This post has taken a while to put up, not because of procrastination or because I was really busy this week, but because last week was full of stuff and I wasn't quite sure what to share at first.
Last week (not this one) our speaker was a Kiwi named Mark Parker from the North Island. He goes to a lot of bases and speaks on Relationship Week or about the Lordship of Christ (which he spoke on here). The snowboarders had him as well for their week on Lordship and they said we were in for an intense week.
To put it lightly Mark is a dynamic speaker which means that he pumps music at the beginning and end of each lecture and jumps around with us, yells on occasion, and is incredibly passionate about the Lordship of Christ. Instead of trying to explain to you what that means I'll skip ahead to Friday because that was what the whole week culminated in.
Normally on Fridays we have lecture until 1pm and then after lunch we go to Christchurch to do a little ministry and shopping. On this Friday we were working with Mark from 10am until almost midnight (don't worry Dad we did stop to eat!). The whole day was focussed on going through a metaphorical tabernacle to lead to an encounter with God (read the book of Hebrews for a reference point). We started out in thanksgiving, just saying things that we were thankful for over our time in DTS.
After that we went to praise speaking out truth about God's character. Speaking praise releases God to be the truth He is in your life. All the guys linked arms (with all the girls watching) and two at a time had to praise God and then force their way physically through the other guys to get to the cross. It was amazing seeing them step up and be the strong men of God that He has created them to be. By the time they had finished it was lunch time so us girls had a break.
When our turn came around, the guys were asked to lie on the ground and we had to each take a turn walking over their backs while speaking out praise. The idea was that in true relationship a man will lay down his life for a woman and she will support and encourage him (submission). This was so much harder for me than I ever thought it would be....realizing that I had to trust not in my own strength, but on the strength of others especially God was sobering and I was in tears by the time I got to the end.
After that Mark had prepared us to pray about what God wanted us to bring before Him as a Fellowship Offering--a way of asking for God's protection over things we value. I felt like I was supposed to bring my teaching certificate because I had been holding onto my academic successes as my own instead of giving everything (not just the tough moments) to God. To me this means that I am giving my future to God, and if it means that I get to teach again--fantastic, and if not then that's ok too. It's me saying that His plans are better than mine. At this point I'm really not sure where and what I'm doing after DTS, but the idea of coming back here to staff is on my heart as well as going back to Prince George. Not too worried about it now because there is a lot that will happen before I need to decide. Just letting it simmer in the back of my mind and prayers.
After the Fellowship Offering we were asked to bring a Burnt Offering (Sin Offering)...basically something that God had been telling us was holding us back from being in relationship with Him. At first I didn't know what I should do and then it occurred to me that I have struggled for a long time with a huge fear of loneliness. This fear of ending up alone (single) has led me to believe things about myself that aren't true (I'm single because of the way I look, the things I do, who I am) and also to lean on my own strength to get through things instead of on God (Pride in my Independence). Saying these things out loud in front of everyone, especially the guys was really hard and if I thought I'd broken down before, the floodgates were opened wide here. Mark encouraged my DTS team to come pray for me, but he made me reach out to them and ask for the prayer which I don't do well. Anyway having this weight off me has been so amazing and even though I still catch myself doing the same things again I am consciously trying to change my thinking.
After the fellowship offering we were all exhausted we had a time to speak words of truth into each other and to pray together. We broke for lunch and then some people got baptised in the river nearby which was pretty amazing. At dinner I broke a bunch of glasses and without knowing it I cut my foot so I was forced to lean on others and got some amazing piggybacks from some of the guys out to the river. I really felt like God was bringing the lesson home....don't lean on your strength!!
When we got back to the base we had time to worship again and then were annointed with oil representing the Holy Spirit and then had time to prophesy over each other which was amazing...basically we stood in two lines back to back and then stood quietly and listened to see if God had something to tell that person....without knowing who they were! It was amazing to hear the words that people had for each other.
After that we took communion and ate together and then had an amazing time of worship where the veil of the holy of holies was removed.
Anyway I have more to say, but I have to eat breakfast now....
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Tools to use and seeds to plant...
This past week was a busy one with all the snowboarders on the base, especially for me since I was on the lunch dish crew and then took another turn as weekend warrior for a friend. Lots of cool information from our lectures and some interesting revelations for myself as well.
I'd like to start with a quick reminder that getting mail is AWESOME and this is my address:
Attn: Julie Forster
YWAM Oxford
PO Box 47
Oxford, North Canterbury 7443
New Zealand
We leave in less than a month for outreach (fly to Bali on December 14 and then to Cambodia on January 1) and it's amazing to think that this will not be our home for much longer. We'll be back on base again on March 14 until our graduation on the 19th....after that travel and then....
Our focus in lecture was worldview and community development. The first speakers: Joseph (Kiwi) and his wife Nancy (Egyptian) talked about how our worldview (our experiences....culture, religion, family, traditions...) colour the way we understand our world. He showed us some exerpts from a show called "Meet the Natives which was quite interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV9GRNKqOKw
Joseph also taught us about SEED projects which are sort of motivators for the local church to minister to do small projects in their own home communities. It was kind of an answer to prayer as far as I am concerned because the week before while our team was praying for our outreach time in Cambodia, I felt like God was telling us that we need to plant seeds as we go out into the communities. That there are two ways you can plant seeds: you can take a handful and throw them out there just hoping that some will survive, or you can choose a small amount and really nurture them. The nurturing one was the one I felt that we were being told we should do. Then a week later here was Joseph teaching us about this ministry called SEEDs which encompassed so many of these ideas I felt like we might be called to do. Cool stuff! Here is the link for more info about SEED projects. I challenge those of you who are at home to check this out....these are 1-2 day activities that help the church connect and serve their communities:
http://www.disciplenations.org/seed-project
http://www.harvestfoundation.org/
We also had another lecturer from Bali, Rus Alit, who introduces simple technologies in developing countries to help the people to have clean drinking water and also to begin to farm more effectively. He suggests the ideas to the villagers and then they make the decision of whether or not they want to invest in the technology or not and then take ownership of it themselves. They pay for it (he uses local materials whenever possible), help build it, and learn how to maintain it. Rus has worked for World Vision and has travelled all over the world with this ministry. He is really cost-effective in his work and is passionate about using local talents and resources so that the community is able to relate to the technology (it's appropriate!) and therefore has the drive to continue using it.
Rus has now started his own school in Bali (Bali Appropriate Technology Institute or BATI) which we will be spending the last two weeks of December at finishing up our training, getting set for outreach, and also spending Christmas in Bali. While he was here in New Zealand we got to see him make a Rus Pump so hopefully we will be able to use some of the knowledge he'll give us on our outreach. He is in the process of setting up a website, but if you Google his name you can find way more amazing testimonies about his work.
http://www.campbali.com/BATI.htm
Outside of lectures we were busy with a Snowboarders vs Trinity (Backpackers, Earthcare and Crossroads) soccer game on Tuesday afternoon. We also had the opportunity to hear testimonies from the snowboarders' outreach times in Turkey, Africa, Argentina, and China. During the week leading up to the snowboarders' return we each were given a snowboarder to pray for. All we knew about them was their name, age, nationality and also a little picture. We were asking God for words of encouragement or anything else He wanted to tell them. I prayed for a really awesome guy named Philipp from Switzerland. It was great to be able to share the things I felt like God wanted him to know and just hang out after an amazing worship time on Wednesday night.
The Earthcare and Crossroads schools also helped set up and serve at the Snowboarders graduation ceremony. At first we were a little bitter that the Backpackers got a free night in Christchurch while we had to work, but it turned out to be a lot of fun. The dining room was transformed and Chef Ally did an absolutely amazing job with a 4 course meal for over 80 people. We got to tag along at their dance and learned some new moves which was really fun.
I spent the weekend working on base again because I switched my extra weekend with my friend Anna who really wanted to go to Hanmer Springs (the weekend activity) which I had already visited when Mom was here. I knew it was the right thing to do, but I'm not going to lie, I was kind of bitter about missing out. It turned out to be best for me though. It was a really chill weekend and the work didn't seem as hard as the last time I was a weekend warrior (probably because I actually knew what I was doing). I got to go to the beach for a couple hours in the afternoon on Saturday and witnessed Rebecca's first ocean experience (she's from Manitoba and had never seen the ocean or mountains before she came to New Zealand!!!).
The weekend was also a time where I realized that I needed to get an attitude adjustment going on. I really have the tendency to want to get things done and I hate wasting time....I realized that my focus hasn't been on people here, which is silly because in the long run which is more important--getting the dishes done on time or building friendships/welcoming people to the YWAM base? I was also finding it a bit challenging being on the worship team and working with people who have different leadership styles....I know I wasn't being a respectful team member, more like a punky little kid. Anyway apologies were made so hopefully I'll be able to keep myself in check better in the future.
Other highlights of the weekend included watching the entire 3rd Lord of the Rings movie....wait no the highlight of that was the epic pillowfight in between discs which involved cardboard armour and weapons as well as full on foam mattress-throwing and giant doggiepiles of YWAMers. We also watched The Princess Bride on Sunday night which is definitely one of my childhood faves. Another highlight was a deconstructed lemon meringue pie sundae on a sunny afternoon with my friend Laura at Seagers....mmmmm.....
I'd like to start with a quick reminder that getting mail is AWESOME and this is my address:
Attn: Julie Forster
YWAM Oxford
PO Box 47
Oxford, North Canterbury 7443
New Zealand
We leave in less than a month for outreach (fly to Bali on December 14 and then to Cambodia on January 1) and it's amazing to think that this will not be our home for much longer. We'll be back on base again on March 14 until our graduation on the 19th....after that travel and then....
Our focus in lecture was worldview and community development. The first speakers: Joseph (Kiwi) and his wife Nancy (Egyptian) talked about how our worldview (our experiences....culture, religion, family, traditions...) colour the way we understand our world. He showed us some exerpts from a show called "Meet the Natives which was quite interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV9GRNKqOKw
Joseph also taught us about SEED projects which are sort of motivators for the local church to minister to do small projects in their own home communities. It was kind of an answer to prayer as far as I am concerned because the week before while our team was praying for our outreach time in Cambodia, I felt like God was telling us that we need to plant seeds as we go out into the communities. That there are two ways you can plant seeds: you can take a handful and throw them out there just hoping that some will survive, or you can choose a small amount and really nurture them. The nurturing one was the one I felt that we were being told we should do. Then a week later here was Joseph teaching us about this ministry called SEEDs which encompassed so many of these ideas I felt like we might be called to do. Cool stuff! Here is the link for more info about SEED projects. I challenge those of you who are at home to check this out....these are 1-2 day activities that help the church connect and serve their communities:
http://www.disciplenations.org/seed-project
http://www.harvestfoundation.org/
We also had another lecturer from Bali, Rus Alit, who introduces simple technologies in developing countries to help the people to have clean drinking water and also to begin to farm more effectively. He suggests the ideas to the villagers and then they make the decision of whether or not they want to invest in the technology or not and then take ownership of it themselves. They pay for it (he uses local materials whenever possible), help build it, and learn how to maintain it. Rus has worked for World Vision and has travelled all over the world with this ministry. He is really cost-effective in his work and is passionate about using local talents and resources so that the community is able to relate to the technology (it's appropriate!) and therefore has the drive to continue using it.
Rus has now started his own school in Bali (Bali Appropriate Technology Institute or BATI) which we will be spending the last two weeks of December at finishing up our training, getting set for outreach, and also spending Christmas in Bali. While he was here in New Zealand we got to see him make a Rus Pump so hopefully we will be able to use some of the knowledge he'll give us on our outreach. He is in the process of setting up a website, but if you Google his name you can find way more amazing testimonies about his work.
http://www.campbali.com/BATI.htm
Outside of lectures we were busy with a Snowboarders vs Trinity (Backpackers, Earthcare and Crossroads) soccer game on Tuesday afternoon. We also had the opportunity to hear testimonies from the snowboarders' outreach times in Turkey, Africa, Argentina, and China. During the week leading up to the snowboarders' return we each were given a snowboarder to pray for. All we knew about them was their name, age, nationality and also a little picture. We were asking God for words of encouragement or anything else He wanted to tell them. I prayed for a really awesome guy named Philipp from Switzerland. It was great to be able to share the things I felt like God wanted him to know and just hang out after an amazing worship time on Wednesday night.
The Earthcare and Crossroads schools also helped set up and serve at the Snowboarders graduation ceremony. At first we were a little bitter that the Backpackers got a free night in Christchurch while we had to work, but it turned out to be a lot of fun. The dining room was transformed and Chef Ally did an absolutely amazing job with a 4 course meal for over 80 people. We got to tag along at their dance and learned some new moves which was really fun.
I spent the weekend working on base again because I switched my extra weekend with my friend Anna who really wanted to go to Hanmer Springs (the weekend activity) which I had already visited when Mom was here. I knew it was the right thing to do, but I'm not going to lie, I was kind of bitter about missing out. It turned out to be best for me though. It was a really chill weekend and the work didn't seem as hard as the last time I was a weekend warrior (probably because I actually knew what I was doing). I got to go to the beach for a couple hours in the afternoon on Saturday and witnessed Rebecca's first ocean experience (she's from Manitoba and had never seen the ocean or mountains before she came to New Zealand!!!).
The weekend was also a time where I realized that I needed to get an attitude adjustment going on. I really have the tendency to want to get things done and I hate wasting time....I realized that my focus hasn't been on people here, which is silly because in the long run which is more important--getting the dishes done on time or building friendships/welcoming people to the YWAM base? I was also finding it a bit challenging being on the worship team and working with people who have different leadership styles....I know I wasn't being a respectful team member, more like a punky little kid. Anyway apologies were made so hopefully I'll be able to keep myself in check better in the future.
Other highlights of the weekend included watching the entire 3rd Lord of the Rings movie....wait no the highlight of that was the epic pillowfight in between discs which involved cardboard armour and weapons as well as full on foam mattress-throwing and giant doggiepiles of YWAMers. We also watched The Princess Bride on Sunday night which is definitely one of my childhood faves. Another highlight was a deconstructed lemon meringue pie sundae on a sunny afternoon with my friend Laura at Seagers....mmmmm.....
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Days go by...I can feel them flying like a hand out the window....
Alright so here's the latest from Oxford...we returned from Ounatai on Sunday night and jumped right back into life on the base. Our speaker this week was Hank Overeem who is a Dutch-Kiwi. He lives up on the North Island and has been working with YWAM for like 30 years. He had a great testimony and definitely personifies the "Jolly Dutchman" nickname. The topic we were learning about was the character and nature of God. Basically the idea is that the more you know and understand about God the closer you can be to Him.
The week was also filled with tons of activities. On Monday night the girls organised an 80's themed dance party (while the guys went camping for the night) so there were some ridiculous outfits and lots of fun. Tuesday was a fasting day (the first Tuesday of every month is on the base) so everyone on base didn't eat breakfast or lunch. Instead we spent the time learning about Turkey and praying for the big missions project for Anzac day in 2015 (the Kiwis and Aussies were involved in the war there and in 2015 it will be the 100th anniversary of Anzac day in Turkey). We also learned a bit about Islam and what it can look like doing outreach in Muslim countries which was pretty interesting.
On Tuesday our Earthcare DTS was totally blessed to spend some time on a local farm and just hang out there where we had home-made pizza, baked in a stone oven outside! We also have started talking and praying about our outreach time and what it will look like. We leave for Bali on the 14th of December where we will spend a week finishing up our training and then another week doing some mini-outreach projects. We fly to Cambodia on New Years' Day and will be travelling and working there until the 14th of March. It's so bizarre to think that the training part of DTS is almost half over already!!
Friday night we went to Rice Cube again for our outreach time in Christchurch. I decided to join the kids group for the teaching time and found myself in the middle of an intense discussion which was pretty sweet. The group is mainly girls and they are all from South Korea.
The Snowboarders' DTS has just returned from their outreach for a week of debriefing and so there are people everywhere on base (our living room is filled with mattresses and people). They definitely bring a lot of energy to the base!
This weekend I went on a day trip to Arthur's Pass where we did a hike up a ridge to a mountain-top (I forget the name of the trail).
Not everyone made it all the way to the top, but Anna (also earthcare), Denver (backpacker school leader) and I made it! So nice to be outside and getting some exercise!
We relaxed in a coffee shop after the hike and drove back to the base just in time to get dressed up for 'Tight and Bright' night for dinner.
We played a game for one of the leader's birthday (Nicki) for her dessert. Basically there were six giant chocolate chip cookies (on huge baking sheets) with ice cream on them and we got into groups to see who could eat the cookie first. The winner got to throw cookie at everyone else so it turned into a massive food fight. Luckily we did it outside in the playing field. One of the snowboarders ran up to me and rubbed cookie all over my face! Crazy loco!
This morning I went to church at the Anglican church next door with some of the other Earthcare girls. We had all sort of felt like going there instead of the Baptist church and it turned out that the sermon and bible teachings they used seemed really relevant and applicable to our outreach (a lot of talk about restoration of communities). After church the snowboarders decided to make a giant slip'n'slide out in the field and sprayed it down with water and soap so that was pretty entertaining. I'm also on the worship team for Monday so I've spent quite a bit of free time practicing.
The thing that was kind of a downer this week was finding out that apparently the warranty on my camera is void because of sand and corrosion damage (probably due to a faulty seal.....) so it's going to cost just about as much to fix the camera as I paid in the first place. I've decided not to bother and so now am praying that I'll be able to find a used camera for not too much money....
The week was also filled with tons of activities. On Monday night the girls organised an 80's themed dance party (while the guys went camping for the night) so there were some ridiculous outfits and lots of fun. Tuesday was a fasting day (the first Tuesday of every month is on the base) so everyone on base didn't eat breakfast or lunch. Instead we spent the time learning about Turkey and praying for the big missions project for Anzac day in 2015 (the Kiwis and Aussies were involved in the war there and in 2015 it will be the 100th anniversary of Anzac day in Turkey). We also learned a bit about Islam and what it can look like doing outreach in Muslim countries which was pretty interesting.
On Tuesday our Earthcare DTS was totally blessed to spend some time on a local farm and just hang out there where we had home-made pizza, baked in a stone oven outside! We also have started talking and praying about our outreach time and what it will look like. We leave for Bali on the 14th of December where we will spend a week finishing up our training and then another week doing some mini-outreach projects. We fly to Cambodia on New Years' Day and will be travelling and working there until the 14th of March. It's so bizarre to think that the training part of DTS is almost half over already!!
Friday night we went to Rice Cube again for our outreach time in Christchurch. I decided to join the kids group for the teaching time and found myself in the middle of an intense discussion which was pretty sweet. The group is mainly girls and they are all from South Korea.
The Snowboarders' DTS has just returned from their outreach for a week of debriefing and so there are people everywhere on base (our living room is filled with mattresses and people). They definitely bring a lot of energy to the base!
This weekend I went on a day trip to Arthur's Pass where we did a hike up a ridge to a mountain-top (I forget the name of the trail).
Not everyone made it all the way to the top, but Anna (also earthcare), Denver (backpacker school leader) and I made it! So nice to be outside and getting some exercise!
We relaxed in a coffee shop after the hike and drove back to the base just in time to get dressed up for 'Tight and Bright' night for dinner.
We played a game for one of the leader's birthday (Nicki) for her dessert. Basically there were six giant chocolate chip cookies (on huge baking sheets) with ice cream on them and we got into groups to see who could eat the cookie first. The winner got to throw cookie at everyone else so it turned into a massive food fight. Luckily we did it outside in the playing field. One of the snowboarders ran up to me and rubbed cookie all over my face! Crazy loco!
This morning I went to church at the Anglican church next door with some of the other Earthcare girls. We had all sort of felt like going there instead of the Baptist church and it turned out that the sermon and bible teachings they used seemed really relevant and applicable to our outreach (a lot of talk about restoration of communities). After church the snowboarders decided to make a giant slip'n'slide out in the field and sprayed it down with water and soap so that was pretty entertaining. I'm also on the worship team for Monday so I've spent quite a bit of free time practicing.
The thing that was kind of a downer this week was finding out that apparently the warranty on my camera is void because of sand and corrosion damage (probably due to a faulty seal.....) so it's going to cost just about as much to fix the camera as I paid in the first place. I've decided not to bother and so now am praying that I'll be able to find a used camera for not too much money....
Saturday, October 31, 2009
So much to say, so much to say, so much to say.....
Ok I was going to post this a week ago, but never actually finished writing about everything and then left the base for a week. Here goes an attempt to catch you up on the last three weeks.....
Life is not boring on the base that's for sure! There has been so much going on that it's been kind of hard to decide what to write about. It's like being in school so it feels kind of weird to tell you all about the things I learn in class, but at the same time it's so much more than school because it's all day every day....
The second week of DTS we didn't really have lectures during the lecture time so it was a bit different. A couple from Christchurch came on Mon, Tues and Wed and led worship and shared their testimonies with my DTS and the Crossroads DTS. Monday is also Work Duty day and I got to vaccuum and clean out some of the vans and cars so that wasn't so bad (other than when I got drenched with water...).
On Tuesday afternoon it was gorgeous out and I played volleyball instead of reading my book report book (which is pretty interesting....Eternity on Their Hearts by Don Richardson and is about how many other cultures have religions which point to belief in one all powerful God or have traditions and legends that are remarkably similar to Christianity....). It was great to be outside because I missed most of that weekend since I was on weekend warriors.....oh but here is a picture from our Pancakes-giving:
We also had our first small group meeting on Tuesday which is made up of all the girls on Earthcare and our two female leaders: Jenny and Laura as well as Jenny's daughter Johanna. Such a wonderful group of women. I'm really glad that God called them here!
On Wednesday morning we had our first bible study and my group is studying Acts. In the afternoon we went to Wai Ora which is a community-farming area which helps people get back on their feet from difficult circumstances using farming and also Maori-Christian principles....kind of hard to explain but our leader Rob helped get it started. They did a Maori welcoming ceremony for us which was pretty cool and we did the hongi (a greeting where you touch noses and foreheads...it symbolizes sharing the breath of the spirit). In the evening we had WAM (world awareness of missions) and are supposed to present a song tonight....some people got really into it (not so much my group though...).
Thursday my DTS hiked through a valley in the Torlesse Mountains and enjoyed a little break from the base. So peaceful and beautiful there. It was a gorgeous sunny day and apart from getting eaten alive by sandflies (almost enough to make a girl start to eat Marmite every day...) even the pouring rain on the walk back didn't dampen our spirits. That evening we had a Jewish-Christian speaker come in to talk about ministering to Israeli Jews (more for the Backpacker school, but an amazing speaker) and also an American girl who now lives in Lake Wanaka and has planted a Lighthouse church there. For those of you snowboarders you should check them out! They have churches in ski resort areas all over the world and are even planting one in Whistler right now which will probably be open for the Olympics which is pretty cool!
Friday our DTS went to a "wee hut" which belongs to a farmer and is in a beech forest just to spend a little more time as a group together. Then we went to Christchurch for the evening to do some shopping (getting set for the West Coast next week) a spiritual treasure hunt, and then some ministry time at the Rice Cube (Alpha for ESL in Christchurch).
On the weekend I went to Castle Hill which is a whole bunch of giant rocks in a valley looking over the Torlesse Mountains. I climbed up a whole bunch of boulders and it was really fun. They filmed the battle scene from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe there.
I'm actually in this picture....look for the blue backpack on the rock! Keith you would have loved it here!
The weekend after our Father Heart week (not this past weekend, but the weekend before) I went on an overnight trip to the Lewis Pass which is a mountain pass in the Southern Alps. It was absolutely stunning!
We drove out from the base in the morning and then did a 3 hour (round trip) hike up to the Top of Lewis Pass up a mountain. When we got to the top we were surrounded with snowcapped mountains and quite deep snow (I was hiking in snow up to my knees in shorts at one point). We slid down the slopes of the mountain and rolled in the snow which was so much fun.
After we had exhausted ourselves hiking down the mountain we hiked two more hours on relatively flat terrain to a small hut by a lake where some of us camped out in tents and some were supposed to stay in the hut....unfortunately there wasn't enough room for us to stay in the bunks in the hut so some people slept out on the porch. I managed to snag an extra mattress on the floor in the kitchen of the hut which was pretty sweet.
We did morning devotions on the dock at the lake and then hiked back out and drove back to the base in time for dinner and for me to pack up for a whole week away....
That week was spent on the west coast of the South Island which is absolutely stunning (I feel like I might be over-using these words, but I promise I'm not exaggerating!). We drove about 4-5 hours through Arthur's Pass (another pass through the Southern Alps which is...you guessed it....gorgeous) and arrived in the pouring rain. Instead of setting up camp in the rain we stayed the night at a hostel near our leaders' (the Blakelys) friends' (the Jones) home. After a cosy night we got up early the next morning to use the tide to cross the river in boats with all our gear and set up our camp at Ounatai, the Blakely's property right on the ocean where it meets the river.
I'll work on getting some more pictures of Ounatai up, but I am still relying on other people's photos and cameras since mine is in the mail on its way to Fuji right now (hopefully going to be fixed very soon!!).
Anyway Ounatai is unlike any one place I have been before, but as I looked around here is the compilation I came up with: Southern Alps in the background like snow-covered Rockies, in the foreground hills like those outside of Hong Kong with many trees on them, near the beach a rainforest made of a combination of West Coast of BC and tropical rainforest (large tree ferns and vines everywhere), with a beach somewhat like those you'd find on Vancouver Island or on the coast but with waves crashing like you'd see and hear in Surfer's Paradise....
All 6 of us girls shared a tent from the 60's I'm pretty sure...our staff Laura nicknamed it the Mirage because it was massive (you could stand up in it and we could have easily fit 3 or four more bodies in it with room to spare.
Our first day at Ounatai was sunny and lovely and I jumped off the rickety as bridge and went swimming in the lagoon beside the beach (well it was more like a quick dip). Went on a hike through the rainforest with the men bushwacking with machetes ahead and mud galore....my gumboot got entirely filled with mudpuddle at one point! We had a huge bonfire on the beach and a few of us tried sleeping out under the stars (but I got too cold at about 1:30am and headed back to the tent which was kind of fortunate because it rained that morning).
The following day it rained most of the time so we spent most of it in the Blakely's small hut with the fire going. The whole time we were spoiled with delicious food cooked over the campfire...I even tried goat (was a bit gristly and greasy for me...)
Next day was prep for our solo experiences in the bush. Each of us had the option to spend one night completely alone in the forest. We were allowed to bring in our gear and then were given a pot to cook on the fire and some food, matches, a tent or tarp and a groundsheet. They led us into the bush to our spot and we were asked to stay within 30m of our chosen campsite at most times. They forgot to give me a ground sheet so I improvised with ferns on the bottom of my bottomless tent (basically just the fly)....oh wait I forgot to mention, we didn't get any tent pegs or poles to set them up! So I started my own fire and cooked my noodles and spent some quality time with God. It was really good for me because one of my big fears is being lonely and I didn't feel afraid at all. It was nice to have some time alone with all the people around.
After they picked us up the next day, I made chocolate chip pancakes on the fire (called pikelets here...pancakes are crepes) which was fun and then spent the afternoon on the beach and swimming again. We had another big bonfire (or three) on the beach and watched the sun go down with a view of the Alps.
The next morning we packed up and brought our gear back to the hostel and had lunch. Rob then drove all the girls (the boys needed a rest) out to the Doughboy where we hiked for a few hours and spent some time on the beach in the sunshine. After some much needed showers, we had dinner in the most hillbilly pub I've ever seen! There was lichen on the walls inside and possum fur on every seat. It was a delicious dinner and we relaxed at the hostel and went to bed (in real beds!) early.
This morning we led the service at the Baptist church in Hokitika (about 25min away from the hostel we stayed at). Rob played guitar for a few songs and then Mark and I shared a testimony and Liz shared a bible verse. I talked about how God is teaching me to be His child and the picture of an infant sleeping on the chest of his/her Father:
And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.(Matthew 18:2-6 ESV)
and Mark spoke about how his own relationship with his father is changing. Liz shared some verses about being still (Psalm 105) and also a bit from Jeremiah 33:3. Then the congregation prayed for us and it was a real blessing! After church we had a bbq on the beach in Hokitika and then drove back to the base where it was great to see the rest of our new family again.
Whew! If you've made it all the way to the end of this good on ya! Sorry it's been so long...I'll try to update more frequently, but I really don't know what the future will bring. We're on base all of this week. Thanks for all your messages and prayers, I feel truly blessed here!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Life on the Base-week one
So this week has been kind of a getting to know things time and figuring out how things work on the YWAM base. We start each day at 6:30 (or at least we try to) with personal devotions. That basically means just time by yourself reading your bible or praying or journalling or walking....however you want to get some one-on-one time in with God and get yourself into a good headspace for the day. It's been really good for me because I've never really made the time to do that before (anyone who has lived with me knows I'm not too good with mornings).
After an hour of devotions we are supposed to be done our breakfast by 8am. The guys eat at the base and the girls who live in the house with me all eat there. After that we have work duty for an hour. basically what that means is that each person is assigned a job to do somewhere on the base to help cut down on costs and also to give us a chance to serve the base because not only does it cut down on operation costs, but also gives you a sense of responsibility for your home. My job is pretty sweet: my roomate Petra from Holland and I wash the breakfast dishes and tidy the kitchen and living/dining rooms of the girls house. Some other people have to clean bathrooms, do laundry, clean offices, or help prep for dinner. You switch work duties once over the course of dts, so I'll have this one for half the time.
After work duty we've been having a talk in the classroom on the base. We've learned a bit about what it means to live with so many people in close quarters and about some of the guidelines and rules that will help make it go smoothly. We also talked about what worship means, what devotions and bible study can look like, and also about how to do intercession (which is basically praying for someone and seeing if you hear God speak). Our speakers have been the leaders from the different dts's. After this we'll have speakers coming in to talk to us.
The other thing that happened during the morning this week was that our leaders shared about what the vision is for each of the different schools going on at the base at the same time: the backpacker school which is about travelling around backpacker style (both hiking backpacking and travel backpacking) and ministering to other travellers, the crossroads father's heart school which is for people over 30 who are interested in learning more about the father heart of God-they are going on missions to China, and then of course earthcare which focusses on giving people in developing nations the tools to farm sustainably and also works with women and children who are disadvantaged (we are going to Bali for two weeks in December and then Cambodia for 3 months). It was really cool to hear about all the schools, but when the leaders for Earthcare got up and shared, as corny as it sounds I felt tears come to my eyes because it's exactly what I had been hoping it would be.....working with kids who haven't been loved, showing people how to get clean water and grow their own food....ways to help people in the cycle of poverty get out and through our actions showing how God loves us all.
After our morning session (with a break for morning tea which usually consists of warm baking by the 5 star chef Ally who is volunteering on the base this year...such a blessing!!) we have lunch at one. Then we have some other session in the afternoon. Sometimes we volunteer in the community or on the base with larger work projects (I cleaned a lady's house this week), my dts went on a hike, some days we get free time, and today we did a digital photo scavenger hunt in Christchurch which was really fun.
We have dinner at 6. There are teams each week who look after either the lunch or dinner dishes and we all have a turn doing that. After dinner some nights we have free time and other times we have worship or other activities.
By the time all this is over, lights out by 10:30 doesn't seem too early and we are starting all over again.
On the weekends there are trips around the South Island doing all kinds of stuff...rock climbing, hiking, hanging out on the beach, going to hotsprings....the chef and the base staff don't work on weekends so everyone takes turns being the Weekend Warriors (which means you stay on the base and set up, clean up and cook the meals for anyone still there, and do basic cleaning). There isn't a big trip planned this weekend so most people are still here and I am on Weekend Warriors...I'm kind of glad because it means that I don't have to miss any of the trips, although there is kind of more work to do because there are more people than usual still here.
Anyway that's sort of a summary of "Life as I know it" right now. I'm sure I didn't say lots of things and if you have questions I'll try to answer them....
OH and I forgot....early spring in New Zealand has some very interesting weather...it's been pretty cool and rainy most of this week, with a couple sunny afternoons (perfect for soccer games), but today it actually snowed! Didn't stick on the ground at all and was more like rain, but still...not exactly the hot weather I've been spoiled with for the past 4 months. Ah well, it's totally worth it being here. Definitely feels like home.
After an hour of devotions we are supposed to be done our breakfast by 8am. The guys eat at the base and the girls who live in the house with me all eat there. After that we have work duty for an hour. basically what that means is that each person is assigned a job to do somewhere on the base to help cut down on costs and also to give us a chance to serve the base because not only does it cut down on operation costs, but also gives you a sense of responsibility for your home. My job is pretty sweet: my roomate Petra from Holland and I wash the breakfast dishes and tidy the kitchen and living/dining rooms of the girls house. Some other people have to clean bathrooms, do laundry, clean offices, or help prep for dinner. You switch work duties once over the course of dts, so I'll have this one for half the time.
After work duty we've been having a talk in the classroom on the base. We've learned a bit about what it means to live with so many people in close quarters and about some of the guidelines and rules that will help make it go smoothly. We also talked about what worship means, what devotions and bible study can look like, and also about how to do intercession (which is basically praying for someone and seeing if you hear God speak). Our speakers have been the leaders from the different dts's. After this we'll have speakers coming in to talk to us.
The other thing that happened during the morning this week was that our leaders shared about what the vision is for each of the different schools going on at the base at the same time: the backpacker school which is about travelling around backpacker style (both hiking backpacking and travel backpacking) and ministering to other travellers, the crossroads father's heart school which is for people over 30 who are interested in learning more about the father heart of God-they are going on missions to China, and then of course earthcare which focusses on giving people in developing nations the tools to farm sustainably and also works with women and children who are disadvantaged (we are going to Bali for two weeks in December and then Cambodia for 3 months). It was really cool to hear about all the schools, but when the leaders for Earthcare got up and shared, as corny as it sounds I felt tears come to my eyes because it's exactly what I had been hoping it would be.....working with kids who haven't been loved, showing people how to get clean water and grow their own food....ways to help people in the cycle of poverty get out and through our actions showing how God loves us all.
After our morning session (with a break for morning tea which usually consists of warm baking by the 5 star chef Ally who is volunteering on the base this year...such a blessing!!) we have lunch at one. Then we have some other session in the afternoon. Sometimes we volunteer in the community or on the base with larger work projects (I cleaned a lady's house this week), my dts went on a hike, some days we get free time, and today we did a digital photo scavenger hunt in Christchurch which was really fun.
We have dinner at 6. There are teams each week who look after either the lunch or dinner dishes and we all have a turn doing that. After dinner some nights we have free time and other times we have worship or other activities.
By the time all this is over, lights out by 10:30 doesn't seem too early and we are starting all over again.
On the weekends there are trips around the South Island doing all kinds of stuff...rock climbing, hiking, hanging out on the beach, going to hotsprings....the chef and the base staff don't work on weekends so everyone takes turns being the Weekend Warriors (which means you stay on the base and set up, clean up and cook the meals for anyone still there, and do basic cleaning). There isn't a big trip planned this weekend so most people are still here and I am on Weekend Warriors...I'm kind of glad because it means that I don't have to miss any of the trips, although there is kind of more work to do because there are more people than usual still here.
Anyway that's sort of a summary of "Life as I know it" right now. I'm sure I didn't say lots of things and if you have questions I'll try to answer them....
OH and I forgot....early spring in New Zealand has some very interesting weather...it's been pretty cool and rainy most of this week, with a couple sunny afternoons (perfect for soccer games), but today it actually snowed! Didn't stick on the ground at all and was more like rain, but still...not exactly the hot weather I've been spoiled with for the past 4 months. Ah well, it's totally worth it being here. Definitely feels like home.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Peace and trust...
Today is my first day of school....and I even had butterflies last night before I went to bed. It's kind of strange to be back in the student spot after being on the other side as a teacher. We got our manuals for DTS last night and I am really excited to see what God has in store for me and everyone else here on the base over the next 6 months.
Before I talk about life on the base here's a quick update from the last leg of my travels here:
Mom and I enjoyed our last night together in Picton and went out for dinner at a place called Barn which had delicious chicken breast stuffed with walnuts and brie on stir fried veggies which was delicious. We finished up the night soaking in the spa (hot tub) overlooking the ferries and bay. Next morning we wandered around Picton a bit more and found a jewellry store that helped us clean all the tarnish off our silver from wearing our rings and necklaces in Hanmer Springs (don't do it!!). Then we had delicous pies and my first Afghan biscuit from the dutch Bakerij before the lady from our hostel dropped me off at the train station and mom off at the ferry.
The train ride was really nice and I had a really good chat with the kiwi girl sitting next to me. It's so challenging for me to be so open with my faith because it comes up all the time now that I am going on DTS. We talked about a lot of things on the 5 hour train ride and I just hope that I said the right things....
My DTS leader, Jenny, picked me up from the train and drove me to the base where I'm starting to get to know all the people I'll be living and being around for the next 3 months. The girls in the Backpacker and Earthcare DTS are living in the High St. House just a 5 minute walk from the base. There are 20 of us sharing 3 bathrooms (one is split up into tub and shower separate from the toilet) so it is definitely going to be a change from my two bedroom place with Erin. My room has a bunk bed and a single bed in it, but I ended up on the top bunk since I was the last one here. Luckily I've been practicing my bunk climbing over the past month!
Yesterday we went to church at the Baptist church and then went for delicious hot chocolate at a nearby cafe. In the afternoon we relaxed around the house because it was hailing and windy outside (hopefully warming up soon...). Later before dinner (or tea here) we had a welcoming thing where they introduced all the DTS leaders and students and then came the coolest part of the day. Some Christian Maori people (the indiginous..spelling?!...people here in New Zealand) sang and prayed for us in the Maori language and then the men and boys did a haka based on Ephesians 6. If you have never seen a haka before check it out on Youtube-the All Blacks rugby team do one at the beginning of all their games. It was awesome to see it so close up!
This morning I got up at 5:30 to go for a run before we got our day going with one of the other girls....pretty early for me I know, but it was actually not as bad as I had thought. The unfortunate thing is that I am having more Ipod issues.....yesterday I plugged my Ipod into one of the other girl's computers who has Linux instead of Windows and apparently it has converted all my music files into a format that my Ipod doesn't recognize so when I went to listen to it this morning it told me there was no music on it....even though there is still only a little space left on it....I tried using other people's computers to find the files and convert them back, but I haven't had any luck yet so please pray for this!!! For some reason I am not freaking out which is good and I'm trying to trust that I will be able to find it all again....
For those of you who want to send me mail (do it!) here is my address until the middle of December when we leave for outreach:
Attn: Julie Forster
YWAM Oxford
PO Box 47
Oxford, North Canterbury 7443
New Zealand
Before I talk about life on the base here's a quick update from the last leg of my travels here:
Mom and I enjoyed our last night together in Picton and went out for dinner at a place called Barn which had delicious chicken breast stuffed with walnuts and brie on stir fried veggies which was delicious. We finished up the night soaking in the spa (hot tub) overlooking the ferries and bay. Next morning we wandered around Picton a bit more and found a jewellry store that helped us clean all the tarnish off our silver from wearing our rings and necklaces in Hanmer Springs (don't do it!!). Then we had delicous pies and my first Afghan biscuit from the dutch Bakerij before the lady from our hostel dropped me off at the train station and mom off at the ferry.
The train ride was really nice and I had a really good chat with the kiwi girl sitting next to me. It's so challenging for me to be so open with my faith because it comes up all the time now that I am going on DTS. We talked about a lot of things on the 5 hour train ride and I just hope that I said the right things....
My DTS leader, Jenny, picked me up from the train and drove me to the base where I'm starting to get to know all the people I'll be living and being around for the next 3 months. The girls in the Backpacker and Earthcare DTS are living in the High St. House just a 5 minute walk from the base. There are 20 of us sharing 3 bathrooms (one is split up into tub and shower separate from the toilet) so it is definitely going to be a change from my two bedroom place with Erin. My room has a bunk bed and a single bed in it, but I ended up on the top bunk since I was the last one here. Luckily I've been practicing my bunk climbing over the past month!
Yesterday we went to church at the Baptist church and then went for delicious hot chocolate at a nearby cafe. In the afternoon we relaxed around the house because it was hailing and windy outside (hopefully warming up soon...). Later before dinner (or tea here) we had a welcoming thing where they introduced all the DTS leaders and students and then came the coolest part of the day. Some Christian Maori people (the indiginous..spelling?!...people here in New Zealand) sang and prayed for us in the Maori language and then the men and boys did a haka based on Ephesians 6. If you have never seen a haka before check it out on Youtube-the All Blacks rugby team do one at the beginning of all their games. It was awesome to see it so close up!
This morning I got up at 5:30 to go for a run before we got our day going with one of the other girls....pretty early for me I know, but it was actually not as bad as I had thought. The unfortunate thing is that I am having more Ipod issues.....yesterday I plugged my Ipod into one of the other girl's computers who has Linux instead of Windows and apparently it has converted all my music files into a format that my Ipod doesn't recognize so when I went to listen to it this morning it told me there was no music on it....even though there is still only a little space left on it....I tried using other people's computers to find the files and convert them back, but I haven't had any luck yet so please pray for this!!! For some reason I am not freaking out which is good and I'm trying to trust that I will be able to find it all again....
For those of you who want to send me mail (do it!) here is my address until the middle of December when we leave for outreach:
Attn: Julie Forster
YWAM Oxford
PO Box 47
Oxford, North Canterbury 7443
New Zealand
Friday, October 2, 2009
Patience is a Virtue....
So for the past 2 hours mom and I have been plugging money into this computer and waiting for Facebook to load photos from her camera (2 tries) and both failed. Sooo frustrating! You'd love the photos too because they are gorgeous. I tried posting them on here but they are taking forever and a day to load and I am starving! I'll try and give it another shot at the base where internet is free...
So yesterday the sun came out and we boated and hiked in Abel Tasman National park. So gorgeous! Of course the morning started out with a meltdown because my Ipod wasn't working and I cannot handle anymore broken technology (it worked later so who knows what was going on) plus we were late and missed the Aqua Shuttle we were going to take....but thankfully there was another boat that left later so we took that. Anyway we rode the boat for about 2 hours, got off at Tonga Bay and then hiked 2 hours to Bark Bay through coastal rainforest. I managed to get a wicked sunburn on my face and looked a lot like a red raccoon because of my sunglasses.
Today we drove along the Marlborough Sounds to Picton. We are staying at another great hostel in Picton and went for a beautiful walk to Bob's Bay this afternoon.
Tomorrow I take the train south along the coast to Rangiora and am going to the base from there and Mom heads north on the ferry to Wellington.
So yesterday the sun came out and we boated and hiked in Abel Tasman National park. So gorgeous! Of course the morning started out with a meltdown because my Ipod wasn't working and I cannot handle anymore broken technology (it worked later so who knows what was going on) plus we were late and missed the Aqua Shuttle we were going to take....but thankfully there was another boat that left later so we took that. Anyway we rode the boat for about 2 hours, got off at Tonga Bay and then hiked 2 hours to Bark Bay through coastal rainforest. I managed to get a wicked sunburn on my face and looked a lot like a red raccoon because of my sunglasses.
Today we drove along the Marlborough Sounds to Picton. We are staying at another great hostel in Picton and went for a beautiful walk to Bob's Bay this afternoon.
Tomorrow I take the train south along the coast to Rangiora and am going to the base from there and Mom heads north on the ferry to Wellington.
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