“But if you were to ask me were these experiences worth it, the answer would be most definitely yes!”

Kia Ora Koutou,

When I first arrived, the question I found myself often thinking was, “Is it safe?” And if I’m honest, it’s a question that any sane person would ask! Especially one who had had food poisoning within a few weeks of arriving! Temperatures here are often in excess of 30°C, so thinking about things like “What part of the chicken is that and how long has it been sitting in the sun?” is probably a good idea. Recently, however, I realised that this is no longer the first question that comes into my mind when new experiences come my way. Instead, I now find myself thinking more often than not, “This is so worth it”.

In the past few months, I’ve had some amazing experiences as the relationships we have been praying for have continued to grow, and I’ve been invited in to take part in everyday life with others. I’ve had students give me cooking lessons after taking me to the market, and friends take me on a longtail boat ride to Grandma’s house so I could meet their extended family. I’ve even been stopped on my way to the market by the lady I buy my vegetables from because she wanted me to join her for breakfast! If I’m honest, I’m not sure all of these experiences would pass the “is it safe?” test. I don’t think that the scooter ride I had with my friend’s aunt would have been encouraged in New Zealand, and, as someone who is gluten intolerant, I probably shouldn’t have been eating dough sticks with a lady on the side of the road for breakfast. But if you were to ask me were these experiences worth it, the answer would be most definitely yes!

I think the most encouraging thing about these experiences is the way God uses experiences such as these to demonstrate his care for us. So often when we think about reaching out to others, we compartmentalise and forget all too easily that underneath our cultural and religious differences, we share, as a friend once put it to me, “a common humanity”. We, too, need friends, and I’ve really appreciated the way that, as well as placing me in a supportive team, God has made it possible for me to begin establishing genuine community amongst the people we have been praying for. Navigating everyday life in a country where you don’t speak the language is not without its challenges, and I’m super grateful that God has placed some amazing people in my life who have my back and are happy to help me with even the simplest of everyday tasks.

Teaching English remains one of my main focuses over here, and the academy where I work is a great platform for connecting with some of the young adults in our city. I now teach both the Pre-Intermediate and Intermediate English classes, and it’s been encouraging to have both some new students in these classes as well as some ‘old’ students who decided to keep studying with us. Some of these students I’ve been teaching for about four months now, and I’ve really enjoyed getting to know them better and having fun with them outside of class. My threats to give them double homework didn’t stop them from beating me in Uno, though! Alongside teaching, language learning is still my other focus, and the endless task of learning vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure is now well underway. While I still have a long way to go before I’ll be able to hold an actual conversation with someone, it’s been fun getting to the point where I can now do things like buy my vegetables from the market and order flat whites from a café in my new language. It’s also been encouraging seeing how people are genuinely excited when they hear that I’m learning their language, especially when they go out of their way to help me. Even things like trips to the market have now become lessons, as the lady who sells me my vegetables loves to teach me the names of what I’m buying.

If anything, the hardest thing is deciding which stories to share with y’all. In the past few months, God has continued to open doors, build relationships and lead us forward in our journey here. There are so many more stories I could share with you, and as I sit down and try and put it all into words, I’m reminded again of how grateful I am that you are partnering with me. To say life isn’t easy for many of the people here is an understatement at the least, but it’s encouraging to know that God hears our prayers and, like us, longs for ‘those walking in darkness to see his great light’ (Isaiah 9:2).

Ka Kite Ano

For prayer:

• Give thanks for all the ways our prayers are being answered. It’s incredible looking back over my time here so far, and seeing all the ways God has been active.
• For my language learning journey. Only a few people in my community speak English. Pray I might be able to understand increasingly more and begin having conversations with those I am meeting.
• For my community, that I might be able to continue making new connections, and relationships with the people I’ve met continue to grow.
• For the academy where I teach and for the students in our classes.

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