Church Serving Week

The purpose of church serving week is to do exactly that, serve churches. We split up into our outreach teams last week and got sent out all over the South Island to spend a whole week doing whatever needed to be done at various churches. My India team and I went all the way up to Blenheim to serve a church called The Elim Centre. This was actually the home church for one of my students, so he got an opportunity to spend some time with family and friends. We got to stay with different families from the church and we were so blessed by their hospitality. Me and another student named Laura stayed with an amazing couple. It felt like being home again. We spent hours talking over dinner about anything and everything, but mostly we talked about God. They were full of Biblical wisdom pertaining to politics, science, and life in general. It was mentally stretching, but so worth it to engage in meaningful conversation. Our team spent the day doing manual labour. They have a ministry that provides a fun place for kids on their school holidays. They have bouncy castles and a go-cart track and now thanks to our team, they have a mini-mini-golf course. We hauled a lot of dirt, dug out a lot of rocks, mixed concrete, cemented a patio, and prepared the ground for grass. It was hard work, but they were so appreciative of our help. We also shared testimonies at their young adults group and youth group, as well as helped out with Sunday school. Laura and I managed to convince the son of the couple we were staying with to come to church for the first time in a long time. I am continuing to pray for him.

We had an incredible week bonding as a team. I really like every single person and I'm so excited to spend 10 weeks with them in India. We leave in less than 4 weeks. Please be praying with us for finances and other logistical things. One student still needs 4,600 NZ dollars as well as her passport and visa. As a whole, our team needs $8,300. We are believing that God will provide and we are looking forward to seeing how He is going to do it. Enjoy the pictures.

Because some of you have asked, here is my contact info again:

YWAM PO BOX 47 Oxford,
New Zealand 7443

YWAM website www.ywamoxford.org

Prayer before being sent out to serve.

Kaikoura is on the way up to Blenheim
Probably one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Seal colony

The Lupi Family me and Laura stayed with

Picton
We went here on our day off to play and have fun

Our team with the associate pastor who helped with the projects

Jon cementing a patio

Zack and Nick building the crazy gold course