The Kings Heart for the Center of the Ocean

Casia:    
When I woke up this morning I asked God what he wanted me to pray for and I felt him say: "The center of the ocean."

I thought it was bizarre and I was unsure if I had heard right but I jumped into praying anyways. When I was thinking about the words "Center of the Ocean" the huge trash pile the size of texas and ridiculously deep in the Pacific ocean came to mind. It is called the Pacific Garbage Patch and is in one of the Gyres, an area where several different ocean currents come together. I remembered hearing of it somewhere a while ago but I didn't remember where, all I knew is that there was a horrific pile of plastic that had built up in our ocean that was affecting our environment as a direct result of our neglect and lack of care.

While I was praying I also remembered the scripture where God calmed the storm. "Even the waves and wind listen to him…" After praying I opened my bible and it opened up to Matthew 8:23-27:

                    

     "And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him."

    

      It was such an awesome confirmation that I had heard clearly about what God wanted us to partner with him in prayer for, so I shared it with the group which caused Kelly to share her dream:

     "Last night I had a dream that I was on top of a ship in the ocean and I wanted to go out and swim. Farrah stopped me and said I could only swim in the little pond on the deck of the ship. She said it was a warmer and better place to swim. The next dream I had was me swimming in the ocean with a few friends. We were having fun swimming, then one person decided to go underwater. He came up disgusted and said he saw a pile of hair and dirt at the bottom of the ocean. It was really gross and had mice running out of it. We all wanted to look under the water at this point. Now we saw a huge cargo box filled with items. We looked again and saw a line of these boxes next to each other, all filled with different items. We were angry that this was hidden from us."

Beth had also done some research about the issues for the environment that result from plastic throughout the last couple years:

"Man was so excited when he created plastics in the mid 20th century. There were so many things he could do with it, and it has served to help our world in so many ways. However, as all matter on the earth, it breaks down. Since it was a substance that was completely man made, it does not break down as other natural substances on the earth. A lot if it ends up being washed into the ocean, either directly, by pieces of trash that are thrown into or washed into the ocean, or indirectly, by pieces that break down and are washed into the ocean like sand and minerals are washed into the ocean from larger rocks. Because animals don't know what it is, they think it's food, and die from consuming it, both on land and in the ocean. The bits that are in the ocean usually end up in garbage patches. They keep breaking down, and when it is broken down in the smallest pieces, it ends up suspended in the water, like of watery soup of plastic. 

Plastic is so useful, as we all know. Some can be recycled, but only once or twice. Most can not be recycled. It is said that if it can blow in the wind, it can not truly be recycled. It is a very inexpensive substance, and useful both in first and third world countries. In first world countries, we usually know that it should be recycled, but aren't always conscious about it. It is a very useful and inexpensive substance to bring supplies to third world countries, but these countries often don't have the resources or the know-how to recycle it. Much of this plastic ends up in the pacific garbage patch. 

The next day when we were helping with some clean-up projects, we saw a direct result of this problem. The people directing the clean-up project, out of ignorance, were burning the plastic right next to a waterway that goes into the ocean. It was not our place to correct the good work these people were trying to do, but it did raise our awareness of the depth of this problem." 

Casia:  
  God gave Kelly and I different pieces of the picture that seemed pretty random and bizarre separately, but made sense together. It was so cool that God spoke so specifically. This Trash pile in the middle of the ocean is directly affecting the French polynesians, their land and their lifestyle. God cares so much that he showed us what to pray into and what to partner with him on. 

Here is a clip from our prayer:

     "We repent on behalf of the Christians who have said: "Well Jesus is coming back so we don't need to care about the environment." and that hurts you because it is your beautiful creation that you made and love, that reflects your glory. And you gave us the role to look after and care for your creation and we have neglected that role. And we repent because the people who love the environment have heard Christians taking on those attitudes and because of that they want nothing to do with God. We pray that Christians would begin to take on a leading role in caring for the environment and that we would take on the role that you gave to us through Adam in the garden to care for the earth. {You have given us dominion over the land and the animals…} We pray that we would begin to take responsibility for the trash that is harming the earth and come up with creative solutions to this massive problem."

Constant Provision ~ Provision Constante

~James 1:2-4 ~ Jacques 1:2-4 ~

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

"Frères, regardez comme le sujet d'une parfaite joie les diverses tentations qui vous arrivent, Sachant que l'épreuve de votre foi produit la patience. Mais que la patience ait une efficacité parfaite, afin que vous soyez parfaits et accomplis, ne manquant en rien." 

~Matthew 6:25 ~ Matthieu 6:25~

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing."

"C'est pourquoi je vous dis: Ne vous inquiétez pas pour votre vie de ce que vous mangerez, ni pour votre corps, de quoi vous serez vêtus. La vie n'est-elle pas plus que la nourriture, et le corps plus que le vêtement?."

These verses have been a constant encouragement for us in just the first week, as God keeps bringing us back to a place of trust, and shows up with provision every time. 

Ali:

"Our original plan for accommodation on Moorea was to stay in a house that would be lent to us for the week and we'd pay a contribution towards its use. Unfortunately the water had to be reconnected & there were some problems with getting that sorted, so we wouldn't be able to stay there straight away. 

It was actually only as we were leaving to get the boat to Moorea that we confirmed a place where we could stay for the first two nights. It was more expensive for two nights there than what we would have pay towards the other house for the week, but at least we had somewhere to stay and we knew we could trust God to provide the means to pay, especially since the plans had changed!

So on the day we were supposed to move on from there, we were waiting to hear if we were able to go to the original house we'd planned to stay in or if another solution had been found. We spent time praying in the morning, asking God to provide a place for us. We were actually quite specific in our requests - asking for another place by the water, where it would be cheap (or even free!) and where we'd be able to connect with local people around us. 

We heard from our Tahiti contact, Edualdo, that they hadn't been able to find many other cheap options. There was just a place down the road from us, where we could probably negotiate a better price. Otherwise we could go back to Tahiti earlier than planned, to stay and work on a farm. 

We decided to put it in God's hands, since we weren't sure if he was showing us, through the closed doors, that we should move on. 

So we prayed about what to do and felt like we were supposed to try and connect with the people next to us before we left. We also prayed that the budget wouldn't be a problem, as we trust that God will continue to provide for us on this trip, even if our expenses are more than our original expectations. 

Some of us went to find the other place down the road to see if we could get a good price. We found out that the couple who rent out the bungalows there had only just returned from the hospital that afternoon, since the woman had just had a baby the day before. 

As soon as we mentioned that we were a group from YWAM the man, Marcelino, sounded very happy to receive us. He even asked us how much we'd like to pay to stay there - how much was our budget. We were surprised by this and weren't sure what to say...! I thought about how much we were paying for the current place, said a quick prayer in my head and basically halved the amount we were already paying per night. M seemed slightly surprised, as though we were offering a higher amount than he'd expected. He assured us that his land belonged to The Lord and he was happy to bless missionaries that came, as he knows they can't afford tourist prices (which can be very high!). 

We were blessed that the place was what we'd asked for - two much cheaper bungalows next to the water and close to people we could connect with, who turned out to be Christians! They also offered us the use of their car to get to the boat when we leave, as it would be cheaper than the bus. 

Afterwards, we invited our neighbors to join us for dinner, since we were moving away the next day. Unfortunately they didn't accept, but invited us to join them for lunch the next day! We were touched that they'd invited us and were glad to be able to connect with them. 

When we went over, they showed us how to cook some of the food their way and Farrah cooked some rice and eggplant to go with the fish that they'd caught. It was a fun exchange."

Ali:

"Le projet original pour notre logement sur Moorea était de loger dans une maison qu'on nous a offert, où on allait payer une participation pour l'utilisation. Malheureusement, il fallait que l'eau soit branchée et il y avait des problèmes pour la reconnecter, donc on ne pouvait pas y aller tout de suite. 

Ce n'était que lorsqu'on partait pour prendre le bateau à Moorea qu'un logement a été confirmé pour les deux premières nuits. Ce logement coûtait plus cher pour ces 2 nuits que la semaine à l'autre maison, mais on avait au moins quelque part pour dormir et nous avons su que Dieu fournirait le moyen de payer, surtout avec les changements de plan!

Le jour où on été sensé quitter le logement, nous attendions les nouvelles pour savoir si c'était possible d'aller dans la maison prévue au début ou s'il y avait une autre solution. Nous avons prier le matin pour demander à Dieu de fournir un logement pour nous. On était précis dans ce que nous avons demandé - demandant encore un logement à côté de la mer, moins cher (même gratuit!) et où on pourrait entrer en contact avec les gens autours de nous. 

Nous avons entendu des nouvelles de notre contact à Tahiti, Edualdo, qu'ils n'ont pas pu trouver beaucoup de possibilité de logements pas chers. Il y avait seulement un pension sur la route pas loin, où on pouvait peut-être négocier un meilleur prix. Sinon, on pourrait retourner à Tahiti plus tôt pour loger et travailler sur la ferme. 

Nous avons décidé de tout mettre dans les mains de Dieu, car on n'était as surs s'il nous montrait, au travers de ces portes fermées, qu'on devrait retourner à Tahiti. 

Nous avons prié pour demander ce qu'on devrait faire et nous avons ressenti qu'on devrait bénir les voisins avant de partir. Nous avons aussi prier qu'il n'y ait aucun problème avec notre budget, car nous confions à Dieu de continuer à fournir pour nous pendant ce voyage, même si nos dépenses sont plus grandes que nos attentes. 

Nous sommes allés chercher l'autre pension pour négocier un meilleur prix de logement. Le couple qui loue les bungalow venait de retourner de l'hôpital le même âpres-midi, car la femme venait d'accouché le jour d'avant. 

Dès qu'on a expliqué qu'on fait partie de Jeunesse en Mission l'homme, Marcelino, semblait très content