OH SO THANKFUL.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

This weekend I was able to spend special moments with the people that I really care about. It is such a joy to be surrounded by family again. 

I really missed sharing times of fellowship with these people.  <3

I am so thankful for my family! I am so blessed.  

xox

Moving forward from Thanksgiving I want to keep a attitude of gratitude.. Lord let me continue to be thankful in all circumstances.

"..always giving thanks and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." - Ephesians 5:20

Missing you EVYNN. <3

IM HOME

I made it home safe and sound! I can hardly believe that today was the start of my third week back in Canada. It feels like time is just going so fast. 

I landed in the Toronto airport on the 21st of September. When I exited the plane I was welcomed by a cold gust of Canadian wind. Quite the opposite of what I had experienced the past nine months in the islands. I was home.

It was a blessing to see my family at the airport. I was not prepared for the cold and was stupidly wearing sandals and no jacket. Fortunately my dad knows me so well and had brought me one of his sweaters. 

When I reached home there was a Pinterest inspired banner welcoming me home from my family.. Along with fun palm trees that Rob and Lynda Knight had rigged up to make the transition to the cold more bearable. 

Its nice to be home. 

Along with the decorations outside, I was so blessed by my new room. While I was gone my whole family did an extreme room makeover to my old room! 

It feels like its my own home inside my home. It a space for just me and I love it.

Even my Fijian Airlines pillow fit perfectly. 

Thank you Mom, Dad and Aaron! xx

coffee dates.

adventures.

walks. 

bike rides.

picnics.

Transitioning has had its ups and downs. I think that the strangest thing is .. my past nine months feel like a dream. Things are the same, yet different.. 

I have been so blessed by my church community. I have felt so loved and welcomed. Yes, transitioning is hard, for sure... but I have felt God carrying me through. I have good days and bad days. And if I am honest I think that I am better than I had feared. There is always a struggle to become complacent and to live in passivity. Our culture breads that. But I am asking God what he wants me to do now that I am back. I know that he has something for me here and I am excited to see how it all plays out. I never want to be stagnant in my walk with the Lord or in the things He has called me to do. 

He is good and I know that He has just used these past nine months to equip me for this next adventure in my home town! 

//

Thank you again to all who supported me and prayed for me while I was gone! You really have no idea how grateful I am!!

xx

A MIX OF EMOTIONS

 PHOTOGRAPHED BY CARLEY KAZAKAWICH

As I write I am full of competing emotions. I am struggling with how to express my heart. I have spent time reflecting on my time here in Fiji and I keep thinking to myself 'how are you feeling so many things at one time?' So as I try and verbalize these things trapped within, bear with me. I hope that I am able to present it with little confusion. 

My heart is so full of joy.

It feels as thought it could burst open! I have been so blessed during my time here. God has been so faithful. It is such a privilege to be serving along side these amazing girls. I have had the opportunity to see God work in each one of their lives and watch them grow in their relationship with the Lord! Its such a joy to see God transform a life, and to see it happen before my very eyes is so incredible. We have laughed, cried, worshiped, prayed, ate, slept, grown both individually and as a family. I am so thankful that God has brought these sisters into my life. I am so excited to see how God continues to use them! I know that each one of them is going to do amazing things.. It has been such a joy to walk alongside them. As a team we have fallen in love with this place. Sisters, joined in prayer for this nation and we have been blessed to see God move. 

Yet mixed with joy is sorrow.

In only 3 weeks I will have to say goodbye to these amazing women. I have grown with these ladies, and though I know we each have to continue our own stories, I am sad that we have to part.. Along with this goodbye, I am facing the reality of leaving Fiji. I have fallen in love with Fiji, and when I think about leaving.. I know that a piece of my heart is going to be left here. I am going to miss when people walk by and say Bula.. I am going to miss the way the Fijians raise their eyebrows to indicate their response is "yes." I will miss all the memories, the experiences, the culture, the people. I will cherish it forever, but its hard knowing this season is coming to a close. I have made relationships with people who have taught me so much. I have been blessed to get to know such amazing people. 
But Its always a challenge to say goodbye to those you love so dearly.. especially when you aren't certain when you will say hello again. 
When I think about that, I have an ache in my heart.  
The Lord has used this time to stretch me and refine me. He has been so faithful during this time and I could not have asked for anything to be different. He knew exactly what I needed and what I needed to overcome. It is so difficult knowing my time here is coming to a close. The Lord is preparing me for whats next.. But when I have experienced so much growth and have seen God working so tangibly there is a part within me that doesn't want to see it end.  I have been praying that the Lord gives me strength to cope with leaving Fiji. 
I know he will be with me through it all. 

I also have an excitement for whats to come. 

Firstly, I am so excited to see the people who I love so much and have not been able to see in 9 months! I have been so blessed to have so many people supporting me during this time and I cannot wait to be reunited with them. 
I know that during these last 9 months God has been teaching me things and opening my eyes to things that will impact my future. I know that he has a plan for me and its exciting to continue in this journey with him. I am so grateful for his patience with me. I look back to last year at this time and I am astounded at how much God has changed me. I remember feeling like I had no direction, no plans for my future, no vision.. I felt very uncertain of what God wanted from me or even what I wanted for myself. God has used this time to restore joy to me, to give me vision for the future, a direction, a focus! 
The Lord has done so much in my life and I am so excited to come back and share! What a privilege it is to be a part of Gods work. I feel as though during this time God has awakened a passion inside of me and I want others to know. I am excited to come home and see the people who have made it possible for me to do this. I want to express what God has done and let them see the changes God has done in my life. I want to bring the great commission home! I am so excited to see my family and friends. I am excited at what God is doing at home and I am just praying for a greater heart for the people of Barrie, Ontario. 

With the excitement also comes a fear of coming home. 

I fear becoming the same as I was. I never want to be back in a place of just doing "Christianity".. I never want to just get caught up in programs and going to church and living life. I want to be passionate, I want to be a constant worshiper, devoted to prayer and intercession, I want to seek after true relationship with God - I want to continue to live out the things I have been taught in the past year! I have a fear that when I come home I will find it easy to just live.. to grow complacent in my walk with The Lord, to fall into old habits and lifestyles.  As I have thought about coming home, this is something that has burdened my heart for the past few weeks. I know that fear is from the enemy and so I have been praying for God to help me. I know that he is preparing me for going home and I know he is going with me. I believe God has brought me through these past 9 months for a reason and he will help me through to the next season.

Learning to Trust.
I know that my walk with the Lord is a continual growing process. And so as I look forward I know that I need to Trust. God is bigger than my fears God is bigger than my struggles. I know that he has prepared me for this and I need to Trust him. I am so thankful that he goes before me and with me. As I think about this season of life coming to a close and just the feelings that go with it.. I am so thankful for the Lord. He is carrying me through. I honestly don't know how I could live with out him! I am so amazed by his patience with me. My journey is and will continue to be a choice to surrender daily and trust God with my future. I know that when he is the center, my fears vanish. He has it all figured out.. for that I am so grateful!  



"When I am with you, I know who I am and who I want to be"





thank you for reading.
Alyssa Joline.

BULA FROM FIJI

BULA FROM FIJI.

It’s been a while since I properly updated and I am sorry that it has taken this long. There is a limited amount of internet access. But I’ll start from the beginning..

On the first of July our team arrived to Fiji!  Any expectations that I had about Fiji – white sandy beaches and people in grass skirts was altered as soon as I landed here. Commercials about Fiji did not prepare me for the true Fijian experience. I know that there are places in Fiji that would fit that mold but the majority isn’t quite like that. I went through a time where I had to adjust my expectations. But now I can honestly say that each day I wake up, I love this place and these people a little more than I did the day before. To write to describe this place is a challenge because words cannot express it.

The population in Fiji is 30% Indian and the other 70% is Fijian. They live as next door neighbors but yet they stay true to their own cultures. 

Our first three weeks of outreach was spent in Latoka, Fiji. We stayed at what we called the yellow house. It was the Marine Reach DTS house for Ywam teams. We had the privilege of sharing it with another DTS team from Kona, Hawaii - the Ships DTS. All together we were 12 and would share dinner and breakfast times. 5 DTS teams came from Hawaii to Lautoka Fiji and so our house became the ywam drop in house where people would come and hang out, worship, pray, dance and cook. I loved having a full house of people always. 

During this time we were able to be a part of The School of the Circuit Riders! The school of the Circuit Riders is a week long training program that teaches people of all ages to share the gospel. This is there vision...

Our desire is that each student will carry out the simple tenets of Jesus ministry: Preach the gospel, teach biblical truth, pray for the sick, move in the supernatural, and call others to join us unto the fulfillment of the great commission. We desire to live from a foundation of worship and intercession to simply adore our great God, to receive His heart and strategies for nations and to commission those ready to respond to the call.

It was our privilege not only to be a part of the training but also to document this adventure and what God was doing in Fiji. We were able to record and photograph during this week which was such a blessing to give back to the community and also the Circuit Riders Team. In this week we saw healings and over 200 Fijians and Indians give their lives to the Lord!!  Both Fijians and Indians were doing street evangelism in their own city longing to see people come to know God! So amazing. 

One of my students, Kaylee, really wanted to see healings and was struggling with having faith to pray for that. I prayed with her and really encouraged her to ask God for more faith. That evening Kaylee, myself and mon (my co- leader) were able to pray for a lady who had a stroke 8 years ago and lost most of her eye sight in her right eye. That night the Lord healed her completely and she was able to see again out of her right eye! It was a huge encouragement to all of us..

"Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." - John 14:12

I think that its our lack of faith that keeps us from seeing God work in incredible ways. Fear of man, fear of failure, fear of making a mistake. God says that we can do what Jesus did and more because we have the Holy Spirit. How amazing. And not because He needs us but He allows us to be a part of His purpose. It is so incredible to be a part of what he is doing here on earth. That He, the God of all creation - Lord of all, invites us to partner with Him! Our job is to be obedient. He is so AMAZING!

After Our time in Lautoka we traveled over to Ovalau on July 19th. This is a small Island just off of the Main island. We traveled in a bus from Lautoka to Suva (the Capital of Fiji on the Main island), took a ferry over to Ovalau and then another bus ride to Levuka where we were staying. When we reached Levuka, Ovalau there was something different. We were feeling dis-unified and frustrated with one another.. people were getting sick and short tempered. At 3 in the morning most of us would wake up and feel the need to pray. The spiritual atmosphere was very heavy and we were being attacked from the enemy. It wasn't until 2 or 3 days later till we found out what was going on. Levuka was the old capital of Fiji, it is also the center of the Fijian Islands, the last island to stop cannibalism and the place where the occult started and spread to all the other islands. We were staying 4 doors down from an old Occult building where human sacrifices were made and other unspeakable things. It was said that there were underground tunnels for the members to travel to special places within the city so they could cast spells and curses on certain places. Once we understood the spiritual atmosphere and what we were up against we were able to pray more directly. 

Our purpose for coming to Ovalau was to do a promotional video for a new ministry that was being started. It is a ministry that is pairing rugby and the gospel together to change the community. Rugby is HUGE in Fiji and so something like this will make a really big impact within the islands. It was a really cool thing to be a part of. Also another awesome thing we were able to partner with was the opening of the prayer house which is located in the center of Fiji. The idea is to have people stay there for a day, a week, a year - whatever they need. It is a place to seek the Lord. These projects are both in the beginning stages but I believe that they will be crucial in transforming Fiji in the future. 

Another awesome thing we were able to be a part of while we were in Ovalau was a baptism! Two of the prisoners from the local prison wanted to get baptized so one day after church our team, and the pastor we had been staying with, went up to the prison, walked down to the ocean with the two prisoners. My co-leader Mon also wanted to get baptized. I had the amazing privilege with Pastor Semi to baptize my good friend Mon! It was so special! Something that I will cherish forever. It was amazing to hear that God had changed hearts and that these three people wanted to die to themselves and live a life for Christ and Christ alone! Only God can change lives! After each one got baptized we stood in the water together, joined hands and prayed together and finished off by singing amazing grace! I will never forget this moment! 

Our plan was to stay from July 19th till August 5th but during one of our team times we spent some time in prayer asking that God would really lead and guide us. We felt as though there was something more that we had to do in this place. The spiritual atmosphere had not lifted since we had been there and even during the few weeks we were in Levuka there were obvious struggles and attacks from the enemy. We needed to do something radical. We felt as though the Lord was leading us to do a prayer walk around the Whole island. This was confirmed by two members of leadership. They had said that they had been thinking about how cool that would be. So we extended our stay until the 10th of August. 

On the 6th, a Tuesday, we went up to the prayer house and prepared our hearts and ourselves spiritually for the journey ahead. It was an amazing time of  worship, prayer and seeking Gods heart as to what He wanted from us during the walk. The next morning we woke up and started walking at 3:30 am. We had a team of  rugby boys come alongside us to help carry bags, pray, and climb trees to get us coconuts. They were also super helpful at pushing us up hills and encouraging us to press on. Truly a blessing. We walked and prayed, worshiped, praised, prayed, climbed mountains, rested, ate coconuts, climbed, worshiped, walked, ran, prayed, worshiped, climbed, walked, rested, prayed. praised. As we reached another hill the boys would say `` just one more hill...``  haha it worked to encourage us at the beginning but when we reached mountain number 14 we were really struggling. The walk was hard and long and we could feel that we were in a battle. There were sweat, tears, pain.. but in our weakness He is strong. And I can honestly say that during the walk God was there He was walking with us one step at a time. After the 12th hour of walking we were ready to give up. We could hardly walk anymore and the enemy was really attacking us physically, emotionally and mentally. The verse `...My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness...` was our driving force. There was no way we would have made it without the help of the Lord. It was painful and a huge challenge but The Lord was faithful to carry us through. As we entered into the town of Levuka (where we had begun) it was 7:20pm.. coming close to the 16 hour mark. Hand in hand we entered into the last part of our walk and when we did it felt as though we entered in hand to hand combat with the enemy himself. As we walked down the street unified both physically and spiritually we prayed out and sang out praises.. I am certain we looked foolish but none of us cared because we knew that we were not fighting against flesh and blood but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world. Even at the end Satan was trying to take down our team but with the Lords help we were able to persevere. The end came when we reached the occult building and walked in through the gate and yelled into the building that Christ had won and He alone is the ruler over this land and these people. Christ is all authority, He alone is King, He is victorious and will continue to work in Ovalau. It is amazing looking back at this time and see Gods hand at work. It is incredible to remember that God doesn't need our help but yet He still asks us to partner with Him.. to join in His mission. How Great is our God. That He would ask 6 white girls to walk around the island and pray for His people - be obedient and He will do the rest. Amazing. 

It was so hard to leave Ovalau and the amazing Fijian family we made but I know that God has new adventures and plans for us during these next 5 weeks. I am so grateful for the work God is doing here and also within our Team. I couldn't imagine doing this with anyone else. God knew when He chose this team who would be the best and I am so thankful for his choice. These girls are amazing and I am so blessed by each one of them. I am constantly learning from them and alongside them. God is using them to shape me and I am so thankful and grateful. 

I am sorry if what I wrote is a little disjointed.. or slightly confusing. I am not one to write down events or circumstances effectively. I have a hard time explaining things without using facial expressions and strange noises. 

I am so blessed to be a part of this experience and I know that I could not be here if it was not for the Lord but also the support of my friends and family so thank you so much for everything! I feel each and every one of your prayers. 

Love all the way from Fiji 

Ele Alyssa Joline