January 2014 Newsletter from Mike & Jeannie Mears

Marine Reach - YWAM Who We Are...What We Do...Papua New Guinea Update

Newest Grand Daughter

GOOD NEWS!

Most of you would know our oldest daughter Susan (Susie).
Susie, Matt, Oceana, Joshua and Naomi have welcomed a new sister into the world. Mom and baby are doing great. Susie said this was the most difficult delivery she has had, but is recovering well.

Cora Rose
Born April 9th 4.52pm
21 inches long......9lbs (8lbs 15ounces)

March 2012 Newsletter

January 2012 Update:

Mike is working on a newsletter which will be out soon. Enjoying summer here in New Zealand. Mike is heading to Fiji for ministry trip on Sunday 22 Jan. - 4th Feb. Please keep him in prayer as he ministers there. :D

October 2011 Newsletter

Tribute to my father, Robert W. Mears 1933-2002

At home this morning I caught a glimpse of a photo on my dresser. It's a photo Jeannie took of my Mother and Father, me and our four children standing in the front yard of our home in New Zealand. The photo is always there but this morning it caught my eye and I began to think about Dad.

It was April or May 2002 that my dad, my mom and my brother John, flew to Phoenix, Arizona so Dad could undergo a risky surgery to remove a brain tumor. We all knew it was risky, but worth the effort. The Surgeon was one of the best in the world I'm told.
I had been to the states to visit with dad and my family, knowing that the situation was serious and....well....to say goodbye in the event that our hopes of a full recovery were not realized.
I spoke with Dad on the phone the night before the surgery. We talked about life, memories...our hope in Jesus Christ, family, his grandkids...it was a fantastic conversation. I wish I had thought to tape the audio.
It was not my last conversation with him as he did survive the intense surgery, however, following the surgery he could not put succinct thoughts together. The final words I heard my father speak went like this, "Michael, I need.......contemporary." He would grunt and try again but always ended up saying the same thing. He recognized my voice on the phone and responded to mom and John in the hospital, but the internal wiring in the brain was damaged and although our hope was that things would improve they really did not.
Dad returned to his home in New Hampshire. He died on 24th June 2002 from Congestive heart failure...a complication from the brain surgery.
Jeannie, myself and the kids all flew home to New Hampshire from New Zealand for the funeral.
i spoke at the funeral along with a number of others, including the wife of a United States Congressman who dad had gotten to know over the years. As well the funeral was attended by business people, lawyers, carpenters, insurance salesmen, janitors, teachers, medical people, and even unemployed people whose lives Dad and mom had touched in their nearly 40 years of ministry.
Dad never cared about titles...or money...or who had both...or who had none. He cared about people. He was perhaps the kindest person I have ever known.
I'm fighting back tears as I write this...unsuccessfully I might add.
At the funeral I wanted to sing the following song as a tribute to my dad but I knew I would never get through it. I may have quoted the chorus in my eulogy, but I really do not remember. Below are the words to "Leader of the Band" by Dan Fogelberg
I'll end this post with Dan's tribute to his father. The chorus of the song expresses my personal reflections and my thoughts toward my father, Robert W. Mears. He was 'The Leader of the Band.'

Leader Of The Band by Dan Fogelberg



An only child alone and wild A cabinet maker's son
His hands were meant for different work And his heart was known to none
He left his home and went his lone And solitary way
And he gave to me A gift I know I never can repay

A quiet man of music Denied a simpler fate
He tried to be a soldier once But his music wouldn't wait
He earned his love through discipline A thundering, velvet hand
His gentle means of sculpting souls Took me years to understand

The leader of the band is tired And his eyes are growing old
But his blood runs through my instrument And his song is in my soul
My life has been a poor attempt To imitate the man
I'm just a living legacy To the leader of the band

My brothers' lives were different For they heard another call
One went to Chicago And the other to St. Paul
And I'm in Colorado When I'm not in some hotel
Living out this life I've chose And grown to know so well

I thank you for the music And your stories of the road
I thank you for the freedom When it came my time to go
I thank you for the kindness And the times when you got tough
And, papa, I don't think I said, "I love you" near enough

The leader of the band is tired And his eyes are growing old
But his blood runs through my instrument And his song is in my soul
My life has been a poor attempt To imitate the man
I'm just a living legacy To the leader of the band
I am the living legacy To the leader of the band

Doing my best to imitate the man... Thanks for the heritage Dad. Love you...miss you.

G’day. We are finally back in New Zealand after a very long year onboard the M/V Pacific Link.
We began the year in NZ getting the ship ready for a sixteen port public relations (PR) tour of Australia. We spent almost six months travelling from Adelaide to Hobart and along the eastern seaboard of Australia, ending up on Thursday Island, located at the tip of the Cape York Peninsula, just south of Papua New Guinea and Irian Jaya.
Leaving Thursday Island we sailed to Papua New Guinea where we spent nearly three months on outreaches to villages along the river system of the Gulf province.

The peoples of “Gulf province” are not long out of the stone-age. They are a friendly people now, but not so one hundred years ago when missionaries were killed…and eaten.
Thankfully those days are past. We are in awe of the missionaries of the past who had such a heart for the lost that they left all the comforts of home and sailed to remote lands to reach the unreached.
Today the effects of their message are evident throughout the country of PNG, as most villages have at least one church.

The welfare of the pastor is the church’s responsibility. Each week one of the ‘clans’ within the church takes the responsibility of providing one weeks worth of food for the pastor and his family. After church on Sunday the clan will gather provisions and bring them to the pastor’s home Fruit, vegetables, sago (processed starch from the Sago Palm Tree that is a staple in their diet)… Grubs, fish, crabs and even shrimp which are plentiful in the rivers.
Corruption in PNG’s government is a huge problem. Allocated funding for government projects often disappear into the pockets of elected politicians. Meanwhile the people live solely on what they can hunt and gather. All around them are signs of money from multi-national oil companies, gold and copper mines and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)…but so little actually reaches the people of PNG…but rather goes off shore to investors and ex-Patriot workers.

Jeannie visited schools everywhere we went and found that most schools have one teacher and a hundred students. Many schools have closed down for lack of teachers…or supplies. Teachers rarely receive their government pay-checks, and if they did there is only one bank where the check could be cashed. The bank may be many hours away by boat…and it will cost nearly one-half of their actual pay to hire a boat to take them to pick up their pay. Many paychecks ‘disappear’ and are cashed by thieves. It is an amazing country, very dark in places and yet the good news of Jesus Christ is advancing throughout the country. In one village where we visited 127 young people gave their heart to the Lord and are now being discipled by the local church.

The outreach to PNG was run in conjunction with Youth With A Mission Australia. YWAM Australia has wanted to launch a ship for many years now. We came alongside them and helped them ‘get their feet wet’ with the ship and now have left the ship with them to operate in the years to come. They will focus their outreaches on PNG for the next 5-7 years…and likely longer.

Marine Reach – YWAM is in a time of expansion around the world, and for Jeannie and me, it has been exciting to be part of launching a ship ministry in Australia.

We are presently looking for a new ship (like this one) that will be based here in New Zealand but will continue to focus outreaches into the remote South Pacific island nations. Our goal is to purchase a used vessel, sail it back to Tauranga, New Zealand by mid 2011. We will spend the remainder of the year fitting out the new vessel to be a medical ship. We would like to have two operating theaters onboard the ship; one for dental and an Ophthalmology surgery.

2011 will be a year of mostly land based outreaches throughout Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu, as well as one outreach onboard the M/V Pacific Link in Papua New Guinea. Our aim is to have the new ship ready for outreaches in April 2012.

Jeannie has just finished an intensive TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages) course. The qualification she received is recognized world-wide. This is both a ministry tool and a means of working as a teacher, which is where her heart is.

Mike has recently been named as the New Zealand national director of Marine Reach-YWAM. He will be overseeing the New Zealand office and base and working in conjunction with our Asia-Pacific director, Jesse Misa, to see the new ship launched.

When Moses met with God at the burning bush, (Exodus 3) God said that he had (v.7) heard the cry of his people Israel in Egypt, and that he was concerned for their welfare and had come to rescue them and bring them to the promised land. A few verses later (v.10) God says I have come to rescue them, so GO,. I am sending you to Pharaoh.
This is the heart of missions. God is concerned at the plight of the peoples who live in darkness and bondage, and has come to rescue them and bring them to the promised land, a place of salvation...and relationship with God himself.
God has come to do the rescuing…but he sends his servants to the foreign nations…BUT (v.12) God promises, “…I will be with you.”
For Jeannie and me…and our family… the call of God to the nations is a call to the South Pacific Island Nations…and New Zealand. Our calling to go has been made possible through faithful supporters who have prayed for us, encouraged us and helped to send us by giving sacrificially to help reach the peoples of the S. Pacific. These stories of lives changed are as much yours as they are ours.

Thank you so much for standing with us nearly eleven years.

YWAM – Marine Reach, are running schools here in NZ and Fiji to train people of any age to a lifestyle of mission. We have Discipleship Training Schools (DTS) for 18-35 year olds…and Crossroads DTS for over 35…and even run multi-generational DTS where all ages are combined. DTS is 5-6 months long. If you or someone you know is looking at how to get involved in missions have them check out our website and facebook page.
Here are the links:
http://www.marinereachministries.com
http://www.mrmdts.org/

Tour Recap Video

Recap video of the PNG outreaches this year. It was such a privilege to be a part of this
series of outreaches. The Pacific Link ship will be berthed in Townsville, Queensland Australia
from now on. Marine Reach NZ gave the ship to YWAM Australia. YWAM Australia
will operate the ship in Papua New Guinea.

OFF TO PNG

Hi everyone,

We are just now throwing off the mooring lines and preparing to sail out through the Torres Straits toward Papua New Guinea (PNG). This has been anticipated for over one year and now we are on the brink so to speak.

Blessings,
Mike & Jeannie

G'day everyone.
Jeannie and I are well. We have been on a public
relations tour of New Zealand and Australia since October last year with the M/V Pacific Link.

We've had a few breaks ( December - January) then a few week break in April and again right now (late June and into July).

The ship is in Townsville, Queensland Australia. Here's a website with a satellite photo of Townsville, and links to photos, videos etc. http://wiki.worldflicks.org/tafe_queensland_townsville_city_campus.html#coords=%28-19.260469030934704,%20146.8137949705124%29&z=19

Jeannie and I have flown back to New Zealand for two weeks to see the kids, grand kids and friends. We will be back onboard the ship mid July to assist in preparations for the outreaches into Papua New Guinea this year.

Right now we are in Invercargill, NZ visiting our daughter Cate and her husband Drew. We'll drive up to Clyde, NZ today. Up in the mountains. It's winter here and we hope to play in the snow a bit. Back on Sunday to Invercargill then up to Christchurch then to Tauranga for time with Matt and Susie and the grandkids.

Our most recent newsletter is...or should be following this paragraph. Sometimes it works...sometimes it doesn't. I think the problem is with the guy behind the keyboard..not with the software...but sometimes I wonder.

Mike

March 2010

HI everyone, surprised to hear from me after....10 months of blogging. Too long...too busy I guess. Truth is I don't often think about updating this but will try and make this more regular.

We are just West of Melbourne, Victoria Australia at the moment. The ship, M/V Pacific, is on a 16 port tour of Australia before going to Papua New Guinea later in the year for medical outreaches. We've been to Newcastle, Sydney, Ulladulla, and now Geelong so far...four down, twelve to go.

We have a facebook page that you can follow the ship tour from week to week. We have a PR team who update often with articles and photos.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/I-Want-To-Live/194122848779?ref=ts

Lots of sailing this year so pray for calm seas and strong stomach's. Here are a couple of photos from the tour so far.



Blessings Mike & Jeannie

Hi everyone,
I'm back from Fiji after being away...just about one month. We sailed up to Fiji in early April and was onboard the M/V Pacific Link for our first outreach of the season.

As you may know, Fiji had a military coup a few years ago, and is now being run by the head of the Fiji Military...Commodore Bainimarama (CB). There has been great pressure exerted on CB to schedule elections and put Fiji back on the road to democratic rule, however, CB has said no elections would be held until 2014.

In the meantime CB has thrown out the Constitution of Fiji, and fired all the justices. The result is the economy, which was already struggling, has entered a downward trend. Fiji's economy, heavily reliant upon tourism from abroad, has suffered huge losses as a result of the world-wide economic situation as well as tourists having chosen other, less politically troubled, destinations.

The Fiji dollar has dropped in value by around 20% in just a few short weeks.

HOWEVER, the ship has had no troubles at all. In fact getting into Fiji was quite easy for us this year, and we've had no issues with any government agencies we've had to deal with. With us providing free medical services at a time when the Fijian population is really struggling economically, is a major blessing to the people of Fiji...and the government knows this.

On the trip to our first outreach location we had to anchor outside of the reef until high tide the next morning. At 6am we began to pull up the anchor, but found it was stuck at the bottom. The captain drove the ship from port to starboard, forward and aft in an attempt to dislodge the anchor. Finally things freed up, however, we soon discovered that the swivel which connects the chain to the anchor had broken in the dislodging attempts.

Inside the reef, the captain was going to use two anchors due to the sandy bottom; so now we were faced with having to choose another location due to only having one anchor now.

We gathered the team together and spent some time praying. We had a few options, one of which was to travel a few hours further to Kadavu Island...to the region of Vunisea where there was a wharf we could tie up to. We decided upon Vunisea.

Upon our arrival we met the local Provencial Administrator. We sat down to explain who we were and why we were there. About thirty seconds into my presentation he stopped me and said, 'I know all about Marine Reach. This very ship came here five years ago and I was one of the patients who received a free cataract surgery. ' He added that he still had great vision in that eye and that whatever we needed while in Vunesia he would provide. He was indeed true to his word as he took us to see the local chief and acted as our protocol presenter of the Sevusevu (arrival gift). He daily provided transportation for our Primary Health Care (PHC) teams to and from the villages in the region. He helped to organize those visits with each village council. Such a God event.

So, despite having no advance notice of our arrival, and having lost one day switching locations due to the lost anchor, we were able to treat over 900 people.

Several people gave their lives to Jesus while we were there, and many responded to a challenge to become great commission christians after viewing "The End of the Spear", a movie re-enacting the story of Jim Elliot, Nate Saint and others who died in the jungle of Ecuador in the early 1960's...and the subsequent inroads into a stoneage tribe for the gospel.

The team that joined our crew and medical personnel were from a church in Melbourne, Australia. What a great team onboard for the
outreach which included, doctors, nurses, dentists, Physio Therapists (Physical Therapist), a construction team that did all kinds of repairs at a local medical center and at a primary school. Evangelism and discipleship is always a major part of each outreach.

More pics later...reaching my GB limit for the month.

Thanks everyone for standing with us in prayer & Finances.
Blessings,

Mike & Jeannie

April 2009 Update

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If this is unsatisfactory, please leave a comment with your email, and we'll send it along via email.

Autumn 2008 Newsletter

Greetings from New Zealand.

We are back on NZ soil, although the ship, floating in Tauranga harbour is still our home for now.


We departed New Zealand for the remote areas of the Pacific in April and returned in late August.

The past five months have literally sailed by (no pun intended), as we have facilitated five different groups on their mission outreach adventures in Fiji, Rotuma and Western Samoa.


As directors of the ship, Mike and Jeannie oversee all the teams and the outworking of Marine Reach’s vision as conducted from the ship to bring medical relief in various forms to the remote areas of these South Pacific island nations.

The outreach destinations were to the Lau group of island in Fiji, and the island of
Rotuma (a part of Fiji, however, very far removed from the ‘mainland’ of Fiji). The people of Rotuma have their own language separate from Fiji and as well are much more Polynesian than are the Fijian people.


We also travelled to Western Samoa for two outreaches over a six week period. It has been fourteen years since Marine Reach was last in Samoa.



Our medical staffs were comprised of medical coordinators who are full time with Marine Reach, as well as medical personnel who join us from various locations for two week commitments.

Medical professionals include doctors, nurses, wound care specialists, physical therapists,
Optometrists, ophthalmologists, dentists and dental hygienists. Many days our medical





procedures were routine, while other days were life changing…even life saving, as critical situations were found that if left untreated would have led to a funeral for the
family.

Check our website for stories from 2008 Outreaches

http://mearsfamily-pacific.blogspot.com
or http://www.marinereach.com

• Read the story of the triplets, and the subsequent saving of the mother’s life, the day our ship arrived unannounced into Cicia Island, Fiji.
• Read about Joshua Timo, who suffers with a rare facial skin cancer - immune system failure
• Read about the blind man who received his sight when one of our evangelism team members prayed for him in his home.

Personal Highlights:
For me, Jeannie, one highlight would be the 19year old girl named Lemaru from Rotuma.
Lemaru is a beautiful young girl the same age as our Havalah. Lemaru has had Cerebral Palsy since childhood and is confined to a wheelchair. She cannot speak, but can communicate with her mother. She has a beautiful smile, loves her dogs, who guard her vigilantly. She loves to have people read to her.

We met her and her mother, Teriko, when we came to help do repairs on their home. No one in the village would come to help this single mom with some necessary house repairs because months earlier a brother in law had come to assist, but stepped on a rotten roof rafter which broke. He fell off the roof onto a pile of cement blocks and died two days later from the injuries.

Villagers thought that the house and family were cursed. As a result no one would come to assist.

Mike led a small team of guys from the ship in building a veranda roof so Lemaru now has a shady, airy place to sit on the long hot Rotuma days. Other repairs were done to their home as well. We had time as well to visit and pray with their family, share morning tea and give the family a bible in the Rotuman language.

Medically there was nothing significant we could do to help Lemaru, but we could share the love of God and encourage them on in Christ.

While we were working on the veranda an estranged relative who had quite a long running dispute with Teriko saw our example of serving and came to assist us, as well as settling his disagreement with Teriko.

Jesus gave Christians the “Ministry of Reconciliation”, so it was exciting to see people reconciled to God, but as well to be reconciled to one another.

For Mike there are so many highlights as well. On the outreaches we looked for opportunities to minister to, “…widows and orphans in their distress…” Jeannie’s story about Teriko was one such story.
On our travels on Lakeba island, we came across an old man named Vula. Vula had been a missionary & church planter in the Fiji islands for many, many years and was now a frail, bed-ridden old man.
He owned very little, in fact the house he lived in belonged to a relative who had moved to the mainland in search of work.

We were going to paint his house and do some work on the yard etc., but since he was bed-ridden he would never see the outside of the house, so we decided to paint the inside of his one room home.
We spent eight hours cleaning up the walls, removing spider webs and ant mud nests and painting the exposed frame walls and the inside of the corrugated iron siding.
Due to his physical condition, Vula had not been able to be at church in several years. So, on Sunday afternoon we set aside an hour to bring church to him...honouring this man of God.
Many from the Marine Reach team joined with a handful of locals with guitars in hand to have church in this humble home.
We worshiped together, shared scriptures, prayer and communion with Vula.
Vula added to the service on several occasions, quoting his favourite scriptures in both Fijian and English. For communion he struggled and sat up on the edge of his bed to receive the elements.
The presence of the Lord was so thick in the room…it was truly amazing. In fact I heard the Lord say to me that at that moment all of heaven had stopped to watch as this ‘saint’ was honoured. [I don’t say that last statement flippantly…I really believe that that was the case]
We left some timber and corrugated iron with some of the local villagers to shore up Vula’s stairs and to build a wall around Vula’s outdoor shower and toilet. In fact several in the village caught the vision for what we were doing and promised to continue looking after the widows, orphans and elderly after we left.

An older family photo









M/V Pacific Link tied up to the wharf/jetty on Cicia Island, Fiji May 2008

Jeannie, Josiah and Mike will be flying to the USA October 2, 2008. We will be visiting with friends and family travelling from New Zealand through Los Angeles to: Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, DC, Pennsylvania, Michigan?, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts and in Phoenix on our way back to New Zealand for Christmas. It will be a busy time but we are looking forward to seeing everyone and sharing some of the stories from the past few years of ministry in the Pacific Rim.

We are available to share at churches, homegroups, gatherings of mission minded people. Some of our dates are booked already, so if you would be interested in having us get in quickly.

Thanks everyone for your friendship and for partnering with us to reach the peoples of the S. Pacific. We couldn’t do this without your partnership. We love you all and look forward to seeing as many of you as we can.
Blessings in Jesus Name.
Mike & Jeannie Mears & Family

Finishing out 2008...an overview

Jeannie, Josiah and Mike will be flying to the USA October 2, 2008. We will be visiting with friends and family travelling from New Zealand through Los Angeles to: Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, DC, Pennsylvania, Michigan?, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts and in Phoenix on our way back to New Zealand for Christmas. It will be a busy time but we are looking forward to seeing everyone and sharing some of the stories from the past few years of ministry in the Pacific Rim.

We are available to share at churches, homegroups, gatherings of mission minded people. Some of our dates are booked already, so if you would be interested in having us get in quickly.



TV 1 News here in New Zealand did a story on Marine Reach and our outreaches in 2008. I"ll add the link here to their site. You may have to copy and paste the link into your browser window in case it does not load as a link. Never tried this before...here goes. http://tvnz.co.nz/view/video_popup_windows_skin/2044020


Thanks everyone for your friendship and for partnering with us to reach the peoples of the S. Pacific. We couldn’t do this without your partnership. We love you all and look forward to seeing as many of you as we can.
Blessings in Jesus Name.
Mike & Jeannie Mears & Family

Back in New Zealand

Wow,
Internet in Samoa was okay, but it was difficult to upload photos...not impossible but difficult.

The real reason for not updating the blog sooner was we were very busy...and I kinda forgot to update the blog when I had the few free moments we had.

There.....I was honest.

I thought I might sugar-coat it and say we were so busy I just did not have time, which is not completely accurate, but close; Or to say that we were so far from an internet cafe that it made it difficult to get online, which is not completely accurate, but close; Or to say that using our laptop in an internet cafe is possible, however, the cost is twice as much as using one of theirs, which is accurate; Or to say that saving an update onto a memory stick and uploading the file on a supplied computer at the internet cafe was a dodgy choice because of viruses, which is accurate.

But the real reason is that I kinda forgot to update it.


We are back in New Zealand now and gearing up for our return to the USA for the remainder of 2008. We plan to return to NZ for Christmas as all the rest of our family are in New Zealand. It is amazing to have everyone here in NZ now and looking as if they all plan to be here long term.

Susie and Matt are working with Marine Reach here in Tauranga. It is a joy for us personally to have them close, especially since our granddaughter, Oceana lives with them. They come to the ship often and we baby sit whenever we can to have some 'Nana and Baboo' time with her. Their blog address is http://mnssams.blogspot.com


Cate is in Invercargill, NZ studying Nursing. She has excelled in her classes and has become her class Representative to the school...kind of like Class President. She loves nursing and has had high marks both in the classroom and in the clinical placements she has had in the local community.

Havalah is in NZ now, having finished up her one-year course at Elim Bible Institute in Lima, New York. (www.elim.edu) Finding work in New Zealand in the winter time is not easy, however, Havie has some temporary work until mid-October. She continues to look for more permanent work and is in process of deciding about University beginning in February,2009. She's been focused on a teaching career, however, is now looking at the possibility of studying nursing. If nursing becomes the choice she may not be able to get in on the 2009 enrollment here in NZ, as things will close soon.


Josiah is with us on the ship and is enrolled with the NZ Correspondence school. This is the same curriculum as the public schools use so Josiah is tracking with NZ students his age/grade. 2009 will be his final year of high school, so we will likely place him at a local high school here in Tauraga (Otumoetai College [High School]). That will enable him to finish up high school with a NZ approved diploma which is makes getting into a university here in NZ a much easier proposition than with just a homeschool diploma...or even a US high school diploma.

Josiah is a deckhand on the ship helping with watches, anchors and lines, chipping rust, cleaning and painting onboard. It is a great opportunity to learn nautical skills which is what he wants to study at University. His goal is to become a ship's captain...sailing large cargo ships or tankers around the world. He would be involved with Marine Reach as well helping to sail their medical ships around the world. He quite loves the lifestyle, but all of us, including Josiah are looking forward to a break from ship life for a time.

The 2008 outreach season with Marine Reach was a huge success. Overall we saw just short of 6,000 people in the five months we were in the islands.

We have some great stories and photos on our marine reach website: www.marinereach.com

I'm barbecuing for the ship tonight so I must run for now. I am working on a 'real' update for this site that tells the story of the mears family in the past few months onboard the M/V Pacific Link.

Bye for now.....

Saturday in Suva, Fiji

Hi everyone,
I just updated the blog with one story from the outreach to the remote island of Matuku. The picture of Jeannie on the path through the jungle with the cow in the background just emphasized to me how remote these places we go are.

We do have a satellite phone onboard the ship we can use if we need to but it is very expensive to use, so we limit it. We can use the satellite system to send email, however, it is very slow and also expensive, so we don't use it too much. So we rely on the few days between outreaches to check email, find out what's been going on in the world, catch up with friends and family...and mail, bills etc., etc.

It is a joy to be doing what we are doing. It has it's moments of justing wanting to get away, but overall it is very rewarding to see people come to know Jesus Christ and to allow us to help them in their walk with Christ as well.

Hebrews 6.10 speaks of the believer and the 'things which accompany salvation.' Specifically the writer is talking about the 'works' God calls us to. See Ephesians 2.8-11 also...good works which accompany salvation, or as a result of our salvation God involves us in his purposes in the earth...."Good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

I'll put a few pictures up here before I log off and head back to the ship for the evening.

I just heard about more about the Myanmar typhoon and the Earthquake in China. We miss so much while we are out on outreach...amazing.

I'll upload more pics to our web-album. See the link on the sidebar.

Mike