A Quick-Ish Update On Me

Since it has been nearly a month since my last post, I thought I would do a quick-ish update on what's been happening for the past few weeks in my life...

On the last Friday of term 3, I was able to finish work early and drive down to Christchurch, then flew down to Dunedin very early on Saturday morning to see my family. It had been about 4 months since I had last properly caught up with them, so it was nice to have a couple of days down south. While I was down, we went to Lawrence for a day, fed the lambs and calves, visited and caught up with some friends from Dunedin, and relaxed a little. The trip was over way too quickly, but it was such a good time seeing everyone again. 

I was all ready to fly back to Christchurch early on Tuesday morning, only to get a text from Air NZ saying my flight was cancelled due to fog in Christchurch. Luckily, I was able to get a later flight, which was also delayed 20 mins to help with the congestion at the Chch Airport. Thankfully, I made it back in time to start the first camp, which was held at Woodend Christian Camp. At this camp, I was a cabin leader with Shay (co-leader) and Eliza (who was a Leader in Training). We had 6 girls in our cabin, and they all got along from the very start! - which was amazing as it sounded like some other cabins had difficulties. We did activities such as archery, air rifles, flying fox, crafts, 9 square in the air, plus heaps more! It's such a great campsite and I always love the opportunity to get to know a bunch of cool kids and share God's love with them. 


After that camp finished on Sunday, a couple of us went to the next camp, which was at the Waipara Boys Brigade camp. Here, I was a 'floater', so I was able to run rotations, do a bit more behind the scenes set up, and step in when needed. I was able to help a cabin with their rotations due to a leader having to leave camp briefly, meaning I got to join in on air rifles, kayaking, wire craft and hobo stoves. 
I always love being a floater, as it gives me more of a chance to get to know all the kids. This camp, I was in charge of running Hobo Stoves - where you cook pancakes on top of old tin cans. It's always interesting seeing how different groups interact, and seeing their personalities shine through in what they're doing. 

Some of my highlights from camp include: morning devotions and worship time, running a rotation, telling a story to the kids during Mainstage time, and Whacky Wednesday (as you can probably tell by the photos, we went a bit crazy but dressing up is always fun!) 

As usual, camp came to an end wayyyyy too soon ... but it's always a blast. The day after camp, some of us went to the Airforce Museum - which was really cool as I had never been! Then after grabbing some Domino's Pizza for lunch, I started the drive back to Ruby Bay. Thankfully, Hannah was able to come with me, so I had someone to talk to and to go sight seeing with. 

Back to church on Sunday, where we had an awesome sermon from Norm on Restoration (Psalm 51). Some things really stuck out for me ... it's always funny how God gives you the right people to tell you the right things at the right time, right when you need it? Anyways, here's a few notes that I thought I'd share with you:

• God sees potential in us - we are God's project, a work in progress - God wants to reveal what you could be
• Repentance opens the door for restoration // You cannot be restored without repentance // Repentance is admitting to God that you need restoration, then you need to let Him begin His work in you until it is complete
• Repentance confirms our dependence on Jesus
• If we think we only have surface problems, we will only pray surface prayers, then a restoration will only happen on the surface. We have to let God dig deep - there is a difference between renovation and restoration
• Psalm 1: In order for a tree to flourish, it not only needs water, but it needs to be pruned. God wants to prune us so we can flourish. He does this through His word (Psalm 119), His people (Proverbs 27), and the Holy Spirit (John 16). So do we trust God enough to prune our lives where needed? We need to let God begin His work in our lives.

Just a few thoughts/challenges that have been going through my head all week as I've been settling back into the swing of normal life...trust me, it hasn't been easy waiting to see what God is doing with my life, but I know He's not finished yet. 

Well, I had better leave it there as it is already longer than I thought it would be. Thanks for all your prayers and support throughout the past few months.

Enjoy the long weekend!
Esther x