HELLLOOOO! So I decided to go ahead and put my monthly newsletter on my blog! If you would like to subscribe to get emails about what's going on in my heart and what God is doing in the nations, please go to the "Know Her" page and shoot me an email!
This one is going to be a long update because so much is happening all at once, but thanks for listening for a bit!
I moved to Queenstown, New Zealand on June 20th, and my first day of staffing was on the 26th!!! WHAT! I graduated my DTS on June 26th 2015… Now THAT is crazy! I wish I could explain to you what it feels like being back here after two years. It feels like I was just on a really long vacation away from home. I am so convinced of my call here, and I know that God has been really excited for my arrival back in Queenstown. A lot of things at the YWAM base have shifted in two years (as you can imagine) so it has been really overwhelming learning all of the ins and outs of everyday life all over again. I am asking a lot of questions like, “where does this go, can I go do this during this time, and is there anything I can do right now?” I feel like a little child that doesn’t know anything, but one of my favorite things is sitting back and learning the culture of a place. I know that I have a lot to offer that will shift the culture even more, so I am excited to see what that is going to look like.
This one is going to be a long update because so much is happening all at once, but thanks for listening for a bit!
I moved to Queenstown, New Zealand on June 20th, and my first day of staffing was on the 26th!!! WHAT! I graduated my DTS on June 26th 2015… Now THAT is crazy! I wish I could explain to you what it feels like being back here after two years. It feels like I was just on a really long vacation away from home. I am so convinced of my call here, and I know that God has been really excited for my arrival back in Queenstown. A lot of things at the YWAM base have shifted in two years (as you can imagine) so it has been really overwhelming learning all of the ins and outs of everyday life all over again. I am asking a lot of questions like, “where does this go, can I go do this during this time, and is there anything I can do right now?” I feel like a little child that doesn’t know anything, but one of my favorite things is sitting back and learning the culture of a place. I know that I have a lot to offer that will shift the culture even more, so I am excited to see what that is going to look like.
See that picture above? The cottage that I live in is on that hill! I have a bedroom now, along with two roommates from Australia and Canada! I live in the same cottage that I lived in when I did my DTS! It is about a three minute walk from a cute little café called the Sherwood that I spend a lot of my mornings and free time in. I have already had so many life-changing conversations there and have heard the Lord speak many truths over me in that café corner. OF COURSE GOD KNOWS that I love coffee shops, and I have found a new home in this one.
SO, most of you are probably wondering what I am actually doing when I am here! I am on base staff and will be serving the base in very practical ways for the next season. I am in charge of keeping the base clean (let’s just laugh at that for a minute for anyone that knows me – God is teaching me how responsible I am – not kidding.) I do the base laundry and also help with preparing and serving morning tea, along with cooking lunch and dinner for everyone. I have spent a lot of my time in the kitchen here and I actually really enjoy cooking for 100 people on any given day. When I was younger I always said that I wanted to be a chef, so my little girl dreams are coming true
I am also in charge of the “free bin.” The free bin is a huge room where students that are done with their DTS drop off all of their clothes, blankets, toiletries, etc. because they don’t want to take them home. Below is a picture of what the free bin looked like before I got my hands on it… LORD HELP US ALL! I am almost finished organizing it, and will show you the finished product on my next newsletter! PRAYERS APPRECIATED Y’ALL.
ALSO, WOW, WHAT THE HECK I JUST FOUND OUT 30 SECONDS AGO THAT I AM IN CHARGE OF THE COFFEE MINISTRY IN TOWN!!!!! Oh my goodness I cried. Wow. Every Tuesday from 2-5 I will be setting up a table at the wharf full off free coffee and hot chocolate for people! I will be partnering with our evangelism ministry team and we will be sharing the Gospel with the people that come! Wow, I am seriously so excited I cannot type. Another thing that was really exciting for me was leading worship with my friend Jeremie last Wednesday. For those of you that know me super well, this is a huge step of faith for me to actually sing in front of people, even though leading worship has been a dream of mine for years. I will be having a meeting next week about being on the worship team, so woah, GOD IS FAITHFUL AND HE LAUGHS AT IMPOSSIBILITIES!!!
The Lighthouse DTS and Ski and Snowboard DTS students just arrived this Sunday! There are 22 of them from all over the world, and it has been nothing but WILD FUN having them here! We had a BBQ Sunday night and welcomed them in with traditional Maori (New Zealand native) dancing and singing. I AM SO EXCITED to get to know them more throughout the next season and see what God grows in them. WOAH it is going to be awesome. Also, if you are thinking about doing a Discipleship Training school here at YWAM Queenstown, we have two schools starting in October; the Classic DTS and the Extreme DTS. Here is the link for more information, ywamqueenstown.com/dts/extreme-dts, but seriously, COME DO A DTS and we can also hang out WOAH! Tell your story. Use catchy text, bullets, links and more to bring your words to life.
Also, I have a new phone number, +642041510681, so please add this number to my contact and use it for texting or FaceTiming me. I have a phone plan here, so feel free to keep in contact with me! Reaching me by this number is better than contacting me by social media, so please don’t message me on Facebook or Instagram if you’re wanting to chat.
I am also in charge of the “free bin.” The free bin is a huge room where students that are done with their DTS drop off all of their clothes, blankets, toiletries, etc. because they don’t want to take them home. Below is a picture of what the free bin looked like before I got my hands on it… LORD HELP US ALL! I am almost finished organizing it, and will show you the finished product on my next newsletter! PRAYERS APPRECIATED Y’ALL.
ALSO, WOW, WHAT THE HECK I JUST FOUND OUT 30 SECONDS AGO THAT I AM IN CHARGE OF THE COFFEE MINISTRY IN TOWN!!!!! Oh my goodness I cried. Wow. Every Tuesday from 2-5 I will be setting up a table at the wharf full off free coffee and hot chocolate for people! I will be partnering with our evangelism ministry team and we will be sharing the Gospel with the people that come! Wow, I am seriously so excited I cannot type. Another thing that was really exciting for me was leading worship with my friend Jeremie last Wednesday. For those of you that know me super well, this is a huge step of faith for me to actually sing in front of people, even though leading worship has been a dream of mine for years. I will be having a meeting next week about being on the worship team, so woah, GOD IS FAITHFUL AND HE LAUGHS AT IMPOSSIBILITIES!!!
The Lighthouse DTS and Ski and Snowboard DTS students just arrived this Sunday! There are 22 of them from all over the world, and it has been nothing but WILD FUN having them here! We had a BBQ Sunday night and welcomed them in with traditional Maori (New Zealand native) dancing and singing. I AM SO EXCITED to get to know them more throughout the next season and see what God grows in them. WOAH it is going to be awesome. Also, if you are thinking about doing a Discipleship Training school here at YWAM Queenstown, we have two schools starting in October; the Classic DTS and the Extreme DTS. Here is the link for more information, ywamqueenstown.com/dts/extreme-dts, but seriously, COME DO A DTS and we can also hang out WOAH! Tell your story. Use catchy text, bullets, links and more to bring your words to life.
Also, I have a new phone number, +642041510681, so please add this number to my contact and use it for texting or FaceTiming me. I have a phone plan here, so feel free to keep in contact with me! Reaching me by this number is better than contacting me by social media, so please don’t message me on Facebook or Instagram if you’re wanting to chat.
SOME REAL THOUGHTS AND FEELS YO
Everyone has been asking me how I ended up back in Queenstown after two years. The biggest thing I have learned throughout the last season of my life was to lean into the tension of doing something that I didn’t necessarily want to do at the time. I wasn’t thrilled about finishing University (to those of you that know me, lol), but I let go of a lot of my dreams while learning how to build trust with God. It was one of the hardest things to actually WAIT to do the thing that God is cultivating for the next season. I am His friend and He told me what I was waiting for, but he was looking for my obedience and faithfulness in waiting. Sometimes you find out that your dreams are actually really hard and you have to sacrifice more than you ever thought you could for the sake of love and loving Jesus.
It’s also been hard for me coming into this familiar place where people here have heard about me and know about me, but they don’t actually know me yet. I have a huge value for truly knowing people and taking the time to discover who they are, but I must have forgotten that sometimes connection and friendship takes time. I am really ready for these strong friendships to form though, especially with Sarah leaving in a couple of days (she has been staying with me here in Queenstown since the 20th.) I am so thankful that she is here and gets to meet who I will be spending the next couple of years with. It really is a special treat to share a little bit of this with her. I am also realizing how thankful I am for my tribe back home that has ran with me and pursued the presence of God with me in everything. Please please please be praying for these friendships here as I get to know everyone and am welcomed back into the YWAM Queenstown family!
So many lies from the enemy have come to the surface while being here. I know God is refining the way that I think about Him, myself, and others. This overwhelming situation has brought all of my insecurities to the surface and has caused me to look at them head on. Fear of rejection, fear of the unknown, fear of man, wanting to take control, and not believing my worth are being battled and I know that Jesus is my victory. The Lord is coming at my confidence and He is telling me to hope more. My prayer is that the Lord will take everything I am leaning on and knock it down. I want to know dependency in the closest way. I want to know God in the leaning. I want to know God in the trusting. I want to actually love Him in the trusting. My prayer is that He will build and strengthen my faith.
Everyone has been asking me how I ended up back in Queenstown after two years. The biggest thing I have learned throughout the last season of my life was to lean into the tension of doing something that I didn’t necessarily want to do at the time. I wasn’t thrilled about finishing University (to those of you that know me, lol), but I let go of a lot of my dreams while learning how to build trust with God. It was one of the hardest things to actually WAIT to do the thing that God is cultivating for the next season. I am His friend and He told me what I was waiting for, but he was looking for my obedience and faithfulness in waiting. Sometimes you find out that your dreams are actually really hard and you have to sacrifice more than you ever thought you could for the sake of love and loving Jesus.
It’s also been hard for me coming into this familiar place where people here have heard about me and know about me, but they don’t actually know me yet. I have a huge value for truly knowing people and taking the time to discover who they are, but I must have forgotten that sometimes connection and friendship takes time. I am really ready for these strong friendships to form though, especially with Sarah leaving in a couple of days (she has been staying with me here in Queenstown since the 20th.) I am so thankful that she is here and gets to meet who I will be spending the next couple of years with. It really is a special treat to share a little bit of this with her. I am also realizing how thankful I am for my tribe back home that has ran with me and pursued the presence of God with me in everything. Please please please be praying for these friendships here as I get to know everyone and am welcomed back into the YWAM Queenstown family!
So many lies from the enemy have come to the surface while being here. I know God is refining the way that I think about Him, myself, and others. This overwhelming situation has brought all of my insecurities to the surface and has caused me to look at them head on. Fear of rejection, fear of the unknown, fear of man, wanting to take control, and not believing my worth are being battled and I know that Jesus is my victory. The Lord is coming at my confidence and He is telling me to hope more. My prayer is that the Lord will take everything I am leaning on and knock it down. I want to know dependency in the closest way. I want to know God in the leaning. I want to know God in the trusting. I want to actually love Him in the trusting. My prayer is that He will build and strengthen my faith.