Vanuatu Update #3

My time is Vanuatu, at least for the foreseeable future has come to an end. After to 3 months of DTS Lecture Phase, 2 months of DTS Outreach Phase and 2 months of serving on the M/V Pacific Hope, I am making my way home.

I arrived in Auckland on the 25th but, did not get to my hotel until after mid-night. I have a total of 5 nights here in Auckland before contenuing on my journy home. The 25th, happened to be the cheapest day to fly back to NZ from Vanuatu... at least prior to my August 30th flight back to the States.

I will have layovers in Melbourne, Sydney and Dallas respectively before arriving back in Orlando. The Sydney to Dallas flight will be my longest yet at just over 15.5 hours of flying time.

So far, I have been having an amazing time back in Auckland. God has blessed me with some really good friends here who have gone out of their way to make me feel at home.

Vanuatu Update #2

Arrived safely back in Port Vila very early on Friday morning, thanks be to God. Though tiring and very unpredictable, we had another successful medical outreach on the M/V Pacific Hope, the 2nd outreach for the year.

For this outreach, I got placed on the Dental Team doing registration. In total we helped more than 300 people by removing and fixing close to 700 teeth.

I am really eager for the next 2 week  outreach. We leave Port Vila this Saturday and will be serving N.E. Malakula... that is the plan at least.

So many things on this adventure have been uncertain. But, over the last 6 months I have become more and more at peace with not knowing what lies ahead or having to have a plan. However, I can be certain of two things: God loves me, God IS good and if I follow Him, there is no telling where I'll end up!

How Did I End-Up Here?

How did I end up here? ...in another island nation, in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean, getting ready to voulenteer on a medical ship?

Great questions! In all honesty, I have only one answer: I followed the Spirit.

My DTS is now over and I am no longer in New Zealand. I had had the option to fly back to Orlando on the 22nd of June (today actually) but, somthing inside me opted to choose the next avalible award ticket date of August 30th 2016.

So, here I am back in Port Vila, Vauatu, ready to rejoin the the M/V Pacific Hope. While I don't know exactly what date my time on the ship will end, I have committed to approximately 2 months.

While so much is uncertain, I am really looking forward to my time serving on the ship. God called me here, got me here and will certainly see me through here. I am eager to see what He has planned!

7th Week In NZ

Last week was "Holy Spirit Week," an amazing week, if you ask me. Pastor Kristian Williams was our speaker. He pastors the Hope Center in an town called Bethlahem, been there, great church to visit if you are ever in the area.

The biggest event outside of the classroom was getting more vaccinations. All extra immunizations were optional but, HIGHLY since I am going to Vanuatu and will be doing medical work on top of that. I got a Hep A Booster and my first shot of Hep B. I had had 2 Hep A shots but, with the last one being just over 10 years ago, they recommended a final lifelong booster. I had never had any Hep B shots, though I thought that I had. Anyway, I got my first shot and should get my second shot during "Decompression Week," after my Outreach Phase ends.

Also, I got my first half of Outreach fees paid... well charged to my card at least. This whole thing has been a total walk of faith, the fact that I have gotten this far is a testimony about God's Faithfulness and Goodness. If you would like to help me financially, you can do so via the following link: http://givesendgo.com/ywamnz

Keep posted for my next update! Week 8 is already in full swing!

Thankfulness: From The Other Side of the Wall

This was a post of mine to my personal Facebook account on Thanksgiving of 2014. However, the message is still just as meaningful that year as it is this year. I hope you enjoy and have a very...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! :D

"I have been meaning to write this article for a while but, I have just never taken the time to do so. I feel that there is a good message in this for anyone who is willing to read it. To be totally honest, I do not think that there is a better time of year to write this.

Thankfulness: From “The Other Side of the Wall”

November 27th 2014

Thanksgiving Day is here once again; the year has gone by so fast. So many good things have happened in my life this year, and I am eager for the good that God has planned in my future. I hope you all are having a great Thanksgiving and that you are truly thankful for the blessings you have been granted. However, I hope we can all practice our thankfulness everyday of the year, even on Leap Years.

We often say “Thanks” to God, people and even our animals. However, I think we have all at times taken the word “Thanks,” or variations thereof for granted. So, I wish to say a few words about being truly thankful, to God most of all.

Personally, my life always has been, and till I die, always will be a work in progress. Looking back, I have in only 20½ years, done and seen things that other people have only dreamed of doing or seeing. I realized that tomorrow is never promised, and the fact that I am here is testament to God's goodness towards me. But to truly be “Thankful” for my life? Well, though I was always taught to be thankful, true thankfulness is something that only became most real to me in the last few years.

One day when I was 15, about 2 days after arriving in Brazil for a 2 week mission trip, I was talking with a fellow group member. The topic at hand was a slum (called a "Favela" in Brazil) which could be see on a distant hill from the very nice house we were being hosted in. He basically told me told me, “That is nothing. Go to the upstairs bathroom; stand on the toilet, and look out the window.” Within a few minutes, I did exactly as he suggested I do, I was shocked to say the least. Directly on the opposite side of the house's retaining wall was a “Favela,” up close.

Though I had seen some bad areas of the city on the van ride to our host's house from the airport, I was now seeing one in much greater detail, how the people lived. In the coming days I would eventually go (twice) into a Favela with my group; however, it was at that bathroom window that I first thought about “The Other Side of the Wall.” Really, I don't know what it is about bathrooms that God likes but, he likes to deal with people there.

Arriving back home in “the States” I thought about the things which I had seen while in Brazil. I became more thankful for the things I took for granted. I knew that by any stroke of fate I could be one of those people living, anywhere in this world on “The Other Side of the Wall.” Actually, being born into an extremely poor family, in a small village in Southern Belize, I was born on “The Other Side of the Wall.” If not for God's grace had I would not be simply thinking on the poverty I had seen, but actively participating in it.

Reflecting back even further, to the age of 3 or 4, memories of my trip to Liberia came to mind. Though my memories of Liberia are not as vivid due to my age, I remember one particular time when I went with my mom to visit an abandoned village which had been destroyed in the recent civil war. I remember walking through what seemed to be the former school house; the remains of a geography lesson was still on the wall, and riddle with bullet holes. Another memory from Liberia is that at some point after we saw the village, mom had reason to visit an orphanage. The children, though poor and parent-less, greeted us with smiles, truly glad to see us, they even sang as a "choir" at one point. Their joy and happiness was not due to riches, toys or iPads (LOL, this was in the late 90's). But their joy came just because they were glad to be alive, have shelter, and food. Many had survived the civil war, and who knows what untold horrors they witnessed. But, they still had a joy that can only come from being truly thankful for their very lives, even though there were not on my "side of the wall.”

I say all that to say this: Thankfulness is not just a word to be thrown around like seasoning on a turkey or about the good deals you get for stuff the day after being “thankful” for what you already had. Thankfulness is a true feeling of gratitude that comes only from joy, a joy you can only get when you truly appreciate the life you have been given no matter what "side of the wall" you may see yourself on.

So whether your turkey is stuffed with bread, or with caviar, I pray you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day, one of TRUE thankfulness. Remember: “Rejoice always, pray continually, give THANKS in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

(Seriously, if you have internet and can read this, or anything at all... you have reasons to be thankful!)

Fundraising : YWAM Medical/Compassion DTS Tuition

It is already October and time is ticking down to my January departure for the YWAM Medical/Compassion DTS. I have started this GiveSendGo page to help raise money for my DTS tuition.

Any and all contributions are greatly appreciated as you partner with me to become a shareholder in the great things God has planned for me regarding world missions. I know the training that I will receive at this school is going to greatly assist me in positively impacting the world around me, starting with the less fortunate of society.

Thanks in advance for your support and may you be greatly blessed! CLICK HERE TO DONATE!

#ywam #givesendgo