New Zealand- To know God and make Him known

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends and family! I hope you have safe travels and eat lots of yummy food!!!  We had a Thanksgiving celebration here last thursday.  It was called the Love Fest! We had a week of blessing each other..it was Angels and Mortals (like secret santa). We drew names and had a “mortal” to bless and encourage all week. We got them small gifts, left them encouraging notes, etc. Then at the end of the week we had the Love Fest and found out who our Angels were. Our cooks, John and Amy, made us turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, homemade pumpkin pie, stuffing, even green bean cassarole. YUM! Then our staff put on a short presentation about why us silly Americans have aholiday about eating lots of food. It was a great skit. Did you know that the Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving too? They have it in october though. Anyway..so…I had a wonderful Thanksgiving and it was lots of fun.

THis website still won’t let me load photos onto it….for some reason I can’t figure out. But I’ve figured out a way to share photos with y’all. Just click on the links below to visit the photos I’ve posted on facebook. You’ll see the other students on my school here, photos from our Bible Ball (on halloween), the Love Fest, and our weekend activites to really beautiful places.
1. http://umt.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2041173&l=f6991&id=23502342
2. http://umt.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2041333&l=5f49c&id=23502342
3. http://umt.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2042582&l=6f62f&id=23502342
4. http://umt.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2042981&l=d2c3e&id=23502342
5. http://umt.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2043387&l=c095e&id=23502342

Check out the photos! Love ya all, have a super Thanksgiving!

There is an album on my ipod called the “hunger meal” that I got two years at Glacier Pres. Camp. I was working at the summer camp and we hosted a hunger meal for the high schoolers. There was a dramatization with music to educate the youth about the hunger and poverty in the world today. That same week at camp, we showed the movie “The Invisible Children” and held a discussion afterward. Being on the planning side of an events like thaese almost distances me from it. Listening to the music on my ipod without remembering that it’s about hunger is deadening to my ears. Last night during WAM night we were given worldwide facts on hunger and poverty. We discussed the root of the issue and what needs to happen in these nations. A student here mentioned that the fruit of the problem is their hunger, the root is the need for Jesus. It is not enough to just send food overseas. We need to spread the gospel.

After that we were served a world hunger meal. Out of the 35 of us, 12 people were given a small bowl of rice/lentils, 1 person recieved a plate with a sandwhich, salad and soup, and the rest of us (22 people) were given one spoonful of the rice/lentals. This was a representation of the potrions of food that most people around the world eat. I was left with this overwhelming feeling of guilt about the 3 meals a day I receive. But I know that this activity, and God’s will is not that we feel guilty…but hopeful and empowered. God has given us the resources to help people…what will I do? I was brought back to the time that i’ve volunteered at the food bank in Missoula, Mt and in Morton, WA. It brought me joy to serve these people. Now I am praying for direction about what else I can do.

After the hunger meal, we watched “The Invisible Children” documentary. I’ve seen it before and it’s broken my heart. I had already been made aware of the problem. But, what did I ever do about it? Nothing. I should have prayed about it…that’s powerful! The end of the movie now has updates about some of the children. I saw the hope in what these guys accomplished. They’re christians and they found a cause/mission for God.

One of the options mentioned in the movie was to walk a distance and sleep somewhere else, like the children do in Uganda. So, when the movie ended, we grabbed our packs (with sleeping bag, water bottle, pillow) and started walking. our leader walked us down the road for almost two hours (late at night) and we ended up at a barn. (some leaders from the base live 8K away). We slept in the loft of the barn as a group that night. It was a physical illustration of what these kids do every night…excpet I don’t walk in fear of being abducted.

It was a very powerful night and something that I forgot. If you have a chance to watch “Invisible Children”, I recommend it. May it change youre perspective as well.

God Bless,
Nicki

I feel like my time here at DTS has been a chance for God to place a mirror up to my face and asking me to open my eyes…to see myself, really see myself. It’s not a condenming mirror, it’s a loving gesture from God. He wants to heal and purify me. As I look into the mirror, I realize that I have a lot of work to do. I am a messy woman. But, the amazing part is that God doesn’t want me to change all by myself. He will do the dirty work with me. Praise God!