Day 66 - Um...

Enough said!

Day 65 - I'll Pray for You

Tonight we went to Wellington and did our Story Telling drama. And in addition we had prayer stations. Its a very simple idea; we sat on Cuba Street held signs that said 'I'll pray for you' so people could get prayer from us. You would think that nobody would stop for prayer but surprisingly many people asked for prayer. In fact, 2 minutes after I sat down with my prayer partner Tim a guy named Mitch walked up to us and asked for prayer for his 'bad thoughts' and that he would get a job. Tim ended up spending 4 hours with him helping him find a place to stay in the city. The guy said that he loved how Tim was trying to help him as a form of outreach.

Then we had a couple drunk guys come up to us and after some time of calming them down we prayed for them. 3 teenagers, 1 guy and two girls approached us and asked for prayer. They were being goofy with us and not taking us seriously. But then we asked for their names and what they needed prayer for. One of the girls said she was 3 months pregnant. So I put my hand on her shoulder and asked God to show her that He wants to protect her and the baby and provide for her and that He knows she is afraid and that he loves her. I could tell she went from goofy to serious immediately and after the prayer she didn't look up as she seemed very touched. My friend Marcin prayed for the teenage guy and then I prayed for the other girl. I asked what she needed prayer for and she didn't really say anything. I was trying to help suggest things she might need pray for and I said 'family' and her face turned red and I thought she was going to cry. She quickly said 'yep' and I sensed that she didn't want to say anymore about it. So I prayed for her family situation and that God would reveal himself to her and that he loved her so much. I said amen and I could tell the teens were in a state of shock and they shook our hands and thanked us in a very meaningful way. It was amazing! We're doing this with our youth ministry in Minneapolis when we get home!

Overall about 20 people stopped for prayer in a 5 hour span (only 1 said they believed in Jesus).

We also got tons of side comments. 'Pray for all of us mate, we're going to hell. HAHAHAHA!' 'I'm happy for you, keep on prayin (in a sarcastic tone)' One teenage guy looked me straight in the eye and said 'God isn't real, mate' and then walked away. Another guy thought I was homeless, asked me if I was starving and tried to offer me food.

I think I really experienced the fact that people are very open to talking about God and want prayer. Go church! Get out there and don't be afraid! Just be natural, normal, loving and serving and don't be afraid to say what you believe when asked and people will see God in you.

Day 64 - Seeking God Day VI

I'm surprised my last post didn't get many comments. I guess my friend Jeremy is right, 'The blogs you think are interesting get no response and the blogs you think are boring get tons.'

Today was full of stuff. I got about 2 hours in for Seeking God because there are things that God is doing that required our attention. First off God has provided Steiger with an incredible couple, Bryce and Kate, who are joining Steiger and will be a tremdendous help to bring this crazy organization under control. Aaron and I met with them this morning to discuss the vision we see for Steiger in the future. Their skill set and passions are exactly what Steiger needs. I was praising God all day for them. He provides!!

Also, Joy and I have multiple options for the future so we discussed and prayed about them today. If you could pray along those lines too that would be great! Its great having options and opportunities; making a plan is the difficult part.

I realize that I have not been good with pictures. Here are some pictures from my last seeking God day.

Day 63 - You have a tail!

Alright, you ready for some Pierce? David spoke today on Values in Steiger... here are some juicy excerpts and quotes:

* John 14:12-14 "Ask anything in my name and I'll do it" 'But he won't do it if its all about me' - David

* "Any ministry that has the power of God in it has a leader who is DESPERATE for God, and a team who is DESPERATE for God too."

* "The key to EVERYTHING is to SEEK GOD DESPERATELY. (Heb 11:6) It's the realization that if God takes His hand off of me... I'm dead."

* "'Ok God, I'll do it, but if you take your hand off of me, it won't work' That's the position that God wants you in. Then, expect big things to happen."

* "Lord, you see all my struggles, I'm sorry for all my struggles, but for the sake of all these people - please use me - so they can know you."

* "My missionary training school experience wasn't the highlight of my life. You need to pray that this will be just a starting point for seeing God's glory and His power in your life."

* Regarding John 17:20-23 - 'One of the ways that the world will know that God sent Jesus will be our unity. We must be loyal to each other.'

* David confessed he likes to mock... it comes on like a strong urge sometimes... and he is working on controlling that. 'If you feel the urge to mock, mock thyself.' :)

* The Tail Principle - if 1 person tells you that you have a tail, you can probably reject the observation... if 10 people tell you that you have a tail, you probably have a tail.

* "Don't be one of those lame missionaries that doesn't read the Bible. Also, it's ok to get a job (sarcastic tone). Don't be someone who says, 'I'm not working because I am going to be a missionary.' Being a missionary is not a way to avoid work."

* Create new categories! "If someone says 'I cut hair' say 'You do? We have a ministry for that!' Then create a hair cutting ministry. If someone says 'I do graffiti' say 'You do? We have a ministry for that!' Create a graffiti mininstry."

* Don't get stuck on trends! If your ministry is based on a trend - once the trend ends so does your ministry. Fight being labeled! 'One time we had a short lived but very, very successful ministry. One of the leaders got so excited he tattooed the name of the ministry to his arm. Now the ministry is over with because the trend passed. Don't get so sucked in like that!"

* 'Don't drink! You want authority? Then don't drink! It's not a sin to drink but because of the harm done to so many worldwide, DON'T! This isn't about legalism. Being in public ministry means that you will have to give up some of your rights and I say give up drinking.'

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Tonight we had an International Team meeting at David and Jodi's house where we discussed the future of Steiger. We broke up into groups according to different aspects of Steiger and began working through details. Aaron and I worked on the vision for No Longer Music and evangelistic bands in the future. It was great! We are presenting our thoughts to David in the morning.

In reference to my last blog, we got approved for the venue for SPIT FEST (see below). Also, that gay man who was going to help us with the evangelism event this weekend bowed out because he was reading David's book 'Rock Priest' and was offended by a section. It was a very minor thing but he took great offense and bowed out. David is going to call him and try and reconcile with him. Please pray for that!

Finally, Joy and I went to this local rehab center and had dinner with the leaders of it. We are praying about an opportunity they have for us. Please pray with us about this opportunity, we have been and will be tomorrow!

SEEKING GOD DAY TOMORROW! We miss you all!

Day 62 - SPIT

Jodi spoke today on how to handle being disappointed by people. It led into a good discussion on bitterness, forgiveness and grace.

Tonight we had a meeting preparing for our May 6 festival. We decided on a name, "SPIT Fest". True to Steiger's form eh? Actually, to be more specific the correct title is "SPIT roast Fest" because we are going to roast a lamb on a spit. But our advertising will have SPIT in large letters and roast in smaller letters. Gotta get the kids attention right? :)

We have a venue selected (a skatepark) and we just need to get it approved. We are putting an advertisement in two local papers and on local radio stations. I am in charge of selecting the bands and so far we have Chuggabus, a hardcore scream band and a rock band without a name. I should have more in place by Friday.

Finally I stayed up until 2 AM tonight sending a video home to Chapel Hill for the 5th grade graduation.

Day 61 - Staying Steady

I am learning that its much more difficult to lead your peers than it is to lead youth or those older than you.

Lectures began again and Jodi spoke on how to stay steady when your circumstances are not. She told many stories about when this has happened and what they do. Very simple. 1. Go to God for His perspective 2. Stick to the facts (who is God? who are you in Christ?) 3. Don't speed up just take things one step/day at a time.

Also, she mentioned the struggle of overcoming moodiness (that may have been caused by unsteady circumstances). If you are moody:

* Get some sleep
* Be quiet - Unless you like having to apologize later
* Change your scenery/environment
* Lean on your closest friends
* Don't get too serious - look for people to help you have some fun
* Discover your most effective and healthy coping skills

Good old practical advice. She went on to teach more about the lies that attack us when we are about to do something significant in ministry.

I spent the afternoon meeting with Noah (housemate/staff member) and then working on the website for No Longer Music. Finally, I met with Nigel and went through a Theophostic prayer session. It was my first experience with it and it wasn't very pleasant. My insides are all stirred up. We are going to meet again next week since we didn't seem to finish. I think theophostic is good but its tough.

Day 60 - Beautiful Wife

I love my wife! Today was absolutely gorgeous (like her) and we went to the beach together and hung out in the waves. It was a great time! Laughing and giggling and frolicing! And I discovered that this big body of mine is great at body surfing - no board, just skin. I just find a good wave, time it right and then superman it towards the beach. I was able to get so good at it that I could keep my eyes open while the wave carried me.

Day 59 - White Dove

We have enjoyed having Jake and Beth Chaya staying at our house. We were able to talk with him more about his mentoring business - The White Dove Foundation.

This evening Joy and I went to the youth service and then had another meeting regarding the May 6 Festival with St. Lukes Church.

Day 58 - Evangelism Saturdays

This morning all the students met to plan out our last 2 evangelism Saturdays. We have two plans:

* Next Saturday we are doing another storytelling gig in Wellington. And we are going to involve that guy we met at the last storytelling. Remember when Aaron asked if he would help us plan it? Well, Aaron and others have been meeting with him in Wellington to get his help on a new storytelling plan. A non-Christian gay man planning an outreach event. Hmmm... interesting. Aaron's philosophy is maybe his ideas will help us or maybe - more importantly - his involvement with us will lead him to Jesus. Apparently this guy has lots of church experience but he has been hurt. Aaron said he had sermon tapes and audio bible tapes all over in his apartment. The guy is also very creative... he made the group that came to visit him stand in a circle and whisper the beatitudes to each other.

He has come up with some good ideas. One idea was to show what Jesus really said. He thought we could do some skit where we could only use the sayings of Jesus - especially the controversial ones - and help people get a proper understanding of what he was talking about.

* Saturday, May 6 - we are organizing a festival for the local teenagers with the local church. Joy and I are involved in this. I am organizing the sound gear and bands and Joy is helping organize the venue that we are going to meet at. It's really fun to plan this event with all these crazy Steiger people.

Day 57 - Seeking God V

Today I made my usual round from Paraparaumu to Waikanae (try pronouncing those 2 cities my fellow Americans). Prior to that I had a discussion with my Friday morning guys small group about Brazil. Joy and I are continuing to seek the Lord's direction on what he wants us to do. He is giving us opportunities and connections but we are not sure about timing. Please keep this in your prayers.

Following my seeking God time I prepared for our Friday night prayer meeting. We setup as many musical instruments that we had access to for some worship. It was great to play with a full band again - we haven't been able play as a full band since the church we meet in doesn't have much more than an organ. We spent the night praying over all the things that the students here are passionate about and we prayed over all that Steiger is doing around the world - new bases in Turkey and Brazil etc.

Joy and I had the opportunity to walk out on the beach for 30 minutes and commit to the Lord our plans. It was beautiful being on the beach at night with a very starry sky.

Day 56 - True Authority

Yesterday we had a discussion about our speaker 2 days ago. This speaker was challenging whether you could discern God's will by 'having a peace about it'. He was making a point about the difference between peace/comfort and God's peace. But in his delivery of that message it sounded like he was saying you can never make a decision based on whether or not you have a peace about it. I believe our discussion did reveal how to rightly go about discerning God's will and the role that peace had in it.

Today when the speaker began his talk he said, 'I got an impression to bring up this passage briefly, Phil 4:7. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. We need to seek God in all things and allow his peace to guide us. And this peace may lead you into places that aren't comfortable or safe... but you will know a peace that is beyond comfort or security." My cousin and I looked at each other and laughed because it seemed like the Lord was chiming in on our discussion.

But that wasn't his planned talk. This guy reminded me of a young Dave Johnson. I was very impressed. He is 26 years old, a Pastor's kid and he leads a chuch called Blueprint in Wellington. His church would be considered an emerging church but his philosophy of authority and leadership would contrast with many emerging churches.

His main point was that we need to lead under the authority of our spiritual fathers. He used 1 Samuel 2 and Hophni and Phinehas as an example of people who left their spiritual father (physical father in this case) and therefore rejected the legacy and inheritance of their father. THEREFORE, they rejected the PRESENCE OF GOD (which is the inheritance)!

True leadership seeks not only the purposes of God but the presence of God. And this leadership is found in being under the authority of the fathers that have gone before us. Maybe we don't adopt their form of ministry but we do adopt their function in carrying the presence of God.

One quote of his that I loved was 'The ceiling of our Fathers is to be the floor that we stand on.'

This follows that true leadership is being fathered and then fathering others in return. We have people above us and people below us - spiritually. There should be no such thing as 'lone rangers' in ministry.

Afterwards Rob and I continued our work on the website for No Longer Music - its taking a long time! Then Nate (a musician from Minneapolis) came over and we planned the worship for our 5 hour prayer meeting tomorrow night - it's gonna be good!!

Seeking God day tomorrow!!

Day 55 - Mishmash

A pastor from a large church in Wellington spoke to us today about a 'mishmash' of things. What I mean by mishmash was that there wasn't a clear mainpoint and I so I just wrote down bits and pieces of what he had to say. He also had three 'Timothys' with him who also spoke. Overall there were things that I will take home with me. Here is a sample:

* Maintain your own spiritual life and don't just live on what people spoon feed you.

* He talked about Isaiah 62:10 as his life verse. He sees this concept in that verse... when you enter a city for ministry you need to go through the city gates (city authorities) and then you try to pave a way for people to connect with God and that involves removing the stones (unbelief, religion, etc) and finally you raise a banner refers to creating a rallying point.

* One of the Timothy guys spoke on his prayer ministry. They go around the city and whenever they hear about a problem they go to its location and pray around it and over it. For instance, they said that Wellington had problems with people committing suicide by jumping off of buildings. So they went to each building where suicides have happened and prayed over it. Since they done this for a long time there has not been a suicide like this in a long time. I remember when Open Door did this with Sanctuary when there was a murder in North Minneapolis - reclaiming that spot for God. What if we prayed over the schools in Eagan, Apple Valley, Rosemount, etc? Or continually prayed over our own church?

* How do you reach a city? One "people group" at a time.

Then we had a 'guys meeting' after the lecture and discussed the issue of integrity that was brough up by yesterday's speaker. David was there and he made an interesting point. If you are a volunteer in a ministry - meaning you are unpaid - integrity says that you handle that job the same way you handle your paid job. Because you volunteer that doesn't mean this is a job you can slack in. You are working for the Lord! How can anyone be slack about Jesus' ministry? Umph. Integrity is tough!

Finally I went to coffee with 3 other guys including Jake who is staying with us. He taught us all about his business back home and how he supports Steiger. Very, very wise and godly man! I will remember that meeting.

Day 54 - Integrity

What should I stop doing that I enjoy doing or that I am very successful at? ... hmmm That was the question that our speaker asked. It was an interesting start to the last portion of our classes here.

It was an anglican priest who spoke to us today about integrity and he talked about how in Matthew 5:31 how we are to have our yes's be yes's and our no's be no's so that we don't have to take an oath or swear by anything. He carried this teaching through a number of scenarios in leadership and in day-to-day life. When we say yes to things we have to put them into priority and there are going to be times in life when we have to say no to things that we enjoy or are doing well at because there are other areas we have said yes to. When you flesh that out, its a tough challenge. For instance, lets say you are offered a big promotion at work... if you say yes to it it may mean that you put your job over your family. That's kind of a weak analogy but I think you get the point.

It led to some good discussion. Here are some of his other points:

He listen some common sins that leaders fall into.
1. Pragmatism - The ends justify the means.
2. The idol of self-opinion - My opinion is always right since I am the leader (usually leaders who really struggle with this have no peers within their ministry)
3. Comparison - Is our ministry better than yours? The worst form of this is when you celebrate the failure of other leaders or ministries

Then he briefly talked about how he runs 'community houses' to minister to people off the street. Here are some basic principles to running a community house.
1. Strict Routines - Run it like a facist. You must eat every meal and clean your plate even if you aren't hungry, you must shower daily and make your bed etc
2. Celebrate Significant Times - they celebrate significant times by always giving the same presents to everyone (6 pairs of underwear and six pairs of sox) in order to not show partiality.
3. Everyone has to have something to do during the day - no body can sit around
4. Pray for them - You may be the first or the only person who utters their name in a prayer to Jesus.

We now have another couple, Jake and Beth Chaya, from Burnsville staying with us for two weeks. They are on the board of Steiger and are looooong time friends of David and Jodi. I am excited for the opportunity to get to know them better.

We finished the night with a taco salad and listened to a debate between Doug Pagitt and Bob Dewaay about Emergent Church philosophy and theology versus traditional dispensational theology. You can find it here. (Jeremy, there even a lecture by LeRon Shults on there.)

Day 53 - Last day of break

Joy and I reviewed our pictures today, blogged, e-mailed and ate fish and chips on the beach. Check out the new pictures below!!

Day 52 - Easter

He is risen! Joy and I attended St. Luke Anglican Church this morning for Easter. Then Joy went and began to prep a house she agreed to paint for a woman who needs it in out neighborhood. And I went to a small gathering that some people from the school were having.

Day 51 - Recovery

Today Joy and I recovered from our trip. I stayed home and Joy went out to the beach and hung out with Wendy. It was nice to not be in a vehicle again.

Day 50 - Return to Christchurch

We have had a great trip of the South Island. Tonight we returned to Christchurch and then returned to Wellington.

Day 49 - Dolphin Swimming

We are now in Dunedin (Done-E-din). My feet are still cold from swimming with the dolphins like these. It was so cool! We pulled off the road and walked out into this ocean bay and these dolphins surrounded us. A totally natural experience with hector dolphins out in the wild. Its been a full day of seeing dolphins, penquins and seals - on the southernmost part of the world I may even be in. We head for Christchurch tomorrow and then back to our temporary home in Waikanae!

Day 48 - Milford Sound

Today we traveled to the scenic feast - Milford Sound. You have to drive 2 hours into the mountains through a 1.2km tunnel that has no lights - you have to turn on your headlights - and it goes downhill - and it is barely two lanes; we had a semi pass us and it was very close. And there are tons of waterfalls... As a matter of fact, my cousin Aaron asked Jen to marry him by a waterfall today!!! Here are some goodies:

Day 47 - Queenstown

Have you ever wanted to research the geography of New Zealand? Well, now you have a good reason. We have traveled from Wellington to Picton to Christchurch up to Hanmer Springs down to Mount Cook to Wanaka to Queenstown. It has been breath-taking-ly beautiful! This morning I took a swim in a freezing cold lake surrounded by snow capped mountains. This afternoon we are traveling to Milford Sound and then further south.

7 people sleeping in a 6 person motorhome eating peanut butter sandwiches and pasta is a fun and funny adventure. Today (Tuesday) was the first time I got to wash my hair since Saturday. I will blog more details when I return to Waikanae. This morning I read Luke 17:11-19 about the ten lepers being healed. It was a good lesson on gratitude! Perfect timing considering this opportunity I have been given! Thank you God!

Day 46 - Mount Cook

We were so excited to see Mount Cook when the sun came up that we woke up at 6 AM and began to watch it become illuminated. It was beautiful! Here are some pictures of our reaction:





Finally we drove to Queenstown - the extreme sports capital of New Zealand - it's were Bungy jumping was invented!!

Day 45 - Campervan!!

This morning we picked up our campervan, drove to Hanmer Springs and experienced some natural hot sulfurish springs. It was relaxing! Then we headed down to Mount Cook. It was eerie because we drove in at night to the foot of the mountain - and we could barely see it.

Day 44- South Island

Its 5:24 AM and our ride is here and we are off to the South Island. If I get an opportunity I'll call in and put up some audioblogs about how the trip is going (like below - which is considered Day 43). If you could just pray for safety for us that would be great!

Also, I have big news about that guy Aaron met in Wellington (see previous blog about our Wellington evangelism day).

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We traveled from the Wellington Ferry to Picton which is in the northern most part of the south island. From there we caught a train that took us to Christchurch. In Christchurch we stayed the night in this ultra cheap motel. The next morning we had to pick up our Campervan.

Day 43 - Audioblog

Day 42 - Prophecy II

Aaron hopped up and down to show that he is not experiencing heel pain any more! Praise God!

These days have been incredibly eye opening. Phil Tate led a time of prophetical prayer where he spoke over us messages and pictures and scriptures that God laid on his heart. And he does it in a normal, relaxed voice. No screaming, jumping, sweating, running around or slaying people in the spirit activity. It was very refreshing. The church needs more of this from gifted people with humble hearts.

Phil taught us the whole purpose of words of prophecy or prophetic prayer is to edify and encourage people. And that certainly happened. And Phil wasn't the only guy doing prophesying, other students joined him and revealed scriptures and pictures and impressions that the holy spirit brought to mind.

Joe and Tony (Tony is a female) are a very cool couple here at the school. One of their dreams is to run a farm where they can take homeless people to minister to them and help them get on their feet. They have had trouble bringing this vision to fruition and they have felt discouraged. But while Phil was praying (and having never met Joe and Tony before) he mentioned that God was saying that He wants them to reach out to the broken... by having them in their home... or building... or FARM! It was amazing!

So, Joy and I went up. I was nervous and excited at the same time to hear from the Lord through Phil and others in our school. There were 3 things that were said.

1) Phil prophesied that Joy and I have pioneering and leadership and vision written all over us. Then he felt compelled to pray a prayer of commissioning us to start new works in other nations. He sensed a calling on our lives for this.

2) About 3 - 4 students in the school got the same picture of Joy and I dancing in a field together. And they said they felt this described what we are experiencing now. It is very true! (After the prayer, one of the students told me (as a joke) that he saw us dancing together in a field and then he heard God say, "Peter STOP!!")

3) One student said she felt that God wanted to do something special for us... something nice. Like a treat. Not sure what that means, but I liked hearing that. :)

So, obviously these things need to be tested and taken or rejected with discernment but the first one seems to totally line up with our heart for Brazil and our request that God would confirm his calling for us there. The second seems to also be a confirmation that being at the school is according to God's will and purposes to bring healing. And the third is consistent with the father heart of God giving good gifts and blessings to his beloved children. (I write all this so that you can pray and interact with Joy and I as we process these messages)

What a blessing from God today! But he didn't end there... tonight God did some more beautiful things for Joy and I through prayer. I'm sure Joy will blog about it soon. "And he will be called Wonderful Counselor" Isaiah 9:6

Thank you to all of you who are and have been praying for us, loving us, financing us, counseling us and supported us through all sorts of means and energy. You are a blessing from God and we have been feeling overwhelmingly grateful for you.

We leave for our 7 day break on Saturday (Friday in the US) and I think this blog will be silent during that time. I will try to blog offline and post our adventures when we return.

Day 41 - Prophecy

Wow... today was very interesting and amazing. After a couple hour teaching on tongues and prophecy, Phil Tate from a Vineyard church in Christchurch started ministering to us by telling us that someone in the room had problems with their hand. Two people did and he/we prayed for them... and he began speaking out things that God was bringing to his mind about them. For one of our guys God brought to Phil's mind the prayer that Moses prayed about God's presence going before them and after the prayer our guy said that he happens to pray that prayer every morning. WOAH!

Then Phil had the impression that someone had pain in their heels and my cousin Aaron stood up. Phil prayed for his heels (Aaron later said his heels started vibrating on the inside during that - I'll ask him tomorrow how they feel) and then he began to prophesy amazing things about Aaron and this his feet will 'swiftly' take him to many nations to powerfully preach the gospel. He said that he saw missions all over him.

Phil prayed for about half of our group individually this way and tomorrow he will pray for the rest of us - including Joy and I. I will report about that tomorrow.

Then at 3:00 we met with Steiger's treasurer for a little over an hour and she looked over our finances and gave us some advice. It was a very good conversation and very motivating. We have a lot of work to do.

After Joy and I went to the beach and talked for a while about what she said. Then I opened my daily devotional book (NT Wright's Luke for Everyone) and it was on Luke 16 which is about the parable of the shrewd manager and other teachings on money!! Funny how God does that - I love it!

After these two events I had that tender, peaceful internal feeling you get when God does a major work in you. Talking about money and being in the midst of the Holy Spirit ministering will do that to you.

Then tonight we had Luke over and ate dinner with him and our housemates Noah and Wendy. It was wonderful!

Day 40 - Profits and Prophecy

Mary Rose - steiger's accountant - gave us a lecture on finances, newsletters and fundraising all that good stuff. It was very, very helpful. Joy and I are meeting with her tomorrow to go over our finances with her and set some goals.

Also, tomorrow there is a guy who is a 'prophetic pray-er' coming. Apparently he is going to pray for all the students individually and give each of us a prophetic word from God. I've never been apart of such a thing, it will be interesting. I'll be taking what he says with a grain of salt, but I am open to what he has to say.

(By the way, I'll try and get some more pictures up - especially for the parade and drama. Things have been quite busy here and I haven't had much time put them up.)

Day 39 - Almost 40

Today, for our day off, Joy and I and the 5 others who are going on our journey to the South Island met to plan. We are excited to see the sights. 7 people in a 6 person RV!! It's amazing what missionaries will do to make a trip cheap!

Day 37 - From Wellington to Waikanae

Yesterday (day 36), Luke - our British friend, talked to another English woman who is a buddist after one of our shows. She had a son who was under 10 years old. They had a really good conversation because she was asking a lot of questions about God. Afterwards, Luke asked them if they wanted to come up to Waikanae and come to the church we have been going to. She agreed and they drove up today and went to the evening service at the church.

They both engaged in the worship as much as they could and afterward went out for coffee where she asked even more questions. She didn't end up making a decision for Christ but we are encouraged that she probably has a better taste in her mouth regarding Jesus.

Days 36 - Eagle Head

So I didn't wear a skirt... when I arrived at where our parade was going to start they handed me a ratty seagull-like/eagle-like head... "wear this"

So I did. We met by Burger King on Cuba Street and Vivian and formed our line of jugglers, marching band, a tall-bike, our storyteller holding onto 'the villain' with the rope... and me with flag wearing a ratty bird head.

At 4 PM the streets were bustling! People were walking every-which-way. We walked through it all playing our music and I was shouting 'HE'S GOING TO TELL A STORY'. We walked about 3 blocks 'til we stopped at an open space in the sidewalk and setup our stage.

And about 100 people watched our first show!! We were pumped! After the show our storyteller Nate explained the drama was actually about how Jesus pursues us who are broken and separated from Him. When the name Jesus was mentioned many people left but also many stayed and great conversations were had.

Here are some highlights:

* Aaron talked to a man who met us at the Gay/Lesbian Fair. He was a Christian but now he doesn't believe and is a gay man. He was really letting Aaron have it - "How can you guys setup a booth at the gay/lesbian fair with the views you have?!" "What about the levitical law - I mean you guys have tattoos and piercings, isn't that also banned?" But Aaron kept his cool and asked the guy to meet him for coffee. He agreed and they talked for a long time. The guy is a director and he really liked our show but he had critiques. So Aaron said, "well why don't you help us write our next show?" He agreed to help and gave Aaron his cell and e-mail. (I don't know if he really will help, but it gives us more time to reach out to him)

* I talked to a guy whose parents were both Pastors and when he was twelve his dad went off the deep end - depression, thinking he was Jesus and God the Father (age 16) and then began following Buddah (age 17)... So, needless to say, he was a little messed up in his beliefs. He was very impressed that we wanted to present Jesus by an unconventional creative means and then get to know people afterwards - and not just preach! He said he knows many Christians who have just preached at him and have not actually gotten to know him. I got his number and we are going to get together next time I am in Wellington!

Many more conversations were had and connections were made. Overall we think about 300 people saw our show! Praise God!

Day 35 - Crushed Velvet

We are just under halfway done with school! Like I said about 3 posts back, time feels like it is going really fast. Today was seeking God day and I spent mine at home to rest and get healthy - I haven't been feeling 100% for a while. I read, prayed, napped and listened to a Dave Johnson sermon since thedoor.org now has streaming video and audio. Dave looks good on Joy's video iPod.

 This evening was very fun. This picture is of some of the actors in this weekend's storytelling evangelistic event in Wellington. Can you spot Joy in this picture? Hint: She looks a big like the emporer on Star Wars. I am a flag waver in the parade. We are supposed to have a gypsy/pirate look going on. I don't have any thing close to that so I wore Joy's crushed velvet skirt... but I guess it looks too goth so I won't be wearing that tomorrow (I'm thankful).

Joy's role is to hold one side of the curtain during the show. Here she is with her hood on holding my flag. Isn't she cute?

The story is of a maiden who falls in love with a prince then gets capture by an evil man and his henchmen. The prince searches and finds the maiden, kills his henchmen and is about to kill the evil man when the evil man reveals that if he is killed, his killer must die too. The prince tells the maiden to run and then kills the evil man and therefore the prince dies too. This story is told by Nate who is very lively and has a very loud voice and also with actors and musicians. Nate then explains that we are like the maiden and although the prince is dead in the story, there is one who also defeated death. 

Tonight was our dress rehearsal. We rehearsed in a local park where there where some kids playing on the playground.
When we started our parade the kids ran over and followed us until we stopped and put on the show. Many of them watched the whole thing and heard about Jesus. They loved the show and were very bummed when we left.

After the rehearsal we returned home where Dirk and Gaby cooked us one final, BIG meal before they left. Which seems a little backwards since we should probably cook a farewell meal for them. But they love to cook and do it well so we let them cook for us. Nigel and Rachel (2 staff members) joined us and it was a beautiful and tasty evening. I really, really wanted Dirk to see Jesus here in New Zealand but we are running short on time here. Dirk has had a lot of Christians shove Jesus in his face so any discussions I had with him were a bit tricky. I believe God has a plan for a future revealation of Jesus to him and I will continue to pray for that but for now I see that our role was to simply love him and show him Jesus through our love. However, I felt the love of God through THEM because of their servant hearts!