chicken dinner

Happy Monday morning everyone! Well it's technically still Sunday in the States... but it's back to school for us here. I'm feeling excited going into this week- but still a bit intimidated by all the new students. I'd love for you to join in praying with me this week...

Monday: That God would transform the lives of students-- no matter where they're at in the journey.
Tuesday: That our team would have a genuine love for the students.
Wednesday: For God's power in our ministry to meet and reach new students. This day we will be trying to meet and talk with thousands of students.
Thursday: For me to not be scared or overwhelmed, but to be encouraged by who God is.
Friday: That we would have faith to love the unlovable, to trust God with all things.

It still awes me to think about all of you praying for the people here and how powerful your prayers are. So thank you heaps for your love. I'm totally due for a new blog post, I'm sorry if I've kept you waiting. But I'll try to update you on some of the happenings here.

the ministry: Oh man have I learned lots already and oh man how much more I have to learn! The past 2 weeks I have been immersed in the planning/ preparing/ praying stages of ministry and some days have been harder than others. I totally love and appreciate these aspects of my "job" but if any of you have been a part of such planning-- it can be paralysing. Are we doing this the best way possible? Are we following God by doing this? Are we just saying this or are we doing this? Do we understand the message we are sending? Day after day I have been talking with my teammates, reading books, and asking God to lead us-- but I have realised even more through this that God is gonna have to do His thing here or none of this will work. This is indeed why I have asked you to join with me in prayer. Two things have stood out to me this last week on campus:

• 1. Uni students are bombarded with clubs, businesses, classes, and causes that their lives should be about. While on campus for the 1st day back I was approached by the bank 4 times to sign up for their deal!!!! How can I show someone who God is w/o acting like the consumer-hungry bank?
• 2. Seeing all of the 1st year students arrive and head to the clubs and parties in droves has reminded me that I'm gonna have to get off my butt to reach these students. They are at the party, not church. I've been thinking about how movements start on the outskirts anyways... how can I place myself there and not fear the darkness in these places?

mosaic: Again- I feel like I have learned more from my experiences with Mosaic than I could have imagined-- or even knew that I needed to learn. When I began the church search here in Welli I thought it would be lovely- I would find a place that suits me and all would be grand. When we found the Mosaic community I fell in love. In the past month I think I had to take a step back and realise it was only lust-- it was me going after a church just like we go after relationships- with ourselves in mind. Don't get me wrong- Mosaic is a place to truly love, and I am beginning to, but this takes time, patience, perseverance, and lots of relationship building. The times and things I'm learning through Mosaic push me further like no other church experience has. It was good for me to take a step back- from myself.

Welli: I love this city. That is basically all I need to say. I love Wellington. Ahhhh amazing! The times that make me fall more in love with this place are my jogs along the waterfront-- I could do this everyday if I had time! And of course all the cafes. Please come visit... you'll love it too!

K-- all for now. Oh and yes I embarrassed myself again this week-- this time with my teammates. I thought I would make a lovely chicken dinner. I breaded it with all these lovely spices and bread crumbs, put it in the oven to bake.... and then Sarah asked me if I meant to make breaded pork chops. Of course-- who doesn't know chicken from pork???? :)

Love and miss all of you!!!! Please pray with me this week-- Lacey

Sweetness

He's not just a pretty face... but he does have a pretty face.

Baby fix

Baby Hudson... he is precious. How fun to have a baby on our team!!!!

inside my head

I really can't fathom where each week goes. Today is Thursday, February 7th, but it might as well be Monday. I can't recall what happened to Monday through Wednesday-- well I think I can, but still, time flies. It has been a good week so far- our team feels a bit more complete as 1 of the Kiwi men has moved in with Justin and students are beginning to come around more often. Our team is so excited to get back on campus in a week or so! In preperation of the school year starting, our team has been reading the book, Organic Church, which I'm really enjoying- so I thought I'd share some thoughts/ questions that I've been having stemming from the book. I know you're excited:)

So this book is not the most eloquently written book-- sometimes the English girl in me laughs at it-- and sometimes I get real frusturated at the book and disagree with it-- but Neil Cole does make some really good points which I think our team needs to spend some time with. (yes Brandt if you are reading I know that I just ended a sentence with a preposistion, please forgive me). This book does do a good job of critiquing the western church and how we like to do ministry. Besides reading this book, our team just came off of a week at "staff conference" where 100+ of us talked about ministry and from both of these sources-- my mind has been racing about what it looks like to actually love people who do not know or believe in the Gospel.

Both at staff conference and in this book, the discussion has centered on God-- what is He doing? This should be our first question. Not, "what can we do, and then ask God to help us do it," but a genuine searching of what God is doing in this place, where is He changing lives? As Christ's body, why in the world then do we spend so much time trying to plan and organize activities and ignore so much of what is going on outside of the church? We plan a Thursday night meeting- but forget that the vast majority of students are out binge drinking and hooking up with people who they may never see again. Do we/ I care about these people?

I feel convicted to care more for people who never seem to come in contact with someone trying to live out the Gospel in his/ her life. I don't want to step from 1 Christian bubble to the next. But how the heck do I help invite these people into the journey? I'd love for you to join with me in the discussion and in prayer for how to love people who may seem impossible to love. I want to see God change lives with His Truths. I want to see what God is doing in this place. And as I keep thinking about these things-- I realise that ministry is much more than I thought it was. This takes more love, more time, and more of God's Truth in my life than I knew.

This book, and our staff conference covered so much more for me to process. I loved the main speaker-- the director of Agape Ministry in the UK- so much wisdom it wasn't even funny. I guess I can briefly mention a few of his topics/ statements so you know what else I'm processing; Do we need more quiet days or a spiritual earthquake?, God is not suprised by postmodernity, the church is often not a reflection of those in it, Do we take God for granted?, progress & opposition go hand in hand, are Christians too relevant?, never before have we tried to be more relevant, but are so irrelevant, and...he asked us as we left, "would people follow you if they didn't have to?"

So yeah... plenty to think about here. Trying to keep up with Super Tuesday and the election. Jared also got to talk to his Dad, who said that where the family is living right now isn't bad enough to leave. Praying for strength for them. It has been a pure joy to talk with some of you on the phone recently:) I love and miss you all much! -- Lacey

ps- good laugh for you- Kiwis call restrooms, toilets- still seems crude to me, but yesterday when I was playing tennis with 1 of the students and a man asked me where I found water I responded, "oh I just got it in the toilet." Once I thought about this for a moment... I turned red and laughed quite hard at myself. I don't know what I was supposed to say????