Fox Glacier
Larry, Jenny, and 'the lot'- Me, Sam, Katie, Ben
Rainbow and Me!
Beautiful Sunset in Oxford before Graduation
Sam -my travel companion and me at Graduation- we sure clean up nice :-)
Dear Friends and Family,
I am an official graduate of Oxford…Discipleship Training School that is in New Zealand. It has been a long journey …to the ends of the Earth and back (well almost).
The past couple weeks have been full of re-entry type things. As a team we all talked about what it was like being back in a western country where food costs 3 times as much and there is clean air to breathe and the language is the understood. Yes it has been an adjustment.
We were bogged down with the unusual feeling of not knowing what to do. There was no more ‘ministry’ work to do upon returning to Oxford and many of us fell quite ill because of the cold weather. My dear friend Monja ended up in the hospital and we found out that she had come down with Malaria from a crazy jungle hike she did in Cambodia. She is now well recovered but it was a shock to our team. We had a lovely graduation ceremony with a ‘hippie’ theme and mainly vegetarian food! It was truly special (minus Monja still in the hospital and Seang in Cambodia) we had many friends and special people come to be with us. The night ended with a coffee shop café’ and open mic night where stories, poems and songs were shared.
Goodbyes were not easy but not hard as the YWAM goodbye is if we don’t meet again in this life I will see you in eternity Nothing could be better. Slowly our team has been leaving the island or venturing to their homes on the island. The Lord has been teaching me that Goodbye’s are part of life and they don’t have to be sad but a positive beginning to a new chapter. I am thankful for the amazing people I’ve shared and lived and grown with and it isn’t over for any of us yet.
I have been traveling with Sam the past week and a half with the blessing of using Mark’s cute little silver toyota Caldrea. We stayed at a wwoofing (Worldwide opportunities on Organic farms) house for one week with 2 of our friends Ben and Katie from Oxford. The farm was called Waingaro Christian Retreat and Jenny and Larry were a very unique couple that specialize in Equine therapy, horse riding and have a guesthouse that is sort of a BandB. We mulched their garden and hacked away bushes. I got to canter on a horse for the first time ever through beautiful NZ forest, a dream come true. We said our goodbyes there and were sent off with prayers and small gifts and the encouragement to keep seeking out what lies deep inside and not be ashamed of who we are created to be.
We picked up a hitcher named Alex from Nevada who spent a couple days with us. He played guitar and had his own and we taught him some worship songs which he rather enjoyed.
Easter was a blessing as we got to spend it at the same little Baptist church I spoke at many months ago. Sam , Julie and I gave a short testimony of Cambodia and how their prayers were appreciated. Then we were off again traveling some more and ended up in a little town called Fox Glacier and I along with the others I am traveling with decided to do a Tramp called the Copeland, expecting it to be easy. It was a 2 day 17 mile trek full of rock hoping, root climbing, bridge crossings and natural hot pools. At the end our muscles were aching and Julie broke her thumb (yes hiking). It was memorable!
And this I maintain ‘God Loves Us’.
I am an official graduate of Oxford…Discipleship Training School that is in New Zealand. It has been a long journey …to the ends of the Earth and back (well almost).
The past couple weeks have been full of re-entry type things. As a team we all talked about what it was like being back in a western country where food costs 3 times as much and there is clean air to breathe and the language is the understood. Yes it has been an adjustment.
We were bogged down with the unusual feeling of not knowing what to do. There was no more ‘ministry’ work to do upon returning to Oxford and many of us fell quite ill because of the cold weather. My dear friend Monja ended up in the hospital and we found out that she had come down with Malaria from a crazy jungle hike she did in Cambodia. She is now well recovered but it was a shock to our team. We had a lovely graduation ceremony with a ‘hippie’ theme and mainly vegetarian food! It was truly special (minus Monja still in the hospital and Seang in Cambodia) we had many friends and special people come to be with us. The night ended with a coffee shop café’ and open mic night where stories, poems and songs were shared.
Goodbyes were not easy but not hard as the YWAM goodbye is if we don’t meet again in this life I will see you in eternity Nothing could be better. Slowly our team has been leaving the island or venturing to their homes on the island. The Lord has been teaching me that Goodbye’s are part of life and they don’t have to be sad but a positive beginning to a new chapter. I am thankful for the amazing people I’ve shared and lived and grown with and it isn’t over for any of us yet.
I have been traveling with Sam the past week and a half with the blessing of using Mark’s cute little silver toyota Caldrea. We stayed at a wwoofing (Worldwide opportunities on Organic farms) house for one week with 2 of our friends Ben and Katie from Oxford. The farm was called Waingaro Christian Retreat and Jenny and Larry were a very unique couple that specialize in Equine therapy, horse riding and have a guesthouse that is sort of a BandB. We mulched their garden and hacked away bushes. I got to canter on a horse for the first time ever through beautiful NZ forest, a dream come true. We said our goodbyes there and were sent off with prayers and small gifts and the encouragement to keep seeking out what lies deep inside and not be ashamed of who we are created to be.
We picked up a hitcher named Alex from Nevada who spent a couple days with us. He played guitar and had his own and we taught him some worship songs which he rather enjoyed.
Easter was a blessing as we got to spend it at the same little Baptist church I spoke at many months ago. Sam , Julie and I gave a short testimony of Cambodia and how their prayers were appreciated. Then we were off again traveling some more and ended up in a little town called Fox Glacier and I along with the others I am traveling with decided to do a Tramp called the Copeland, expecting it to be easy. It was a 2 day 17 mile trek full of rock hoping, root climbing, bridge crossings and natural hot pools. At the end our muscles were aching and Julie broke her thumb (yes hiking). It was memorable!
And this I maintain ‘God Loves Us’.
