North Island Winter Conference

We have been at the Winter Conference now for a few days and it has been great! We got into the first day recouping from our day of traveling. We spent some of that afternoon and all of Monday getting the camp ready for the students to arrive. The New Zealand staff were very thankful that our team was so willing to ask what we could do to serve them and do some physical labor.

Our team has started to get used to the time change, but not the weather just yet. It has rained on and off every day since we have been here. It even rains when its sunny outside. Today most of our team was playing “sport” barefooted in rain and cold weather. It was a lot of fun, surprisingly for most of our students. They have really jumped into getting to know other students in their small breakout teams and are starting to get a better picture of the culture here. We had a little time together tonight after being put to work (we are more or less staffing this camp as a way to serve the New Zealand staff) and were able to enjoy a Kiwi delicacy, Tim Tam Slams. It is basically a chocolate cookie that you use as a straw to drink a hot coffee through before you eat it. You’ll have to ask the person you know on this project to bring back some Tim Tams and share the experience with you (see picture).

We have met some of the student leaders in Wellington and have walked through some plans to reach the Victoria campuses with the STINT (Short Term INTernational) team that has been in Wellington since September of last year. We are excited to get into the city soon and start to help the STINT team and student leaders to build up the ministry there. I heard the story of a student named Ryan today who had no Christian background and came to know the Lord because a friend of his who was involved in Student Life (aka Campus Crusade for Christ) invited him to church and then a Student Life meeting. His story was much more in depth than that, but it was so refreshing to see the joy in his eyes as he told his story of meeting Jesus for the first time. Then he said something that made look at my own faith. He said that even though he started a relationship with Christ about 10 months ago, he has been as excited each day as he was that day because he knows what Christ did for him. He was a computer science major, but now he wants to go into full time ministry. It was an amazing example of how God is drawing people to Himself here we get to be a part of that!

There are a few ways that you can be praying for us:
1) One of our girls is a little sick from the food here. Please pray for Amy Barton as she recovers and rests. It’s no fun to have to take yourself out of the project.
2) We are getting some pretty in-depth training in how to better share our faith and then we are getting the chance to go out into the town near the camp to share the Gospel. Please pray that God would go before us and prepare the hearts of the people we will talk to.
3) We are leaving here Friday morning at 4:30am!!! Pray for safe travel and that our team is able to get everything together to head out on time.

Thanks so much for your prayer and we’ll try to get updates here as much as we can so you know what is going on.

dave

Briefing in LA

We are finally all here! Our team of 24 has arrived in LA to start our briefing and I must say that I think we have an amazing team for this project. It has been very interesting to hear how each person here has overcome some sort of obstacle to be able to be here. We have had a great time getting to know each other already and it has been really encouraging already to see each student’s heart for the Lord. They are trusting that He is going to do something BIG this summer in their own lives and the lives of the students there. One of our guys, Greg Ellington, has already been quick to point out how he wants to do everything he can to grow. We had a short men’s/women’s time last night and our guys have started early to be open about wanting to have accountability, honesty, and the absence of pride be an integral part of the summer as we talked through Proverbs 17:17 and 27:17. I am excited about what the Lord has in store for each of them.

God has been doing some crazy thing to get our whole team to be able to go with us overseas. The Campus Crusade rule about support is bascially if a student doesn't have the support they need in, they can't get on the plane. In the past 12 hours we have seen over $4,000 dollars come in for our students! On top of that, one of our students still hadn't received her passport and will be picking it up tomorrow without having to pay extra! God is showing his faithfulness to us in a lot of ways.

Other than that we have just had a good time as we have gotten to know each other and hang out. Tonight we were able (with the help of my good friend Dave Kleinknecht and his girlfriend Lauren) to have a bonfire on a nearby beach. Quite a few of our students got to set foot in the Pacific Ocean for the first time. We hope you enjoy a few of these pictures from our trip to the beach tonight. It has been great so far. Thanks so much for your prayer and support and we will keep you updated as much as possible.

dave

The Daily Grind...Hostel & Campus

We'll be spending most of our summer living in Nomads Capitol Hostel. And we'll spend the majority of our days doing ministry at Massey University & Victoria University. Check it out!!

Check-Out the Scenery...

Can you believe we get to LIVE in Wellington, New Zealand this summer? How fun is the Lord that He would allow us to be a part of building his Kingdom - of helping bring other people to know Him & walk with Him - in one of the most beautiful places on earth?!?!

On top are some scenic pics of New Zealand!! The bottom three are pictures of the city of Wellington. It's the capital of NZ, a harbor town & a really cool city!!

And more staff...

We are SOOO grateful for your prayers as we plan for this summer. God is SO good to have brought the 3 of us together to lead this project. We're having a blast seeking the Lord & preparing for the summer.

Dave [hawaiian shirt] will be our Project Director. Lindsay [blue dress], our Associate Project Director. And Jenny [black dress] our Operations Director and our saving grace!!!

Meet the Staff

We as a staff team are
thrilled that God has called us to lead this project! Thanks for your prayers as we seek Him for wisdom, discernment, and creativity for the summer...






Our Staff Team: David Fladung, Lindsay Dasher, Jenny Lichtenheld, Brian Woolman, Cassie Pham, Chris Robertson & Lindsay Bohlman