After twenty-four hours of exhausting travel via planes, buses, and a boat, we arrived in Labasa on Vanua Levu in Norther Fiji, where Fiji Navigators couple Gabby and Anna warmly greeted us. As I got to know them over the following days, I was struck by their level of commitment to God’s great commission. Gabby ministers in the local prison, and Anna ministers to the young girls at her church, where she does outreach to youth in the community. We had the opportunity to build relationships with some of the youth at the church, teach discipleship tools to church members, evangelize in the middle of town, and provide Gabby and Anna with contacts to follow up with.
All of us on the team met people and had experiences that deeply impacted us. For me, it was living with and observing Anna during our stay. She was a self-sacrificial host, a patient mother, and a zealous minister of the gospel. Her measure of joy and generosity was wonderful to witness. Being with Anna reminded me of when Jesus says, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me.” (John 4:34).
This trip showed me how I am often hesitant to give my whole self to God for the sake of his work. I feel selfish with my resources, my money, my time, and my energy, and I wonder, “Don’t I already give you enough, God? Would you really ask me to give more? I don’t feel like I have much left.” But then I remember that Christ gave his whole self for us, and he did it willingly, joyfully, and humbly.
Please pray that the team will take time to ask God how he wants us to respond to what we’ve experienced and learned from our Fijian trip. I’m not sure what God might be asking of me yet, but watching how Anna lives for Christ encouraged and challenged me to trust and follow him.
– Abbey Johnson