Training Fijians in The Word 
 

As many of you already know YWAM Honolulu staff have been running schools on a YWAM base in Fiji, that are also run at our base in Manoa. Our base is taking the initiative to train Fijians and Indo-Fijians on location rather than try and get them over to us in Hawaii which is expensive and difficult.

The base has run DTS and SOME. The next thing people wanted to see was our School of Biblical Studies brought to Fiji to train young and old alike in how to read and study the Scriptures. Our friend Kylee, who has been working with DTS and SOME in Fiji, approached us!!

After some prayer and talking to our base director and the current Honolulu SBS leaders we decided to run a Bible Core Course in Fiji. Our school started April 7th 2008. We were the school directors and the main teachers. It was an excellent time and we are so grateful to God for a wonderfully fruitful four months in Fiji. A profound thanks also goes to all of you who prayed for us and our students, as well as those who gave financially to help us pull the school off debt free. Below are the news updates from our school, beginning with the most recent.

And.... we're done! 

 
Friday June 27th was our Bible Core Course Graduation night. Here is a picture of our students with their certificates and some Fijian war clubs. Before the school started, during an intercession time, Erin got a picture of a traditional Fijian warrior in full dress holding out empty hands. God placed weapons into that warriors hands. We felt that this school would equip our students with the Word of God as a weapon. So we presented each student with a war club as a gift with Hebrews 4:12 engraved in the handle.

It has been an honor to be involved in this school. On our last day of lectures we had a time where we reviewed through the school week by week asking the students what God taught them that particular week. It was amazing to hear what they shared. Here are just a couple....

One shared how now has a real purpose and calling from God through reading the story of Abraham in Genesis and from Titus 1:5. Another shared about how he saw lessons of godly leadership from the books of Mark and Titus. Several spoke about the impact of forgiveness learnt from Philemon. One student who got very sick during two weeks of the school felt to never give up due to what he was reading in 2 Timothy and the life of the apostle Paul. The list goes on...

Thanks go to all our supporters, friends and families who made this school possible. You share in the rewards of what has taken place here these last few months. Vinaka Vakalevu!

A Tragic Loss 
The YWAM base at Vunayasi, as many of you know, is outside of Nadi town in the middle of many sugar cane fields. The dirt road is very bumpy and full of holes, and is especially bad when it rains. Local taxis and transport trucks do not come out to Vunayasi or will charge quite a lot to do so. All of them except one...

Pramal was an Indo-Fijian who had a van as a his personal taxi business. He would always come to the YWAM base rain or shine whenever we needed transportation. He never charged us anything but the bare minimum and was very friendly to all of us. He would help so many YWAMers in many ways.

Pramal just died tragically in a very bad car accident leaving behind his wife and three sons. We are very sad to lose a friend and were shocked at how sudden death can take place. Our prayers go out to his family and friends, as we mourn the loss of one of our friends.

Almost done already 

 
As of the beginning of June we are in our last four weeks of the BCC. It has gone really well and the students have learnt so much!

The books and topics covered so far have been: Old and New Testament Overviews, Philemon, Titus, Ephesians, Mark, Galatians, a how to teach and preach week and now 1&2 Kings.

We have Sandra Larsen from YWAM Brisbane teaching this week (June 9-13). As you can see in the picture our school welcomed her with a traditional welcome ceremony called a "sevu sevu". It is their highest honour to give a guest that comes to their land.

We are so blessed so far and look forward to these last few weeks.

David Teaches in CDTS 

 
Both Erin and David were busy teaching the week of May 26-30. Erin was teaching the Book of Galatians in our BCC and it went very well. Erin is really growing and getting more comfortable teaching.

That same week David went to Lautoka: a town about 40 minutes away. There is a Marine Reach (a mercy ship ministry of YWAM) base in Lautoka and they are currently running a CrossRoads DTS. David spoke for a week on the Fear of the Lord. At the end of the week students expressed how much that week had done in their life.

The picture is the CDTS in Lautoka. You guys were great!!! Blessings on your outreaches.

Ministry Opportunities 
We are excited to see our students do so much spontaneous ministry on their own time. Three of our students have preached in their local churches since the beginning of the school. Our two Rupeni's went street witnessing in town on their first Saturday. Vika and Ledua were shopping in town when they heard God tell them to go pray for people in the hospital. They ended up ministering to a woman with terminal cancer for over an hour. They talked with her, shared the Gospel and prayed for the pain she is constantly in. By the time she left she felt no pain and was very energetic. She said she hadn't felt that good in a long time.

We are so stoked and proud to see our students and staff sharing and giving out what God is giving to them. It is excellent.

Kylee's Day Camp 
 
For those of you who know Kylee Connole, this will come as no surprise. Kylee is the base director of YWAM Vunayasi. These are some local Indian children from a family quite isolated up the road from our base. They do not go to school and are very poor.

Kylee has had them over a few times to play games, do crafts and share the Gospel with them. The young girl in the picture has told her father she wants to be a Christian and no longer do any Hindu worship. It has been a blessing to see this happen alongside our BCC school. They are great kids. Quite shy... but very cute.

Intercession Training 
 
It is very common for a Bible Core Course to teach and train local people in Bible Study. BUT our school has had a great time teaching local Fijians outside of YWAM intercession!!! Not very common for a YWAM Bible school to do that.

A group of local Fijian women who know Vika, have asked us to teach them YWAM's Principle of Intercession. These women want to start prayer groups and evangelize the Hindu Indian community of Vunayasi. The women join us every Tuesday morning for our intercession time and we also did an extra teaching one Saturday on "Hearing God's Voice" to further equip them for their calling.

It is SO exciting to be involved in impartation to the local church, to further the Kingdom of God.

The Doulos comes to Fiji 
 
Operation Mobilization is a missions organization that has been a long time friend of YWAM. They have primarily a mercy ship ministry with vessels that serve different port cities around the world.

Their ship: The Doulos, came to Lautoka Fiji. We went on board to visit and take a look at the Doulos. It houses the worlds largest floating bookstore where people can come on board and find all sorts of resources.

Our Bible Core Course Begins 

 
Our school is going so well. We have seven students - six guys and one girl. They are a wonderful group and we are so stoked with who God brought to our school. Among them are five Fijians, one Korean and one Indian. Each one of the students has a vision for marketplace ministry or long term missions. The multiplication we will see from this school is SO exciting and a blessing to us leading the school.

David taught on Old Testament Overview in the first week. Although it was his first time to teach this topic it went well and the students have said they really enjoyed it, and are learning a lot.

It's a small world 

 
After we arrived here in Fiji David taught in the DTS that was in their last two weeks on lecture phase. In the DTS was a boy named Moses. David met this boy in 1998 on an outer island, during his first outreach to Fiji. Moses was only eight years old at the time. Now David got to see him again as he is doing a DTS. Moses remembers David from 10 years ago and says he "looks just the same". What a blessing to see fruit that is now going to multiply!!

Fiji Bible Core Course 

We made it! Thank you so much to everyone who gave towards our tickets and towards our school. We arrived here with $850 US, that we will be able to put towards our students tuitions. Praise God.

Here is a picture of our school. Each student has to come up with $1000 FJD (around $675 US) to do this school. If anyone wishes to sponsor a student for ANY amount, click on our "Support & Info" tab to see how to give. You can follow the directions and add a note that it is for our students in the "Fiji BCC".