Kia Ora!

Auckland. What's it like? It is absolutely beautiful here and I love this city. Springtime has arrived, complete with lots of budding trees and cool tropical flowers! It rains frequently....but is also sunny frequently! Due to the large water mass around us, the weather is quite unpredictable and you can literally experience all four seasons in one day. This makes getting dressed in the morning quite challenging, and definitely keeps you on your toes! I've been able to go running or walking around much of the city, which is full of parks, old volcanoes, and different parts of town that each have their own unique vibe. Below is a park that is pretty much in our backyard.



We've been able to get out of the city for some weekend trips that have been utterly breathtaking! One place we visited was Cathedral cove, which is the beach where they filmed the Narnia arrival in the new Prince Caspian. SO beautiful. Check out the picture, then watch the film -- pretty sweet.



Justice DTS?
Where to begin? What is Justice anyways? Is it a cause? (rhetorical question, in case you were wondering) NO...it's a person...Justice is Jesus! What have I learned about a world that needs Justice? I've learned this world is cruel and human beings can be incredibly wicked. Every single day, thousands of women and children are being abducted, beaten and violently raped by their friends, fathers, strangers. I've learned that in many ways humanity has lost the value of Human. Men are kidnapping little boys and brutally beating and brainwashing them into a war of simply killing to kill. "Good" working class men are flying to Cambodia to have just a few hours with a 7 year old...simply to fulfill their sick fantasies. Thousands of people work in sweat shops every day to make cheap clothes/shoes/etc. many of these products are destined for us westerners who happily consume the bargain merchandise from Wal-mart.

But to what end is all this? Ultimately...ALL of us (me included) are but filthy rags without Jesus...without Justice! Jesus has called us to BE Justice, to WALK Justice, to LOVE Justice and to reconcile humanity back to it's creator...
Am I passionate about this? YES.



Community. We, all 18 students and 4 staff have developed into a family spanning from age 18 to 35, and coming from 10 different countries. We have locked arms... in the good, the bad and the ugly. We are quickly learning to carry each others pains, victories, hilarious quirks, differences in language and individual cultures. We may not always trust each other, we may not always know how to help but we LOVE each other...we support each other...we cherish one another. We have poured our hearts out to each other, confessed the deepest sins to one another and celebrated in our victories! And it's beautiful, absolutely beautiful.

Food. The most important section, right? Coffee here is great, we buy a fairly-traded variety that has ruined me on Starbucks coffee forever. The chocolate is even more wonderful! There is also a huge international population in Auckland, so we get to reap the culinary benefits!! Authentic Indian curry...mmmm! Thai...Mmm! Turkish food...Mmmm!! Fish and chips...MMMMMMmmmm!!! New Zealand is also famous for Kumara, which is a variety of sweet potato, and kumara fries.....MMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmm...

.I could live on these. And then, when kumara is in curry dishes, wow. Just wow. There is one thing that makes me NOT so happy, however, and that is the dairy of NZ...eek...makes my stomach turn! Apparently because these cows eat such green grass the milk and cheese is super rich (and to me, has a horrible taste!) And for all of you who know know me well, you are aware of my love of milk, ice cream, and everything dairy. Thus, this has been a difficult adjustment for me. The picture below is me in my happy place, with a lap full of kumara fries!!!!

The view from one of the dormant volcanoes scattered around the city. Pretty spectacular, yo.



Outreach. During the second half of this 6-month school, we will be splitting up into three teams, one going to South Africa, one to Cambodia, and one team going to India. I always assumed I would be going to Cambodia, to work with an organization in Phnom Penh that has ties to Freedom's Promise (a non-profit that I have worked with in Nashville). BUT God had other plans, and I felt strongly that I needed to go to India....SO I will be traveling to Chennai at the end of November to spend three months working with some ministries out of the YWAM base there. I am beyond stoked to get out there and get my hands dirty (figuratively, and literally!) loving on some of the poorest of the poor, victims of trafficking, people with leprosy, and street kids. This is our team of 7 crazy young people: Daniel, Ben, Sarah, Me, Sheila, Jason, Andy.



Thank you ALL for your many prayers, support, and encouragement over the past few months! I'm so excited to see where this crazy ride ends up! It is all for HIS glory!! And, to borrow the words of Paul: "Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel...pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should." (Eph. 6:19-20)

Also, please keep the islands of Tonga and Samoa in your prayers, the earthquakes and tsunami have killed over 100, and injured over 1,000 people there. This is felt keenly here in New Zealand, as there is a large population of Pacific Islanders - many friends and relatives of those affected by this disaster.