MISSION Community Church

(click "Listen" above to hear the Fiji girls sing)

Yandra. (Good morning).

It is Saturday morning for us here at 7am, though for you all it is still Friday and about noon. Our week is coming to a close. The campus is closed today and we awake to quiet sounds and a light cloud covering. We pray for rain here because water is running very short and Homes of Hope is having to buy water for now.

I have had the opportunity to truly connect with so many here. Mark and Lynnie R_____ are the founders of Homes of Hope. The amount that they have had to endure to stay in Fiji and continue this ministry is an amazing story. I have chatted with both of them as often as I could to try and taste the vision here, to let it get into my blood. The thing that has me the most fired up is Mark's pursuit of the young men here. He spends a lot of his time trying to teach men to be humble, to love their wives and their kids, to treat women not as objects but as unique and beautiful souls. it is difficult for him as their is a huge barrier even language wise when it comes to teaching biblical principles. He said he cannot teach "God gives grace to the humble" easily because the Fijians have no word for humble, and cannot understand the concept. I asked him what the cultural equivalent would be to foot washing here in Fiji and he said the biggest thing is if a man chooses to eat after his wife and kids. Here, it is common practice for the men to eat first and the women and children to eat last. I said tell them "God gives grace to those who eat after the women and children". And then I said, I have to tell young men in America, "God gives grace to those who shop for the food, make dinner, clean up the kitchen, bathe the kids, and put them to bed so mom can put her feet up and read a book" =].

There is a fight on the soil here. There is of course one everywhere, but in America, we don't think we are at war. Here, everyone knows they are at war. A few of the babies here will cry in their sleep, I'm talking full out hard crying with tears but they are still asleep. I witnessed it last night and a woman told me it was a spiritual conflict. Fear, abandonment, detachment, and a number of other things added to that, breaks my heart. The good news is, Jesus is winning and has won already. We've won! Let's fight! Homes of Hope is trying to change the entire pacific Island culture, and they are doing so by pursuing not only these girls, but the young men. That right there is gas on the fire that God has put in my heart.

Our team is doing well. Lily has cut, straightened, styled, given pedicures, manicures, and who knows what else to nearly every single woman here. Yesterday I was sitting talking to Renee' on Skype when one of the girls came walking by with her new straightened hair, dancing and skipping with the biggest smile on her face. LOVE it. Lily has rocked the house here.

Kelly has stepped in and helped with organizational and structural business management, all the way from branding, to logos, to marketing strategy. Her gifts have been used tremendously here, and will no doubt have a huge impact for years to come.

I could tell you a million more stories, tiny moments witnessed as I would look around and see one of our people sitting and talking to one of the girls while we held their child in our arms to give a break. Intimate, real, brother and sister connections taking place. It is precious and beautiful, and makes me wonder what would happen if Mission connected to each other in this way. Why do I find it easy to love my neighbor and give an extremely large amount of grace when they are born in Fiji and have experienced exploitation and oppression, and yet I find it extremely difficult to love my neighbor in Phoenix when they are born in America and have experienced exploitation and oppression in just different ways? Because I am a messed up sinner and praise Jesus for dying for it, and letting it surface in me this week so we can have that conversation and deal with it together.

We miss and love you Mission, our families, our babies, our wives. See you soon!

PS, here is a small glimpse (scroll to the top and click "Listen") of what we have gotten to experience here. 3 hours of recording yesterday, with tears in my eyes most of the way through it.

Greetings from Fiji.

Time is quickly ticking away for us as we enter the final stretch of our time here. The more days spent, the more conversations had, the longer we are with the people at Homes of Hope, the more different this trip becomes than any other missions trip I have ever been on. We have all been invited into something very intimate, very vulnerable, and very precious. This place has a unique voice among many. To hear the stories of the girls, to see the Lord's redeeming power first hand, is so humbling and it is certainly life-changing. We really feel privileged and honored to be here.

We spent last night together with all of the people from Homes of Hope in their weekly gathering for what is called "cell". We spent an extended time of worship together. I would lead some songs, then the girls would lead, then we would share some of our testimonies with them. It is so good for them to hear that we are just as messed up and broken in America as they are here.

It is amazing how wealth and affluence can mask the brokenness of so many in our country. It grieves my heart so much. I feel like the only thing worse than complete brokenness is hidden complete brokenness. It was so beautiful to hear from one of the girls last night as she shared how God has used this place to bring love and healing and to create an environment where people are safe to be who they truly are at their core, without the fear of shame. That truly is what the Kingdom of heaven looks like and challenges me to think about whether I create environments like that for the people around me. Am I a safe place for people to just be?

The girls took Mark and Lily Alexander out for dinner tonight. Mark has spent the last month and a half here. I keep telling him he is officially Fijian. He said it was an amazing experience as each of the girls went around and shared what they appreciate most about him, what a blessing to him. Mark has sacrificed and given so much for this place, and after being here, I can see why.

We are all tired, missing home and missing American fast food =]. But our hearts are full, and we are having the time of our lives. We were able to record some of the girls singing and look forward to sharing it with you all. We have played lots of "Mafia", laughed a lot, and have all had to stare some things in the face that are true about ourselves that are a little ugly. God has challenged all of us in many ways. For me, I realize how much value I place on what I do, what my gifts are, what I can accomplish, and what I think I have to offer people. I tend to believe that if I didn't have something to offer people, then I would not be loved or accepted. I am reminded to slow down, focus on the Lord, gain all of my worth and significance from Him, and then give what He has given away for the good of someone else, not for my own benefit.

When I wrote Micah 6:8 I remember struggling a bit with how simple it is, and that it is all white keys on the piano. I remember thinking "this song is not musically brilliant" and that I may not use it for anything. It is the song I have been using to teach piano to the music teacher here all week because it is so simple and easy to play and she loves it so much. To see her face light up when she started playing it while I sang along was such an amazing moment. It is so not about me and my need to be the coolest best musician ever. Thank you God for simple songs that translate to all cultures.

Miss you all and love you deeply,

CJ

Bula!

We are moving along wonderfully here at Homes of Hope and already beginning to see how fast our time is going and what a blink 10 days really is here. This place has a way of sinking deep into your skin in a way that makes you somehow feel like you have always known these people, always done this work, always been in this space. If you have not signed up for a Fiji trip, now is the time.

Mark Alexander has pretty much built an entire guest house on his own. Nathan is helping him build some much needed stairs. Our girls are gardening and spending time with kids. I am teaching piano lessons and guitar lessons for most of my days (but yes I did some sawing yesterday as well so don't judge me =]). Bryan Crawford is like the energizer bunny, running around accomplishing who knows what tasks. Kelly is working on branding a business for Homes of hope to sell jewelry and bread, Lily is doing hair and pedicures. Also today Lily taught some kids a beat and had them clap and stomp their feet while she rapped the words of one of their books to them, she is a one of a kind =].

We all stayed up late last night playing "Liars Dice" (Thanks Mark and Kay), laughed a ton, and continued to unite our hearts. We spent great time in devotionals this morning talking about the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 and what it means to truly love our neighbor.

God is teaching us all so much, stretching, pressing in, and providing an abundance of grace to help us get more of Himself as we seek to do justice in His name. Thank you for your prayers. Pray for humility, for good attitudes, for energy, as our week moves on and it becomes easier and easier to be selfish and to have division. Please pray against the enemies' attacks and pray that the Lord would be exalted in all that we do. Love you all and miss you!

C.J., Kelly, Bryan, Taylor, Nathan, Rebecca, Lily, Mark