Full Fiji Update!

Hi friends! I am SO excited to update you on all that has been going on in my life over the past few weeks. I first want to start off by saying how grateful I am for all of your love and support in everything the Lord has me doing here. Being away from home and doing this kind of missionary work for the Lord can definitely get hard at times, but it makes it so much easier knowing how amazing of a family and support system I have in all of you. I am so grateful for you; truly. As you know I was in Fiji for 3 and a half weeks, just getting back two weeks ago! This trip was incredible. I went back not knowing specifically what it would all look like, but with a heart that was just excited to serve the people there in any way they needed. Naturally when you go into any place with a heart willing to serve, the Lord will more than likely give you many opportunities to do just that; and that is what happened in Fiji! I got there and immediately began reconnecting with old friends from my time there last year, getting updates on all things going on with their church, and helping around the house that I was staying at. During the first few days of being there I was waiting on the Lord a lot to try to hear what He was speaking to me about my time there, because I knew His heart and will for it was very specific. As I was talking with people and just jumping back into the community there, I felt that He was saying, “be slow to speak and quick to listen”. This was definitely a challenge for me, especially for being a missionary in a different country; people are usually pretty interested in what you have to say! I understood though that what God was saying wasn't was to not speak; but rather have a heart that first wants to listen and connect with how other people were feeling and doing, and then receive in His timing my time to speak and pour into people. With that new understanding, I noticed God giving me so many opportunities to speak into people's lives, teach and preach even while I was there! To share a bit of what I did while in Savusavu: I spoke at a worship team weekend workshop; sharing on the heart behind worship, expectations on worship team members, and being grounded in the Word of God before anything else. I also spoke at a youth group two weeks in a row on sustaining your relationship with the Lord through thanksgiving and praise, and then the following week on evangelism. I as well preached at their church two weeks in a row, giving messages on the power of our testimony, and then practical teaching on evangelism and sharing the Gospel! It was such an amazing opportunity and time of growth to be able to share what the Lord has been teaching me over the past year. Anytime we have the opportunity to teach, I believe it gives us an opportunity into deeper revelation about our own hearts and walk with the Lord as well. It's pretty incredible how God ministers to our hearts as we step out in ministering to others. I also while I was there got to spend a lot of my time intentionally disciplining some of the youth in their church body. I formed some amazing friendships with a lot of the teenagers there last year during my stay in Fiji, and getting to go back and visit and check in on them was such an amazing gift from God. I believe that there is so much worth and power in continuing relationships, especially with other believers and people that we minister to. Just like in the Bible as Paul would intentionally go back and visit those with whom He preached to and taught, to see how they were doing and to further bless and encourage them. Being able to go back to Fiji and allow God to do that through me was incredible and gave me a new perspective on just how intimate and strong the love of the Lord is for me and for all of His people. My 3 weeks in Fiji were incredible and definitely boosted my faith and gave me a deeper dependency on Jesus and new eyes to see more of Him and what His heart looks like. Coming back to Kona I have jumped back into the Leadership Track program for the summer quarter. The last three months in the track for me were pretty amazing. It was a time where the Lord just took away so many distractions and ministered so intimately to my heart. It was always the easiest, but God has been captivating my heart for an intimacy with Him that I've never had before. I am excited to see what more the Lord is going to do in my heart for this upcoming quarter as I continue to grow with Him. I will also be beginning to help with the corporate worship we have here on campus! I will be jumping into serving the base by joining worship and prayer sets playing drums and helping lead the campus in worship! I am so blessed to be able to have this opportunity; music and playing drums is an amazing passion of mine, and anytime you get to use a passion to glorify Jesus it is pretty incredible. As this summer continues I will be sending out regular updates and prayer requests; I am so grateful that I get to partner with you in this mission. All of the testimonies and glory stories are yours just as much as mine; I hope they excite you heart as well! God is truly doing some amazing things for His Kingdom, and He is using you to do it!

One last thing: if you have any prayer requests or needs that I can be praying for, please email or contact me! The Lord is definitely growing my prayer life and I would love to support you in a way that the Lord is using you to support me! Also, if you ever want to send letters or encouraging notes that would be more than welcomed and loved! Getting mail here is a great feeling, especially from loved ones whom I don't get to see very often.

Mailing address:

Mackenzie Sheehan

75-5851 Kuakini Highway, #282

Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

96740-2199 USA

Have a blessed day! -Mackenzie Sheehan