Narnia!

For all you non-facebookers, this is for you!

Just had to post about my day yesterday before I forgot.

Yesterday we took a 3 hour road trip north along the coast up to the Coromandel peninsula. There we went to a beach called Hot Water Beach where what you do is you bring a shovel, you dig a hole in the sand, and hot water bubbles up and it forms a natural hot tub! then just a few steps away is the NZ ocean so you can run back and fourth to cool off, then get warm again. It's such a crazy concept... there are even spots in the ground that are way too hot to step on! So during low tide, the beach is full of people who have dug their holes and are lounging in their personal hot pools. So great.

This is one side of the beach- unfortunately you cannot see where people were digging holes in this picture.. sorry. But this is where it is.

This is a picture of me and a few of my friends (L to R) Stian, me, Janessa, and Hannah standing in a shallow hot pool we helped dig. We hadn't changed yet but after that we got in our bathingsuits and got in :)












Then we left the Hot Water Beach and continued on 5 minutes over to Cathedral Cove! This is where one of the opening scenes in Narnia: Prince Caspian was filmed!

 This is me at Cathedral Cove!

And this is Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy and Cathedral Cove!

So anyway I just thought I would share that with you before I forgot..

Cheers friends!

He is our strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.

It's March 14th and we are halfway through DTS (including outreach)! Crazy to think that my time away from home is halfway over. I have really mixed feelings about this because it is so completely amazing here and I feel like I never want to leave.. But at the same time I miss everyone from home and cannot wait to see everyone again and hug you all. In saying that, I have really been trying to make the most of every moment I have here.

This week our speaker is Frank Naea, a well known YWAM speaker and 'elder' here in New Zealand. Like a few of my friends who know him have said, Frank is the man. Each day of this week has been really unique and hilariously fun.

From Monday to Wednesday afternoon, we had 15 people from a DTS in Auckland come and stay with us! They came primarily to hear Linda Cowie (one of the founders of this base and an amazing pioneering woman of God) speak to them. It was an incredible blessing to have them here with us. The base was SO full and there were lots of dishes (haha) but it was up there in the best days here at the base. On Tuesday we did something really cool. Instead of sitting and listening to a lecture, we gathered as separate DTS's and prayed and asked the Lord how we could bless the other base, and they did the same for us.

So we prayed for about 10 minutes and then shared what we felt the Lord was telling us, and then we brainstormed and expanded those ideas. What I got was a picture of their DTS gathered in the centre and our DTS was standing around them in a circle praying for them. I also saw a picture of a big bon fire and everyone singing and just having a good time around it.

A few other people got the same pictures as I did, or similar, and some people for some different ideas too. So we compiled them all together and we ended up praying over them just like I had seen, singing Maori songs for them, and we had a bon fire that night with them, sang songs, shared stories, ate marshmallows, and YES, we did star tip!!! (for all of you who know what that is) :) Then we ended the night with going to see the glow worms on our way up from the valley, and when we got back up to the base, we were greeted by the most beautiful starry night sky I have ever seen. It was the most bright stars I have ever seen!!! Thank you Jesus!

Here's what they did for us.

They seated us all in the dining area and slowly they all came in with buckets of warm soapy water and towels. They washed our feet and prayed for us. What an amazing, humble thing to do. I was so honoured and blessed that I couldn't help but tear up... I couldn't believe that them, as the guests at our beautiful base, were washing OUR feet. Wow.









That same day I got to go and help the passion fruit farmer with his fruit! We basically just weeded.. but still.  A passion fruit farm! Pretty much in our backyard! there is also a kiwifruit farm right beside it but it's not time for that yet.

Yesterday was another really awesome day filled with Samoan dancing taught by Frank, car washing for work duties, and outreach meetings (which are always hilarious.)

And I thought I would leave you with a picture I took of the beautiful New Zealand morning sun beaming through the ferns and trees as I walked down into the valley...

God Bless.

Desirae
desiraekarperien@gmail.com

Well, just when I thought my time couldn't speed up anymore, it did. ha!

I've had a lot of really, really good days lately. God has been moving in big ways in me, through me, and in our school!! Every day I learn something else or experience something else that just blows my mind. We can't put God in a box because He is bigger and better than anything we could ever get from this world.

This week was absolutely crazy. It was a really hard week with the topic being Spiritual Warfare, and by far the longest week for me, but looking back on it, spiritually, probably the best week so far! I learned something big this week- something that I struggled with all through my life, mostly in high school. There's a quote by a man by the name of Jeremy Begbie, "The secret is not to retreat but to discern." I have always disliked when Christians separate themselves from the world and just isolate themselves in their own little world. So I have never been one to remove myself from the ways of the world, but to participate in them thinking that I would gain knowledge from my experiences.

I learned a big lesson. There is a huge difference between removing yourself from the world (which is unbiblical) and discerning yourself while being a part of the world. I learned that we as Christians can be in this world, without being of it. God created this world for us to live in and to reach all corners, far and wide. He didn't say for us to isolate ourselves and just be Christians in our own little boxes, but to go and reach the oppressed and BE Jesus to the non-believers.


A few exciting things that I've done over the past couple weeks: stayed overnight in a traditional Marae, a Maori meeting place where traditionally, they would all sleep and live! Learned lots about the Maori culture and the history of it. So cool!

This is looking into the Marae from the front door- we all slept on the floor in here!

Also, my mom sent me a big package with a lot of stuff from home that I dearly missed. One of those things being Tim Hortons coffee! So she sent me a can of coffee grounds and a few cups from Timmies. :) Made me so happy mom! Thank you!! And you know whats cool? Everyone here knows what Tim Hortons is now. There are people here from 11 different nations. Yeeeaaa Canada!!

Also, last weekend I had another opportunity to go sailing! We sailed around and had lunch on an island :)

This is Part of our sailing group! Left to right- Stian from Norway, Jenessa from Pennsylvania, Me, and Espen from Norway! The sand here is like sinking sand- so squishy. We had fun. haha!


This weekend we started 24/7 prayer in what we call the 'God Pod' (just a small portable room outside of the centre). We have been interceding for our outreach teams and the countries that we are each going to. So basically if you dont know how 24/7 prayer works, we each have 2 hour shifts that we sign up for so that there are always people in there praying, 24/7. We started two days ago and we are going to be doing this every weekend now! God has spoken loudly and clearly to us in there and is continuing to give us scriptures, words, pictures, etc, for each outreach team. I have never been involved in something like this and it just fascinates me how our little sacrifices of time mean so much to God, and he takes that a multiplies it. It's awesome.

It's March 4th here and its crazy to believe that I will be leaving on outreach to Papua New Guinea and Fiji in just over a month! The ball keeps rolling with the planning and organizing.. Our flights are now booked and we are continuing to figure out the details and budget. As of now, I have a large need for money. I am short approximately $3,000 as our flights were much more that we thought, having to travel during easter and since we are going to such remote places, some of the flights are rare and expensive. Having said that, God has never left me with nothing and I will get there one way or another. I have no doubt that I will get the money.

Our God tells us to call on our brothers and sisters and work with each other, so here I am, calling to you and asking that you would a) join me in prayer for our team and b) give. I have experienced for myself that with the small amount that I give, God takes that and multiplies it. He honours us when we give with glad hearts and blesses us abundantly in return. I pray that you would decide to be a part of my journey through prayer and giving money.

Thank you to those who have been praying and have given to me. I have seen the results of your faithful hearts and look forward to seeing more and I hope you do too! God is doing HUGE things in our world! Are you ready?

I send my love and prayers and may He continue to bless you and keep you.

P.S. Email me! I would love to hear from you. desiraekarperien@gmail.com

how long do we have to wander through this forest?

Kia Ora :)

Firstly, sorry its been so long since I've wrote an update. Things have been happening here and I've been extremely busy with everything that's going on! But these things have been good things so ya. haha! Time has absolutely been flying here. I cannot believe that my time in New Zealand is over 1/3 over!

Well, outreach locations are decided and the planning is in full swing! Last week we prayed a lot and as 4 different teams, decided where to go for our 2 month outreaches.
My team has 8 people on it plus our leader's husband and 3 year old son. God has called us as a medical team to go to Fiji and Papua New Guinea!! So for one month, we will be in Fiji and the next we will fly to Papua New Guinea. Besides the location of our outreach, I also have something else extremely exciting to announce..

Being on the largest team with only one leader, Nesi, there was a huge weight on her shoulders to plan our outreach. And there is absolutely no way that she would have been able to do it on her own. The leaders have been praying about this for a while and just unsure about what to do but they decided that they will need a student to, for outreach, be a leader and for the time before we leave, be a part of the planning process, attend meetings, make connections with people in Fiji and PNG, help figure out accommodation and plan a budget- things like this. So last week Nesi had word from the Lord that I was to be that person! She continued to pray about it until she got confirmation. So she did, and she told me of this and I accepted, nervously, but knowing that this is from God. I am so excited for this!!!! So we had our first outreach meeting last week and the leaders prayed over me and I was annointed as a leader for outreach!

Okay, I know that I have been called into leadership in many areas of my life, but I'm just blown away by this because it serves so many purposes. The first being a HUGE learning experience, the second being confirmation from the Lord that I am called to be a leader and that He has placed this over my life for many reasons! I believe that my heavenly father will guide me through this because without Him, this will not be possible.

So, ya! That was my week last week.. and this past week was an awesome week for lectures. Our speakers, Matt and Cora, spoke on relationships and everything fun that comes along with that topic. It was really eye opening and I honestly enjoyed every minute of it.

Yesterday we took a day trip as a big group to Rotorua- a tourist-y town about an hour south from us. The main thing that gives Rotorua its identity is it's smell.... sulfur. Rotten eggs. So gross! It comes from the bubbling hot springs and the bubbling thermal mud pits. So we did the tourist thing to do and went and saw the thermal hot spots, but on our way there was the best part. We stopped to tramp around in the jungle where there are some waterfalls and ended up being there right when there were white water kayak races going on! So that was awesome, and we drove a bit more and went and wandered around a really big redwood forest. So great!

By the falls

The Redwood forest with Jenessa!

We finished off the day at the mount where a few of us went night swimming in the warm NZ ocean underneath the starlit sky :) It was actually my first time fully immersed and loving it in the ocean! Ever! Not that I haven't had the opportunity.. but I really should have done this sooner. The water is SO warm.

So to finish all of this off, just know that I need your prayers as I will be taking on a huge role as a leader for outreach. Pray that Nesi and I will have unity in our decisions during the planning for our 2 month outreach, and that we will be able to hear and follow the voice of the Lord in all of this. We also need prayer for the finances to come in as a few of us are still very much short of our funds. We don't know how much it will be exactly as we have only barely started on our budget, but I just know that there are a lot of us, one being myself, who still need a lot of money. So please pray that the funds will come in generously and in time.

If you want to give financially, or just have questions for me and would like to chat, email me at desiraekarperien@gmail.com ! There are a lot of different ways to donate money to me so we would be able to figure out the best way that works for you.

Thanks everyone for the many, MANY prayers that have already been said for me, it brings me to tears to know how many people I really do have backing me up in prayer and encouragement. Thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!!

I send my love from down under!

Desirae

Missio Dei

"So then, friends, because God's great mercy to us, offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing o him. This is the true worship that you should offer." Romans 12:1-2 MSG

Coram Deo: All of life is lived before the face of God

Faith cannot be trapped by past experiences

These are just a couple of the many, many things that I took away from this week of lectures. We had an amazing speaker come in this week, Mandy Hudson. She has been all over the world speaking at DTS's but during a normal week, she is a probation officer in the community and works with people who have been to jail, counsels addicts, etc. She's pretty hardcore. Anyways she spoke on hearing the voice of God and the history behind it. We learned a lot about Desert Fathers, Monasticism, Reformation, Evangelicals, Missionary Pioneers, and Revivals. That was so cool cause I had always heard of these things but never really taken the time to learn about them. The teaching was so awesome, Mandy was so real with her thoughts and feelings. 

Couple pictures from lately!

 

at the beach in Tauranga

 Corianne and I on the mount (Mount Munganui)

The group! Marine Reach DTS 2012

 This week we did a lot of interceding (group prayer) on behalf of nations that have been affected by genocide in the past and the current genocide going in in Darfur. That was really eye opening because I have never really done something like this so regularly. I really like that I'm becoming more aware of what is happening in the world and being able to involve myself through prayer.
We also had a nice worship time in the valley followed by a huge bon fire, staff testimonies and roasted marshmallows! By the time the weekend rolled around, the internet hadn't been working for a few days and I was tiiiiired. So I took Saturday and read my book all day and just chilled out. I had the most relaxing day ever- I couldn't believe how bad I needed it. Sometimes we just get so caught up in the events of the week and not realize how much we are burning ourselves out. I do that. too often. haha! The internet started working again on Sunday and everyone was able to connect with their friends and family once again.

On another note, I got some really good news from home that I have been accepted for fall semester to Mount Royal! whohooooo!!!!!! Praise God.

 I hope you all are doing well at home, I think of everyone often and I cant wait to share stories with you in person!

Love from New Zealand <3
Desirae

togs, togs, togs

First week of lectures= complete! and what a week it was. Our speaker this week was Jesse Misa, who spoke on the Father heart of God and God's nature, personality, and character. Every day kept getting more and more interesting and by the end of the week I didn't want it to be over!

This week I just have really realized how much we need God. We go about our lives thinking that everything depends on the choices we make and worrying about everything from the price of gas to our school marks. We live in such a finite world yet we serve have an infinite, omnipotent, all potential, and omnipresent, unconditionally loving God. He is gentle, kind, and cares about the little things!  I am learning more and more of His magnificence with everything I do and see here!!


Along with the awesome lectures this week, I also did a lot of other stuff! I climbed the mount in Tauranga with my small group and watched the sunset, it was a challenging climb but the view was amazing and we  had such a good small group bonding time haha:) And my small group leader is from Canada which makes it even more awesome!

What I'm really excited to tell you about though, is what I did today! (Saturday here in NZ). Crossed something off of my bucket list- Hitchhiking. Yes mom, I hitchhiked and I'm alive to tell about it with even more motivation to do it again! ;) So here's the story. We got a ride in the trunk of Stefani's (a leader here) car to the bus stop and checked the time, and we had missed the bus by TWO MINUTES. The next one wasn't coming by for another hour and we needed to get into town cause our time was running shorter. So the group was unanimous on our decision- us 4 girls all in skirts and dresses were gunna try and get an old lady or something to pick us up. so all four of us stood on the side of the road and sure enough, after about ten minutes, a cute old lady in a big nice SUV stopped and asked us where we needed to go, and she was more than happy to give us a ride to downtown! SO happy and excited and stoked that we were actually doing this, we all got in thanking her and to our ear's content, she was listening to worship music. What a cute old lady. Turns out she knew about YWAM and was so interested in what we were doing and was just so happy to take time out of her day to give us a ride way into town and bless us. What a good God we serve!

The rest of the day we had an adventure around Tauranga, taking various buses and walking up and down the strand in the city and taking SO many good pictures! Man we had good laughs today.

This next week's topic is Hearing the voice of God and I am SO excited! this is supposed to be a really really awesome week and I'm so excited to see how it unfolds.

If you are reading this right now and have questions, fire me an email at desiraekarperien@gmail.com cause I really am not good at knowing what to put in these but I try :)

Blessings to you all!!

Pictures for all you non-facebookers! :)

 The Bay of Plenty: Tauranga

 Ulla, Ashleigh, Kate, Me, and Jenessa at the beach at 8:30 pm!

my backyard