Art, Coffee & FMs

I think it's absolutely appalling when people cannot appreciate art for art's sake and when they even go so far as to feel that they need to add to it almost as if to fix it somehow?? - It's outrageous!! It just breaks my heart... in fact no, to be more precise, Ivanka and Andi...*sigh*... you both just disappoint me - you have left me... speechless - momentarily!

I started out on a hunt for a very cool shot of a latte that I took sometime last year in order to explain a nickname that has grown out of my obsession with both coffee and languages. This photo has nothing to do with that (as I'm sure you can see!) but hey... who cares!

It seems that one cannot have the blood of our warrior ancestors, a love of the romantic languages and a fetish for good coffee and still be considered a true-blue 'bro'... so apparently, I have crossed yet another boundary (been doing that a lot lately!!) - I have moved to the darker side and have been dubbed a Flash Maori!!

I... actually I... I... just feel so... so... moved by the privilege - nay, the honour - to be considered so highly esteemed among my... bros. To quote one of NZ's 'brainiest children' - I just feel completely enamoured!

Ciao tutti! 

The Best Medicine

Where oh where has my sense of humour gone?!!... Siobhan, without you, life would be oh so dull!

I'm currently racking my brain trying to come up with the last time I laughed so hard (other than earlier today!) but... nope! It's just been too long, that's for sure!

A little over six weeks is all the time I have left down here then it's back to the Hutt (yee haa!). There's lots more to see and experience around this territory though so I'm doing my best to fit in as many different things as possible.

There are officers down here that are passionate and fired up which is just awesome - sometimes I think we can 'rain on someone's parade' ten times faster than we can encourage them (purely because we're human!). Me personally? They are the type of people I want to surround myself with particularly at this time in my life!

I want to dream big (both for The Salvation Army - it's never too late! - but most importantly for the Kingdom of God in general!) and I want people around me to do the same! The moment we stop learning, growing and allowing the Holy Spirit to continue to work in our lives we can easily become stagnant and that's a dangerous place to be.

I'm back into the prayer of Jabez with a passion - may God not only increase your territory but may He bless you too!... and may He return my sense of humour to me sometime soon as well - 'tis lonely and a tad boring without one's ability to laugh at one's self!!

Incomparable Love

In case you’re curious, this has absolutely NOTHING to do with Valentine’s Day!!

What this is about is the Street Outreach ministry down here that has thrown me into a bit of a tail spin.

In a nutshell, the ministry includes a drop-in centre for prostitutes 3 nights a week, a caravan that drives the city circuit on another 3 nights of the week (both providing free food and drink), follow-up care and a house that provides a place to stay (both for those who want to come or have come off the street/those wanting to get back on their feet).

Oh me, oh my! – I had no idea I had lived such a sheltered little life up until now! I’m incredibly grateful for my upbringing and that it has not included much of what I have seen over the past few weeks but I’ve just had my world kind of rocked… I want to help and therein lies the challenge. How do you help? When I stood back and gave myself some thinking space, I realised I didn’t have a clue what these men and women needed.

All that knowledge that I thought I had of what to do in this job – gone!
All my thoughts on social injustice – challenged!
All my ideas of what really goes on out there – blown completely out of the water!

…and here’s the really weird thing for me – in The Salvation Army, officers often have to canvas their local pubs on a Friday night. You go in uniform with a little brown box to collect money, hand out The Salvation Army magazine and make conversation/build relationships with people. I find pubs REALLY diffcult. I suppose you could say I struggle to even make conversation (don’t laugh!) but I’ve managed to get through it and I’ve seen God move in some amazing ways - despite my sorry efforts at times! Here’s the weird thing – I find what I’m actually doing with the street ministry incredibly similar to the pubs - you're just there to chat and build relationships, yet I feel completely different. I can’t wait to get there each night I’m on even if it’s just to make sure that the girls are still alive! Another day is another opportunity to let them know that God loves them and that usually comes through what we do not what we say – that in itself challenges me.

Why Incomparable Love? Because that’s what we’re supposed to be all about, right? Jesus loved like no other – He loved unconditionally, He showed love even if people didn’t show love back and most importantly, He loved first. There’s just no other kind of love you can compare that to… and that’s the kind of love I’m challenged to show every time I’m out there on the street.

Is it enough? – I don’t know
Is there more I should be doing? – I’m not sure...that's all part of the tail spin at the moment!
Is it the answer? – I don’t know but it’s definitely a part of it and perhaps what should always come first

And the burning question most of you might have about now - Has anyone ever come off the street? … Yes

Where to from here? - I'm just not sure. All I know for now is that I want to learn all that God has to show me and I don't say that lightly. The past few weeks have involved some pretty tough times where I've had no answers and wanted out more than once...yet I'm still here.

I think my out training is going to be a bit of a wild ride! Part of me wonders what's next and another part of me just doesn't want to know!!... I guess I'm just going to keep going - one day at a time (despite the fact that occasionally I would like to take it 2 or even 3 at a time!).

Snow Angels on Carpet

Ever had one of those moments where you felt the need to do something that you've never done before? Well, I had one tonight.

While talking to Rach on the phone (great time, great company - distracted only for the briefest of moments I assure you!), I had a burning desire to just lie down on the floor in the middle of the lounge and create my own little carpet snow angel!

Where did this burning desire come from? - no idea!
Will it return anytime soon? - no idea!

.... and the most important question of all:

Did I actually do it? - I'll leave you all to surmise and for those with vivid imaginations to create their own mental picture!!