It has been further put into my heart the importance of doing all the things that the Lord has planned for me to do. As I’ve gone though this last week, I’ve had a number of requests to extend my stay a bit longer. My answer has always been, if there is a plan and purpose of the Lord, I’ll stay. I put it up in prayer and the Lord revelaed to me that I still have a few things left. I’m not done yet.

Please continue to pray. There are things that need to be accomplished and as the anointing has increased, I’ve noticed a few challenges by the enemy of our soul. I’ve overcome all of them because of the Blood of the Lamb and Who I am in Christ Jesus ~Redeemed.

I’ve not missed any comforts of home. My love for the people here has made it feel like I’m home. They have opened up their houses to me, invited me for dinner and have offered various blessings. I’m sure that next week, I’ll wind down and get excited about coming back to the States. This has been the longest I’ve been away from “home” in my life. With out familar surroundings, faces, and things. Grace has seen me through. Divine connections have given me family. The Love of God has shown me it is all worth being away. So far this is way way way way beyond what I expected. Not just in distance, in all areas of my walk and life. God bless you all. With Love in Christ who is my life. K

Daniel and I had talked about devotions and the importance of them. He shared morning devotions with his class from a book that was provided by the school. I shared that he can ask the Lord to help him with a devotion and one would come from his heart.

So, I gave the teacher homework… Ask the Lord to illuminate to you a part of the word. Below is the first devotion he gave me. I believe that his words will touch your heart as they did mine. He’s writing about you and me…

Daniel’s devotion: An Unbroken chain.

Whenever I meet a Christian for the first time, I’m interested in learning how he came to trust Jesus as his Savior. Each person has a different story to tell, but they all testify that they learned the truth because of the efforts of others ~ their parents, pastors, Sunday school teachers, bible club leaders, friends, writers. Someone has rightly observed that the Body of Christ grows through an unbroken chain of teachers.

In today’s scripture we learn that Timothy became a believer through the influence of his grandmother Lois, his mother Eunice and the teaching of Paul. The Apostle told Timothy to become part of that faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

The Faithful Men Paul had in mind were probably church leaders, yet he was expressing a principle that applies to every believer. We had to receive the truth from someone; now it is our gracious privilege and solemn duty to transmit the truth to others.

We must keep the chain strong by telling others about Him so that the Gospel will reach to future generations.

I met Daniel (Jiten) at the bus stop one afternoon. He told me that when I walked by, felt inside that he was going to help me. He shared in our conversation that he was a primary school teacher at the Methodist Mission School. When I told him that I was a missionary, he told me that he’d love to have a missionary come to his class and speak. We decided that once he cleared it with the headmaster, I’d come to school. We talked for awhile and I figured out that Daniel did not have Jesus as his Lord and Savior. He is an Indian man whose family practiced Hindu traditions. He knew the teachings of the Gospel, but did not know Jesus. After a discussion, we prayed for him to receive Jesus. He told me that inside, something was now different. The next day we met and he told me there was no problem with the approval. The headmaster told him to bring me to school. We set a date of the 18th!

I’m overwhelmed by the goodness of our Lord. He loves us so much, even when we doubt in Him, Who He is and His abilities, He will still touch us with His Love.

He reaches out to us ~ more than we do towards Him sometimes.

Silla and I were getting ready to depart Ba and I needed to use the restroom before we left. We decided to stop in a store by the bus station. Ana, a worker, lead us to the ladies room. As we were leaving the store, Ana came back to me and asked, “are you a Christian faith preacher from overseas?” I answered, “Yes, I am a Christian missionary.” Ana replied, “There is a lady here looking for you. She needs healing. Her husband is right there. His name is Muhammad and they are Muslims.” After a short conversation Ana and Paul, a coworker, took all of us to the back of the store so we could pray for Heyat.

When I started to minister, I told them that it was not me, but Jesus the Son of God who would heal her. They both said “We know that.” I shared Who Jesus is ~ The living Son of God who came that they might have eternal life. Without hesitation, they both prayed to receive Jesus as Lord, Savior and Healer. We then prayed for Heyat’s healing. As I prayed for her, the Love of God for this lady, who had cried out in affliction, filled my heart. I could feel the compassion Jesus had for her as the anointing worked to heal her. It was in Love that Jesus told her where to go, who to ask for and what to expect. (The Holy Spirit quickened to me Acts 9 and Paul’s encounter with the Lord Jesus. The encounter with the Lord Jesus changed Paul’s life.) Even when Heyat did not believe in Who Jesus is, He was reaching out to her to heal her from her affliction. Never rejecting her, but reaching out. When he gave her instructions, she went in faith and Jesus made her whole. Amazing Love. I’m overwhelmed.

James 1:28 (amp) External religious worship (religion as it is expressed in outward acts) that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world.

In all my visits here to Fiji, I had not been to an orphanage. Many of the families are extended and children are often taken in and cared for by family while they school. Many times, a child is sent to the village that their parents came from. Everyone in a village is considered a relative (whether or not by blood). I wondered if orphanages existed. After asking some questions, I found out, yes, there are orphanages. Even when I shared that I was going to visit orphans the word did not register as familiar until I explained, children with out parents. They call orphanages Children’s Homes. There are a few on opposite sides of the island ~ Northwest and Northeast sides.

The orphanage I was going to visit, The Treasure House, is located in the city of Ba. It is on the northwest side of the island and I had not been to the northwest side of the island before. The trip to this orphanage takes 4 hours one way, so it is a full day adventure by mini vans and buses.

Treasure House is the upper part of a two story house. I was pleased to see it was neat, clean, tidy and full of the Love of the Lord. This particular house could only have 20 children at a time and usually only children up to 6 years old can be kept for longer care. Most of the children here are adopted out under the age of 3. A love for the children was evident in the staff. Two of the children were special needs. Jenny is a bright 6 year old with downs syndrome. She was into everything, especially sweets. The other child was Ruthie, she was 19 years old and her body was in a contorted position and oppressed developmentally. Ruthie had been forgotten in a hospital for the good majority of her life. 4 years ago she was discovered and moved to Treasure house where she is cared for with love. Treasure house does have 4 girls (pairs of sisters) who are older than 6. The rest are infants/toddlers who are being processed for adoption. The youngest one is a beautiful 4 month old little girl named Rashnisha. All the children arrive at the house from various means. Some are given up immediately at birth, while others are discarded or come from single mothers deemed unfit by the welfare courts.

I have always had a passion to reach the children who don’t have parents with the Love of God to give them a hope for a future in Him. To have them know that even when their fathers and mothers forsake them, He will be their Father/Mother. But I never really thought too far beyond their youth out into their adulthood. I asked the staff about the children who don’t get adopted and the older children who are orphans ~ what happens to them? They explained children who are not adopted and older children are sent to another home either in Ba or Nissouri (the other side of the island north of Suva). The children are schooled and helped find employment by the age of 18. Then they are pretty much on their own. THEY ARE ON THEIR OWN. It was those words that further made known in my heart how important it is to have the love of God instilled in their heart. For these children have no brothers, sisters or extended family known to them. I can not imagine not having a place to turn if I am struggling. The Family of God is vital so they don’t perish in this world. It deepened my passion to reach the children and gave new meaning to James 1:28 and the words: Visit, Help, Care and Distribution of the needs. They need Jesus!

L to R Rashnisha, Esther & Jenny