Bula one final time from Fiji. It is 2:30 PM on Sunday, May 28. Our bus picks us up at the South Seas hotel at 3:00 PM to go to the other side of the island.

It has been a tremendous mission trip. We have begun studies with approx. 70 different people and 8 have decided to put Jesus on in baptism. I do not share those numbers to say look at what we have done, but to say look at what the Lord is doing here in Fiji. We have been blessed to be a small part of it.

The two above pictures were the most recent baptisms. Loreni is a woman that Lori & Marty have been studying with. My dad actually invited her husband to the Bible studies, he did not come but told his wife that she needed to. Lori and Marty really hit it off with her and were blessed to teach her from the Word. The other young woman is Annie. She has worked with Naomi for 15 years and has been a part of the Capital City church for 6 years. She has never wanted to study but promised Marsha & Kelly if they returned that she would study with them. Naomi and the church have prayed for her for years. She made the decision this morning and we went straight to the ocean following Sunday worship.

We thank the Lord for this opportunity and thank you for your prayers.

We will see you soon.

We have kept you posted.

Fiji team 06 out.

BULA for the final time...our last day of the campaign is quickly wrapping up. Megan and I got to go down to the handicraft market to haggle with the vendors for a little while and then I went back up to the Bergengren to study lessons 6 & 7 with Vika. I had lunch at the garage with Dallas (a local fijian who also plays on the fijian rugby team) and one of the new converts. I'm very tired and am looking forward to a couple of days of relaxation before we get on the airplane back for the states, but I'm also very sad to be leaving all my new friends here in Suva. Hopefully we'll be able to keep in touch through email, etc. Thanks for all of your prayers; they've really been heard and felt here on the other side of the world! I love you all and I'll see you soon!!

Bula, but sadly for the last time. It's a little after 2:00 and we've been on the move since day break. Mainly a lot of walking around and shopping, aside from Vinnie's baptism. Yesterday was a pretty amazing day as we had three baptisms, and I was able to baptize Menoa (sp?) That was definitely a first for me, as was it amazing. We leave for the resort tomorrow after church and lunch, and it's going to be extremely hard saying "mothe" to everyone, especially Sirelli, as we have gotten very close over these past few days. Tonight we're having a get together of some kind with the Fijans and giving gifts to all of those here who have helped us along the way. I'm not going to lie, I'm looking forward to the resort next week, as I can't wait to sit in the pool all day, although, I'll certainly miss the companionship of the locals. I'm not sure if we'll have internet access over there, so this might be my last word until we arrive back in the states. SO, farewell, and talk to you soon.

Love,
Tyler

P.S. Megan asked me to say goodbye for her, as she doesn't want to buy another ticket for minutes. She says thank you everyone for their comments and she will talk to you soon.

Bula from Fiji. It is 12:33 PM on Saturday, May 27. This is the final day of our campaign. I meet with Bimlesh for lunch today to review our work here over the last 10 days and to discuss the possiblity of future work here.

The Lord has been very busy. I hope that some of the above pictures share with you how faithful the Lord has been to his work here this year. We had two baptisms yesterday afternoon, the lady's name is Givadi, she is another lady from the market that Marsha & Kelly studied with. The young man's name is Menoa, dad met him downtown and he and I really hit it off. We studied together and yesterday he gave his life to Christ through baptism. This morning, Vini, who is Joe & Mary's daughter & Mark's little sister was baptized. She had studied with some of our girls this week and made that decision last night. Joe is a proud poppa.

We still have studies going on today and we are anxious to see what the Lord still has in store for our team during our remaining hours here.

I also included a larger picture of team GCSC.

We are really beginning to miss home.

We will keep you posted.

So I guess this will be my last post.

Its Saturday. The last day of our campaign...how did this happen?! I hear that tomorrow is miserable. It is really going to be hard saying goodbye to all these amazing people. It has really been a good week. God is proven His faithfulness once again! Well not much else to say really...studying again with Lorini this afternoon so I should probably head that direction. Love you guys...see you soon!

Megan/Whitney I hope training is going well...too bad I'm missing the 5 hour lectures...!
Love y'all.

LP

Bula!

It's been another great day here in Suva, as we had another baptism this morning, and we're having another at 4:45, and maybe another one. Today Sirelli and I have walked around town all day...literally. From 10:00-4:00, but it's been good. As we were walking we saw a guy parked and sitting in his car next to the sidewalk, so we walked up to him and started talking and now we have a study at 9:00 in the morning. It's crazy that tomorrow is our last workday, time flies by way too fast, especially when you're having fun. Alright, that's all for now, tell Hunter I said congrats on his awards, and I'll talk to you later.

Tyler

Hey guys!

It's been a busy day! Marty and I studied with Naoni again today in the market then we went back to our usual place of meeting to study with Lorini (sweet lady). We met her last night. She said her husband received one of our fliers and dropped her off at our worship service and said, "Go to this. It will be good for you." So we have really enjoyed getting to know her. We had to cut our study short with Lorini to continue to study with Naoni at 2:00 (we couldn't bear for the three of us to split up!) and so now we're headed over to Lorini's house to continue studying with her. We've been back and forth and all over! Praise God--He is Good! I didn't get to go to the baptism this morning but such exciting news!!!!!!! I have been so blessed to be a part of God's mission here. Well I don't want to be late to see Lorini...so check you later.
L.

Bula Everyone!
Kristina and I are sitting here in the well air-conditioned internet cafe with bellies full of nutritious McDonald's food and it is marvelous! Well, the air feels good but all the junk food has made my head hurt. Once again, this morning Lindsay (from Alabama), Laisa (local Fijian), and I went out to the "squatters" to continue our studies with two sweet sweet women. One of the girls, Sharin age 19, came to eat with us at the Duncan house and went to the evening services with us as well. I really think she is enjoying learning the truth about Jesus and his promises to us. She has grown up going to different churches and she has been told some false things about Jesus and other things of the Bible. We have a good friendship going with her and it's exciting! Ok, once again my mintes are running out. Love to all!

HI! It's about 3pm on Friday here in Fiji, and we're beginning to wrap up the campaign. Today has been especially exciting, because Vika, the girl Crystal and I have been studying with, decided to get baptized today, and I got to go out there in the ocean to help. The tide was low so we had to walk out very far from shore, and the mud sometimes came up to my knees! It was really amazing. She was really wrestling with what she should do, because she's been living with Jehovah's witnesses here in Suva. They were telling her she shouldn't come study with us anymore, but she listened to her heart, came back and realized that she understood what was right and what she needed to do, and that is follow Jesus, even when people you love are telling you something different. So God had his work cut out for him, but in the end he won! Anyway, I'm doing well and am excited to be coming home soon, but sad to be leaving my new sister and all the good people I've met here.

hello hello
I can't believe thursday is winding down. Where did this week go? Today was a very interesting/AMAZING day for me. I was supposed to go back to the neighborhoods today but that didn't really work out so Marty and I decided to wander around and pray all day. It was such a great time just walking the streets of Suva with Jesus lifting up all of our friends who were sharing Christ. We bumped into some of the team at McD's and they told us there was someone who wanted to study in the market...so we hopped on over there and met a sweet woman named Naoni (I think) and she wants us to come back in the morning. Right after that we heard the awesome news that Pauline wanted to be baptized so we headed down to the ocean and had a great moment with our new sister in Christ. Praise God.

Thats really all for now. Thanks Whit, John, Shannon, Terry for all the notes! I miss you guys like CRAZY!!!!! Sorry I'm missing your promotion/piano recital Shannon, Aunt Jessica said she would give you an extra hug for me!!! I'm so proud of you!!! Miss you.

Ok. Bye.
LP

PS...Marty says hi...she's blogger-challenged (aka a re-re... what?) Anyway gotta go.
xoxo

Marty, Tyler, and I wanted everyone to know how much we love discussing poop. thats right poop.

poop.

no.....

poop! (yay)

Bula, It's still Thursday here, but Marty and Lori wanted to check their email so I went ahead and bought some minutes. No Dad, definitely wasn't mad, just never got them. What awards did he get? And the trampoline is still in our backyard, right behind the porch, and yes, we've jumped off the balcony. Ben, I'm not too sure why he got deported, he didn't really say. Today was really cool as we saw our first baptism, which was an awesome experiencel, and we're expecting a bunch more tomorrow. OK, that's all I have now. Mothe (mo-they..."bye")

Bula from Fiji. It is 3:05 PM on Thursday, May 25. It has been a tremendous day in the South Pacific. The weather has been fabulous! I posted a picture of our portion of the team right after a full stomach at breakfast this morning.

We have been in studies all day and another team was able to go out into the neighborhoods.

OK, I have some good news and bad news. Bad news first: ketchup packets at McDonalds cost 5 cents a piece. Can you believe that, the Clown is taking our money over here. Good news: Pauline gave her life to Christ in baptism today. I posted a picture for your viewing pleasure. She is a woman that Kelly and Marsha started studying with last year, she became ill and had to stop the studies. Kelly & Marsha have prayed for her every day since our last campaign. They found her the first day we were here and have finished the studies with her. She put on Christ in baptism and just headed up with Susana to Duncan Road to be with the sisters in the church there. Praise God!

We will keep you posted.

That is me and P.P. the minister of the Capital City Church's daughter
Hi, everyone! I just got finished studying Lesson 5 (the one on baptism) with a sweet girl named Vika. She's 21 and is a student at the University of South Pacific. She is really searching for the right path in her life right now. She said she would come to worship again tonight and do another lesson tomorrow morning. I'm so prayerful that she will realize the right thing to do and won't want to wait another day. But even if she still needs more time for it to soak in, that's great because I know the church here in Suva will continue to follow up on her when we leave. Yesterday was very busy with many studies. God has really blessed my time here by bringing me so many opportunities to study the bible with so many friendly people. I had ice cream for the first time since i left to come to fiji last night with Vika and Crystal (an alabama girl who has been helping to lead the study with me) at McDonalds. We only have two more working days here in Suva, and then we will leave after church on Sunday. Please pray that we will not grow tired in these last couple of days and will continue feeling the importance of the work that we've been doing.

Bula, it's 1:05 in the afternoon on Thursday, which means it's 9:00 PM on Wed. back in the states, crazy, huh? Today has been a lot of walking around for me. The rule here (for our team) is that girls are not allowed to walk without a guy, and so I've been walking around a LOT. Wynne, I've been kind of wondering about Dad, but at least now I know he's been trying. Tell him to comment from home and not from work, or maybe he's just doing it wrong. Right now myself and Blake, a guy from the Alabama team are just kind of waiting for the girls. We have two girls studying with a women in the handcrafts market, and two other girls studying with someone in McDonalds. Then another team went to the neighborhood again. We just met someone one the street who stopped us to talk and said he lived in Seattle for a while, but then got deported after 9/11, we kind of thought it was funny. Then we told him what we were doing here and said, "That's good, Fiji needs *stuff* (he used another word) like." We thought he was a good candidate but I don't think he was very interested. An alert just popped up saying I have 5 minutes left until I run out of minutes, so I need to go and check my other email. Don't worry, I'll buy more time tomorrow. Talk to you later. Love, Tyler

Bula from Suva, Fiji. It is 3:45 PM on Wednesday, May 24.

It has been another great day in the South Pacific. We have had Bible studies now with more than 50 different people. Also, the church has assembled a great follow-up team and so we are so excited about what the Lord is doing this year. We are going to "finish the drill" by working with all of our effort through Saturday. So, I know the Lord will continue to bring people for our studies. Another team went out into the neighborhoods today. I posted two pictures form the neighborhood, one is of a home and the other is Lori and Dallas (not Texas, a Fijian in the church) walking in the neighborhood. The neighborhood team had several Bible studies and prayed with many other people. It has been a huge blessing to see how God has used this year's team in the neighborhoods. People have overwhelmed us with their hospitality and their desire to study. The students have worked extremely hard and are excited about what the last days of the campaign will hold for us. Continue to pray hard for us and this mission.

We will keep you posted.

bula!
another great day in Fiji! I had a study this morning with a girl that goes to the university here--she's in the hospitality program. I just got back from one of the neighborhoods...we've been sending some teams there as you can see from the other posts but this was my first time going. It was such a great experience...these people have nothing...NOTHING and they are the sweetest people you will ever meet!! The family I had the privalege of studying with told me their door was always open and that when I come back to Fiji I must go back and see them. How sweet?!

One of my favorite things about being here is worshipping God with the Fijians. It is so neat that the God I worship is being praised on the other side of the world too. It may look different but God is getting His praise. I love it.

Aunt Jessica--got your blogs! Thanks for the notes. I miss you guys so much!!! I've got lots of stories and I can't wait to show you all the pics! Hey Ben... good to hear from you too. I'm just about to head back over to McDonalds actually. Too bad about the trampoline...but I have faith that you will come through for us!!!!! Thanks for the prayers Aunt Terry--things are great. Miss you lots!!!

My time on the internet is about to run out so I will catch you guys later.
Oh thanks for the email Connie! I miss you so much...wish you could be here to share more of your vast wisdom! Love you!

God is good all the time, all the time God is good.
Lori P.

Bula, it's 2:50 and I just finished a study and walked down to town. I went to the local university earlier today to pass out fliers and talk to people, which was pretty neat. It's the University of the South Pacific, or something close to that. But apparently there are around 15,000 students, so it's not too small. Ben, yes, I've been eating McDonalds. In fact, I've eaten more McDonalds in the past week than I have in over a year, seriously. For you past Fiji people, I've also become very fond of the garage (a local chinese place for you non-Fiji people). Grammy, yes, I got your note, thank you very much, and yes, it will be difficult in some ways to leave. More so I believe the hardest part will be leaving the friends I have made. One in particular is Sirelli, a local Fijian Rugby star who also works with the church. In fact, he has taken a two week leave from his semi-pro team to work with us over our campaign. How many pro-athletes back home do you know that are willing to do that. But, he and I have become close and it will definitely be hard to say "mo-thay" or "goodbye" to him. Things are still going great, although only 3 more work days left, thurs., fri., and sat. Then we go to church on Sunday and head to the resort for a few days. Alrighty, that's all for now. Until next time.... Tyler

Bula bula!
(pronounced boola boola, shanna)
I haven't been able to post anything in a while...couldn't make it into town yesterday. I studied with the lady that has 3 kids in her home yesterday...I think it went pretty well. We're going back tomorrow (wednesday) so pray for her, her name is Margaret. I had two studies today with Marty and they were absolutely wonderful! Both times we were on our way into town and we had to turn around before we even got there because we met people wanted to study right then! The second woman, Elenoa, said that her husband received one of our fliers a few days ago and she really wanted to come study but couldn't. I asked her if she wanted to go with me right then and she said that she would cancel her appointment because this is where God wanted her to go. PRAISE THE LORD! She and her husband are going to come back tomorrow night. This mystery man named Saul showed up last night. He's kind of a wandering hippie who doesn't wear shoes. He's been hanging out with us all day. He's been all over with just his back pack and his guitar. I told him I was a math major and he whipped out his folder with these formulas for magic squares. It was pretty funny. The weather has been wonderful today...a little sunny with a nice breeze.

Dad and Shannon its so good to hear from you! I miss you guys! Tell Jay I said hey and to be good! I love you all! Can't wait to see you! Keep praying...its working :)! Oh and Jay--if you read this--we went to a rainforrest the other day and I swung from this huge rope swing into a natural pool...it was AWESOME/scary! Anyway sorry this post is forever long....lots of love!
--Lori P

Hello again! Today has been a good day. I went with a group out to a neighborhood (well, I guess you can call it that, maybe village would be better). I was with Lindsay, a girl from Alabama, and Laisa, a Fijian. We got invited into every house we came upon but ended up doing 2 studies and praying with one family. One of the girls we studied with, named Sharin, was pretty young and she really enjoyed it so we are going back tomorrow for more. I enjoy doing this more I think b/c they don't have an opportunity not to show up. We are going to her house tomorrow and we will study. Ok, sorry this is so short but my time is up on the computer! Love to all!

Bula Bula...It's about 4:15 on Tuesday afternoon here in good old Fiji...I've had an interesting past few days. Saturday morning my stomach began to disagree with me and by Saturday night I was completely nauseated and couldn't hold food down for a little while. I felt pretty terrible...I guess I caught some kind of stomach bug. After almost barfing 3 times during the Da Vinci Code, I took some medicine from one of the Alabama leaders and went to sleep and finally felt better Sunday morning...I was able to go to the rainforest (which I was really looking forward to and would be really sad if I had to miss it) and had a lot of fun. I finally was able to start eating more than just bread and rice today!! For those of you who know how I love to eat, that was a big deal. Megan, Lindsey, Tyler, and 4 of the Fijians went to the "neighborhood" (shanty town describes it a little better). It was basically a bunch of shacks held together by a few pieces of wood. You had to walk on wooden planks and rubber tires to keep from falling in the mud. It was extremely impoverished. The locals were so friendly and invited us into their houses. It is polite to remove your shoes before entering the home, and we sit on the floor, which is covered in a sort of woven thatch. We went to three homes, prayed with each of them, and I studied with one. A woman said she and her husband would come to devotional tonight and another younger woman said she would stop by for a study tomorrow after her baby's medical check-up. I am extremely hopeful that they will come, since none of my appointments showed up yesterday. I hope everyone back in the states is doing well, and continue praying for our safety and efforts!

Bula, which I'm coming to find out means about a 100 different things. It truly is an all purpose word that we seriously need back in the states. This morning Emosi (a member from the local church here and I) studied with two guys we met in the neighborhood yesterday, which was awesome for me because I had no idea that they were coming. Emosi had spoken to the son in Fijan while I spoke to the mother in English, so I was unaware that he coming, but it was certainly a pleasant surprise. We went through the first two lessons and then he and his friend are supposed to be back tomorrow or the day after to continue. I actually ended up going back to the neighborhoods again today because the guys that were supposed to go were in the middle of studies, so Megan, Krisitina, Lyndsey, myself, and 4 Fijans went today. It was another wonderful experience full of sweet people again. Although, this neighborhood was much poorer than yesterday's. These homes were called squatters and were simply made by the residents themselves. Beyond poor, and one of the family's home that I went to, the people's only source of food was from the streets, no one worked, but nevertheless they were pleasant and receptive, truly amazing. Stacy, sorry things are slow in Athens, any word from Jake's job search? Val, in response to your comment a few days ago....the meal we ate was pakapaka, which is a local fish. It was pretty good, just expensive. But hey, how often do you get to go on a date in Fiji? And then the time difference is 16 hours, so take GA time, add 4 hours, and then flip the AM/PM. Alrighty, that's all for now. More to come soon. Love, Tyler

Bula from Fiji. It is 2:05 PM on Tuesday afternoon. It is a beutiful day in the South Pacific.

When I left the Bergengren House, there were 8 studies going on at one time. I posted some of our GCSC folks in action. Marty and Lori have studied together with two different ladies so far today. Tyler is with Emosi studying with two guys they met in the neighborhood yesterday. Megan and Kristina went with another group out to a neighborhood today.

The evening preaching was excellent last night. We had several visitors, we hope to have even more tonight.

Also, for those of you who were here last year, the same Fijian rugby team just arrived this morning to stay in the above space at the Bergengren. It will be a plus to have them around in the evenings.

Also, an update: sadly Asiinaca could not come over from Nadi, so we have missed her presence, but Tatila has been here the whole week and she has been a joy to have around. Also, Timbra (an AIM student from a couple of years ago) and her husband Mike are here in Suva now.

All for now, we will keep you posted.

BULA!

The rain has stopped, and the sun has come, and it brought along the HEAT. BUt, I guess that's better than rain. Things actually cleared up last night and we were able to walk down to the coast and look up at the stars for a while. They're a completely different set of stars than what we're used to. Today we finally made it to the neighborhoods, only about 7 of us. The area we went to was mostly public housing, which is not quite as luxurious as public housing back in the States. Although, the people are much friendlier. You you just walk up, the house is open-aired so they see you, and you tell them that you're a missionary from the states and they immediately invite you in. It's absolutely amazing how sweet the people are here, I just can't even begin to describe. Everyone smiles and says thankyou and they really do have a hard time telling you, "no," even if it means telling a little white lie. I've been part of two studies so far, Megan was with me on the first one and we made it through 3 lessons, and I sat in with Barrett for a little while today before I went to the neighborhood. Then I have other scheduled for later and hopefully much more once I pass out more fliers. Yesterday (Sunday) after church, we went to the rain forrest and played in a natural pool that had a rope swing. It was both beautiful and a lot of fun. Alright, I'm using Megan's minutes because I left my password at the hotel, so I need to go. Please tell Hunter to show Mom how to use this blog, I'm sure she would like to communicate with me as well. Thanks. Love, Tyler

Bula from Fiji.

It is 2:30 PM on Monday, May 22.

It is hotter than the bottom of a Bequa firewalker's foot.

The sun is definately out today. Thank you for your prayers. The uca (pronounced "utha," fijian word for rain) has left us. Kristina has been spared from the ocean for now.

We have had a great day so far. I am excited to hear how Lori's study with the young mom went. Tyler and Marty went with a group to do some door knocking in a local neighborhood.

Megan, my dad, and I all had seperate studies this morning that went very well. I studied with a student from USP. His professor had "unexpectedly" cancelled his morning class, so he did not have class again until 2:00 PM and so he came into town to "waste time." His name is Bani and he is a methodist preacher's kid who has chosen the ways of the world instead of God while he has been in college. In his words, he has fallen away and needs to get right with the Lord. There is a phrase that I like to use, "divine appointment." We met for three hours this morning and will meet again tomorrow at noon. I have a study at 4:00 PM at the market with the dad of the family of 6 that I mentioned to you a couple blogs ago. We will have 5 studies going simultaneously, 1 with the dad, 1 with the mom, 1 with a friend of the mom, 1 with the two sons, and another 1 with the two daughters. Picture this: a tall goofy American guy with a big hat crammed into one of those little booths in the market studying with an older Fijian on the floor. This is going to be good.

We will keep you posted.

Bula! It is 11:52am on Monday morning in Suva, Fiji. The weather is absolutely beautiful today, as opposed to the gloomy days passed. It's also very HOT! We went to the rainforest yesterday and had a blast. There was a really cool rope swing there (into a water hole). Good times. I have been studying with a girl named Mere this morning and she is supposed to being coming tomorrow to study again as well as coming to the nightly service we have tonight and everynight this week. I also have another study at noon today (in 4 minutes) and Kristina and I have to run by faithful ole McDonalds before heading up. Everyone's on "Fiji Time" so it doesn't matter if we are at least 15 minutes late. That's just how it works here, which is good for me. Everyone is safe and having a blast. A group went to a neighborhood this morning to doorknock and I'm excited to see how it went for them. Ok, have to go for now! Hope everyone is well! Love.