Wet Socks, Sandy Sleeping Bags & A Surprise
Gidday! Welcome to Week 3!
This week we have been busy out in God’s creation. We have been making the most of every inch of the Abel Tasman National Park as well as doing a deep dive into the Old Testament and all the events and people leading up to Jesus Christ.
We started the week bright and early leaving for Marahau and arriving at Abel Tasman Kayaks. We set off in teams of two enjoying the calm sea and stunning weather. Our journey to Anchorage Bay on the kayaks took us past plenty of native New Zealand fauna including baby seals! We also got to enjoy some of the finest Abel Tasman coastline from a lesser viewed perspective. On arrival to Anchorage we quickly made the most of the lovely warm weather and went for a nice arvo swim. Setting up tents proved to be more challenging for some than others. In our afternoon study with Peter we discussed the significance of God dwelling among His own people in Israel through the tabernacle. As well as how we can compare our relationship with God as similar to the relationship that Israel had with God in the days King David.
After enjoying dinner the group decided to enjoy the last of the light and went for a walk down the beach to explore the caves and islands at the other end of Anchorage. Zack proceeded to do the most Australian thing I had ever seen and caught a shark with his bare hands (no photo you will just have to believe). Back to the tents and in bed early with promises of heavy rain and rough seas the next day. On the second day we were rudely awoken by the intense attack of rain on our tents, some tents more waterproof than others. We spent the day enjoying some lovely quality time sheltering from the rain together. Plenty of games of Uno were enjoyed that day.
Peter shared his testimony and some stories from his work and how he has trusted, had faith, and brought glory to God through his work. He took us for a nice walk since the seas were too rough for our initial plan of kayaking further up the coast from Anchorage. We walked to the lookout at Pit Head and were glad that we were not out there, because the waves and swell were making the big boats look very small.
During a break in the rain we wandered down to Te Pukatea Bay and enjoyed watching the waves come crashing in. Watching the waves made us feel very small in Gods Creation. The rest of the day we enjoyed even more quality time together walking down the beach and playing games, getting to know the group and how we work together. Early in the night of the third day the wekas at Anchorage decided to engage in world wide weka warfare right outside the tents. This was a challenging sleep to say the least as the weka demonstrated the wide range of vocal talent that God has gifted them with.
On the third day of our kayaking adventure the weather took a turn for the better and the sun decided to shine once more. There was zero sign that there was a storm the day before. As the group dried out from being saturated in every shape and form we started our day with a nice study on the beach. We were getting stuck into the covenant God made with King David and how it was setting the stage for Jesus. We jumped in the kayaks after getting packed up and rocketed back to Marahau braving the mad mile and the fairly rough conditions, as well as some severe sea sickness. On the way back from Marahua Peter blessed us with a delicious real fruit ice cream, a first for most of the group. To top the day off we enjoyed a Mexican Dinner and an early night.
Later on in the week a new various activity was presented to us by Norm & Daryl. This activity would include the whole team getting to spend a day in one of the most beautiful parts of Gods creation in the top of the south. We were dropped into a lovely inlet via a boat. We traversed a well walked path mostly in the shade with a lot of ups and downs. We cruised along beautiful beaches with crystal clear blue water that just looked so appealing in the 27 degree sun. But we pushed on having some really great conversations with our fellow teammates and leaders, discussing some of what we learnt in the studies this week. We had covered some really good distance by the time we sat down for lunch. Everyone was really enjoying the day and enjoying the coastal views and the slightly flatter track.
After lunch we powered on the group was amazed by two things: the unreal views and the groups determination to get the job done. The whole day we were aiming to apply what we had learnt about dealing with pressure. The group was able to encourage one another and stay calm under pressure with Rachel leading the charge and setting a wicked pace. We were absolutely smashing the kilometres out. Our efforts warranted a decent stop to enjoy the sunshine and beach as well as some delicious cold back country milkshakes thanks to Zack.
With most of the kilometres having been covered we punched on for the final push. At this point the group’s feet and legs were starting to tire but spirits where still at an all time high with singing and very enthusiastic dancing from Susie and Elisabeth. The final stretch flew by as we crossed the finish line as a team. The feeling of euphoria and accomplishment was unreal. The whole group was so proud of our efforts and the fact that everyone made it. The whole group loved that we knew that we couldn’t have done it alone and only as a group supporting and encouraging and praying for each other could we have made it. What a day.
This week back at OTG Basecamp we also spent some time praying for the world, that the Gospel of Christ would be heard in all nations.
Thanks very much for all the Comments and Guesses of what was in the bag on our last Team Journal entry. Here is a story of how we caught what was in the bag:
Deep in the Waiwhero Forest we trudged along fighting against blackberry and gorse. We crest a hill and there we lay eyes on our prey. We begin the stalk with net and bag in hand. We tip toe down to the new home of our prey. The whole team lunges like a tiger as the … Wild Turkeys!…scatter in every direction. We bail one up in a gorse bush and Norm and Christy’s neighbour dives and spear tackles a turkey. One down two more to go. We then hunt the turkeys through the forest crawling through tunnels in the scrub under the pine trees. We capture another by working as a team to drive it out of the bush and onto the road. The last one comes bolting through the pine with Thomas in hot pursuit. Norm scrambles to capture it as it runs past but just gets away. It ran into the bush never to be seen again. If you haven’t figured it out by now it was Wild New Zealand Bush Turkeys in the bag (pictured below).
Prayer Requests:
Please pray that the team keeps engaging well in all the studies and continues to make leaps in our spiritual growth journey.
Please pray for physical endurance and strength as well as the healing of any injures and blisters.
Please pray for our leaders Norm and Christy for their continued energy and support towards the team.
Thank you for praying for our team!
Written by Thomas (New Zealand) & Zack (Australia) on behalf of the entire OTG Team!