Fiji :)

So I'm here!! don't have long but just wanted to update that I arrived here safe and sound. We are staying at a very random village in the middle of nowhere with a pet goat...it is extremely random. So far this week we are prepping all of our Bible teaching. which has been going really well.  The base leader here has really challenged us to get to know the staff here and pour out what we have learned and take the opportunity to bless them. This morning one of my students, Catherine, spoke on the life of Nehemiah and learning to live by faith. It was SO challenging, the presence of God was sooo strong, so many tears were shed in the room. Tomorrow we will run a day for kids in the community and teach them Bible stories. This weekend we get introduced to the churches which we will be teaching at next week...so exciting. There is 1 other American girl here (the rest of the staff are Fijian), and I've been so blessed by getting to know her....she is here teaching the Fijians to raise/butcher there own chickens so they can not only feed themselves, but have a business so that they can sustain themselves. I have been SO shocked and convicted by how little these people have, and how much I never even realize I take for granted...God is teaching me what it means to be generous and love people and what it really means.  It sure has given me a whole new perspective on everything.
Thanks for keeping us in your prayers- please continue to pray for team unity. also, finances for one of my students, Catherine. We are still believing for money to come in for her to be able to come with us to Samoa in 3 weeks.
Bula Vinaka!

Goodbye Kona...hello Oahu.

So I left Kona on Thursday. Packed up my apartment, handed back the keys, sold my moped, said what felt like a thousand goodbyes, and got on the plane. It was sadder than sad. But also exciting.  We flew to Oahu where we are staying for 2 days to relax/prep for outreach.  It's been nice to see the island a bit and get to know my team better. Also, I got to reunite with my dts staff and best dts buddy, Virgil, after 8 years (how has it been that long since my dts?!). It was really strange....like seeing someone completely out of context. But he showed us around Oahu all day and it was so fun to catch up with him, and catch up on the happenings of all our dts friends. Tomorrow we get to work officially....time to get serious! The students will be prepping their Bible teachings all day, and then giving them in front of us. We also have some teaching stuff to prep so it'll be a busy day. Then Sunday morning we get on the plane to Nandi, Fiji!!! It's all seeming a little surreal at this point. But so excited to get there and get started on outreach....

Jill and I this afternoon 

Virgil and me :)

thank you all for your prayers and i'll try to keep you posted as best as I can.

Outreach team

I leave for Fiji on outreach in 1 and a half weeks!! I’m getting excited but also nervous of the unknown…Here is a picture of my outreach team. From left: Mike, Catherine, Simon, Jill and me.

We’d really appreciate prayers for unity and finances. One of our students, Catherine, is still waiting for all of her outreach finances to come in, and it’s causing her a lot of stress. Please join me in praying that God will provide for her, and for all of us. We’re believing in faith knowing that God is our great provider!

2 Peter/Jude

teaching....

my fan club Anna and Janice

Thank you to all who prayed for me while I prepped for 2 Peter and Jude.
I learned a lot and actually had a lot of fun.
Even though i didn't feel as prepared as I'd wanted to be, God really filled in the blanks for me (as usual). The message in both books is about building up your knowledge, grace, faith so you will be able to stand up to false teachers who twist the truth. It ended up being such a powerful application time as we all ripped up lies that we'd been believing about God, ourselves, etc, as a result of different false teachers in our lives.
So good!
Thank you for your prayers, i really felt them!

Home sweet home

our room

bathroom

kitchen

living room

kitchen

view from the living room...its a rough life.

This blog post is for my sisters. They were wanting to be able to visualize where I live. So now that I'll be moving out in 2 weeks, thought it'd be a good time ;)
sorry its so late guys! wish you could've come and stayed

Is it June yet?

So I think May has been one of the most challenging months of my life, in every way possible.

To those of you who read my blog, I’m asking for prayer.

I teach 2 Peter and Jude in less than 2 weeks. Amidst all the distractions, things I’m trying to process, decisions I’m trying to make, I’m feeling more than a little crazy.

Please pray for my clarity of mind, that I will be able to hear God above all the other voices in my life.

Please pray that I can focus and present these books in a way that would honor God, and also that God will be speaking to me through them.

I am encouraged today by Peter as I study..

2 Peter 3:8,9- “ do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you…”

I’m so thankful that God is in charge of time, and His timing in my life is perfect, whether or not it feels good or is hard.

Leaving Kona in 1 month....I guess I'll have to change the title of this blog!

Don't want even a minute to go to waste.

Holding onto His promises!

Thank you for your prayers, I think they’ve been keeping me going.

Life...

So I’ve been informed by various family members that I’m lame because I hardly update my blog anymore… to the point where you don’t even bother checking it! J (Neil) This IS a crisis. So here’s my attempt to try harder…

Hmmm lately…well I just got back from a trip home to Manitoba, I got super blessed by my family and they flew me home for a visit/recovery from life. These last few months have included many highs and lows, but I’m so thankful to know that my God is still bigger than any problem in my life.  So, at home, I spent a ton of time with my family, which I feel I never get to do when I’m home because there’s always so much going on. But this time I kind of hid out, so I could just hang out and play with my nieces and nephews…Nothing heals the soul like the laughter of a child, that I will say. Just wanted to make a shout out to my amazing family, who allowed me to come home, who constantly support me in every decision I make, and never think I’m crazy. You guys are the best family in the world and I really have no words for how thankful I am for you.

I arrived back in Kona 2 nights ago…it was surprisingly really good to be back. I missed my friends and class SO much…and actually am so excited to be back to work, with my students and staff who I’ve come to love so much. Lots of hugs today, apparently they missed me a lot too J

Yesterday we had an outreach meeting, planning our trip to Samoa/Fiji to Bible teach. We leave in under 7 weeks!! It’s too crazy! I am getting so excited as we plan. It involves  a lot of hard work to plan but I’m so excited for this adventure to begin. It’s bittersweet to end this season in Kona, yet I know it’s time to go for now.

In other news, I start my teaching prep this weekend for my teaching on 2 Peter and Jude.  Please pray for me, teaching prep is such an intense  time and can be so all consuming. I don’t want to lose focus on why I’m here, which is mainly I feel, to serve and bless my students, in whatever form that looks like each day.

Thanks so much for your prayers….I have felt them. So thankful to serve a God who gives me a reason to still find joy in the midst of hard times.

Easter weekend gettaway...so fun.

Easter breakfast celebration

love this crazy child

time to watch Tangled!

Ciara

beautiful nephews

Much love and aloha