This update is a bit long and tedious, so please don’t feel you have to read it all. I know some of you are eager to hear things that I am processing, and I think this update will clue you in on how best to pray for me. I love you all!
The last 10 days have been an emotional rollercoaster. Some days I am literally skipping down the street praising God for my life in New Zealand. Other mornings I’ve woken up in bed not wanting to leave my room. I feel like I have more questions than answers about all the things I am processing. Here is a rundown of things I’ve been thinking about
Friday: Drove 40 minutes to Porirua with the Ignite team to work in a predominantly PI (Pacific Islander) school, Porirua College. At the end of the day, as I was purchasing cake mix to bake a cake for the Porirua students, I realized that a very large sum of money had been stolen from my wallet. Awesome.
Saturday: After feeling victimized, sorry for myself, angry at myself for being so naïve, angry that someone would steal from me, God asked me some hard questions. “Pua, are you going to withhold love from the Porirua students because one person took advantage of you? If you met the thief, would you withhold love from them? Are you only going to love people that love you back? Are you only going to love people that are easy to love?” So, I stopped feeling sorry for myself, and ended up praising God that ONLY money was stolen, not my entire wallet, because replacing debit cards, credit cards, and licenses would have been SO hard. I’m learning about the value of money.
Sunday: We talked about St. Columba, who apparently, did some similar things as St. Patrick (ie drove out snakes from a village). He is reported to have done many other signs and wonders, including healing the sick, raising the dead, turning water to wine… and if I’m honest it made me uncomfortable. People coming back from the dead? I was journaling about how this made me uncomfortable when God continued his recent habit of asking me hard questions, “Pua, are you passionate about my Kingdom? Or are you only passionate about the things YOU’ve experienced and are comfortable with?”
Monday: Back to Porirua. I found a new love for those students. Afterwards I had soccer practice at Naenae College (seven players showed up) and walked the long way home in order to take time to praise God because I was so filled with joy about my soccer girls that I already love. I went for a run and was overwhelmed with the beautiful sunset and the flowers protruding from garden fences along the path where I run. I went to Jo and Isaac’s house for dinner and laughed for almost two hours straight. I haven’t laughed that hard since I was in Bristol. It felt so good to laugh until my abs and cheeks hurt.
Tuesday: Back to Porirua. The program was an overall success, and Porirua College is interested in maintaining contact with Ignite. Got back to the house around 4 and went to Bible study around 7 PM. We talked about Shalom: the idea of a whole person being at peace, and how sin is the opposite of that, how sin is missing the mark of righteousness and peace. Yea, a real light topic…
Wednesday: A day when I felt really homesick. I received some really good news (in the form of facebook messages/emails) from the states as well as some really disconcerting news and heavy news. I’m missing so many things back home: babies growing up, proms, weddings, graduations. But I know I’ve been called to New Zealand for this time. And it’s obvious that God is teaching me heaps about himself and his kingdom. I just really love and miss home.
Thursday: I went into the Ignite office in the afternoon and had a Vision Planning meeting with the two leaders of Ignite Sport, Kevin and Steve. After an 1 ½ of talking about possibilities for Ignite’s future, we realized that we had barely scratched the surface. We decided to meet again on Tuesday. I came home and prepared for my lesson and dance on Sunday…. Seriously thought about giving up the dance because I was struggling to choreograph for over an hour.
Friday: Woke up with choreography playing in my head, so I worked on my danced and praised God : ) Then I met with Alastair McColl, who has agreed to spend time with the St. Columba youth group as a small group leader. This is such an answer to prayer! Alastair has been such a good friend to me, and I can’t wait to see how the students are impacted by his presence and faith over the next few months!
Saturday: Basically I spent the whole day finishing up preparations for my dance and my message. My message was on the topic “Wait. And Hope.” This was the message I heard constantly from God when I was waiting for 12 months to hear about New Zealand.
Sunday: Delivered my message. Performed my Dance to “Shine” by David Crowder. Then I sang with all my heart as we sang, “Desert Song” by Hillsong. After the service, several small girls from the church asked if we could all dance together. So I got out my laptop and danced on the stage with 6 beautiful princesses. The song of choice? “Baby” by Justin Bieber : )
The rest of the day I rested in obedience. I had spoken just what the Lord wanted, and had danced in His power... I don’t really know another way to describe that. You can see the video Here:
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Friday: Drove 40 minutes to Porirua with the Ignite team to work in a predominantly PI (Pacific Islander) school, Porirua College. At the end of the day, as I was purchasing cake mix to bake a cake for the Porirua students, I realized that a very large sum of money had been stolen from my wallet. Awesome.
Saturday: After feeling victimized, sorry for myself, angry at myself for being so naïve, angry that someone would steal from me, God asked me some hard questions. “Pua, are you going to withhold love from the Porirua students because one person took advantage of you? If you met the thief, would you withhold love from them? Are you only going to love people that love you back? Are you only going to love people that are easy to love?” So, I stopped feeling sorry for myself, and ended up praising God that ONLY money was stolen, not my entire wallet, because replacing debit cards, credit cards, and licenses would have been SO hard. I’m learning about the value of money.
Sunday: We talked about St. Columba, who apparently, did some similar things as St. Patrick (ie drove out snakes from a village). He is reported to have done many other signs and wonders, including healing the sick, raising the dead, turning water to wine… and if I’m honest it made me uncomfortable. People coming back from the dead? I was journaling about how this made me uncomfortable when God continued his recent habit of asking me hard questions, “Pua, are you passionate about my Kingdom? Or are you only passionate about the things YOU’ve experienced and are comfortable with?”
Monday: Back to Porirua. I found a new love for those students. Afterwards I had soccer practice at Naenae College (seven players showed up) and walked the long way home in order to take time to praise God because I was so filled with joy about my soccer girls that I already love. I went for a run and was overwhelmed with the beautiful sunset and the flowers protruding from garden fences along the path where I run. I went to Jo and Isaac’s house for dinner and laughed for almost two hours straight. I haven’t laughed that hard since I was in Bristol. It felt so good to laugh until my abs and cheeks hurt.
Tuesday: Back to Porirua. The program was an overall success, and Porirua College is interested in maintaining contact with Ignite. Got back to the house around 4 and went to Bible study around 7 PM. We talked about Shalom: the idea of a whole person being at peace, and how sin is the opposite of that, how sin is missing the mark of righteousness and peace. Yea, a real light topic…
Wednesday: A day when I felt really homesick. I received some really good news (in the form of facebook messages/emails) from the states as well as some really disconcerting news and heavy news. I’m missing so many things back home: babies growing up, proms, weddings, graduations. But I know I’ve been called to New Zealand for this time. And it’s obvious that God is teaching me heaps about himself and his kingdom. I just really love and miss home.
Thursday: I went into the Ignite office in the afternoon and had a Vision Planning meeting with the two leaders of Ignite Sport, Kevin and Steve. After an 1 ½ of talking about possibilities for Ignite’s future, we realized that we had barely scratched the surface. We decided to meet again on Tuesday. I came home and prepared for my lesson and dance on Sunday…. Seriously thought about giving up the dance because I was struggling to choreograph for over an hour.
Friday: Woke up with choreography playing in my head, so I worked on my danced and praised God : ) Then I met with Alastair McColl, who has agreed to spend time with the St. Columba youth group as a small group leader. This is such an answer to prayer! Alastair has been such a good friend to me, and I can’t wait to see how the students are impacted by his presence and faith over the next few months!
Saturday: Basically I spent the whole day finishing up preparations for my dance and my message. My message was on the topic “Wait. And Hope.” This was the message I heard constantly from God when I was waiting for 12 months to hear about New Zealand.
Sunday: Delivered my message. Performed my Dance to “Shine” by David Crowder. Then I sang with all my heart as we sang, “Desert Song” by Hillsong. After the service, several small girls from the church asked if we could all dance together. So I got out my laptop and danced on the stage with 6 beautiful princesses. The song of choice? “Baby” by Justin Bieber : )
The rest of the day I rested in obedience. I had spoken just what the Lord wanted, and had danced in His power... I don’t really know another way to describe that. You can see the video Here:
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The last two days have sort of been catch-up days, and tomorrow will serve that same purpose. On Thursday I leave for Easter Camp with Ignite Sport. We will be with 900 high school students for 5 days over the Easter weekend, running the sport tournaments and providing recreational activities for the students as well. Please pray for the Ignite Team:
Kevin, Steve, David, Kiri, Amanda, Zara, and Me as we work together. Please pray that we DELIGHT in serving the students and one another. Please pray for our bodies and the weather, because we will be sleeping in tents for four nights.
I spent the evening with my Bible study friends at a place in downtown Wellington called Strawberry Fare, and this restaurant is famous for their desserts.
“Pua… it’s like, your super power is eating dessert!” The fork paused halfway between the plate and my lips as I looked down quickly to keep brownie bits from exiting my mouth as I started laughing. This isn’t the first time someone has said this to me… sigh. What can I say? I LOVE desserts.
After I had finished my key lime pie, I moved onto to finish Gabrielle’s Banoffee Pie. When that was finished, I ate the last of Alastair’s brownie and chocolate ice cream. And as I finished the last bite of brownie, I looked up and down my table of friends and was thankful to be in New Zealand, surrounded by people who I love, and who love me.
Kevin, Steve, David, Kiri, Amanda, Zara, and Me as we work together. Please pray that we DELIGHT in serving the students and one another. Please pray for our bodies and the weather, because we will be sleeping in tents for four nights.
I spent the evening with my Bible study friends at a place in downtown Wellington called Strawberry Fare, and this restaurant is famous for their desserts.
“Pua… it’s like, your super power is eating dessert!” The fork paused halfway between the plate and my lips as I looked down quickly to keep brownie bits from exiting my mouth as I started laughing. This isn’t the first time someone has said this to me… sigh. What can I say? I LOVE desserts.
After I had finished my key lime pie, I moved onto to finish Gabrielle’s Banoffee Pie. When that was finished, I ate the last of Alastair’s brownie and chocolate ice cream. And as I finished the last bite of brownie, I looked up and down my table of friends and was thankful to be in New Zealand, surrounded by people who I love, and who love me.
thank you for taking me along on that rollercoaster ride. i think what is especially cool about being on a specific mission for a specific amount of time is the focus one has on the Lord and how He is at work and moving.
ReplyDeletewhat really encourages me in reading of your struggles and triumphs is that whether one is in new zealand or in a 9 x 13 room for the better part of a week staring at a computer screen… God is at work and moving. it's just that those of us who don't realize that God has uniquely gifted us for such a time as this, in our unique place… and we lose sight of Him and become encompassed by ourselves, and our circumstances.
all that to say… thank you again for showing me that i don't have to live vicariously through you {although thank you very much for taking me along for the ride… every step of the way} in order to see that i am on mission. right here in where i work, play, live. it's a worthy reminder.
thankful for your ability to see Him in everything, for being a faithful listener and for how He's gifted you in storytelling.
i heart you… a whole lot. and even though i haven't had the opportunity to see you all that often… i miss you terribly.