the day the earth shook

its a pretty crazy time to be in new zealand right now!
this country is in mourning with the earthquake that has stuck christchurch. it is definately in everyones throughts and in our discussions and our prayers.
Just wanted to let everyone know that i am safe.....i am living on the north island and the earthquake hit the south island.
Please keep this land in your prayers as people come to terms with the devastation that has happened and try to get their lives back together.

jump in.....

week 2:

this week seems to have gone so fast and yet so much has happened at the same time thats its hard to believe its been fitted into only 7 days!

its been really nice to get stuck into a regular schedule. I’m up around 6 every morning (i know its hard to believe) and we start into the day at 8am and its usually pretty packed right through.

Its been a pretty tough week for me in many ways and yet it is so hard to express how. it seems to be a real time of transition and change inwardly.
I think in a way some of the thought processes i have had for a long time are being challenged and i need to work through the elements of that. it is a good thing to be faced with challenges though sometimes it can be a overwhelming experience and at times uncomfortable. However if things are always comfortable i dont think i would ever be pushed to the next level in anything. it is a good thing to be stretched even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time!

we have had really good teaching every afternoon this week and then we get to spend the mornings in the prayer room. during this time i have the opportunity to talk with God about a lot of the stuff He is revealing, as well as taking time to read the Bible and pray for this nation of New Zealand. It’s a real blessing to have this time and space to process things as so often we are bombarded by a lot of information and have no time to really figure out what it all means.

Its been good to get to know people better this week and grow as a group and be on this journey together.

I guess the other big news is that i am going to be working in the Middle East for 2 months! This is an unexpected turn for me as i had hoped to spend some time in South East Asia but i think it the right place for me to be going and I’m excited to see what will happen there!

introductions....

week one.

this week has gone by so fast and yet it has been so packed it feels like we have been here so much longer! its been so busy i haven’t even had time to take an pictures!!

I moved into my new home last sunday and ts been great to meet so many new people that i am going to be sharing my life with for the next 3 months.

Its been a busy week of introductions.

Introducing ourselves, hearing other people’s stories and backgrounds.

Introducing New Zealand and the cultural background of this land.

Introducing YWAM as a whole and what it stands for.

Introducing the heart that God has for this school and for this time.

I think i quite like introductions.

We had the opportunity to go onto a Marae which is where the Mauri people have their cultural base and can hold strong to their native heritage. it was a wonderful experience to be welcomed unto their land and there is a strong sense that God wants to move in the people here.

We also have had the opportunity to spend tine asking God what he wants for this time and getting into his presence again and being able to draw close to him though times of prayer and worship.

This is going to be an exciting few months in New Zealand, so much has happened already in 1 short week and its all very hard to put into words. I just have such a strong sense that i am in completely the right place at the right time for whatever God wants to do.

flying on a jet plane.......again.....

it has come to that time (again) of packing up a suitcase to as close to 23kg as i possibly can, (you'd think that would get easier with practice but it just doesnt) saying a few goodbyes and getting on a plane to fly over some ocean to a (not so) far off distant land for some reason or other.

this time.....dts. three months in new Zealand.

i think from the moment i left new zealand on the 25th Novemeber i knew i would be back for the dts in feb, but i wasnt sure i would ACTUALLY commit to doing it and it has come up so fast. But yes here i am off again. 

sometimes i think my life is a little like a jigsaw, or at least thats how it has been feeling lately. This is one piece and when you look at it up close on its own in makes no sense, just a bunch of colours...its not really anything, but take a step and look at the bigger picture and you maybe start to see where it fits in.

i think i been gathering a lot of pieces over the last while (i dont even know how long) and now they are starting to make a picture, come together to make sense, starting to look like something bigger.....

Im not entirely sure what that is just yet because i reckon there are still some pieces missing. I dont pretend to have all the answers because i know i dont, and im not imagining life will somehow be perfect... but a picture is forming and all i need to do is keep finding the next pieces and where they fit.

.....so lets go get this next piece and fit it in!