Fiji Student Missions Trip

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“ Today we got to go to the village to visit the primary school and talk with some of the villagers about our faith. The school kids (grades kindy – eighth) were beyond excited to see us and to have us visiting them for the day. Right when we got there we received matadua garlands that they made themselves from palms and flowers. Afterwards, we were informed about the school’s history and they performed for us a couple songs and dances. The kids at the school were like no kids I’ve ever met. They were beyond joyful and friendly. After we sang songs with the kids and taught them some of the kids EE motions, we went into the village for an OJT. Although the women Riley, Christiana, and I were presenting the EE outline to did not speak much English, we were able get through to her and learned that she was a member of the local church and was a believer. The nervousness I had about talking to people about the Gospel slowly went away as we went on in conversation and was an incredible thing to see when she understood how amazing Jesus is and the free gift we receive. I can’t wait to go and talk to more people as I get more and more comfortable with it!! “

Jackie Nava

“Today we had our first OJT at the Vakabuli Elementary school in the Village of Vakabuli and the town of Lautoka.  First we went to the school and we were greeted with a performance by the children. They danced and sang songs. Then Tori, Christiana, and Suzannah led the kids in singing in “Every Move I Make” and “Father Abraham”. Then Sarah led the kids in learning the Kids EE with the hand motions. After that we went to four of the houses in the village and talked to locals about our faith. We then finished out our day back at the Kennedy center.

Riley Clements

DAY THREE: 4th of July

Today is the 4^th of July and we celebrated by going to the stunning Natadola beach. It’s just like the postcards. The water is the most beautiful turquoise and it is crystal clear. As we swam around we stumbled across an above ground reef that was filled with starfish, sea urchins, and hermit crabs. At the beach they offered horseback riding and hair braiding and others went snorkeling, explored caves, or just hung out in the water. After our adventures at the beach we headed back to the center for an all American dinner. Later we had a huge bonfire at sung worship song under the stars.

– Nicole Clark

Hey! It’s Brooke, and I’m here writing (or should I say typing) about July 4, 2019. We started the day at about 7 A.M. and went to the dining bure (a large outdoor tiki hut) for breakfast. The bure overlooks the sugar cane fields with the mountains in the background. After breakfast, we had 45 minutes of quiet time and devotionals. For my quiet time, I sat on the hammocks and I studied 1 John 3:11-24, which primarily focuses on loving everyone, not only in words but in actions and trust, and especially when it is hard. After quiet time, we had our usual morning team meeting where we sang worship songs and started off the day with a word of encouragement and prayer. After we freshened up, we got in the cars and drove about an hour away to Natadola Beach where we spent our day. We swam, explored reefs, walked to the caves, snorkeled, got our hair braided, went horseback riding, cooked out, and enjoyed fellowship with one another. Being at that beach reminded me of how powerful our God is, how He created everything the eye can see. It reminded me that God is always good, even when life is not. After the beach, we came back to the EE Center and we bonded more with the Changemakers (the other group staying here with us) as we played volleyball, spikeball, and cards. Around 6 P.M, we gathered again at the bure and enjoyed a homemade American meal that consisted of French fries, watermelon, and burgers. After dinner, we gathered once more for another team meeting where we briefly went over our upcoming day tomorrow and went over children songs to teach the kids at the school we were going to share at tomorrow, such as “Father Abraham” and “Waves of Mercy”. After the meeting, both groups gathered at the campfire under the stars and Caleb played the guitar and we sang worship songs for about an hour and a half. Being under the stars with my brothers and sisters in Christ praising our Almighty Father by lifting our voices was an experience I will never forget. Being by the campfire singing, honestly in a way, changed my life. In that moment (and every moment here), I have never felt more unplugged, carefree, happy, and close to God. I felt his Spirit moving among us as we lifted Him high with our praise. Even though we have only been here for two days, being disconnected from technology and surrounded by other strong believers has started to change my life. Being unplugged from everyone and everything has opened up my mind and my heart to new possibilities and has definitely built my relationship with God. I am so thankful for being given this opportunity to travel across the world to evangelize, meet new people, learn new customs, and help the community. The Fijians are truly one of a kind, they will always give you a smile, welcome you into their homes, strike up a conversation, and give you a warm “Bula!” from across the road; it has baffled me how easy they make it look to be kind, which in all honesty, being kind should be easy. But at home, in the era we live in, people believe it is a lot easier to be mean than kind. God has shown me that love is always the answer, no matter how impossible or hard it seems, the answer is to always show kindness and love, just like Jesus did. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for my team and I over the next two weeks as we plant his seeds across Fiji and start a movement. God bless!

— Brooke Stepleton

Hi, it’s Christiana! Today was our first day in Fiji, and it was packed full! We landed at 5 AM, then headed over to the Kennedy Center. Once we arrived, we met the other team that was there, the Change Makers. We ate breakfast, which you could choose from cereal, porridge, and toast, along with coffee or tea to drink. We also freshened up, has a quick team meeting, and headed out for that day’s excursions. Today we went zip lining, and on a quick hike to a waterfall. Zip lining was awesome, and even a new experience for some of us! After that, we ate lunch. Lunch consisted of different types of sandwiches, chips, apples, and watermelon. Then we hiked to the beautiful, freezing waterfall! On the way back to the Center, we stopped in Nadi town to exchange money and shop around a bit. The Fijian currency is bright and colorful, and the town was full of people bustling around, shopping and returning home from school. While me, Jackie, and Brooke were walking back to the car to meet up with everyone we even made friends with some of the children catching the bus back home from school! Once we returned to the Center, we had free time. Some people played volleyball or spike ball, others showered or just chatted. Then we had dinner, which was a delicious rice and chow mein! Following, we had another quick team meeting and sang a few songs together with Caleb playing the guitar. After that, we met with the Change Makers and sang a few songs. We also got the opportunity to hear a few testimonies of the Change Makers, which was really cool. Since we were all tired, we called it a night. They usually play a movie each night, but we didn’t attend due to jet lag, but I am excited for future movie nights and the rest of the trip! It was a great start to the trip, and I cannot wait to see how God uses us to impact others for His kingdom! Thank you for all the prayers and support, and happy birthday to my dad, miss you!

– Christiana Hewlett

Tori Barbar:

“We made it to Fiji!!! We got in the airport at 5am and we got off the plane and grabbed our bags from baggage claim, went through customs, and waited for the rental cars. When we got through customs there was a Fijian lady named Rusila and she made a sign for us that said “Welcome Coral Ridge Team” and welcomed us in (she is head of the EE center where we are staying and she is taking us to a lot of our excursions!) When we got our rental cars we drove to the Kennedy Center, and we met another group there that have been in Fiji for 4 weeks and will be there for 8 weeks in total. After we arrived, we got cleaned up because we hadn’t showered in our 2 days of travel. After we got washed up, we went zip lining and it was super fun. We also hiked to a waterfall and swam in the waterfall. When we got back to the EE center we just chilled and we had Thai food (it was so good). After that we did testimony/praise and worship. We sang 2 songs led by the other group and heard two testimonies from the them as well. Brooke and I were supposed to share ours but since we were so jet lagged we all were just falling asleep (since we literally hadn’t really slept in 48 hours). Overall, Fiji is a wonderful place with wonderful people that are just so happy and delighted to hear your voice and see you.

Our trip began with a flight to an airport in LA. The flight wasn’t bad at all in my opinion. We waited at the LAX airport for about 5 hours till our next flight. We all split up into groups and hung out near the area we were eating at till it was time to meet for departure. It was a lonnnngg flight (10 hours and 30 minutes) to Fiji but it wasn’t bad. We had these really cute pillows and blankets and they provided earphones. There was a screen in front of us that had lots of things available like games, music, movies, and information about Fiji! They provided us with hot wipes, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The jet lag hadn’t kicked in yet when we landed but when the night came we were exhausted. We reached the center maybe an hour after we landed and were greeted by some beautiful and very kind Fijian women and another team called the ChangeMakers. We had breakfast, went zip lining, and went on a mini hike up to a waterfall. We came back played some volleyball, ate dinner and had a worship night to end our first day. I love Fiji so much. Everyone here is so kind and their smiles are just so bright and wide. You don’t even have to greet them and they are so happy to greet you and wave at you. Over all, the first day here was a great start and I’m looking forward for the rest of the mission! Thank you all for the prayers for safe travel and trip!

– Adrianna

Today we gathered at the church to get ready to embark on our trip; we took a bus down to the Miami air port. We boarded a 5 hour flight to LA. Once we arrived in LA we got our bags and got on another flight to Fiji. It was a big plane with a lot of room. It would be a 12 hour flight. It was a long flight with little sleep and we eventually arrived to Fiji. We traveled through the night and arrived at 5:30 am. We gathered all of our belonging and loaded up into the cars to the Kennedy center. We finally arrived at 8 am. And that was the beginning of or missions trip.

– Noah Sipowski

3 and a half months until we fly out for the Fiji Islands! Our mission team continues to build our confidence and skills in sharing our faith. During our Student EE classes, we have had great discussions on how to connect with others, improve our listening skills, and how to articulate the foundational truths of the Gospel. 

Please be praying for the outreach activities we will have in Fiji listed below:

Thanks for joining us on our 2019 Fiji Student Missions Trip! After two semesters of enriching Evangelism Explosion training, we are blessed and encouraged by this opportunity to respond to our Savior’s Great Commision and share our faith in the South Pacific.

Posted here will be information regarding our travels, fundraising opportunities, necessary preparations, PRAYERS, news, and a daily post to update friends and family as we are abroad.

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation”