Hello from Nelson! We are on the south island now and are at the second to last stop on the ship tour. We have about 2 more weeks until we have graduated from DTS, and I’m excited. I’m not excited to not see these people anymore or anything of that sort, I’m having such a good time with all of students and the crew and the staff, it’s an amazing group of people. And I’m not excited to leave the ship necessarily, well yea, I’m excited for that, I’m excited to get our own room. But I am so excited to get to go home, to see family and friends and have it be Christmastime. But let me tell you what we’ve been up to.
So we left you in Bali, well we arrived first in Timaru to connect up with the ship tour. Our job on the tour is to give tours to school kids during the week and then to give tours to the public on the weekends, these tours are really just that. We take a group around the ship and tell them about it, we walk through our life on the ship basically, it’s pretty good. We get to talk to the people quite a bit but I’ve found it hard to direct the conversation towards my outreach, simply because they are all interested in what the ship does which is go to Fiji and other islands and give medical care. So yea, that’s kind of different from what I was expecting, but it’s still good to talk to the people and they have some interesting questions sometimes. But yea, most of our days are free actually, so we’ve been able to do some hiking while we’ve been here, mostly in the last 2 days, but It’s been good. So after Timaru we sailed for 2 days to New Plymouth. And let me tell you that seasickness is very real and isn’t that much fun. I had a seasickness patch and that didn’t really work too well, Andy decided to go without taking any pills or drops or anything and he actually did ok. He still got sick, but not as quick as everyone else or as bad. But I did get sick very quick and the only thing that helps is to lay down or to go upstairs and get some fresh air and watch the horizon. Sailing was good though, I’m glad that we finally got to do it.
After New Plymouth we sailed to here and so that is where we are. All the ports seem very similar, we basically stay on the ship because nothing has really been in walking distance from the ship. So the days all seem the same, we just hang out on the ship all day and then at every port we have a bbq with the group and so yea, nothing is really jumping out to me about any of the ports. Although one day we did ministry time and I went to a school to just help out in a class which was good, but Andy went with Jon (one of the students) to a park and they ended up talking to this man for like 2 hours and it was a really good conversation and everything and then at the end like something crazy happened. The man apparently has some demons in him and they overtook him and yea. Andy and Jon had never seen anything like that happen before, they weren’t able to really pray for the guy but they tried to reconnect with him and he just told them to ignore that last thing he did (talking about the demon possession thing) and then he hung up, so he didn’t really want to have anything to do with them. So that was pretty crazy to have something like that happen.
So along with the ship tours that we give we also have this jump rally for kids to come to, it’s once a week that we do it and it’s just for the youth to come and we try to get them to go into missions. We have different things happen at these, we either have some bands, dancers, or yea, just entertainment for the kids. But we have this guy who is part of Team Extreme and he is huge. He is like 6’5” and he is like 320 pounds and yea, he’s pretty strong. So he like rips apart soda cans with his teeth and on his head and then he’ll bend steel bars in his mouth and yea, so it’s pretty cool. But yea, that’s pretty much what our ministry has been for the past couple of weeks. We’re having a really great time doing all this stuff and just being able to see the countryside of New Zealand but we can’t wait to get back home.
We appreciate your prayers and still ask that you continue praying for us.
Happy Thanksgiving, hope everyone had a delicious meal and remembered to be extra thankful today!
Andy and Heidi
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
11/6
This is our final blog from bali! we leave on tuesday early in the morning to head back to new zealand. we are stopping in singapore and have a 5 hour layover so we are hoping to go out just for a bit so that we can say that we've actually been there. we fly back to christchurch and pick up with the ship tour at timaru.
for the past week we have gone to some schools and shared with the kids doing games, songs, crafts, and testimonies. we went to this orphanage for 2 days and some of us helped clean after they did some renovations and then some people(which included andy) helped scrape off some old paint and then help move their kitchen and then me and some other girls got to take care of the kids. it was the most fun for me because we finally just got to love on these kids and just hang out with them, no schedule, we didn't have to figure out games or songs last minute. So i was really glad that we just got to go and help out and give the workers a break.
yesterday we tried to climb this volcano but it turned out that you had to pay a tour guide and none of us were too keen on that, but we at least got to go and see some more of bali's beautiful countryside. we got to see some rice patties and they are just gorgeous. so we just got to pray over bali as we drove back and we stopped at a few places.
Tonight we are going to a big youth event for older kids, so that should be fun, and then tomorrow we are going to be at a school for the first part and then we are going to go to the hospital/hotel for one last visit to pray for the people. it should be a really full day but it will be good.
miss you all! keep praying for us in the last days of ministry!
andy and heidi
for the past week we have gone to some schools and shared with the kids doing games, songs, crafts, and testimonies. we went to this orphanage for 2 days and some of us helped clean after they did some renovations and then some people(which included andy) helped scrape off some old paint and then help move their kitchen and then me and some other girls got to take care of the kids. it was the most fun for me because we finally just got to love on these kids and just hang out with them, no schedule, we didn't have to figure out games or songs last minute. So i was really glad that we just got to go and help out and give the workers a break.
yesterday we tried to climb this volcano but it turned out that you had to pay a tour guide and none of us were too keen on that, but we at least got to go and see some more of bali's beautiful countryside. we got to see some rice patties and they are just gorgeous. so we just got to pray over bali as we drove back and we stopped at a few places.
Tonight we are going to a big youth event for older kids, so that should be fun, and then tomorrow we are going to be at a school for the first part and then we are going to go to the hospital/hotel for one last visit to pray for the people. it should be a really full day but it will be good.
miss you all! keep praying for us in the last days of ministry!
andy and heidi
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
10-27
we made it to bali and it is hot. we are staying at a ywam base here in denpasar, it doesn't have ac but we've got fans and cold showers. this is going ot be a brief update because we don't have much time.
so far we've done a lot of evangalism on the beach and in shops with the locals, we go to the sports park as well and the boys like to play sports with the boys there, so that works out well. but during these times we break up into pairs and we just go out and let the holy spirit lead us to who to talk to, what to say, and yea, it's really tough and it's definitely putting us out of our element, but it is really good at the same time. we haven't had any converts yet but lots and lots of conversations and questions.
we have been to the hospital twice now and it has really been an amazing time. the group splits in two and one half goes to the hospital and then the group that we're in goes to a hotel across the street with patients there. we just go and find out what these people have and we pray for them, it really has been amazing. we prayed for a woman named selena who has anemeia and she can't sleep and so we prayed for her and then when we went back two days later she had been sleeping well. praise god! and we are really expecting some more miracles to happen, we're not going to be satisfied with little bit, we want all of it and we know god can do it.
those have been our main two focuses, we have done a lot of prayer and hanging out as a group and hunting rats with blow darts (andy).
bali is a really beautiful place and we're having a fantastic time and just learning so much here.
love you all
andy and heidi
so far we've done a lot of evangalism on the beach and in shops with the locals, we go to the sports park as well and the boys like to play sports with the boys there, so that works out well. but during these times we break up into pairs and we just go out and let the holy spirit lead us to who to talk to, what to say, and yea, it's really tough and it's definitely putting us out of our element, but it is really good at the same time. we haven't had any converts yet but lots and lots of conversations and questions.
we have been to the hospital twice now and it has really been an amazing time. the group splits in two and one half goes to the hospital and then the group that we're in goes to a hotel across the street with patients there. we just go and find out what these people have and we pray for them, it really has been amazing. we prayed for a woman named selena who has anemeia and she can't sleep and so we prayed for her and then when we went back two days later she had been sleeping well. praise god! and we are really expecting some more miracles to happen, we're not going to be satisfied with little bit, we want all of it and we know god can do it.
those have been our main two focuses, we have done a lot of prayer and hanging out as a group and hunting rats with blow darts (andy).
bali is a really beautiful place and we're having a fantastic time and just learning so much here.
love you all
andy and heidi
Monday, October 12, 2009
10-12
Hey everyone! Sorry about not updating you sooner! I’ll just update you shortly on what’s been going on. We are just finishing up our last week of lecture phase tomorrow, Tuesday the 13, and then on Wednesday we are going to be leaving for Bali. We fly out at midnight so we’ll get there early in the morning and have a full day of work…maybe.
But before I get into all of that, I’ll tell you what we’ve been doing with our time. A couple of weekends ago Andy and I were able to take the weekend away, just the two of us. We went to Waihi Beach, which is just a 45 minute drive north of where we are here in Tauranga, and spent the day there. They just have the most beautiful beach and it just goes on forever uninterrupted. But at the end of the beach there is this kind of hill type thing and once you hike over that you come to your own little bay, so that’s what we did and it was very beautiful, muddy, but good fun. So that weekend was relaxing, but this last weekend we moved the ship(M/V Pacific Link) across the bay to another dock where we get more publicity and put on tours, which is much like what we’re going to be doing for the second half of our outreach phase. So we had to clean the ship on Saturday and then on Sunday we had to put on tours for the open public of Tauranga, which wasn’t actually too bad at all, just made for a long day. And now we don’t have much time to relax before we head out to Bali!
Well, back to Bali. I don’t know if any of you have heard of the earth quakes that have been taking place in Indonesia, but don’t be worried about us, Bali actually hasn’t been hit by it so we won’t be dealing with any relief aid. We aren’t exactly sure what we are going to be doing over there so I’m just going to tell you what I know. We are planning on staying at a YWAM base there in Bali, not sure of the cities name, but we are going to be helping out there and then wherever the Lord leads us that day. We’ve been put in charge of certain ministries for our trip, I am in charge of the children ministry along with a fellow classmate (Angel from Alaska) and Andy is in charge of the prison ministry with another student (Jon from Indiana). The other ministries include hospital and evangelism, so we’ve got a really broad spectrum that we can be ready for. So that’s about all that I know, the leader of our school is also coming with us to Bali and he has been many times before so he has many contacts, so I’m not worried that we will be wandering into anything we’re not ready for. As for the other outreach team to Papua New Guinea, they have just now been getting contacts this last week, so they are really going in there blind and just listening to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to move.
We will be in Bali for about 3 ½ and then we will be meeting up with the ship tour in a town around Auckland. This tour is calling out all the young Kiwis to come into missions, we are here to make kids aware of who we are and aware of what’s going on in the world and how they can help. We want to raise up a nation of Christians who are willing to give their lives to help others who are in need. We will be with the tour for about 4 weeks and we’ll end up back in Tauranga where we will then drive down to Tapu(?) for our graduation. But hopefully we’ll be able to update you again closer to that time.
Well the updates are now going to be few and far between, we won’t have internet connection in Bali as easily as over here or on the ships tour. We will be able to find internet cafes but they might be a bit hard to come by, we’re not sure as of this point. But we are going to try our best!
We appreciate all of your support and prayers!
Heidi & Andy
But before I get into all of that, I’ll tell you what we’ve been doing with our time. A couple of weekends ago Andy and I were able to take the weekend away, just the two of us. We went to Waihi Beach, which is just a 45 minute drive north of where we are here in Tauranga, and spent the day there. They just have the most beautiful beach and it just goes on forever uninterrupted. But at the end of the beach there is this kind of hill type thing and once you hike over that you come to your own little bay, so that’s what we did and it was very beautiful, muddy, but good fun. So that weekend was relaxing, but this last weekend we moved the ship(M/V Pacific Link) across the bay to another dock where we get more publicity and put on tours, which is much like what we’re going to be doing for the second half of our outreach phase. So we had to clean the ship on Saturday and then on Sunday we had to put on tours for the open public of Tauranga, which wasn’t actually too bad at all, just made for a long day. And now we don’t have much time to relax before we head out to Bali!
Well, back to Bali. I don’t know if any of you have heard of the earth quakes that have been taking place in Indonesia, but don’t be worried about us, Bali actually hasn’t been hit by it so we won’t be dealing with any relief aid. We aren’t exactly sure what we are going to be doing over there so I’m just going to tell you what I know. We are planning on staying at a YWAM base there in Bali, not sure of the cities name, but we are going to be helping out there and then wherever the Lord leads us that day. We’ve been put in charge of certain ministries for our trip, I am in charge of the children ministry along with a fellow classmate (Angel from Alaska) and Andy is in charge of the prison ministry with another student (Jon from Indiana). The other ministries include hospital and evangelism, so we’ve got a really broad spectrum that we can be ready for. So that’s about all that I know, the leader of our school is also coming with us to Bali and he has been many times before so he has many contacts, so I’m not worried that we will be wandering into anything we’re not ready for. As for the other outreach team to Papua New Guinea, they have just now been getting contacts this last week, so they are really going in there blind and just listening to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to move.
We will be in Bali for about 3 ½ and then we will be meeting up with the ship tour in a town around Auckland. This tour is calling out all the young Kiwis to come into missions, we are here to make kids aware of who we are and aware of what’s going on in the world and how they can help. We want to raise up a nation of Christians who are willing to give their lives to help others who are in need. We will be with the tour for about 4 weeks and we’ll end up back in Tauranga where we will then drive down to Tapu(?) for our graduation. But hopefully we’ll be able to update you again closer to that time.
Well the updates are now going to be few and far between, we won’t have internet connection in Bali as easily as over here or on the ships tour. We will be able to find internet cafes but they might be a bit hard to come by, we’re not sure as of this point. But we are going to try our best!
We appreciate all of your support and prayers!
Heidi & Andy
Saturday, September 12, 2009
9/12/09
Well hello everybody. This week was great. First we had some teaching from David Cowie, the founder of Marine Reach, and then for the last half of the week we had our school leader, Cheyne (pronounced Shane) Hosking. He spoke on the Word of the Lord, and it was really good, like really good. He just went at it with asking us questions and having us fill out questionnaires to see what we need to work on, like I realized that I read the Bible for accomplishment rather than to get to know God, which is the only reason you should really be reading it. What’s the point otherwise? Ok, well I guess if you were wanting to check some theology or whatever, but honestly, let’s get to know him. But yea, it was a really amazing week of teaching from Cheyne.
The best part of this week was really the weekend, it all started on Friday night when we had a BBQ/Dance party with a 40s/30s theme. The other married couple in our DTS, Michael and Leah from Canada, taught us all how to jive, cha-cha, and waltz. It was awesome. We were dancing all night long, and everyone got into it, even the boys who said they wouldn’t, it was great. So now we are a dancing school and we are planning on having more dance parties. So yea, that was really fun because we got to dress up and just hang out and relax outside of the ship. But then on Saturday we got to go to a rugby game between the All Blacks and the Springboks (New Zealand vs. South Africa). New Zealand lost, but it was such a close game. It seriously came down to the last couple of seconds and we were almost there. It was awesome. We all put on face paint and yea, it was just fun. But Rugby is huge here, and this game was a really big deal, a lot of South Africans moved here and so yea, it wasn’t like everyone was rooting for NZ, it was fairly even on both sides, and apparently ZA fans are crazy, so yea. People were throwing their beer bottles onto the field during half time, it was pretty funny, nothing serious. Oh and the coolest part is at the beginning of the game when the All Blacks do this thing called a Haka. It’s like a chant type thing, but it is a Maori tradition and they like are yelling this thing at the top of their lungs and they’re like sumo wrestlers but not. I don’t know, it’s just awesome and uber intimidating. You should all go look up a video of it.
Heidi
The best part of this week was really the weekend, it all started on Friday night when we had a BBQ/Dance party with a 40s/30s theme. The other married couple in our DTS, Michael and Leah from Canada, taught us all how to jive, cha-cha, and waltz. It was awesome. We were dancing all night long, and everyone got into it, even the boys who said they wouldn’t, it was great. So now we are a dancing school and we are planning on having more dance parties. So yea, that was really fun because we got to dress up and just hang out and relax outside of the ship. But then on Saturday we got to go to a rugby game between the All Blacks and the Springboks (New Zealand vs. South Africa). New Zealand lost, but it was such a close game. It seriously came down to the last couple of seconds and we were almost there. It was awesome. We all put on face paint and yea, it was just fun. But Rugby is huge here, and this game was a really big deal, a lot of South Africans moved here and so yea, it wasn’t like everyone was rooting for NZ, it was fairly even on both sides, and apparently ZA fans are crazy, so yea. People were throwing their beer bottles onto the field during half time, it was pretty funny, nothing serious. Oh and the coolest part is at the beginning of the game when the All Blacks do this thing called a Haka. It’s like a chant type thing, but it is a Maori tradition and they like are yelling this thing at the top of their lungs and they’re like sumo wrestlers but not. I don’t know, it’s just awesome and uber intimidating. You should all go look up a video of it.
Heidi
Monday, September 7, 2009
9/7
Hey everyone, things here are going very well. The last couple of weeks have gone by fairly quickly. We had Matt Dawson come and talk about relationships. Last week we had Jono Turner talking about the Holy Spirit, he brought up some incredible ideas. He shared the week with his wife, Mary, and she shared on authority and submission. This week we have David Cowie on standing in the gap, compassion, and hope. And when we’re not in classes, we have been hanging out on the ship or walking into town.
We are about a ten minute walk from the city center of Tauranga. Being closer to town is nice. We no longer have to rely on having someone with a car.
Some of the guys and I have also gone spear fishing in our spare time. That is a lot of fun. And a friend here got me a spear so I can go at the same time. The water is really cold here so we have to borrow wetsuits, which keeps us kind of warm, but your head feels like it’s frozen.
Last weekend we helped out at a wedding. We actually did all the catering for it, the music, setup, teardown, and videotaping. The couple went through YWAM, so that is why we got to help them. It was a long day but it was a lot of fun.
I have been working on my beard. We are wrapping up the first week of shaveless September. Most of the guys on the ship are joining in. It should be interesting by the end of the month. I will keep you posted. And just to let you know, I’m doing quite well in the competition.
We have finally found out where we are going for outreach. Our team will be going to Bali in Indonesia. We don’t know a whole lot yet but we leave around October 16. We will stay there for three weeks then fly back to the ship. Once back to the ship we will spend another month going from port to port around the southern island of New Zealand. While in port we will be putting on concerts and witnessing to teens.
Please continue to pray for us. So that we will remain safe while we are on outreach, and that our team will be able to come up with the money that we need, and that the rest of the teachings would continue to speak into our lives. We love and miss you all.
Andy
We are about a ten minute walk from the city center of Tauranga. Being closer to town is nice. We no longer have to rely on having someone with a car.
Some of the guys and I have also gone spear fishing in our spare time. That is a lot of fun. And a friend here got me a spear so I can go at the same time. The water is really cold here so we have to borrow wetsuits, which keeps us kind of warm, but your head feels like it’s frozen.
Last weekend we helped out at a wedding. We actually did all the catering for it, the music, setup, teardown, and videotaping. The couple went through YWAM, so that is why we got to help them. It was a long day but it was a lot of fun.
I have been working on my beard. We are wrapping up the first week of shaveless September. Most of the guys on the ship are joining in. It should be interesting by the end of the month. I will keep you posted. And just to let you know, I’m doing quite well in the competition.
We have finally found out where we are going for outreach. Our team will be going to Bali in Indonesia. We don’t know a whole lot yet but we leave around October 16. We will stay there for three weeks then fly back to the ship. Once back to the ship we will spend another month going from port to port around the southern island of New Zealand. While in port we will be putting on concerts and witnessing to teens.
Please continue to pray for us. So that we will remain safe while we are on outreach, and that our team will be able to come up with the money that we need, and that the rest of the teachings would continue to speak into our lives. We love and miss you all.
Andy
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
8/22/09
Well, the end of Repentance week with Ken Mulligan from Australia. It was good, well, it was ok. It seemed as if we never got very deep, but I think it was hard going from such a great week and then to this, not that he was a bad speaker, he was really interesting, but you know? It just seems lacking when there’s no huge breakthrough. So let me just tell you about last week, it was the Father Heart of God week, and it was good. Our speaker was Steve Aherne, he’s the head person in Australia now, I think. But the week starts out and you’re just so confused about tons of stuff, he brought up all these things that nobody had even really thought of, like where did we come from? Did God have anything to do with our physical appearance? Does God have anything to do with the timing of children or is it just us? Is God sovereign as much as we think? So he just threw out tons of questions and things I had never thought of, or thought to go deeper in. I realized that I have a shallow faith where I take things at face value and I never went deeper, never researched or asked God about whether it was wrong or right. So that was a crazy thing to realize and now I am going to be doing a lot more digging. But the end of week really tied together, on Friday last week we had confessions and then ministry time and it was good. Our school just really opened up to each other and a lot of healing happened. Lots of tears, but very needed tears. It was a great week. So by the time repentance week came around we were all like, “really? What else could we confess?” But it was good.
Anyways, back to where we are living. All this week we were at Faith Bible College in Tauranga which is over the mountains from Matamata, we did this because our staff members with family would be closer and also it was cheaper for us. But now we are moving on Sunday to go to the boat! We are going to welcome it in on Sunday and then we have to clean and then we’re moving in! I’m excited, we all are excited. We are finally to our final destination; we can settle in and know we aren’t moving for a while. But we’re still not sure if we are going to be able to get bunk beds or not. There’s another married couple so I think we’re just fighting them for it, so pray that we win.
Also some more news, we met someone here at the college who is a pilot and we are going to be able to go up for only 15 nzd, which is like 8 us, maybe. But yea, we’re going to be able to go up for about 15 minutes and see all the country side. So that’s an exciting new thing. This one isn’t really news but just an exciting thing, our entire DTS family really does seem like a family, I never expected us to all become so close, and so soon. Everyone gets along with each other and we’re all very encouraging to each other. So that was more of a praise then a news update. But yea…
We miss everyone at home and can’t wait until we can see everyone again, not looking forward to winter again, but that’ll be ok. Pray for us so that we keep healthy, that Andy doesn’t get a sinus infection! Also that we just keep up good spirits and keep on growing in our relationship with God and also with each other, which by the way we celebrated our 2monthaverssary this week.
Anyways, back to where we are living. All this week we were at Faith Bible College in Tauranga which is over the mountains from Matamata, we did this because our staff members with family would be closer and also it was cheaper for us. But now we are moving on Sunday to go to the boat! We are going to welcome it in on Sunday and then we have to clean and then we’re moving in! I’m excited, we all are excited. We are finally to our final destination; we can settle in and know we aren’t moving for a while. But we’re still not sure if we are going to be able to get bunk beds or not. There’s another married couple so I think we’re just fighting them for it, so pray that we win.
Also some more news, we met someone here at the college who is a pilot and we are going to be able to go up for only 15 nzd, which is like 8 us, maybe. But yea, we’re going to be able to go up for about 15 minutes and see all the country side. So that’s an exciting new thing. This one isn’t really news but just an exciting thing, our entire DTS family really does seem like a family, I never expected us to all become so close, and so soon. Everyone gets along with each other and we’re all very encouraging to each other. So that was more of a praise then a news update. But yea…
We miss everyone at home and can’t wait until we can see everyone again, not looking forward to winter again, but that’ll be ok. Pray for us so that we keep healthy, that Andy doesn’t get a sinus infection! Also that we just keep up good spirits and keep on growing in our relationship with God and also with each other, which by the way we celebrated our 2monthaverssary this week.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
