Week 3: Hearing God's Voice

I went to church today without shoes. Anyway, week 3 is over and that is crazy! I have almost been here for a month and I can’t believe it. These people are starting to feel like family and this place my home. It’s amazing how big the world is and it only took me going halfway around the world to figure it out. Hah. This week was pretty great. The topic was hearing God’s Voice and it definitely had its ups and downs. This is something that I really struggle with because I always expect a burning bush experience: an experience that is God’s audible voice breaking through the clouds which He is more than capable of doing, but He doesn’t always speak that way. These lectures keep stacking on top of each other too because the concept of complete surrender is a daily choice. To value what God thinks of you over what man does is a hard thing. The great part, which I am learning to experience, is that He doesn’t give you a direction and leave you to figure out how to get there. We did this thing where we split up into two groups. The one group turned around and the other group randomly stood behind someone in the first group so the first group didn’t know who was behind them. Following that, the first group prayed and asked God for a word about the person behind them. It could be a word of encouragement, wisdom, prophecy, or knowledge. When I was standing behind someone they got an image of a fortress with angels around it. What they didn’t know was that morning I started to read Psalms 18 but stopped because I didn’t feel like it. Psalms 18 starts by proclaiming God as a fortress. Feeling clearly spoken to, I went back and read the verse and it was great and applied directly to me. Watching other people spoken to was crazy! The people praying for those they didn’t know were SPOT ON. It was such a cool time and realization that our God is living and speaking. Encouragements to those who struggle with this concept: make sure nothing is in between you and God (sin, distractions, etc…) and expect an answer. That is my hardest struggle. God’s goodness does not rely on us though which is sweet.

            Fun stuff: We randomly went water sliding on the base with a tarp on Saturday morning. We had a sweet 3 v 3 volleyball tournament today which was great. We started a yoga group most nights (I actually enjoy it).

Thanks for reading everyone, have good weeks!

Week 2: Lordship and Repentence

       First full week of lectures! This was a very busy, but a amazing week. We have two hours of worship a week and two hours of intercession. After that we have two lectures everyday in the morning, separated by morning tea (of course), then lunch and ministry placements (work duties) 'til dinner and then various things after dinner on  the different days. My ministry placement is the construction crew so we already repaired a deck but we will mostly be painting. I do that half day Tuesday and then all day Wednesday and Thursday. My worship based class is on Mondays. After dinner we have Tapu night (always is different), stream bonding (play games and stuff), worship practice. Friday is free and so are weekends! This past Saturday we went to Cathedral Cove which is were The Chronicles of Narnia  : Prince Caspian was filmed. It was soooooooooo cool!! We jumped off cliffs and played volleyball and only got sunburned a little!!! Today (Sunday) was relaxed. I found a church that I love called Mosaic and they actually have a band that reached number 1 in NZ for a little. Very fun.

       It is crazy to think it has only been two weeks. Already these are some of the best friends I have ever had (don't be offended gr8). Our speakers name is Marty and he is such a nut. Pretty much this week was about surrendering all. Literally EVERYTHING. I have grown up being taught that when you sin, you should repent to God. However, actually receiving His love was something that I wasn't taught. When Christ died for my sins it wasn't just for show. It was actually taken away! As simple as that sounds, it was a huge revelation this week. We started a culture here of transparency. On Thursday, we spent about 6 straight hours standing on chairs and just publicly declaring our forgiven in Christ. Now it is such a common thing. During dinner someone may stand up on the table and just scream "Jesus, forgive my comparison!!!" It is such a freeing environment. I am learning to be confident in who I am and to truly prioritize God. Pretty sweet eh? I am really enjoying my time here, but it is very busy and tiring with little time by yourself. I didn't post pictures this time but I am posting on Instagram (addycakes16) if you want to check them out (I think they are sweet). Thanks so much for reading!

P.S. The cell phone service is sketchy at times. Email or iMessaging are much more reliable. Have good weeks everyone!!

Week 1: Orientation

     G'day! Wow what a week! It has felt like I have been here for a month. This place and these people are so great. This week was orientation so we haven't started our real schedule yet. Regardless, this week was full of great things. I got around to taking some pictures of the base so you can see where I am staying. This is my room where I am staying with 3 other guys (I am the only American!)

This is the view of the base from outside of my room (the base is where lectures, meals, hanging out, really everything is).

And last (but certainly not the least) is the view from right outside the base towards the prayer chapel.

       So yeah...this place is beautiful (and hot!). Our week went like this, Monday consisted of all of the boring details about the rules and how to live here on the base. Tuesday was a Powhiri which is the official welcoming of foreigners onto the Maori lands (Maori are the native people here). It was awesome! It involved dancing warriors, speeches, songs, and the Hongi. The Hongi is the traditional greeting for the Maori people. It involves touching foreheads and noses and it symbolizes becoming one in breath with them. Pretty legit stuff. Wednesday through Friday looked pretty much the same. We started something called life stories. Literally you just tell your life story (the good, the bad, the ugly, the very ugly). After that you get TONS of prayer. It was pretty scary to go but I went early on. It was so good to release all of my feelings. I realized that I didn't accept Jesus's death on the cross fully. I hadn't forgiven myself. Prior to this trip, it has been a while since I have felt God's presence. Even on Wednesday when I shared, it wasn't necessarily a "God moment". It was definitely an emotional experience (I cried pretty good). The next day we had some worship time and Shane (our leader here) said some people could stay if they wanted. I wanted food so I was about to walk out and he stopped me. He began to pray for me and something just hit me. It was something I wasn't used to but I felt like a truly felt part of God's love for me. Someone there got an image of me as a baby in God's arms. I got an image of myself sitting at God's feet and he being my teacher. I take that as God telling me that this is a fresh start. No father expects much out of a baby. I am meant in this time to receive his love for me and to sit and learn from Him. What a way to start this trip! Crazy things are happening and it makes me really excited for the remainder of this adventure. Other things I am learning is that I will never be "there". There will never be a moment where I don't need God. Accepting the cross and all he has done for me is a daily decision and that is something I am learning.

      Weekends here are mostly free which leads to exciting trips. On Saturday, a group of us went to the Redwood Forest which is exactly as it sounds. It such a beautiful hike. 

     Today (Sunday) we went to a church called Mosaic (they released an album that went #1 here in NZ!). The worship was crazy and the sermon was spot on. Afterwards we went to the beach and climbed Mount Maunganui which is right next to the town of Taurangua. This is a picture we took from the top of the mount.

Crazy eh?

      I think one of my favorite things about this place (focusing on God doesn't count), is how little I have worn shoes. This is probably an understatement but I have been barefoot 90% of my time here. I am aspiring to have feet like Frodo from Lord of the Rings. The other great thing about this place is how many different cultures there are here. Our school is from 13 different nations. There are 47 students and 17 staff. Only 10 of which are guys. I thought I was good to women before I came here but I am really learning how to treat them right. Cheers. I am trying to get an accent really hard too, can you tell? :) well as real lessons start soon, posts probably won't be this long. Thanks for reading!

P.S. I have a funny story: My friend Andrew read in a little kids book that little Jimmy caught and froze flies. He then glued their feet to a Popsicle stick and when they unfroze, they flew the stick away. We were inspired to give it a go so we actually stuck flies in the freezer for 5 minutes and they were stunned and didn't wake for about 3 minutes! Sadly, the gluing is where we failed. But it was such a funny time! Have a good week everyone!

I AM HERE!!!

       Hey ya'll! So I am safely in Tauranga, NZ at the base on a beautiful Sunday morning. I arrived here yesterday at around 4 pm local time. Travelling was LONG. I left Lancaster at 5 in the morning and flew from Philly around 9. Saying all of those goodbyes was hard but it was very exciting to leave and be entirely on my own. When I got on the plane, I started talking with a man named Jacob and turns out he was going my direction until LA so we hung out and played cards. It was a blessing to have a travel buddy for the first part. After landing in Denver, 3 hour layover, then 2 hour flight. I had to change airlines after LA so I was walking around outside the airport in 75 degree weather which was so nice. 3 hours later I was on my way to Auckland. It was a thirteen hour flight on the nicest airline I have ever been on. They had screens on the back of the chairs and I could play Pacman on them! I slept a good bit though which was nice. After that, I waited for buses and explored a mall while waiting. I also played tag with a little girl at a bus stop which was fun. 

       I finally arrived and it felt amazing! The scenery here is incredible. I will post pictures later. After I unpacked everything, I played Dutch Blitz (which surprised me that it was here (someone from Holland brought it)), ate, ultimate frisbee, "volleyball", and dodge ball. By 9 P.M. I was dead. So there are 5 different streams (focuses) here. Prayer and Compassion, Worship (I'm doing this one), Go Pacific, Justice (they are separate from the others), and Medical Compassion (this is like 80% of the students here). There are like 5 people in the worship group which I like. This is the Sunday before classes start so you will hear more about that next week. I am hoping to post every Sunday for everyone to check out. WiFi costs money here so I am going to be online selectively. I can text normally for free and phone calls are 20 cents a minute. It's weird to think I am on an island on the other side of the world but I am enjoying it thus far!