Thursday, July 21, 2011

On the MOVE....Toso, Toso! (July Update)


Some of the Solomon Island Team members with the senior pastor (EE board member) who was so moved to tears by our fundraising presentation


spending time with Maba and his little niece and nephew on the 4th of July before heading to the movies! :)


closing ceremony feast with the Aussies! yum


VP of EE Oceania - Langdon, myself, and my Fiji family - Sally, baby Jen, Eta, and Serai


small home in a village in Vanuatu


teaching a Hope for Kids workshop


OJT with the kids and passing out Gospel books, they're so happy!


Night of the rally where I shared the Gospel and all these kids prayed to receive Christ!


local fish and cassava chips with coconut drink! livin' it up!


i seriously LOVE wandering in open markets like this!


exploring a village up in the bush


Pastor Rusi (EE Nat'l Coordinator) & his wife Sai at the church they are helping in the bush. These kids don't attend school and barely have anything.


visiting the American War Memorial....in the early 1940's the US and Japan had several naval battles. Under this star is laid to rest a fallen unknown American soldier.


I had this amazing view from church on Sunday! How cool is that?!

Greetings from the Solomon Islands!
This month I have definitely been on the move. Everywhere I go I experience how God continuously sustains me and prepares me for what’s next. It’s a blessing to be part of what He is doing in the Pacific! Now let me take you on a journey from the time I last updated you all. Please bear with me in this long update. There’s just so much to share! Once you start reading, I truly hope you read on to the end! It’s worth it I promise! Feel free to share this blog with others!

June 26
The youth coming to the Solomon Islands and I conducted fundraising presentations in 2 churches in Nadi. It was a great opportunity to challenge the people about missions and the importance of giving. We shared testimonies and performed dance items. The church members were so encouraged. During our 2nd presentation, the pastor (EE Fiji board member) had tears in his eyes as we did our presentation because he was so moved. We knew God’s presence was with us. We raised $700 FJD that Sunday! Praise the Lord!

June 27-July 2
I traveled back to my flat to spend 5 days doing laundry, repacking, and catching up with my friends and church family. It was a great time to just rest and be refreshed. On July 2nd, one of the Solomon Island team members was hosting a fundraising dinner. But on July 3rd I was supposed to be in Nadi (4 hours away) in the early morning to preach the sermon at a church. So Maba went above and beyond to be there for me so I could do both and not travel late at night by myself! That Saturday morning he traveled 6 hours by bus, spent the afternoon with me, attended the dinner with me to support our friend, then accompanied me down to Nadi for another 4 hour bus ride late at night so I could be present on Sunday morning! Whew! It meant a lot to our friend that we were present at his dinner as I am his mentor and Maba is his very close friend. That night he raised more than half of his airfare! Maba didn’t get home til 4am, and he woke up early on Sunday to hear me speak! He is so good to me!

July 3
Sunday morning I felt brand new and ready to preach. The weather was very rainy and I became discouraged because not many people were at the church when Maba and I arrived. But Maba was very encouraging and told me, “Sarah it doesn’t matter the number. The people who come will be the people God meant to be here to listen to your message. So just speak from your heart what God has given you to say.” As the service started more people arrived. It was the first time I was given the whole sermon time to speak. Usually I am just asked to share my testimony and talk about missions in churches. As I spoke I knew God was moving in the midst, and at one point the pastor had tears running down his face. And at the end of the service, the church took up a love offering to give to my ministry. I was so blessed to be part of their service!

July 4-9
I spent this week in Nadi to prepare for my Vanuatu trip and catch up with ministry contacts. On July 4th I told Maba I needed to do something “American” since it was Independence Day. So we went to the movies to watch Transformers 3 and ate American food! It was good fun! The next day I met up with one of the EE Kids Workers whom I have mentored while being in Fiji. She had been experiencing different hardships, so I was able to encourage her to persevere. Then Maba and I were able to visit her new place and have a cup of tea, which meant so much to her. Fellowship is such an important part of Fijian culture. Maba is like a big brother to her, so I gave them time to catch up as Maba is fluent in Hindi.

July 9-19
For 10 days I was in Vanuatu where I joined an Australian youth EE team. I was able to do a variety of things in ministry that week: build up the local Kids EE Workers, run a Hope for Kids workshop, share experiences and encourage the young Aussies as they conducted a Youth EE Clinic.

At the beginning of the week Rod Story, EE VP for Global Development, introduced me to the Nivans (term for locals) as the “DAUGHTER OF THE PACIFIC” hehehe I liked the sound of that! One night during the week we hosted a rally at the church where hundreds of people came out. Towards the end we were able to break the crowd into small groups to share the Gospel. I had the opportunity to share to 15 children, and all of them prayed to receive Christ! One of the kids I shared to that night was Patrick who lived in the village. He told me that no one had ever shared that and he was so excited to have Jesus in his heart! The rest of that night he didn’t want to leave my side and for the rest of the week he would come around after school to say hi to me. Precious!

I was also able to spend lots of quality time with my Fijian best friend, Sally, who is now working in Vanuatu. She had a baby 4 months ago so I was able to meet the precious little one! Her mom and little sister were also there visiting from Fiji. They are my Fijian family, so I cherished the good times with them!

July 19 – present
On July 19th, I flew from Vanuatu to Honiara, Solomon Islands. The EE National Coordinator and his family are Fijian and come from the church I attend in Fiji. It was great to catch up with them! They have so many amazing stories of being here on the mission field. This is my first time in this country so I have been exploring the town, asking lots of questions, and absorbing it all in. It’s all so new and interesting! I didn’t know that Honiara was a battle site for the US and Japan during World War II. The past few days I have been sightseeing, shopping, trying local food, and preparing for the 2-week youth camp that starts next week. I can’t wait for the Fiji youth team to arrive. I know we are going to have such a wonderful time here learning and growing together as well as building up local young people in their faith and helping the local EE ministry!

Prayer Needs:
*Safe travel for the Fiji team arriving July 26
*Youth traveling to Honiara from different islands and provinces for the youth camp
*EE Solomon Island team gathering funds for the expenses of the youth camp
*Youth Camp from July 26 to August 9
*Health and Protection (from Malaria, harm, extreme heat, and unsafe areas)
*God to do great and mighty things while the team is in the Solomon Islands
*My family as my Grandma (my mom’s mom) passed away in the Philippines this past Wednesday. My mom and sister are flying out there for 2 weeks to be with the family.

Thank you so much for being on this adventure with me! There is so much going on in ministry right now. And I have so enjoyed being in different countries this month experiencing new cultures, languages, people, food, etc. I praise God for these opportunities to serve in the Pacific as a result of your giving. If you feel led to additionally give financially, renew your monthly support, or become a monthly supporter for this ministry - please see the information below. May God richly bless you!

Ways to Support:
Online - www.eeworks.org
*Click on "Ways to Support" then "Online Giving"
*Type "Sarah Abadines 6124" in the box provided
*Type in amount and complete the given instructions
*If support is to be monthly – please indicate

Make checks out to Evangelism Explosion International and on memo line write "Sarah Abadines 6124" (all checks tax deductible)
Mail to:
Evangelism Explosion International
P.O. Box 23820
Fort Lauderdale, Fl 33307-3820

Be Blessed,
Sarah

***PICTURES TO COME!!!!***