15/03/2018
My first update ever, poor craftsmanship
Kia Ora! Hello and thank you for your support of the journey I am on. I will be sending updates probably every other week. Anyway here goes... I have currently been in the beautiful island country of New Zealand for 3 weeks, and it has been incredible. Starting with a trip to Hamilton to visit my cousin Josh and his wife Hannah who were gracious enough to let me stay at their home and show me around. My first day we got to see Hobbiton (really incredible and lots of attention to detail). And the next day hiked up to a huge waterfall, as well as swam in some hot pools. The next day Josh and Hannah drove me to Tauranga and dropped me off at my new home at YWAM Bethlehem. The moment I stepped out of the car I was greeted by a large cluster of people eager to meet the new addition and I knew it was home. I have met many amazing and lifelong friends here. Many are from Canada, but also from USA, Germany, Sweden, Nimibia and more. It is very interesting living in such a diverse community with different customs and cultures, and it's awesome that I get to learn more about the world everyday. The typical week here consists of a 2 hour class everyday, a 2 hour worship and prayer session most days, and miscellaneous training sessions throughout the week as well as free time. On Saturdays we have most of the day as a planned activity having to do with adventures around the island. Sundays are free days and church in the morning. Now to get to some of the adventures I've had since getting here, so buckle up! We have been to the beach a few times, which is in what is called "the mount" area of Tauranga due to Mt Maunganui looking over the area. It is a beautiful place, stunning and revealing God's glory. There we swim, hang out, do some cliff jumping, and hike the mountain. We have also visited many waterfalls around the area and they are stunning(and good for jumping and swimming)! We also went to Rotorua, a town south of Tauranga where we went Zorbing and Luging! Zorbing is a huge inflatable ball that you hop into with water and they push you down a huge hill! Go look it up on YouTube. And Luging is a cart that you sit in and race down a cement path down a mountain! It was so crazy and fun. We also got to witness a crazy wonder of New Zealand, a hot sands beach! It is a beach that has a hot spring beneath it, so the sand is actually hot to walk on, even when it's freezing out. Then you can dig into the sand, where hot water comes up and you can make a sand hotub right on the beach! It was sick! And last but not least was a high ropes course unlike any other I've seen, it was huge! With tons of courses and ziplines (called "flying foxes" here), and it was pouring rain which made it even more fun! Now to get to the real fun and main part, God! So far in our classes we have learned about our identity in Christ, hearing God's voice, the nature and character of God, prayer coaching, Bible studies, and about the Holy Spirit. Every single class has been extremely eye opening and has made me love God more than ever before. Things that I have never even thought of, He is working in huge ways here. The first time of worship here I felt His presence more than I had in a long time and I knew it was where I was meant to be. This last week we had a woman named Joanne Moody, who completely blew away any preconcived notions I had about God and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit showed up with so much force and peace I don't really know how to explain it. We also learned about how to pray for healing and spiritual healing, and no jokes there were dozens of people healed from back pains and knee pains they had their whole lives(I couldn't make this stuff up)! It is clear that this is where God wants me, and I as well as everyone here is hungry for more of Jesus. We have also picked where to go on outreach in this time. If you don't know, we are in New Zealand for 3 months for training, and then we are sent to the nations for 2 months with our training to spread the love of God. The nations our school is sending to are Cambodia, Uganda, Nepal, and New Zealand. God has told me to go to Nepal! I am on a team with about 12 people and we are leaving in April. Nepal is closed to missionaries, however as changing ones religion is illegal there. Prayer for preparations for the trip and for God to be working there already getting the people ready to listen would be amazing. Thank you again for your support, if you wish to know more or want to talk don't be afraid to send me a message, wifi is not too good out here so I can't garentee a quick response but I'll try my best. I'll also try to get better at this whole update thing😁. Fun Fact: Tauranga is the furthest city from Jerusalem "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with the hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." - Romans 15:13 Blessings, - Benjamin Ens Psalm 24