Since finishing our DTS we’ve slowly eased our way back into life as staff on the Marine Reach Fiji base. We also spent a week in Vanuatu in order to renew our visas. Port Vila looked very different without the presence of the military and all the UN agencies! It was so encouraging to see the markets brimming with fruit and veg and buildings restored. Even the landscape from above looks green and healthy again. All in all it was lovely to have a week of doing very little after the intensity of the last 6 months.

For me (Dani) it feels like a lot of lessons and experiences are beginning to sink their way into my being. One of the things I worried about before starting DTS was this idea that I would be uprooted and completely overturned, both emotionally and spiritually, and that I would then be left to find my feet again once back in the ‘real world’. In some ways what happened isn’t too far from that, but the process was (relatively) gentle and has kept me, well, me.

The lecture phase was designed to speed-track new ‘head’ knowledge straight to the heart. I found the teaching on forgiveness very liberating. We all had to face up to some of the things we were holding on to, hurts that actually have the power to influence how I make decisions and how I relate to people. I also relished learning about ‘sonship’ in God’s kingdom, and the idea of making the move from living like an orphan to being a daughter of the Most High.

Learning to live in community was both one of the most challenging and most rewarding aspects of DTS. Learning to live, eat and learn with such a diverse group of people taught me how to love better. Learning to be open and vulnerable taught me humility, the willingness to be known for who I truly am. It also revealed my weaknesses, my petty nature, and how much I have to learn about laying down my rights and selfishness.

All these things, both good and bad, were amplified during the outreach phase. It was a perfect demonstration of how imperfect beings can be used in remarkable ways if they are willing to say ‘yes’. We saw people’s lives being touched through our simple words and the work of our hands. There were times of pain and frustration mixed in with times of joy and laughter, and I was thoroughly stretched. It was a training ground in boldness, patience and trust, and yet I know it was only a preparation for what is to come…

There is so much to do in this country, on this earth. Amongst all the brokenness it is easy to lose hope and retreat into the comfort of our own affairs. I guess that at the end of it all my prayer is that my answer will always be a resounding ‘yes’, that I’ll continue to learn how to love, that I’ll never tire of trying to make a difference.  John 3 v 30

The song that has been our anthem these last months is the Hillsong United’s ‘Oceans’.

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You’ve never failed and You won’t start now

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Saviour

The uncertainty of the path ahead feels being led into rising oceans! Sometimes my feet feel shaky and my faith wavers, but each time I return to what I know: the One who holds my hand will not fail.