Rain

Today it rains.

And for those of you who have ever camped in the rain, you know exactly what I mean. If there’s one teeny tiny hole in the tent, you’re doomed. Water collects inside, pools in all your clothes and books, soaks you as you unknowingly slumber in your sleeping bag and then never dries. Everything just gets wetter and wetter. I don’t think I’ll have to shower today. We girls are thinking about sleeping in the van tonight. That should be fun.

Yesterday. We picked up cans and cleaned the campground as the sleepy campers drug themselves out of tents and began their days. It absolutely amazes me how these guys can just bounce back – a mere few hours before they had been completely wasted and then they just get up the next morning and start it all again. What?? It’s like they don’t even get hangovers! Or they drink their way through it. I’m impressed.

We spent the afternoon resting and hanging out. I skyped my family! First, I got to talk to my Dad for the first time in over a month, and my Mom of course. And then I got to see my awesome big sis Jessica for the first time since I left nearly 5 months ago. And then some lovely friends – my sister Beks, Kari, Levi, Fart, and Kanaan. My day was definitely brightened by the wonderful people back home. Thank you guys for being so lovely.

And then, nighttime rolled in. and karaoke happened. It was so funny. And Ken was constantly turning down the mics because kids kept screaming curse words in them. And after karaoke, the DJ that the camp hired came and the party really started. I was on prayer from 9-10 and then after, I went to talk to the kids getting sausages. The first kid Steph and I met was a boy named Ollie. He was so funny. A total atheist through and through, he couldn’t believe that we were nice to him despite the fact he said to our faces so many times that he hated Christians and they are all f*****g stupid. He couldn’t believe we kept talking to him after he told us he didn’t believe in God or Satan. He’s been kicked out of churches and Christians have given him a terrible representation of Jesus, condemning him and ignoring him instead of loving him like Jesus told us to! Steph and I prayed he would remember us and come back. Then I met a girl named Lydia while she was talking to Maureen (the OJ leader) and it was awesome. She was so hungry to know, she asked so many questions and some really hard ones too. It’s really hard to tell someone that you believe if they decide not to accept Christ that they will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. It’s hard to say “Yes, if your Nana didn’t accept Christ’s sacrifice before she died, then she isn’t there.” How do you say that? Do people get a second chance on Judgment Day? Or once you’re dead, are you a lost cause? Lydia was awesome; she was a breath of fresh air and man, so eager to know if God was real. She kept asking “How will I know? How will He tell me He’s real?” I had to explain that I couldn’t tell her God would do the same thing for each of us – He encounters us in our own unique ways because we are all different and He knows us inside and out since He created us – Psalm 139 – and when you know, you know. I told her to ask God for an encounter, to reveal Himself to her in an awesome and unforgettable, unexplainable way. And I’m not gonna lie, it’s hard having faith that God will do that. But I’m choosing to have faith and believe He’s gonna show up and she will experience Him in a way that will answer her questions and give her understanding. She let me pray for her, let Maureen give her a Bible and I gave her a C.S. Lewis book title (and incredible Christian apologist – if you’ve never read anything from Him, you totally should, he explains Christianity and faith in such simple and logical ways) and at 1:30 a.m. we finally went to bed.

Steph and I couldn’t go to sleep, we were still carrying burdens for the kids we talked to, so we held hands and prayed for them and gave the burden back to God and fell asleep holding hands. I’d say it was a beautiful end to a wonderful day.

Peace out Girl Scout

DrunkFest Day 1

Hello world! Sorry about my lack of blogging – Fiji was super hard to blog in because we went to the internet café once or twice a week and I didn’t have enough time in an hour to answer messages and emails and do my blog as well! But, happily, I am back in KiwiLand and I have WiFi!!! Whoop!

We roadtrippd from Auckland to Paihia after having the tremendous honour of staying with Beryl, the ministry director for the night. We made it to the campground, which was much smaller than we imagined, especially considering 1000 kids were going to be present for Drunkfest. We learned the names of our other team members for Operation Jerusalem and got a good night’s sleep before the New Year festivities began. What we’re doing here is ministering to the 1000 kids that come and get absolutely smashed beginning as early as 8 am all the way into the wee hours of the morning only to wake up and do it again. It amazes me how their bodies can handle it! We walk around, getting to know the kids, most of them underage, of course and getting to be friends with them. We hand out sausages and juice and we hold karaoke. We also reach out especially to the girls who are falling over so drunk they don’t even know where their tents are. We’re here to love on them, hold their hair while they’re throwing up, and just to show Jesus’s love instead of forcing it down their throats. I can’t tell them what they’re doing is wrong, because the things I do are just as bad. We’re all so broken, and it kills to see how broken and lost all of these kids are. Most the kids we talk to agree that it’s empty satisfaction, but they can’t find anything better. A lot of them are just plain bored. It breaks my heart to see girls giving themselves away in the dirt and wondering if they’ll even remember doing it. It’s hard to see guys unleashing pent-up anger and throwing barbs and punches and anything they can pick up.

But it’s awesome to know people by name – so many people seek you out because you listen to them and they just want someone to talk to. I listened to so many stories last night and it’s so crazy – each and every one of these kids have a unique story and unique problems but they all turn to the same thing to try and answer their problems. And it’s funny, how much of a reputation we’ve already gained here. We’re referred to as the OJ’s (operation Jerusalem) or as “those Christian guys” – when someone’s in trouble or they need something people say “Go see those Christian guys! They can help!” and it’s crazy hearing that come out of their mouths! It’s funny, how when people are in deep trouble, they run to us because they know we’ve got something that’ll fix it. Hinthint: YOU CAN HAVE IT TOO. And that’s what we’re here to tell them.

Summer’s here! And summer looks so good on New Zealand. But I’m not gonna lie, it’s odd to be celebrating the New Year in the heat. You know how long it’s been since I’ve seen snow? Much too long. And I’ll have to wait another year to see it. Oh well.

Peace out Girl Scout!

Home

Okay.
I'm back.
In NZ.
And so happy to be here.
I'm going to miss Fiji - I have a family there, but there's just something about this place. I don't know what I'm going to do for the 6 months I have back in the US.

Things in Fiji were incredible, Van and I had vlogs - it was a lot easier to record what we did each day since we went to internet cafes like once a week.
Here's the address:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-ST4-o-liU&sns=fb

I will be posting soon!
Love you!