my goodness gracious only 6 days left! flippin... flip. you know what song really gets me goin right now? that song... that is during the credits for slumdog millionaire... it plays so often on the radio (which thankfully is only once every few days during taxi time or random free time (anymore and i would unfortunately get sick of it which would be SUCH a shame since it is currently tied to so many good things (ie: slumdog millionaire, and fiji.))). there is a movie on right now in the cafe with colin farrell. i think it is tigerland... i like that movie.. but i haven't heard f-bombs in so long it is releasing tons of those things in my brain that tell me things that are wrong feel good. endorphins! nah... i just know that certain words release them because i know i shouldn't be saying them. and i'm not. i'm just hearing them. but my ears have been sheltered for so long... curious. very.. curious.
where did i last leave off? who knows. you probably do. i could go back and look, but that'd be super lame. i'll summarize.
one last venture of door knocking to the good place... it was just alright.
we went to a 'special' school (though they like to call it a sunshine school (though directly beneath it it says special school... curious... very.. curious)) however! the name was misleading and they weren't very challenged at all (i mean a few were, but for the most part they were extremely functional and healthy anyways) but it was more of a school for troubled young people... though they didn't seem very troubled either. IRREGARDLESS it was a pretty fun time.. really cool to actually have people laugh at our skits instead of just us. i had to give a 1 1/2 minute talk on how big God is but 23 seconds into it i lost their attention.. this is when i realized i'm never going to be a kids pastor because they don't agree with me.. but they give rad high fives and knew our names really quick and hopefully had a good time so we had a good time... chyeahhh
then... it rained today...
then.... yesterday we got a harsh reprimanding from the pastor... it was very out of nowhere. shocking actually... really really reaaaaaaaaaaaaaally pissed me and us off. things were said... that shouldn't of been said. things that had absolutely no right to be said. BUT i've forgiven him and so i must move on. i'll just say that before we came, we prayed we would be different from all the other teams. and we are! but next time we will have to pray that we will be better than all the other teams that came before, and that we wouldn't fall short as we apparently have. (DESPITE tons of conflicting arguments from the accusing side and several interlaced contradictions with previous conversational transactions leaving us blindsided and highly discouraged.) thankfully, our lovely fijian family is always there for us to make us feel amazing and loved and that we actually are doing good. downtalking moot, spirits up, time to shine. right? friggen right.
and we have very little time left. i'm not writing again until i'm back in NZ, so i'll have you know! that this week will be dandy. tomorrow, is church. heckyeah! but before that we are going back to houses we have visited with to say g'bye, pray s'more, and leave fiji with good memories. monday is our last day off, an as we went to a beach finally this monday, we should hopefully be visiting a sandbar in the middle of the ocean . hopefully. fijian contacts are not nearly as reliable as confirmed word (western..ly speaking..) so its really hopes we are banking on swimming in... tuesday will be more follow up, wednesday will be prison, and thursday we will be reunited with suva team and hopefully have a big lovefest/ party. glorious. friday, feet in, headed home to NZ.
mothei
6.20.2009
6.13.2009
pre-fathers day (right?)
i haven't a clue. i think so. IF so, happy fathers day. in two days. perhaps... either way, late or early, i love you dad, and i'll email you after i write this.
so cool things... door knocking yesterday was pretty alright, talked to james for about an hour an a half, an he pretty much preached to us the whole time about the spirit and what being a christian is all about. so that was mighty encouraging.. i told him he should go be a missionary. then we prayed for a family that seemed really sad... mebe we'll be seein either of them before we leave in 1 week 6 days. scary...
rash update: i talked to racheli who used to be a nurse, and it seems that i had gotten an allergic reaction to something... it was like poison ivy, but not as itchy and not as disgusting (pussy, bubbly..) though it spread like MAD. after it had gone over an area it didn't usually come back but it was starting too.. it started where i mentioned before, spread up and down my arms (i took some really sexy pictures) and onto my back a little bit... i went to sleep and woke up with it mainly all over my bottom region, and throughout the day it spread down my thighs and shins and up my back near the end of the day.. but at primal i was worshipping really hard and asking God to take it all away.. it wasn't until a few hours later before we were going to bed that i noticed i didn't have any sign of the rash at all. perfectly whiteboy skin, no rash no itchy... it was a sweet hallelujah.
today we just watched our good friend will play rugby (which i must say is soooo cool...) then we played some of the craziest volleyball i've ever played.. me nick an steph hopped in on a game of fijian volleyball, which was recreation to them but pretty much the most skilled volleyball game i've ever been a part of. i held my own alright but i was definitely the least experienced on the court... they play so flippin good.... it was such a good time. then we played some frisbee with some wee kids at the park, an now i'm here. sigh an hooray! AND hosanna.
so cool things... door knocking yesterday was pretty alright, talked to james for about an hour an a half, an he pretty much preached to us the whole time about the spirit and what being a christian is all about. so that was mighty encouraging.. i told him he should go be a missionary. then we prayed for a family that seemed really sad... mebe we'll be seein either of them before we leave in 1 week 6 days. scary...
rash update: i talked to racheli who used to be a nurse, and it seems that i had gotten an allergic reaction to something... it was like poison ivy, but not as itchy and not as disgusting (pussy, bubbly..) though it spread like MAD. after it had gone over an area it didn't usually come back but it was starting too.. it started where i mentioned before, spread up and down my arms (i took some really sexy pictures) and onto my back a little bit... i went to sleep and woke up with it mainly all over my bottom region, and throughout the day it spread down my thighs and shins and up my back near the end of the day.. but at primal i was worshipping really hard and asking God to take it all away.. it wasn't until a few hours later before we were going to bed that i noticed i didn't have any sign of the rash at all. perfectly whiteboy skin, no rash no itchy... it was a sweet hallelujah.
today we just watched our good friend will play rugby (which i must say is soooo cool...) then we played some of the craziest volleyball i've ever played.. me nick an steph hopped in on a game of fijian volleyball, which was recreation to them but pretty much the most skilled volleyball game i've ever been a part of. i held my own alright but i was definitely the least experienced on the court... they play so flippin good.... it was such a good time. then we played some frisbee with some wee kids at the park, an now i'm here. sigh an hooray! AND hosanna.
6.11.2009
uro day
thats fijian for sexy. uro. sexy. you know why? i haven't cut my hair in 4 months, i haven't shaved in one month, i have a rash under my pits, a little around my back and stomach and a lot near around and on my crotch... as well as a beater tan line. llllladiiiiiiiiies..... (points to the awaiting crowd of women) oh me oh my oh yes.
other'n that i love life. (pfft that is WHY i love life... muhahaha nobody to impress makes me feel fantastic and spiritual. oh yes, spiritual.)
our last few days have been doorknocking... the old folks home on tuesday was rather poor, we did 'work' by raking 13 leaves and throwing trash into a river. we didn't get to pray for anyone so that was a bummer... but it was still a fun day. we watched night at the museum 2 for our monday night off... it was pretty decent. i had some laughs. we got some quotes. success. but doorknocking! this new area we are in is super.... good isn't the right word, mebe its open. yessure, open. the first day we did a quick prayer at one house, then the next house we met a woman named cosum, who has a really cool testimony (involving healing and finding Christ through ways hindu's normally do.. sooolid) and is involved in a scary marriage that she is trying to get out of... (perfectly justified, let me tell you...) so we encouraged her to flee to her kids in suva so hopefully she does that this weekend.. we talked a lot and prayed a lot with her and really felt the spirit work. she made us lunch. it was fried rice. it was the best ever...
then today amini (pretty much entirely in fijian) lead a methodist dude to salvation... he talked in english a few times to clue us in at what he was saying but it was just really cool to see him be lead by the spirit and say just the right things to james who was really wanting and ready for it. (the methodists here do not believe in the spirit and are very very religious.. ie: no noise in church, while praying or no music during worship... ssssssssssssstupid) but it was sweet to finally see someone come to know God.
other'n that... pretty much 2 weeks left. gonna miss the crap out of fiji.. its become very familiar and leaving (while parts of me will be relieved (the rashy bits... flippin... rashy bits...)) will be hard. no time to think like that though, there's a whole 'nother day of door knocking tomorrow! then PRIMAL. so good. i miss loud noisy youth groups. the youth are quiet but the music is loud... hopefully we can get a whole bunch of strangers to come. happy birthday!
other'n that i love life. (pfft that is WHY i love life... muhahaha nobody to impress makes me feel fantastic and spiritual. oh yes, spiritual.)
our last few days have been doorknocking... the old folks home on tuesday was rather poor, we did 'work' by raking 13 leaves and throwing trash into a river. we didn't get to pray for anyone so that was a bummer... but it was still a fun day. we watched night at the museum 2 for our monday night off... it was pretty decent. i had some laughs. we got some quotes. success. but doorknocking! this new area we are in is super.... good isn't the right word, mebe its open. yessure, open. the first day we did a quick prayer at one house, then the next house we met a woman named cosum, who has a really cool testimony (involving healing and finding Christ through ways hindu's normally do.. sooolid) and is involved in a scary marriage that she is trying to get out of... (perfectly justified, let me tell you...) so we encouraged her to flee to her kids in suva so hopefully she does that this weekend.. we talked a lot and prayed a lot with her and really felt the spirit work. she made us lunch. it was fried rice. it was the best ever...
then today amini (pretty much entirely in fijian) lead a methodist dude to salvation... he talked in english a few times to clue us in at what he was saying but it was just really cool to see him be lead by the spirit and say just the right things to james who was really wanting and ready for it. (the methodists here do not believe in the spirit and are very very religious.. ie: no noise in church, while praying or no music during worship... ssssssssssssstupid) but it was sweet to finally see someone come to know God.
other'n that... pretty much 2 weeks left. gonna miss the crap out of fiji.. its become very familiar and leaving (while parts of me will be relieved (the rashy bits... flippin... rashy bits...)) will be hard. no time to think like that though, there's a whole 'nother day of door knocking tomorrow! then PRIMAL. so good. i miss loud noisy youth groups. the youth are quiet but the music is loud... hopefully we can get a whole bunch of strangers to come. happy birthday!
6.07.2009
twosday
nah.. saturday. wait! and friday. nah i already told you friday. how about... just saturday. weeeee... didn't do much. went to pedro's house to make roti (kinda like indian tacos... really good) so that primal could sell them in the evening. we didn't do that with them but we heard they were all sold... all morning i really didn't do anything at all. i cut some potatoes, and had a mid-morning nap as well as post mid-morning nap doze. solid buisness this missionary thing... the girls did help though and they loved it. the afternoon was street ministry which i instantly grew to dislike, party because any fijian we talk too was already a christian, / going up an starting a conversation with an indian fellow about his beliefs was something easier accomplished by door knocking. so it was a hard afternoon, until this awesome dude named aaron came an started talking to me lucas an alicia... he used to be a hindu but God told him to go to church in a dream an he went, go prayed for and a giant weight was lifted off of him an he received Christ immediately.. it was so good to meet someone who had actually gone through this... so encouraging. that was pretty much our saturday.. at night one of sammy's friends wanted me to give him a tattoo so i did... it wasn't nearly as long as sammy's but it was just as fun and it was easier since it was my second time... i just wish i had quality gun an ink an stuff but whatever... its fiji.. laid back with no worries. i love it.
this morning we went to an anglican church... all i can say is that it was like a catholic church combined with a pentecostal church... it was interesting but i doubt very much i'll ever go back to another one. i'm not really .. enjoying church... ours is pretty sweet but anything overly traditional / overly denominational really just turns me off. i like sinners better. i get to talk when i'm with them.. i mean we are all sinners, buuuut... i like witnessing better than receiving. yeah. we go to our church in about an hour so i'll get my spiritual food there. and hopefully the bible... stupid non-disciplined self... i'm gettin there. more tattoos please
this morning we went to an anglican church... all i can say is that it was like a catholic church combined with a pentecostal church... it was interesting but i doubt very much i'll ever go back to another one. i'm not really .. enjoying church... ours is pretty sweet but anything overly traditional / overly denominational really just turns me off. i like sinners better. i get to talk when i'm with them.. i mean we are all sinners, buuuut... i like witnessing better than receiving. yeah. we go to our church in about an hour so i'll get my spiritual food there. and hopefully the bible... stupid non-disciplined self... i'm gettin there. more tattoos please
6.05.2009
groundhog day
not really...
when did i last post? i haven't the slightest. it was probably sunday. yes... twas sunday. which means today is friday, which means i have a whole week to catch you up on. k.
monday... day off. we saw fighting. absolutely the best movie i've seen in 5 years. in no way did i develop a stereotype that southern wrestlers that move to new york are at least 5% slower in the brain than normal mid-west -> northern -> west coast people are. the plot was completely amazing and original and the acting was the best i've seen since... well frankly it blew my socks off. never will i remember a better movie than fighting. channing tatum is clearly in movies for more than his pecks.
tuesday... we had $10 and two hours to bless someone in lautoka. my team involving me, jess, and nik trecked out in search of the needy, and stumbled upon a broken man sitting next to a building begging. we bought him a loaf of bread and a drink and prayed for him and moved on.. it felt good. we then thought of trying to find fresh flowers which apparently don't exist for purchasing in fiji so we settled for fake ones that looked pretty sweet and gave them to women and told them they were special, that God loved them and to have a good day. cliche, but felt flippin fantastic. we also prayed for a few people and one dude was paralyzed but open for healing, and at one point in the prayer i realized i was sick of asking God to heal people and thought that i should just tell him to stand up. like the disciples would do. this was the second time this has happened and the second time i have failed to say so. so we moved on... he was grateful but just as wheelchair stuck as when we began. got to listen to those leadings... nothing much more happened with our other loaf of bread and for team night we bought ourselves some icecream and had a glorious quiet time.
wednesday... the worst day of doorknocking by far. even though it was very successful in a way (6-7 homes!) with a lot of prayer for a lot of fijian christians, but the neighborhood we were in felt so hopeless and lost... we got rejected a lot as well and so the depression clung to me like no other. it sucked.. but hopefully our presence lit it up a bit, as well as the people we encouraged. i think indians are sometimes more open than fijians. but it was a good learning experience...
thursday... was a follow up day beginning with a light chiding from father george, telling us we need to be more focused on our mission rather than the games we play (because the game of hearts the previous night was kinda bitter in retrospect as most of us were pretty depressed from the day) to which came the realization i never read my bible and that sucks. so, game on, spirit back on track with conviction from a good word. the woman we went to see was not home, but we met her neighbor and talked with her for an hour and a half. it was enjoyable! she was a hindu but man did she believe in the same philosophies.. she'd be a wicked loving christian. later that evening i gave someone a tattoo.
today... f f f f f friday... we went to an old folks home and did some skits which was very embarrassing when nobody laughs but very humbling and later they told us how touched they were anyways so it was all good. we prayed for a lot of old people and we are definitely excited to go back next tuesday. then we had lunch at pastor michaels house ate until the room spun.. and i had a coffee and enjoyed it as much as i enjoy a beer nowadays and it was a fantastic afternoon. tonight is primal and i'm sharing my testimony and hopefully i won't poop myself on stage.
what? tattoo? oh yes. i pray for opportunities and the lord provideth. sammy asked me to draw a tattoo of his girlfriends name for his chest, which i had done the previous week when he asked me. the girls talked him out of it and so i quickly drew his backup plan ' only God can judge me '. little thug for my liking, but i'm not to judge, via the truth now inked on his back. went through a few designs (old english, cursive) but in the end we decided on my graffiti/cursive which i adore and now he adores upon his skin. it took awhile to draw it on paper, then draw it on his back, so by the time we were ready to needle it up it was about 11 pm i think... nah earlier but who cares. i was so ready... the machine was really crudely made from a pen attached to a motor and the needle was a sharpened guitar string... sketchy as, but i worked. i had to paint ink onto him, then buzz the needle into the ink into his skin. it was fascinating... everyone was watching and it was probably a lot of pressure but i was far to excited to notice... it was so amazing. lucas had to drop the flashlight he was holding for me cuz he was about to faint which was pretty amazing, but i actually didn't even feel queezy at all even though needles and blood usually get to me. hmm... i think God wanted me for something... i can't believe i've even gotten a tattoo before, just seeing the skin split open as the ink went in.. flip, i can't believe i've given someone a tattoo now... it was so fun. took only about an hour, but the needle was super thin so the whole thing is super thin and spidery but seeing it healed a lot today made me super confident cuz a lot of it was straight and the only screw ups i can cover up when i thicken it later. it was a lot of pain for sammy but this was the first tattoo he'd gotten sober so he enjoyed it far more. i'm very happy and proud of myself, cuz it looks pretty sweet. i'd show you a pic, but you'know.. eventually yah? cool. muhahahhahaha.
when did i last post? i haven't the slightest. it was probably sunday. yes... twas sunday. which means today is friday, which means i have a whole week to catch you up on. k.
monday... day off. we saw fighting. absolutely the best movie i've seen in 5 years. in no way did i develop a stereotype that southern wrestlers that move to new york are at least 5% slower in the brain than normal mid-west -> northern -> west coast people are. the plot was completely amazing and original and the acting was the best i've seen since... well frankly it blew my socks off. never will i remember a better movie than fighting. channing tatum is clearly in movies for more than his pecks.
tuesday... we had $10 and two hours to bless someone in lautoka. my team involving me, jess, and nik trecked out in search of the needy, and stumbled upon a broken man sitting next to a building begging. we bought him a loaf of bread and a drink and prayed for him and moved on.. it felt good. we then thought of trying to find fresh flowers which apparently don't exist for purchasing in fiji so we settled for fake ones that looked pretty sweet and gave them to women and told them they were special, that God loved them and to have a good day. cliche, but felt flippin fantastic. we also prayed for a few people and one dude was paralyzed but open for healing, and at one point in the prayer i realized i was sick of asking God to heal people and thought that i should just tell him to stand up. like the disciples would do. this was the second time this has happened and the second time i have failed to say so. so we moved on... he was grateful but just as wheelchair stuck as when we began. got to listen to those leadings... nothing much more happened with our other loaf of bread and for team night we bought ourselves some icecream and had a glorious quiet time.
wednesday... the worst day of doorknocking by far. even though it was very successful in a way (6-7 homes!) with a lot of prayer for a lot of fijian christians, but the neighborhood we were in felt so hopeless and lost... we got rejected a lot as well and so the depression clung to me like no other. it sucked.. but hopefully our presence lit it up a bit, as well as the people we encouraged. i think indians are sometimes more open than fijians. but it was a good learning experience...
thursday... was a follow up day beginning with a light chiding from father george, telling us we need to be more focused on our mission rather than the games we play (because the game of hearts the previous night was kinda bitter in retrospect as most of us were pretty depressed from the day) to which came the realization i never read my bible and that sucks. so, game on, spirit back on track with conviction from a good word. the woman we went to see was not home, but we met her neighbor and talked with her for an hour and a half. it was enjoyable! she was a hindu but man did she believe in the same philosophies.. she'd be a wicked loving christian. later that evening i gave someone a tattoo.
today... f f f f f friday... we went to an old folks home and did some skits which was very embarrassing when nobody laughs but very humbling and later they told us how touched they were anyways so it was all good. we prayed for a lot of old people and we are definitely excited to go back next tuesday. then we had lunch at pastor michaels house ate until the room spun.. and i had a coffee and enjoyed it as much as i enjoy a beer nowadays and it was a fantastic afternoon. tonight is primal and i'm sharing my testimony and hopefully i won't poop myself on stage.
what? tattoo? oh yes. i pray for opportunities and the lord provideth. sammy asked me to draw a tattoo of his girlfriends name for his chest, which i had done the previous week when he asked me. the girls talked him out of it and so i quickly drew his backup plan ' only God can judge me '. little thug for my liking, but i'm not to judge, via the truth now inked on his back. went through a few designs (old english, cursive) but in the end we decided on my graffiti/cursive which i adore and now he adores upon his skin. it took awhile to draw it on paper, then draw it on his back, so by the time we were ready to needle it up it was about 11 pm i think... nah earlier but who cares. i was so ready... the machine was really crudely made from a pen attached to a motor and the needle was a sharpened guitar string... sketchy as, but i worked. i had to paint ink onto him, then buzz the needle into the ink into his skin. it was fascinating... everyone was watching and it was probably a lot of pressure but i was far to excited to notice... it was so amazing. lucas had to drop the flashlight he was holding for me cuz he was about to faint which was pretty amazing, but i actually didn't even feel queezy at all even though needles and blood usually get to me. hmm... i think God wanted me for something... i can't believe i've even gotten a tattoo before, just seeing the skin split open as the ink went in.. flip, i can't believe i've given someone a tattoo now... it was so fun. took only about an hour, but the needle was super thin so the whole thing is super thin and spidery but seeing it healed a lot today made me super confident cuz a lot of it was straight and the only screw ups i can cover up when i thicken it later. it was a lot of pain for sammy but this was the first tattoo he'd gotten sober so he enjoyed it far more. i'm very happy and proud of myself, cuz it looks pretty sweet. i'd show you a pic, but you'know.. eventually yah? cool. muhahahhahaha.
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