TEA-03/2009 - Our Last Week

Hello everyone and welcome to the last blog entry for TEA-03/2009.

This last week has gone by so quickly and it is hard to believe that TEA-03 is actually over. After a beautiful walk on the highest point in Hawk's Bay, we left Napier and drove to Rotorua (The city that smells like sulfur - because of all of the thermal activity). We went to the bubbling mud pits & then had a long soak in the near perfect water of a natural hot spring. Nobody wanted to get out!

Nathan wondering what happened to his TEAmates

All of us where challenged on Sunday morning by the message we heard in church. Pastor Scott at Calvary Chapel talked about how we should all be willing to stand firm when the world comes against us and go against the flow of what everyone else is doing. In Luke Chap 18 Jesus says we should "keep on praying and never give up". No matter how hard the stream of the world flows against us, we should stand firm and keep trusting in Him! V7 says "God protects his chosen ones who pray to him day & night...and who have faith"!! We must ask ourselves where do we put our faith, in the One who saves us or in other things??

We found ourselves camping again at Papamoa beach. Yes this is a winter TEAm but we did get the tents out a few times. The weather was beautiful and we took the time to walk on the beach and think about all the God had done and was still doing in our lives. We climbed Mt. Maunganui, a volcano right on the beach. At the top a couple of kite sailors where setting up and we had the opportunity to watch them fly around. They had as much fun as the bird were riding the thermals. We had a good talk with one of the guys and, if given the opportunity, a few of us would have taken our first kite sailing lesson right there and then.

After a few days at the beach we headed for the Woodward's farm and arrived just as darkness was falling. That night Phil & Audra had a great conversation with a German fellow who was staying at the farm for a night. Both of them got to share their testimony and the the message of God's unconditional love & grace. The next day this man & his son joined us as we explored the caves on the Woodward's property. After a couple hours we went to work and helped Philip & Ann by planting some cabbage trees and moving a few hundred native trees to a planting site way out on the hills behind their cafe'. We all had a lot of fun and a great workout.



Pulling into the drive way at the OM office in Papakura on Wednesday night made us all realize how fast the time had gone by. We still had a few days left but reality started setting in. We couldn't think about that for too long though because the next morning we went to the Sonshine ranch where we worked with the staff for a few hours on some projects around the property and then spent a couple hours riding horses. For some of us it was the first time we ever really "rode" a horse. We trotted & galloped up and down hills, through the forest and through water. It was a great day and a blessing to be able to help the staff at the ranch get some much needed work done. We had some encouraging conversations with them and it was good to do some practical work for someone.




It is hard to believe that TEA-03 is finished! We all have so many good memories of the time spent focusing on God, the discussions we had together, the people we met and the places we visited.

Please be praying for TEAm as they are all in the process of travelling home. Pray for their transition back into normal life and for the many decisions ahead. For the seven of them it is the beginning of something new & exciting as they continue their journey following the Lord.

Thank you to everyone who prayed for the members of TEA-03/2009 during their time here and please continue to lift them up as they step into the next chapter of their lives.

Bless you all,

TEA-03/2009 (Sara, Nathan, Bea, Thomas, Audra, Phil, Karo)