This season of serving at the University of the Nations is coming to a close. We board our plane from Kona to Fayetteville, Arkansas tonight at 11:59 p.m. Hawaiian time (3:59 a.m. CST). We have been so blessed not just by great sunsets while here, but also by incredible relationships with people like Chong Ho and Kris Won, Nick and Jen Greener, Ben and Angie Wicks, Holger and Jillie Schein, Loren Cunningham, John and Sonja Randerson, Paul and Lynette Randerson, Josh Harmsworth, Tyler Johnson, Andy Huddleston and so many others. Our children have been discipled through our time together and by excellent schools, dedicated to teaching them to follow Jesus. We have worked on a number of projects and hope that our time here hasn't just been a blessing to us, but that we have blessed the University of the Nations. Most of all, God has renewed our faith and restored in us the joy of our salvation. We pray it becomes more and more manifest in our daily lives.

We know not yet where we will be come Spring of 2007, but we are praying about that earnestly and fervently. We have always wondered if God would release us to do our training in our home state, and that is still possible, but there are other opportunities of which we are becoming aware.

YWAM has an incredible mission and ministry. In our time here we have seen people truly seeking God's direction for their lives. The teaching is sound and the desire to see people hear and know the gospel of Jesus Christ is strong. Pray for YWAM. Pray for the gospel to be carried throughout the world. And please pray that we will not forget the lessons God has taught us here as we prepare to carry out our ministry.

I am a week late in posting this, but last weekend, on December 2nd and 3rd, we celebrated Tanner Gracen Riley's 8th Birthday. He was born December 3, 1998, after almost 20 hours of loving labor, our first child. We packed up our family, as did the Schein's, and spent the weekend at the Volcano National Park on the Big Island . We had volcano cake and as you can see breathed volcanic fumes (a lot of stinky sulfur). You can see behind us boys the fumes arising from the mouth of Kilauea, the one volcano on the island that is currently active and spilling forth lava from an open vent. The crater itself is simply releasing gases and hasn't had lava in it for a few years, but there is lava flowing from the same system via a vent in the mountain down to the ocean. We actually went and viewed the lava flowing into the sea after dark. We weren't able to hike, with our littlest ones, as close as you can go, but we looked through a telescope like device from a couple of miles away and saw the actual orange flow disappearing into a roiling sea, complete with lots of steam!

We are very proud of our son, Tanner. Wherever we go on campus we hear big and little voices saying "Hi, Tanner!" It would seem that there isn't a soul on campus that doesn't know his name. He seems to be able to talk to anyone and it seems that almost anyone enjoys talking with him. Please pray for our son, Tanner, that God will continue to grow Him in strength and wisdom and in favor with God and man.

The Scheins are an amazing YWAM family who have been serving as missionaries for some time. Hoger, from Hamburg, Germany, and Jillie, from New Zealand, met in the mission field and have had all three of their boys along the way, serving in places like South Africa, England, and Germany. Pray that God will continue to multiply their ministry as they return to New Zealand for the holidays and then to South Africa.

SAHARAWI PEOPLE GROUP

The Saharawi people are one of the least reached people groups as determined by the Joshua Project (http://www.joshuaproject.net/peopctry.php?rop3=108512&rog3=MO). Originally, the Saharawi were desert nomads who traveled by camel. Today, they can be found in the desert in southern Morocco, in the Western Sahara region, in the North of Mauritania, in Algerian refugee camps, and in the Canary Islands. A sub-group of the Moors, they are of mixed Berber, Arab, and black African descent. Some Saharawi are herdsmen, others are traders, and still others are warriors. However, all speak an Arabic dialect called Hassaniya and Spanish. In addition, their religion, way of life, and dress are Arabic in flavor and style.

They are Islamic in belief, but have more openness to other beliefs than many Islamic adherents. It is unknown how many, if any, evangelical Christians there are among the Saharawi. They live in a culture of war as there is a longstanding conflict between Morocco and the Saharawi people.

The map below will show you the area of Africa where most of the Saharawi live.

Now, why am I writing about the Saharawi? Well, one of the professors here at the University of the Nations, Robert Evans (not the Bob Evans of restaurant fame) has been asked to attend a conference of Saharawi Imams in Algeria. Imam means leader, and the religious Imams are the religious leaders of an Islamic people. Please understand the significance of this. Robert has been asked as a Christian Bible teacher (he teaches Greek and Hebrew here) to come and present the story of the Book (then entire OT and NT) as seen through a Christian's eyes, with Christ as the focus. They want to hear from a Christian about the God of their "Father, Abraham." Robert also speaks Spanish.

This is taking place November 11-13 in Algeria. Here's the deal. All missions here in YWAM are individually supported and support raised. Robert not only is having to raise the money to go to Algeria, but he also has to raise money to provide a substitute Greek teacher while he is gone. A substitute (who also is a missionary) has already agreed to come, but Robert needs money or frequent flier miles to buy a plane ticket for the substitute and money for his trip, as well. I am asking you to consider sending support for this incredible opportunity! I am trying to help him find his way there for this amazing opportunity.

Can you imagine?? A Christian teaching the Bible to 150 "priests/pastors" of the Islamic faith in a people group considered to be one of the least reached people groups in the world? In addition, this is a people group burdened with war and political unrest, ripe for finding the one true Mediator and Reconciliation that Jesus Christ alone can bring!

If you would like to give to this cause, buying a plane ticket, buying part of a plane ticket or any such gift, please contact me and I will provide details as to how you can do so.

This is us with the Wicks family, Ben, Angie, Sam and Katie. The lovely beach you see is Hapuna. We went there with them back in early August, while we were praying over whether to come back to Kona or not. They also are the family that are letting us use their car during our stay here while they minister in Fiji. Please pray for them as they are seeing fruit to their ministry as you will see below!!!

The Wicks are, as I type this, in their third week of serving as missionaries to the island of Fiji. They and several others from their Discipleship Training School were called to serve for two months there. While I am here doing boring stuff like talking to attorneys and other administrative matters for the University, they are serving our Lord Jesus in Fiji. I just received this update from their team there.

Ni Sa Bula Vinaka from the CDTS Fiji outreach team!

We have just finished our second week of ministry here in Fiji. What follows is our first official update containing a general summary of what we have been up to and what God is doing in and through us on our outreach so far. The first week of our outreach was spent connecting with our contacts here, spending some time in orientation meetings with them, and beginning our outreach ministries.

Our main contacts here are Vini and Lomani Gaunavinaka (recently arrived from Kona), Tress Rokodovu (a YWAMer and local Fijian), and "Pastor Mike" (pastor of one of the local Assembly of God churches here and coined as the Loren Cunningham of Fiji).

Our ministry to this point has been focused in several different areas:

Lautoka Prison - We have been sending a small team of people each day with Pastor Mike to the men's prison here. They have basically been running a mini-DTS for a group of the inmates there. Last week, 18 of the 21 men either accepted Christ for the first time or recommited their lives to Him.

Lautoka Hospital - We have been sending a team of six people to the hospital about three days each week to talk to and pray for the patients there. On Friday, two of the men we prayed for recommited their lives to Christ. Today, we went into the children's ward to sing songs for the kids and pray for them and their parents. It was a very touching time.

After-School Program - On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, we run an after-school program at the home of Vini and Lomani for about 20 children between ages 8-12. We spend about 45 minutes helping them with their homework, another 45 minutes playing games down the street at a field, and another 30 minutes singing songs and learning Scripture verses.

Village Ministry - On Thursdays we send a large team to a nearby village which is situated next to the garbage dump. This is a time where we spend time with the adults and children...talking, playing, singing, etc.

Prostitute Ministry - On weekend nights, some of the women go out on the streets and witness to the prositutes and transvestites that hang out there.

Tomorrow we are sending a team of eight to one of the mountain villages for six days. Also, we are currently compiling more specific stories and testimonies and will send those in a later update.

Current prayer requests include: Health for several team members who are struggling physically, Protection and unity for the team travelling to the mountain village this week, Continued guidance from God on our ministry here.

God bless! Ben Wicks and the CDTS Fiji Team

This young lady is a student here at the University of the Nations from Mongolia. She is carrying her nation's flag during the opening night ceremony. We saw 33 young people carrying 33 different nations' flags representing the 33 nations from which the students hail. Additionally, there are staff members here from even more nations. Opening night to the fall quarter was an amazing night of praise and worship in song and dance, including many native Hawaiian numbers.

Please pray that all the people from all these many cultures will come together as one in Christ as we learn to live together on campus. Because the rooms are not air conditioned, we live with windows open at all times, thus all noises, conversations, etc. (including the jumping of our two year old) are very shared. Praise God for His amazing power to bring together His children for His purposes!!!!!

GOD IS MOVING IN FIJI

You can read about some exciting happenings in the Island Nation of Fiji here: http://http://www.uofnkona.edu/index.cfm?fuseaction=control.main&sectionID=94

The above picture shows a "high chief" in Fiji with Mark Anderson and Loren Cunningham of YWAM and two pastors in Fiji. Mark is one of the YWAM leaders involved in another strategic partnership between missions organizations. I will write more about that later.

MORE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE NATIONS

Check out this link: http://onestory.org/Partners. This is a strategic mission partnership between the IMB, YWAM, Wycliffe, Campus Crusade, and TransWorld Radio. David Hamilton, the U of N Provost, is the liaison for YWAM to One Story, and he is based here in Kona. Dr. Grant Lovejoy and Avery Willis, both with the IMB, are orality experts who are helping drive the partnership as well, and they have been to the U of N multiple times this year. You can read more about it at the attached pdf, which contains the quarterly magazine of the U of N: http://www.uofnkona.edu/Transformations/pdfs/Summer2006.pdf

WHAT ALL IS HAPPENING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE NATIONS?

One example of an exciting to ministry tool is the continuing development of 4K. The map below, difficult to see because I've taken a shrunken sample for this post, is an example of what 4K will enable missionaries to do when they are determining their strategic focus.

The International Coordinator of 4K for Youth With a Mission, Dustin Barrington, defines it this way: “4k” is a global information system that uses databases and maps to visually represent where we are, and more importantly, where we are NOT... in our progress toward reaching the entire world with the Gospel. By helping the different parts of the Body of Christ to understand how they relate to one another 4k creates a foundation for global partnership, strategy development and mobilization.

How does "4k" work? “4k” is a tool that uses political boundaries, population and the availability of the gospel to divide the entire world into 4,379 “4k zones.” - Where the gospel is widely available, 4k zones have a limit of 9 million in population.- Where the gospel is partially available, 4k zones have a limit of 6 million in population.- Where the gospel is not available, 4k zones have a limit of 3 million in population. 4k zones use the recognized boundaries that the nations of the world have established for their own administrative levels (e.g. country, states, provinces, regions, etc). By using existing geopolitical boundaries, 4k is able to make huge amounts of ‘public access’ research and statistics easily accessible to Christians in a highly visual and interactive format. There are currently over 200 pieces of statistical and demographic data available for each 4k zone through a cutting edge web-based dynamic map generation tool developed by the 4k team.

“Go into ALL the world” 4k includes the entire world while gently focusing on where the gospel is needed most. 4k visually represents reality in a way that causes us to perceive things that have previously escaped our attention. 4k is a tool that helps us, as the Body of Christ, to work together to fulfill the ‘Great Commission.’ See..See the world in a new way...the way it really is...Pray...Pray therefore to the Lord of the Harvest... to send laborers into His harvest fields...Hear...Hear from God about how to respond... “ here am I, send me…”GO!“ Go into all the world…” “Go and make disciples…” 4kA visual tool… communicating God’s vision… to a visual generation…

For more about 4K go to http://www.ywam4k.org and http://beta.ywam4k.org. The work in progress at the beta site is still "in progress." But it will give you an idea of the work being done and what is to come. Check it out and let me know what you think!

COUNTING JUST A FEW BLESSINGS When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.\ Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your blessings, see what God hath done! Count your blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done. Are you ever burdened with a load of care? Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear? Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly, And you will keep singing as the days go by. When you look at others with their lands and gold, Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold; Count your many blessings. Wealth can never buy Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high. So, amid the conflict whether great or small, Do not be disheartened, God is over all; Count your many blessings, angels will attend, Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

We have been praying for a car for use while we are here at the University of the Nations. We had the use of someone else's car for our first week here and had to return it this evening. So, after doing much asking around, trying to find a way to borrow someone else's car, rent a car, or buy a "junker," we were prepared to try to buy one today as nothing else had panned out. We hoped that we could buy something that wouldn't have mechanical issues and that we could ultimately resell at the end of our stay here in December.

The power of prayer and the medium of blogging is amazing. A young lady in Canada had seen both our blog and the blog of Ben and Angie Wicks, from Seattle, Washington (http://www.wicksadventure.blogspot.com/). Ben and Angie have been here at the U of N since June, in the Crossroads DTS. We met them when we were here in July and have communicated with them ever since. They purchased a car when they arrived and were going to try to resell it now that they are leaving for Fiji on a two-month mission outreach with their two young children, Sam (6) and Katie (4). Recently, she emailed Ben and Angie that we needed a car, because she knew that they were trying to sell theirs. She had no idea that we already knew each other and that God was already moving in our hearts toward sharing the car! But her email also reminded the Wicks to see if we might be able to help them with the car.

Today, just as I was about to go to a used car dealer to buy a car, Ben called me and asked whether Tara and I could use the car in exchange for being the contact person for people who wanted to buy the car. That seemed like a good answer to prayer, because it would provide us a car free of charge for at least a little while until something more permanent could come along. It is a nice 2002 White PT Cruiser. He told me the details of what he was asking and hoping to get for it, but said that he felt like it would be hard to resell it here because of the limited number of people on the island (there are only about 150,000 people on the entire Big Island of Hawaii).

As soon as we got off the phone, God spoke to me directly and gave me an idea, telling me to call Ben right back. So, I did. I told Ben that I wasn't sure if this would be a good idea to him, but that I thought it would be perfect for us if we simply used his car for all three months and then paid to have the car shipped to Seattle, where the Wicks are from, so that they could have the car for sale in the Seattle market. He said he liked the idea, but that he wanted to think and pray about it.

After prayerful consideration, the deal was struck. God provided the Rileys a much nicer car than they felt they could afford (and it even has air conditioning!!) at a price that will be less than anything else than they could have done short of having a car gifted to them. Add to that the fact that yesterday I received a phone call from one of our friends telling me he wanted to send us a check that will be the amount of shipping for the vehicle!!!

Ben gave me the keys to the car at 5 p.m., as they were leaving for Fiji. I gave Dawn Gauslin the keys to her car just an hour later. Tonight we rejoiced in this blessing by taking all five of us on a drive around Kona and finishing with a piece of mud pie right by the ocean.

In addition to the car, Tara today was given sheets, pillows, floor rugs, a fan, books, decorations, and a multitude of other nice gifts by the Wicks and Nick and Jen Greener, another young couple leaving today for Fiji with their two children. We were truly overwhelmed with many blessings of things we really weren't prepared to buy but that will be very useful to our family.

Please pray for the Greeners and the Wicks as they travel to Fiji over the next 24 hours. Please pray that their families will not eat or drink anything that will be harmful to their bodies over the next 2 months and that God will protect them from all disease. Pray that they will bear joyfully the gospel of Christ every where they go, demonstrating God's love to the people of Fiji. Pray also that the Greeners and the Wicks will know where the Lord is leading them after their outreach to Fiji. The Wicks feel led to work with college students, but they have no idea what that might mean. The Greeners desire to go overseas to staff a YWAM base, but they don't know where God is leading them. There are probably 20-25 others with them; pray for the entire team. And praise God for His faithfulness to us. He is truly AMAZING!

GOD USES "LIBERALS" LIKE WADE BURLESON, TOO Some of you may be reading my blog for the first time. Please allow me this first paragraph to catch you up to speed on our family's lives. We recently left our careers as an attorney and an occupational therapist to enter the mission field with YWAM (Youth With a Mission) http://www.ywam.org/. As a result, we are now in Kona, Hawaii, at the University of the Nations, http://www.uofnkona.edu/, serving as operational support for the University campus through the end of this year. If you read more of my posts below you will see some of the amazing things God has done in our lives as He has taken us on this journey. This is actually our second time to the U of N, as we first came to learn about YWAM during the month of July 2006. Also, you can go to our website, at http://www.fjministries.com/, and see our mission, newsletters (http://www.fjministries.com/component/option,com_docman/Itemid,36/task,cat_view/gid,18/) and other information about us. This post, however, is dedicated to explaining who was one of the key people God used to help us find God's way for our lives. That person was none other than Wade Burleson, the pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Enid, Oklahoma. Although some may criticize Wade or wonder about his commitment to missions and evangelism, I can attest to the mighty ways in which God uses men like Wade based on my personal experience. Not only have I seen him witness to a waiter in a restaurant at the drop of a hat, I also know he is committed to helping young men and women like my wife and me succeed as we transition into the mission field. Along my journey over the past 6-9 months I have twice asked Wade for specific counsel. He has become somewhat of a mentor to me after first meeting him while I was serving on a pastor search team. He struck me as being a man of God's word, of strong conviction and leadership skills, and of great and passionate grace. I've been blessed to visit his church and his home, as well as to spend many hours listening to his sermons via the intranet. The first time I sought his counsel was simply an email message in passing. I knew he was very busy with the Southern Baptist Convention approaching and all that was being said in the blog world. I hated to bother him. So, several months ago I sent him an email that said little more than, if you were going to consider going into the mission field, what organizations would you recommend? His brief email response named three organizations, the first of which was YWAM. It struck an odd but good chord within me as I had known a couple of families who had ventured out with YWAM and who recommended it highly. At that point, I didn't even know if I was really being called to missions, seminary, or just a different job than the one I was working as an attorney. Fast forward to August 4, 2006, the last Friday I was set to be in Hawaii this summer, and the Friday upon which I was called by Loren Cunningham, the Founder of YWAM, at 6:45 a.m. to consider some special projects for him. We (Tara and me) were overwhelmed by the request and had already planned to do something completely different. We simply wanted to return to NW Arkansas, take 3 months to build support, and then go to a discipleship training school within YWAM to learn how to become missionaries. We had no grandiose plans or desire to take on any new responsibilities. We were already overwhelmed with the changes we were making and did not believe we had the strength to do anything else. In essence, we said "no." But, at Loren's request, we committed to consider the request in prayer and specifically knew that if God truly wanted us to take on this new request that we would need a very clear answer from Him. On that Friday, I emailed a dozen or so men who are close friends and counselors. Wade was one of those men. My family then took the weekend to see the Big Island of Hawaii for the first time by renting a car for the weekend (we had been on foot at the YWAM base prior to that time). During that weekend of fun and relaxation we didn't talk much about it, but we prayed. I had also requested in my email that my counselors would pray and seek God's word for us. On Monday, August 7th, I then began calling some of those who were praying for us. I called Wade right in the middle of a marriage counseling session, so he then called me back later. Our discussion was incredible. He didn't overspiritualize things and ask me questions like "have you prayed," or "what verses of scripture have you looked at." Instead, he immediately went to the bottom line and asked how would God provide financially for such a venture (because all positions in YWAM are support based only and not paid any compensation), and what my wife, Tara, felt. Both of those practical concerns basically advised against making such a move from our plans. I was, frankly, relieved, because at that point was much more comfortable with our plan. We also discussed other aspects of the "job" such as "fit" with my strengths, etc. In sum, I was thinking that I had been given great advice and that such advice fit well with what I was already thinking, which was to continue on with our plan and not take on this new opportunity Loren Cunningham had presented us. (So, of course, it sounded like great advice (smile)). Moreover, Wade noted that God was interested in my heart, and that unless I heard a clear word from God to take a particular path, so long as my heart was in the right place, the place of obeying and following Him no matter the call, then I couldn't make a "wrong" choice. There is always a "but." So.... BUT, then we prayed together. After we prayed, Wade asked me a question that I thought was odd. I assumed he must have gone back to discussing the financial realities of returning to Hawaii, if I were to undertake Loren's opportunity. He asked what it had cost my family of 5 to get to Hawaii. I was thinking to myself, I'm not sure it really matters now, because I'm pretty much not thinking at all of returning. But, I told him that our tickets were almost $800 per person. He then brought me to a burst of uncontrollable tears with this statement: "Bryan, I really don't think it matters at all which choice you make, and I won't be concerned at all about either choice, but, if you do decide to return to Hawaii to work with Loren, know that I've got your family's plane tickets." You see, at this point, we had not asked anyone for a dime. I wasn't asking people for money. I simply wanted to get back home, be able to explain what our mission and plans were, and then start raising support. We had undertaken all the expenses for making this transition and exploratory venture in July, and we really hadn't fully committed yet in a way that seemed fair to ask people for support. Meanwhile, I'm praying that God would give us a clear sign that He was calling us. And, here I am, talking to Wade Burleson, a man whom I knew through a pastor search team process, but not in any way where we had been in ministry together, and suddenly am being offered a gift of several thousand dollars. The fear that overtook my comfort was overwhelming to the point of a multitude of tears running down my face. I felt as though God must have spoken audibly through Wade at that moment. Then the fear of telling my wife hit me. You see, earlier that day she had told me that this still wasn't even on her radar screen and I had agreed. So, I simply cried. Poor Wade, who was still on the other end of the phone, as I tried to blubber my way to good bye. I'll never forget walking in to tell Tara and her looking at me and saying: "What is wrong with you?" It makes me laugh even now, because it wasn't with that concerned look on her face she said it. She knew I had been talking to some of the people I had emailed, so to the extent she was concerned it was more about whether I was actually considering taking Loren up on his offer, not about any reason I might be crying. Then, one by one, nearly all of the other men I called felt that God was moving us toward returning to Hawaii. And, through the nudges of the Holy Spirit (and I think for the first time in our marriage without me trying to persuade), Tara saw that it was a part of the plan for us, too. And, so, we returned just 6 days ago to the University of the Nations and have been so blessed throughout this journey of faith and obedience. Thank you to all of the men who prayed for and counseled me throughout this process. You blessed my family tremendously. Thank you to Alan Cross, Kevin McCollum, Kevin Bussey, Mike Roberts, Robby Bader, Rob Husong, David Roth, David Price, Bill Barley, Bryan McKinney, James Cooper, John Ray, David Spruell, Wade Burleson, Paul Burleson, Kevin Sanders, HD McCarty, Jim Hightower, Jim Nizza, Andy Huddleston, Steve Pulliam, and Jody Farrell. Okay, that was more than a dozen, but praise the Lord there is success with many advisers! (Proverbs 15:22).