No Love For the Possum In Kiwi Country!

Well Week two was much more eventful than the previous week. I really got to experience some Northland culture in ways that I would never expect. Last Saturday we went to a museum of the Northland that was the equivalent of Heritage Park in Calgary. Pretty cute, because it was settler's day and volunteers were all dressed up in turn of the century attire. I got to try spinning wool and now have a contact to receive fleece in raw so that I can spin on my own! (That may prove harder than it sounds because no one on this island cares to spin or know anyone who still does, it's a dying art here.) 

We have spent most of our time this week praying over the students and cleaning the whole base, which is a fairly gnarly  job in it's self. On Wednesday however the staff was invited over to Grant and Glenda's home (local farmers that are involved with YWAM) for dinner and a possum hunt! We had the most amazing dinner, than set off in the dark to track over cow paddocks (fields) to find the loathed possum. We shot them with a very lovely 22, I got 4! However Grant thought that it would be funny to take one of the dead possum's babies that survived the fall and stick it on my arm, so I had a wild baby possum clinging to me- dripping in it's mother's blood as I was shooting another possum out of a tree. You can't buy an experience like that. Eventually the baby possum was taken off my head and then ran away. 

The days are getting much warmer- which is good because it was absolutely freezing for the first two weeks. The students arrive today, which is so exciting and nerve racking in it's self. I've just bought an amazing bike that I got 40% off, and am the envy of the base ;) because of it. Sun is shining, there are 5 swings to count all around this base, we are camping at the end of this first week and I am so excited. So many powerful and uplifting things have been spoken over this base and DTS, this school is going to be history making in YWAM! 

All my love,

Laura Yemen

Culture shock- There's no other way to describe it

Hi Everyone! I hope that a blog doesn't seem to impersonal, but with the slow connection and soon to be limited access this seems like the best option. 

My first full week here has been an amazing growing experience in patience. God is so kind and has made this place feel like home- everything was so familiar and everyone is so laid back it was great! 

I room with one other girl named Nikki from Fairfield Connecticut who just turned 22 on thursday! She speaks Japanese, a bit of Korean, German- quite the accomplished linguist. The dorm that we stay in can house 4, so we have plenty of space and our room faces East, so the sun streams in everyday at 7 am and fills the whole place with gold light. It is extremely tranquil here, and extremely cold! It's the kind of damp cold that chills you all day long. Needless to say I pound back the hot drinks like they're going out of style. The showers and bathrooms are outside and up across the courtyard for Nikki and I, so the mornings are a bit of stretch to get up and out.  I got a heater in our room the second night, which made a huge difference. There are three full time staff; Matt is scottish and is the DTS Leader, Mary is from Oregon and Is Base Leader, and Beks (Rebecca) is Kiwi and is my BLS Leader. There is also a couple here, Justin and Lisa that are from the greater New York area and are helping lead the DTS. So far our week has been simply relationship building and settling in- and let me tell you, that was a feat in itself. 

 

I spent the first few days were spent in complete disarray trying to get into some sort of routine. I can honestly say I've never felt so trapped in my entire life. There is NOTHING around this farm except more farms. The nearest town is 10 min by car- a car that I can't drive. There are maybe 3 cars on the road from morning until night, there's no where to go and no way to get there. As much as I'd like to think that I'm a country girl at heart, I was shown that I've nothing on these Kiwis! I am in at least three layers of clothes, long pants, mitts and a hat and the maintenance  man is running around in short shorts and a t-shirt whacking possums by the hot water heater (heated by a fire he lights with petrol) so that there is blood splattered on the next log placed on the fire. ( Don't worry, the possum didn't go to waste, he toasted it in the hot water furnace before feeding to the cows.) I'm not making this up- culture shock is the only way to put it. You can't romanticize the smells of the cows or the poo hanging from the lamb's tail. This place is one hundred percent authentic, just like the people that inhabit it.  

I'm quite pleased to say that after 8 days of orientation, 3 days of fasting and 2 trips into town I feel so great about this place and I already consider it my home. I really feel that I am exactly where I need to be for such a time as this. God is already moving powerfully within our group and on our base. This place covered in the favor and the grace of God and His presence is peacefully sought and easily found. There is a guitar here so that I can practice and worship. There are herbs growing everywhere and the lavender is in full bloom. There is a garden being tilled and planted and Lisa and I are slowly but effectively ridding this base of dust and grime! Tasks that would take me one day to accomplish have now been spread out over days and my primary objective is to spend time with God, and spend time with others. It is a beautiful and rich existence- that they tell me is short lived; the DTS arrive a week from Saturday. :) We are all excited and eagerly await their arrival! 

Hopefully this post isn't too long- but it was overdue. Hopefully I'll be sending these out on a weekly basis. For now I'll send my love and leave you with this:

Eph 2:10 For we are God's master piece, He has created us anew in Jesus Christ, so that we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.

All my love,

Laura Yemen