School of Communication Foundations

HOME!

OK OK OK....here it is finally; a post from the Land of the Long While Cloud (that would be New Zealand). I cannot believe it, but my time home is nearly up, on Monday I shall once again be flying to the Northern side of the world in time to catch some winter (I hope there is snow!!)

I have done so much these past 4 weeks so here is a bit of a low-down (what does that mean anyways);

• Had a few opportunities to get to know the people of Morrinsville Baptist a little more with a women's lunch and homegroup meeting.
• Stayed with friends in Auckland and visited my old preschool (worked there, not attended!)....so nice!
• Got to meet Karen who I only knew from her blog. It was a great first meeting and she blessed me alot! It felt very easy to connect with her. Check out her blog she has many great insights and wisdom from God to share. Karen...hope you had a great Christmas break and thanks again for the visit!
• Hang out with more friends enjoying to be with them and get to know their children a little more (they have grown so fast!).
• Went to Feilding with Mum and Dad to see relatives.
• Celebrated my friend Hanneke's 30th birthday!
• Headed down to Taupo to see the Short family who were with YWAM in Norway for a couple of years. They stayed in a Sami village and did a lot of work with the youth there. They are now getting ready to join YWAM in Trinidad. What a great example of a family that is willing to give everything up to serve God!
• Stopped by to see friends in Rotorua....These few hours together never seem enough!
• Had THREE BBQ's over two days before Christmas and then went out to eat on Christmas day....OH man NO more food!! Very good times though.
• Saw Jenny and Shelley and played great cards games.
• Now am working on my sermon for Sunday at church, and working out how on earth I will pack my bag to leave!

OK that is the highlights of my time home; there was also time hanging out on the farm with my parents and brother as well which was great. Coming home in the summer was really the best thing, NZ winter is not so great.

I have not got to visit everyone which i am disappointed about! So if that was you I am sorry....I plan to come home for at least three months next time!

I have also put photos on my photo site so check out the link here.

Hope you all had a great Christmas and will have a great New Year!

Love Helen

The farm!!

Sunny Cape Town

Hello from beautiful sunny Cape Town!

I am definitely getting closer to home! There are many similarities I have found between NZ and Cape Town which makes the place feel very familiar. When I first arrived I was picked up by Jireh (who I did my communication school with in 2006 in Switzerland). We stayed with her parents the first night and then when to her place in Stellenbosh for two nights. People are very friendly here and it was great to spend time getting to know people who do not live on a YWAM base! One night we even went to watch Jireh’s sister play indoor netball and it just felt like home!

I then went to the YWAM base in Muizenberg and we had a YWAM/UofN staff training event which was good to be at. Now I am here until Friday doing random things; visiting the area. Saturday some of us went into Cape Town city; beautiful place and I really enjoyed the atmosphere. The V & A Waterfront was especially nice. Today I was out on the beach in Muizenberg and got some colour on my skin….mainly red, but still it is colour! Here are a few photos to enjoy….more on my photos site….the link is on the side here.

Looking forward to flying into NZ!!!!!

RWANDA!

Greetings from Rwanda!!

I can’t really believe that I am in Africa, it feels great! I am reminded how much I love to travel and meet people and go to new places. It has been a busy month leading up to coming here, and getting my passport back only a couple of hours before I flew added to the excitement. I had lots of hours in London; but I got to catch up with my cousin, Patsy, who came to the airport with some tickets she had picked up for me and we had a great time chatting in a restaurant. Next was the 9 hour flight to Johannesburg; it was so great to have a long flight!! Sounds strange but long flights means I am going somewhere exciting! Because of the way my flights worked I then boarded a flight to backtrack halfway up the continent to Kigali the capital of Rwanda.

The first thing that struck me was the friendliness of the people. They are so helpful and ready with a smile and greeting. They are also not shy to stare and the children cry "(white person)" when they see us, waving and jumping around. The YWAM base is in the city down a long red dirt road lined with houses and little shops with many many people walking up and down going about their business. The first week I was working with a team from Switzerland to help run a staff training event for the YWAMers. It was a great time of getting to know people from YWAM Rwanda, Uganda and Congo. I got to teach a little on Public Speaking and Learning Styles.

For my second week I will get a chance to go and see the ministries that YWAM has here. I will also go to the Genocide Memorial Museum to learn more about the months in 1994 that saw people murdered by the hundreds of thousands. On Saturday I went on a SAFARI!!!! It was an early start at 5 am and a 2 hour drive to the national park. The first animal we saw was zebras and then giraffes, which was the best because we got to walk around near them. Then we saw several types of deer type of creatures, hippos, monkeys and baboons; only missed out on the elephants!

Here are some photos, but look on my flickr site to see more photos.

I will be here until next Wednesday week and then fly down to Cape Town!


Helen

That what was lost, has been found!

Thank you for your prayer!

After one phone call which said they could not find my passport in the mail office, came the wonderful news that they had indeed found it and would let my friend go and pick it up!

So Thank You God, again a reminder how you are never late!

PRAYER REQUEST!

Hi,

I have a prayer request.....I fly to Oslo on Friday night and then to London on Saturday morning to begin my round the world trip.......and I still do not have my passport.

It was in London getting the Rwanda visa, but with a combination of postal strikes and I think the embassy not posting it back immediately; it is not somewhere between the countries.

I talked to the Norwegian postal service and they are sure it will never make it up to me in the north in time. The only possibility is that they intercept it in Oslo....then I need to go into the city on Saturday morning, pick it up and get back in time for my flights. And even then they cannot guarantee that I will get it.........

OK so I am feeling VERY stressed. I am teaching on the Bible school this week as well; packing my life and belongings up in Borgen; and trying to continue to work on 3 other simultaneous projects!!

This is when verses like "Do not be anxious for anything" come to mind and I battle back and forth in stress and worry; with faith and peace.

Please pray that I get my passport in my hands soon.....the consequences of if I do not get it on time is big and very expensive......thank you God that You are FAITHFUL!!!!

Something for all the Mums out there

New Skills Learnt

Got a chance to learn a new skill! We started with this empty space in the kitchen.... Spread on this gooey stuff... and stuck up these tiles!

It took much longer to figure out the pattern than it did to put it up!. Here is Bex working hard.

We have not finished yet and will get help in cutting come tiles....but pretty happy with what we did!

Golden Family

Just wanted to say how much I love the Golden Family!!
Many years ago in 1992 when I was just a wee little farm girl, I moved to the 'big smoke' Auckland to begin my life as a preschool teacher. What I didn't know was that God was setting me up to hijack my life for missions...but that is another story.

In Takapuna I started this YWAM early childhood teacher training school and my leaders were this young American couple; Brian and Ruth Golden. I say young but I did not realise how young they were until a few years later when I was the same age and thought back to all the responsibility they had...but at the time I was 17 so anyone over 21 was old...er in my eyes. This couple quickly grew with the arrival of Mahealani a month into the school. Over the next three years Jevon and Austin can along as well.....we had great fun being Aunties, but I was especially close to Mahea.
We were an interesting bunch of students who grew very close after three years of living and working together; and there was always the Golden Family who guided us on our journey.

Now after many years in Hawaii they are moving to the awesome half of the world...closer to the best country in the world...NZ, that's right they are moving to that other country beside NZ.

YIPPEE for them!

May God bless you all HUGELY in your move and settling in to a new country and work and friends.

Love you lots

Funny

Funny sign which I got from my friends blogsite; so sorry do not know where it comes from!

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Wow 33 years old...I tell you...Jesus was sooooo young, I keep imagining a 50-60 year old man, but he was only 30 years old when starting his ministry!!! If you are not 30 yet and that still seems really old, trust me its not!

Finland

After the great week in Bulgaria I headed to the South of Finland for the first time. Flew into Helsinki then up to Kuopio to be with the YWAM Finland DTS staff. This is the first DTS staff training they had ever had so it was a privilege to be there! We had a week together and I gave teaching on public speaking, cross-cultural teams, UofN and YWAM, small groups, one-on-ones, learning styles, outreaches and foundational values (which means nothing much to anyone who has not been in YWAM). Oh it was fun and I enjoyed it a lot. I also feel a lot more in touch with what YWAM is doing in Finland with the dreams and vision they have of seeing Finns going into all the world to preach the gospel!!

It is so exciting to see the doors open for me to be able to teach. Now I will go to the south of Norway to teach public speaking at a DTS in Skien in October, then teaching a week here in Borgen.

Otherwise right at this moment I am going many things in preparation for the future; trip to Rwanda and South Africa; trip HOME!!!; starting the school in Sweden; promotion things for Borgen etc.

Please keep praying that my final months in Borgen will go well…I am struggling at the moment with the DTS starting and I do not know where I fit anymore. Need to read my teaching material again about my identity being in God NOT in what I do!

I am now signed up in Facebook so see if you can find me!

Bulgaria and More

Hello all who are faithfully checking my blog wondering when on earth I am going to update it!

It has been a busy three weeks but now I am back in Borgen for a few weeks.
I have been confirming the discovery that I LOVE to teach and apparently I am not bad at it either! So here is the low down for the last couple of weeks;

Started by helping run the DTS staff training for YWAM Norway with Janne. That was good to connect with people and meet the new staff as well. Difficult to know what to teach in a short time thought.

Started getting sick….but then I was OK! Thanks for your prayers!

Headed to Bulgaria where I was met in Sofia airport by Ani (a YWAMer) and stayed at her house that night. It was very very nice to have someone there and I did not have to get stressed by negotiating taxi’s etc. The next day I caught the bus to Plovdiv (2nd biggest city) where Bodil met me and we took a second bus to Hissar. Bodil is a Norwegian missionary who we pray for at the Borgen base. I did not know her really so it was good to see her in her ‘home’ setting.

I taught at the DTS on the topic of “Identity in Christ” and it went really well. It was my first time teaching this topic and first time teaching for a whole week so I was not sure how it was going to turn out. In the end it was great and all timed out well. Learnt what things I need to improve on as well so that was good.
The school had 7 students, two couples and 3 singles, all but one coming from Bulgaria. Christina from America was married to a Bulgarian and spoke and looked Bulgarian anyways! Then there were 5 staff and another visiting to sit in on the teaching. They were great fun to be with and were open to God and the teaching…what more can I ask!!

It was hot when I was there…one day it was over 40 degrees C. But surprisingly it did not bother me so much (and me and heat do not go together!). I rested in the afternoon and then we went out walking in the evening….with what seemed like everyone else in town! Hissar is known for its mineral spring water so that draws a lot of visitors from all over Bulgaria and Turkey. There were two fountains that you could take water from, it was hot water so people would bring their bottles to fill up for later (or drink straight away). A couple of times I went to the swimming pool……ohhh so nice and refreshing!

Here are some photos to look at….the rest of my photos are on my flickr photo site.

Svetlana, Georgi and Georgi!

They (well not the boy) were students on my first DTS here in Norway (2003/2004)

I went to a Gypsy youth group to speak...I really LOVED it a lot the people do not have much but there was a lot of joy and enthusiam!

Here is Eriin and Nasko and family; and Karen knows them!

Where I stayed on the top floor. The DTS was in another house down the road.

Nearly all the DTS staff and student! So great to be with you guys!

Oh the fresh fruit and vegatables were divine!!!

Found Yoda's dog, I have

Reflection Award

Thank you to Karen for the nomination for the reflection award!

I am not feeling very reflective this moment, but I will think about who I want to nominate next.

Fighting a cold!!!!

Hello again!

I am in the south of Norway at the biggest YWAM (Youth With A Mission) base at the moment. I was helping to run a short DTS (Discipleship Training School) staff training event. I taught on public speaking, team work and about the University of the Nations. And I loved it!!!! It was so awesome to teach and it helped me be even more excited about next week in Bulgaria.

I will leave tomorrow to fly to Sofia (the capital) and will stay the night there before taking the bus to where the base is located near the city of Plovdiv. The area is well known for the mineral baths so I have packed my togs! (swimming suit).

But I really would appreciate your prayers. This the first time teaching the subject "Identity in Christ" so I need to develop this alot and follow God's leading carefully.

Plus at the moment I have a sore throat and running nose, I really can't get sick!!!!

Then after a week there I will fly to Kuopio in Finland to run the DTS staff training there.

I am very excited about all the teaching opportunities, but need wisdom and discernment.

Looking forward to posting news and photos soon.

In my defence........

Well Bex's has pointed out that I am tarnishing the reputation of Kiwi's everywhere by using a plastic fork to roast marshmallows. Not wanting to do that let me explain: I was not roasting over a fire but one of those BBQ's in a box, and then not paying attention to what my marshmallow was doing.

However you will be thrilled to now I did fix the situation.....and since I had no duct tape or number 8 wire around I used my pocket knife.

If you are still concerned about the Kiwi image...you can always note that I am a natural blond.

Picnic

Beautiful Picnic spot!!

Out with some of the Borgen base girls

Do not use plastic forks when roasting marshmallows

Nico

Congratulations!!!!

Congradulations to Peter and Hilde on the arrival of their 4th child; Naomi Esther.
She was born in Tromsø (Norway)on Saturday and will be coming home today! (Norway has a wonderful system where mother and child can stay in a hopsital run hotel until they want to go home)
You can see their blog here: http://tkaczyks.blogspot.com/

Haka

Recommended Reading

Just wanted to recommend the book I am reading.

I am not a big non-fiction reader, in fact unless there are lots of stories and examples it takes a lot of perseverance to get through a Christian teaching book.

I am reading "The Power of a New Identity" by Dan Sneed in preparation for teaching in a Discipleship Training School...and I am really enjoying it!!

I like his style of writing; relaxed and very practical. I thoroughly recommend it!

Book Description; Do you ever have a problem believing that God loves you as much as everyone else says He does? Do you realize how much God values you, or how far-reaching His destiny for your life is? Dan Sneed invites you to go with him on a journey of discovery to find the real 'you' in Christ. To find the 'you' that God intended from the beginning. The 'you' that through Jesus Christ you have already become

”I am convinced that Satan’s greatest point of attack is on our understanding of who God made us to be (our identity). If he can keep us from understanding that, he can not only lock up our potential, he can distort our concept of God, limit our relationship with Him and restrict our influence on a needy world.” Pg 65

Another book that I really enjoyed was "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller

It was very well written with a lot of honestly and humour. I may not agree with everything he says, but it is such a refreshing book and makes you think over how 'we' as Christian look to the rest of the world.

Book Description;
"I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve. . . . I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But that was before any of this happened." In Donald Miller's early years, he was vaguely familiar with a distant God. But when he came to know Jesus Christ, he pursued the Christian life with great zeal. Within a few years he had a successful ministry that ultimately left him feeling empty, burned out, and, once again, far away from God. In this intimate, soul-searching account, Miller describes his remarkable journey back to a culturally relevant, infinitely loving God.

YWAM Teaching on-line

Here is a link to a page that has podcasts of foundational teachings in YWAM. So there are lots of topics and different speakers that you can download for free.

http://www.ywampodcast.org/

Great if you are or were a YWAMer, or am just interesting in what YWAM is actually teaching people.

....What am I doing here?....

I have been reflecting on some things…so if you are interested, read on;

I remember in the mid-90’s praying about what God’s plan was for me. And I kept reading stories about how God spoke and 10 years later His promises happened….I felt God was speaking to me through that…but 10 YEARS!!!! But that would mean I would be like 30 years ANCIENT before I move into where God has spoken about. Oh 10 years seem like a long time to someone in their early 20’s. But now, as a 32 year old, I can look back and see His Word come to be. Back then I was so bound and crippled I could not have believed the truth God was speaking to me. This is not so say I think I have “arrived”, I am well aware of my imperfections and my distance from being like Jesus, but I am in a better place to see that my ministry or calling in life is not a destination to be reached and achieved; It is about dwelling in relationship with God and living from that relationship. During the past 15 years God has used me to minister to others, but I can also see it was a time of shaping, molding, cutting, squeezing and releasing me to be who I am today. It is Him who has transformed a shy girl who couldn’t look people in the eye, was very surprised if people remembered her name, hating what she saw in the mirror…to someone who is teaching and walking alongside other in discipleship and most importantly basing my identity in an unchanging God. And yet it is still only by the grace of God, how easy those feelings of old can return if I do not stand on what God tell me who I am.

Please do not make the mistake to think that being a missionary equates to some higher level of spiritual whatever. Some of the worst decisions turning from God have been while I have been in ‘full-time ministry’. The same struggles are faced; stretching to discipline myself to read the Word and pray, finding the words to share my faith with others; troubles in relationships with others (ohhh man, try to imagine living with many diverse people from many nations and backgrounds and try and agree on how to wash the dishes, let alone minister together.), stress of finances etc. Those are just the surface things, inner struggles continue to battle inside, contradicting God and His Word. But in the ups and down in my life one thing stays constant…God.

I first came across Isaiah 61 in 2002 during a YWAM school in Hawaii. Immediately I sensed that this chapter was my calling. The first three verses are well-known by many, but I was struck by the whole chapter. During that time my ministry focus was Indigenous People and I could see how much these words spoke into the destruction and sorrow felt by many of the indigenous peoples around the world. Now God has been “stretching my tent pegs” to see my mission field in broader light. And this chapter has taken on more relevance for me. What awesome promises are written there. Through Jesus’ death and life, God has given us the power to be proclaiming freedom, release from darkness, bringing His healing so they can be “called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.”
Here is where my latest revelation comes in; “Then THEY will rebuild…renew…”

I have struggled with what I imagined (or experienced) others expected of me as a missionary. When I was first getting ready to leave to Canada (working with the First Nations there) I had approached the missions department of my churches denomination to ask if they had work in Canada. They literally laughed in my face. They said the mission field was Africa or Asia…not Canada. I guess that went deeper than I thought because that little voice has stayed in my head. Finally I am coming to a place where I see that the best place to be is the place God wants you. And for now He has called me to Europe, to be a discipler and teacher of primarily Christians to see them set free, and released into greater relationship with God. “Because the LORD has anointed me…and… they will be called oaks of righteousness…they will rebuild…restore…renew.”
I believe that I also will rebuild, restore, renew and so on as well. But God has given me a great peace in knowing HE has called me to where I am and what I am doing, and that is the best place to be.

You need to be where God is calling you…if that is at home, working….then that is AWESOME!!! God wants the people you work with that He loves them. If you feel a calling to somewhere and you are not there….then why are you not there??? Of course His timing needs to be followed, but if you are waiting for the perfect circumstances, maximum savings in the bank, to be a better Christian before leaving…..there will be ALWAYS be something to stop you…A ship need to be moving for it to be turned, so take that first step in obedience and see how faithful God is.

Isaiah 61 (NIV)

1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach 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 gladness 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 Aliens 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 their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.
8 "For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity. In my faithfulness I will reward them 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 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.

Books...Books...Books....

On someone's blog there was a contest for people naming their favorite children’s book, I am too late to enter that (the prize; books for married women did not really fit my single state anyways), but it got me thinking about my favorite books.

I do not know if I can choose….I was a HUGE reader and like different authors at different stages of life, but here are a few of my favorites for me in my pre-teen years.

Willard Price and is Adventure series, eg Lion Adventure, Amazon Adventure. Based on two boys who travel around the world capturing animals for zoos and the adventures they got into. Really focused for boys to read but I loved the adventure and animals.

Laura Ingalls Wilder and the books about her childhood.

Maurice Gee. A Kiwi author who wrote “Under the Mountain” and the “Halfmen of O” series. Scifi/fantasy books.

Roald Dahl’s books eg, “The BFG”, “The Twits”, “The Witches”, “George and the Marvelous Medicine”. “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”

"Caddie Woodlawn" by Carol Ryrie Brink. In the same vein as Laura Ingalls.

“The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Nancy Drew detective series by Carolyn Keene

The Famous Five series by Enid Blyton

Now I still LOVE novels and my favorite authors now include:

Agatha Christie

Stephen Lawhead

Francine Rivers

Frank Peretti

Karen Kingsbury

Terri Blackstock

Dee Henderson

It is times like this where I wish I lived a lifestyle where I stayed in one place was able to collect books.

Newsletter Done

I have FINALLY finished my newsletter, so if I do not email it to you, you can download it at my other website www.ywamconnect.com/sites/HelenWilson

If you would like it emailed you can let me know by emailing me at flyingkiwi28@yahoo.com

Nico

Meet Nico.....I am dog-sitting him for three weeks. He is a nice dog, old, nearly blind and at least he acts deaf. Don't let that cute little face fool you, he is a stubborn little thing, however I have worked a lot with two years old kids so I am more stubborn. So when I think it is time to go for a walk, he does not agree and would rather sleep. So after some persuasion he comes (either that or get dragged) and walks straight to the car....nope, bad luck, so after more conceiving off we go...Nico looking like the old dog he is. Miracles occur on the way back though as all of a sudden he is transformed into a puppy; prancing and running all the way home.
Well he comes with an apartment to stay in for free so I can be a doggy-sitter for a few weeks

1am North Norway

Here is what it looked like at 1 am the other night from my window.....we may have 24 hour night in the winter....but in the summer....24 hour daylight!

Photos

Hello all,

The school of communication foundations has finished now and my parents are with me here in Switzerland. It has been a fun few days seeing things and going places I would not normally be about to afford; eating at restaurants is a treat as well.

I have lots of photos from our trip to Europes highest mountain, but decided to start up a flickr sight to share them with you...here is the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/9528720@N05/
Or go to Flickr.com and search for Flying Kiwi 2007

I am in the process of writing a newsletter; but it is a very frustrating process as i never get around to finishing it...it I am getting more annoyed because I want to!!! And yes I know the answer to my problem is to JUST FINISH IT!! .....but...but...but....dang it can't think of any good excuse.....OK I will finish it soon...promise.

Anyways...check out the photos!

Dancing Matt

Here is a funny video I came across. This guy Matt has been traveling around the world doing this funny dance...and now he is sponsored to do it!!! He is a clever witty writer as well as you can read in his website: http://wherethehellismatt.com/index.shtml

Has we head past the longest day of the year here in the Northern part of the earth...I found this video to remind us of what to look forward to. Funny thing is that Statoil is a Norwegian company!

Kiwi taste bud love....

Some kiwi joy for the taste-buds (and this is not a hint, just another trip down memory lane)

Marmite....better than the other stuff....hehehe