Dear Friends and Family,
As most of you know, I
will be graduating from College of the Ozarks in May. What an incredible
journey it’s been! Part of my senior year requirement was to do an internship
in my field of study which is graphic design. As only the Lord can do, He
has opened a way for me to complete the internship and venture into missions
work at the same time. By His grace, I will be traveling to the island
nation of Fiji to serve as an intern with the Students International missions
organization for the duration of the Summer from May 24th to August 1st. For these
10 weeks I will be serving as a photography/media intern with this ministry to
share the news of what is being done in Fiji with the rest of the world; as, today
more than ever before, technology is helping missionaries connect with short
term teams, supporters, and prayer partners. I will also serve as an all around intern to aid with the various teams and, of course, volunteering at the ministry
sites established in Fiji.
The SI Fiji basecamp,
located in Fiji’s 3rd largest city (Lautoka) on the main island of
Viti Levu, serves as host to numerous high-school and college aged
student "teams" on short term trips throughout the Summer.
These teams are then sent out to serve and help those who minister with the
on-going ministry sites. I will be helping out this ministry in a variety of
ways. The long-term staff have special needs to continue their ministry, and I
will serve them by meeting some of those needs. Including helping to teach some
of the nationals involved with SI basic photojournalism and media skills to
continue using once my time in Fiji is complete. This is a great opportunity to
serve, and one I didn’t expect by any means! In fact, now, more than ever
before in my life, I have seen God’s movement as He opened up the doors for
this Summer faster than I could reach for the handles. The Lord has made it
very clear that the He is indeed calling me to Fiji for this Summer and I am anxious
to get there in May! However, more than that, I cannot wait for the growth in
my faith through my service and time of leadership in the world of missions,
beginning on the Island of Fiji.
We are all called to
missional living, however, this is my first extended period of living outside
of the united states. According to scripture, prayer will always be the number
one and most influential medium of support, however, some of you reading this update
may be feeling called to support me at this time financially. The Lord
has already generously provided the transportation costs so what remains is the
room and board expense of $175 per week, $1750.00 total. I would
like to ask you, as a brother or sister in Christ,to pray about making a
financial contribution to the SI outreach on my behalf. I also covet your
prayers for this opportunity to minister, as it is definitely far beyond my
comfort zone or what I had expected for my summer. I would also love it if you
would follow my blog austininfiji2014.blogspot.com
for updates, photos, and special prayer requests during the time that I am gone
as I will not be on facebook or other social media very much due to the minimal
amount of wifi on the island.
If you would like to
support me, please make your check payable to Students International for
tax-deductible purposes. I have special envelopes I am handing out , or you can simply send support to: Students International at PO Box 2733 Visalia, CA 93279, USA. If mailing, please include my personal ID # (07Intern14-02) on the bottom left corner of the envelope to help direct the money to my account. You can also make a
direct donation online using a credit card at: stint.com/donate followed by
entering my ID# and my zipcode (80537). Please pray about the part God wants
you to play in this event. And may God bless you for your time and support.
Blessings,
- Austin
- Austin
In case you had to us Google to find out where Fiji is.
Fijian School Children
Lautoka, Fiji
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