Fiji was one of the best locations that we went to. We spent the most time in Lautoka, worked alongside other ministries, and did ministry ourselves. Before leaving on outreach, we all had a feeling that our third location was going to be the “culmination” of sorts, for our DTS, and it was. It seemed like most of everything that we learned during the first three months of lectures, and the experiences we gained in the other locations took effect in Fiji. I know for myself the time in Fiji really fleshed out the spiritual self discipline that He had been growing me and teaching me over the last 4 years.
In Fiji we had a lot of what I would call “open time”. It wasn’t completely free time because we went and did evangelism, and had many opportunities to follow the Lord in small directions. This is what really developed a heart for evangelism in me. Before Coffs Harbour I did not want to engage in evangelism at all. I didn’t know how to approach a random stranger let alone tell them that Jesus loves them. Thankfully we had a lot of experience just living life in Australia and New Zealand to get comfortable with the idea of talking with anyone and everyone around us. Our leaders gave us a new perspective of evangelism where it is more about the relationship and showing God’s love more than anything else. And that made all the difference.
There were many times where we spoke at churches, and performed skits. We had opportunities to do kid’s ministry in some of the villages, and at the local schools. One of the principals we met is actually the chairman of Scouts in that area from Fiji to Indonesia. I was a bit star struck that day, to say the least. There were a few weeks where we went door to door, and shared our testimonies with the people in each village around Lautoka. It was great to have the experience of meeting so many new people, hearing their life, and giving them encouragements through scripture to stay rooted in Him.
Testimonies
After a full day of evangelism we met our leader at the house where he told us about a connection he made with one of the taxi drivers. It turned out that the man was a pastor of a church run out of his living room, and that the guys had been invited to come. So our leader, my roommate, and I got in a taxi the next day where we were introduced to the man. He started telling us a bit about the church, and told us that they were really excited to hear what we were preaching about…. At that the three of us started planning out the evening in the back of the taxi, who would pray, give the sermon, give a testimony, and pray for people in the house. When we arrived, the time went off without a hitch, and I was able to pray for a few people. One lady’s shoulder was healed, we prayed for and spoke encouragement over the kids of the house, and I taught a man to pray just a few minutes before he prayed for and received healing over an upper raspatory infection that he had been dealing with for weeks.
Later on in our time in Fiji, one of the girls on our team and I were doing evangelism before dinner. We had managed to find ourselves in a new area that we hadn’t intended to be, and found our way back to the shopping street of Lautoka. It was then that my partner wanted to visit someone that she had already met a few days prior. Thinking that we would just say “Hello” before heading home, we walked in. The lady’s face lit up when she saw my partner and they quickly caught up over what had happened in the days since their last meeting. For some reason, I kept seeing something shimmer around her shoulders. Not knowing what it was, I looked around for a passing car or some other shiny object to reflect the light I was seeing,but I didn’t see anything. I figured I might as well bring up how her face had been shining when we walked up, and see if the Lord wanted to encourage her. This turned into another conversation that encouraged her to invest into the local youth group that she had been a part of. She had a light about her that I felt like I was supposed to encourage her to hold onto, and let it shine wherever she was.
One day we were in a village, and my knee was hurting. I had a feeling that I was supposed to pray for someone’s knee, but we kept walking, talking, and praying for anyone who had time. A little while later, we met three men and I knew I needed to ask them if one of their knee’s was hurting. One of the men said yes, I prayed for healing, and he said it was fully restored! Praise God! Little did I know that I would meet him the very next day in his house. The next day we entered a house, and I recognized him. He said that his knee was doing well, and that he also had back pain. After praying for his wife and sons, I prayed for him and noticed him squirm a bit as he was sitting across the room from me. It turns out that his back was healed as I prayed for him (Praise God!!), and he sent us on our way, saying “Blessings as you go!”.
Outreach at YWAM Newcastle
Every quarter (January, April, July, and October) we have teams that are sent to the ends of the earth to partner with God in what He is doing. The model is just as it is in Acts 1:8 (Jerusalem, Judea, and all of Samaria), we have a local, regional, and international location. If you would like to contribute financially with myself or YWAM Newcastle, please reach out via my email or under the Contact Me tab.