Dear family and friends,
Hello, how are you? I hope you are doing well, and that God is working in your life as much as He is in mine. God has really been working in my life, like crazy, and He has really been revealing
His will to me more and more. I am writing you this letter to share
with you an awesome ministry opportunity that God's given me.
From mid-December till mid-March , God has offered me the opportunity to stay in New Zealand for my outreach phase of DTS. During this outreach, we will be traveling around New Zealand
getting to go on prayer walks, speaking in churches, giving more
awareness to the public on justice issues and will just get to show and
be Jesus to the people of New Zealand.
Although I believe God will provide for me an my team, I would like to
specifically
ask for you to pray for me and the others who will be going with me.
There are 5 girls on my team; Stephanie (staff, USA), Valerie (USA),
Lily (Canada) and Lizzie (England). They are so awesome and we would all
really appreciate your prayers. Also, please pray that all our
financial needs will be met.
In order to go on outreach, I will need to $6,150
NZD which is about (today) $5023 USD. Would you pray about helping
me with a small donation? Whether you feel led to contribute financially
or commit to prayer (or
both), I truly appreciate your support. I'm so excited to see what God
has in store for me, my team and New Zealand. I can't wait to share it
with you.
If you wish to send a check, please make it payable to 'Jolanthe Schaefer' and please send it to:
YWAM Oxford Attn: Jolanthe Schaefer
PO Box 47
Oxford, North Canterbury 7443
New Zealand
If you have any questions about what I'm doing in New Zealand or
what I've been up or have any questions about outreach please email me.
I'm really open to questions.
God is so faithful,
Jolanthe Schaefer
11.16.2012
11.14.2012
Church Serving Week
Hey everyone! I hope you're having a good Tuesday, even though I'm already enjoying my Wednesday :) So some news. Got back from my church serving week, had tons of fun but also got to bond well with my outreach team. So the low-down on the week:
Monday: We got to help out a church, Spryden Baptist Church picking up rubbish around their property and got to chat with the main custodian about what the church does in the community and boy do they host a lot of events! Everyday was booked full, I believe he said they have something like 100 small groups in their church that meet every week. We also met the I.T. guy, Donald who I found out worked at Camp Arnes for I think 2 summers. So if any of you know him, that's really cool... after (we were only there for 2 hours maybe) we went to Lyttelton and drove on some fun roads that were really narrow and high up, but the view of the harbor was awesome! After we went to Sumner Beach where we ate our lunch and fought seagulls. That evening we went to our host's house, where we stayed till Thursday morning (Jon and Mauri's house, Jon is the Basic Leadership School leader at base). We made dinner and hung out as a team and then went to bed...
Tuesday: Was going to go to a man's house to help him clean, but he ended up being quite sick so we went instead to Eastside Earthquake Support Angels base, called the Palace. We ended up cleaning and prepping the space for the new flooring that was going to be put in, last Saturday. After we went back to Jon and Mauri's for dinner and than we got to hang out and watch some great tv shows with them, like the Mentalist and Castle which funny enough were on Canadian stations (CTV). It was kind of weird though, haven't really watched movies or tv in awhile....
Wednesday: This day we went to an older man's apartment to help him clean his place up to make it livable, sort of. He lived in this tiny apartment for 5 years and I know he never cleaned it once, a book hoarder, slightly schizophrenic and a kitchen with mold even on the drying rack for his dishes, it seemed a little overwhelming. But it was awesome! We got to clean his very small kitchen which by the end, we could actually see what was under the mold and tons of dirt. We got to hoover (vacuum) most of his apartment as the vacuum wasn't in the best shape, but man, after we cleaned most of his apartment it was a miracle. It was so awesome to be able to help and bless this man in this really practical way. So cool. After we went to the mall and hung out and debriefed a bit, and than had dinner and hung out with our hosts :).
Thursday: Had a time of prophecy for Mauri's friend after brekkie and then we headed to Noah and Kate's house where we would be staying the night. Noah and Kate are contacts with the base and do a lot of connecting in Christchurch. Once there we got to help out Kate organizing their garage and sorting things for the rubbish bin, charity and garage sale. For dinner our team went out for pizza at a famous pizza place in NZ called Winnie Bagos.It was an awesome relaxing evening chilling with my team and getting to know them better.
Friday: So this was probably one of my favourite days. Our team got to hang out with Noah, doing yard work around their yard. Raking, trimming the hedges and just helping them out with stuff they need to do in order to clean the yard from the big earthquakes. We filled a trailer full of leaves and bushes and great biodegradable stuff and we 5 of us including Noah (not including Stephanie because she was at a meeting) and we got to the dump of Christchurch. It was a good time :) Returning to the cleanness of their home we let them go out on a date... and we got to babysit their daughter Sparrow (6 months old). When they came back from their romantic evening out we got to pray with and over them before heading back to the base at around 10.
Saturday (our day off): Got to sleep in!!! My team had brunch of really yummy chocolate chip pancakes (I even got gluten free ones!!) outside on a picnic table which my leader Stephanie had wonderfully laid out as a tea party. And for the afternoon we went to Rangiora to "shop" and thrift. A fun relaxing day getting to know our team better!
And so that was my church serving week... tons of learning and tons of fun!
Monday: We got to help out a church, Spryden Baptist Church picking up rubbish around their property and got to chat with the main custodian about what the church does in the community and boy do they host a lot of events! Everyday was booked full, I believe he said they have something like 100 small groups in their church that meet every week. We also met the I.T. guy, Donald who I found out worked at Camp Arnes for I think 2 summers. So if any of you know him, that's really cool... after (we were only there for 2 hours maybe) we went to Lyttelton and drove on some fun roads that were really narrow and high up, but the view of the harbor was awesome! After we went to Sumner Beach where we ate our lunch and fought seagulls. That evening we went to our host's house, where we stayed till Thursday morning (Jon and Mauri's house, Jon is the Basic Leadership School leader at base). We made dinner and hung out as a team and then went to bed...
Tuesday: Was going to go to a man's house to help him clean, but he ended up being quite sick so we went instead to Eastside Earthquake Support Angels base, called the Palace. We ended up cleaning and prepping the space for the new flooring that was going to be put in, last Saturday. After we went back to Jon and Mauri's for dinner and than we got to hang out and watch some great tv shows with them, like the Mentalist and Castle which funny enough were on Canadian stations (CTV). It was kind of weird though, haven't really watched movies or tv in awhile....
Wednesday: This day we went to an older man's apartment to help him clean his place up to make it livable, sort of. He lived in this tiny apartment for 5 years and I know he never cleaned it once, a book hoarder, slightly schizophrenic and a kitchen with mold even on the drying rack for his dishes, it seemed a little overwhelming. But it was awesome! We got to clean his very small kitchen which by the end, we could actually see what was under the mold and tons of dirt. We got to hoover (vacuum) most of his apartment as the vacuum wasn't in the best shape, but man, after we cleaned most of his apartment it was a miracle. It was so awesome to be able to help and bless this man in this really practical way. So cool. After we went to the mall and hung out and debriefed a bit, and than had dinner and hung out with our hosts :).
Thursday: Had a time of prophecy for Mauri's friend after brekkie and then we headed to Noah and Kate's house where we would be staying the night. Noah and Kate are contacts with the base and do a lot of connecting in Christchurch. Once there we got to help out Kate organizing their garage and sorting things for the rubbish bin, charity and garage sale. For dinner our team went out for pizza at a famous pizza place in NZ called Winnie Bagos.It was an awesome relaxing evening chilling with my team and getting to know them better.
Friday: So this was probably one of my favourite days. Our team got to hang out with Noah, doing yard work around their yard. Raking, trimming the hedges and just helping them out with stuff they need to do in order to clean the yard from the big earthquakes. We filled a trailer full of leaves and bushes and great biodegradable stuff and we 5 of us including Noah (not including Stephanie because she was at a meeting) and we got to the dump of Christchurch. It was a good time :) Returning to the cleanness of their home we let them go out on a date... and we got to babysit their daughter Sparrow (6 months old). When they came back from their romantic evening out we got to pray with and over them before heading back to the base at around 10.
Saturday (our day off): Got to sleep in!!! My team had brunch of really yummy chocolate chip pancakes (I even got gluten free ones!!) outside on a picnic table which my leader Stephanie had wonderfully laid out as a tea party. And for the afternoon we went to Rangiora to "shop" and thrift. A fun relaxing day getting to know our team better!
And so that was my church serving week... tons of learning and tons of fun!
11.04.2012
Hey Ya'll!
Hey Ya'll!
So before I go to bed, just wanted to let ya'll know that I'm heading out tomorrow morning to Christchurch (about an hour away from the base) for my church serving week. I'll be getting to hang out and serve the community with my outreach team of 5 (including myself) for a week (coming back home on Saturday night). We'll be doing odd jobs around a church, helping a local YWAM couple with earthquake clean-up at their house, helping a local organization Mel's Angels who help the local people who've been impacted by the earthquakes clean and move their houses. I'll be getting to stay, with my team, at two different couples homes in Christchurch who are involved with YWAM Oxford. So excited for this week! Please pray for us, it's always appreciated! Goodnights ya'll! :)
So before I go to bed, just wanted to let ya'll know that I'm heading out tomorrow morning to Christchurch (about an hour away from the base) for my church serving week. I'll be getting to hang out and serve the community with my outreach team of 5 (including myself) for a week (coming back home on Saturday night). We'll be doing odd jobs around a church, helping a local YWAM couple with earthquake clean-up at their house, helping a local organization Mel's Angels who help the local people who've been impacted by the earthquakes clean and move their houses. I'll be getting to stay, with my team, at two different couples homes in Christchurch who are involved with YWAM Oxford. So excited for this week! Please pray for us, it's always appreciated! Goodnights ya'll! :)
11.02.2012
Praise and Prayer
I have a few prayer/praise request for you guys...
- Pray for my school leader Kent; he left today for a week to go home as his grandmother is passing
- Pray for next week; our four outreach teams are leaving the base for a week, it's our church serving week where we'll get to serve different communities... mine specifically is going to be going to Christchurch, so please pray for unity for each of the teams (we'll be spending 3 months of outreach with them in 7 weeks), boldness and courage to share the Gospel and also willing hearts to serve the people of New Zealand this next week.
- Pray for the snowboard/ ski school that is returning from their outreach on Sunday and their graduation in a week
- Pray for our speaker Josh Menning that he would be blessed for speaking this last week on the Holy Spirit and that he would be encouraged as he returns to France to countinue leading the DTS there.
- Pray for outreach funds and that they would be provided.
- Praise that our God is full of justice and grace!
- Praise that God is a loving Father and forever faithful!
Isaiah 61
The Year of the Lord’s Favor
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations.
5 Strangers will shepherd your flocks;
foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
6 And you will be called priests of the Lord,
you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth of nations,
and in their riches you will boast.
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations.
5 Strangers will shepherd your flocks;
foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
6 And you will be called priests of the Lord,
you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth of nations,
and in their riches you will boast.
7 Instead of your shame
you will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so you will inherit a double portion in your land,
and everlasting joy will be yours.
you will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so you will inherit a double portion in your land,
and everlasting joy will be yours.
8 “For I, the Lord, love justice;
I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
In my faithfulness I will reward my people
and make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their descendants will be known among the nations
and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”
I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
In my faithfulness I will reward my people
and make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Their descendants will be known among the nations
and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”
10 I delight greatly in the Lord;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness
and praise spring up before all nations. (NIV)
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness
and praise spring up before all nations. (NIV)
11.01.2012
Outreach Locations
Hello everyone!! So I have some exciting news! I found out my outreach location today! I'm super pumped and I love my team! There are five of us all together, one leader and 4 girls. It's so exciting. Play the video and take a guess of where I'm going... I would love to hear from you! :)
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