We leave for Fiji this week, and the nerves and excitement are building.

There’s so much I hope to both give and get out of this trip, and I’m praying that it will surpass my expectations. We will be doing, seeing and feeling so much in the short time we are over there, and I’m thankful that God’s doing most of the work, not us, because there’s so much work to be done and I hardly feel equipped to do it!

It still feels surreal that in less than a week I will be in Fiji; I don’t know what to expect, and I have no idea how I will react to the experiences we will have.

There are a number of things that are making me nervous about the trip; a lot of them are just the small details of living in another culture like the strange food, lack of home comforts and hot water, homesickness and exhaustion. Spiritually, I’m nervous about what God will challenge me with, and at the same time equally nervous that he may not challenge me with anything. All year there has been so much hype leading up to the trip that I hope our expectations are met and that I come back to Australia a bit more refined than before.

As the trip is getting closer, my nerves are growing but so is my excitement. I’m excited to see with my own eyes that God is God all over the world, not just in Australia. I’m excited to be challenged when I witness poverty for the first time, and to be able to contribute to the lives of the people we cross paths with. I’m excited to take a month away from consumerism and busyness, away from the things that distract us daily from what is most important. I think I am most looking forward to the Local Church Missions. 

I will be going to Dreketi and staying with that village for ten days. I’m looking forward to spending that time getting to know the locals, and helping them understand more about the God they know. Dreketi is the only LCM not on the main island, so I’m looking forward to being in a part of Fiji that is less populated and with poorer infrastructure than some of the places we visit on the main island.

My biggest hope for the coming month is that we will be able to see God working. Often we have spiritual dry patches in life, where we don’t see God’s work staring us in the face every day. But my hope for Fiji is that in everything we do, we will be seeing prayers answered, God working, the gospel spreading and God providing us with the strength we need. I also hope that as we preach the gospel to others, it will be impacting our own lives and we will be hit by grace all over again.

Ainslie

Isaiah 52:7- “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!”