Rough Times

Thing have been rough here...I wrote this blog at the beginning of the week and since then we have all given our testimonies and some people have some really rough stories. It's heartbreaking, but God is going to use it to REACH PEOPLE! Praise God. We are taking a well deserved break this weekend. I'm SICK of people and the city at times, so I'm looking forward to seeing what is apparently "the real New Zealand". Here's an update from Monday:

9.27.10

Today is the first day of lecture phase. Josie basically said today was our “last chance to go home” if we couldn’t handle it here and on outreach. I am wondering how I am going to guard my heart enough to be sane when I go home, it sounds like her S. African team saw and experienced some crazy stuff (i.e. inside brothels) I’m also thinking of what kind of creative ways I want to tackle the assignments. “You’re the movie guy!” I want to show what else I have up my sleeves. We wrote out our expectations and goals not only to affirm them in our minds, but to look back on them after the DTS and see our growth and new found perspective. Here are mine, please lift them up into prayer:

1. Consistenty be led by the Spirit.
2. Come out sane, with a fragment of my heart still remaining.
3. Build & grow in teams to be a support system for each other.
4. Allow God to enter into my heart where I may have hurts, insecurities or fears.
5. Have visions like the YWAM founder Loren Cunningham.
6. Be able to find a story to tell visually - ie. documentary - and know it is what God wants me to tell.
7. Expand my passions for new gifts I have yet to discover.
8. Be better w/ intercessory prayer/gifts of the Spirit.
9. Bring a smile to the face a hurting person/child.
10. Feel like I made a difference -- big or small.

hey everyone!

Hello! Hope everyone is well! My journey is complete here to New Zealand. Go figure I'm sitting in a coffee shop with 9 girls on our computers. The weather is not what you would expect. It's about 50 and rainy right now...not what most would think of New Zealand. I will get some pictures up when I can. The wind here is intense, the umbrellas cannot handle it. We have a few days before school starts so we are looking to go to the zoo and museum, figure out a church to go to, etc.

Everyone here is pretty cool. So far we have briefly told stories of why we are here, inbetween jet lag. Random things that have caught me off guard:

-parrots flying around outside
-cars on the opposite side of the road
-tea time (this is an english country)
-latte vs. flat white coffee
-random birds flying in any open window...eating fries in the mall.

I will update more with some pictures nad stuff later. We are limited with internet access. I need to prep an email list still so if you did not give me your email at one of those points, send it to me here: stbtome@msn.com

God bless, love you all!

PS. The flight was horrible, 13 hours and difficult to sleep sitting up. (or on the tray for that matter)

Hike Journal

The following was an in depth journal from our hike to raise money a few weeks ago. It ended early, but it was a good experience. I wrote them on my phone so they may seem like a text message. haha.

Heading out. This picture really brings out how much weight we actually had on our backs. WHAT WERE WE THINKING?

Today sucked. As well as yesterday. Even harder than me and Matt anticipated. First day we got pretty exhausted around the 5 or 6 mile mark and set up tent and went straight to bed. Second day, Matt's quad started locking up on the hills. I was in a negative mind frame. Matt almost puked. He felt bad but I knew I wasn't far from his ails. We wanted to take solice in the beaver site we had found as a quick surprise two years ago, but happened upon a smaller one and decided to set up shop. We then hear on the radio there are flash flood warnings from midnight into tomorrow evening, so we set up for that as well. 

The trees right below us show how steep the Hellacious Overlook really is!

Foggy day.

Superior was always a welcome sight.

We ended up getting a much needed day of rest on day 3, waiting out the rain. Read some of the Word, had some discussion, etc. I had a vicious game plan for the next day. Althought we planned on 12 miles a day that just doesn't seem likely in any scenario without taking into account weather, Injuries, getting much needed water and food, equipment malfunctions and not to mention will power. High hopes and not being smart about bringing food I don't need to cook lead to a bad mood early in the trek. The rain left things slippery and eventually we stopped, I ate and Matt prayed for me. Things were moving along pretty good til we came upon a part of the trail that was washed out, which left us with a huge rock for a descent. We made it down by removing the packs and sliding them down. Somewhere in this process, likely when lifting Matt's pack, which is heavier than mine, I slightly hurt my back. The reaggrivated injury made the rest of the trek difficult. I used some bengay and kept going. We both were dead by the next camp site even tho it was roughly 1pm. We ate, set up tent and went to bed. Meanwhile I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to make another 17 days out here. 


Sunday, day 5. Why do I always feel the need to say "today sucked"? Well today we went the wrong way down a road the trail intersected with and ended up a mile down when locals told us so. it was rough and my mood wasn't helping. I really felt like quitting at this point but its not really an option. I realized the real goal of seeking God out here really wasn't getting met. I told Matt tommorow is a spiritual day of rest. That, along with getting in the right direction on the trail, seemed to lighten the mood. 


Day 6 started early with me going off down the trail to pray. I found myself dealing with stuff I had been holding back from God. I felt Him say to "go back on the trail." I questioned detail: how far, do I bring my pack, does Matt come with? Nothing. Matt didn't seem to have a similar word so I packed up and went back on the trail talking with God. He showed me physically and metaphorically the path I was taking in Areas of my life. I remembered far back to when I was a different person and even to my childhood. God pointed out some good things to me and emphasized something I had been refusing to learn. Righteousness. The hike went well but my back started hurting pretty good. We made between 4 and 5 miles before I had to call it a day. We went to bed early in preperation for the rain. 

The river was refreshing.

Day 7 we got up early. 530. Wind and no stakes in the ground equals bad news. Add some rain and its time to move out. We moved well but my mind was preoccupied with my back pain. On a break I opened up to Matt about feeling in warfare about it and we prayed for God to let us know when the right time to call it a day would be. As we entered the state park we witnessed a beautiful waterfall, two to be exact. It felt like a reward for all the work we'd put in. By this point I asked Matt if he felt like he accomplished what he set out to Do. He said yes and on top of that I was trying to convince him and myself that we could stop at the next campsite for an extra day or two if we had to. "it's better than going home," I said. But the knots were piling up and the tender spot in my mid back I previously thought was gone by now had turned to a pain of enough severity that I was pulling the right shoulder strap off my trap muscle just to continue through the park. As I prayed God would allow me to continue, I had a quote from a YWAM book I am reading come to mind. "God cannot use a proud man." took some wrestling with God but I finally told Matt what was happening and we called it. 

The Devil's Kettle

It was like a reward for all the pain. Haha. Beautiful.

We found the phone in the office and waited five hours for a ride. We made around 32 of the 235 miles. We may have left early, but we came out a lot better than when we went in. Oh and don't worry, Old country buffet made up for any caloric deficit incurred from strenuous foot travel. ;)

A third waterfall.

Here's a rarity: Matt with facial hair.