A little bit of life

Kia Ora!! Life is good, living is better, especially living for God. I am just so blessed. I have experienced a lot since I last updated this blog. I apologize for all who are following from home. I am planning on updating at least once a week. I have had a few struggles, but I can see that God is at work. I am getting settled into doing Mainly Music and I am trying to get a volunteer position at the local community center. I am also doing some research to find out what it will take to open a Christian preschool at our church here in Hamilton. Keep us in prayer, we might be getting an interim pastor come the first of January and it would be none other than my grandparents!!! I know crazy right?! They would stay through June and then hopefully there would be a pastor coming from Ireland to be full-time. I cannot believe that I have been here for six weeks already! I did begin to feel a bit homesick but there is no real cure except to keep active. Activity is not something I really have to worry about between life, ministry and homework. I am getting excited that our field trip is on the near horizon. God is painting the story of my life one stroke at a time and I am enjoying living each moment in awe of how each stroke is defining me. This weekend was labour weekend and I was truly honored to go Horoera with John and Moana Tautua and their children and Aunty Lisa :). We stayed and played at the Matahi Marae. It was such a wonderful learning experience for me to learn from everyone who belonged to that marae. For Moana and Lisa it was family. For me it became family. I truly love those I met this weekend. I have never felt more at home and as if I belonged. I went as Sarah from America and left as Sarah from Horoera. With so many to help me along the way I was able to learn the basic of the Maori culture. The culture is such a beautiful representation of how God is everywhere working before anyone who knew Him arrived. The proverbs that come out of the Maori culture and the beliefs of the Maoris are just incredible. My favorite proverb I learned this week was nou te rourou naku te rourou ka ora ai te iwi, which means if you bring your basket and I bring my basket we can feed the people. Is that not a statement that should define the lives of the Christian community. We should live a life that works in cooperation with fellow believers, as a family would, to provide for the lost and brokenhearted. I have been busy making friends in which to invest and who can provide the encouragement I need. God has been blessing me beyond measure. At times it is easy to feel lonely across the big ol' pond, but He shows up to prove He is there and that His provision is more than enough. I am loving the life that God has been leading me in and I am just so excited at the prospects of each new day. I love to learn and am learning to love. Life is a beautiful masterpiece in the making one that is not forgotten by those who experience the colors that shine through your words and actions and your being. So be the color creation that God intended you to be!!

Great is Thy Faithfulness

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!

Here at last

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!!!

A reason to write

There could be no better reason to write than to glorify God. It has been a long time or at least felt like a long time here in Kansas City. I really feel immersed in the community at Nazarene Theological Seminary. The friendships I have developed will help me and guide me through this next stage of God's story for my life. The church that I have been attending here in the Kansa City area, Antioch Church of the Nazarene, has reminded me of many thing. The people have reminded me what a church family is like with hugs and remembering my name, truly caring. The atmosphere of honest love for God that is relational is one you experience with this group of believers. The trust and friendships and concern/care I experienced just rejuvenated my soul so deeply I felt ready to serve again. The family of the Antioch Church of the Nazarene walk their talk and trust Jesus to do what needs to be done through them. Old connections with friends, new friendships commencing, and mentors have been the story of my life and i did not fully understand the significance until this very moment. This is a big moment for the glory of God, when His people get together, pray, and live to serve Him big things are gonna happen to further His Kingdom both here on earth and I general terms! To God be the glory great things He hath done, so loved He the world that He gave us His son. If you have ever heard the grace guerilla prayer you will understand what is driving me. I will conclude with that prayer so that you too may find that the glory of God goes beyond anything we can do without Him. Make me a grace guerilla!

The Grace Guerilla's Prayer  8/24/12

---

Lord, I want to be a grace guerilla,

No longer a chameleon of karma;

The time has come to stand out from the crowd.

Lord, I want to give forgiveness

a fighting chance of freeing me,

to live I love and live it out loud.

Lord, I want to drink deep

of the foolishness of wisdom

instead of swallowing in the wisdom of fools,

to find a source in the deeper minds of meaning.

Lord, I want to search out the unsearchable

to invoke the invisible;

to choose the truths

the TV hypnotists aren't screening.

No camoflage,

No entourage,

No smoothly fitting in...

Lord, I want a faith that goes further than face value

and a beauty that goes deeper than my skin.

Lord, I want to be untouched by my possessions

instead of being possessed by what I touch,

to test the taste of having nothing to call mine

to hold consumption's craving back

to be content with luck or lack

to live as well on water as on wine.

Lord, I want to spend myself on those I think might need me,

not spend all I think I need on myself.

Lord, I want my heart to be willing to make house calls.

Let those whose rope is at an end

find me a faithful friend

Let me be known as one who rebuilds broken walls.

No camouflage,

No entourage,

No smoothly fitting in...

Lord, I want a faith that goes further than face value

and a beauty at goes deeper than my skin.

Lord, I want to be centered outside the circle

to be chiseled from a different seam

to be seduced by another story

and drawn into a deeper dream,

to be anchored in an undiscovered ocean

to revolve around a different sun

a boom box tuned to an alternate station

Abu,let from a different gun.

No camouflage,

No entourage,

No smoothly fitting in...

Lord, I want a faith that goes further than face value

and a beauty that goes deeper than my skin.

Amen!!

Sent from my i

More beginnings and more excitement

Well I am almost finished with my first week of modules here at NTS. It is exciting! It is exciting but it is hard work and tiring. I know more about what is going on in Hamilton and have met my mentor Neville. I have also met the couple, who are super amazing, who lived there last year. The more I learn and am here the more nervous and excited I get. I am learning a lot and I am growing a lot. I making a lot of new friends. The only thing that I am not doing a lot of is resting. It is good though. I will rest up before I head out. I still am working on raising money so do keep me in prayer please. Also prayer for the people that I will be living in community with. Live is good and Glory be to God!!!!!

Well the change winds are blowing. This weekend I am working at a festival to raise money for the trip. But also, I just found out from Neville, my contact in New Zealand, and I have been moved to Hamilton now. So no more Wainuiomata....sad but God's plans are much bigger than mine. Hamilton is located a bit more than an hour south of Auckland, so I will be closer to everyone. I will still be working with children and at a local school!!! Well until next time....

Another New Beginning

So this summer has been full of many new experiences for me and many wonderful accomplishments, but as I begin my pre-module work I realize that some new experiences are hard work and a little overwhelming. I know that in the long run that this will be completely rewarding but right now it seems daunting. I have officially finished reading my first book for class and it was great and really challenging, but I know that finishing it only means I have two more to work on for the next assignments. Well enough lamenting about homework because, to be honest, the more overwhelmed I feel with homework the more I feel a sense of purpose. 


Right now I am currently working on fundraising. Let me tell you fundraising is awesome in that you get to meet new people and experience new things and you always have a great story from it. I love how generous people can be especially when no one is looking. I had a lady just randomly give me a dollar for my trip and she did not even know my name. I know that looking at the total, 10,000, and then looking at what she gave me, a dollar, it seems insignificant, but really it isn't. Every dollar, every penny even is one closer to the total and one more for God's plan. I love it!!! 


Well, I will be trying to do better about updating now that we are officially beginning this thing!!! 
Oh, one last thing I bought my plane tickets 33hrs and 40 minutes of traveling, which includes lay overs!!! And I got a new backpack for traveling at half price!!!! God is good in the big things and the small things!!!!


Until we meet again


p.s. if you want to visit my donation site just click here: http://web.nazarene.org/goto/WhittenNewZealand