Last weekend Liz, Sam and I decided to do an overnight at the hut we visited earlier in the Torlesse mountain range. Unfortunately, it was cloudy most of the weekend and we didn’t get to climb Mt. Torlesse like we wanted to. So, we decided to go scree sliding instead.
Scree: noun, a mass of small loose stones that form or cover a slope on a mountain.
Scree sliding: verb, the act of using scree as a low friction substance with which to move down a steep incline.
This week has been amazing.
God is really pouring out his love and power into us as we approach these last few weeks before outreach. For an awesome example of this, I refer you to Angela’s blog on Blessings. Earth Care had a fun afternoon learning some more conversational Khmer, and praying for each members roles on our team. Angela and I are taking on the roles of co-treasurers. And, I will be helping Sam with photography and making a video after we return. Soon we will start practicing short skits to preform in Cambodia. For dinner, we had an American Thanksgiving meal, complete with yorkshire pudding and pumpkin pie made from an actual pumpkin. (They don’t even sell canned pumpkin here.) I would like to say, Happy Thanksgiving to all my family at Grandpa Reimer’s today. I miss you, and I’m sorry I can’t be there with you in person.
A big hug from me.
Last Friday, I gave my life to Jesus. I don’t mean salvation. That happened years ago. I mean the continual process of laying down my rights to my self and just living in obedience to the King of Kings. We are a product of the decisions we make. The most important? Who will be the ruler of your life today? I choose God.
Among many others, here are a few truths that hit me last week:
“The Christian life is like going up the down escalator, you have to keep moving.” ~ Mark Parker
The weekend activity last weekend was to a place called Hamner Springs. I was expecting more like natural hot springs, but it was more like a water park with warm water in all the pools.
And, my new camera is water proof!
We learned very practical knowledge for out-reach.
First, we had lessons in Community Development. Basically, learning to minister to all the needs of those we’re going to be reaching out to: physical and social along with spiritual. Second, we’ve had Rus Alit here from Bali, Indonesia, to teach us about appropriate technology. All he does is take modern technology, simplify it down and apply it in rural, poverty stricken areas of the world. He allows the communities he works with to take ownership of these projects and they in turn are motivated to keep these new improvements in good working condition. We will actually be with Rus in Bali for Christmas. We’ll be there for about three weeks, before going to Cambodia on the first of January. Here is a website for Rus’ ministry: http://www.campbali.com/BATI.htm. There’s not much to it at the moment, but it gives you an idea.
What are you going to be learning in New Zealand? I have to say, up until two days ago, I wasn’t sure myself. I knew of course that YWAM would be teaching Bible centered Christian theology. But, I didn’t know how to describe the content of that teaching. And then one of our speakers said it so simply. I am learning to hear the voice of God and to step out in what he is leading me to do. So far, this has meant learning to know God. First we learned about the father heart of God. This week, we are studying the nature and character of God.
We are, of course, also preparing for outreach. We are blessed to have a young man from Cambodia join us to teach us Cambodian culture and language, Khmer. We only have time to learn a few phrases, but even this much will do so much for connecting with the people there and showing them we care for them. We leave for Bali, Indonesia on the 14th of December. We will spend two weeks there (over Christmas), learning more agriculture and water conservation techniques, before heading off to Cambodia. We will be in Cambodia for a little more than two months. Then, about two weeks into March, we will leave Cambodia and do about a week of debrief on one of the Pacific islands. We don’t know much about this part of the trip yet.
We had a very special privilege last week in that Rob and Jenny took us out to some land they own on the west coast. They and their family go out there regularly to camp and get away from the business of life. We set up a huge tent that all 7 of us girls could sleep in. We had bonfires on the beach and learned “bush craft.” Which is outdoor survival skills. Basically, we practiced third world living for a week.
Ounatai Beach
We also went Whitebait fishing. Whitebait is a small white fish found in the mouths of rivers here in New Zealand. They are considered a delicacy. We were told they can be sold for as much as $75/pound. The taste wasn’t very fishy and really quite good for a fish. But, the consistency was hard to get over. You see, you eat the fish whole.
Whitebait Fritter
I’m sorry this post has been long in comming. They do like to keep us busy here. Plus, I’ve been practicing a lot to be in worship band next Monday. More on this latter, bur I think practice has been going well.
Last Saturday started our first weekend activities. I’m not sure how exactly it happened but Angela and I signed up to help with a river planting project. Jenny took us into Christchurch in the morning. She had lost her voice, so I had to repeat everything for Angela in the back seat. We got there and planted maybe four little grass pants each when morning tea was called. As per New Zealand custom, we socialized for twenty minutes while drinking coffee and “bickys.” Because more community members had showwn up than was expected, we only had to work for another hour or so. Most of which was spent meeting friends and family of Rob and Jenny. My favorite was Pete. A “cheeky” older gentleman who showed us the harpsichord he was building from scratch while making sarcastic remarks about everything.
After the river planting was done we spent the rest of the afternoon running erands and getting to know Rob and Jenny a little bit more. The last erand we had to run was bringing a little lamb back to Oxford so the Blakley family could take care of it.
I don’t have much of an update today, other than. Yesterday, I started feeling a bit unwell. Mostly it’s just my throat, but I’ve been feeling a bit achy as well. This is frustrating because it takes a lot of effort for me to be able to socialize with new people under normal circumstances, but being sick makes it almost impossible. Luckily, I already have a good start on some awesome friendships here and everyone has been really supportive and encouraging.
In other news, we had our worship meeting tonight and I was put on team number 2. We will play two weeks from today. There will be two of us playing guitar, but we’ve both only been playing for a short time. Right now, I’m pretty excited about this but I’ll let you know more after we’ve had our first practice.
It’s hard to believe I’ve only been here for a little over a week. I’ve never been more sure that I’m in exactly the place I’m supposed to be. This last week, classes have covered general housekeeping details and have opened up dialog about personal devotionals, what worship is, prayer, and what it means to live in such an open community. In the weeks to come we will have speakers on various topics including: seeking God in creation, nature and the character of God, the Father hear of God, role of the Holy spirit, and culture and evangelism. This week, I had the chance to give my testimony. I can still remember the day when doing this would really stress me out, but it went really well. I wasn’t all that nervous and I think I expressed my story well. I can tell that God has really been working on me in these last few years and that I’m really becoming more comfortable with who I am. Anyway, I’m really excited to see what God has planned for me next.
Friday afternoon all the students from the Oxford base went into Christchurch. Even though it was rainy most of the day, we broke into teams and did a photo scavenger hunt. My team was a little more focused on shopping than scavenging (to the chagrin of the two guys on our team), but we had fun anyway. I don’t currently have any of our team photo’s, but here’s some of the pictures I took while in Christchurch.
I also have a few prayer requests. This week I put my name down as interested in worship band. I’ve been dabbling with the guitar for the last year or so, but I’m not confident that I know enough to play with other people in front of an audience. I’m not committed or anything, but I’d really like to play (if I’m good enough) and not make a fool of my self (if I’m not). There will be an informal meeting on Monday, so just pray that that would go well.
My other prayer request is an ongoing prayer for where God will take me after these six months. I have a couple of ideas, but I really want to put aside what I want and be open to where God is leading me.
As my closing thought for this post, I want everyone who’s reading this to prayerfully consider doing a DTS with YWAM. It will change your life. And don’t be thrown by the “youth”. Our base is currently also running a Cross Roads DTS for people 30 or older. It’s really been fun mingling with people on fire for God of so many ages.
Things are really starting to pick up. The school here has really got our days scheduled down to the last minute. A normal day looks something like this.
~Personal Devotions
~Breakfast
~Community Duties
~Worship and Prayer
~Lecture
~Morning Tea
~Lecture
~Lunch
~The afternoons and evening are filled with various activities including: Outreach Prep, Small Group, etc.
Friday after lunch we go into Christchurch for shopping and evangelism in the evenings. This won’t start till next week, though. And, the weekends will be filled with outings around New Zealand. Camping, rock climbing, going to the beach, hot springs. More on these as they happen. I hope for now, you have a small idea of how I’ll be spending my days here.
