Day of Outreach

Yesterday we had the opportunity to go out into a neighborhood for a day of outreach.  Our boss, Koli, volunteered us for an outreach with the Yarawa Wesley Church as part of our cultural training.  We got to go into a traditional neighborhood not far outside of Suva.  It was a great learning experience to see how most people live here in Fiji.  The neighborhood was very green just like everywhere else in Fiji.  The streets weren't well paved and a lot of the houses are clumped very close together.  Most of the homes are pretty open (no windows or doors) and often times look more like shacks than anything else.  It was definitely an eye-opening experience for out team to see how most people live in Fiji.  The funny thing is, though we would consider them poor, most Fijians are very content with what they have.  It's very humbling to walk through a neighborhood like this and realize exactly how blessed we are back in the States.  Most Americans could learn a great lesson from Fijians about what it means to be content with what they have.

Our main goal was to distribute a Jesus Film DVD to every house that we visited.  We gave each family a DVD and asked them to watch it and fill out a comment card with their opinion.  The church is going to return to each home this Wednesday to pick up the comment cards and follow up with each family as interested.

The mindset in Fiji is so incredibly different than America.  If a stranger in the States comes to your home to hand you religious material, we typically say that we're not interested and send them on their way.  In Fiji, it's an honor to have visitors to your home.  We were welcomed warmly in each home and even offered tea and refreshments a few times.

The neighborhood we were in was made up primarily of Indian families.  As a result, almost every family we talked to was Hindu.  It was crazy to walk through their front yards and see altars where they burn incense to their gods.  At one of the houses, I met my new friend Shaheel.

Shaheel is a student at FNU (Fiji National University).  We talked for a while and explained that we wanted him to watch the DVD and give us his opinion when the church came back on Wednesday.  I asked him if I could share with him what I was doing in Fiji and why I came halfway across the world to be here.  As we talked, I was able to share the Gospel with Shaheel.  He seemed to be interested in what I had to say but I could tell that his Hindu background was affecting they way he was thinking.  I'm not sure where Shaheel stands at the moment but I plan on following up with him.  For now, I'm praising God that Shaheel heard the truth about Jesus Christ.  Take some time to pray for Shaheel.  From what I've been told, it's pretty common for Indian students to respond positively to the Gospel but in reality they are just adding Jesus to all of their other gods.  So if Shaheel is interested in meeting again, that's an obstacle that we'll have to face.

God is definitely at work in students' lives here.  Lecture begins tomorrow at USP and we'll be on campus starting to follow up the 1,700 contacts we received last week during Freshman Orientation.  Pray for our team as we go out to clearly and boldly proclaim the Gospel by the power of the Holy Spirit!