Half Way Point
I can't believe that lecture phase is halfway done! On one hand it feels like we've been here forever (I'm sure my family can relate to that) but on the other hand it feels like we haven't been here long enough to be HALF WAY THROUGH. My internal time-keeping-system is in need of a reboot.
Let's start off on a funny note; shall we? I've grown a deep appreciation for washing and drying machines. The city is a very expensive place to live and so I've tried to cut costs wherever possible. The biggest cut/adjustment was to start washing and drying my clothes by hand. Thank God for Alva J. Fisher who invented the first electric washing machine. (Yeah I looked it up! I have that deep of a respect for the man now) Not only are my hands raw from ringing out my clothes , which refuse to stop trying to hold on to as much water as possible, but my room has a funky wet smell now. I'm also pretty sure that all these tiny cuts on my hands will never heal now because they've been soaked in laundry detergent. On the plus side though I have a special bond with my clothes now....well not too special since I hate them and the whole nude-colony concept is becoming ever so more attractive. Maybe nude colonists are just a bunch of people who hate doing laundry; if that's the case then I may have found my tribe.
Also some info about Thailand that I have yet to reveal is that I'm leaving December 15, so I'll be spending Christmas in Thailand. It was a team decision and I'm really excited about it because Thailand is stinking cheap! Plus the idea of getting to ride an elephant for Christmas just makes my heart spin. Another reason why we all decided it would be good is because we'll have that week off, so we will have plenty of time to go through culture shock, get adjusted, scratch our travel bug, and get settled before we go out an serve amongst the slums and brothels. Also we still don't yet know where we are going but it will either be Pattaya or Phuket. Both are in the south and are MAJOR destinations for sex tourism. There really is no other reason people venture to those areas of Thailand except to buy sex. So we'll be doing a lot of work in that area.
Now onto this week....this week was tough but really picked up on the tail end. A short summary of why it was tough: missing family and them missing me + friends struggling and me being so out of reach + misunderstandings + my own shortcomings + emotional weight that comes with awareness of injustices= a tough week. But like I said, it picked up. Thursday God gave me a major pick up, He gave me hope for my future. This week Josie's been teaching on having a biblical worldview and put a lot of emphasis on how we separate the physical and the spiritual (for example: saying that being a missionary is spiritual but being a businessman is secular when in fact both are profoundly spiritual). Also we learned a lot about how unbiblical it is to think that we are bound by our resources, which is in fact a very Naturalistic way of thinking. So Thursday we did an exercise where we wrote down our dreams. I didn't really have any dreams, just a bunch of ideas that I thought were all lacking. But before she announced that we were doing the exercise I had jotted down an idea, so when she said we were writing down our dreams I thought, "This isn't my dream it's just an idea." So I meditated on the idea I had just jotted down and the more and more I thought about it the more and more I realized that it was not only a summation of so many ideas I've had both before and at this dts, but it also spoke so much to who I am and to my passions. So I wrote it down on the poster and as I wrote it developed, blossomed and made me incredibly excited. My idea is to combine justice, music, art and missions together. I would go and live with people, learn about the injustice they face, learn their stories and find out what they need to start seeing change. I would then return home and write songs, record those songs- making CDs, paint pictures, draw drawings that tell these people's stories and sell all these things. 100% of the profits go to helping the need that the people voiced and also serves to raise awareness among people. Once these people start making progress I would then go back to them and shift from being the story teller to the story facilitator. I would help them, if they need it, learn how to express themselves and tell their stories through song, music and art; record their sounds, dances, dramas, whatever their gift is and sell those. 100% still going back to them which allows to tell their story (raising awareness and giving them pride, hope and dignity), to find restoration, and to have an income. There could be concerts where they come together and perform, there could be documentaries...the possibilities and projects are endless. We watched a documentary called, "War Dance" that affirmed everything I had written down because it showed the healing power of the arts and how much potential there is for my dream.
So yeah that gave me so much hope and really took a lot of pressure off to figure out the near future. Friday we watched another documentary called "Mugabe and the White African". WATCH IT! There is so much going on that we don't hear about on our news but that we as carriers of justice, aka Christians, should be acting on.
That night, since it was the fifth of November, which some how merits fireworks because of some guy who tried to blow up Parliament...., we went to the top of Mount Eden and watched fireworks. You could see fireworks going off all over Auckland it was so cool! Then yesterday we went on our weekend activity which was to go to Piha; it's the most famous and dangerous beach in all of New Zealand. It has black sand, wild penguins, massive waves and healing power for us emotional ywamers. It is the most beautiful beach I have ever seen and has ruined my ability to enjoy any other beach. I got to see a real penguin up close and personal in a cave, unfortunately it was old and had went there to die. But I climbed on the rocks, played with the sea annenomies, explored, and watched the massive waves crash on the rocks. It was so good! Then we got to go to Pack-N-Save (a grocery store)!!!! Why am I so excited? Because there are none within walking distance in Auckland city and it is so much cheaper than anything you'll find in these little jiffy stores they have in the city. It was glorious.
So that was last week, I'm not sure what next week holds but it'll be good. I'm growing and seriously being stretched, which is a good thing. Love you guys and pics will be up soon
Let's start off on a funny note; shall we? I've grown a deep appreciation for washing and drying machines. The city is a very expensive place to live and so I've tried to cut costs wherever possible. The biggest cut/adjustment was to start washing and drying my clothes by hand. Thank God for Alva J. Fisher who invented the first electric washing machine. (Yeah I looked it up! I have that deep of a respect for the man now) Not only are my hands raw from ringing out my clothes , which refuse to stop trying to hold on to as much water as possible, but my room has a funky wet smell now. I'm also pretty sure that all these tiny cuts on my hands will never heal now because they've been soaked in laundry detergent. On the plus side though I have a special bond with my clothes now....well not too special since I hate them and the whole nude-colony concept is becoming ever so more attractive. Maybe nude colonists are just a bunch of people who hate doing laundry; if that's the case then I may have found my tribe.
Also some info about Thailand that I have yet to reveal is that I'm leaving December 15, so I'll be spending Christmas in Thailand. It was a team decision and I'm really excited about it because Thailand is stinking cheap! Plus the idea of getting to ride an elephant for Christmas just makes my heart spin. Another reason why we all decided it would be good is because we'll have that week off, so we will have plenty of time to go through culture shock, get adjusted, scratch our travel bug, and get settled before we go out an serve amongst the slums and brothels. Also we still don't yet know where we are going but it will either be Pattaya or Phuket. Both are in the south and are MAJOR destinations for sex tourism. There really is no other reason people venture to those areas of Thailand except to buy sex. So we'll be doing a lot of work in that area.
Now onto this week....this week was tough but really picked up on the tail end. A short summary of why it was tough: missing family and them missing me + friends struggling and me being so out of reach + misunderstandings + my own shortcomings + emotional weight that comes with awareness of injustices= a tough week. But like I said, it picked up. Thursday God gave me a major pick up, He gave me hope for my future. This week Josie's been teaching on having a biblical worldview and put a lot of emphasis on how we separate the physical and the spiritual (for example: saying that being a missionary is spiritual but being a businessman is secular when in fact both are profoundly spiritual). Also we learned a lot about how unbiblical it is to think that we are bound by our resources, which is in fact a very Naturalistic way of thinking. So Thursday we did an exercise where we wrote down our dreams. I didn't really have any dreams, just a bunch of ideas that I thought were all lacking. But before she announced that we were doing the exercise I had jotted down an idea, so when she said we were writing down our dreams I thought, "This isn't my dream it's just an idea." So I meditated on the idea I had just jotted down and the more and more I thought about it the more and more I realized that it was not only a summation of so many ideas I've had both before and at this dts, but it also spoke so much to who I am and to my passions. So I wrote it down on the poster and as I wrote it developed, blossomed and made me incredibly excited. My idea is to combine justice, music, art and missions together. I would go and live with people, learn about the injustice they face, learn their stories and find out what they need to start seeing change. I would then return home and write songs, record those songs- making CDs, paint pictures, draw drawings that tell these people's stories and sell all these things. 100% of the profits go to helping the need that the people voiced and also serves to raise awareness among people. Once these people start making progress I would then go back to them and shift from being the story teller to the story facilitator. I would help them, if they need it, learn how to express themselves and tell their stories through song, music and art; record their sounds, dances, dramas, whatever their gift is and sell those. 100% still going back to them which allows to tell their story (raising awareness and giving them pride, hope and dignity), to find restoration, and to have an income. There could be concerts where they come together and perform, there could be documentaries...the possibilities and projects are endless. We watched a documentary called, "War Dance" that affirmed everything I had written down because it showed the healing power of the arts and how much potential there is for my dream.
So yeah that gave me so much hope and really took a lot of pressure off to figure out the near future. Friday we watched another documentary called "Mugabe and the White African". WATCH IT! There is so much going on that we don't hear about on our news but that we as carriers of justice, aka Christians, should be acting on.
That night, since it was the fifth of November, which some how merits fireworks because of some guy who tried to blow up Parliament...., we went to the top of Mount Eden and watched fireworks. You could see fireworks going off all over Auckland it was so cool! Then yesterday we went on our weekend activity which was to go to Piha; it's the most famous and dangerous beach in all of New Zealand. It has black sand, wild penguins, massive waves and healing power for us emotional ywamers. It is the most beautiful beach I have ever seen and has ruined my ability to enjoy any other beach. I got to see a real penguin up close and personal in a cave, unfortunately it was old and had went there to die. But I climbed on the rocks, played with the sea annenomies, explored, and watched the massive waves crash on the rocks. It was so good! Then we got to go to Pack-N-Save (a grocery store)!!!! Why am I so excited? Because there are none within walking distance in Auckland city and it is so much cheaper than anything you'll find in these little jiffy stores they have in the city. It was glorious.
So that was last week, I'm not sure what next week holds but it'll be good. I'm growing and seriously being stretched, which is a good thing. Love you guys and pics will be up soon