Week 9 started off with kayaking on Lake Terawera. George's friend Anthony and his son Caleb joined us and we had a grand ole' time. The rain (naturally) followed us, but this time there were no trees to hide under. No, no. We were in the middle of the lake with nowhere to go! The Bible verse, "Even the wind and the waves obey him" kept flashing through my mind and I was wondering just what God was up to. The second two of the three nights we spent at Hot Water Beach. The water was so hot in some places, we could actually cook our food in it! We all enjoyed a warm "bath" in the lake.
("bathing" at Hot Water beach)
After we finished kayaking, we headed back to Papakura! On the way we stopped at Inter-Cultural Institute (ICI) which is an English school run by OM! We checked out their facilities and got more information about what they do. Then it was home! We were all very excited to get back... It was just like coming home again! : )
Throughout the week each of us had the opportunity to lead the group devotional in the morning. It was exciting to get many different perspectives from each TEAm member. Everyone had something insightful and encouraging to say. And it was nice to get a break from George ; )
The beginning of week 10 brought a big surprise. All we knew beforehand was that it was called "MI Day". Turns out it was "Mission: Impossible Day". We were informed Saturday morning that we would be going into Auckland as a team and completing a list of tasks. We had to stay together the whole day, which made some tasks more difficult. We also had to wear our Christmas hats the entire time, which made us stand out quite a bit. We had to pass out over 2,000 tracts, interview at least 7 strangers about what Christmas means to them, create more Nativity scenes with strangers and just talk to people in general.
Throughout the week each of us had the opportunity to lead the group devotional in the morning. It was exciting to get many different perspectives from each TEAm member. Everyone had something insightful and encouraging to say. And it was nice to get a break from George ; )
The beginning of week 10 brought a big surprise. All we knew beforehand was that it was called "MI Day". Turns out it was "Mission: Impossible Day". We were informed Saturday morning that we would be going into Auckland as a team and completing a list of tasks. We had to stay together the whole day, which made some tasks more difficult. We also had to wear our Christmas hats the entire time, which made us stand out quite a bit. We had to pass out over 2,000 tracts, interview at least 7 strangers about what Christmas means to them, create more Nativity scenes with strangers and just talk to people in general.
It turned out to be a relatively successful day! We met some great people (one guy even hung out with us rest of the day until we left!), had some fantastic conversations and had a lot of fun. One guy walked way with a Bible and a new perspective and conviction on how he should live his life. It was an exciting but exhausting day for all of us.
Sunday morning the TEAm visited a local church in Papakura. We had our final evaluations and then on Monday morning we headed out for our last TEA adventure! We drove north of Auckland to Goat Island to spend a few days on the beach! We all did a lot of snorkeling in a Marine Reserve. The fish seem to know they'll be safe there, so they all congregate and we get to admire them. we even got to see some dolphins! We also hiked a bit to get to TI Point and do some rock climbing.
The second evening we were there, a huge group of school kids were too. We made some "dampers" and were able to share with the kids around the campfire. That night was our last truly fantastic night in the Southern Hemisphere. The stars are indescribable and it's impossible not to be in awe of God and his glory when his creation looks like that!
After returning once again to Papakura, we have spent the last few days cleaning and organizing everything. Packing and finding room for all of our stuff has been our latest adventure ; )
We finished off TEA with a fabulous party! We all pitched in and made our favorite foods. We also each dressed up like someone else from the TEAm (see picture below). Anthony and Caleb joined us for the evening and we all had a grand time! : )
(who's who?)
Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers over these last 10 weeks! None of us could have done this without the support of our family and friends. We have all seen God work amazing things in our life and we are very excited to see where he wants to take us next! Please continue praying as we are all starting to travel in one way or another. Some of us are heading home straight away. Others are staying here in New Zealand for a month or more while others are on their way to Australia! So, we all need your prayers for travel and for guidance as we continue on with our lives and desire to seek God's will.
Also pray that the fire burning within us will continue to burn and we can be a shining light for Jesus in everything we do!
Blessings and joy!
2 comments:
why is everyone wearing t-shirts in the water? is that a christian thing in new zealand??
The other photo shows people in the water with no T-shirts on. When they were wearing T-shirts, the water was hot, but the air above was quite cool.
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