AHH TODAY IS THE START OF CLASSES! and it has also been about 2 weeks since we moved into the apartment. sometimes it feels like its been longer, or its maybe just because ive gotten quite used to waking up to the scene outside my window and somewhat have a good idea of the area. two places that i have gone to almost everyday was the supermarket and the warehouse, just to get groceries and stuff. This week is also the international students’ orientation at the university- there are alot of other American students here, with another majority of the students from germany. During the 1st day of orientation, there were more than 30+ nationalities represented! And just last night, a bunch of us went to an international quiz night hosted by UoA for 1st time international students. We broke off into teams, and it was really cool to be able to meet other students from literally around the world and shared about our own cultures, where we’re from, and just our thoughts on nz and uoa so far. and also, their pizza hut pizza here does not have a tomato sauce base. Its just the cheese on the bread and the toppings on top. Except the meatlovers pizza..mhmmm good and it had bbq sauce oozing out of it :D and our other two roommates moved in- they are with a group from BU.
Monday of this week was the last “free” day we had before orientation, so we decided to take a ferry and have a day trip to one of the surrounding islands. We took a 40 mins ferry ride to waihete island and spent the day walking along the beach where we took jumping pics of course! :P , climbed among the rocks (got some good shots), ate gourmet pizza and drank coffee at a cafe overlooking the beach and the gorgeous view, and got to walk through of nz’s birds preservation sites. Waihete island is also known for its growth of olives making it a HUGE exporter of olive oil and over 35+ world renowned vineyards. Both its olive oil and wine have won numerous worldwide awards and recognition.
I have just finished reading allen wakabayashi’s book “kingdom come”, recommended to me by alot of ppl and the kingdom life track at chapter camp this year. I really recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about what the Kingdom of God is really about and how God really is out to change this world! And like how the Kingdom of God is at the very heart of the Gospel- it was something so deep rooted in Jesus’ teaching that it definitely has to be important! - i mean bc ive heard like “kingdom” used so often in so many different context. And like after a while of saying the Lord’s Prayer, it became somewhat routine- but the book brought another understanding to that Prayer- theres a reason why that is the model prayer Jesus taught His disciples and instructed us to pray. I was reminded that prayer is about seeking God’s Heart and His Kingdom, where we should desire to live God’s dreams for our lives rather than try so hard to live out what we want. After all, its really not about us at all and God can still accomplish everything He has in mind with or without us, but yet He chose to use us, and to be part of His mission in changing the world. Its all about seeing the reign of God’s justice and peace fleshed out and evident in all that we set forth to do.
There was another chapter about community. Being here, reading the book, and looking over things from chapter camp, i have been reminded again how community is so essential- how much we really are made for community. God never intended for us ever to have to juggle the burden of life by ourselves- we are made for community- from everything in fellowshipping together to sharing meals and our problems, doubts, fears, joys, happiness and especially in being His witnesses- this mission is definitely not an individual endeavour, as much as our American culture seems to stress and encourage individualism, but a corporate mission and journey together. As i think about community, i still struggle sometimes about being vulnerable and raw in heart- community is definitely something that is hard for me, yet i know that is so worth it- sometimes its really easy for me to close up and not want to let ppl in and share my heart (i feel like i have nothing to offer, yet that is complete nonsense bc i know that the presence of God is in me and that His hands have been at work in my life) i know that that is a part of my life that God is definitely and has been working in and i thank God for the blessings of prayer warriors praying specifically for that and ppl who are praying for me while i am over here.
So nz has a lot of sheep and oddly enough, i was reminded of one of God’s promises to His children. During out IFSA Butler orientation, we saw sheep everyday and driving from the regional park back into Auckland city, we saw alot of sheep. And they have sheep souvenirs everywhere! Seeing the sheep reminded me of those parables where the shepherd would leave the rest of the flock just to find that one lost sheep. So although we are called to God’s mission communally, God love for me is precious, unconditional- individual. I matter to Him, even when i want to/am holding back, He is not. He keeps pursuing me, He wants my heart, even when its ugly and dirty with sin - His love for each one of us is so uniquely personal that He would search high and low to find us and/or call us back to Him, no matter how far we have wandered or like no matter how far in the opposite direction we are running from His arms. He would do all of that, for just one lost sheep. He says to each one of us “You are mine”. I am worth it, you are worth it. And His mission is worth it- worth every bit of our lives and time. Jesus is out to change the world, do you want in?
Prayer requests:
- its been harder and harder to keep to praying at 10pm with vandy acf. To stop whatever we are doing and to pray as one voice for particular weekly issues. I pray to really get back on track and pray over these issues as a campus body.
- that i can find community with a campus fellowship and a church for these few months (so far i have visited 2 and still looking). And for accountability- whether it be with ppl here or be able to work out a time to share with ppl back home
- There is so much here that reminds me of Thailand- maybe its bc im on the same side of the world. 2 things that really stick out is the vulnerability and the openness of the Karen kids and ppl to reach out t us despite our short amt of time there- they still loved on us the same, without holding back. I pray to have that same vulnerability in sharing with ppl here, not to hold back bc i know that i will leave after 5 months- but to be real with them. And for the past 2 weeks, we have been walking miles to church- last week, we walked 45mins to church and this week we walked for about 1.5hrs. i got bloody blisters from walking, but it humbled/broke me greatly. It reminded me of when the families would walk to Ban Mai village from the surrounding villages just for church and they would walk miles just for a church service. I pray to have that kind of faith- the joy in their hearts as they make their way to church and not complain about how far it is.
- brothers and sisters still on missions trips and those that came back from several- for their processing/reflection of what God revealed to them about His Heart and what He opened their eyes to and what He’s taught them during their timing serving Him. I know that even now, a year since Thailand, i am still processing over what i saw, witnessed, experienced, and learned there.
- i really want to flesh out God’s reign in whatever i do here, i really want to seek him deeply and desire for my heart His desires for me. Lastly for what breaks His heart to break mine.
- im slightly homesick and uneasy to think if i can jump right back into classes and deadlines and due dates.
