Friday, April 25, 2008

Land-Ho! Finally after almost six days at sea we arrived into Suva, Fiji. We had some of the roughest seas I"ve personally experienced on board the Pacific Link. Many were sea sick, however, I (Mike) was not one of them. I took some anti-nausea tablets for a few days, but stopped them after I felt I had my sea legs. Jeannie and Josiah were not as fortunate. We did have 24 hours of nicer weather and calmer seas, so we had a time of worship and prayer on the bow. We had enough sun that Ase got a sun burn. Here's a video of our approach into Suva. Very nice to be on land. We cleared customs without too much hassle and were able to get into town to scout out the stores, internet cafe's and other provisioning places. We only have three days here before sailing out to Lakeba in the Lau group of islands here in Fiji. A lot to do in three days including getting people to the ship from airports and bus stations. WE have a full contingent of dentists, doctors, optometry, nurses, DTS students and construction personnel. We have puppet shows prepared and are ready to do medical, construction, discipleship and evangelism. We covet your prayers while we are away. Thanks everyone. Would love to hear from you. Write comments, emails etc. Blog to you soon. Mike
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Saturday, April 19, 2008

Sailing Away

Ahoy! It's Havalah now (third Mears Daughter). I will updating for my parents while they are away.

I just wanted to leave a quick note saying that Mike, Jeannie, and Josiah are now on their way to Fiji! They sailed out yesterday for the five day trip across the ocean to Suva. Please be lifting them up in prayer during this time, especially the next few days. They will be out of contact with everyone until they reach Fiji.

Thanks for reading!

Havalah

Saturday, April 12, 2008

News from Auckland, New Zealand










Greetings from Auckland, New Zealand.

The ship (M/V Pacific Link) sailed from our home port of Tauranga to Auckland, via Great Barrier Island. There is a Christian camp on Great Barrier Island called Orama.
Orama and YWAM have a long history and an ongoing close working relationship.

We anchored in Karaka Bay, enjoying the peace and quiet. We




were all able to enjoy swimming off the ship, kayaking, hiking as well as basketball in their gym. There were dolphins in the bay that came to play alongside our kayakers. This was such a nice time of rest after the previous four weeks of stocking the ship, crew training, ship maintenance and generally prepping for outreach.

Here in Auckland we continue with our preparations, visiting churches and fixing a problem on our variable pitch propeller that developed as we were sailing into Auckland. The unit may need to be replaced…hmmm…
The Discipleship Training School (DTS) students are finishing their final week of lectures with training in evangelism and sharing their faith.

On Friday, 22 students and staff leave the ship preparing for outreach in Thailand and Cambodia. The remaining students and staff stay with the ship for our initial seven weeks of outreach in Fiji and Rotuma.

We depart Auckland on 19 April, arriving into Suva, Fiji on the 25th. We have a few days in Suva to clean the ship, restock food stuffs, gather up the arriving medical personnel and other outreach team members at the airport, getting them settled into their bunks and prepping for departure for Lakeba, Fiji in the Lau Group of Islands. It will be a whirlwind few days of activity, yet exciting as we prepare to take the good news of Jesus to this remote island.

This first outreach to Lakeba will involve Doctors and nurses with our primary medical team; two dentists, dental nurses and assistants; two Ophthalmologists, who will be performing cataract surgeries as well as other eye related issues. We have an Optometrist and team coming as well that will be setting up in villages assessing and screening people for their eye glasses needs. We have over 4000 pair of eye glasses onboard to be donated this year. Often we can get close to the necessary prescription.

In addition we have construction workers who will be doing various repairs to schools, medical clinics, churches and other projects as we discover them. Our engineers spend a few days in the villages welding tools for the locals. It is always amazing to see the tools which come out of sheds that have been broken for years. A few minutes of welding and they are functional once again.

Every patient receives prayer before and after, and lots of opportunities to share the good news of Jesus Christ become available as we befriend people.

Several days each week Jeannie and I, as well as others onboard, will be having meetings with local pastors to encourage them and help to equip them for ongoing ministry and evangelism. Many of the pastors have had limited training and are hungry for teaching and materials to assist them in leading and discipling their flocks. We have a small library of books and training materials onboard to distribute to them which will aid them in their work.

We covet your prayers as we embark on this five month season of outreach into Fiji and Western Samoa.

Our goal is to impact 10,000 lives in these remote island nations.

We will be updating this web-blog regularly this season, so check back often for updates and photos.

Blessings in Christ Jesus,

Mike & Jeannie Mears