I haven’t blogged in a little while, I guess I’ve been looking for something “profound” to get out there and every time I start something I’d hit a dead end. Something that I think God has been teaching me though is that it is often the simple things that reveal His character more than anything.
Some of what we have been doing the last few weeks:
After the (amazing) kid’s camp was over a few weeks ago, we had a day or two off before El Rancho would be hosting a conference called “New Wine”. Interesting name, a few people did follow the signs thinking they were coming to some sort of wine tasting event. The three World Race teams we had there from”M” squad came alongside the kitchen and custodial staff to serve the 700 people at the conference. While the work day was long, we really enjoyed the interaction with each other, the El Rancho staff and the New Wine attendees as we worked. El Rancho isn’t staffed to easily accommodate such a large group, so it was a blessing for us to be able to bless them with the extra help.
The Maori people:
When we arrived at El Rancho three weeks ago, we were greeted with a Maori welcoming ceremony called a Powhiri which had never been done at El Rancho before. They also allowed us to take part in a “Hangi”, which is a meal prepared in a covered cage that is then dropped into a large hole on top of hot iron, buried and allowed to cook under ground for several hours before retrieving and preparing. Kind of like a massive, natural pressure cooker. It was a immense honor that they included us in this and the men in our group greatly enjoyed working with the Maori men and learning about their history and culture as we worked. There will always be a special place in my heart for the Maori, having worked with Gaynor and others at El Rancho and meeting many more along the way. I pray that God will bless and prosper them and draw them even closer to Himself.
El Rancho:
To say that our host at El Rancho, Rob Namba, and his staff were an amazing blessing to us would be a huge understatement. Every time we turned around they were giving more and more of themselves, giving our leaders short retreats to get away from the stress of logistics, our married couple a date and even opening up there own homes at times to give us a place to rest away from our tents (tents get very hot during the day). They gave us free internet on the grounds the entire time we were there, free use of their laundry facilities, use of cabins when they were available and provided amazing meals. They would express such gratitude for having us there to help them, but we often felt as if we couldn’t do enough to deserve the hospitality they were giving us. Goodbyes were very emotional this morning as we feel like we had become a part of that family and community over the 3 weeks we spent there. Rob was not only an amazing host but he is also an amazing man of God that has a great amount of vision and wisdom that I feel my generation is in great need of.
Such a beautiful country with a rich heritage and history. But with a Europe-like secularism that is growing more and more. Like any such country, including the US, it will take a move of God to turn the tide. I was in Wellington a few weeks ago and the wind was so strong that the water at the beach was crashing violently against the sand and rocks. I don’t know if this was God-inspired or just me thinking, but I began to make the comparison of how impossible it would be to stop the tide from coming in. So much force and violence, completely unstoppable. But we have seen example after example of God taking this, the most powerful force on earth and bending it to His will and purpose. The Red Sea parting, the Jordan River stopped from flowing, Christ calming the sea of Galilee. New Zealand needs a turn of the tides in the hearts of its people, I hope and pray that my small amount of time here might have touched the lives of some that can begin that ripple that becomes a tide of change. That this country with such strong roots of Christianity will return to their first love and be on the forefront of a movement of reconciliation with the Father.
PS: This was written at about 2am about a week ago, just haven’t had internet access to post until now. Will be catching up a little over the next few days.
