An A.M. Blog Entry

Wow, it is 1:00 am Kona time. I filled in on security duty for a friend tonight and am now too wired to go to sleep!

We are now less than two weeks away from our departure to Fiji. Even as the departure day approaches, our plans in the islands continue to change a bit. We were able to secure a budget hotel for our team in Lautoka (our original destination) for the first month, but it now looks like we will spend the second month in Suva, which is the capital city of Fiji and is on the opposite side of the Viti Levu island. We are still trying to locate accommodations for our team there. The Fijian people are on a much slower pace and rarely plan things. Therefore, we have been told to be extremely flexible and laid back in our plans.

As mentioned in a previous blog entry, there is a team from our group who are planning to travel to Brazil. On Thursday, we learned that the visas for the entire group had been denied by the Brazilian Embassy. There is currently some animosity towards American missionaries entering the country. Even though Americans make up only a minority of the group, they have denied the entire team. The animosity results partly from an event in the past year. In many Amazon tribes, babies die regularly because their culture says to kill a child that is not normal - whether that is having two thumbs or even a healthy twin. During the past year, a mother from one of the indigenous tribes traveled to one of the YWAM bases in the Amazon with her baby who had been born with cerebral palsy. The mother was rebelling against the culture and desperately wanted to save her baby's life. The YWAM missionaries agreed to take the baby in and help with her medical needs. Shockingly, this act of mercy caused an uproar in the country as they were accused of meddling with the native culture by saving this baby's life. So, our whole group has been praying over this situation over the weekend and are feeling led to resubmit the team's visa applications on Monday morning. I will keep you posted on how this plays out.

We are expecting the next two weeks to fly by as we continue our preparations, receive final inoculations, pack up our room, etc. Here is an updated list of prayer requests for those who may be inclined to participate with us in prayer:

- We listed our car on Craiglist today and hope to sell it before we leave. Please pray for it to sell quickly and for close to our asking price.
- Pray for the Brazil team's visa applications.
- Pray that we can locate lodging in Suva that will accommodate our team well, especially the kids.
- Please continue to pray generally for all the preparations, for protection and unity in the team, and for opportunities for us to serve and bless the people of Fiji.

We miss everyone at home. Have a great week!