It is beautiful here, even more than I imagined. And getting to know many crazy lovers of Jesus. My group has had this weekend to "explore the island" so we went to some waterfalls and the legendary ruins of this island. One of the waterfalls, I got to jump off, and it was the highest jump I've ever had, and super fun.
The RUINS:
We visited the historical ruins here on Pohnpei this weekend. It has a really intense history. It was an 18 kilometer city that was built about 800ish years ago, by sorcerers. They used their sorcery to fly in giant stones (too heavy and large to have come on any ship of that time). To build the city and did human sacrifice, and were a huge stronghold of fear and control in the island. The filmmakers of Ghosts, came to film an episode there and were killed by demons there. Jesse and other believers had come to pray and cleanse the land with the blood of Jesus, and its quite peaceful there now. Now I am reading a book about the spiritual history of Hawaii and other Polynesian Islands, "God of Light, God of Darkness" by Daniel Kikawa. And I am soo humbled to discover the way that God has been working all along through the culture and history of peoples that I have never heard of or known. And to see how good and faithful he is. And what good news Jesus is. The freedom of the gospel is incredible. The love of God is soo good, so powerful. I am so humbled by the way I am discovering him in the Pohnpeians here.
The Gospel is Good News:
This morning I was also really convicted to repent of a lie that I have believed for a long time: "That the gospel is hard to accept, that its not really that good of news, that people won't usually want to hear it or believe it or have their lives transformed by it". I am finding that in this time and season in the world, actually that is the rare exception, that people will hear and not respond. The norm is that they will believe when they hear and see the gospel, because it really is good news! And Love is really powerful. That lie has discouraged me and made me hesitant and timid to share in many opportunities. And I have judged people's hearts that they were hard, when really God was likely already there, calling them to himself.
This shift in my mindest was confirmed today by a jog down the road and my jogging friend just started up a conversation with the local woman walking on her way to work, and it was so evident in her eyes and countenance that she was hungry for that good news. And then a friend shared this verse for the school,
Isaiah 55:5 "You also will command nations you do not know, and peoples unknown to you will come running to obey, because I, the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious."
This weekend:
My group will be gone hiking for a mountain survival weekend. The group that went last weekend had amazing stories challenges and of God healing one guy immediately of (what sounded to me like altitude sickness, or severe dehydration and vomiting). So... we are pretty excited about a slightly shorter, amazing challenging weekend of hiking. And this morning Jessie and Tanya shared a story with us of them visiting a hard to reach, unreached mountain village in Nepal, and the crazy dangerous bus ride and hike, and then how a woman was healed of the cancer she was dying from and her whole family and doctor became believers in Jesus. And many other people in those villages. Jesus is worth the pain, he is worth the risk. He is beautiful! He is great news!
One of the Pohnpeian students here with us, broke his finger playing volleyball last week, then another student prayed for him immediately and he was healed and felt something like electricity going through his body. And of course a lot of heart healing is happening for all of us, because thats what God does...
Praying for more and more of God.
