Blessed times in New Zealand!

If there is one thing I can say about our team is that we never really plan too far in advance and you know what, I LOVE IT. It’s probably because we are 5 guys and alot of people may not necessary agree with the way we operate, but it has really opened up the opportunity for God to lead us and has grown our faith as well as make our journey very exciting. So needless to say a week before we would have flown into New Zealand we still weren’t sure where we were going to stay, what our ministry would be and how we would survive on our shoe string budget. Although there was uncertain about our New Zealand leg of the journey we felt that God had a plan for us there and we booked our tickets despite all the uncertainty. And guess what God did have a plan for our stay in NZ and it far exceeded my expectations.






We stayed in Auckland at guest parents and got involved with the local Afrikaans churchs’ youth. Ministering to them on Sundays and attending and sharing at their various meetings, we had great fellowship and built some friendships that I’m sure will last a lifetime. I will never forget the prayer meetings we had on Saturdays were we praised and worshiped with the guitar, prayed for various issues and for each other. This was amazing and there was Saturdays when we would pray late into the afternoon praying for whatever the Holy Spirit led us to pray for. We also had our weekly sell group meetings on Mondays and Wednesdays where we could share our experiences from Thailand and Malaysia, studying the scriptures and just learning more about God. It was really a blessing for me that I could be a blessing to these guys, that they could see Jesus in our lives and that Jesus changed them. Many of the guys recommitted their lives to the Lord, many new believers found encouragement to follow through with this decision that they made and many could find answers, talk to us and share their hearts with us. I think we where a breath of fresh air to them and they saw that there are still young people that have a passion for the Lord. I give all the credit to my Saviour Jesus Christ who changed me so that I could be a light. Thank you Jesus!






In between our ministry with the youth we also got the opportunity to serve at our guest parents houses and me and one of my team mates went up north to Whangarei, which is in the northern part of the North Island, to go and help work on a sailing yacht that will be used for youth ministry in the future. They are busy revamping this 70ft yacht and are planning to take youth on day and week trips and at the same time teach them kingdom principles. This was really great and gave us the opportunity to serve and have fellowship with Phil and his son.




This was also a month where the Lord tested us as a team and individually and showed me so much about Him and about myself. The Lord again sent a few people over my path from which I could learn alot. These people spoke some truths into my life and God showed me how we should get rid of the self pride in our lives and how he despises it. He showed me the pride in me that does not want to be shown wrong and always wants its way. The pride that results in us becoming angry when someone offends us. This was not the example Jesus gave us. The people said that Jesus was possessed by demons in John and they wanted to stone him yet he did not burst out in anger but showed them love being the least, like we should be. The Lord gave us the perfect model to live by, his Son, Jesus Christ. We should strive to be more like Jesus, I know its tough and easier said than done, but it is something we all should strive for everyday!
Other than the amazing things the Lord showed me in this month he also gave me the opportunity to see some of beautiful New Zealand he created. We got the opportunity to go deep sea fishing, had a spitbraai (believe it or not), watched a super 14 game on Eden Park and saw some of Aucklands sights and sounds. We also did a small roadtrip down the south of the north island which was fun.

Looking back, this month in New Zealand really was a blessing to me. I met some amazing new friends, learned alot about myself and God, saw God provide once again and saw him work in a group of young believers that I feel will still make a big difference in their community. With that I leave you with this scripture from John 4: 14 ”But those who drink the water I give will never be thirty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.& rdquo; Let the Lords living water fill you and receive eternal life!