Standing at the Brink of Something Great

City Council officials have given us every indication that, after 2 years of hard work and lots of "running around", our application for a building permit for the new CEF National Office and Training Center is entering its final days! We are elated and have been told to expect the issue of the building permit by Wednesday of this week!

We take great comfort in knowing that our mighty God is not affected by the global financial situation. He is able to provide abundantly and above all that we ask or think.

Will you join us in trusting the Lord for His provision? How thrilling it would be to begin construction this June should the Lord provide the necessary funds. Early estimates indicate that the new building will cost approximately USD $330,000.00 given the current exchange rates. That's not too much for our Heavenly Father. So, with expectant hearts and great faith, we are asking Him to provide miraculously and almost immediately so that we can begin to make plans for construction to begin in June which is the start of our dry season in Fiji.

Many Teachers Trained in Weekly Classes

We have been so blessed and encouraged by the incredible turnout for our weekly teacher training classes. In addition to conducting a Tuesday morning class for SS teachers and Good News Club teachers, we've added an evening class this year. The response has been wonderful! We've had as many as 17 adults for the morning class and as many as 25 adults in the evening training class during the past two weeks.

Obviously, it is meeting a felt need and our hearts rejoice! Pictured here is our "training bure" (boor-ay means "house" in Fijian). It's simply a temporary shed that we've put up in the backyard of the CEF property to utilize while we wait upon God's provision of a new office and training hall (which will seat 100). Interest is growing and new faces appear each week. We have recently purchased 50 folding chairs and hope to fill every one of them soon! Please pray for God's continued blessings on our training ministries!

God Gives PROPERTY TITLE

After 14 months of waiting, the Property Title to CEF's new property was finally placed into Kent's hands on Monday, January 19th. We are jubilant in that it has been a much sought-after document...one that has been missing, one that was once "lost", one that was buried under stacks of papers and files on someone's desk since April 2008 and now one that has finally been put into the hands of its owners!

This marks the crossing of one of the two remaining "hurdles" in pursuit of the Building Permit for CEF's new office and training center. Now that this document has been secured, the final step is to submit it to the local city council who should now issue the building permit within days, if all goes as planned.

Then, the FINAL "hurdle" is God's provision of the funds to build. Mind you, it's only a "hurdle" for us, but not for Him! We anxiously await His bountiful provision. Pray that God will help us to know how to assist Him in promoting The Moriah Project.

Fiji Floods & Devastation

Firstly, we are safe, for which we thank our Lord. Fiji has been pelted for five days with heavy rains and devastating floods. The storms have wreaked havoc throughout the country. Many homes, villages and even major towns have been destroyed by these floods. Major businesses in the tourist town of Nadi (pronounced Nandi) have been totally wiped out. At least three large towns on our island and one large town on the northern island in Fiji have been flooded by as much as 6 feet of water in every shop.

Devastation of infrastructure and roads have been surreal. Landslides have taken the lives of at least 2 teenage girls when they were buried alive. Nine other young people have lost their lives by raging rivers and flooding. Our roads are now filled with deep craters which will not soon be repaired. Gardens and fresh vegetables, if any, will now come at a premium. There continues to be widespread devastation. Heavy rains continue to fall and more is forecast in the coming days. The third "low depression" is on its way.

We've been blessed to have electricity and a water supply during these days. However, this picture shows what our pure white water filter looks like after only a week of filtration use. This is how it looked before the storms came! It is any wonder that Becky spends hours filtering and boiling our drinking supply?

We have seen that many people, mostly young people and children, are ignoring the warnings of police and government authorities and continue to play in floodwaters despite the potential danger. They're treating the floodwaters as a time of festivity! This is why several young people in their early 20's have needlessly lost their lives. So sad!

Pray that we will know how to be a blessing to those around us who have lost most everything they've owned.

Siki's Family Loses All

The heavy rains rushed wildly from highlands and mountains ranges showing no mercy to villages located along rivers and seashores. Siki, one of the Fijian young men on CEF staff, is burdened and concerned for his family back in the village about 4 hours from Lautoka where we live.

Siki's family home has been destroyed by flood waters. As much as 8 feet of water filled the house rising up to the ceiling of their village home. What took a lifetime to gather has now been washed away or destroyed by five days of heavy rains. His family is currently housed in an emergency evacuation center set up by the government and it will be days or weeks before they'll be able to return to their village to see what was spared. Pray for Siki, his parents, two younger brothers and little sister as they deal with their devastating losses. His parents know the Lord and ask for God's people to pray for them.

New Year, New Births!

Christmas was special for our family, but the New Year brought the greatest joy when Kent had the privilege of leading TWO young men to the Lord. The third was counseled for assurance of salvation. Pictured here (L to R) are Jim, Samuela, Josese and Tomasi. Tomasi serves the Lord with CEF Fiji and "sowed the seeds" of the Gospel in the lives of his fellow rugby teammates. "Sam" and Josese, both age 22, were "ripe unto harvest" and eagerly prayed to receive the Lord on Saturday, January 3rd. In fact, Sam came to know the Lord first on Saturday morning and later that evening, he returned with his friend, Josese, saying that he, too, wanted to receive Christ. All three young men were given new Bibles of their very own.

Jim came to Kent on Wednesday afternoon stating that he had begun to read his Bible and that it was the first Bible that he had ever owned. How thrilling to see these young men excited about their new-found faith in Jesus Christ. Do pray for them as we disciple them and encourage them to grow in the Lord.

Greetings from the Home Front

HAPPY THANKSGIVING from our family to yours! Becky, Jeremy and Katelyn will be celebrating Thanksgiving today in Fiji. Becky has worked in sweltering heat and humidity to prepare dishes for the Thanksgiving table. They're expecting seven friends for dinner tonight. Pray for God's blessings upon them as they celebrate this holiday without "daddy" being at home.

In addition to mourning the loss of Kent's brother, Doug, who went to be with the Lord on November 15th, it was just a few days later that a faithful ol' friend, our dog Wishbone, had to be put down. He was Jeremy & Katelyn's first dog and had been part of the family for 11 1/2 years. Jeremy and Katelyn felt the pain and loss of Wishbone very keenly. Here are a couple of pictures of Jeremy at age 3 when Wishbone "appeared" as a lost pup at our front gate. Katelyn, at age 4, enjoyed playing "dolls" with Wishbone and dressing him up. Wishbone was buried not far from home. Pray for Jeremy and Katelyn, in particular, as they come to terms with the loss of a very special four-legged friend.