It seems like quite a while since I left winter in Minnesota and arrived into New Zealand summer. I hope you are well where you are, in whatever season you are currently experiencing!
Actually, I did not travel directly from MN to NZ. My ticket from outreach included a stop in Fiji on the way to NZ. I decided to take advantage of the incredible opportunity to have a few days with the Lord in a stunningly beautiful part of His good earth.
After celebrating Christmas with my family a week early, I arrived in Nadi, Fiji at 5am on December 25. I've never spent Christmas day alone with Jesus. He met me, guiding me to a simple yet comfortable hostel. I had asked Him to bless that time, speak to me through the Word, and prepare my mind and heart for work ahead of me. Wow. The Lord heard me and answered in abundance! It turns out I had the entire dorm to myself. I got some solid nights of sleep, bye bye jetlag! God opened up the Word to me, and I read with a renewed appetite to know and understand it.
On December 26, I decided to take a taxi into town to get some food to cook and check email. WELL.... The taxi that picked me up just happened to be an assistant pastor and his wife on their way home from staying with some friends' the night before! We started talking. They were familiar with ywam. Since it was the day after Christmas, it was still a holiday in town, and most places were closed. So they brought me to their house for breakfast!! It was so cool!! They were Fijian (many Indians and Chinese, and Koreans also live in Fiji). I got to meet their whole extended family that was still there for Christmas. We all went upstairs to eat breakfast, sitting on the floor on these mats eating coconut rice, these little cakes and papaya. It was really great to get to know them. They were a real encouragement to me. Later on Ben, the driver/pastor, brought me into the supermarket and showed me which bus to take home. Fiji was an enormous blessing.
At the baggage claim in Christchurch, a rowdy bunch approached me with massive embraces, flowers, and a nourishing dose of friendship. I'm thankful that even the first minutes of our time together as a staff team were so sweet. My backpack, on the other hand, missed out on the joyful reunion. Thanks to my new friend at the baggage claim desk, it was still a fun experience and I was reunited with my pack later that night.
Now I am back at the base in Oxford. It is GOOD to be here! These past two weeks of staff training have been excellent. By excellent I mean a 'good experience' and also, 'well done.' Excellence is worth striving for. Excellence honors the Lord. The base staff here exhibit a true effort to improve every aspect of life and ministry. Sometimes in an attempt to 'live by faith,' one can end up winging it, which results in a poor plan, lack of developed skills, and frustration. It is evident, however, that the Lord is blessing this base with wisdom, vision, and a goal of excellence. And as our school leader Jeremy leads us through preparations and training, I cannot see how it could be done any better. I do not say this to boast, but to inspire everyone to fight for excellence in all we do. We are sons and daughters of the King.
To fill in the picture of what I'll be doing here, let me give you a few details. We have formed the students into small groups, and I will have 5 girls to disciple. What a gift and a responsibility! I'll also be helping organize and oversee the base work duties, to cultivate a practical expression of stewardship. Lastly, I'll be planning missions nights which will introduce students to different people groups, cultural diversities, experienced missionaries, and missions perspectives.
The past two days we've spent praying for each staff member individually. It was my turn this afternoon. I had several specific things in mind that I asked God to speak to or confirm to me, and He did. I mean, He was very specific. It is unreal to me how close He is. It just makes me want to know and trust Him more.
That's about all for now. Thanks so much for reading, for your prayers, and support! Oh, one last thing--I handed in my top three outreach location choices and....
...to be continued
Much love,
Sara
*here is the link to the staff profiles if you would like to pray:
http://www.ywamoxford.org/staff/staff.php?id=AW80
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