Bula Bula!!

Hey All!

We arrived here last Saturday safe and sound, and buzzing with excitement! We got off our plane and straight aways hopped on a 5 hour hot bus ride to Suva. We met Brother Lai who is our contact down here in Fiji; through him we have been able to have some amazing traditional ministry opportunities, such as visiting a slum, a prison, a mosque, and homes of hope (single moms refugee center). We have also been able to explore Suva on our own, and make some friends with the street police officers who have been a great help to us.

Anyways back to ministry... At the slum we got to meet Pastor Alki who was a professor that moved to the slums because God called him and his family there to start a church. He talked to us about his ministry, then sent us out on our own to go pray for people around the area. It was awkward, but fantastic! The next day we went to a mosque and got a tour or the mosque, with a brief over view on the religion. Afterwards we got to sit down with our guide and were able to ask him questions that we had. It was a good experience for us, because we all felt that our eyes were opened and we are more aware of what we are up against. From the mosque we caught a bus and then a taxi that took our team and Brother Lai to a mens prison. Little did we know that we were one of two groups coming to see them, and little more did we know that we had to do a performance... who knew. It was a surprise to everyone, so we ended up singing a few songs and sharing our testimonies on the fly; which all in all turned out into a great growing experience for our team. The third and fourth day were spent at Homes of Hope which was by far our teams favorite. Our first day there we helped out on the farm with our new friends, cultivating the groud with shovels and pick axes, and spreading fertalizer over top. It was tiring but rewarding and we all had a great time. The second day we were involved with the school, the childeren, and the bakery. We left there a bit sad because we had to say good bye to all the amazing people God had blessed us with. This place made a great impact on our team.

On that last day of ministry, we came back to Lami (town where we've been staying) to pick up one of BDTS teams from the bus stop! It was sort of a surprise because both our teams knew we'd overlap at the hostel for one night, but they didn't know we would be the ones picking them up. We had a fanastic eveing with them! We had a great dinner that Kristoffer prepaired followed by joining the Lami Gospel Youth for their first youth group of the year! The next morning we headed to Suva, then parted in the early afternoon to catch our bus to Nandi.

So here we are in Nandi at a great hostel; we were suppose to start our adventure through the Yasawa Islands today but with a bit of a mix up we changed our plans to hang out here one more day and start them tomorrow (31st). We won't have any internet or any other sort of contact while we are out there.

Thank you for all your continuous prayers!

Much Love and Blessings
Team Kiwi Fiji

Prayer Points:
-To stay healthy!
-Continued Unity
-More Opertunity
-Patience in this "chill" Country
-To stay focused as Outreach is nearing an end.

Hangin at Hang Dog.

Yo! This is crazy! It feels just like yesterday that we were updating y'all about the Abel Tasman and entering our new home at Hang Dog… and really it was a home to us. For 7 nights we slept and lived out of our tents in a community of chill climbers; where we climbed and swam during the day, and chilled around a campfire and food at night. During our first few days we had Nate and Joanna who are friends of ours from base come and visit us. It was a really nice treat to see some familiar faces! They joined us in some climbing and as well for a meal or two before their quick visit was over. Every day while being at Hang Dog we got to climb; Kristoffer, Derek, and Matt were in their prime enjoying this sport that they loved so much… Meanwhile, Katie and April who in the beginning were unsure and nervous about climbing, later on soon came to realize how much they enjoyed it as well. They are still beginners but near the end of the week they both learned how to lead climb, and completed a climb that was rated as an 18.

The weather here has been fantastic! It's been sunny hot days with clear blue skies all week except for our last day. We are a tad bit bummed that we couldn't do more climbing, but at the same time we just had 2 weeks of amazing weather! It was great to climb during the mornings and afternoons, and then be able to cool off for a nice swim in the river. About half way through the week a slack line had been put up between two rock cliffs across the river… April was more than excited! Just so you all know that it was a deep river that hardly had any currant and the line was only about 9 ft (maximum) above water. Matt made it across the line with ease, meanwhile April had a rude awakening and learnt a new lesson in humility. For more of the story tune into April's personal blog at www.april4ywam.blogspot.com.

While being at Hang Dog, we've all been able to make quite a few new friends, been able to climb and swim with them, and have great conversations. For some of us this week has been the best week thus far for ministry. Every night someone from our team has come away with a great story about talking to someone. However, being in this community of hippies and new ageness can be quite frustrating at the same time. Conversations haven't been exactly what we were expecting… The questions they have had for us, have been more geared towards challenging us about our faith, why we believe, what we believe, and why not other religions. As hard and direct their questions may have been, it has been a great growing opportunity for us in our own relationship with God. So our frustrations, turned in to lessons each of us needed to learn… that it's not always going to be easy and simple but instead we are going to have to work real hard. So standing strong in our roots with no hesitation, saying what we believe, and showing God's love to our friends is a sum up of our ministry here at Hang Dog. A positive thing about the people here, is that even if they strongly disagree with our beliefs they still like us all the same as they did in the beginning, if not even more.

We are sad to leave our new friends, that we have grown to love and appreciate a lot in such a short period of time, however we are buzzing with excitement as our day for departure comes closer and closer. We are now in New Brighton (part of Christchurch) for a very short debrief on the New Zealand part of outreach. We will be heading back to base on the 21st, to unpack our thermals, repack our shorts, do some laundry, clean our van, and sleep for a few hours before we leave for Fiji on the 22nd. We are so amped, and cannot wait for the brand new experiences God has in store for us there!!

Much Love and Blessings,
Team Kiwi Fiji

Prayer Points:
- For our pals from HangDog with the many great questions. That they will keep asking questions, and keep seeking for the truth.
-Safety for our trip to Fiji
-Team unity
-Ability to adjust to a new culture

Oh how Time Flies...

Hello Family and Friends!!

Since we last wrote you much has happened in the life of Team Kiwi Fiji.... Starting with the day the last blog was posted. Shortly after posting the blog we all found out that our friend Leeonie, who Mary had spent the previous evening with, gave her life to Christ that morning! What an amazing answer to prayer! Leeonie spent the next two days with us as we traveled up the west coast to Frans Joseph and then on to Nelson. Hopefully she will join us again before our time here in New Zealand comes to an end.

Last week our team accompanied with Denver, Mary, Leeonie, as well as some hitch hikers along the; way traveled from Wanaka to Frans Joseph (for a night), and then on to Takaka. After a long 2 days of traveling in the vans, we had to say good bye to our new sister who was heading to Nelson, as we parted to Takaka. We spent 3 nights at a nice hostel enjoying our last few days with Denver and Mary.

On Saturday the 8th Denver and Mary dropped us off at Marahau which was at the bottom of the Abel Tasman. After some sad goodbyes Denver and Mary parted our team and headed home to Oxford. Katie and April spent the day relaxing and sleeping in some shade, while Derek, Kristoffer, and Matt had an adventurous afternoon with some kayaks on the ocean... Apparently they saw a penguin. Once the team was all back together we stayed the night at a campsite at the beginning of the Abel Tasman. The next morning we got up and started our 4 day track across the beautiful National Park. Our 4 days were filled with beautiful views and beaches, friendly people at campsites, and great bonding between each other. After we finished our great journey, we broke off into groups to hitch hike back to Takaka. One group got picked up right aways, while the other had a bit harder luck getting a ride. However each person made it back to Takaka each with their own great story to share with the rest of the team. It's crazy how God times certain events out!! So Awesome!!

We are now starting our week at Hang Dog, which is a climbers paradise. Today is our day off, but we are all buzzing with excitement to start climbing tomorrow and blending in with the community of climbers.

Yours Truly
Team Kiwi Fiji

Prayer Points:
-Our New Sister in Christ Leeonie
-Heb 11:1
-Healing for April's ankle
-Opportunities at Hang Dog
-Continued unity within the Team

Happy New Years!!

Happy New Years All! 

Today we are packing up our stuff and are about to leave from the town of Wanaka… However I'm going to back up a bit and fill you in on our experiences here… 

When we arrived in Wanaka, it was a few days before New Years, we hadn't booked any accommodation yet, and apparently this was the place to be. Matt and Derek set out right aways to find somewhere for us to stay, while the rest of us explored the town… but that didn't take to long. How it all worked out was that we were going to stay 2 nights at one hostel, 2 nights with no accommodation, and 2 more nights at a different hostel. So we decided for the 2 nights that we didn't have a hostel we were going to camp out, and spend it in a hut. 

Our first hostel was awesome! Probably one of my favourites. It was nice and small, and the people were very friendly. On our second night there, our team hung out with three men from Saudi Arabia that had come here to learn english. They invited us for tea and biscuits, and we talked and laughed late into the night. 

Our third night (New Years Eve), we unfortunately had to spend it at the loud campsite. That evening we decided to go out into the town to experience a New Zealand New Years, well we didn't really experience it the way most of the Kiwis did because we weren't drinking. But none the less we had a fantastic evening talking to people, watching fireworks, and spending the night together. I personally had one of the best conversations yet on outreach that night with a  young 24 year old man and he was really interested in what we were doing, and really encouraging as well. Unfortunately as soon as I was about to ask him some questions about his faith his friends bolted into the crowd and he had to go after them. Never did I see him again to follow up on that conversation… bummer deal. 

The fourth night we decided to spend it in a hut. Derek and Kristoffer headed out first thing in the morning to get to the hut, and Matt, Katie, and I were going to join them later in the evening… You see the first day we were here they both burnt their backs really well, and that day it was about 27C outside… so hiking in the heat probably wasn't something we wanted to put them through. So there we were in the nice cool evening hiking out towards the hut, unfortunately about 10 minutes in we got hit by some gale force wind and rain (that made it in the paper haha) but we decided to keep on going. At about an hour in we decided to turn back and just spend the night in the van… a very very very long night in the van. None of us were able to sleep because of how loud, and strong the wind was… it felt like i was on a roller coaster the entire night. Kristoffer and Derek on the other hand had a great time at the hut filled with awesome conversations. 

The 5th and 6th night we spend at the last hostel. It too was a really great hostel filled with lots of people to chat with and play games with. Yesterday Kristoffer took Matt Dane(friend from hostel) and I sailing and it was a AWESOME!!! Denver and Mary joined us last night and they will be traveling with our team for about a week. We are all very excited that they have joined us, and are amped to see what God has in store next!! 

Yours Truly,

Team Kiwi Fiji

Prayer Points:

- Heb.1:11

-To be bold

-Healing on April's ankle for she re-pulled her ligament. 

-continued unity in our team

-opportunity!

Merry Christmas!

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Hey All! This is April here, and I would love to say Merry Christmas from Team Kiwi Fiji to all our families, friends, and our brothers and sisters on their outreaches! To our mothers: We are all alive, well, and healthy :)

Ok, so now where do I begin hmmm…  It’s hard to believe that our first week has already gone by and we are now here on day 10 in Queenstown having already celebrated a Kiwi Christmas. Our first week was a bit of a struggle, but none the less a growing experience. We got to see the beautiful Lake Tekapo and Mount Cook on our way to Te Anau; we spent 3 rainy nights in Te Anau, but with some sunlight during the days. Te Anau was a small tourist town, however tourist season hadn’t quite begun yet so the town was quite quiet therefore making it difficult for ministry opportunities due to the lack of people. On December 22^nd we made our way out to Milford Sound to more rain! YAY! However, the drive there and at the sound was absolutely amazing with thousands of waterfalls coming down the mountains all around us.  The next day we left the beauty of Milford Sound and made our way to the hustle and bustle of Queenstown…

 Here in Queenstown we are helping out half the time at a church that runs a coffee, and charity clothing shop where people can come in from off the streets to have a place to hang out. When we are not at the church we are hanging out in the town, meeting people, talking to them, and inviting them to meals.  Sooner than we imagined along came Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.

Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day in the beginning was a bit of a struggle as we were all missing our families back at home, but with some prayer and a meeting we geared into these special days and their meanings: To share Gods Love! To share His love with a world that needs people of faith! And that’s what we did, we all went out to share the love that God has given us. Matt and I decided to use the slack line as a tool to capture people’s attention, and it did just that! We spent to day talking to different people, and through this we met our Muslim friends Mohammed and Abdul. Mohammed and Abdul joined our team for Christmas dinner that evening, and we all talked and laughed late into the night. They were genuine young men, open about their own beliefs and as well curious about our own. This was a Christmas our team will always remember, for we have grown closer together as a family and shared love and kindness to the people around us no matter what religious background they come from.

Merry Christmas! We love and miss you all, and are praying for you during this Christmas season.

Blessings,

Team Kiwi Fiji

Prayer Requests:

·         That a shaking will happen in Mohammed and Abduls lives, and they will seek for the truth from the Lord, as well as any others that we have come in contact with.

·         To keep Hebrews 11:1 in our minds and in our hearts at all times because in this ministry we won’t necessarily be able to see the seeds that are planted grown.

·         Continued unity within the team

·         That our care and love for each other would be an example for the  people around us

·         Continued health and safety

·         More opportunities

First of the First!

Hey All!
This is going to be a short update, more just a kick off blog from our team...
For those who don't know we are Team Kiwi Fiji, and we are traveling around to spread God's word and Love. We are traveling the South Island of New Zealand for 5 weeks, then heading to Fiji for 3! Our fearless leaders are Matt(SK Canada) and Katie(WY USA). Then there are my two brothers Kristoffer(Norway) and Derek(NH USA); and last but not least ME April (SK Canada)!

We are in Te Anau right now and its quite the rainy day.. and we have a leaking tent so its been quite the adventure. We are going to be heading out of here tomorrow and going to some sorta Forge? Kristoffer will tell you more about it when he blogs next. Then we will be heading to Queenstown in a couple days.

We are all doing pretty well, and are adjusting to eachother. Please keep us in your prayers!

Prayer Points:
-For our team to unite as a family
- For us to be bold and courageous to share about Gods love
- For our brothers and sisters in India, Thailand, and Australia and for ministry opertunities for them
- Health and Saftey

Blessings and Love,
April