Recap

We started off 3 months ago with the Circuit Riders. Seeing many lives be saved, stretching us to walk the streets and go preach the gospel to the people of this city, and learning how to love God more. 

Some boy challenged me to a cheesecake competition. Needless to say they were both delicious but he came out on top. It's all good, I know I will get him next time. 

I had the opportunity to catch up with these wonderful people. I haven't seen some of them in almost a year. I love how different organisations bring people from all over the world together for seasons on end. It brought so much joy to my heart when I got to see these kids again! Fish and Chips on the beach is the kiwi way. 

We had a celebration time for some amazing people leaving. Food always brings people together, who could argue that? 

This is our group. They have all done so well in these last few months! I'm very proud to have walked alongside all of them! 

This is Tim and Alex, they are two amazing people, they were interns on this last school. 

These boys, like to make me think I'm short for some reason. Hobbit is the new in. 

Wendy and Alex at Grad. 

These are some of the staff that served until the end. (one is taking the picture) We finished well and with a smile! 

And last but not least, our finishing photo of all these hooligans. 

I can honestly say that this past year has flown by! I was reminiscing about the last year today. A year ago I came up to Tauranga, not wanting to. I fought the Lord for a few weeks. My main reasoning was that I did not want to go to the House Of Prayer. So I said I would come for a month, which when I got here the Lord had different plans obviously. So I stayed and did the internship at the beginning of this year. One month turned into one year which will now be turning into two more years. Ha, I laugh now when I look back because of how much I fought it but how much the Lord taught me through it. 

I feel blessed and privileged to have walked alongside these individuals. The things we learn from each other in a life time astounds me. It also amazes me how this many people can do life together and come out the other end loving each other more than they did at the start. All the things we've been through and all the memories we have. I look forward to many more this coming year. 

Blessings to you all! and Merry Christmas! 

Can you hear me?

Listening

When you live in community you need people to listen to, as well as people that just listen. When you show interest in someone by listening it is the beginning of love for a brother. Often people forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking. You don’t always need to contribute something, sometimes contribution looks like listening, or being silent. It can be the greatest service to a community, especially in the beginning stages. If you can’t listen to a brother then chances are you will no longer be listening to god either - this can be the beginning of death in a community and in your own personal walk with the Lord. We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. He will constantly be interrupting and canceling our plans. We should listen with the ears of God so that we may speak with the words of God.
In your own personal walk with the Lord, it is a key thing that you listen to what he is saying. Often times we forget that it's really a two way conversation with the Lord rather than us just word vomiting on him. I find it key in the natural as well. When you find someone that's a mile wide but an inch deep, you probably won't want to hang out with them. Although when you find the true treasure of someone who is an inch wide and a mile deep, then you will never want to let go of that person. A deep well that we store up by listening can only be obtained by the one who created us. It's an art to comprehend, to not talk and simply listen. We all have our own insecurities, where as some people really don't like silence so they fill it with the noise of talking. If you're the type of person that doesn't like silence then do you really like yourself? Are you comfortable with yourself? Often times people aren't comfortable with themselves so they cover it up with talking and being loud and obnoxious. When really we just need to shut the front door and listen.

Meekness

Meekness

"Never think that thou has made any progress till thou look upon thyself as inferior to all" - Thomas a Kempis

Meekness is simply put like this, having the patience to live in community without resentment for each other. It is serving each other by walking situations out in a Godly way. As a leader, if you set the standard of how to do this, the rest of the community should follow and flow smoothly. Loving your enemies has a whole new meaning in close quarters.

Ephesians 4:9-10 - (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.)

To put others first, to think of others before/better than yourself is the way to ascend, by descending low. It’s a choice you have to make in community living, to serve brothers and sisters in love. Sinking all the way down to the depths of humility to serve one another by considering them better than yourself is the key. It’s all for the Lords glory and at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.

Life together is something we must learn to do. It is something we make a lifestyle through community. When you have people that are challenging in close quarters it requires meekness, humility and servant-hood. It is something we cultivate in our hearts in the secret place of prayer with the Lord. What you have on the inside eventually makes it's way out, good or not so good. Iron sharpening iron, refining is what happens when you live in community. Honouring one another through humility in community is a beautiful thing once you learn it. You have to choose to go low, to lay down your life for someone or others around you, you truly find meekness.

"How good and pleasant it is when brothers live in unity together." - Psalm 133:1

Faith. Unity. Love.

To be blunt the Lord has been slapping me with revelation upon revelation of what he is doing in my life and in the wider community. Today I meditated on this verse:

"How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity." - Psalm 133:1

I spent 4 hours on this verse just asking what it means and what the Lord was trying to say through it. Oh man was I in for a treat. Basically the Lord really loves community, when people are willing to "do life together". Together in unity is a beautiful thing when you figure it out that is. When you do it well with the Lord at the centre it's unstoppable. The next verse in this passage talks about it like precious oil being poured out. When you live together well it is delightful. It's just getting to that stage is the challenge. Meaning when you stick 13 people that never knew each other before, in a house with two bathrooms there is bound to be some controversy. However the lord revealed today that it is Iron sharpening Iron - which causes friction. But just stop and think of what friction is.... It's heat right, so that means it creates a spark that can spread like wildfire. If the spark is pure and brings the lord glory then I would say that wildfire would be unstoppable! - Awesome! 
Which brings me to my next verse:

"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you." - Romans 12:5

Doing this in love. Living in a community where people go low and think of others better than themselves. Which can be a real hard reality if you come from a 'worldly' background. When you are willing to sacrifice for the benefit of your brother or sister it can be a beautiful thing. It's just having that mindset of serving rather than having the mindset of entitlement or 'rights'. In Christ you have no rights, you have no entitlements. I love the way Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 4:13 - We have become the scum of the earth meaning that when we are slandered, persecuted, cursed we bless, answer kindly, and endure it. Not saying we are the rubbish of the world but we are to think of everyone higher than ourselves. Who are we to judge one another when we have no rights and are not even entitled to say to our brother or sister 'you are wrong so serve me!' So Loving one another:

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." - Ephesians 3:20-21

God loves us so much that he will do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. He wants us to live a radical life of loving one another. When we can do that and live in community we can't lose! To him be the glory! He is the one that pours out his love on us so that we can overflow onto others. How exciting!
Through all this we need faith:

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."         - Hebrews 11:1

I know we have all heard this verse. My grandmother is a big advocate of this. Which I'm thankful for because from a young age it was ingrained in me. I never fully understood the meaning of it until last week though. When you pray for healing you need to believe in yourself that the person can be healed. If you don't trust in the fact that they can be healed then you shouldn't even pray. But when you go at it with zeal and power in believing that your prayer is in line with what God wants then yes! You have faith! I mean there are a lot of different ways to take this verse but that is my take right now. Because something clicked and it made sense, that I just need to believe that what I'm praying will be!  
Our mandate is:

"To prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ"                     - Ephesians 4:12-13

We are to be an example in love, faith and unity for the people around us. When we do community through loving one another through the hard times we become unified through having faith. Make sense? I know my mind was pretty much blown this morning. So when we suffer well through doing this, we will be blessed. When we endure the hardships that the lord has put before us we can't lose. There is so much to be said on unity in the body through Christ. Oh how I love community and the love that can come out of it! I mean some days you will want to kill everyone but most days you love them. The key is when you are going through those difficult days and the people around you can love you through it. Man that's gold! That means you have achieved unity in community through faith in love. Doing life together is not hard. You can do it anywhere, I mean families do it all the time but when you're blood related it's a bit different because you literally are stuck together. But when you're complete strangers and get along like blood relatives, oh that's the good stuff! 

So to come in for a landing:

Doing life together is a beautiful thing! When you suffer well through it, that's the gold!

Jehovah Sneeky

I just have to say that these past few weeks have been a whirlwind of ridiculousness, fun, radical living, trying, radical loving and ah-mazing. All in two weeks we have learned heaps. I have been flipped upside down in such a good way! The circuit riders were in town, this is their description:  

The Circuit Rider History
In 1703 a hero was born and because of this man the world would never be the same. From the time that John Wesley's heart would be "strangely warmed" to his dying day, he never stopped his tireless work of revival and reformation! Out of his heart was birthed a movement called the Methodist revival, and this move of encountering God, deep devotion through the spiritual disciplines, and great exploits among the poor and the lost would explode across the western world leaving an indelible mark. Wesley himself was said to have traveled on horseback some 250,000 miles in his lifetime and to have delivered over 45,000 messages on the good news of Jesus Christ. Out of his mentorship and commissioning, another young man would be launched to the shores of America to "spread scriptural holiness across the land". This man would be perhaps the only man to outride Wesley himself and is said to have spent more miles on a horse than any man in history. This man was Francis Asbury, and even though Wesley was the father of Methodism and the original circuit rider, Asbury would be credited for recruting and organizing a band of selfless and radical riders who the world was not worthy of that would in fact change America's future forever.
This group of rough yet broken men would travel the frontiers of America for decades, taking the Gospel to the most remote places in America. In a time of American history where it was easier to stay in one place and live in the comfort of the few cities that existed, these men refused comfort and driven by the ancient dream of Eden to see mand and God live in intimate fellowship. They rode on. Ove half of them died before reaching age 33 and their annual pay, if any, was around 50 dollars. They did not do it for the love of money, fame nor an affinity towards human comfort. They were absolutely marked by the same determination as Asbury that every home in America would hear and believe the Gospel. When Asbury arrived in America there were a few hundred Methodist followers and a few dozen preachers, but by the time he died there were over 210,000 followers and over 4,000 preachers. America would never be the same because of these wild-eyed revivalists.

They are radical people, living a radical life for the lord. Two guys came and taught us how to share the simple gospel. Then we hit the streets. 120 people from Tauranga gave their lives to the lord within 2 hours. Oh how the lord works! Oh how the lord works!
What I really took from these two weeks was that if you are showing your love and joy for the lord, others are going to want it too! It's so key to remember that.

So stepping into a new role, new season, new people. Oh how great it's been. With anything we have our struggles, challenges, highs & lows. But at the end of the day when I lay my head on my pillow, I know I'm a champion because I cannot name ten people that did what I did in a day. Seriously, it's been amazing to see everything fall into place in the most odd ways sometimes. But seriously, Jehovah Sneeky sometimes!

Another update coming soon.....

A. New. Season.

"We must learn to regard people less in light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer."

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Community living can be a beautiful thing if you let it. It can also be the biggest nightmare of your life if you let it. The key is prayer, laying the foundation for all that are going to be doing life together for a period of time. If we set the standard of praying for one another daily, we will have a much smoother ride. I think some people don't really know the reality of community living especially when you've never done it before. Shoving 11 people in a house that barely know each other and expecting them all to get along. Ya, Na. Unless if your foundation for living together is rooted in Christ. We need to look at the person when they really annoy us and just say, where is this coming from, what are we bringing up in each other that needs work and how do I pray for this person. It is the hardest thing when you're in the heat of a conflict and all you really want to do is rip their neck off. But alas take a deep breath and don't let the enemy have his foothold.

This season will be challenging in many different ways I feel. New things the lord wants to show, new adventures, new people. It's just a whole new season. I feel as though the lord is about to flip me upside down and take me to new levels. Ha. Then yesterday happened... The first day of our internship, with most of the interns here we were apart of this thing called Circuit Riders. They are a radical bunch of people that really just don't care for the lord. Anyway, listening to them, sitting in my seat, I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, sing, shout. I can honestly say that there was some flippage going on in my heart. I feel these next 2 weeks are just going to mess me up and mess the rest of our interns & staff up! I'm excited for what God is allowing to happen, as well that we are allowing him to move in his mighty way!

This time around staffing, it is a completely different environment compared to what I've been part of in the past. It has it's ups and downs but all in all I can say from the bottom of my heart it is going to be a really good season! The lord has some beautiful things planned and has some new things in store for all of us!

Aotearoa

The Mission field

C. T. Studd - 

Up until that time he had felt content to witness amongst his own associates but after hearing a missionary speaking about the need for workers in China, Charles was increasingly burdened and convicted by verses such as "Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." (Psalm 2:8). Although his friends and relatives tried to dissuade him, Charles knew he was being called to eh mission field and he sought an interview with Hudson Taylor, the director of the China Inland Mission and was accepted as an associate member. 
For C. T. Studd those future years were to see him giving away his family inheritance to help the work of George Muller, D.L. Moody, Dr. Barnardo and others and spending ten years in China where he suffered great hardships to reach remote areas where the gospel had never been heard before. 

James Hudson Taylor - 

His father was an eloquent and able Methodist local preacher and his mother a woman of more than ordinary sweet and patient spirit. Hudson Taylor combined the ability of his father with the gentle disposition of his mother. He was converted through the reading of a tract at the age of fifteen, and not long afterward passed through a remarkable experience, at which time he dedicated himself to God for whatever service might be appointed. Unknown to himself, his father, who had been deeply interested in China, had prayed that his son might go to that land as a missionary.

Charlotte "Lottie" Digges Moon - 

When she set sail for China, Lottie was 32 years old. She had turned down a marriage proposal and left her job, home and family to follow god's lead. Her path wasn't typical for an educated woman from a wealthy southern family. But Lottie did not serve a typical God. He had gripped her with the Chinese peoples' need for a Savior. 
For 39 years Lottie labored, chiefly in Tengchow and Pingtu. People feared and rejected her, bur she refused to leave. The aroma of fresh-baked cookies drew people to her house. She adopted traditional Chinese dress, and she learned China's language and customs. Lottie didn't just serve the people of China; she identified with them. Many eventually accepted her. And some accepted her Savior. 

Courtney Todd - 

I left the American comforts, the American dream, the American culture for a culture that I understand. New Zealand, Aotearoa. At 20 years old I broke out of the mundane for something radical and different. Something not commonly known in my generation. 3 years into this thing I have done it again. In the 4th grade I always said I never want to be a missionary. Well here I am at 23 years old and it is a job made for me and I was made for it. You know when you just know! Something new and different than the "normal life" I was leading before. Which there was nothing wrong with but something deep down was always calling to me that there is something more! I can finally say I now know what that is! It's diving into the Unknown with the Lord as my guide! 



I thought I would do a post of the mission field according to all these remarkable missionaries that put in years of service! I'm especially inspired by Lottie Moon mainly because I can identify with how food always brings people around! 

So back on the mission field. On my way over this time I stopped in Fiji. It was interesting in the way of how that airport works and how everyone is on island time. It was great but I didn't like breaking up my sleep too much. Anyways when I was sitting there waiting for my next flight I got thinking of how this really is the mission field for me. I guess I always think of the slums in India or villages in China when I think of "mission field". It's not though! It's where you are! Everyone is in the mission field. Or more Politically Correct it's what you make your mission field. For me it's being a disciple in this season for the new students coming in! I'm pumped because this is what I've been doing the past 3 years now! It's such an honor to speak into other peoples lives! I love encouraging people with where they are and on the journey to where they are going to end up at the end of the 3 months! I know it's going to fly right by! It's going to be awesome! 

I'm stoked to be back and over jet lag!