Let's see now...

So what's new?
Well, let me explain...no, there is too much, let me sum up...Buttercup is marry Humperdink in little less than half an hour...
...wait wrong scenario...

So how do you view the world? What tint do your glasses have on them? Is everything in black and white? Perhaps you like the yellow ones because you're an optimist and they make things look brighter. How aboot the red ones that are just crazy and make it next to impossible to determine what colour objects truly are.

Well, as much fun as it is to discuss the effects different coloured lenses have on our perception, so too it is fun to discuss what messages and ideas influence the way we perceive other messages and ideas. For example, do you interpret the Bible from your point of view in the world? Or does the Bible give you a point of view to interpret the rest of the world?

To answer my own question I would say that I am coming out of the former place of reference. And I do believe that happens to be the natural place to be.

"This is what I know and this is how I understand, so how does it relate to how I think?"

Seems a little elitist doesn't it? Does this stance not assume that I already have everything lined up right? Well I don't think that I'll ever be able to completely adopt the Bible as my lenses to see the world and everything in it...but I can try. I believe that it is the word of God and that it is True (notice the capital T), but that is such a blanket statement that it can not go unqualified.

What can we get from the Bible? Well a whole stinking lot. Sometimes a sentence or so jumps out at you and provides you with exactly the encouragement or guidance that you've been looking for. It contains the history of a people, it contains the work of some seriously smart and wise people, and we have access to that. And so much more that I've yet to understand, or realize. But here's to hoping that I'll get a chance to find out some more.

SO on another note, I've been listening to some tracks off the album Picket Fence Cartel by Project 86 and WOW! the lyrics are just blowing me away. Motivating me to hold onto things that are so empowering I feel like I could take on the world, and I guess I can. SO look out world, I'm on my way, and I don't come alone.

Matt Clarke
Go Big or Go Home!

Birthday Wishes

Well, It's my birthday in two days. For those of you who don't see the notice on Facebook telling you that same thing, that is because I chose to hide my birthday date. It's strange, since I was about 15-16 I never really liked my birthday, it was an excuse to have a party, and a bunch of pop and chips and movies and whatnot, but then I started to realize that I could go and do that stuff whenever I want, so long as I had money.

Then I began to realize that It was difficult for me to accept special attention and extra care on my birthday. I don't know the why, I can not pin point the reason or one event, but here are some suspicions. I suspect that I did not feel worthy of the attention. That I am not special enough to warrant people going out of their way to give me things or do nice things for me. It is so much easier for me to honor other people than it is to have them honor me. How much easier? SO much easier!

Now, as I look back on some of the birthdays that I've had, this makes some sense. There have been a few times when I can recall that as a kid some people did not want to come to my birthday party or something like that, and to a kid I think that can really hurt; I began to believe that i was not worth honoring.

To all those who've tried in the past to wish me a happy birthday, I am sorry for not really receiving it. And thank you, a little late, but there it is. This year I am trying to get myself excited about my birthday, and it's not very easy. I've asked my friends here to help me, but we are terribly busy. I'm almost afraid that I won't be able to accept them honoring me.

I do believe that this ability or willingness to accept honor is something that God is working on in me, and asking me to step out in. Funny story time...
On two separate occasions I have been asked when my birthday was on my birthday. One time I was sitting in math class and we were talking about birthdays and another friend who'd had his B-day the previous week and then my friend turns to me and asks, "When's Your birthday?"
So in truth I told them "Today."
Fast forward about two or three years later, I'm at youth group as a youth leader and we're about to play this game, and my youth pastor, not mentioning his name declares that whoever s birthday is closest to that day gets to go first. A few youth put up their hands saying "That's me, my birthdays in ten days"
But then there is me saying, "Sorry dude, I'm going first, no doubt about it."
So my youth pastor asks me "When's your birthday?"
"Today" I replied.
He didn't believe me completely, and to convince everyone I finally had to pull out my driver's license. That last part about the license might not be true but it sounds cool eh?

I don't know how to take it this year. but I am trying to walk with arms open in readiness for God's blessings rather than with closed arms thinking that I'm not worthy of His blessing, because it's not up to me to decide if I am worthy of being blessed by the almighty creator of the universe or not.

So I hope the blessings are big, cause if they're not, they might as well go home...

Matt Clarke
Go Big or Go Home!

Long and Deep

The past two weeks here have been something else. So much stuff has gone on during the lectures that I am bursting at the seems to share it. This is just what I have experienced, and I know that I have friends out there who are not Christians and that this stuff may not make sense, but it is what I am up to and what I'm going through, and it is very real.

Last week's lecture was about The Cross, what happened, what it meant and how do we respond, or apply its significance into what we do. We also looked a lot at something else that my family is well acquainted with: choice. We looked at some scripture in a light I had never seen it before. In the Story of Jesus' betrayal right before his crucifixion, he was arrested right after praying that his Father in heaven would take the burden of suffering that he was about to go through away from him. What response did he receive to this prayer? When Peter pulled out a sword and attacked the guard arresting his Lord, Jesus rebuked him and told him that if He asked for it, His Father would send him 12 legions of angels. TWELVE LEGIONS that's something like 72,000, and if one angel can kill all the firstborn in Egypt, or make armies flee, what with 72000 of them do? Was that the answer Jesus received from his prayer?
"Well Son, if you don't want to go through with it, we can pull the plug on this plan of salvation and you can come home."
If that was the answer Jesus received from his prayer and he still decided to go through with everything that he suffered....I can't use words anymore...WOW!
And that's just one thing I got from last week...;) If anyone wants more on choice send me a message and I will SO share other things that I learned, cause I'm so excited about them

This week we've gone a direction of learning about Walking with Jesus. What the heck does that mean? Well the focus of the teachings has been from our speakers experience that God wants intimacy.
Oh sure the creator of the universe wants to hang out with us individually, do you detect my sarcasm?

Well here's a few things that I've come to realize. God's will, or calling on our life is NOT the best place for us to DO something for his kingdom, but the best place to get to KNOW HIM and hang out with him as in a close relationship.

Another thing, we often feel like we can't get close to God because we've got so much junk in our lives, so we try to change and get ride of the junk so that we're able to get closer to God. But, if he's forgiven us of our junk and he's not paying attention to it, why should we? If we focus our attention of who He is and trying to get to know him the result is that we change. WOAH! Crazy. And out of that comes this; everything that we want to do for God will be an overflow our of intimacy with him. The closer we get the more we want to do for Him.

I don't know about other people, but for me that's about 180 degrees different from how I used to think about it.

Want a true story? Well I'm still struggling for the money to pay for this trip, but the other day I had some donations come in that allow me to pay for my school fees to YWAM. Unfortunately they were not enough to pay the activity fee, which is a snowboard pass. This is not a big issue for me. I have back country equipment, and I love hiking, so walking up a slope that no one else is riding and then riding back down is something I would love to do. At the moment there is not enough snow for that so I wait. However, this morning, after our community open night last night, sitting on the table in the community room was an envelope, labeled, "Matt For Snowboarding Pass" and inside, was more than enough required to purchase a pass. Which is a sum of 1160 CHF. WOW! God really is good and wants to give us gifts. Someone might ask about people who are suffering in the third world and why God didn't send the money to them. I don't know the answer to that. but after this week's lectures about intimacy with God and His provision I feel like this...I've heard stories of crazy provision from God and have believed them, but never thought that they would happen for me. Yet here's God, giving me a gift through an anonymous person, to do something that is considered extravagant. God's calling on our life takes us to the place where we are able to come to know Him more, not to do things for Him, He's God, He can do things for Himself pretty handily.

Let's end here,
Matt Clarke
Go Big or Go Home!

Unchartted Territory

Outreach
Well here's a cool story that I shall enjoy typing up for your enjoyment as a reader, or so I would hope that you're enjoying it because you are after all the one who is reading it.

So as some know and other are finding out, as a part of the Discipleship Training School (DTS) we get to go on an outreach. For this DTS program the outreach is allotted 10 weeks. So that means, for 10 weeks we will be splitting up our group of 25 people and heading out into the world to reach different people groups, and different people as individuals, because we care about them too, with the love that we have felt in Jesus Christ.

"Oh, cool, you get to go traveling with a bunch of friends on a 10 week holiday." WRONG!
Outreach is not easy, but it is rewarding. Now I've never lead an outreach, and I've never even been on the leading side of an outreach...until now. Since my only experience on a DTS outreach is as a student, this will be an adventure into uncharted territories. Now, perhaps you may be wondering just where exactly I will be going on outreach, but I'm going to use a little trick I've seen used in many great novels and keep you in suspense a little while longer.

The other day I was approached by the school leader we conversed and then discussed and then concluded that I would be the team, well, leader. Now unfortunately we are a leadership team (operating in teams just happens to be a YWAM value) so team leader is not an appropriate title. Perhaps Team Keeper, or Team Captain might be a more precise tittle for describing what I will be doing. Uncharted Territory!

Now, here's the cool part of the story.
The outreach locations were made known to me during staff training and the options were. Drum roll please: Japan, Vancouver Olympics/South America, Afghanistan, South Africa, India. Let's look at the ones thats tuck out to me. 1) India, well I just came from there and loved it. God did give me a desire to go there when he asked me to start praying for the country earlier this year. 2) Japan, A team is returning there lead by the same people as last year, so some good foundation to work on is nicer than plowing your own fields. 3) Vancouver Olympics/South America, in praying for outreaches I got a verse from Jeremaia 33:3 I think, Set up way markers and return to your cities...Gee golly gosh what's my city VANCOUVER!

So I planned on going to Vancouver, totally excited, and ready to rock it. Excited about being able to visit friends, my home church, my rugby club and taking the group to my favorite snowboarding spots. Finally I felt that since I had been willing to give up my dream of being a part of the Olympics, that God was now giving that back to me. However, through a conversation with my school leader, God challenged me to give up the Olympics, one more time. I felt like he was telling me that I was going to be used in either place, but if I wanted to grow as a disciple, then South Africa was where he's teach me the good stuff.

And so, in concluding, I will indeed be traveling to South Africa with an outreach team of 10 people. We now have begun the process of building this outreach from the ground up. Where in SA? What types of ministries: children, poor people, sports, schools? How long for each location? The basic questions. Again, UNCHARTED TERRITORY!

Well as i head out to see what's there, I'll definitely be going big.

Matt Clarke
Go Big, or Go Home!

A Day in the Life

Hmm, this is an interesting conundrum. I'm sitting here in Davos Switzerland busy almost every day all day and I can't think of anything to write about, go and figure that one out. So I've decided, just now in this very moment that if you've got any requests I can certainly write about anything.

Let's go with A Day in the Life
So, I wake up around 6:30 or so and hit the snooze button like any normal person right. I then make myself get out of bed before 6:45, put on some clothes, and no, they are not necessarily clean ones, and head out to the community room. Once there I make sure that there is music and room for Coach Powers. CP being our physical trainer; he doesn't actually show up each day we just use his program every other morning to keep in shape and ready for the slopes. CP is half an hour long and is followed by breakfast of bread/toast with jam and a bowl of cornflakes. I have of late taken to buying my own eggs as I'm not eating meet and like having some protein in my diet. After eating we come together as a group for a morning devotional or mini sermon called a sermonette and then we disperse for quiet time, or seeking God's face. This can be sitting quietly and contemplating, playing/listening to music or, my favorites, journaling and reading the bible.
After we come back together we participate in worship be it music, singing, drawing or some cool way in which to glorify God, intercessory prayer, and/or lectures with our weekly guest speakers.
Well, you may be thinking to yourself, that sounds like a busy day, and it is. But we're only up to lunch time. After eating it's straight into staff meeting for me. And each afternoon holds something different. We get chances to do a bible study with the students, prepare for outreach, read one of the required reading books, work on our journal or book reports, prepare a teaching or sermonette and do research for and prepare for outreach.
Once we've done that, and help the students with their work duties, we get to eat dinner and jump into the evening schedule. Fun times, parties fires and marshmallows, or small group hang times where we get a chance to process the day, local outreaches and open nights of inviting the local people to our base for an evening. Of course this doesn't all happen in one night, but it all happens in a week.
Then we go to bed get up and start the next day. It is also, of course, a snowboarders DTS, so when in all of this do we have time to ride? Well we make time. We've got most weekends free to go and ride, and we will be making the most of them. This weekend is the first weekend that the slopes are open and I believe that most people are going to be so tired, how tired? SO tired, that they is gonna crash HARD in the evening.

It is unfortunate that I can not think of any good stories to tell. I know that cool stuff has happened, like we started climbing this mountain and it was cool to see these avalanche barriers and all these old walls that are almost 100 years old and were probably built by slow manual labor and brining the rocks up a few at a time with donkeys or horses. There are some cool pictures, but I don't have them :'( I know. oh wait, maybe I can find a link for you...Sorry, not at the moment, maybe later.

Oh, fun news, one of the buys here has a video camera that I can use and have some fun with. So it'll be good times all around. Perhaps I'll get some videos on line tomorrow morning. That'd be sweet eh?

Oh here's a funny story. Among my fellow staff are 3 Swiss Germans, 1 Swiss Italian 1 fellow Canadian and myself. Of all of them, the hardest one for me to listen to was the other Canadian. None of them are difficult to understand, it was just the strangest accent for me to hear. I told you it was a funny story.

Until next time,
Go Big or Go Home!

The Weeks Go By

And so they will continue to so, some seemingly longer than others. These past few have however been of the short variety. Days filled with lots of stuff to do, people to talk to and things to learn.
As a DTS staff member I'm seeing first hand now how much goes into a school from the planning and organizational side, and It's haunting how much more goes on that I don't know about. God bless the school leaders around the world.
I'm not really certain what to write today, but I felt that I should write something. It's snowing here! That's pretty exciting news, and the mountains are opening next weekend, I hope I'll be able to get my pass by then.
The students have been here for one week and we're really diving in and they're already blowing me away, can't wait for outreach. On the other hand, Beginning to plan the outreach and all the little things that go along with that is all new ground for me, so not only is it a little daunting, but I don't even know all of the things that I need to consider. That's kind of fun eh? What an adventure it will be.
Oh yeah, as for outreach, I'm still praying as to where I will be going to be leading a team. Does anyone think they have a word from God about where he wants me to go?
So, funny story, I learned this new game called Ninja, where you get to be a ninja and we play it quite often. I recommend being a ninja as often as possible :)
Oh we have a ping pong table and a fössball table, so I must away and go play.

Matt Clarke
Go Big or Go Home!

Last NZ Advenutres

Well I certainly enjoyed my last two weeks in New Zealand. The adventure began before I even arrived in Auckland. My flight out of Kolkata was delayed leaving me very little time to check in for my next flight. Also, they couldn't find my bag so I got on the flight knowing that is wasn't coming with me. So instead of heading straight for the north and the trek I'd planned, I stayed a few days with family waitng for my bag.
Once it arrived I headed out with a few new things, like a tarp, some rope and long johns. From Auckland I hitched to Northland and ended up sleeping under a bridge the first night. After that I actually made it to the beginning of my trek, ninety mile beach. But don't let the name fool you, it's actually more like 60 miles. I ended up trekking 100Km and ended up at Cape Rienga where the currents of the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea collide. It's a pretty cool place.
After the trek I was ready to go and visit the Pacific Link in Tauranga. On my way there I spent a night in Auckland which was difficult. In the afternoon I began walking through the downtown of the city and that is where I experienced the culture shock after India. before that I'd seen small town, or wilderness or familiar places but here with all the things that go on in a western city, punks, skaters, goths, the sex shops, the fast food was too much to handle. SO I turned around and made my way back to the motorway to hitch out. This is where it gets fun the couple who picked me up were Christian people who after talking to me for maybe five minutes and finding out that I'm involved in missionary work offered me a place to stay for the night. Right away I felt like saying yes. And it was such an amazing experience. The conversation, the hospitality, and generosity. Earlier that day I'd felt very discouraged and after that experience, was pumped to go again.
So I did make it to Tauranga the next day, but I've come to the conclusion that when it comes to hitching in New Zealand, going into or out of Tauranga is the hardest place to hitch.
What an amazing time it was being on the ship for near a week. I got to go surfing at the Mount again, I got to help dock the ship again, I got to help out the deck crew, and I got to see many good friends. How often does a DTS small group get back together? And to make it even better I got to meet a heap of new people who're helping out with the ship tour around New Zealand in an effort to call 30,000 young people into missions.
I am so glad to have met and to know the people that I have met in New Zealand. And I can't think of a better way to have ended my time in NZ than visiting the Pacific Link one last time.
Thanks Marine Reach, and God Bless!

Matt Clarke
Go Big or Go Home!

Leaving somthing beautiful

I've left Kolkata.
I'm standing in an airport and it seems strange.
I'm sad to have left a place that, simply by being there, makes you think about your life in terms of your wealth and how to live out your faith.
I am sad to have left behind the kids of Daya Dan after watching them improve so much over the past two months.
I think most of all I am sad to leave behind my friends and fellow volunteers. Althought the best of them have either left already or will do soon enough, it doesn't make parting any easier. I think that a special shout must go out to Stephen, Grier Maria and Cassi. Y'all are the best.
I realised a couple weeks ago that leaving would be an important process for me as a volunteer. As someone who's considered to be long term, also being tall and wearing a hat makes me stand out a bit, the sisters would ask me to help out outside of the 'regular' volunteering. I found that somtimes being a favored or special helper gave me a sense of self importance that was not befiting of the reason I'd gone to Kolkata.

Let me tell you a true story. As I was serving in Kalighat, or the home for the dying destitute, a group of people came from the US to visit, or to have a look. As we were clearing the dishes after dinner, they were standing off to the side praying rather intensly. As they did this I passed by them three times.
The first time I thought to myself sarcasticly, "Well that's a lot of help!"
The second time I rebuked myself "I'm glad they're doing that. I don't see enough of that here."
The third time they were finishing up and getting ready to leave and I felt a little ill because "that come and gone is exactly what I'm like to some of the true long term volunteers and sisters" (some long term being 8 months, 1 year, 10 years, 15 years)

I want to go back to Kolkata, it's an amazing place, except for the honking, but I wonder if there's greater need of wolunteers elsewhere: with other Missionaries of charity houses throughout the world, with other volunteer organisations or with relief work organisations.

Now, however, I am fixing my eyes upon the next two weeks of breathing God in while I roam around New Zealand one last time and then a different type of service as a YWAM DTS staff member. The next adventure is lined up and waiting.

~Matt Clarke
Go Big or Go Home!

PS. There's no spell check here...sorry

Monsoon

A short update, but a cool story. First let me take you back a couple of weeks. One of the other volunteers are Daya Dan and I decided that it would be good exercise to start walking back from the home to our hotel. That sounds fine does it not? Sure as long as the weather’s good, but alas we’re in the middle of monsoon season. Fortunatly for us it’s been a dry monsoon season, which is not so fortunate for the farmers. Now on this one particular day we started walking while the weather was nice enough and we even made it halfway before it began to drizzle. Before long the rain started coming down pretty good, but we, being both of us from the northwest, thought nothing of rain. As the Indian people covered their stalls and sought cover from the torrential downpour, we kept walking.

Just keep walking, just keep walking

I even made the comment, only two guys from the Northwest would walk through this while all the locals stayed dry.

That in and of itself was a cool experience, but the other day I had a better one. As we were at Daya Dan during the morning the rain began coming down at a good pace, and did not stop. So as we finished our morning there and went to leave it was still raining. I felt like walking, or running as I’ve been trying to do lately, back home, I set out in the rain. Little did I know of the situation further along. The roads had become so flooded in points that there was no dry place to stand, even on the sidewalks. The water is so dirty that you can not see the ground be it two feet or two inches beneath the surface of the water. So, for the experience and sheer adventure of it I trekked my way through the flooded streets and sidewalks to make it back to my street, only to find that it is the most flooded of them all. It is indeed a sad story that my camera broke and I was unable to take photos of these events; but even if I had, those pictures would not be able to encapsulate the experience.

One of the favorite street side restraints here was so flooded that it closed down early, but before it did all of their seats were taken by the hardcore patrons who sat with feet up out of the grimy water while eating and the cooks kept cooking while standing knee deep in the flood.

To say the least I loved it, until I realized that my room is on the ground floor and may be flooded. My fears were all for not as the hotel I am at is on high ground and has some excellent drainage. Excellent that is during a monsoon, but during a regular rainfall it’s terrible. Go Figure.

I know some of you out there can vouch for my story, while others may be bewildered. For the people here, this stiff happens, and you live with it, but they still don’t like being splashed when someone goes running past :P Oh, and it’s strange walking down the sidewalk and having waves from the wake of the cars driving down the street breaking around your ankles.
One thing I wish I had had with me on that day was a skim board, it would have been so much fun. How much fun? SO much fun!

Daya Dan

As promised I’ll tell you a bit about what I do as a volunteer. I get to the house around 8:00 in the morning. Sometimes I’m late, sometimes not, it’s pretty relaxed. I then help wash clothes, dress the boys, clean and change bedding, hang laundry or just play around. The task depends on how many volunteers we have and who’s already doing what.
On the 1st floor there are between 20-30 boys from age 7-19, all of whom are mentally or physically handicapped, or both. Some of the older boys go to a school and are gone most of the time I am there. Others do physiotherapy to help with their physical symptoms and about 8 boys get taught by volunteers. I help with this group.
We begin with a quiet mediation tie to calm the boys down a little bit, then we greet the children and volunteers which helps the boys practice speaking in English. Some of them can not speak at all, others with extreme difficulty. Then we break from the group and do one on one teaching with the boys. I have been teaching one boy for a month now. He’s quite smart, but also very laid back. The boys seem to have figured out how to play the role of a not so smart kid and not have to do much learning. My student doesn’t speak much, but he can, and he knows a lot of vocabulary. He’s pretty chill and if he’s not in the mood he’s content to just stare into space while I get frustrated that he doesn’t want to learn anything.
Officially he has ADHD, but since most, if not all, of the boys were taken off the street at some point, malnutrition at an early age has effected the growth and development of their brain cells. It is an incredibly sad story but it is the way it is.
For me the thing that struck me the most, especially at the beginning, and continues to the present, is that because there is so much coming and going of the volunteers and teachers and friends, the boys have no father figure, and no consistency in their lives apart from one another and the sister who is in charge. And when I say that she is in charge I mean it. The boys listen to her every word. If she’s watching they behave very well, in comparison to when she’s not around. And they love her so much. How much? SO much! On a number of occasions, one of the more rowdy boys will simply walk up to her and give her a massive hug around the waist. Even if she is trying to accomplish something he wont let go and will just let her carry him around. It’s amazing to see that, and makes all of the frustration of the day worth it.
I wonder if God will ask me to come back here someday to spend a long time with these, boys or other orphans like them…?
On the flip side, experiencing the difficulties of working with these kids just reinforces my desire NOT to have a family of my own. Not to mention it brings to light just how much responsibility a child’s life is.
Thanks Mom. Thanks Dad. For all the hard work in providing for me, loving me, teaching me and playing with me. And especially for the perseverance through frustration, I think you did a pretty good job on all 5 kids.

~Matt Clarke
Go Big or Go Home!
PS. No more photos, my camera got wet and is now broken. :’( sad. It just means I can now dream about getting a sweet as camera for making sweet as videos.

(Any Title Suggestions?)

So, upon reflecting about my last post “Some Things My Eyes Have Seen,” I feel like I have given Kolkata, India and the Indian people a bad wrap, which is most certainly not my intention. I feel that the issue that is the saddest part is money; money, the desire for which is the root of all evils. I recall at this time something said to me at a bible study where we discussed money; it came in the form of a warning not to get upset about what other people said. The phrase was this: “people get funny, when you start talking about money.” I believe that is true. I was privileged enough to e present at a celebration of the MC Anniversary at which the sister’s re-affirmed their vows of poverty and chastity. After words, I was discussing this with a friend and he mentioned that in the western world, specifically the church, that a vow of poverty is considered a foolish thing. Why? Because one needs to be able to support ones family; but is God not our provider?
I do not have the answer, but I do know that I am afraid of returning to a wealthy country and more specifically what effect it will have on me.

But enough of that let me share about some of the splendid things I have seen here. In the midst of this expanse of decrepit buildings is a beautiful park. It does not go on as far as the eye can but it does go for a number of blocks in many directions. For me it is a nice retreat from the city being able to look a half a kilometer away over flat green ground. It was on one such walk through the park that I was invited to sit and chat with a man who was sitting there by the grass. In the end he seemed only interested in my money, but I liked sitting there and chatting for a bit.

The people here work so hard. How hard? SO hard! A typical day seems to be about 12 hours long. That’s what the waiters at the restaurants work, and no matter what time of day I go out I see the same rickshaw-men and taxi drivers in the same spots all the time. One of the waiters in the nearby tourist café speaks 7 languages, another many who runs a food stand speaks 4, I think, and has been working in that location for 40 years. There are those who work hard, and that is something I think is in the Indian culture. Some people have twisted that hard work to mean making money at all costs, but others want to provide for their families and be successful.

Talking with the other travelers, volunteers, and tourists here is also very enjoyable. It is from them that I’ve learned most of what I know of this place. Friends are easy to make as everyone enjoys hearing the stories of other people’s travels. I’ve even managed to toss the Frisbee around with a few other people. Perhaps on a day of better weather we could get a game of ultimate going. Of course much of my time is spent reading in my room, and I’ve noticed my writing style keeps changing slightly as I read different authors, strange that.

I really not sure what to write about further, but I think next week I will post some stories and more details about the place where I am volunteering. It’s a wonderful place, and as much as I want to go and help out in some of the other houses, I do not want to leave the kids.

Until next time,
~Matt Clarke
Go Big or Go Home!

Some Things My Eyes Have Seen

For those who are unaware, the title of this post is in reference to a song that I like very much. It’s by a group called Disciple and it’s a tribute to soldiers who fight in other countries. When I first heard it I thought it should also be a tribute to missionaries who fight for God in other countries. The first line goes like this “The things your eyes have seen are the content of my darkest dreams, but you take them willingly the war that keeps my family free.” The more that I see here, the more I feel that this world indeed is a dark place, but in it there is the light of God poured forth by many lighthouses throughout the land. Enough of my strange talk, you the reader are probably interested in some specifics.

I spy with my little eye something that is greed.
It is all over this place, through everything and embraced by the mindset and culture of the people. The way people drive is extremely ‘me first’ with no patience or understanding that waiting one or two seconds will get everyone to their destination faster. Where I learned to drive, the horn of the car is used in dire circumstances to ward off an accident, or a use that is more common, to summon someone out of a house to an awaiting vehicle. Here it is the other way around. If a horn were to brake on a vehicle I am sure that the driver would be too stressed to drive anywhere but to the shop to get it fixed.
Business owners who sit back and pay others very little to do the work that they do not want to do or can afford not to do while they charge an absurdly large amount for their service or product. This specific trait is not present in every single place but it seems to be the more common by far. Yes, I do agree that low overhead and high income is the equivalent of ‘good business’ but if that is the case then I would make a terrible businessman for there is no heart in it but the heart of greed. How much can I get for myself, even if that means leaving others with nothing? Taxi drivers and Rickshaw men who sit around all day not working much, but if they can rip one person off, then they’ll have the money that they need. Rickshaw men try to sell their bells, used as horns, or to get people’s attention, for 500 rupes (10-12 USD) when it’s obvious that they cost about 5 rupees or less to produce

I spy with my little eye something that is sad
The Missionaries of Charity do well to inform volunteers, especially those staying in the tourist block of the city, about the beggars. They are not as they appear. Indeed the begging here ha become a business all to its own; being run in a mafia style where beggars have what is more or less a pimp. And children are rented for a day, dressed in little to no clothing and go around asking foreigners for food and money. After being given clothes, those same children are sometimes seen the next day wearing the same rags as before, asking someone knew for clothes, money or food. I have beggars approach me with baby’s in arm asking for food or money for their child and then the same would approach me again the following day with a different baby in arm, or with no children at all, and none nearby. As one lives in the area and watches these people, it does become obvious that there is indeed deceit and lies upon the surface. The honest people of the area know what is going on and once I even saw a business owner chase a beggar woman off with the threat of a beating. I watched her flee as if her life depended upon her haste. The saddest part in this story is that many beggars are indeed crippled, lame, blind or disfigured and that much of this has been done to them by their ‘pimps’ that they might draw sympathy from foreigners.
What is the response? The Missionaries of Charity ask that volunteers take action against this ‘business’ by inaction. By not giving money to these people, one is in a manner, forcing them to find other means of supporting themselves. In the west, if no one buys a product, then no one will make it. If no one gives to these people, then they won’t beg. Where is the light in that darkness one would ask? Well there are a number of organizations including the Missionaries of Charity who do feed and provide help for those in need. So, the people on the street are not in as great a need as first impressions might reveal.

Having said all of that, there are people who do not ask for handouts and work hard yet still end up sleeping on the sidewalk on a mat with a pillow, or if they are lucky on a pallet with a tarp, blanket and pillow.

So what am I and what are we to do? I do not know. But I can smile at the beggars and love them from my heart, praying that God’s love be present in their live.

This train of thought is saddening for me, and there is more that continues on for I am not sure how long. Yet here I shall halt, ending in a lighter manner.

Ecclesiastes says that being content in our situation is all that we need ask, for all striving under the sun is vanity. It’s kind of ridiculous, from worldly wisdom, but the wisdom of God is foolishness to the wise of this world. Love God and obey his commandments. To me, especially at this time, this is very heartening.
Jesus, son of the most high, is risen, and He is coming.

And I shall serve Him
~Matt Clarke
Go Big or Go Home!

(Photos linked to post title)

Here i went, but There I arrived

I went to go somewhere and arrived at a destination much different than I expected. And the ensuing adventures are now, in hindsight, a delight. But of those adventures I can not yet write...in detail anyways

Two weeks and two days I have been here in India and I’ve been sent e-mails “How are you? Haven’t heard anything, hope you’re doing okay.” Wow, you love me! You really love me! But alas patience is a virtue. For me it’s only been a couple of weeks, but an excellent couple of weeks.
My first impressions upon arriving in India involve the bamboo scaffolding used in structural repairs to the international airport. I’ve seen other things since then that would boggle the mind of many of you and you simply would not get it. Others who’ve been these ways before would probably chuckle to yourself about my experience while reminiscing of your own adventures.
En-route to Kolkata I spent a day touring around Bangkok Thailand and I hated it; just a not fun place to be, especially for someone traveling around on limited funds. Upon leaving Thailand and entering India I realized I do not like cities, I don’t, they are terrible busy and are incredibly difficult to keep clean. Give me bush and backcountry experiences to make me happy. Yet here I am, in a city of several million people, most probably 10-12 million from the conversations I’ve had with others, and I am not being overwhelmed by it all. I praise God for he called me here and has given me what I need to do the work I am to do. Exactly what that is I am still unsure.
I have been volunteering at Daya Dan, an orphanage for mentally and physically handicapped children. I thought that this type of work would be the most difficult that I could do, and here I am doing it. Not only am I doing it but I love it. I did want to work at kalighat, home of the dying destitute, but the sister asked me if, as a long term volunteer, can you believe that, 2 months is considered long term? Sad, if I would be willing to work with the kids as they benefit from stability more so than the sick and dying.

Perhaps upon completing my time here I will have an opportunity to write down the stories in full. Until such time know that I am doing well now despite having been sick last week. I also have heaps of time for reading and have already finished 4 books and am working on a 5th; this all on top of reading my Bible. The biggest challenge is finding books for cheap, well not the finding of the book, but the getting it for cheap.

I can’t think of anything to write at the moment. Most of the stuff here is not suitable for a casual blog form and needs some time for me to digest from thought that I may excrete it was intelligible words. Some day.

but until then I'm still
~Matt Clarke, so
Go Big or Go Home!

True Traveling Stories

So true stories...funny story, that’s also a side note, I was reading my bible the other day and found that Jesus often said “Truly, truly I tell you…” He might as well be saying “true story…” which is something I say. I only have two types of stories, true and funny. No really, it’s a true story ; )

Flights from Queenstown to Auckland: I sat next to a lovely couple on their way to France for a holiday, doing some cycling and viewing of the Tour de France. I was Oh so happy, how happy? SO happy to be sitting with people to whom I could talk to and listen to. And I shall not forget this little bit of information. “You can get a cooker, but she might not be a looker. So, if you find yourself a looker, she can learn to be a cooker; then you get a looker and a cooker!” I was also invited to experience the fine skills of this man’s good looking cooker the next time I was in Dunedin and I hope to get a chance to do so in the future.

During my layover in Fiji I got a chance to go into Nadi town which meant riding the rickety and packed bus. On the bus ride the thing I noticed the most was the smell and the memories that it brought back. The best of which is probably the wonderful meal the ladies of the DTS put on for the guys. Thanks again girls. I Also got to enjoy a couple of cheap blitz bars and I tell you what, they were most certainly the genuine article, not some counterfeit from New Zealand. I think one of the funniest part for me was when a Fijian started a conversation with me and when I told him I was shopping for my sisters he offered to take me down the street to the best shop, which means he wanted to take me to a Kava Ceremony and get my money. It just made me smile to be able to dodge that experience like old times.

(For you Dahvede) As I collected my bags in LAX after arriving from Fiji, a Fijian man asked me about my stay in Fiji. I told him about what I had done aboard the Pacific Link but I never once named it, or YWAM or DTS. He then asked me if I had been aboard the Pacific Ruby (The Pacific Link’s Predecessor). I was slightly shocked and then learned that this man had done his DTS years back and spent time on the Anastasias (YWAM’s first ship I believe). We were given an incredible opportunity to chat and pray for one another and I received another invitation to dinner and a place to stay, this time in the Cayman Islands. (This is all on one trip by the way).

While hitchhiking around the North Island of New Zealand to get travel papers sorted out and to visit friends got gave me a gift. Not one but two of the people who picked me up had travelled to India recently. Not only that but one of them had been there on a missions trip with his pastor. I was so totally blessed to be able to pick his brain for tips, and tricks and to get a better understanding of where I was going. God really does provide.

Well those are some of the cool things that have happened to me on my travels. Do you have any good stories to share? I'd like to hear some of them.

~Matt Clarke
Go Big or Go Home!

Re-Entry Revamped

So at the end of DTS we read a book about and discussed the concept of Re-Entry. What it is like for a missionary to go from the mission field to being back home. In a DTS the student is constantly growing and being challenged and during those 5-6 months they have so much going on. How much? SO much. The return home can often be overwhelming because home has not been growing at the same rate, it can be exactly the same as the student left it.
I feel fortunate that I had a couple of weeks of travelling and living in a strange country to help myself adapt and process some of the things I experienced on DTS. Following that, the time I got to spend at home was the best I could have asked for. I had 4 days to get everything done that I needed to see the people I needed to see. Therefore I did not waste anytime at all. The best part: a family wedding, who shows up? Your extended family. DONE! I got to see my grandparents and aunts and uncles, it was amazing! Next, two good friends get married so who shows up? All your friends. BAM! Done. How amazing is it that despite the distance that has come between a group of friends, in this case we’re taking literally, a physical distance, I got a chance to see most all of the people who’ve been apart of my walk with God in two short days.
I could not have asked for a better “re-entry” experience.
Thank You to everyone who I got to see and hang out with while I was in Canada

Why Calcutta

Well it’s been a while since I’ve updated so I’m going to do a couple of posts so as to split of the different topics.
I’m going to start with more details as to how Calcutta came to be the destination. Let’s begin back when I was still a young lad. I remember hearing a story about a man who travelled to Calcutta India to volunteer at Mother Teresa’s house of the Dying destitute. The story that he told was that of a dyeing baby who would not stop crying no matter what they did for it. The baby was taken in by the lepers who were used to the wailing of people in agony. WOW! I remember even that that this would be a place worth visiting. From there the desire to go to India would not surface for some years. During the DTS that I did I read a book about a guy and his prayer life. During his walk he felt prompted to pray for a country that he had no connection with, Bulgaria I believe it was. Eventually that man smuggled bibles into that same country. In response to reading about this I asked God if there was a country that he wanted me to pray for. I felt that if there was one then it was India. A few days after I got this impression I received an e-mail from my mother regarding someone she had heard speaking about India. Furthermore, she mentioned that although she’d never had a desire to go there she now thought that it might be a place of interest for her. “hmmmm” I thought, “Interesting how God works. Could this be coincidence? I THINK NOT!”
Next, I was reading the book Irresistible Revolution in which the author describes his experience in Calcutta living with the poorest of the poor alongside the lepers. From this I could not help but desire once again to go and experience it myself. And so, as I had this desire I climbed Mt Iron in Wanaka NZ. During the climb I would stop both to rest and to take in the view knowing that it would be even better from the top.
At last I arrived at the summit of the mountain and was sad to see the clouds rolling in as fog to obscure the view. As sad as that was not to be able to see the view, I felt that it was symbolic of my life. I was unable to see what direction that I was supposed to go in. At this time I began to sing and worship God as Lord and King. I knew that I was not wearing enough layers to stay warm without moving around vigorously, and with the fog, the added moisture would make me cold even faster. Despite this, I persisted to wait for instruction and heard this. “Take off your sandals for the ground you are on his holy ground.” That’s what Moses heard when he first encountered the burning bush. SO I decided to obey, and I took off my socks and boots and kept praying and worshiping. Which, when I already felt unprotected from the elements seems stupid to take off what protection I was wearing. However during the entire experience I neither felt cold no wet. And then BAM! I felt the impression “How about Calcutta?” So I replied with “How about Calcutta!” and so I am on my way to Calcutta!

On his way to Calcutta,
Matt Clarke
Go Big or Go Home!

A New Direction

So, updating time.
I did NOT get the job as a snowboard instructor on Treble Cone (TC). The hiring clinic was an intense 4 day rider improvement, teaching improvement and audition for a position. Unfortunately for me there were some well and good riders and teachers in the group. Enough of them were better than myself that they got the positions and not me. I must say that I think my riding has not improved as much as it did over the past 4 or five days since I spent the season riding everyday while working at Grouse. I am definitely planning on taking this and other clinics in the future to improve my riding.

For now? This is a huge set back as far as living in Wanaka goes. There are very VERY few jobs here, as likely there are very few everywhere. I do not have a seasons pass for any of the mountains, if I did I would e set to live and ride all day everyday. But I do not. I also asked God that if this was where I am to be that I receive the job through the clinic. Since I did not I am feeling right now that I should be moving on.

Where should I go? What should I do? Well that's been the theme of my thoughts over the past few days. Today I climbed a mountain to seek God's face and his plan. I think that I have found it. I'm going to go to Calcutta India to Mother Thereasa's House of the Destitute and the Dying. I remember hearing stories about people who go to help out for a time and extreme things happen. During the DTS, India came up for me as something to pray for. The book I am currently reading, the author went to Calcutta to try to understand the poor that he might understand poverty. I have the time, I'm pretty sure I have the resources and who needs more than that?

...I don't know what else to say...It should be amazing, God always is.

Go Big or Go Home!

In Wanaka with God

Okay, let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up. I am in Wanaka New Zealand and I’ve been here for 29 hours and I don’t really want to leave. Yeah, it’s that awesome. Today the weather’s not as good as yesterday and yesterday I didn’t take my camera out so you’ll just have to wait for photos and a couple new videos.

God’s awesome and he’s given me a really cool place to stay and some cool people to hang out with so far. Not to mention amazing trails and mountains to climb and a mountain bike to ride all over them. He’s also given me a phone to use so that work can contact me. That is they’ll be able to contact me once I get the job. I’m trusting that God will give me that too.

The Church that I want to connect with here is called Lighthouse Church and is geared around worship and young people. Could this be an intro into something bigger? For those who are unaware, because I haven’t told you, I’ve got an interesting new idea that will alter the course of my travels.

I am in the process of applying to the YWAM base in Davos Switzerland to join the team there as a Staff member for the Snowboarder DTS beginning in November. The commitment is 12 months, which could be split into two 6 month Snowboarder DTSs. It’s incredibly exciting to see God move and encourage me about this direction. I don’t know if I will be accepted or not, but sometimes it’s the journey and not the destination that counts eh?

And on that note I guess this is a good place to mention that I am seriously considering full time missions work. Where? And doing what? I have no idea. Someplace where I am needed and serving people, the rest God can take care of. Don’t worry too much, I’ll visit.

Cool story, a couple nights ago while laying in bed I had one of those moments, or maybe it was an epiphany, and it was about how awesome God really is. How awesome I that? SOOOO AWSOME! And then more. It was really cool to feel that.

Well, I won’t bore you with details, I’ll get a few videos uploaded in a couple days though and they’ll give you the details and entertain you.

Matt Clarke
Go Big or Go Home!

Roaming the North Island

Over the past week, since DTS graduation and commissioning, I’ve been working my way around the North Island. Auckland, Tauranga, Rotorua, Wellington. Now I begin heading south with a bit more purpose. I’ve got a few people to meet along the way, but then I’ll end up in Wanaka. Let’s hope that I can arrange some accommodation before I get there.
While in Wellington, a few mates from the DTS and I toured around on our own and visited some of the LOTR filming sites. For example, the Hobbit hideout when the nazgul approach them on the road in Fellowship. The quarry where Helms Deep Battle Scenes were done, the location where close ups were done on the Anduin river, and the gardens in Isengard. It was cool to see the exact locations where the filming happened, but as I have seen the landscape along the roads and in the wilderness I can’t help but dream about hiking through the hills and to top it off the LOTR sound tracks keep playing in my head.
Unfortunately those dreams of hiking will have to wait. Hitching and Snowboarding are first so long as Jesus remains the center of attention and doesn’t tell me to go elsewhere or do otherwise. Of course I’m going to meet up with a few people that I got to minister to while on outreach. I hope to spend a day in Christchurch locating a guy from the street that we got to talk to. And another day in Picton with a guy from the church that we chilled at.

No idea what else to write. It’s been fun here, and there’s more to come.

End of Outreach

The end? Who'd think something this awesome could come to an end? But alas, all good things must come to an end so that something even better can occur. This last and final week is called re-entry. Discussing how to close off a season as intense and incredible as the past five months.

Some people reading this are probably curious to know what happened during the past six weeks while I was out on outreach, but at the moment I’m not in the place where I can pt all of that into words. Finishing off a DTS does not mean that you’ve now got your entire life together, you do not know what tomorrow will bring or how you will respond to it. Finishing a DTS doesn’t make you a guru on how to live the perfect Christian life. What does finishing a DTS leave you with? Hope and confidence. I know that I can make a difference, I have already made a difference to people. Here looks like a good place to slip in an outreach story.
The first week and a half of outreach in Fiji, a number of the guys were involved in a construction team, fixing things around the village wherever we could help. With very limited supplies and tools, and the chill attitude of the people, we disbanded the team whose focus had been stairs. In the town of Koroko (sp?) there was a lady who’d had a stroke and had been unable to walk and get around for years. Once the physiotherapist on the outreach had worked with her she made a special request for the construction team to be reassembled for one last mission; to provide stairs that this Lady could walk again. For what you do not yet know is that the only form of stairs her house had, was a stump at each door as a step up. With inferior nails and tough as rock wood, we struggled with hand tools to get the stairs us. At the end of the day we put in a mean set of stairs. You know what? By the time we left that village, she’d gone from sitting around all day to walking on her feet with crutches, unassisted by anyone else for the first time in years. This woman’s name is Elanore, and God loves her so very much.

For those who know me you know that I didn’t often shed tears, well I tell you what; I do now and even typing this story out has brought tears to my eyes, and this is only the part of the story that I was involved with, there is much more.

I don’t feel like typing out more details about outreach at the moment but upon request I may do so.
Right now my heart turns to God and those wounds in my heart that he wants to heal that I am trying to keep hidden. Here’s the funny part, I don’t even know exactly what they are. These next four days are going to be amazing and then, well then I’ll be alone. The sixteen four staff and team leader shall all go our separate ways, some will go together for a while, but for the most part we’ll be apart from people we have been in constant connection with for five months straight and I am not looking forward to that. On the other hand, this season of my life is closing, and I move on to the next season knowing that God’s walking alongside me and eagerly waiting to show me something cool, and I’m going to have one response: THAT’S AWSOME!

So, I hope that it’s good for you to hear from me again. PLEASE, continue to let other people know about this blog if you think they’ll like it or not. I want to share what I’ve learned and experienced that I might encourage some of them.

This is matt clarke
Go Big or Go Home!

Leaving tomorrow

I'm defenitly not a photographer, I still got nothing.
Anyways remember those pinapples I mentioend, yeah we bought 7 of them for $4, which with the exhcange rate what it's at that is like $2 canadian...pretty sweet eh? I'm pretty sure I ate a whole one today.

Funny story, my mother, bless her and a Happy Birthday to her as well, which is yesterday my time but I hope still today her time, but then i remembered her trip to Europe and I've no idea what time it is anywhere anymore, not even here. Oh right I was about to tell a story. My amazing mother sent me some cadbury mini eggs, evil chocolaty things that they are because of exploited coco workers...sorry, she sent them about 5 or six weeks ago and they still have no found me yet. I'm quite sad about it as are s few other students who're excited for North American Mini Eggs.

Anyhways, tomorrow's the day of days. We're officially finished with lecture phase and we're off to start our outreach on the island of Kioa. Not sure where it is but God's coming with so I think we'll find it. And if we don't we'll find a better palce.

This week was cool for lectures. Jim Hurn is a fun as guy (that's funny as, not funny ass...it's Kiwi jargan) Loads of energy and he spoke on guidance. The most important thing, You can't stear a ship if it's not moving. the same goes for cars, bikes, planes. God tells us when we're off the path, so start moving and he'll speak to you, and me.

Hope to play some touch rugby tonight with some lcoal guys, should eb an experience and a half.

AND I do not plan on hitting up a computer for another 6 weeks so hoep you all can have fun not hearing from me and trying to decipher what I'm saying through my non-spellchecked blog updates.

Until I update again,
Go Big or Go Home!

I'm on Fiji Time!

No pictures. "WHAT!?" you cry out "You're in Fiji and no pictures?" Well to be honest I am in Lautoka and there's not much worthy of me taking pictures. All those picturesque shots are the resorts. Next time you're here try getting into the real Fiji, it's even better.

To be honest, I think that this part of Fiji is very similar to Tijuana Mexico, only more tropical. The market's kind of cool, fresh pinapples availabel like EVERY day. And one thing that I think is amazing is that the people here know how to take a day off. On Good Friday, easter monday and every Sunday almost everything is closed down except for a random shop, the hotel restraunts and 1 internet cafe. A day off is a day off.

We've been staying at a couple different places, and by that I mean that we're spread out. Some sleep here, meals happen over there and then others are a 5 minute taxi ride away. I am part of those others.

The weeks here have been a true test of faith. we've been growing a lot anf tried even more. I feel that we're going to come through the fire better for it. Outreach starts in about a week and i'm nervous and excited.

OH! the sail...it was the most boring hardcore adventure I've ever had. The ship has auto pilot so you just stand and makesure you're not going to run into anything...except waves, we can hit those. Most everyone got sea sick. some more than others. I managed not to and I did not take any medication. My secret was stay outside as much as possible. I have been told that if I the Pacific Link doesn't make me sick than I am a born sailer. Aparently she has the ability to humble even the most experienced sailors. The only 'fun' thing I did was get 9 hours of steering under my belt; 1 more and I'll get a cirtificate of recognision that can be used as a reference if I ever want to get a job working aboard a ship.

So I'm still holding to God's promise to show me what He's got for me. At the moment I'm feeling torn. I could head to the South Island New Zealand for the snowboarding work and trying to hookup or start some kind of ministry reaching out to snowboarders and skiiers. My other option would be spending three or four weeks in Afghanistan to go on a ten day trek taking the gospel to villages that have never recieved it in written word. This would be as a member of a team that Dave is putting together. While more short term than I am looking for, I'm feeling a greater sense of peace about it, and MAN what an experience it would be. Back on the other hand I haven't yet lived on my own for any period of time and I believe that is somthing that makes Wanaka and New Zealand a moe unsettling choice.

That's my struggle, but I'm trusting in God, and from all the stories we've been reading about while on this school I don't think I'll be suprised if He takes me in some other direction all together.

Your prays are always welcome. If you don't fancy youself a religous person just think on me everyonce in a while.

Oh, I can't leave out. The Rugby here. Fijians LOVE Rugby. I would put Lautoka at Half the size of langley, but they have 12+ rugby teams, The langley club fields 2. I didn't get in on a game this past week. But look out, cause this saturday I'm going for it.

Until next time, Go Big or Go Home!

Week on Land

Again, I took no pictures this week, but for a different reason. We spent the week on land as the ship was dry-docked and I didn't have room to pack the camera. Not that I'd have had a chance to use it as there wasn't much beauty. Not going to lie, I missed the ship. My bunk at the Crystal Springs YWAM Base was shorter than the one on the ship and too small for me. I ended up pulling the mattress off the bed and sleeping on the floor.

I got to spend some amazing good times with God last week. We had a prayer and fast day and I never realised how even one day of fasting could help bring you closer to God. I didn't hear anything specifically from him, but simply spending time with him rocked my socks off.

We had speaking on Callings and Missions this week. What I took away from the week was that we don't have to get our calling before we head out on it. We can start moving towards something in faith and if our path changes along the way and heads to a destination we couldn't see at the beginning so be it. So now I'm going to step out and give God control. I'll make sure that I let him navigate and tell me where I'm to go. He's the captain of the ship, and I'm the helmsman, so ultimately it's up to me to obey his directions.

Tomorrow's the Big day for us. We're sailing to Fiji; 5 nights and 6 days at seas. It'll be an experience to remember. I am planning on NOT taking any sea sickness pills as I want to either not be sea sick at all, or feel its full force.

I purchased a rain jacket today, and a nice one at that. It's a light weight trekking style jacket with taped seams, sealed zippers and made out of the best...Gore-tex. And let's not forget the 40% off part, that's also a super bonus. It's a Kathmandu Jacket, which if I recon correctly, is similar to Canada’s MEC. Don't quote me on that one but I will find out more about the great outdoor shops the longer I'm here.
Still in the market for a tent and I still think that the best place will be MEC in Canada.

For those who don't know, I'm an uncle now. Me beautiful sister had a beautiful little baby. WOOT WOOT! Shout out to her.

OH! Exciting news, I've figured out my catch phrase for signing out of my Blogs...and a lot of other things...

Go Big or Go Home. This isn’t just a phrase to spure you on and encourage you on to grand adventures, but you also have to take in the second part. Sometimes it is better to "go home" as it were than to risk it all. It's another way to say "All or Nothing."

So folks, until the next time I get to post updates,
Go Big, or Go Home!

Orama and Beyond

So, no pictures this week because it was too beautiful for me to stop looking and go get my camera. Last week my front door opened out onto a goergious bay, yes we had to take a boat to get to land. It has an AMAZING view of rolling hills, mini mountains might be the best way to place them, This was on Great Barrier Island. Perhaps I can find a map for you and link it to the Title of this post. (We were in the Port Fitzroy area)

Orama is a small christian camp that exists to help people. It's a place of restoration. They also help to facilitate outdoor adventure camps for schools or other groups. It's an amazing place of beauty with hiking trails all over, and nothing but nature and people to be with. It was difficult to leave, and arriving in Auckland 4 hours later was a bit of a culture shock for some people. The harsh contrast between the little community and a large city. There have been many things I've seen on this trip that I've thought to myself that I'll never get to see again, but I think I will be back to Orama at least one more time.

While we were there I got the opportunity to go surfing, or splashing in the surf. Needless to say I did not do too well, but cool story. One of the guys I was surfing with started talking to one of the other guys out there, turns out he's in the top 25surfers in the world on vacation surfing the same spot as me...cool eh?

We're now in Auckland for a few days and I'm chilling at Frank and Colleen's house in the suburbs of the city. A very nice place I must admit. I didn't really want to get away from everyone else on the ship, but at the same time it may be a good thing to breat in some space.

SO much to share. This week's teachings was on Identity and our speaker was AMAZING! she's been through so much walking alongside God that he was able to use her story to speak volumes into each one of our lives. For me I came to DTS searching for a vision, a dream or a direction to take in life, but direction is somthing we get after we know who we are in God. If the direction is Point B, and knowing God is point A and all I wanted was point B then I've missed out on just how AMAZING and AWSOME (making it AMAZOME) point A is.

Oh, yeah there's not enough time in the day to study all the cool things in the Bible, especially when there's 4 more weeks of lectures that are all going to be so good and full of MORE stuff that I'll want to dive into and study.

I think this blog system is too limiting. I need multiple sections for different topics and ideas that want to flow. If anyone knows of some other systems of webpage managment, that'd be great.

PEACE!

Shipping Out

Well, I'm sailing out tonight at 19:00 h. We're heading to Great Barrier Island for a week and it's only going to be a 12 hour sail. From there we head to Auckland for a week so the ship can dry dock and then it's off to Fiji, six days and five nights on the water sailing in the deep blue. I'm so excited. How excited? SO excited.

I don't have manyd etails on what/where I'll be doing anything in Fiji, but I do know that I'll get a chance to help with the ship's clinic and eye tests and even visit schools to educate kids.

After Fiji, we're going to be splitting off into two seperate outreach groups. I've heard God telling me to go with the team to New Zealand. The plan is to fly into Christchurch and three weeks later end up in Auckland...Yup, that's the plan. We know the beginning and the end and everythign in the middle is up to God. We're going to spend a lot of time listening for guidance. I'm SO totally up for it.

To try and fill you in on what's been happening. Our alst week's speaker was talking to us on intercession and prayer, an amazing week if I've ever had one before. I'm so excited fro prayer and digging into God's word.
I've also realised that if/when I get bakc to a "normal" life, I'm not going to any any time to do anything else but read and pray...

I'm sure there was stuff I thought about putting here that I've forgotten about. OH Cathedral cove, it's the location where they filmed Prince Caspian, or part of it. The scene where the kids come out of the cave back into Narnia. It's actually wasn't much of a lcoation, but an awsome day trip one the less.

I ahd a crazy idea, or an awsome idea. hwo cool would it be to get a flight or a ship to the closest part of mainland asia and backpack my way to Europe and then fly/boat to eastern North America and backpack/hitchhike to BC?
I'm actually thinking about it. Of course it's not just a trip for me, but a chance to spread the gospel through the world.

Everything in a Nutshell

It’s about time for another update. First of all, I have been denied employment with Cardrona Mountain Resort for this season due to a lack of available positions. I have no idea what I’ll be doing after DTS but I know I’ll hear something from God. At this point the only option left for snowboarding is paying for a course at Treble Cone out of which they hire some people. I think I’m going to take the course because either way I’ll be able to learn something, and my flight doesn’t leave until July so I’ve got time to kill.

The surf elective this week was cool, even though there was no surfing. The waves were all blown out by the wind, as it’s been most of the week. That means no dawn patrol (surfing at sunrise) and that we had to climb the mount instead. Dang worship and small group at the top of a gorgeous look out on the coast of an amazing place on a clear and brilliant day? KIDDING! It was awesome. I took some photos of the hike and the peeps, and they are, as usual, linked to the title of this post.
If you go snooping around on my photo bucket page you’ll also find some videos about the ship. It’s annoying to try to upload them all but It’s coming about. In hindsight I’d have done them all as one video but I doubt that the camera’s memory would permit me to do so.

Last Friday we got a chance to chill with the local youth group. It’s so sweet the way the leaders get the youth to do as much as possible: Event announcements, worship band, inviting new people up to the front to introduce them. In talking to the leaders they simply make sure to walk beside them at all times to provide guidance and to help them when they stumble. They also try to do a lot of the “grunt” work in terms of scheduling events, booking locations, making flyers and calendars. Other than that the youth love the same things as Canadian youth: Ping Pong, Foosball, candy, and chilling.
No more epic adventures like an all day hike, but we are planning a trip to what’s called Cathedral cove, the location for Car Paravel in the film Prince Caspian. That’ll be this Sunday and should be money.

In a couple of days I’ll know a little more about where I am going for the second part of outreach. I’ve let the staff know where I feel called to go based on the options that they presented, and soon, I hope, we’ll get a chance to meet in outreach teams to discuss our “plans.” In this case it will involve our plans on how we’re going to rely on God. ..Seems kind of funny...OR AWSOME!

That’s everything, in a nutshell, for now
Do I even need to say who it is signing out? Come on, who am I?!

Where to?

Well a quick little update right now. We've been given the potential locations for the second part of our outreach and I really need some prayer about which one to go to. So if anyone feels comfortable praying to ask God to reveal to me where to go I would greatly appreciate that. I am making point not to mention here what the options are because this is about me hearing from God. I'll most certainly let you know by Friday.


...peace out.

PS. I think that if you're reading this block and aren't officially following it, I think that you should be

Shenanigans

Well the past couple of weeks have been pretty sweet in and of themselves, just nothing SUPER note worthy. Yesterday the boys went on a little adventure to climb some trees and it was awesome, except for the part where my ankle’s sore because I twisted it last week. Oh yeah maybe I’ll start there.
Last Saturday we were chilling at the main beach at Mt Maunganui which is open ocean and gets some good waves. I tried the surfing, but there were a lot of people and a super strong rip tide, together that put a damper on the experience. After the surfing I tried building a sandcastle, but that got interrupted by some sweet skim boarding on a boogie board. That’s when everything went wrong; I tried to ride a wave, hit it wrong, went down and BAM sprained ankle. As a result I haven’t been running this week and feel a little lazy.

Anyways, back to the trees. We climbed them, took some photos, it was good and photos will be linked via this posts title.

Other things: This last week’s speaker was a Doctor with many stories about reaching patients through her work as a councilor. The topic was supposed to be The Language of Jesus, but it wasn’t about hearing Him. In fact it was about how we can speak his language to others; very insightful and motivating, especially in the area of education and academics.

I sent off an application on Friday to Cardrona Ski hill in Wanaka on the south Island. I don’t know if that’s where God wants me after the DTS, but if it is, I pray that he gives me favour throughout the hiring process.

Michelle, you’ll like this, one of the students here is a Swing Dance instructor from Hawaii. How awesome is that? Yesterday was super stormy so we weren’t outside, despite my continued and desperate attempts to get people to go to the beach with me. Anyways, we instead used a good chunk of time to learn part of The Big Apple dance. If I can convince some of the other guys to learn to dance we MAY do some partner stuff, but that looks unlikely.

I haven’t heard back from God other than to Stand Firm and be Patient (James 5:8 jumped out at me)

That’s all for now Folks...

Photos

Here's those photos I promised from the tongariro crossing. Link is the post title.
That photo bucket account is where all the other photos that I MAY take will be posted.

im⋅pe⋅cu⋅ni⋅ous

Well since my vocabulary seems to be lacking...STEPH! I've decided to name this post after a word I may wish to use some day...or it was just a random word that I found, either way this could be fun
impecunious means to have little or no money. Today I got to do some deck hand work on the ship. I was painting over rust spots that had previously been ground off and primed. While I was going about my duties, I was thinking about the two guys who are currently the deck hands on board; neither one of them has much in the way of money and so one might say that they are impecunious. I wonder what it's like to truly live that way? I've almost always had at least some money, or had some money owed to me.

Oh, hey. I could ask everyone to think about, pray about or comment about what I should do after my DTS. Originally my plans involved snowboarding and backpacking NZ. Now, I'm not so sure. I want to make sure that I'm walking in God's will for me. I know that he can use me wherever I am, but I'm curious to know if there's somewhere specific that he wants me, something specific that I should be doing? It's all so frustrating at times.
I know I've said that he'll tell me by the end of the school, but I'd appreciate help in asking.

...

...lost for a creative title...

Well, this week’s had no huge event highlights like hiking Mt Doom or going surfing for the first time. Despite all of that it’s been freaking awesome. How awesome? SO awesome!

Our speakers this week have been Bruce and Barbara Thompson. They’ve been talking to us about the Divine Plumb Line. For those who are not builders, a plumb line is a tool used to measure how straight up and down something is. So they likened it to God’s intent for our lives being His plumb line and talked about the ways in which we stray from his intended path. I realize that the explanation I’ve just given here is a summarization of a week of lectures that actually usually takes 2 weeks to go through, we got the condensed version.

The more lectures we have, on any topic, the more I can see how similar this DTS is to Landmark Education. Many of you will know about Landmark, some will not, it’s okay, don’t worry too much. But it’s also clear to me that the stuff landmark teaches is not some new revelation at all, it’s in the Bible, it’s a couple of millennia old. We have to take the rejection, the hurt, and the rebellion of our pasts and give it up to God that we might be free of it and not project it into our future so that we can live in the present for the benefit of his kingdom free from the fear of man.

This week we also looked at the Story of Jacob and Esau and how Jacob wrestled with an angel all night until he was blessed. The angel re-named him Israel which means, he struggles with God or child of God, heir of God. Each of these things is something that I have learned, before looking back at this story. On the first day of Lectures I had the revelation (understanding or comprehension) in my heart that I AM indeed an heir of Christ and I don’t think I’ll ever miss a chance to keep affirming this. I’ve also felt that in order to get what I want, my blessing, of discovering how God wants me to serve him, I have to not only be patient, but demanding. I have to wrestle it from him.

Another note, I twisted my ankle at the beach yesterday. :’(. But it’ll be okay, I hope. I was trying to skim board on a boogie board. Whoopsy. And this coming Friday, I’m going to get a chance to chill with some youths from one of the local churches.

Keep on chillin.

Mount DOOM!

Well for those who are not familiar with the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, here's some helpful information. The movies were filmed in one big long 18 months of principle cinematography in the fine country of New Zealand. Many of the scenes in Mordor were filmed at the Tongariro National Park. What you may not know about this park is that it is also home to NZ's best one day track (or hike) Of course it is more of a track as in a path than a hike, and a busy one at that. Now part way through the day one finds that they are looking up at Mt Ngauruhoe. Now to many of you this name has no meaning so we'll call it Mount Doom, because it is the same mountain used in the movies.

Now, some of you may be wondering if I climbed it or not. Others know that I did without me telling you but let me put this in perspective. The entire track, without doing Mt Ngauruhoe, is an 8 hour track. The side track up the Mount is a 3 hour return trip. Now since the track is not a loop, we had arranged for pickup on the other side to be there 8 hours from out start time. So my challenge was to try and fit in 11 hours worth of hiking into 8. Those who have seen me on a hike...not many actually...will know that God's given me the, well the proper word would probably be fortitude, or endurance but I think stubbornness would also apply, to keep on trekking and get it done in the allotted time. However since I was with a group of other people less inclined to adopt my pace I felt behind schedule. And so, I did take off from the other to climb Mt DOOM!

What a hike, I tell you what. Volcanic, lose rock and sand (screet). The best place to climb up was along a ridge where the footing was far more secure. Unfortunately, due to my previously explained time restraint I did not climb to the very summit of the mount and peer into the heart of Mt Doom. I did get some cool pictures from the top (posted later) and the best part was still to come.

On the way down, the screet turned from enemy to friend where in you could crouch down, almost sitting on my own heels and slide down the side of the Mount. When that got boring I could leap and slide, leap and slide. It was totally worth the brutal trip up and could only have been made better with a snowboard and snow. Side note, there was still some snow at the top of the mountain, turned to ice now but it was there.

So yeah, the rest of the hike was boring in comparison to climbing Mt. Doom, but trying none the less. The last hour or so was the worst as I could very much feel the energy having already left my legs and with no desire to eat anything more I simply kept plowing forward. Not that good of an idea in hind sight; today I was tired and sluggish.

So I thank God for making me someone who’s stubborn enough to fit 11 hours of hiking into 6 1/2 hours. I managed to meet up with the rest of my group further on down the track and I got to hear about the adventures they’d had together.

All in all a good day.

For those curious, I took with me my camelback with 2L of water, that ran out and I refilled, some sandwiches, trail mix, an extra layer, a toque, shades, sunscreen, a bandana, and a first aid kit. The extra clothes because the weather can change quickly, and the gloves even came in handy on the trip down as the loose rocks were sharp. If anyone’s ever planning on doing this trek, I recommend a decent pair of light weight gloves. Mine were Evo cycling gloves with a padded leader palm and they were perfect.

Oh, and as far as I’m concerned, Sam and Frodo missed out on the best part of Mt Doom, the slide down.

Where am I going?

Man the titles of these posts can be challenging to come up with. This post's title reflects more what my entire purpose of coming to NZ is all about. Seeking after a direction in my life. However I do not want it to be just any direction, I want it to be God's. So I asked him, and he didn't say anything. SO I asked again, and nothing still. Yet despite the lack of an answer to my question, I feel that I will find it in the last week or two of the DTS. Patience, all I am supposed to be doing right now is taking part in the school. It's quite a nice feeling to know I'm where I should be, and yet the time is passing so quickly already I'm trying to savor it. Before I know it all 5 months will be gone... :'(

On another note, I so totally wish that I'd brought my longboard (skateboard designed for cruising and going fast) with me as this place is prime longboarding place...I may have to buy one. On the other hand a new longboard just wouldn't be the same as my Never Summer board that I could bring down here in July...See what type of tough things I have on my mind?

Kidding! There's SO much sweet stuff happening here that I can't write it all out. This is just a taste. OH! I bought a book today, A Sheperd Looks at Psalm 23. I remember Eryn, at least I think it was he, doing a short bible study witht hat book and now that I am in sheep country I thought I'd read it again.

I purchased the book while on a nice long walk, that was kind of sore, which lead me to desire the longboard even more.

Tomorrow there's a nice big and long hike to do. same place, different time!

What's NOT happening?

Well, there's pretty much so much going on that this update is more of a filling you peoples in on whats been happening. Therefore I will probably be bouncing around quite a bit.

Well, I'm living on a ship, not a boat, it's a ship, there's a total of 8 crew members, 16 students, 4 staff and 1 school leader. The amount of people involved in the Marine reach ministry is overwhelming. I never could have guessed just how many people are required to keep this thing moving forward. There's half a dozen people at the office, another 4 or 5 taking care of the medical and another small group of gentlemen who help out with maintenance on the ship. Lots of people coming and going, it's a lot of fun.

Yesterday, after surfing, I left my bible atop the van and lost it as we drove off. We went back and searched for it with no luck. So, today I went to a little book shop and purchased a new one. This one is an NIV translation where my last one was a NLV. I'm thinking that I may try to take it back and get a different one. As nice and modern as the NIV is, and I do like it don't get me wrong, I am quite the fan of the older styles of speach. There ain't no school like the old school.

Nearby there are a couple of sweet parks. One that is closely assiciated with the ship is Gideon's Field. It holds some similarities to a Nature Reserve, and native land. It has special significance to the Maori people. Our first time there was on our first friday, almost two weeks ago at which time we recieved a welcome from the Maori there. Not many of the native's live on site, but they do use it for ceremonies. It was incredibly interesting to watch the cultural dance and ceremony of welcome.

Also near by is another small park and waterfall which also has gorgeous swimming and cliff jumping. I do so want to go back there. But that will have to wait as we're planning to do an eight hour hike this weekend, which as far as I am concern will be AWSOME!

I think that'll fill in most of the holes for now. Oh, the DTS lectures, walking in the fear of the Lord has been this week and man is it amazing. I can't begin to describe it here without going on for another two pages.

Enjoy the cold Canada...

Surfs Up

Wednesday is elective day, so for me that means surfing. There are 5 other students who're taking the surfing elective as well. Today was our first official day in the water, but that hasn't stopped me from getting out there. The ship has a couple of surfboards that I can use. Unfortunately there quite short for me, especially to learn on, but it's definitely fun to paddle around in the waves. Today, with a ten foot board instead of a six foot board I was just able to get to my feet. It was at the last moment, but I was stable.

Our surf instructor is one of the DTS staff members and despite never having officially taught anyone how to surf, he's quite proficient at it. In total I've been our on the surf board 4 times now with greater success each time. I hope to start catching waves all over the place from now on. I'm even thinking about buying a used surfboard, on that I fit on, so I can ride anytime.

Other than surfing today was a very busy day, and all I wanted was a bit of quiet time, but that was not granted. I did however place on the alter something that was coming between God and myself. I had to give up control. my plans for post DTS life. Plans of snowboarding and hiking around NZ. I've no idea what I'll be doing after the DTS, or if I'll even be using my work visa here. But you know what? I've got 5 months to hear from God. People here have been telling stories of God's last second miricles, but those only emphasis how awsomly awsome he is.

Wherever he leads me, that's where the party's at.

The Beginnig

Well here I am in Tauranga New Zealand on board the M/V Pacific Link. That's right, I'm living in NZ on a ship with a nice squishy bunk, actually it's not too bad and I', 5'17". I'm here as a student in a Discipleship Training School (DTS) run by Youth With a Mission (YWAM). It's Week 3 right now and we're moving right along with Lectures. At the end of March we will be sailing for Auckland and then after that for the Island Nation of Fiji for the outreach portion of our trip.

I came to this school looking to see if I couldn't find some direction for my life. Well I haven't found it yet, but that doesn't mean I haven't found anything; this place is loaded with amazing people, things to do and most important, the presence of God.

Well during my time here I will get a chance to serve God, live on board a ship, chill with sweet peeps and learn how to surf. If that doesn't sound like a pretty Hardcore Adventure, I don't know what does.

Of course, once the DTS is finished, there are only going to be more adventures in the lovely country of New Zealand. I have acquired a 1 year Working-Holiday visa and am going to put it to use. I hope to work on a ski-hill teaching snowboarding (hmmm, that's kind of ironic) for the summer...i mean winter, but...eer...okay it'll be June-October whatever season you're in. And then after that I'm going to go backpacking around, ummm, how about, the ENTIRE COUNTRY?! Sounds good to me.

Oh man, so much to write...but I don't want to make this post huge. I'll leave you here for now with me in NZ having a grand ol time.

Catch ya on the flip side...