A Midsummer Night's Dream

Hey hey hey once again mates! So I am in LOVE with the body of Christ!! Every day brings some crazy new adventure and opportunity to serve. Over the past week I have seen many georgeous things: waterfalls, rolling hills of green, moonrises from an authentic treehouse down under :), wild sunrises and sunsets, a whole different set of stars--except I can see Orion for some reason, the big and beautiful Pacific ocean from the end of a pier, the town of Christchurch from a large nearby bluff, I've had the privilege of interacting with the wonderfully energetic locals in "the square" in downtown Christchurch. I also witnessed my first ever RUGBY game! AHH! No pads, no forward throwing, no mercy! My favorite part is when the rugby players lift each other up to catch the ball before the other team can get to it. But don't think it's all fun and games! This last weekend I was blessed with the beloved one-time opportunity of WEEKEND WARRIOR: one of a band of four that take on all the duties of the whole base so that everyone else can relax and have fun. So mainly lots of time cleaning and cooking...yeah I definitely can't remember the last time I've helped make home-made cheese,chicken and spinach lisagna and apple-rhubarb pie for 70 people! And done dishes! HA! And I'm definitely on lunch dish duty this week! :) Laissez les temps bon bon roulez!
The social interaction has been just astounding. This is like some crazy combination of youth group, summer camp, a mission trip, peace corp and a really big farm family fully equipped with a cock-a-doodle-doo EVERY morning! Imagine 70 people together ALL THE TIME! We are really beginning to operate more and more like a family. Seeing the love of Christ alive and active in all of us is breathing life into me and circulation to parts of my heart that have long laid dormant. I realize more and more all the time what a rare and immense blessing and opportunity this time is. This morning we just prayer-walked around the town of Oxford and tonight we are playing touch-rugby or soccer with the kids in the community. I also went into the public school yesterday with some of my fellow "disciples" and got to observe and help the gospel being preached to 4th graders--in a PUBLIC school! Weird! On Sunday I got to go hear Brother Yun speak at a church in Christchurch (at least that isn't repetitive). Brother Yun has endured MUCH persecution in the Chinese prison system for his faith. He preached the message of freedom more passionately and desperately than I've heard in a long time. He had amazing stories of being behind maximum security doors with ankles shattered by hammers and just hearing the Lord tell him to get up and walk out...and he did just that-he could walk and the doors just opened before him. After the packed service, he prayed for our group and our missions and financial needs.
The lines between fun, service, personal time and "outreach" are getting more and more blurry by the second. I wore my infamous cowboy hat to the rugby game on Saturday night and some crazy kiwis behind us got a real kick out of it. Surprisingly enough God had bigger plans for that night than I anticipated--I spent the entirety of the game talking to the only foreigner in the group--Robert from Scotland--about what I believe and what real Life to the full is. He challenged me and my ideas in a more intense way than I have been challenged in a long time. It was basically an exam from God. I walked out of that stadium on fire with insane desire to see the lost around me find the Truth and to be able to defend it and know it myself in a more radical way than ever before.
The title of this post is so fitting because fantasy has officially blended into reality for me here in this beautiful enchanting land down under. I have been challenged to leave the world of limitations and familiarity behind and only bring the Truth that I have learned and the people I love into a whole new world of trusting God and letting Him change my perspective of Him and this world around me. We have started outreach preparation where we will begin to attempt to see outside the culture in which we were raised. Jesus is definitely the Truth for every soul to ever be breathed into existence whatever skin color or accent or flavor menu. I have been staying up 'til the wee hours of the morning just reading my Bible and writing and looking at the stars and listening to the "Jen-pody" (my ipod) in the treehouse on the base, and sitting in random barns in the rain :) And I know that I am being pursued and romanced by the Maker of me. I seriously encourage anyone who reads this to just spend a little time with the One who made you and see if you're not surprised at the mysteriously enchanting and soul-satisfying places He wants to take you. He knows you better than you know yourself, and crazy enough--you know him better than you think as well. :)
There is HEAPS more to say but I'll try and keep the chapters to this NOVEL to a readable length! And do continue checking the site because there are pictures coming soon! HA I'm so excited!
If you think of it, just be praying for God's Spirit to continue revealing himelf to all of us and working among our financial situation--there is much money needed by next Monday and there is some serious faith and intercession breaking out around here :) And be praying for the outreach destination decisions being made right now. There are six different options and I will know for sure where I am going next Monday. I can't wait to announce it! I am praying for all of y'all and can't wait to hear from ya. Feel free to post comments or e-mail me at ShredBetti@aol.com.