April in BloomDear Friends and Family,

Hello one and all! Wow! It has been an amazing journey! Words cannot express the gratitude in myheart for each and every one of you. This life I live is not easy, but your love, support and prayersmake it seem so! Currently I am back home in Kona after a long exploration and discovery tour inthe Pacific. At the beginning of June I departed for Australia, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand.To say it was phenomenal would be an understatement! On adventures such as these, it is hard to sum up all that took place, let alone share photos. To help me communicate the journey, I traveled with a small shell from Kona and took a picture every day with “Shelly” to help capture the event orsomething new that I had never done before. I then made a short movie with some local flare byadding a song being sung in one of the many languages of Papua New Guinea. You may be askingwhy a small shell? Well, let me explain. I treasure details, I tend to see the small things ones oftenmissed by others and smile. I also believe that it is often small acts of kindness and love that can have the capability to do the most good. What if we all choose to be more mindful, thoughtful, intentional, and do things with purpose? Then we could see this world changed into His likeness! Along this journey I was reminded that it is in the small things we show our faithfulness. It is in howwe handle the small things that show our integrity. In the small things we can demonstrate His love.No matter the situation, giving a Tylenol to someone in pain, blowing bubbles with a girl in agony,carefully weighing a child sick with TB, teaching in a lab, cooking meals, playing cards, slipping ina lot of mud, taking countless boat journeys, praying with many, inspiring the students, instructingthe old, having my feet washed, numerous hugs, was it done in and for love? That is the question.It is my hope that my simple small acts of obedience shared God’s love with those I was with.

Next Steps…

During my time in Papua New Guinea, I was able to recruit some team members for the lab on the Ammari! We have also created an group of people (from different islands) to serve as a network for prayer and encouragement for Science and Innovations in the Pacific. In YWAM we call these“circles” so if you hear me mention the Science Circle…then you will understand. I have alsosubmitted the first draft of a proposal for the lab on board the Ammari. I am working on the detailsnow to make some adjustments based off of what I saw in Kikori (a village in Papua New Guinea). Marine Reach (the ministry in New Zealand) has asked me to prepare a proposal for their vesselthe Pacific Hope. While I was in New Zealand I toured this vessel and believe it will be an excellentship for a lab! So, all in all I have a ton of writing and research to do and it was a successful trip!

Prayer Requests…

I am coming home to Georgia in September. Yeah! It will be great to see as many people as I can, Ihowever desperately need to see my support base increased. If you have a group or church I can come and speak at please contact me now so we can plan! Before I come home I will be teaching in Switzerland and attending a conference in Singapore. Please be praying for these trips. Thankyou all so much! On the following pages are some pictures from this amazing trip and a link for the the the Shelly adventure movie should be within this email or post.

Love,April

Donations should be sent to YWAM Tyler, PO Box 3000, Garden Valley, TX 75771My name can not appear anywhere on the check. Please attach a separate note with my full name on it.Bank draft donations are now possible! Please contact me for further information

Midway through the ship outreach on a Sunday a canoe paddled up to the ship. A family on their way to the hospital saw us and wanted to stop by. Visits like these are all too common, parents desperate to find help for an sick child. As I held the boy (orange shirt),he was going in and out of conciseness. This child had such an infestation of worms he was about to die. We gave him a small tablet urge the parents to continue their journey and prayed for his healing. Later on in the week I received a surprise I saw him at the hospital! Now much healthier though he didn’t recognize me, his mom did and was grateful for our help…one small pill and encouragement to continue the journey.

Sometimes the adventure of getting there or getting back onto the Zodiacs was challenging. Never thought in a million years I would be praying for sure footing as we descended many precarious stairs, bridges, mud trodden paths, and slippery boat landings. On one such occasion I managed to slip out a metal beam that was used to build a “bridge” and miss the wooden plank which led me to creatively fall through a bridge. Had I not been trained in dance I would of injured myself more. Though my right leg is still complaining, I am grateful I didn’t break anything! Here I am behind the camera on the awaiting Zodiac to take us home to the Pacific Link. This time I managed to get into the boat without falling

Papua New Guinea is known as the “land of the unexpected” and it certainly lived up to its name! The nation has ~800 languages and many tribes. We were blessed to meet some during the conference and this young lady shared with me some of the beauty of the land. It greatly encouraged me to see such richness and embracing of life.

Here we are, just finishing a day helping the village of Veriu, and we are awaiting our ride home. Interesting about this, our hikes to and from the locations were often different due to tides. Here, we were waiting because the tide was coming in and the Zodiacs were on their way…ah life in a village! Where distance is measure in how long it takes you to paddle. The fun aspect was the bubbles. Whenever possible, me and others had fun with bubbles. Such a small thing, but it brought so much joy! Not only to the children but to me

This is the room onboard the Ammari, which in timewill be a functioning research lab. Currently it is a clinic that served the passengers and crew for minorillnesses while onboard. Pretty cool history to thinkit will be used in the future to bring hope and healingto remote villages and locations! I am praying for thesome funds from the Australian government tomake the necessary renovations and purchase the equipment. Would you please join with me in prayer?

Here I am on the docks in Tauranga, New Zealand, home for Marine Reach and the Pacific Hope. This vessel is in need of many repairs and outfitting prior to its maiden voyage. The team here have been diligently working and doing what they can to see this ship active. It ismy hope that after the lab on the Ammari is finished and taken its maiden voyage, the Pacific Hope will be ready to install a lab on board. With the combined efforts of the Ammariand Pacific Hope, there will be greater reach throughout the Pacific and the outcome in diagnosing and mapping out where the TB cases are will be possible. Exciting times ahead!