Week 11.

Dear Reader(s),
Yes, I am alive. Alive and kicking, in fact.
Tomorrow will be Week 12 - Outreach Preparation Week. This week was the last week of our lecture phase.

I went to Bethlehem Baptist Church's Easter Journey (http://www.easterjourney.co.nz/) yesterday. Fellow SJSMers, this made me think of our P40 prayer journey, a couple of times more grand. I really appreciate the effort our churches make in order to help us to take time to dwell on the Scriptures, to envison what God's word may look like and also to deepen our sense of His love.

I'm glad that I'm here at Easter. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't have wanted to be home, be in SJSM. But I appreciate being here in a different place, and still be amongst fellow believers and worshipping God together with them.

In about 2.5 hour's time, I will also have the privilege of witnessing some of my DTS friends getting baptised. Praise God!

I leave on Saturday to Vanuatu. Will be back in NZ on 27 April to continue the journey before I graduate from the school at the end of May.

What does the future hold?
I'm not sure.

I'm getting to know more and more the One who holds my future and that is well with my soul.

Week 8. Reminders.

Dear Reader(s),
This is the end of the week of 8 weeks of my school.
That might have been a poorly constructed sentence, but it is a sentence structured with intention. 8 weeks have passed. They have been very good 8 weeks.

Our school leader facilitated the lectures for this week. One of the questions he asked at the beginning of the week was - 'Have you received what you were here for?'
A good question to start the week, in my opinion. Makes me think of Ephesians 5:14
¹⁴ This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”

 

It arrested me, because in the beginning of the week, I was feeling somewhat pleased with myself that I had gotten things done. Laundry, journal, book review. Pretty _awesome_ feeling, isn't it? High-five to self, yeah!

 

But that wasn't why I'm here, isn't it?

 

It's not to get into another routine. It's not to get on top of things.

 

It was to be with God.

 

This was a good reminder then - should I be choosing to do the good things or should I be listening into what my Father wants me to do?

And while I still learn to do that, God is faithful.

 

When He says this (from Psalm 46)

¹⁰ ...“Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

 

He is reminding me not in a hao-lian (Hokkien for 'arrogant') manner that He will be celebrated over the world, but in context, He will be and is to be exalted because He has saved and continues to save us.

Camping/ Hiking Trip to Tongariro

Inger, Me, Clare & the Emerald Lake(s) in the background.



DEVOTED SCHOOL!
Cadi (my stream leader), me & Debbie.