Naduri village

US team with Pastor nakiti, Ima, and Viliame


Katie & I with the tiger shark the fishermen of the village caught

Ima & I doing registration for the clinic

The wonderful ladies preparing our food....several times a day

mmhmmm tea time of sugar cane, bananas, and coconuts to drink

Diane(Ratu Peni's granddaughter) & I....her and I got close :)

watching the sunrise with some of the trainees

fresh clams

octopus :)

pufferfish off the island we went to

lovely ladies during our tea break

bathroom on the left, shower on the right

Me with precious Nena!

One of the many poisonous black and white snakes on the little island, eek!

gorgeous view!!

group photo of the clinic! (behind us is a historic landmark where they used to bury people alive =/ lol)

Elenoa & I chillen on the beach, she's so sweet!

wonderful Clark family whom I love dearly :)

Katie & I on the little island

Luke, me, Rupeni, Taru, Akanisi, and Ratu Jo in front

Me with Maba :) he's awesome!

My OJT team day 2: Ratu Jo, Adi, and Vara

walking by the ocean :)

delicious food! shark, octopus, clams, bananas

tutoring Milly in trigonometry and algebra II hehe

the girls side of the hall where stayed in Naduri

the lovely decorated eating hall

lotu (church)

inside of the church

afternoon session with the kids

(Chief)Ratu Peni and Rondini (pastor's wife)

Me and Katie with Isei, Ratu Jo, Saiyasi, Eroni, Luke :) Good times

on the bus from Labasa to Naduri village

Me with my trainee Vilikesa

Kids doing the hand motions for Kid's EE

doing the Grace skit: Gift

Labasa open market

Saturday, July 11th I flew to Labasa with Pastor Nakiti, Ima, and the US team (Clark family, Sarah, Cindy K., Ivan, Jim, Cindy M., Jon, Georgie). We picked up another US team member in Labasa, Julie. We went to town go food shopping and pick up anything else we needed for the week since Naduri was an hour away. The chief of the village owns a bus company so we took one of his buses to the village. As we arrived the scenery was beautiful! The village was near the ocean and at the bottom of these huge mountains. Naduri village is bigger than most....about 1000 people. The chief, Ratu Peni, was also the pastor of the AGOFI church in Naduri. He walked with authority but also humbly. I learned a great deal from him just by observing the way he carried himself. The chief is an important person in Fiji as a counselor to the prime minister, parliamentary position holder, final authority for educational scholarships, and major business owner. We settled into a hall lined up with mattresses and prepared for the week's task.

Sunday was church in the morning. Pastor Nakiti gave a powerful message. After lunch our team met to prepare for the EE clinic. We planned out the schedule and teaching sessions. Katie and I figured out all the skits and who would be involved, then we planned out the Kid's EE afternoon sessions for the children. The rest of the day we just took time to get to know more people in the village.

The EE clinic was Monday - Friday from about 9am -4pm. Morning Devotions was a wonderful time for the group to gather in fellowship and worship. Singing praise and worship was a blessing. Hearing the Fijians pour out them hearts in song, lifting their hands. 36 trainees were involved in the clinic from different areas of Vanua Levu, the 2nd largest island of Fiji. Clinics always remind me of how powerful the Gospel is and how I continue to learn things about God's goodness. It was so nice getting to know people and fellowshipping together as well as learning more about the Fijian culture. It was a beautiful thing to see local Fijians from different denominations come together (something not often seen) for the cause of Christ. I was encouraged by the trainees excitement and passion to learn how to share the Gospel with others.Everyone from the US team did a wonderful job teaching their sections(I was able to teach the Christ section). The group enjoyed the skits we prepared. And Pastor Nakiti really did an awesome job leading, translating, and teaching in Fijian and English. God truly speaks through him. During the clinic we sat on the floor Fijian style which took the US team some time to get used to haha I love being able to build relationships. During OJT(On the Job Training where teams would go out to share the Gospel), teams would visit different houses in the village where you could expect them to serve you tea and food. In Fiji, OJT was about getting to know the people you are visiting as well as sharing the Gospel. You could be at someone's house for over an hour visiting.

During morning and afternoon tea time, I took the time to get to know the trainees. After OJT was also free time to fellowship. And other spare time was devoted to hanging out with the children of the village who loved to sing, play games, and just talk. The afternoon session with the children was one of my favorite things.The children were precious. Myself and another young girl from Colorado taught them actions to worship songs and the hand motions for Kid's EE. I was encouraged by their receptiveness and response. Hearing them sing touched my heart, and hearing some of them pray in Fijian was such an encouragement. A few nights I was even able to tutor a few of the kids and young people in math which gave me great joy!

The people of Naduri were so giving and hospitable. They took such good care of us, it blew us away. Food in the village was amazing - fresh seafood like octopus, shark, clams, all kinds of fish, curry, noodles, cassava, Fijian pastries. The water supply in Naduri came from up in the mountains. One afternoon some of us even climbed the mountain to a few beautiful waterfalls, the view from up top was amazing! And Friday afternoon a big group of us took 2 small boats to another island, the trip their was beautiful. The water was gorgeous. On the island though....all these poisonous black and white snakes! EEK! Most were sleeping though haha No harm, no foul.

My trainees during the week were Taru and Vilikesa. They truly love the Lord and want to share His love with others. Please be praying for them as they take what they have learned to their churches, families, and friends. Also lift up in prayer Laisa, Sai, Susana, Balei, Filo & his family who prayed to receive Christ during my team's OJT sessions for the week.

Clinic Info:
US Team from CO, AZ, and CA came as EE teachers and trainers
36 trainees from different areas of Fiji
106 people heard the Gospel
21 recommitted their lives to Christ
71 people prayed to receive Christ!
AMEN!!! Praise the Lord!

I was moved by all the things that happened this week. God is so good. I am so blessed to be part of these clinics where different kinds of people come together to proclaim Christ. It was bittersweet to leave the village.

We left the village Saturday morning, many tears were flowing. We were able to raise a large sum of money to leave with Ratu Peni for the village and 2 suitcases filled with things like clothes, medications, toiletries. We went back to Labasa town for lunch then said goodbye to the Arizona group. After finding a hotel with Pastor Nakiti and Ima, I was able to go and hang out with Elenoa Isei, and Salimone(trainees that came to Naduri but were from Labasa). Elenoa and I went to watch some rugy, then the 4 of us walked to Evangel Temple which was the home church of some of the trainees that came to Naduri (Maba, Isei Tilly, Saiyasi, Eroni, and Luke). Only Isei was there, he told us that their youth gathering was at 7pm that night. Afterwards I went with Elenoa to her home to gather some things since she would be sleeping with me at the hotel. Her grandmother was weaving a Fijian mat and it was really cool to watch. Then Elenoa and I just hung out at the hotel, it was nice to just hang out and talk with her.

That evening Maba and Saiyasi picked us up for the youth gathering. Worship was awesome! And the guest speaker shared a wonderful message about witnessing to another level. After the service there was a blackout, it was a good thing everyone had flashlights on their cell phones haha The boys walked us home and we said goodbye.

Sunday morning we flew back to Nadi. It's been good to rest these past few days, except for getting really sick the other night. All day Wednesday I was in bed resting, sleeping, and not eating. Today I feel refresehd. Earlier this week I met with Rod, the EE head of Oceania. It was really good to meet with him and further discuss my ministry role in Fiji. There are big things ahead of me, and I know God is going before me in all of it :)

Other Prayer Needs:
*All the trainees who have been equipped to share as they go back to their churches and implement EE
*Those who have been contacted through OJTs and as follow-up occurs
*Continuing to network with local churches and ministering to youth
*Preparing the content/schedule for the 2 week youth conference in December

Continue to pray!

Blessed,

Sarah