Half Way

As I write this I am sitting in the library of a beautiful, tiny, mountain town called Hanmer Springs whose existence seems to stem from the hot springs its named after. It is beautiful town – surrounded by mountain, filled with pine trees, and cut in hallf by a single street that is considered down town. It is Chrismas Eve, but its sunny and about 75 degrees outside. My body is longing for the snow and cold of home and I'm missing my family; yet, those feelings are muddled an excitement that is building up in me as I am on the fresh side of a 20 day adventure that will be spent touring the coast of New Zealand with four other guys. My Christmas holiday is feeling more like summer break, but then again it is summer down here.

The semester has ended and it’s hard to believe that it’s over and that I’ve been down here for nearly four months. The time has flown by, as can be expected, but it has also been filled with those slow, ideal moments where it seems that nothing more needs to be added or taken away from the situation for it to be perfect. The semester has certainly been full too. Its been filled with the occasional trip on the weekend; a week away serving at a camp for grade schoolers; a school wide back packing trip, tons of campfires, games, and laughs; guy and girl nights that have included everything from rally racing to Iron Chef competitions; trips to the nearby river for swimming and hiking; and of course the typical routine of day to day life.

I think the highlight of my time down here has been the relationships I’ve gotten to form with the guys and the time I’ve been able to spend with them. We share heaps of crazy, typical guy moments like late night swimming on the coast, lighting things on fire, possum hunting with a water-balloon sling shot, rock climbing, and camping out, but we’ve also shared a lot of meaningful moments that are filled with honest conversation and depth. It has been a very cool experience to see these guys grow while they’ve been down here, both as individuals and in their relationship with the Lord. All the guys have a genuine desire to grow as men – to lead, serve and know the Lord – and that’s been a very encouraging thing to see. You always hear from teachers how neat it is to see a concept click in a students mind. I now know what there are talking about. However, as I look at this semester I don’t feel like I’ve seen the guys have one single click of clarity as much as its been a click that turns into a process of continual growth. That is the thing about discovering God’s love and grace – it’s not something that you realize once; it is a process of continually recognizing that there is nothing you can or can’t do to change how much God loves you. It is also the realization that there is nothing that you need to do to earn God’s love. All the love, grace and approval any one will ever need has been freely given to us through Jesus. 

This is what has clicked in the guys minds and this is the process that I’ve been privileged to walk with them through. It has been awesome to see how the Lord has worked not only in the lives of the guys but in the girls too. All the students have grown and changed over this last semester – some more than other and some in more obvious, outspoken ways, but the Lord has worked as he is faithful to do.

In all honesty, it has been a challenging semester, but because of that I feel it has been a rewarding semester; as it is in the challenges of life that we grow. Living in community is difficult; you can’t hide when you live with the same 18 people for 9 months. You quickly realize how selfish, impatient, and judgmental you are, but with realizations like that comes the opportunity to work on them and ultimately let the Lord work on you. So, even though I’m worn out from working and giving for what seems to have been all day since the semester began; I’m thankful for God’s faithfulness and goodness towards as he has sustained me and given me such an awesome opportunity in being here.