SO, we have teams spread out all over the North Island of New Zealand. My team is staying at a YWAM base that runs a ministry called King’s Kids in south Auckland.
www.kingskids.co.nz/ Our stay here has been an interesting journey. It has been difficult and frustrating yet fun and rewarding. I don’t really know where to begin; well, I will start with my expectations (which I said I would leave at home.. Ha!) We were told that King’s Kids was an outreach to the local Maori and Samoan kids in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Auckland, that it was an after school mentorship program, and a community center- which it is all of those things… but because it’s summer holiday and school is out King’s Kids isn’t doing any of these programs. Instead of working with young kids and teens we found ourselves serving the YWAM staff by running the base and preparing it for 200 people by: making beds for all of these people, decorating for a conference, doing airport runs, practicing English with people from New Caledonia, washing sheets, dishes, and floors. I’m going to be honest, at first it seemed as though these tasks were very mundane and, to be blunt, stupid but boy did I get a wake up call. It wasn’t just that I thought “I was above” the tasks at hand but I also found it very easy to compare our ministry to other teams and their ministry and let me tell you, my attitude was not Christ-like by any means. Turns out we have actually been SUCH a blessing for the YWAM staff, they could not have accomplished what they needed to do without us AND on top of that God is helping me work on things. I am so thankful that he is preparing me now for the path that i’m going to walk out in the future. It’s funny how God so sweetly puts us in our place. His lessons are never how we picture them to be. I have learned that when we trust God and let go of our “entitlements” we are free to grab a hold of the things God has for us and grab a hold of what is really important- like our character and serving others with love and a pure heart. I will let you all in on a little secret- well the secret is the apostle Paul’s and it’s quite simple and quite profound- “the secret for being content in every situation is that YOU CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS YOU.” I can be joyful even when I don’t feel like it, I can have a good attitude even if the circumstance tells me not to. I can rejoice because I serve a big God and I can rejoice because I have learned the secret. And guess what… you can too!What blows my mind is that even though I mumble and complain and have a bad attitude God still chooses to bless me and still treats me like his princess. I mean it, I know that sounds cheesy but listen to what He has done for me. First, I really wanted chocolate one day because I was deprived and so I said, “Dear Jesus, I would really like some chocolate today” and guess what? Chocolate in 3 forms. Solid, liquid, and well, another solid but is there even a gas form of chocolate? Probably, but gross. He provided me with Tim Tams, Hot chocolate to slam my tim tams in AND icecream with chocolate in it… now tell me God doesn’t love me, just try! Next, on a day when I was feeling down, Sarah, Holly and myself walked to a local pool that was first of all FREE! and second of all it was like a mini wild rivers. (if you know me then you know that anything+water=fun)There were waterslides, indoor and outdoor pools, and the best part… a bombing pool. A pool that is deep all around and boys do cannon balls all day long and flirt by getting girls wet. So fun that I smiled for 24 hours straight. Then after that I meet this awesome girl from New Caledonia named Suzy. Suzy embodies “the joy of the Lord is my strength”, SERIOUSLY. She has the best laugh south of the equator (you like that one?) and she just so happens to make my day, everyday. And the last thing I will tell you is that each day that I have been doing these “mundane” tasks I have been able to listen to Disney music. I don’t care what you say, even little Pinocchio can turn the darkest heart around.
Lastly, I would like to tell all of you about our ministry in Australia (we leave New Zealand on the 27th). You can do a drum roll with me if you like…
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our team will be headed to Darwin to work with various Aboriginal tribes and groups. The ministry that we are working with is called Wheels of Fire. I don’t know much else except that I’m excited and that we will be living on a farm with no internet/hot water! So the chances of me blogging and contacting the outside world are not great. But as I learned this month; all details are subject to change.
x bek
Phia Beach
Philippians 2:5-9
“You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took on the very nature of a servant and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. THEREFORE, God elevated him to the place of highest honor…”
