Dear friends,
Well already into August and we are excited by all that the Lord is doing in the camp and its Ministries.. Fiji has been on a roller coaster ride as we experience the many faces that come with being under a military governemnt, Laws and constitutions are amended daily, and it is always hard to keep on top of things. For instance,... the Military decided they needed money, so everyone who was born in Fiji, but not to Fiji citizens was no longer allowed to stay in the country without a visa. This affected 4 of our children. So there have been long waits in the immigration cue explaining our situation and that we were unaware of the changes until we were told by fellow missionaries when they went to exit the country and couldn't get their children back in as they were classes as over stayers!
Hopefully that will be the last time we will have to deal with Immigration about visas! Another money spinner the government of the day is going is offering dual citizenship to those who have lived 5 years out of the last 10 in Fiji. We fall into the category as feel that while it is on offer we should pursue this option. It does not come without a price.. and we feel in two minds about paying into the military government, but we also feel that with three of our children adopted from Fiji, it would be a benefit to all of us to hold Fiji citizenship. So... we now embark on that journey... with who knows how long it will take!!
As you most of you are aware, we are planning on returning to Australia in January of next year. That brings an end to this 6 year term in Fiji. We are sad to think that we have to leave our camp family behind, but are also excited to open another chapter in our lives. We have a peace believing that we have achieved what we believe the Lord brought us to Fiji to do. For Paul and myself, it will be a 'going home' sense, but for the children who have lived 90% of their lives in Fiji, it will be a time of 'leaving home'. We would value your prayers, specifically for the adjustments etc that will need to be made. There is still plenty to do at camp, and with the days seeming to rush by in a blink of the eye, the time will be here before we know it! The children have strong ties to the staff here at camp since they were all born, so it will be a huge adjustment for them to leave them. But we are working through a lot of issues through their schooling about all that they 'expect' and all that they may not expect!! We are grateful the Lord has given us this preparation time.
The camp continues to serve the Local and overseas churches through providing a place where the family of God can meet together to be encouraged, taught, and spurred on to good works. Our desire to make the Christian camp and its accommodation a place of peace and rest for so many overworked church workers, or other ministry workers has been a real blessing this year. We have seen many take a break and head out to camp, both locally and overseas, to be refreshed and renewed.
It has also been a privilege to work beside many who have come from Overseas to help around the camp in practical ways, using their skills and talents to bless the camp and our family. We want to say thank you to all of those teams and other friends and workers who have taken time out from their busy lives, and made the sacrifice to come to Fiji and work diligently to see this campsite being used to its full potential for God. Thank you , thank you , thank you!!
Our young team of staff members are a great help to us around camp, and have really released us from some of the work we have been doing over the last few years. This has allowed Paul to continue to work to get B Block finished, and Jo to work in the office a little more with one of our staff members, teaching her to run the office etc.
Felicity Hughes has come from Village Ave church to help teach the children. This has been a HUGE blessings to me, as I have been able to spend the time in the office needed to teach Olly, as well as introduce a new computerised booking programme the camp has purchased.
The kids have also responded well to Felicity, having someone else to teach them instead of their mum!
Kids Klub is in recess at the moment.. we are having a months break, and are in full swing preparing for the last 13 weeks of our Kids Klub for 2009. We will be introducing a new programme, and felicity will be leading this, with the hope of our local staff taking up the responsibility of learning to lead and prepare, and run this programme along the way! There is a lot to teach in 13 weeks, but we have a great team here and are confident they will continue the ministry when we leave early next year.
So that is about it from us here at the camp! Paul con tines to be focused on the new building, and is hoping, with a bit of help, he can have the roof on by the end of September, and have the building finished by end October. This would be wonderful if we could achieve that. So would also value your prayers that all will go smoothly. We are so encouraged the way the Lord has provided financially for this building. It will eventually end up costing around $120,000.00. All of which the Lord has provided through the centre itself... we serve an awesome God!!
Thank you for all your Love care and support over these last few months. Your partnership in the work here at camp is our constant source of encouragement. It is wonderful to see the Heart of Jesus through his followers.
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