I can’t escape it. About 25% of my 786 friends on facebook either live in or have been to New Zealand. I get constant updates about people either coming or going from there.
I originally went there for a month in March 2003 leading a YWAM outreach team.
I returned in September of 2003 for a year to serve with Impact World Tour (part of YWAM Campaigns), (explained by this video) where 300,000 people across the country heard the gospel publicly proclaimed and 23,000 people recorded their decision to follow Christ (12,000 of them for the first time). I am encouraged to still hear testimonies of lives that were affected by the Lord through this ministry and the follow-up.
Again, I returned to visit some close friends in November 2006.
And yet again, I returned to visit in October 2009.
I have history here. I feel like it’s home in a lot more ways than I could ever explain. New Zealand was where I had some of the hardest times of my life…it was also where God showed himself faithful during those hard times. It is where I saw miracles happen for probably the first time in my life. It is where I had my first encounter with the Holy Spirit. It is a land that is dear to my heart.
It is with great joy (and a little bit of jealousy??!?) that I get to follow the World Race teams ministering in a country I know from top to bottom!!
Some of the racers get to serve alongside some dear friends in Tauranga with the Tauranga House of Prayer. They are helping out with a couple of different gatherings…first, Jubilee, which is an event celebrating 50 years of YWAM! I am very proud to have served 5 years in YWAM. It was a great part of growing me into the person I am today and I have amazing life-long friends all over the world because of it!
The other gathering is Call2All. “The vision of Call2All Next Generation is to see young and old gather
together in hunger and humility to see a generation provoked, mobilized
and permanently wounded through a life shattering encounter with the
surpassing greatness of Jesus.” Here is the video explaining what it is to help you get a bit more understanding.
together in hunger and humility to see a generation provoked, mobilized
and permanently wounded through a life shattering encounter with the
surpassing greatness of Jesus.” Here is the video explaining what it is to help you get a bit more understanding.
So there you go…in case New Zealand is also on your mind, you can see a bit about what is happening in that nation.
