Fearless in Fiji?

Can you believe it? I am here in Fiji! It is everything I could have imagined and more! It’s beautiful and the people here are amazing– very kind and welcoming.”

These were the opening words of a letter we recently received from one of our students named Kim.

Kim is a member of the UC Davis women’s basketball team and has been involved in our ministry for about 2 years now. For a long time now, Kim has had a strong desire to visit the culture of Fiji. So, she decided to take the spring quarter off from school so she could spend a few months in this country that she has dreamed about.

When Kim first shared her plans with us, we thought she was embarking on one of those study abroad programs or perhaps she was pursuing a missions opportunity that she heard about. No. Kim simply had a desire to visit the culture and take a break from school.

As you know, God’s plans are often much different than our own.

Jennifer and I have some good friends who used to be on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ. Their names are Alan & Cathy Hendrickson. While Alan and Cathy were still on staff with Campus Crusade, they spent several summers in Fiji leading summer missions projects.

Alan & Cathy fell in love with the Fijian people and culture and spent a year and half on a STINT (short term international mission) in Fiji.

We contacted Alan & Cathy and told them about Kim’s desire to go to Fiji. They gave us the names of some of the Fijian Campus Crusade staff members and we were able to pass those names on to Kim.

Kim contacted one of the staff women and arranged to stay with her upon her arrival.

On her third day in the country, Kim was asked by the director of the ministry if she would accompany him to show the Jesus movie to over 200 high school girls. Kim agreed.

The director then asked Kim if she would share her testimony. Kim nervously pondered this request. She had never spoken to such a large group before about anything. She had also never shared her testimony to anyone, even in a one-on-one setting.

Filled with a combination of anxiety, fear and excitement, Kim decided to accept the challenge of sharing her testimony with these high school women.

After watching the Jesus movie and hearing Kim give her testimony, 110 women responded to the invitation to accept Christ! Kim has now been asked to speak at the weekly Campus Crusade for Christ meeting.

In her letter, Kim seemed almost shocked that the Lord would choose to use her in this way.

“It is just amazing that He is using me in this way. And I thought I would just travel, spend time with the Lord by myself and experience the culture and leave. I could not have imagined all of this… It’s funny how things work out and now more than ever, I know that I am here for a purpose and I have only seen a glimpse of what He has in store for me.”

What started out as a cultural venture, has turned into a spiritual adventure for Kim, simply because she’s been available to God’s unplanned opportunities. Pray for more “unplanned” opportunities for Kim and for us as well.

• 20+ students going on summer projects—10 going overseas.
• Two students applying for one year missions trips to Kazakhstan and Australia.
• Good response to our Fellowship Dinner in April.

• We have 4 interns and 3 new staff who are planning to join us in the Fall. Pray for them as they raise financial support for their ministries.
• Pray for our own ministry support—our monthly support and our summer needs.
• Wisdom in planning for next fall and next year.
• Though we had a good response to our Fellowship Dinner, we still have a significant amount of money to raise to meet our outreach and operating needs for next year.
• Pray for Jen and Dave to be good parents to Jacob and Joshua.
• Pray for us as we try to balance our ministry jobs and our family life.