Update!

Hello church! We’re sorry the internet has been down for almost 2 days now. We’re having our bloggers write in word document so we can copy and paste when we get a signal. Its Friday morning here and we’re all ready to hammer out as much as we can on our last day, and the girls and I (Anna) are going to have a response time for the girls this afternoon in our last teaching time. We are all having an incredible week, and its flying by. I can’t believe its almost over. Anyways here is our morning devotional update for today and yesterday and then some blogging from Rob Dolson and Mark.

Thursday devo: Isaiah 61:1-2; Luke 4:14-21
1) What does this tell you about the mission of Jesus in the world?
2) How do you think Jesus’ mission relates to victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking?
3) How might you or your church be used by God to release some of these girls out of darkness
Friday devo: Matthew 25:31-46
1) What stands out to you about God’s assessment of our lives in the end?
2) If you were to be assessed right now, which category would you fall in?
3) How might you live differently when you get home to prepare for meeting the Lord?

Hello from Fiji,
Yesterday we had a fun day visiting the village. The chief was bragging that they had the best rugby team around. One of the men told us we were in the village of the Fijian Rugby coach. There were a lot of young men in the village, many more men then woman. I learned that a village is made up of about a dozen clans. A clan is made up of two or three families. The village we visited had about 600 members while 200 were not residents of the village like Nada who lives on the Homes of Hope campus. We ate what is considered a feast with the locally grown Taro plant as the main course. The men were all in very good shape as vegetables made up the majority of their diet. They all seemed excited by our presence and two boys chased us riding a horse bareback as we left. As we returned to campus we ate dinner with the girls and children. The children love getting thrown around by the men. They just say again, again! The girls at homes of hope have truly been an inspiration to us as we have lived with them this past week! To realize the tremendous hardship some of them had experienced and now see them so full of life and faith is a great testimony to God’s great love for his creation.
Rob

Greetings from Fiji,
This is the first (and only) opportunity I have had to contact home since arriving in Fiji last week, so before I write anything else, I need to say hello to my thee children, my girlfriend Bev and to all my family and friends back in America. I miss all of you, and I look forward to catching up upon returning in a few days. What an amazing experience this has been for all of us! From the time we reached the island, we have been busy working on the schoolhouse here at “Homes of Hope”. However, at the end of every day, we take time to share dinner and stories with the women and children. They are full of the Holy Spirit, and their strength and faith in Him inspires me! It is very moving to hear the girls sing songs of worship throughout the day, and I find myself captivated by the smiles of their children. Yesterday, we took a day off and traveled to a remote village where we witnessed firsthand how Fijians truly live off their land. Personally, I connected with “Judas”, who was kind enough to welcome us to share a waterfall located on his property. Like him, there are so many others that I will remember and pray for, including Nada, Salote, Jawopy, and especially “Mare”, one small little girl that has captured my heart. She seeks me out every day, and I can’t help but feel the love she displays through her words and expressions…talk about learning something from a child! Well, I better get my old butt up to the school before the guys give me more grief than they already do. They may have more experience in construction, but they are no match for my spirit!!! God Bless you all, and please pray for our safe return. Mark Mann

PRAYER REQUEST!
We finally have a concrete pump truck to get the cement up the hill to get the 2 slabs poured today. The problem is, its starting to rain and the clouds are dark and thick and don’t look too promising. We leave tomorrow so today is pretty much the last chance to get it done, plus its been a struggle to get the truck here. So please pray for the weather and the productivity for today. We love you guys!