Outreach week 2!!

Another update written by Alyssa Burroughs. Enjoy :)

WEEK 2 UPDATE  (9/15 – 9/21/2012)

Saturday was spent interceding for Costa Rica.  What a time!  God was speaking to us like crazy.  Janie ended up writing 3 pages of notes down for their team.  If you want to see the notes, let me know and I’ll have Janie email them to you.

The rest of the day we prepared for the 4 church services happening tomorrow.  Those leading worshipped practiced, Mandi, Tack, Jeromy, Jeff and I read through our scriptures, etc. 

After dinner, we treasure hunted downtown.  Andy and Thor broke off.  Mandi and Soph were a team and Tack, Jeff and Jeromy went together.  Janie and I went back to the liquor store where Kylie works, but she wasn’t there.  We ended up leaving a prayer/intercession note for Kylie and some chocolate.  The guy working in her place, Eddy, made a joke about not getting any chocolate…so we bought him some fudge and talked for about 15 minutes   Haha!  He was not expecting that at all.  Eddy told us quite a bit about his life story and showed us pictures on his computer of places he’s gone boarding.  No prayer.  We saw a man with crutches on the street.  His name is Dave and he recently tore his ACL.  Janie and I asked if he wanted prayer, but he said no (although kept talking to us and was very nice).  I think the best part of the night was going to CookieTime and meeting Jo.  She talked with us for about 15 minutes.  After sharing a bit of our life and hearing more of hers, we got her interested in the Youth Booth nights on Friday.  Jo is going to bring a bunch of cookies this Friday (hopefully) and hangout.  Also, she offered to give Janie a FREE pair of Jucy sunglasses.  Janie and I want to keep pursuing Eddy, Kylie and Jo.  There’s great potential for relationships in all three…hopefully prayer too!  Other than meeting plenty on new people, we are all still hoping to pray for God’s treasures.  He is moving in Queenstown.

SUNDAY

9:00am – St. John’s church service in Arrowtown.  Shane, Linda and Shayne were a no show   Bummer.  Murray, the pastor, was so funny and lively.  The majority of the congregation consists of 70, 80 and 90-some-year-olds.  There were a few under that age group, but not many.  I can see what the locals mean by “generational churches.”  It was a great time though.  All of us were able to speak with many of the members and love on them.  We made it a point to sit apart from one another.  The worship, scripture reading and YWAM introduction all went well. 

10:45am – St. Andrew’s church service in Queenstown.  Tack gave his testimony (which went very well).  Rev. Ian even referred back to it as he preached.  Jeromy and I read scripture and Mandi shared about YWAM.  It wasn’t as involved as St. John’s, but still wonderful.  We were able to mingle with quite a few members after the service and see the Korean church set up.  Next Sunday we are running the entire church service!

3:00pm – Glenorchy church in Glenorchy.  The church is the size of a shed and the congregation (apart from YWAM) is under 10 people.  We preformed the exact same service from St.John’s church this morning.  There was more discussion during the sermon since everyone could share in such close quarters.  We even got the chance to pray for one another.  After the service, we walked across the street to one of the member’s homes for tea and coffee.  All of them are such a family and love fellowshipping.  They were so excited to double the size of their service.

6:30pm - Freedom church in Queenstown.  Tonight, the 9 of us attended Freedom to wind down from our long day and chill.  We weren’t apart of the service in any way.  The worship was INCREDIBLY powerful.  The best part of the night was walking into church and seeing John (the street evangelist) sitting with Vashon (the Hindu man staying with us at the Shotover Lodge).  Ahhhhhh!  SO GOOD!  Tack sat by Vashon we both got the chance to pray for him that night.  Vashon got the job in Queenstown too!  And he wants to keep going to Freedom!  And possibly get involved with worship!  Our Father has such a plan for Vashon and is working in his life more than he realizes.  The sermon was perfect for him too!  Absolutely perfect!  After church, Janie, Thor and I went to CookieTime to see Jo.  She gave Janie the Jucy sunglasses and we know where she lives too.  I think Janie and I are going to leave her some written prayers…or something like what we did for Kylie.  It was pretty busy in the store, so we couldn’t talk long, but God has definitely put Jo on our heart.  

Monday morning we helped out a family from St. Andrew’s plant their flax bushes.  We were able to work 30 minutes before getting completely rained out.  After waiting the rain out and eating lunch, we went back to work only to get soaked once more.  Hopefully we can go this week or next to finish what we started.

The afternoon was gloomy.  That evening we went to Freedom youth.  They asked us to cook dinner.  Fellowship was fantastic.  Freedom and YWAM are really starting to bond   They all have incredibly huge hearts and accepting, inviting spirits.  After dinner, the youth went upstairs to discuss Ben’s testimony while YWAM stayed downstairs to hang out with the young adult group.  They were asking us about ministry opportunities in Queenstown and wanted to know what we’ve done so far on outreach.  It was a lax, open discussion.  This Saturday we are teaming with Freedom to do a skateboard/movie/BBQ night open to anyone.  It’s locked in!  Ministry is in progress…

Tuesday we snowboarded at The Remarkables. The boys all had a great time doing park laps and messing around with the GoPro.  Janie and Sophie hung out in the lodge all day.  Mandi and I boarded a half-day and tried some “gutsy” things in the park.  Not many of us got a chance to talk to people on the lift.  It was a slower day.  I did see Eddy snowboarding though, and the Chilean guy who juggled in the street from Saturday night.  However, they didn’t recognize me.  I wish I had Janie boarding with me to tag team talking with them.

Tonight was so great!  Everyone was busy cooking dinner around the same time as us.  We got to see John and Vashon.  Thor ended up talking to Vashon for over two hours about Christianity, Jesus, the gospels, etc.  Janie, Jeff, Andy and I were playing card at a table nearby and kept looking over at the two of them with huge smiles – we know God is at work!  Thor is awesome for stepping out in faith and taking the time to be with Vashon.  I feel a harvest reaping soon!

We fasted on Wednesday, as well as the Costa Rica team (although it’s Tuesday their time).  All nine of us started off the morning in devotion, encouragement and prayer.  Mandi emphasized Isaiah 61 to us.  It is the scripture for our outreach team.

Jeromy broke off from us that afternoon to rock climb with one of the Freedom kids.  It was the perfect opportunity to fellowship and grow roots deeper between YWAM and Freedom Church.

That afternoon the 8 of us went in to town for a few hours with no set agenda.  I met a worker in one of the souvenir shops, Angel, and recognized her from the last time we were in Queenstown eight weeks ago.  We spoke for quite some time, but after a bit of courage build up, Angel is going out to coffee with Janie and I tomorrow at 2.  It’s crazy how the Holy Spirit leads you to someone like that and sets up a coffee date without you even trying.  God is so great at planning!  Haha!  Wow…

Jeff and I saw a man with crutches near the waterfront.  We asked if he wanted prayer for healing but he said no.  Oh well.  We prayed for him anyway after he walked away.  Healing can happen without hands being laid on an injury.  A prayer has the same power   So, Jeff and I followed at a distance praying…and then all of a sudden…he started walking/limping with his crutches down the main strip of Queenstown!  It was nuts!  You’re cool God, real cool.

Tonight was Freedom Church’s mid-week service/bible study.  A lot of the same people from youth night went as well as new faces.  We ate dinner, chatted and had a GREAT night learning more about the fruits of the Spirit.  After, we broke into small groups and prayed for one another.  Awe man, it was a fantastic night.

Thursday was our day off.  All of us went in to town that afternoon to hangout and bum around town.

Janie and I had a blessed time with Angel.  She is 29, from China and moved to New Zealand less than a year ago.  Angel doesn’t claim to have a specific religion, although she has studied and practiced mostly Buddhism beliefs.  She asked some really tough questions about our faith, like: Do we ever doubt our faith?  How do we know God is real?  How do we explain judgmental, unaccepting churches?  It was insane!  Angel was extremely open to hearing us out and patiently listened.  I really wanted to talk more, but we had to leave at 3:15 to get ready for Snow Park.  I invited Angel to our skateboard/movie/BBQ night this Saturday though.  Pray that she comes!

Everyone except Janie and Sophie snowboarded at Snow Park tonight with SFC.  It was super fun!  We all practiced plenty of tricks.  Mandi bashed her head really hard after falling off a dragon box :/  She was in pretty bad shape tonight after we got home.  A doctor didn’t confirm it, but I think Mandi may have gotten a concussion.  Please keep her in your prayers and ask that her brain in protected and her muscles loosen up. 

Back at base:  Janie and Sophie got to hangout with John and Vashon tonight.  They watched the X-Factor for nearly two hours and chatted plenty.  Janie taught Vashon new songs on the guitar too!  I really think God is doing a tremendous work in Vashon.  Keep praying for him!  There was a definitely a reason why Janie and Sophie stayed back at base tonight.  Thank you Jesus for them!

Friday was spent preparing for St. Andrew’s service on Sunday.

Youth Booth was from 5-9.  We helped set up and worked alongside Nathan.  The kids were much younger this week.  We played computer games with a few of them.  The acoustic music was great and Tracy was there again with her husband Dave (one of the judges).  I invited them to St. Andrew’s tomorrow since they don’t have a set church to attend.  Hopefully we’ll see them Sunday!

Prayer Points:  Pray for Chenay working in the Shotover Lodge.  She attends Freedom and has been given many opportunities for ministry during work, but is a bit overwhelmed by it. Kylie, Jo, Tracy and Dave.  Continued growth between Freedom and YWAM.  Vashon, Vashon, Vashon.  Enough said.

Outreach week 1

Our first week of outreach has taken off and gone already. This update is written by Alyssa Burroughs, Thanks Alyssa :)

WEEK 1 UPDATE (9/8 – 9/14/2012)

Outreach started off attending the Snowboarders for Christ (SFC) conference on Saturday and Sunday.  We stayed at the Lakeside Christian Camp together.  It was wonderful to spend time with our Christchurch brothers and sisters and get to know the Queenstown SFC members better.  God blessed our time of fellowship during discussions, worship, games, meals, and free time.

On Saturday, a few of us (Thor, Andy, Janie, Jeff and I) treasure hunted in Queenstown.  Janie prayed for a girl, Kylie, in the liquor store!  God gave me TWO free water bottles from the pharmacy since I couldn’t afford to buy a new one.  No joke, I simply prayed in my head for God to give me a free water bottle, since they were are stinking expensive, and Catherine working in the pharmacy found two behind the counter and gave them to me for free.

The 9 of us drove to Wanaka on Sunday and spent the afternoon/evening there.  We worshipped outside by the lake for over an hour.  The snowcapped mountains and God’s beauty made it so memorable.  That night we attended The Lighthouse Church (where all the pro snowboarders attend). Instead of a normal sermon, we broke into small groups and discussed spiritual gifts, strengths, and weaknesses and pretended to be God’s “superheroes.”  We prayed for each person in our group and prophesied as God led us.  It was a late night.

I was incredibly encouraged by Janie’s testimony Monday morning.  Ever since we were in Queenstown the first time, she came back to Oxford carrying more fear than normal at nighttime.  It has been my prayer ever since that she would not be afraid and feel God’s presence and protection in the dark.  Last night she woke up and apparently was calling for me because she was scared, but I did not wake up.  Instead of persisting, she remembered God, felt safer and fell asleep relying on God.  It was so AWESOME to hear this.

From 2 – 5, all nine of us were out loving and blessing Queenstown.  Mandi and Sophie read their bibles in Starbucks.  Thor prayer walked around downtown and read his bible in McDonald’s.  Janie and Andrew sang and played guitar on the street.  They only played worship songs and made sure the guitar case was closed so no one could give money.  Jeff, Jeromy and I handed out free cake and hot chocolate.  Later, I broke off with Tack and we walked around the block seven times reading Romans.  Tack and I were able to talk with a chef on his smoke break and a hostess outside of a restaurant.  We weren’t easily approachable reading out loud and walking, but I felt like God wanted us to set up a spiritual boundary around that part of Queenstown.  It was so powerful.  The Holy Spirit was buzzing all day.  

Jeff and Jeromy talked to plenty of locals and tourists.  Everyone was amazed that we were handing out food and drink for free.  Once we ran out of cake and hot chocolate, Jeff and Jeromy went into the clothing store JayJays and helped work for free.  All of us had plenty of fruitful conversations and Amazon (the skate shop) said we were welcome back anytime to busk outside their store and handout free food.

That evening we went to youth night with Freedom church. We had a family meal, talked around the fireplace and shared a bit about YWAM.

Tuesday was our day off.  We moved all our stuff from The Lakeside Christian Camp to The Shotover Lodge in Arthur’s Point.  The rest of the day was spent relaxing or going into town if you wanted.

WEDNESDAY WAS POWDER DAY AT THE REMARKABLES!!!  Today was a blue bird, face shot, freshie, go bananas, jump-off-30-foot-cliffs, practice back flips, go-hard kind of day.  The Burton Stash park was open, there were no injuries and the mountain was remarkable.  Ha!  Hence the name…  

Andrew and I met a young man Merick.  He is from Australia and has been on holiday snowboarding by himself for the past week.  We ended up riding together for most of the afternoon, taking gnarly pictures off jumps and talking on the lift.  Andrew and I talked about YWAM and our mission in Queenstown and Malaysia.  Merick said he knew a girl who did YWAM and really admired her.  I’m just so glad we were able to love on Merick and keep him company that afternoon.  I don’t think he is a Christian, but today seemed like a positive interaction.  I know God is working on his heart and planning for a great harvest.

Funny side note:  the boys wanted to watch Mirror Mirror tonight.  They chose it without any input from the girls.  I love it!

Thursday we interceded for Arrowtown.  We are helping with the 9:00am service at St. John’s this Sunday and wanted to tell people about it.  As we prayed, Tack got gold, wooden wagon wheel, blue jacket and Bob.  I got a whole heap of stuff, but pharmacy and dog on a leash were the two words that matched up with anything.  

Once in Arrowtown, Jeromy and Thor went on a prayer walk.  Andrew, Janie and Jeff were busking worship songs near the skate park and then walked around town later.  They spoke with a couple people (Jeff was intrigued by the lady wearing a Whistler BC jacket).  Mandi and Sophie walked around together and later played guitar on a bench near the shops.  Tack and I went treasure hunting  together…literally.  It turns out Arrowtown was founded 150 years ago on gold mining/panning.  There were signs everywhere with word gold and outside the museum were multiple wagons and old wooden wheels.  God was really speaking to Tack.  We started off talking to Linda in the liquor store.  She told us all about Arrowtown and was extremely friendly.  I don’t think Linda is a Christian, but we invited her to church and told her what we would be doing there.  We spoke with a few people near the water, but no luck in inviting them to church.  Things started to get interesting as soon as Tack and I stumbled upon Shane, the local sculptor.  His business name, The Church, drew us in.  We chatted maybe 20 minutes.  Shane told us all about his business, life and religious views.  He was curious why we became missionaries and asked some tough questions regarding that.  Shane suggested we get a sticky bun at the coffee shop next door (since they are in the best in town) – instead, we bought him one to bless his day.  We might see him at church this Sunday!  Whoo!  At the pharmacy we ran into another Shayne (except this time a girl).  She remembered us from the Snowboarders for Christ conference.  Shayne attends Freedom and is hopefully coming to St. John’s too.  Tack and I asked if she had any prayer requests, and we lifted her dreams up to the Lord.  Shayne is a new believer and had some pretty demonic dreams recently.  Keep her in your prayers.  

Tonight was the SFC meeting at the Salvation Army church…but no one came besides Tim who leads the entire group.  I think it was God’s plan though so the 9 of us could hangout and bond as a team.  Whether that meant taking silly photos on the couch or playing ping-pong, it was a fun, relational night.  Janie and Andrew OWNED the ping-pong table though.  They won 10 games!

What an eventful Friday morning.  Tack, John (a local door to door evangelist) and I were able to talk to one of the guests staying in the Shotover Lodge about Christianity.  His name is Vashon.  He is from South Africa originally, but is trying to get hired as a card dealer at the casino in Queenstown.  Vashon is Hindu and believes that it is the same as Christianity.  Tack and John tag teamed the conversation and ended up giving Vashon a bible.  He seemed really open and wanted to know more by the end of the conversation.  Thank you Jesus!  Plus, we get to see him everyday in the kitchen while we cook at eat and fellowship 

From 6-10:30ish, we attended the Youth Booth.  It is a secular gathering for kids between the ages of 12 and 22.  There is a 4-week battle of the bands going on.  Tonight we were able to see 5 bands rock out!  Fi (who was in charge for the night) gave us different tasks – whether it was selling finals tickets, coke or candy, making tea and coffee for the judges, cleaning up afterwards or simply hanging out with the youth, the night was so fun.  I ended up talking to Tracy for about an hour, a 40-some-year-old local in charge of sound the equipment.  Her husband Dave was a judge for the competition.  She told me all about the struggles in her life, in the church, about Youth Booth and so on.  The Lord was leading me the entire time.  I didn’t ask to pray for Tracy, but said I would pray for her mortgage, for her to find a nursing job and the church she used to attend.  I will see Tracy again next Friday and fully intend on talking to her.  The coolest part of the conversation was her excitement about our missions in Costa Rica.  Tracy has contacts there that might be able to help with ministry opportunities and connect the 7 there in deeper ways.  She has my e-mail and will be giving me more information about that.  God is so good!

This concludes week one in Queenstown.  The feel is incredibly different this time around.  We are all so excited to see God’s plan in the coming weeks.  Some prayer points are: sleep, dreams, protection over rooms, fear, fear of man, God’s vision every day while we are in Queenstown (baby steps), safety on the mountain, peace over our budget, stepping out in faith, pray against the spirit of segregation, unity for our team, the Youth Booth, growth for SFC in Queenstown, and pray for the churches in Queenstown.  

People to pray for: Vashon, Shane, Shayne, Kylie, Tracy and Dave, Merick, Linda, Mel, Claire and Jackie.