Off to Bamaga

I am sorry that it has been so long since I updated you on what has been happening. Yesterday I had a big blog all typed out and ended up losing it so I will try and get this one through.

This weekend was one of the best weekends that I have had in a long time. It started out Friday with Sione agreeing to take me Mother’s Day shopping (yes I am a little bit late). I invited Katie and so the three of us headed out to the city. We got the present and something to eat and then decided to go to Cold Rock for ice cream. We hung out there for a while eating, talking, and even posing on the floor for some pictures.

Sione has been saying that he can beat me in bowling, so I took the challenge and we headed to the lanes. He hasn’t bowled for five years now and it was pretty bad he did beat me the first game as I only had a 114 he had 146, but I did redeem myself the second game and beat them by enough to take them in total. We then moved on to the arcade games and Dance Dance Revolution. We had competitions and I was undefeated for the night. It was a great night of just hanging out and having fun.
On Saturday a few of us went back to the arcade and resumed the challenges. I continued to be undefeated until after lunch when Sione wanted a second chance to beat me. This time he did beat me (4 in a row, just after trying a second time) so then he was happy. Then we went for a 10k walk to the IGA and back. Tanya, Katie, Sione and I made the journey. It was nice to finally get some exercise.
Sunday it was off to the Australian Zoo. Sione, Peter, Blaire, Katie & I all piled into a little car and made the long awaited journey to see the animals that I have always dreamed of seeing live. One of the first things we did was to feed elephants. We spent most of the day walking around seeing crocodiles, snakes, tigers, kangaroos, & koalas. I even got to pet the kangaroos and the koalas! It was awesome!

This week for lectures we had Kyle from Fingel lead us on Making Jesus our Lord. He is a great teacher that not only says the words, but also has great stories about how he has lived them out. I really enjoyed his teachings and it was a very good week for me as I prepare for outreach.
On Friday me leave for Bamaga until the 28th of July. This is our major outreach destination. It is an Aboriginal community in the northern tip of Australia. I believe it is a small community and I am not sure how much access I will have to the internet so I apologize now if I don’t get to update you often. But please continue to send me updates as hopefully I will be able to check the email, even if I don’t have time to respond.
Thank you all for your continued support. It really means a lot to me to have you praying and supporting me. If you would like to send something in the next to months it would have to go to: Pastor Iliesa Sanima PO Box 79 Bamaga, QLD 4876 Australia
Thanks again! I love you all!

By the way it has taken me about 5 hours to get this through, I love computers!!!!

Navigator

This morning for devotions Tanya told us to take 20 minutes and come up with some creative way to say "Who God is to me." I thought I would share with you what I came up with in that little bit of time.



God is my navigator on my journey of life.
He leads me to His path.
Points out the beautiful scenery along the way.
Encourages me to keep going.
Celebrates with me at each destination.
Warns me when trouble is approaching.
Guides me around and through suffering.
Keeps me awake and focused on the way.
Carries on a conversation when I need someone to talk to.
Corrects my path when I turn the wrong way.
Takes control when I need help.
Always loves me and stays by my side no matter what.


My challenge to all of you: Let God be your navigator. It is a great ride!!!!

Crazy Weekend

Wow can you believe it I have been gone for 3 months already. Time seems to fly by here.

This weekend was a down and up one for me. Friday we had a good day ending off the Holy Spirit lecture week. Then after dinner Sione borrowed a car so that we could go and get a movie to watch. It was good to just sit back and watch a movie with everyone. We ended up with a few different movies and were up until 2am watching a couple of them.
A few of us wanted to go to the Australian Zoo on Saturday, but there was no transportation for us so we had to stay on base. I was quite disappointed and really bored in the morning. Because I was bored I started to think about home and became a bit homesick. It was the most that I have felt that way since I have been here. Then in the afternoon Sione suggested that I read the book "Intimate Friendship With God" by Joy Dawson. He highly recommended it to me and said there were some parts in it for me. Wow he was right again. (don't tell him admitted that to all of you he might fall over ;) ) Well I spent the rest of the day reading the book and it seemed like every chapter spoke to me in some way. I finished the book about 10 pm and just started to talk to God. I don't normally pray aloud, but I just felt that I needed to have a conversation with Him. I prayed for about 1/2 hour and felt so much better as I went up to the room and went to bed, but I also felt that there were things that I needed to discuss with Sione.
So Sunday I told him we needed to talk (which sometimes scares him). As many of you know I am not really forthcoming with personal information so it took a while but I shared what was on my heart. He helped me to sort some things out and we came to an agreement on a "joke" that we had between us. After everything was discussed we decided to fast and seek God for at least the next day (Monday). We are both asking God for healing (my back & his knee) and we both have other areas that we are seeking guidance.
It is now 6pm on Monday and we are in the middle of the fast. It has been a very good day just sitting in the prayer room during breaks when everyone else is eating and just praying and reading the Bible. We had decided to go at least until tomorrow morning, but we may go longer. I have really felt that I need one more day to just praise and worship God for all that He has done.
I am not telling you all this to make myself look "religious" or "holy" I am just seeking your prayers. I have never experienced God in this way and I am relying on Him for everything. Thank you for your continued support!!!!!


Sunrise from "the hill" by the Sydney base where we would go to pray.

The Greatest Ability

There are great abilities that people acquire, cultivate and demonstrate. In the service of God there is one ability that is the greatest ability of all. What is it? Is it sociability, compatibility, accountability, adaptability, or reliability? The greatest ability is availability. If we are not available to God, no matter what other kind of ability we have, it is no good. Ability without availability is a liability. What does availability mean? It means to place one's self totally, absolutely, completely at God's disposal for Him to do anything and everything He wants to do in us, through us, with us, for us, when He chooses. Anything less than that is putting restrictions on God and writing fine print in your commitment contract to Jesus Christ.

-AMG Bible Illustrations 2000. (electronic ed.) Logos Library System; Bible Illustrations Series. Chattanooga: AMG Publishers.

Holy Spirit Week

The first men's conference experience for me was a good one. We spent the weekend in Eidsvold at an indigenous Australia men's conference. They discussed relationships and how God meant for men to relate in the world today. The weekend was a good refreshing time for the girls of the group. Our responsibility was to clean up after the meals and wash dishes. It was great to see all of the men praising God and making plans for different ministries for the future. We rode there in a bus with 2 families of kids who loved singing "The wheels on the bus". It was fun being with them and hearing Kyle and Mark's adventure stories.

Now we are back into lectures on the Holy Spirit. The lecturer is really good but she is monotone so sometimes it is hard to concentrate for a long period of time. We are learning about the work of the Holy Spirit and the fruits of the Spirit.
On Monday our group led Base Worship again. We led songs and shared testimonies of the past 3 weeks while we were away. Not much else is happening this week. Just trying to regroup into lectures after being away.

Please continue to pray for us as we prepare for our "major outreach" to Bamaga. We are leaving in less than 3 weeks and will be there for 7 weeks.

Back in Carbrook

We have arrived back in Carbrook after 2 ½ weeks away from here. We have a day of rest and relaxation before we head out again tomorrow (Friday) until Sunday. Many things have happened since I last had the chance to write as we didn’t have internet in Mulimuli.
- On Saturday we said goodbyes to Sydney, dropped off Sila at the airport and then started the journey to Mulimuli. What they thought would be about an 8-9 hour drive ended up being a lot longer (about 15 hours). There were no real issues, except spending about 30 minutes in the wrong town looking for the house we were to stay at. Good thing there was a man up at 5:30 in the morning for Sione to go ask. He was even pleasant at that time in the morning!
- We stayed at a house in Urbanville. Yes it was a very small community in the middle of the mountains. Bill & Cheryl that we know from Fingel live there and were nice enough to let us all invade them for a few days. It was a great place to stay and a beautiful setting in the mountains.
- On Monday I was sick so I spent most of the day at the house with Sione, just sleeping and talking. It was good for me to get some rest to be ready for the next couple of days.
- Tuesday was a great day! We went to Woodenbong Public School and witnessed to the kids there. In 3 different sessions we have from 1st grade all the way to 10th grade. The kids were great and all really receptive to what we were doing. We did skits, sang songs, and did one of our dances for them. God really worked through us! I really felt that seeds were planted there and that God was going to use that to get more of the kids to go to Scriptures class that is offered there. It was great to be able to go into the public school and share the gospel.
- The afternoon was spent at the basketball court in Mulimuli. Mulimuli is an small Aboriginal community of houses. There are I would guess about 20 houses of families. Everyone else played with the kids on Monday also, and then on Tuesday they were very excited to see us again. I spent most of the time with 3 4 year olds (Renee, Kayeesha, & Savannah). They were so cute, we had a great time drawing, them making my hair “pretty” and climbing all over me. They wouldn’t let me get up and go anywhere else. We did the Painter skit for them and talked to all of the kids about Jesus love for them. Then we sang some songs and had prayer time with them. Some of the other people in our group that were with older kids had really good discussions about God in their lives. When the girls got called home they almost cried because I wasn’t going to be there anymore, it was so sweet.
- Wednesday started with 6 am prayer time in the van so as to not wake up the family. Then it was off for a “hike” up the mountain. It turned out to be an intense climb up, but it was all worth it in the end . The view was awesome! I would attach a picture from the top, but I only brought the video camera. At times I didn’t know if I was going to make it because my back was spasming, but I made it and even though it hurt the rest of the day really bad, today seems much better.
- After the trek up the mountain, we packed up to go to Kyogle to meet with a youth group there. We made a stop and after just a couple of minutes the van wouldn’t start. Everyone climbed out and push started it as it is a manual. When we arrived in Kyogle the van didn’t have any power, because the alternator is bad. After we did the program for the kids we decided to try and make it at least to Fingel (about 1 ½ hours). We ate at a café and then stopped for petrol. After the stop the van started to backfire and there wasn’t even enough power to accelerate. Thank God that the pastor had stuck around to see if it was going to work. He then offered us his van to drive back and return it today. We got on the road about 10 pm and made it back to base about 12:45 am.
- It is now Thursday and as I said we have a day of rest before setting out again tomorrow morning.
So that is a rundown of the past week. I am sorry it is so long.
By the way, I didn’t have any emails when I logged on today after 6 days of not being able to check. L Remember I love to hear from you!
Thanks for your prayers!

This is the mountain we climbed up as seen from our house! Yes we did make it all the way to the top!

Challenging Week

This has been a good week even though I have been sick with a bad cold. Sione has started calling me Daffy Duck because of my voice. As you can see I haven't escaped the teasing while I have been here. :)
This week was about hearing God's call for our future. It has been a very thought provoking week, where we have been challenged to really listen to what God is calling us to do. We also discussed world views and how we should view things through a Biblical Worldview instead of a secular view. It was very interesting seeing how our past affects the way we feel about the things of the world today. There is a lot of information that I am processing and thinking through.
Updates:
- Sila leaves for Thailand tomorrow. He has to go back home because of his visa.
- My back is feeling better. Still some pain when I do certain things, but most of the time it is fine.
- We leave tomorrow for Mulimuli. It is about a 6-7 hour drive. Mulimuli is an Aboriginal community where we are going to do outreach. There is a lot of witchcraft and that kind of thing there, so pray that we can combat that and get the true message of salvation across to them.
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

Destiny

I am so glad for this week. We are at the new Island Breeze base in Sydney and having lectures from Ettienne about our destiny. Last week at the conference I felt like I shut down on my feelings emotionally and spiritually. The conference was good, but I wanted to be back in our group. We had a wonderful time of worship & prayer on Sunday night that really brought me back. Julliana prayed for me and saw God telling her that I need to give all of my inmost dreams and desires to Him. That He wants to lead me down a path to fulfill all of those and more.
Yesterday we started lectures and I really felt that they were speaking to me. They are about our destiny that God has for us and how we need to prepare for God to work through us. It was just an overview of the week so I am very excited about the rest of the time. I am really searching for what I am called to do after DTS.
Please pray for our team as there are some things happening. Silo leaves to go back to Thailand on Saturday. Things are being done to try and get him back for our major outreach, so please pray that it goes through so he can join us again. There are also some other issues that I can't elaborate on at this point, but please pray for us and our leadership. Also pray that we can all receive an understanding of what is next for us.