Captain’s Blog

Captain’s Log #12

February 1, 2001 on 3:37 pm | In Uncategorized | Comments Off

FIJIBOAT EMAIL REPORT #12
It is now the middle of the night and I am tired of rewriting this report. Here’s the problem. I see myself as someone who is by nature positive and optimistic. I don’t like being negative and don’t like being around negative people. My desire, always is to focus on that which is going good, because we serve a God who is good and optimistic and positive about you and me. And besides that, it takes no genius to find fault and continuously lament over whatever can be found that’s going wrong. But I also want to be honest and I know that we desperately need your prayers based on accurate information - dealing with reality…    and reality is weighing heavy tonight.
 
TRAGEDY
This day began at 5:20 A.M. this morning as one of the security guards at this place where we’re mooring the boat called out to me from the sea wall and told me that Pastor Aseri, the District Superintendent had called him and was trying to get ahold of me, unable to get through on my phone. He had known that I was planning on leaving during the night for the island of Kadavu. We were so excited that things were actually coming together. It has been one thing after the next after the next after the next. I would write a book except no-one would believe it all. I hunted around in the dark and found the phone, dialing the D.S.’s number, he answered it immediately. When I hung up about an hour later, I had been on my knees in the aft stateroom here on the ‘Galilean’ next to our bed for a lot of that time in prayer with him over the phone. The pain I felt seemed very physical as I know it did for him. Our JESUS Film team leader was in deep trouble, he had just become a casualty in this spiritual war. As far as this incredible ministry is concerned he had just taken himself out of the picture in one gigantic, swift leap. The pain I felt was not so much for the consequences as much as just for him, a brother. My mind kept recalling the times of prayer and conversations I have had with him and the team members. Over and over I remember saying; “This is REALLY a battlefield! We are REALLY placing ourselves on the front lines of a war that is serious! If we ever forget this we will become casualties ourselves.” And all the while, I think I wondered just how serious the risks really are? Now it is too late to wonder.
 
HOPE
I found him later today and was able to spend some time with him - maybe an hour and a half - God has certainly not given up on him, (this God of ours does not give up on any of us - ever, ever, ever) and he knows it.
 
HELP
I have told you about this because I think you deserve to know and because my heart is so heavy and I really do need your prayers, but before you pray for Harmon…  before you pray for the JESUS Film ministry. Before you pray for the FIJIBoat Project and before you pray for the Church of the Nazarene in Fiji and the South Pacific. Could I ask you first to pray for the man who has been leading our JESUS Film team these months. He has been front and center. In the midst of a country dealing with political ciaos and the limitations that brings, he has been instrumental in over 50 new converts to Christianity. Not all the great ministry work accomplished in the world is worth his eternal soul. I don’t think God makes deals, where God says; ‘I’ll sacrifice that one for those one hundred’. NO WAY - not the God I serve! This God died for this one. Please, please pray for him! We dare not abandon our wounded and hurt.
 
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(written earlier)
FOOD
It just happened about two and a half hours ago and the little girl was eight, maybe nine. It wasn’t easy for her as she stood before the crowd, I could see her bottom lip quiver but she made it through, looking at the floor in front of her she worked to get the words out. “What is she saying?” I asked someone sitting near me. There were tears in her eyes. “She says that she heard God this morning at her home, He told her to come to church! So she came. She says that she had no food to eat, but that it’s ok, she has now been fed with what really matters - and she is thankful!”
Watching these things keeps a person humbled.
 
FASTING
Daniel, (the security guard from here who gave his life to Christ some weeks ago and who, in and among the other stuff, we have been having Bible studies with on the boat), is from west of here some distance and is the son of a chief. As I talked with him the other night he began to describe to me how he believed God was now calling him into the ministry! These are the things we’ve been praying for. This is what must keep happening. Keep praying for Daniel and for a few hundred more because the harvest is very ripe - that’s not the problem at all - the problem is workers - pray, pray, pray for more workers!!
 
I made arrangements for Daniel to meet the District Superintendent here on the ‘Galilean’ and talk about things. Afterward I discovered that he had been fasting some time in preparation for the meeting. Also he had felt he needed to let his parents know what God was doing in his life, but he didn’t have the money to get home. He told me that as he walked out to the bus station he knew that he didn’t have enough money in his pocket and so he prayed, saying; “If it’s all right, I could use some help now?” (I need to pray more like that!) The driver didn’t know that Daniel didn’t have enough money, but when they got to his village the driver said; “no, no, it’s alright, you keep the money!” More or less the same thing happened coming back to town. Daniel told me this smiling as if, ‘of course you already knew God would do that, didn’t you?’. He bought the kids a gift, some ice cream, it represents many hours of work and today I saw him put into the offering what represents much more and he’s been fasting.
Watching these things keeps a person humbled.
 
 
GO ON AHEAD
This last week the D.S. and I were able to get into ALL of the various government offices that we’ve been working towards, one right after the other! We realized that there was no doubt that God had gone before us; that a bunch of people obviously have been taking this whole prayer thing quite seriously. Without exception, one after the other, after the other of government people could not have been more helpful! Strange. This was just a few days after it took me about SIX HOURS from start to finish to get the ‘10 minute’ truck inspection done.
 
In a time of much upheaval for this nation, there is plenty of reason for serious questioning. There is plenty of reason to make things less than easy for anyone to do anything official…    yet in the midst of it all for us, the attitudes seemed changed, everyone began opening doors for us and cleared and stamped and signed us through to where at this point we have gained clearance and endorsement and permission and even encouragement for what we can’t imagine that we could ever take advantage of.(That is …  not of ourselves - we are anxious to see once more what God might have in store). No question - someone’s already been here. Pastor Aseri just shook his head.
 
The pastor who’s been working with the chief in Kadavu now has got, what looks like an opening on one of the other islands and is trying to line up permission for us to take the JESUS Film team to that island after the island of Kadavu. Truth is it looks like we’ve also got two more openings and possible invitations from chiefs in the Yasawa group of islands through some of our church members (now possibly a total of nine invitations on other islands). Not one of any of these so far have we tried to put together ourselves - we’ve been praying and asking you to pray and these things are happening. Makes a person think that someone else is going ahead. Watching this keeps a person humbled.
 
SICKNESS
I just took Jim Johnson to the airport as he heads out north across the Pacific. Please keep them in your prayers. They really can use your prayers as you read this. This has been a tuff time with emergency tests for Joy and surgery now, a world away over in the States. In this battlefield, the enemy uses all he can to distract and discourage and keep us all from the tasks at hand. For instance, there is not one of those involved in ministry here in Fiji, (JESUS Film team, missionaries, nationals) that I know of who has not been dealing with physical concerns. For us it has been an onslaught of strep throat, viruses, fever and even prolonged pneumonia with the third round of antibiotics in not so many months. Please pray for physical health and protection. I have watched Pastor Aseri while fighting a fever, preach his heart out, when I never could have.  Watching these kind of things keeps a person humbled.
 
NAZARENE MARITIME MINISTRIES
This week, NAZARENE MARITIME MINISTRIES mailed out their first newsletter.  NMM is the organization under which the FIJIBoat Project and hopefully many others like it, is being coordinated.  Attached is the condensed email edition of the newsletter.   We welcome any additions to our subscription list (email addresses preferred) and encourage you to forward these reports to any whom you think would be interested. Be sure to let us know if you need to receive a ‘text only’ version without the photo attachment. God is raising up the support needed for this ministry and it is our privilege to keep you informed and aware of His activity here in the South Pacific in response to your prayers and giving.
 
We serve a Great God,
He is the ONLY answer,
Harmon