Great is Thy Faithfulness! Isn't is wonderful to know that God is faithful? Knowing God is faithful is the key to life and contentment. I must be honest right now, I am truly content. God has been revealing His faithfulness through the wonderful people that I am meeting and through simple experiences. This past weekend I was truly blessed to spend the majority of my time with the women of the New Zealand District at Whangeri Heads. The land was beautiful, the women were beautiful, and God's glory reigned. Baking breads, breaking breads and breaking barriers was what this weekend was about. We are made in His Image; that was the theme of this weekend and we expanded upon that through the need to help others know that they are loved and they are made in God's beautiful image. The weekend provided me with an awesome opportunity to meet new people and make many friends. I heard stories of people's lives, families, and their strong faith in God. God sent me encouragement in many forms: through the speaker Saturday morning, which encouraged me to keep my heart tender for God and know that His faithfulness will provide all that I need for life and relationships; encouragement to make it to the top of the mountain, which in retrospect helps me to realize that we often think that the valley is the hard place but really the climb up the mountain is rather difficult; and encouragement that I belong here, I felt that I had truly become part of the family, the whanau, here in New Zealand, I was not alone. Through this encouragement I was able to hear God whispering His dreams into my heart over these past days, dreams of including more in His family and Kingdom. His dreams include the community around the church here in Hamilton. His dreams see many young families worshipping and being mentored by the great saints of this church. I must still be attentive to listen how He wants me to help His dreams come true. God is faithful and as long as I am faithful to His Will, I will be used as a catalyst to begin the growth of the Kingdom.
- Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
- Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
- Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
- Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside
- "Great is Thy faithfulness!" "Great is Thy faithfulness!"
- Morning by morning new mercies I see;
- All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
- "Great is Thy faithfulness," Lord, unto me!
Well I have not only made it to New Zealand, but I am now in Hamilton. I am learning a lot more than I think that my brain can contain. I have so many wonderful people that I am so excited to learn from and learn about. I have been blessed to move in with an awesome lady named Val. I have uploaded some pictures that are located on the bottom corner so check them out. I have officially seen a haka, if you want to see one look up the All Black doing a Haka. The All Blacks are the New Zealand Rugby team. I was also completely honored to be greeted with a hongi. The islander Kiwis, Kiwis are New Zealanders, are so vibrant and I love learning and just being with them. I am also very impressed by the pakehas or the Anglo population. All of them work together to maintain the island heritage. I have been busy writing papers my classes. I may be a little stressed by how much coursework I have but I know that God is bigger than my homework. The Briles made it to Whangeri (pronounced Fungeray) and Adam is settled in Auckland. We are just so excited about being here in New Zealand. God knows what we need and provides it at exactly the right time. God is so so so good. Much love! I promise to try and write at least once a week so keep posted!!!
