Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

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There is a feeling in New Zealand that is much like the U.S. There is no need for God here because there is no realization of brokenness. And so they and we are filled to the brim with all of our physical needs being met and we are blinded to our spiritual cravings. New Zealand has the second highest rate of teenage suicide in the world. Does that help you see the need that they do not even realize they have? Teens from ages 14 and on spend their time “getting pissed” or wasted. They regularly drink to the point that they do not remember what happened the night before. This is their form of hanging out. I hope that these two small facts are revealing the great needs that are here.

So this week began with a question pressing on my heart, “what will it take for New Zealand to change?” They have everything they need. There is nothing that they are desperate for that they cannot fill temporarily with something they can consume or buy. But there is a generation of young people that is broken and wounded and deeply needs to be met, so what is it going to take?

I think I saw a picture of what it will take the other night and I’d like to share it with you.

It was shown to me by one of the locals here, we like to call him J-money because he gives us rides and is a beautiful person to know. He took us to get coffee one evening as we had not had any since being in NZ. We sat down in this café laughing and enjoying each other and had no idea what God was going to do with us from there. There were four of us girls, Me, Kate, Krissy and J-money and Tara 

As the conversation continued we began to talk about the Holy Spirit and His works in us. And in the middle of this café as we sat and enjoyed each other and our God, He started to speak. Well J-money spoke but it was God through him speaking as he spoke words of life into us. God was speaking to each one of us a different thing and we got to listen in as the Holy Spirit began to comfort, convict, and bring healing to broken places in our hearts.

What did God say to me? Whew! Haha! He told me He delighted in me! He said that I knew Him and that I love Him! And I do. I want to know Him more and I am so in love with Him. And then He let me come and sit before His throne and He poured His delight over me and I just cracked up. Like literally, I’m sitting in a café with my eyes closed, a couple tears leaking out, and I am laughing my guts out!!!! Nobody had told me a joke or said something funny but there was such a delight in my God that I needed to release it through laughter. So I laughed! One of those gut laughs that is silent and cramps your cheeks. Oh, it was so good to be in the presence of my God!

I think I have had a stigma that laughter is reserved for time with my friends and that God is a very somber being. So while the things that press on God’s heart are deep and beyond our understanding, laughter was also created by Him. And I got to experience the unadulterated joy of my Savior in that moment. Each of us girls was spoken to by the Spirit of God and some of walked away overjoyed, some of us were ruffled beyond our comfort zone, and some of us just laughed (haha, yours truly).

In that moment I saw a portion of what it would take for New Zealand to change. It will take the presence of our God in cafés and coffee shops. It will take each one of us choosing to speak words of life into each other that are true and founded on His Word. And it will take accepting the things that God is saying to our hearts. It will take hearing the voice of the Lord that is constantly speaking and being willing to speak it to others. And my heart wants to surrender even more to that process!

I don’t know if any of this makes any sense to you, but I knew it had to be written as a part of the experience I’ve had so far in NZ so thank you for reading!!