Greetings from Fiji!
Firstly, to all of those who have upheld us in your prayers, thoughts and actions, we want to say thank you so much! The last few months have certainly been a time of stretching for us all... but such a blessed time as well. There are sooooooo many exciting things happening in these last days! There is certainly a lot of hardship and sadness in the world, but God is also doing some awesome, wonderful , exciting things as well... just as He promised!!
Family Life
The children continue to grow at a rapid rate... as they all do! The twins are 2 1/2 which is just amazing.. where have those last two years gone!! Terah is really starting to shine now as a young lady. She continues to be a great help with the younger children, and a real blessing with her attitude to life. Isaia continues to love Hummers (That's a jeep kind of vehicle for you other ladies, who like me, had no idea what a Hummer was!) Abigail is a gem in all areas.. a Little like the father, but a little more like the mother... I can see you all smiling!!
They all continue to do well in school. They do still miss family and friends and often complain that they are not with their friends. They have their good days and their bad days.. just like we all do. But we are thankful that they are close, and often explain to them that 'for such a time as this' we are living in Fiji because we love the Lord and want to serve Him. OF course, they know that, but they are still just kids.. we would value your prayer s for them as they live, school, and play in the same area everyday.
The campsite
Funds from Income over the last few months have been put to use on the new building. We have had around 70 to 80% occupancy since May, so the Lord has provided financially for the project. We have not had to borrow funds which has been a blessing and a statement of Gods' goodness. His hand has been upon the site, and we are thankful as we see other accommodation places struggling with 17% occupancy due to the unrest in our local government. We are also thankful for those who have sacrificed and have come across to help with the building. We must say thanks to Graeme Sinclair and Murry Cooper (even if they are Kiwi's:) for your time, effort and support of the work here at camp. It not only encourages us in the Ministry, but our family of workers here as well that see the goodness of God , and the servant attitude of His workers. Your valuable input also helped train and teach our local boys in areas that are not available here.. so in Fiji we say "Vinaka Vakalevu" which means when translated "Thank you BIG TIME!!" ....
Incoming Mission Groups
This month will see us host three mission teams who will be making valuable input into the lives of our staff here at camp, as well as the children we work with in our local area.
Kids Klub and Youth
Both these ministries continue to go well. We are thankful for the time we have with the children and youth each week. There is always a keen core group in each ministry that comes week after week. Numbers fluctuate depending on the weather, due to all of the children walking from the village, which is around 800 metres away. If it is bucketing rain.. they can arrive quite wet!!
With only 8 more weeks left in this last term before we will break for this year, we are planning on putting together with the children a Christmas concert for the parents. We surely would appreciate your prayers as this can be quite an undertaking... and sometimes half way through, often seems impossible to get it altogether in time, but it happens, and we are always so blessed in the end to see all of the parents and children celebrating such a special event, as Christ's birth.
Well, I think that has updated you all on where we are at! Thank you again to those who have upheld us in prayer, emailed, phoned, faxed or contacted us in some way to encourage us. These last few months have been a little stretching for us as a family, as we have coped with sickness, and the lifestyle of living on a campsite. We do appreciate you....
Much love to all,
Paul, Jo, Terah, Isaia, Abigail, Joseph and Judah Richards
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