The Lost Are Found- Hillsong Live

Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand-new.
   It's bursting out! Don't you see it?
There it is! I'm making a road through the desert,
   rivers in the badlands. (Isaiah 43:19, The Message)

HALF-TIME. It’s a time to catch your breath. A time to recover. A time to review and a time to plan for the last half of the game.
Or, in my case:
A time to plan for the next five months of my life.

I have spent the last five months in New Zealand, and (as far as I know) the next five months of my life will be spent here. It is hard to believe that my journey is half completed. My heart is getting quite a work-out as I process this: half the time my heart quickens with joy at the thought of being home in 5 months, while the other half of the time it slows to a near stop as I realize that HALF my time is gone. WOW.

My last two weeks in New Zealand, what I categorize as my half-time talk, have been really full. Here is a rundown of my days:
Monday: Left with the IGNITE crew for Hamilton, which is a beautiful 6 hour drive away. (It is located in the northern middle part of the north island)

Tuesday: We began work early in the morning with the Hamilton Refugee Center. We led a program for 30 refugee students about health and goal setting. We played lots of games, and we got to play soccer together! During the game, it appears that my wallet was stolen. So, I got to go to the Hamilton Police Station- they were very nice : )
Wednesday: Day 2 with the Refugee students. We held a sports tournament between the refugee students and some students from a local Christian Camp. The students intermingled and formed good relationships, which was beautiful to witness. Working with the refugee students has really sparked an interest in my heart to work with refugees back home!

Thursday: We traveled back to Wellington, stopping by Lake Taupo to watch some people bungee jump! We got back around 4. I showered, unpacked my bag and then repacked my bag for my next trip! Around 8 PM, my good friends Matt and Jessica Christian came to pick me up, and then we headed to Wanganui. (a 3 hour drive north of Wellington)
Friday: After spending the previous night at Jessica’s parents house, Matt and Jess showed me the sights of Wanganui.
Saturday: Snowboarding on Mt. Ruapehu. It. Was. Awesome. It was a beautiful clear day, and the mountain was perfect.

Sunday: Snowboarding on Mt. Ruapehu. It. Was. Freezing. It looked like pea soup because a snow storm was closing in, and by the time we left the mountain our car had to be fitted with chains to get down the mountain. But I loved getting to snowboard for 2 days in a row!
Monday: We traveled back to Wellington. I loved spending time with matt, jess, and Jess’ whole family. It was such a full and exhausting week!

     Since last Monday, I’ve had a pretty relaxing week. We had a movie night with the youth group (we watched TANGLED, which is one of my favorite movies) and I did a few things around the Ignite office to help prepare us for the next Term. Liz, Doug, and I had a great meeting where we reviewed the last 5 months of youth group work. It was a really valuable meeting that gave shape to the upcoming months.

In the last two weeks, God has given me lots of opportunities to explore new parts of New Zealand, process the things he has been teaching me, and prepare me for what is coming next. I am SO excited about the next 5 months. God is definitely moving, uprooting, building, and replanting things in New Zealand, and I’m so thankful he asked me to be a part of it! And I’m so thankful for your support, love, emails, and prayers! They are all so valuable! May God bless you and open your eyes to the things he is doing around YOU!

Love,
PuaNani

Prayer requests:
1. Please pray for my health. I’m usually a pretty healthy person, but since I’ve been in New Zealand my body has acted like I have a very poor immune system. Please pray for healing over my entire digestive track.
2. Praise God for my friends here. He is using them to take really good care of me.
3. Please pray that the leadership of St. Columba (including me) would have discerning ears and willing hearts as we follow God into the new things he is preparing in Naenae.
4. Please pray health over these four pregnant women: Marvie, Mary, Jo, Ruth. They are all very dear to me.
5. Please pray for the students of St. Columba. Pray that they would be ENGAGED by the spirit, ENTHRALLED with the King, and ENAMOURED with our savior.