better. The internet is slow, so I'll try and upload pictures later. Sunday a group of us drove around the whole island and stopped at rainbow falls, hilo(where I bought a pink american eagle shirt...$4), puna for hot springs, south point in attempts to see the sunset(too many clouds), then back to campus....6 hours driving at least...but fun. We ended up driving 651.5 miles! It was so much fun!

Just Another Update...

I have been told a few new details, so I would like to pass the information. First, the official date that we are leaving for Fiji is March 26th. We will be staying at the Fiji YWAM base and most likely taking trips for a couple days to the villages. Tonga will be next and apparently we will be doing pioneering type of ministry...not sure what that means, but sounds like fun! Vanuatu, there are 2 YWAM bases that we will stay at and we will be there during their country's 400th anniversary. Not sure what we will be doing there, but then we'll go back to Fiji and be back to Kona July 20th for debriefing. In class we have been starting to learn more about prayer, worship, language(what not to do an say also), and the like.

Thank you all for your notes, emails, letters, packages, prayers, support, and just being a part of my life and my adventures! I would love to talk to all of you before I leave for Fiji, but in case I don't, know that I love you!

Pictures

I posted 60 pictures...I think you can flip through them...let me know if they work.

http://wwu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2017161&l=edfae&id=25902808

Jeep Adventure

WOW...Quite the weekend! I rented a Jeep from 8am Saturday until 8am Monday...and boy did I get my money's worth! I started with 3 of the guys who are going on outreach with me and we went to southpoint, then drove the 4WD road to the green sands beach where we saw a mother humpback whale teaching her baby how to breach! I couldn't get a picture though. We then went to a beach called road to the sea and it was a black and green sands beach. We jumped into the sand because it was so soft. We had some good pre-outreach bonding.

We returned about 4:30 and I ate dinner, and grabbed 4 more of my friends, and we drove to a beach called Makalawena which is a rugged off-road to the most beautiful beach I have seen on this island! Sand so soft and fine as powder! We got there just in time for the sunset(amazing!) and we camped overnight(pic of the jeep and tent), had a bonfire(Min had never had smores before!), then in the morning we went and swam at the beach(just 5 minute walk away) Then we packed up and we made it back to campus at noon.

I showered, repacked and grabbed two of my roomates and two of the girls going on outreach with me and we went to turtle beach where the top of the water was cold ocean water(about 65 degrees) and then there was a hot underwater stream flowing and the deeper you got the warmer it was. So about 6 feet under the water was about 85 degrees. SO warm! Beautiful too. After we hiked back to the jeep and went up to Mauna Kea. Our goal was to watch the sunset...we had to layer up and by the time we made it to the top of the mountain, we missed the sunset by about 15 minutes. We stayed and watched stars and left for campus at 10pm. We returned to campus at about midnight and we decided that since we had the vehicle, we would go back for sunrise. So we went to denny's and ate breakfast at about 1:00am and then we drove back up mauna kea and waited for sunrise. It was SOOO beautiful.

We returned the jeep a little after 8am monday and we hitchhiked back. I drove over 500 miles in the jeep and Took over 400 pictures. It was the most amazing weekend ever! I wish I could post like 50 pictures, and still it would not do justice to the beauty and the adventure I went on. So I've been spending quite a bit of time catching up on sleep, prayer, and the like this week. So sorry for the delay in this update and my emails and phone calls. I love you all!

Toothache!!!

I want to ask for a little more prayer. I have a pretty bad toothache and most likely I will have to have aroot canal. I do not know a dentist here nor do I have the money to pay for it. So pray that I find a good dentist and that it wont' be too much money.

Funny story

A little while ago there was a small group here that went downtown to play volleyball. However there was a miscommunication and nobody brought a ball. So they decided to play imaginary volleyball. The locals surrounded the court because they wondered what was going on. Pretty soon there was a decent amount of people around the court as if they were watching a very interesting game. About 20 or 30 minutes into this game, one of the teenage girls ran through the court and decided to steal the ball.(the invisible ball I might add) Dumbfounded at the fact that some girl just stole an invisible ball, it took about 10 seconds before they chased after her...the locals found this hillarious before someone donated another invisible ball to keep playing. After about an hour of invisible volleyball, they came back to campus. I think I need to join them for volleyball more often.

PRAISE REPORT!!!

Last week I found out that I was $4000 short for outreach. I received all but $2500 by thursday from all of you(so thank you SOO much) however, I was still missing that chunk. Now on our outreach, there are 24 people, and 4 married couples, so our leaders made us 4 families of 6 people. My outreach parents came to me and said that whatever amount I did not raise, they would cover!!! I was astonished!!! (I still am) I do not know if any of you have sent money since then, or were planning on sending money, I told them that I would give them whatever money that I received from here on(unless those who give specify that it is money for outreach supplies or spending money). I thank you all for your prayers and support(in every way from finances to cookies to cards)!!! It has meant more to me than I can express! YOU are my miracle.

Weekend with Carlos' family

This weekend was another relaxing one. I spent Saturday and Sunday with Carlos' family chilling on the beach, driving around, and relaxing at the house they rented. It was SOOO nice to get real food!!!! It was unbelievably good food! It was also really nice to get off campus for a couple days. But more than anything it was nice to see Carlos and Jenn...a couple familiar faces that laugh at my jokes and understand my facial expressions.

SUPRISE!!! (prayer request)

Today our team learned something that was quite suprising. There was miscommunication and I found out that I need to pay for my outreach fees by this upcomming Thursday. So I will need about $4000 more by then. I don't know what happens if I don't get it, so pray for me that God will provide it. I know that God is much bigger than my finances.

Valentines Day!

So far I have received the coolest valentines day cards EVER from my CASA!!!! I am unbelievably proud of them! I have never received so many nor the quality of cool cards in my life. Unfreakingbelievable! I love and miss you all. I'd send valentines, but I'm still trying to raise money for outreach!

Tacoma Team

Last night I went exploring the campus with one of my friends. It was really cool.

This week we are talking about spiritual strongholds and the speaker is from Parkland! We read a book that they wrote last week and I'm excited to hear from them because apparently this is supposed to be a powerful week...
...Tonight they prayed over me and they felt like God said I was created as a Warrior, Servant, Musician, and Leader. It was really cool because I didn't tell them anything, and they said that music will be a large part of my life. Quite stunning.

Not really looking forward to valentine's day tomorrow. The girls here are making a big deal of it....girls are wierd.

Weekend...

Well my weekend plans fell through...Both days... :-( So I got stranded here on the base with nothing to do. No pictures. No stories. Pray for my patience because I am getting too easily agitated by some people. I feel like a caged animal that didn't get to go for it's weekly walk. On the upside, I'm looking forward to next weekend because Carlos and Dren are comming to visit!!!

BBQ and Relationships

This week our topic of lecture and discussion is relationships. Of course with all of us young'uns running around (most who have just graduated high school) it is necessary. Our speakers (a married couple) are very real and fun to talk to. Jim actually joined one of the dodgeball teams durring the tournament. The unfortunate reaction to the relationship talk is an excess of conversation about who likes who...which is the opposite of what we're talking about in class. However, I was up late last night talking with one of my buddies about how God is shaking him and it was very moving for both of us. So God is definately working here. I have been going for a walk every night and sometimes I don't see a single person and I just talk with God, other times I get into good convos. I'm still processing what God's been trying to say to me.

In other news, our outreach team went and had a barbeque. There are 26 of us including our 2 leaders and the children. I didn't realize that there aren't too many guys on our team. Looks like I'm going to be the big brother to many(I am the oldest one that is not married.)...I'm thinking I'll be needing prayer for that too. This friday we will be hanging out again as a team. Not sure what we'll be doing yet. But our team is fun, but big. It will take a while to get to know everyone...but I still have a few months to build Relationships.

Waterfalls, Trees, and the Super Bowl

This weekend I drove around with some people that will be going on outreach with me. We had a good time hanging out and being random. We had no real plan, but we drove to Hilo and went to Akaka and Rainbow falls. Our whole day was just based on "What do you want to do next?" It was really relaxing and I had a really fun time.

Sunday they set up the Super Bowl on Campus and there were a whole lot of people who were rooting for the Steelers, and the curse of Seattle stood. I could not believe that they lost. The rest of the day I finished our assigned book "Strongholds". It was a relaxing weekend.

PRAYER REQUEST!!!

UPDATED information! Monday

Saturday 5 people went down a stream on a man-made river and 2 of them fell off a 30(ish) foot waterfall onto rocks. God was definately present and everything went as best as it could, and the simplified version is that 3 helicopters came and flew them out and the two that fell off the waterfall were sent to the hospital. Sharon has some scratches and bruises, but is okay, Nicolas got 7 or 8 stitches on his face, but Amanda broke her pelvus in 8 spots and punctured her lung. She had surgery yesterday and it all went well, but she will be having corrective surgery on thursday and should be in able to leave the hospital in 2-3 weeks. She is not allowed to fly for 11-12 weeks, but she wants to come back to finish our DTS and go on outreach. Her parents are flying to see her on Tuesday. I would like to ask for prayer for a speedy recovery so that she can fly back here and continue in our school. Pray that God will use this situation for His glory! Thank you all so much for being there for me!

Fasting

This friday our campus did a corporate fast. It felt kinda wierd, but it was inspiring at the same time. We prayed for the south pacific and then the whole YWAM base prayed over our team that is going to Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu, and Tonga (and no other team). They were blessing us and speaking prophecy over us and it was quite a new experience for me. to have two dozen people surrounded by a couple hundred....quite amazing! As they prayed, I felt like God said to look at everyone's feet, and then He said "blessed are the feet of those who bring good news!" They told us that our team will need and extra $10,000 for our trip(as a team) and that the people of Tonga feel like the Isrealites did when they first saw the promised land...they feel like grasshoppers in their own eyes.(Numbers 13:30-33) This encouraged me in my desire to go to Tonga. Dinner after the fast was baked potatoes...they were GOOOOD!

New Update

I have been working on the newsletter I am about to send out. I have about a dozen left, then I'll be mailing them, but I found out today something new. Our trip will be going to Fiji, Samoa, then back to Fiji for the last week of the first two months. Then we will spend the next 2 months in Vanuatu and Tonga. Friday they told us the order of our trips and that they wanted to know soon who was planning on staying. I found out they were buying tickets today and that I had to make my choice. I'm going to be doing a lot of praying about it, but I told them to buy me a 4 month ticket, and God will allow me to change it if He doesn't want me there. I believe that God has me here for a reason. For those of you who I made plans with for June/July, please forgive me...I'm going to be praying more about it, and I need discernment whether to change flights and the like. So for now I'm planning on staying...Because I told God I would go where He wants me...But that also will be a lot more money that I'll be needing. BUT, my life is in His hands. I am pretty sure that all of you who read my blog get my newsletter, but if you don't let me know, and I'll send you one. I've been praying for everyone as I have done each letter. It was an amazing experience! I realized how blessed I truly am to have you all in my life!

Hitchhiking, Dodgeball and Black Sand

This weekend was another busy one. I drove shuttle friday night and saturday morning and when I got back from driving shuttle I wanted to go to the beach, but everyone who wanted to go was already gone, so I decided to hitchhike since everyone says it's safe...well apparently nobody wants to pick up a long-haired hippie because I walked about 4 miles before someone picked me up, but Clay was a nice guy from New Mexico and he drove me all the way to the beach i wanted to go to(mile 88) and when we were there, I saw a whale breach(jump out of the water) for the second time ever! I was excited!

Saturday night I was asked to be the ref for the dodgeball tournament, and although dodgeball is fun, I can not see how anyone could be an effective judge. balls going everywhere, people yelling at each other, man, I was a terrible ref.

Sunday morning I rented a van and a dozen of us hiked down to waipio valley(almost a 45degree angle on the road) on the north side of the island across a black sand beach through a small village in attempt to find a hidden waterfall, but our fearless leader got lost, so we ended up asking directions from a 7 year old girl who was out by one of the houses with a couple dogs...she knew exactly where we wanted to go. The waterfalls were not very big, but there was a series of waterfalls and pools that we hiked around and jumped in, and it was delightful! Some people thought we should have stayed at the big falls by the beach, but it was so nice to be outside hiking around. I hiked almost the whole way there barefoot. The black sand was amazingly soft. It was nice because the rain came on the way back and it cooled us down...and a few people found umbrellas. All in all it was fun to be outside.

Dan Baumann

This week we have been talking mostly about our pasts and what the Bible says about how to deal with past sins and hurts. Last night we had a guest speaker who was imprisoned in Iran for 9 weeks. He told his story of being there and it was shocking! briefly stated, he went to Iran to preach the gospel because he felt like God called him to. He went there loving people and they (literally) were running up to him asking him who Jesus was. After his visa was about to expire (2 weeks) he got on the bus, but at the border he and his friend were told to go back to the capital to get their passports. They ended up getting imprisoned without knowing why and interigated daily in a 2x3 meter room. He wrestled about whether God is good, and he found out about 5 weeks after being imprisoned that he had 2 death sentances, but didn't know why. So even though he was scared to death, he figured he was a dead man and he ended up preaching in the courtroom for 30 minutes. He didn't know how long he would be in jail, and he contemplated suicide, but after 9 weeks, he decided that no matter what happened, he wanted to follow God, and no matter what he would surrender to His plan. 3 hours later he was given his clothes back (he had been stripped of all his clothes and belongings on day one) and he thought he was going to be executed, but rather, he was set free. His whole talk was about trusting God and that through even the depths of darkness, He was there.

Green Sand, Lightning and a Steep Valley

Wow, what a weekend! Saturday I went with 10 guys to the Waipio Valley (where they filmed part of Jurassic Park) and we hiked through the clouds, huge plants, bamboo, and steep ledges. It was so cloudy that we could hardly see more than 20 feet in front of us until we got over part of the valley ledge. We waited and waited looking for this waterfall and then the clouds cleared and we saw a waterfall that probably fell over 2000 feet! It was spectacular! The clouds quickly covered up the view, but not before I got a pic.

Sunday was another adventure to the Southern most part of the United States. We traveled to the south point of the island and then we hiked over 2 miles (in flip flops) to go to this green sand beach! It was extremely soft, but still really grainy. It made no sence. Quite an amazing sight!

Sunday night I was out talking with some people and we kept seeing flashes over and over, but the people who had been here for 1-2 years said they had never seen lightning here, so it couldn't be lightning because we weren't hearing thunder. But we looked northeast and we saw lightning. So I stayed up until midnight watching the storm move from NorthEast to NorthWest truly hoping for rain. The storm moved around us, but today in the mail, my buddy Angie mailed me some rain in a spray bottle from Bellingham. So I got the rain I really desired...just in a different form than I had expected. Isn't that just the way that God works? I wish I could post more pictures, but I have limited space. It was amazing!

Destination unknown revealed!

Tonight I learned where our group is going...it is still disorganized so bear with me. The trip to Fiji and Vanuatu and the Samoa, Tonga, and Fiji trip got combined. But Since the islanders relate very much on a relationship level, spending a couple weeks in each spot would not accomplish much. For this reason our trip will be split into two parts. The first part will be going to two of these countries for the two months of our DTS and whoever has the time and money to stay, can go on to the other 2 countries. We plan on praying more about the order of our visits, so please pray for wisdom and discernment of when to go where and finances for those who want to stay longer.

Birthday at Bubba Gumps

So for my birthday I had class all day with a couple breaks to eat and do chores. Durring chore time(while I was vacuuming and washing a van) I decided that I wanted to go to dinner for my birthday because the food here is....well....how do you say nicely that you would rather go a week without food? Anyways, we had a "manditory" session from 6-8:30(ish) and I just wanted a good meal...so a couple people (who felt the same way about the food) decided to come eat at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. I had "I'm stuffed" Shrimp. Pricey, but really good. The leaders said afterwards that they didn't mind a few of us going...so that was nice. So here's a pic of us at dinner.

My favorite thing present(yet?...I accept gifts late) was that my sister's 4th grade class decided to make me birthday cards, so I was reading those today and they are awesome! I'm going to put them up by my bed. Thank you all for your notes(big and small).

Spear fishing

This weekend was really fun. There were 8 of us that went to some beach 20 miles south from here (can't remember the name even though I asked a million times). It was really fun. We attempted to go Spear Fishing, but only two people caught anything. There were lots of really small fish but nothing big enough to eat. When I first started, I saw quite a few fish between 8 and 12 inches, but I didn't know how to aim the spear, and by the time I about had it down, I couldn't find any fish. So I was tired and exhausted that I decided to take a break, and after I said I was done for the day, someone pointed out that the dolphins were out(no wonder there were no fish). So I put my fins back on and swam out to where they were, and then they were just a little bit further out, so I swam further...And the same happened until I saw them swimming 30 feet beneath me! An I could see the sea floor 30 feet beneath them! I turned and looked, and I could have easily fit 3 football fields in between me and the shore, so I kinda panicked and swam back to shore, but it was really cool to see the dolphins.

Yesterday, I was really tired and took a nap and woke up with a mild heat stroke...so keep praying about my adapting to the heat. Also please comment or email me if you're praying about locations and God tells you anything about any of the trips. It would be a blessing to me ane everyone here. Your prayers have been keeping me safe even when I'm not thinking about what I'm doing...so mahalo!

Locations

Today we were given a list of possible locations that we might go to for our outreach. If you would pray about this for me that would be super-duper! Here's the list:

1) Saipan and Tuvalu
2) Fiji and Vanuatu
3) Samoa and Tonga and Fiji
4) Cook Islands and Fiji
5) Australia
6) Australia and Fiji

We were asked to not discuss this with others in the group so we don't attempt to sway each other. So I would more than love to discuss with you all if you have any spiritual insight. It was unclear, but they either want our answer by Monday or Wednesday...I can't remember. We are asked to pick our top 3 choices, but so far only 2 have appealed. So if you want to just leave a vote for me if you're praying, that would help me . I love you all. Seriously; I do.

Climatizing

So the weather is still rediculously hot for me, but it is becoming more bearable. We wanted to go spear fishing but the tide was too rough, so we're going on Saturday. A few of us are talking about going in on a car. Pray for us about that. Also, a number of you have asked what book we're reading. It is called "Is that really you God?" by Loren Cunningham. I just finished it today and wrote up a brief paper on it. So no new adventures yet. Hopefully this weekend I will have some good stories from spear fishing...apparently you can spear any fish but the huma-huma-nuka-nuka-apa-waa(spelling might not be right on that) because it is the state fish...I think. My laptop battery is about to die. I'll write something new this weekend.

Daily Adventures

So it's been a couple days since my last update. I cleaned my room and finally found my gizmo to transfer my pics to my computer. We had quite the fiasco on New Years Eve and they had more fireworks and displays than any 4th of July I've ever had. Our group had a hawaiian roasted pig, and they left the head out for us to see...or eat if we chose(none did.) I went to church on the beach...very beautiful, but not exactly my type of church really. You can see what I saw durring service. We rented a van on saturday and went to the beach. I saw a sea turtle, and we swam through a tunnel to a cave that had air...it was pretty awesome! Afterwards some of us went to pizza because we didn't have to walk. A couple people are considering buying a car because it is virtually impossible to do anything with a large group, and we all want to get to know each other without leaving anyone out...(this is why there were 36 people in 4 vehicles(the van had 15). I thank you all for praying for me. I feel your prayers and they have helped me a lot so far.

A Brief Update

Today was our first day of class. I just watched a gecko run accross our floor. Anyways, I have raised up most of my funds. Currently I have approximately $3000 left to raise for my outreach and I would like to ask for a little extra prayer about my new roomate. One of our roomates moved back home, and our last roomate came yesterday. There seems to be some cultural differences and he doesn't get allong with one of my roomates at all. They updated the UofN site so if you want to learn more about my trip I will be taking in 3 months, you can check out http://www.uofnkona.edu/dts/mdts.html. We have a 12 week school schedule, and just as I'm done with college thinking no more schooling, here I am with a book report due in a week and a half (friday the 13th.) My team so far seems great, and we're all so different, it could pose a problem, so prayer that we can mesh without frustrations would be good. I think we'll be fine, but these are the things I would like prayer for. Email me (joeloliver@gmail.com ) if you want to chat. I have easy internet access. Thank you all for your prayers. I will work on my newsletter soon to get out to you all.

Cockroaches and Cannibals

Today was a bizzare day. I found out I am going to Fiji and my leader was a Cannibal before she became a Christian. There are about 50 people on my team(the biggest of the 3 teams.) Most of the time we've been doing orientation. Tonight as we started getting ready for bed, I saw a cockroach for the first time. It was about 4 inches long and really quick. Immediately it ran under our mini fridge and we couldn't find it. So we just put the fridge outside. I hope I don't find it crawling over me tonight. It is kinda freaky really. Tomorrow we will have the whole day free. Not sure what I'm going to do, maybe find a beach or try and get a frisbee game going on. I also found out my address is as follows:

Joel Oliver
University of the Nations
75-5851 Kuakini Hwy #431
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740

Arrived in Kona!

I arrived here this morning about 8 and it turns out I'm going to have 5 roomates. I was the first one to arrive here today, so I am unpacking and just wanted to report that I arrived safely. I have internet here and cell phone reception, so feel free to email me. I will be meeting all sorts of people the next few days...I'm excited.

Mahalo!

I did it! I arrived Hawai'i safe and sound. The plane ride was an extra hour due to head winds but I met up with my friend and today we're going snorkeling! It's so dang hot here! Everyone is calling it mild, but the 70s are hot to me...especially in December! I go to Kona to the DTS base tomorrow. Thank you all for your prayers.

Going to HAWAII!!!

Tomorrow I fly out to go to Hawaii!!! I'm so busy packing and figuring out what I might want most over the next 5 months, my head is spinnig! So if you think of me, shoot up a prayer for me to think clearly, pack properly, and be at peace. So much to do, so little time. If I said I would call you or see you and didn't, I apologize. I love you still, just slipped my mind or ran out of time. I'll let you know how I am once I'm settled in.

I hate goodbyes!

I'm moving back to P-town today, and although I love my hometown, it's hard to say good bye to five years' worth of memories. Mixed emotions today....(but I did hide a treasure map on Sehome Hill....can't wait til someone finds it...double checked it last night at 2am just in case...it's still there.)

Gingerbread Houses

Went home Thursday to pick up my dad's truck so I can move home on Monday. While I was there I saw my sister's 4th graders because they wanted to meet her "crazy brother." Afterwards we decided to build a Gingerbread Mansion. During this construction, we decided this was the first annual Gingerbread Mansion party. I am currently trying to attach a pic of it, but it might not show up. This was just one angle.

Today I typed out all my contacts in Microsoft Outlook. Not a big fan of the program, but I needed them all in one place because having them in a huge pile on my desk on a hundred different envelopes and napkins just wasn't going to work. Still missnig lots of details for some people, so if you did not get one of my letters, and you want one, could you email your address to me at JoelOliver@gmail.com I will get you one asap!

Snowshoes and Mountains

A carload of us went hiking on Tuesday up this here mountain on the left, and the picture on the right is from the top. I had never been snowshoing before. It was fun! Lots of work, but amazing! On the way up, we had to take lots of small steps because there was a lot of steep areas, but that made it really fun to sled down on the way back. It made me realize how much I'm going to miss the snow while I'm gone to Hawaii. Don't get me wrong, I'll love it there, but I'll just be missing the snow and all that comes with it. There's nothing like sledding down a 500 foot slope on you bum in a foot of powder! I'm sure Kona will have it's perks too...and I can't wait to find them out!

Oh Christmas Tree...

This last week a few of my roomates and I were at our friends' house. They were tired and went to bed, leaving us downstairs by ourselves. We decided it would be a shame to leave their house unaltered somehow, so after discussing what we would do while my roommates ate the advent calendar candy, we decided to take the Christmas tree on an adventure.

We started at 1:15 am by looking for keys, and after we found a set, we then got one of our roommate's truck and drove all over Bellingham as far north as the Canadian border with the tree taking pictures of it. (Let me tell you, the conversation with the border guards was EXTREMELY AWKWARD!!!...You try explaining to them that you stole someone's Christmas tree to take pictures of it under the peace arch at 4am and that is why you don't have your passport) Anyways, we returned it by 5:30am and then we went to the store and got all the pictures printed out and gave it to them as a graduation/Christmas present. (there was written commentary in the book)

HOWEVER, while we were watching Narnia on Friday, they decided to dump crumbs and salt all over our beds and shaving cream all over our bathroom. We gave them their gift regardless. So with all my friends leaving, I've been trying to find them all to say goodbye since I won't be seeing them for half a year at the soonest....As a result, no time to do laundry yet, so I'm in my sleeping bag again tonight.

25 Days to go!!!

No, I'm not talking about Christmas, so don't think that I've forgotten how to count. I am super stoked for my DTS to start!!! I have a lot of money yet to raise, and I have most of my letters sent out. I have complete faith that God will provide the rest of the funds.

As far as the snow goes, unfortunately it didn't pan out the way I hoped. We did get some snow, but not enough to successfully go sledding. We tried, but it was more like sledding in the mud. But we had fun throwing snowballs, playing football, and frolicing in the snow. However, now I am really sore and I have a ton of muddy clothes.