Its getting exciting

After an intense and fun week with Sam Hoffman teaching on Missions and Evangelism it was very nice to have a weekend to just chill out, relax and get some work done. We were told who our leaders for our outreach teams are and also who is in our teams. My team to Fiji is led by Jake Fischer with Bec, Michelle Durst, and Epeli (who is from Fiji) and the students are Levi, Paul, Alex, Simone, Maren, Kaylen, Sarah, and me. I'm very excited and am really looking forward to outreach because everyone going is awesome! The current week we had Steve Aherne talk about Submission and Authority. He was only here for 3 days but he was a great speaker and really challenged us. He also talked a good amount about Relationships and that was also very very good. Your prayers are always appreciated!

-Matthew

Outreach Decided and Surfing

Last week we had Beryl Henwood teach on Spiritual Warfare. It was a very good week of learning about the spiritual realm but I didnt feel very challenged. I think this was because we only had 4 days of teachings so we couldnt go very deep into the teachings. We only had 4 days of lectures because we left for Taranaki on Friday. We were told during the week that our Outreach options are Fiji/Samoa or India so I prayed about that all week to see which one God is calling me to go to. I decided on going to Fiji and I am very excited about going! We left to go to Taranaki Friday after lunch and got there about 6 hours later after stopping a couple times to go shopping or get food. We were volunteering at Christian Surfers New Zealand. It was very fun, we helped set up a mini-ramp for skateboarding, we were in charge of the concession stand, and we got to surf, of course! We are now having lectures on Missions and Evangelism by Sam Hoffman. So far it is great! Thank You for your prayers!

-Matthew

Weekend Off!

So it is a beautiful Saturday Morning here and Levi Nigh and I are at Blythen's house for our weekend off. They are a family that is connected with other YWAM bases and let YWAMers stay at their house for a short amount of time. We left Friday around 1 o clock and got a ride with 9 other girls from our base who were driving up North too. After being crammed in a 11 seater van we got dropped off at the Blythen's house and unpacked. (Of course us guys had only one backpack for the weekend and the girls had a whole suitcase.) That night we went Possum hunting. It was so much fun. We got 8 possums and 3 Turkeys in about 1 hour. (not bad right?)

Today we probably will go somewhere to swim or something and just hang out. The past week was awesome because we had Jono Turner speaking on the Father Heart of God and I could tell alot of healing happened for alot of the students and staff.

-Matthew

The Holy Spirit

Wow, What an awesome week this has been! We have had teachings on the Holy Spirit by Mel Maloney. He is great I had him pray for me and he really encouraged me and said that I would be set free from something while I am here at YWAM. I keep praying about what he said and am looking forward to see what that is. Tuesday night was amazing! there was a time of ministry near the end of the night and us students had our first experience with seeing some deliverance from demonic spirits. It was a good experience and us guys talked about it later that night. Mel ended his teaching on Thursday and we started going to the UNRELENTING Conference at Taraunga House of Prayer. This conference is awesome, with great worship, and speakers. Today is the last day at UNRELENTING, it should be great! I would love continued prayer for focus/concentration and health. The internet is working again here in Matamata which is good. :) You can always check my facebook for pictures.

-Matthew

A full week!

This week and the last week were quite busy. It has been great though. We had teachings on Identity, Worldview, and Hearing Gods Voice! All of them have been very great! Mandy Hudson the teacher for Hearing Gods voice has been my favorite so far! I have gotten the chance to go to Taranga House of Prayer and it has been great I am planning on going every Friday night! I love it! Sorry that I havent had a chance to update this. The internet is down at the base and I have had to go into town to access the internet at an internet cafe. There will be a newsletter sent out very soon. Dont Worry my good friends! I am having a great time and would like prayer for focus mainly. Thanks

-Matthew

Teachings Start

This first week has been awesome. Your prayers have definently been helping. I have really bonded with the 3 guys that I am sharing a room with (Adrian-Oregon, Tim-Mississippi, and Levi-Canada) Teachings started on Wednesday afternoon and they are great. This whole week (Wed-Fri) are teachings on the Nature and Character of God. I have really had fun going to the Gap and just worship God with others. Wednesday has been the best day so far. We had "recreation" and played volleyball with water balloons and it was was quite refreshing after having the sun beat down on us for hours. After that I had some time alone in my cabin just playing the guitar and worshipping. Later that evening Adrian and I got a huge group of people to gather in the Gap and just hang out and play games. For about 4 hours from 7-11 we played ninja, Wa, and mafia. It was so much fun! Us guys walked back to our cabin and read a chapter of "Is That Really You God" together. After that we were just laying talking about our lives and what we see God doing. We decided to just go to the prayer room and just soak in the presence of God together praying for each other. We have all really struggled with many of the same things in our life. All of us did know about each others lives because we had told our "life stories" in front of our DTS during the past week. It was amazing to see everyones low points and high points. We ended our time in the prayer room at about 1 am Thursday morning and we all felt like it was a great time and we really got closer as brothers. Your prayers are very much appreciated still for focus.

Thanks,

Matthew

A First Look at New Zealand

After a great 13 hour flight on a huge New Zealand Airlines 747 plane I found that I was quite tired. I got picked up at Auckland airport and drove about 10 minutes to Kings Kids around 9 o'clock a.m. NZ time. Kings Kids is where I will be staying untill Saturday evening where we will be taking the 2 hour drive up to the base in Matamata. I was the 3rd student to arrive and about 8 have come since. We are expecting 15 students in our whole DTS. Mostly all of Thursday I slept and relaxed and talked with the other DTS students. I woke up today (Friday) and made some breakfast and talked with the leaders and some students. At about 12 o'clock me and 3 other girls had a great time of worship just playing random songs. It was a great start to this "school of worship." Around 3 we left for Auckland City. In the city we walked around and went in different local shops, it was quite fun. We ate at a Japanese resturant and just sat and talked until we had to leave again to return to Kings Kids. I am heading to bed now and looking forward to finally settle in at our base in Matamata.

p.s. I love the weather here. Today it was quite windy but sunny. Very beautiful and green!

Your prayers are much appreciated.
- Matthew