I mean it :)
Love,
Mendy
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Week #2: Whangarei
Well, today, we left Whangarei. After a full week of doing more of God's work, it is safe to say that the 4 of us are pretty tired. This past week, we finished our work over at Donna's house and it was a lovely time! There was a lot of bonding as a team, and we also had the privilege to work with locals from the church there. Dwayne, Amy, Anna, and Ty were four others who lent a helping hand on the project and made a huge difference on how much we were able to accomplish!
Besides that, we continued to work in Sunday School with the children. This week, we also had another bonfire on the beach, which was an awesome experience to have again. The next day, the team and I spent the morning and early afternoon with Sonya, one of the workers at Te Ora Hou, and we went to several shops around downtown and had a lovely time.
Later that evening, I got to witness something that I have never seen before. Three of the young adults in the church were baptized in the ocean in front of the pastor's house. It was so neat to see them all being lead out into the (cold) water and be baptized. I have always grown up watching people being submerged in a bathtub-like tank inside, so it was an awesome sight to see them in such a HUGE body of water. Kinda made me want to be re baptized, just so I could say that I was baptized in the Pacific Ocean, but oh well...
After saying our goodbyes to the families that we all have grown to know and love, we were picked up today by Jae, the pastor's wife here at Dargaville, and she brought us to her home where we met Nigel. They are a really neat couple and I am excited about what all they have planned for us to do with our time while we are here. After going through the schedule, we had lunch and then ran a kids' club after school program for local students around the ages of 6-10. From the looks of things, I feel like more and more will come as the days go on and word is spread. The children really seemed to respond well, which is always encouraging as you are spending time with them.
I have a feeling that I will be singing Oklahoma! again to someone here, which is a funny thought. Who thought that a song like that would be so popular here. Maybe they just want to laugh at me. Either way, I don't care, as long as people are entertained and it allows others to feel more comfortable in talking with me. I am so eager to find out what God has in store for the team and I this week- who knows! Please keep the team, the local church, the community of Dargaville, and the seeds planted in Whangarei in your prayers this week as we continue into our 3rd week of ministry here in New Zealand. We have come a long way, but there is still more.
I will hopefully be able to post pictures sometime if I can ever get a good enough Internet connection for my lap top, but I am not able to make any promises.
Blessings to all and I am praying for everyone back home!
Besides that, we continued to work in Sunday School with the children. This week, we also had another bonfire on the beach, which was an awesome experience to have again. The next day, the team and I spent the morning and early afternoon with Sonya, one of the workers at Te Ora Hou, and we went to several shops around downtown and had a lovely time.
Later that evening, I got to witness something that I have never seen before. Three of the young adults in the church were baptized in the ocean in front of the pastor's house. It was so neat to see them all being lead out into the (cold) water and be baptized. I have always grown up watching people being submerged in a bathtub-like tank inside, so it was an awesome sight to see them in such a HUGE body of water. Kinda made me want to be re baptized, just so I could say that I was baptized in the Pacific Ocean, but oh well...
After saying our goodbyes to the families that we all have grown to know and love, we were picked up today by Jae, the pastor's wife here at Dargaville, and she brought us to her home where we met Nigel. They are a really neat couple and I am excited about what all they have planned for us to do with our time while we are here. After going through the schedule, we had lunch and then ran a kids' club after school program for local students around the ages of 6-10. From the looks of things, I feel like more and more will come as the days go on and word is spread. The children really seemed to respond well, which is always encouraging as you are spending time with them.
I have a feeling that I will be singing Oklahoma! again to someone here, which is a funny thought. Who thought that a song like that would be so popular here. Maybe they just want to laugh at me. Either way, I don't care, as long as people are entertained and it allows others to feel more comfortable in talking with me. I am so eager to find out what God has in store for the team and I this week- who knows! Please keep the team, the local church, the community of Dargaville, and the seeds planted in Whangarei in your prayers this week as we continue into our 3rd week of ministry here in New Zealand. We have come a long way, but there is still more.
I will hopefully be able to post pictures sometime if I can ever get a good enough Internet connection for my lap top, but I am not able to make any promises.
Blessings to all and I am praying for everyone back home!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Week #1
Whangarei, New Zealand
Well, for the past week, my team and I have been in the lovely city of Whangarei (pronounced: Fong-gair-ray). We have been living with an American family mostly, the Abascals, who have lived here for about 2 years.
So far, my team and I have taught about 3 lessons to the children at church, helped paint Donna’s (a local woman at the church) house and we will finish tomorrow and on Thursday, Seth has hung out with the boys at Te Ora Hou (a boys and girls club for at-risk children in the community), exchanged testimonies with several people within the church and community (there have been amazing stories and there are several more to come I’m sure). One in particular was from a man named Dave. This man is one of our team’s favorite people that we’ve met in the church so far. He is an on-fire Christian who has a giving heart, but what makes him and his story so incredible is that he is 1 ½ years new to the faith and he was saved from alcoholism by an incredible encounter with the Holy Spirit.
We spent the night at his house two nights ago (Saturday) after spending the whole day with his daughter and her friend. We climbed Mt. Manaia and the view was breathtaking. We had almost a 360 degree view from the summit and in that view we saw farms, beaches, mountains, and the Pacific Ocean all in one view… Later that night, we played games with the family and had heaps of Chinese food (they say heaps instead of tons). ☺
Today, the team and I had the privilege to teach the story of David and Goliath in the public primary school today. It was very neat to experience a culture in which the teaching of the Bible was allowed and even encouraged. My partner, Liz, was the storyteller each time, and it felt out of place for her to talk so openly about God, but it was a very rewarding experience, I think, for everyone- including the kids.
Tonight, the girls and I went to Te Ora Hou for the girls’ night. We shared the game of gotcha/ knockout with them and they shared net ball with us. It was a lovely time to experience young teen girls of the Maori culture. At the end of our time with the girls, I shared a song… none other than our great state song, “Oklahoma!,” while all the girls shared a Maori thank you song and dance with us. It was beautiful to watch and experience everything.
Tomorrow, we are painting Donna’s house again, and will return to Miguel’s house for sleep, and then it’s off to the schools again on Wednesday to teach about forgiveness by the telling of the story of Joseph and his brothers. It is all so exciting to see what God is doing here- as little as they may seem- but the relationships and the knowledge I am gaining is something that I treasure… God is great and his beautiful creation is a wonderful peak at God’s glorious creativity in our lives.
Here are a few words/ sayings that I’ve learned while here in New Zealand so far:
Sweet as: awesome/ sweet as it gets
Choice: right/ great/ fine
Gum boots: rain boots
Woolies: long johns
Boot: trunk of the car
Heaps: tons/ loads/ a lot
Smoke O: break (our team has taken several)
Hire a movie: rent a movie
Well, for the past week, my team and I have been in the lovely city of Whangarei (pronounced: Fong-gair-ray). We have been living with an American family mostly, the Abascals, who have lived here for about 2 years.
So far, my team and I have taught about 3 lessons to the children at church, helped paint Donna’s (a local woman at the church) house and we will finish tomorrow and on Thursday, Seth has hung out with the boys at Te Ora Hou (a boys and girls club for at-risk children in the community), exchanged testimonies with several people within the church and community (there have been amazing stories and there are several more to come I’m sure). One in particular was from a man named Dave. This man is one of our team’s favorite people that we’ve met in the church so far. He is an on-fire Christian who has a giving heart, but what makes him and his story so incredible is that he is 1 ½ years new to the faith and he was saved from alcoholism by an incredible encounter with the Holy Spirit.
We spent the night at his house two nights ago (Saturday) after spending the whole day with his daughter and her friend. We climbed Mt. Manaia and the view was breathtaking. We had almost a 360 degree view from the summit and in that view we saw farms, beaches, mountains, and the Pacific Ocean all in one view… Later that night, we played games with the family and had heaps of Chinese food (they say heaps instead of tons). ☺
Today, the team and I had the privilege to teach the story of David and Goliath in the public primary school today. It was very neat to experience a culture in which the teaching of the Bible was allowed and even encouraged. My partner, Liz, was the storyteller each time, and it felt out of place for her to talk so openly about God, but it was a very rewarding experience, I think, for everyone- including the kids.
Tonight, the girls and I went to Te Ora Hou for the girls’ night. We shared the game of gotcha/ knockout with them and they shared net ball with us. It was a lovely time to experience young teen girls of the Maori culture. At the end of our time with the girls, I shared a song… none other than our great state song, “Oklahoma!,” while all the girls shared a Maori thank you song and dance with us. It was beautiful to watch and experience everything.
Tomorrow, we are painting Donna’s house again, and will return to Miguel’s house for sleep, and then it’s off to the schools again on Wednesday to teach about forgiveness by the telling of the story of Joseph and his brothers. It is all so exciting to see what God is doing here- as little as they may seem- but the relationships and the knowledge I am gaining is something that I treasure… God is great and his beautiful creation is a wonderful peak at God’s glorious creativity in our lives.
Here are a few words/ sayings that I’ve learned while here in New Zealand so far:
Sweet as: awesome/ sweet as it gets
Choice: right/ great/ fine
Gum boots: rain boots
Woolies: long johns
Boot: trunk of the car
Heaps: tons/ loads/ a lot
Smoke O: break (our team has taken several)
Hire a movie: rent a movie
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
I MADE IT!!!!
It is beautiful here...
I can't write a lot because today, my whole group is going to the beach with the pastor and his family to spend a day with God and to enjoy all that Whangarei has to offer.
I am excited. I've already cried at the beauty of it all... God is here and I am super excited about all that is going to happen this summer! :)
Tomorrow we go clean the church and paint a widow's house, and then our ministry projects here are REALLY going to start to kick into high gear. Its such a blessing to give to others and I am just anxious for it to all happen.
Thanks for the prayers... More to come! :)
Mendy
I can't write a lot because today, my whole group is going to the beach with the pastor and his family to spend a day with God and to enjoy all that Whangarei has to offer.
I am excited. I've already cried at the beauty of it all... God is here and I am super excited about all that is going to happen this summer! :)
Tomorrow we go clean the church and paint a widow's house, and then our ministry projects here are REALLY going to start to kick into high gear. Its such a blessing to give to others and I am just anxious for it to all happen.
Thanks for the prayers... More to come! :)
Mendy
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