Well this has been a really sweet week..it started off with a little trip to Queenstown. We got to hang out as a team and relax a bit and do some sweet site seeing of this beautiful country. My favorite part was when we went to the ski slopes and slid down the mountain in our trashbags ...There we are with our trash bags (from left to right, Ben, Sean, Sheffey, Megan, Kendall, Sam). The next picture is Sean after we went down the mountain. It was really crazy trying to take pictures and videos, we found ourselves getting really frustrated with our cameras. What we wanted to capture and show everyone wasn't near what we were seeing with our own eyes. Looking at God's creation was overwhelming. I couldn't help but think in wonder and awe of His glory to be revealed.

After we got back from Queenstown we came and started back on campus just hanging out with people and trying to deepen the relationships that we have made. Last night (friday night) we had Wings/Texas Hold'em night and we had a huge turn out. The purpose in our Friday night House party is to invite the people we have met and to bring them into our house and deepen our relationships with them. We want to love on them and show them what our whole team is about. Last night was a success, there were girls that came that we had never met before and we were able to get with them and hang out and we have planned to hang out with them tonight and watch the All Blacks game (the huge NZ rugby game). So be praying that through spending time with these girls that God will open up doors to share Jesus Christ with them.

Megan & Elizabeth

Zoning In

We have divided the overall team into ministry teams. Each team (ours is Kendall, Nate Frantz, and Zach) has been hanging out with different groups of students we have met (usually first year students living in the same dorm). We have now started to focus our time and energy on those students. This has really helped us be intentional and specific with how we spend our days. We have grown to be good friends with several of these students and we are now praying and waiting for opportunities to engage them in spiritual conversation as we play basketball, football, rugby, and hang out around town. This is what we have been waiting for. It is a big deal. Many of us have either started to have these conversations or are close to. Please be in prayer for God’s supernatural hand during these times. It can seem very awkward or weird bring up matters such as sin and the necessity of Christ. But we fear God and seek to please Him, not these students.

Praise God! Last night we hung out with some key students we have really befriended. After watching a professional game of Rugby we went to eat some McDonalds. I was praying for good conversation, but the McDonalds we went to was crowded, dirty, and disorganized. There was only one spot in the corner (that allowed for conversation that was occupied that I was praying the Lord open up. Right when we received our food, the people sitting there left. We sat down and ate and had some general conversation. Then Zach asked to two of the students we were with, “Do you have any spiritual background?” They responded, “No, we know religious people, but we have never been or really talked about it. I always wondered what happens to a person after they die.” Then we asked them, “What do you think it means to be a Christian?” One student responded, “someone who goes to church, doesn’t curse that much, and doesn’t drink that much.” The other student said, “Someone who believes in God.” We talked a little about our purpose in life and whether religious issues are talked about with their friends. The conversation was going just okay until one of the students asked, “What do you think it means to be a Christian?” From this we were able to tell them that we don’t do things in order to be a Christian and be right with God. We told them about the issue of sin and how much God hates it and is going to punish us for it. We told them how Christ came and took that punishment on the cross and did that for us and that it is free. They looked surprised and said they have never heard that before (it is common that most students know little to nothing of who Jesus is). We asked, “What do you think of what we just said?” They both said, “It’s crazy how Christ takes all our sin.” It was hard for them to grasp the concept of someone doing that for them. The conversation was about 15 minutes, but it was what we were praying for. They were open to talking about it. God had given such a good friendship and trust with them that it was a genuine time. This is only the start of these conversations as we will try to meet with them with the intention of talking about the Christian message. At the end of the conversation I felt the relationship grow deeper by talking about more meaningful things and we look forward to having similar conversations. Thanks for the prayers. It was so exciting to begin sharing with the students we have been investing our time and energy in. May God be made know in these student’s lives.

Nate F. & Kendall T.

Opportunities!

Just a quick request! I would like to ask you all to pray for opportunities! At this point it is sometimes hard to know exactly how to connect with students! We have began to connect to some, but we are always looking for new ways! Please pray that God will open doors and that we will simply be creative! Thanks a bunch!

Sheffey

Hit & Miss

7/7/2010

Hit: Dunedin hosts the “world’s steepest street.”

Miss: The challenge is to drink a milkshake before running up it. I will post pictures of the street hopefully no milkshake incidents will occur.

Our team is slowly connecting on campus. So far our contacts have been pretty spotty as we try to connect with people. We’ve spread ourselves thin so that we can know where to take root in friendships. For me, ministry here can be like going on a date in the 7^th grade – unfamiliar, awkward at times, and wishing you knew better how things are supposed to work. We keep putting ourselves out there everyday, going wherever students are. It’s a great process, but we have exactly one month left! Please take a sec to pray for us to find our niches here on campus with just the right students.

- Sam Metzger

Hit: Everybody walks everywhere

Miss: “When walking down the street, it is abnormal to pass people on the right side of the side walk.”

Today, the implication of being in New Zealand coincided with the verse in Acts 1:8 which states “..you will be my witnesses...to the end of the earth.” We are practically near the “end of the earth” by being in New Zealand. It is amazing to see how God is bringing the truth of the gospel into the entire world as He promised! God is gathering a people from every tribe, language, and nation to worship Him forever. Also, the demographic on campus and in Grace Church is quite interesting. It is common to meet people from other countries like Nigeria, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the South Pacific Islands. This campus seems to be an attractive place to study and has the potential of raising up laborers that could easily go into all the world by students simply going back home.

- Ben Fennell

Miss: Apparently Rat-tails, Mullets, Jorts, and short shorts haven’t gone out of style since the 70’s because Kiwi’s think they are all still sweet as.

The Church body here has been super encouraging so far. Everyone we have met has been super encouraging, from the farmer we stayed with for a couple of days to young couples, and the elderly. The church here looks totally different than most churches in the states. It’s not the obvious things like size, building type, and worship style that are so inspiring. The culture here has left no trace of complacent Christianity.

Everyone in the church is passionate about seeing the Gospel go out. From Gavin the farmer whom we stayed with; by loving on the shearers as Christ did the Samaritan woman, to Bill sharing with his coworker, Austin (a former catholic ,now atheist) with patience knowing that it might be years before God changes his heart .

As can clearly be seen, the saints are being equipped through expository preaching to go out and preach the Gospel, not just inviting lost friends to church so that the pastor can do it. They own up and take responsibility to Acts 1:8. They are sharing the gospel in the workplace and neighborhoods and have a heart to see it reach the ends of the earth.

There is real fellowship, people don’t rush out the door as soon as the sermons over to get a bite to eat or catch the game; they sit around and talk about Christ and what he is doing. These people live out Hebrews 10:24 to the T. Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

The Kiwis’s in this church are passionate about taking the gospel out of the Church and onto the campus, and into the workplace so that people will come to worship the one true living God because of His Mercy and Grace. I hope that this description of the Church here would encourage and spur everyone on as much as it has encouraged us.

-Kyle Morris

Students, Soccer, and Sausages

One of the primary ways we have been spending our time is getting to know the Kiwi students that are already connected to the ministry here! Two of them are sitting on the couch between Nate and Kyle! The guy in the red sitting to the right of Ben is David. He is on staff with CO Australia. He has been helping Josh out with our trainings. He is looking to move to New Zealand and join Josh on staff here within the next year to help build the ministry.
One of the the primary ministries CO has to the campus here is to set bbqs on campus on the nights of major parties. The goal is to hand out sausages to students who have been drinking all day (literally). The thought behind it is to love on students and to connect with them. This is a picture of the line of half drunken students standing in line for sausages!
Though the sausage ministry I was able to meet a few girls that play soccer for Studholme college. Megan and I were able to go and play soccer with them on Saturday morning! We are hopeful that this will give us an opportunity to meet tons of girls! We were able to go hangout with a few of them later Saturday evening. We are praying that our relationships deepen with them quickly! From left to right Elizabeth, Claire (kiwi), Emma (kiwi), Me, Megan, and Kate (kiwi).

Some of the guys have been hanging out with a few of the first years that live in university college (a college is similar to a US dorm). Top right next to Sean is James. The guy on the right of Kyle on the front row is Duffy. James and Duffy have been spending quite a bit of time with our guys over the last few days. Pray that God would continue to deepen the relationships between these guys and our guys.
Please continue to pray for the deepening of relationships and the opportunity to make the gospel known to each of these students! Thanks a ton for your support!
Sheffey

Head colds, ministry, and the Sovereignty of God

Well, it has been an interesting two weeks and right now a couple of us have what I can only describe as the Kiwi brand of the common cold. God is good and He is providing strength and energy to see us though it. I can’t remember the last time I felt this energetic while having a cold bug. I’m typically pretty worthless when I'm sick. I’m usually the guy who crawls into a hole and hides until I’m all better, but that hasn’t been necessary. The other guys (or as we say here: “blokes”) on CCP are all really encouraging and challenging to be around and they have been God’s chosen vehicle to energize me as they spur me on to love and good deeds.

Pray with us as we pray for physical wellness. My hope is that we will all get well soon but more importantly, my prayer is that God alone would be enough. My prayer is that He would be satisfying and sustaining above all else. "Jesus minus everything equals salvation. Christ plus nothing else equals satisfaction." God will teach us great things about Himself as we rely on Him for energy and strength. Our head colds in New Zealand are nothing compared to the sacrifices made by saints world-wide. The suffering of those saints pales in comparison to the cross of Christ. Our team will be just fine.

I got the opportunity to meet some Kiwi students last week and managed to get their phone numbers so we could meet up and chat some more. The first student I really got to meet on campus while we were doing some outreach was a guy named Tom. Tom is a really funny guy. I’m hoping that we will get the chance have lunch with Tom and his friends this Friday. A first year student named Josh Cole invited me and some of the guys to come hangout with him and his friends at The Cook which is a local tavern. God opened up some doors during that time for future conversations and my ministry partner (Sean Stallings) and I hope to hangout with Josh and his friend Brian this week. I met another first year named Peter and he invited Kyle Morris and me to play rugby on Saturday with his college (dorm hall). He and his hall mate Nathan will be seeing more of us in the next week. Please pray for Kyle and me as we get ready to play rugby and connect with another dozen or so students.

In and over all of these relationships that we are building, God is Sovereign. And the Devil is powerless to stop what God wills.

-Nate X.

“In the end, the gates of hell couldn’t shut us down.” -Lecrae Moore

Footy with the Kiwis

This past week was the first week our CCP team started laboring on campus. We have met many students through sporting events, hang outs, and going to campus events. The guys on our team decided to play flag football every Friday and eat dinner at our place afterwards. Many of the people we met we invited to play flag football. The kiwi guys were really excited to have a chance to play some American football, since rugby is their main sport. Many of them watch it, and know how to play, but it is not played that often. There were around 15 students who came out to play. It was funny seeing how excited they were to play and try using their football terminology. One student on the winning team said that when they won, he felt like they won the super bowl. This is a very significant event where we can develop momentum with the ministry and build deeper relationships. The students we have been meeting are starting to turn from acquaintances to friends. We are all thankful to God for giving us favor and being able to build relationships in such ways as playing American football.
Something we have started doing is grilling up free sausages to drunk people. We did this three times this past week. By doing this we are able to show them the love of Christ by serving them and it is also a great opportunity to meet people. This has been helpful in meeting a few students and meeting up with them later. It is cool to see there responses to the act of loving kindness. It really shows how the act of serving people physically is a great avenue to serving them spiritually as well. It doesn’t make sense to people what we are doing. When they ask why, it provides a great avenue to tell them the reason we do it is because of the transforming work He has done in our lives. When thinking how Christ came to serve and give His life as a ransom for many it is so easy to ask, “Why”? It has been transforming for us to see that when true Christian service happens, it leaves the world wondering “why?” and the answer is always Christ.

Please be in prayer for us as we start to develop relationships. Developing deep relationships with trust with a few select students is huge. We do not want to spread thin and make little impacts, but we want to go deep and make life long impacts in people’s lives. So please pray for some “key guys” that we can really start pouring our life into.

Nate Dog and K-Dog

A sweet week in Dunedin!

Well this week has been such a blessing. God is teaching me so much about His faithfulness.. A few nights ago we went to a party at one of the girls flats (house) that Sheffey met on campus and we met some sweet girls and had some cool conversations. It is so cool how God has already given us favor in the eyes of some of the kiwi's we have met. One of the girls that Elizabeth met came to our dinner and hangout last night. They are just so open to hang out with us. I have a lunch date with one of the girls Tuesday and I know Elizabeth will be hanging out with one of them this week and Sheffey has a coffee date planned as well. So be praying for these reationships that these girls will open up to us and we will be real with them and bold and love them. This morning Tess, Sheffey, and I played soccer and joined a team with some girls and we will be hanging out with them later today. Its so exciting how God has already opened up beautiful ministry opportunities..So please be praying for us as we labor on this campus!!

To see an article and pictures from the big party Tess was talking about, check out this website.

Just Another Semester in Dunedin

Every semester starts with a huge party, in every sense of the word. It was probably the craziest thing I have ever seen. And it was really sad to see these people worshipping at the idol of drunkenness among many other things. Please, please pray that God would break down this idol. He is worthy of all the students' worship.

As everyone was partying it up and burning couches and stuff, some of the college ministries cooked sausages on the barbie (barbecue) and gave them to the students. It was amazing even in the midst of all this how thankful the students were. The would ask, "Why are you doing this?" We would respond by saying, "We are Christians and we just want to love you in a real practical way, by feeding you sausages!" My 'American' accent also lead it questions of why I was in Dunedin which would lead into a spiritual conversation sometimes. Please pray for the students there are so many out there that don't know the truth or have partial truths or know they are living in sin and know the truth but they are so hardened. Pray for V. and Johnathan, and tons of the other students we met tonight why desperately need the Lord!

Pray for us as we start our first week of ministry on the campus. We have already made some good friends with our fellow Christians! Pray as we meet their non-Christian friends, get students connected with the ministry, and pioneer here on campus seeing as though the ministry is only 1 1/2 years old.

Thanks everyone for your prayers! Don't stop! ;)

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus" Philippians 2

The Trip

We are finally here....but it took a little while to get here:) Here are some snapshots from the trip. To the left picture is Zach weighing Sean's luggage! Each bag that we checked had to weigh less than 50 lbs.
The right pictures is the 3 girlies hanging out the night before we flew out!


Here we have Allisa Hodge on the left and Ruthie Martin on the right! The Hodges and Ruthie drove us to the airport! Thanks guys!

The left picture was taken during one of out layovers. We were in transit for 33 hrs total! We had different flights. We were thankful that the traveling was VERY smooth. We praise God for the opportunities we had to share Christ with many people during our flights and layovers. The airports being full with people from all over the world present wonderful opportunities for cross cultural evangelism.
The picture to the right was taken during our 13 hour flight from the U.S to Northern New Zealand. It was LONG:) Sam and Nate are sitting in front of Megan and another passenger.

One thing that has been tripin us our has been the driving. In New Zealand they drive on the left side of the road! It is really different!
Everything we had always heard about the beauty of New Zealand was so so true! I only wish these pictures did justice to what we really saw! It is absolutely gorgeous here!!!


One of the first things Josh (the campus director here) had planned was to send the team out to Farms outside the city! He wanted the team to get a taste of what he called "true New Zealand culture". They had the opportunity to on sorts of things on the farms and to see the beautiful New Zealand countryside.
Zach and I got to stay with Josh and his wife Kirsten. We had the opportunity to rest and to get to know them better. It was wonderful! They love Jesus so much and love the campus! We are very excited about parternering with them these next few weeks.

New Zealand!

Hello everyone! It is great to do a little blogging to get you guys caught up on what has been going on around here! Well, as someone has already mentioned from Cookeville to Dunedin, N.Z. was 33 hours of travel. It was a great time with the team and meeting new people on the flights. The first Kiwi I met was in the L.A. airport . She saw my Summer Mountain Project t-shirt which had Psalm 27:4 and said as I walked by her, "Sister in the Lord!" I sat down with her, and we had a really good time of fellowship in the Lord!

The plane over the Pacific was intensely huge! We each had our own little screen where we could watch movies, t.v. shows, listen to music, etc. I sat beside Elizabeth and a Kiwi who was in Canada teaching some teenage boys how to sail. It was cool talking to him and actually hearing some of the slang that Kiwi's use from a real life Kiwi!

It has been great being here! Josh and Kirsten (the couple leading the Campus Outreach New Zealand). They really love Jesus! We have been getting used to Kiwi culture the last few days. We all stayed at farms from Wednesday evening through Friday evening. I learned a lot from our hostess Mrs. P (we called her Granny!) She loved the Lord with all her heart and God was the topic of conversation! I loved it. It was great to see a working farm. She (and her sons) work really hard to keep things running. It was great to see Kiwi resourcefulness and hard work. It was beautiful there, far above what I could ever do justice with words. We helped move some cattle up the road about 6 miles. The whole thing was great experience! When we got back we went to a lookout on the top of a hill which gave us a birds eye view of all of Dunedin. Saturday we shopped and went to watch a rugby game ( every Kiwi supports the All Blacks!) Today we went to Church. It was great worshipping with the Kiwi's.

I am just praying that I would desire God above everything. Josh said he is praying Psalm 63 for the team this summer. We are praying for favor with the students as they start school tomorrow!

We've Landed!

We have landed! After being in transit for 33 hours, we have arrived in Dunedin. It was an exciting ride over, with many opportunities to share the gospel on the plane and in the airports for our team members. After landing and unpacking in the Grace House (Where we will be staying all summer, right in the middle of campus) different teams of students went to stay for a couple days on different farms with families in Dunedin to have time to adjust and learn about New Zealand culture before the students arrive on campus for their Winter Term. Zach and Sheffey stayed with Josh and Kirsten Eyre, the Staff team here to finish planning and make sure everything was ready to go for the rest of the summer. There will be many pictures posted soon of the landscape and probably the farm stays. We will finish orientation over the next couple days and then the students will arrive on campus and it will all really begin!