Video from Week 2

Week 2 Video - by Matt McNeilly

Jesus, Snow, & Challenges

With the last of the students arriving just over two weeks ago, we started up right away, entering the busiest and best schedule of my life. The students are great! We have a few from the USA, while others come from Canada, Denmark, Switzerland, and Sweden.  A total of thirteen students, two full time staff, three staff serving only for the lecture phase, and one staff leader. Total there are 19 people here for the school. We started off with Josh and Marty as our speakers. They are two local Kiwi's (New Zealander's) who have been with YWAM for quite some time. Josh and Marty lived in the mid-west United States for eight years working for a missions organization called "Impact World Tour" as well as at the International House of Prayer.  While they were here in Oxford speaking to my school they really opened up the students eyes of who God is. They really spoke with power and wisdom when they talked about the attributes of God. It has been a huge growing experience being able to sit in lectures again and take in more material just as if I were a student again.

The snow has been epic. Mount Hutt is a local mountain at which we snowboard on Saturdays. Unfortunately, we have only been able to go once because of avalanches, which caused major damage to the lifts and closed the roads up to the mountain. The roads up the mountains are not like the nice paved roads you may be used to seeing in Colorado. These are dirt roads covered in ice. They are built into the side of a cliff, with hundreds of feet of drop-off right next to your tires. No guard rails, no safety, just a 35 min drive up the side of an icy mountain. So if you are looking for something to pray for, well you can always pray for the safety of me and my friends as we travel up these gnarly mountains. The mountains here have had the most snow they have had in 15 years. That being said we are ready to shred every Saturday and Wednesday! I have been riding with the Snowboarders for Christ group. They are a really neat crew that knows how to have fun (like snowboarding) but they also know how to honor God. 

Staffing is challenging. Living in community with people ages 18-35 is challenging. Life in general is challenging. I have learned that the staff here are extremely dependent on one another for daily tasks. I, on the other hand, am incredibly independent! I love having people around ALL the time, but I also like to be able to be free, do my work, cook my food, and just have time to myself.  Here, that independence is virtually non-existent. I am learning a great deal about myself. Good things, not bad things! My dad has taught me how to work hard, diligence, and self-control. I have put all of those into practice here. It is a love/hate relationship here. I love all the lectures, snowboarding, and people, but it can still be very challenging.

YWAM Oxford History

The Youth With a Mission base in Oxford New Zealand has an interesting history as I found out tonight. The "trust" as we call them, or the people who founded the place I now call home, visited us tonight over dinner and dessert. There was 8 to 9 trust members present and it was great hearing their stories of how the base came about.  YWAM Oxford was the first base to create a "themed" school like a snowboarders school, backpackers, climbers, and the list goes on.  The first snowboarders school was created in 1999 in Oxford. I was on the 12th consecutive snowboarders discipleship training school. This base is just an incredible place to call home for the next 7 months.  

I landed in New Zealand on May 24th.  I forgot how gorgeous and magical this place is.  As I flew over the mountains of New Zealand I saw one of the most gorgeous views. The mountains covered in a glorious blanket of snow, leading to the plains of Canterbury, all ending at the vast ocean, describes what I saw from the plane window.  I love the simplicity of this country. Rewind America 30+ years, decrease the population to tiny, give up fast food, and you have New Zealand.  Fish & Chips, farms, small towns, nice cities, mountains, and sheep, all make this place magical.  

I have been in "staff training" over the past two weeks. Mainly getting used to the way things run,  getting a drivers license, and many meetings.  We had a guy (Josh) from the house of prayer come speak to us. It was really good and refreshing to hear what he had to teach us. We had lots of prayer for the upcoming school, talked about a culture of honor, and had lots of fun. 

The students come in on the 21st and I am super stoked! The base will be much better with all them being here. Looking forward to the lectures, Friday night outreach, the 10 week outreach, and even the snowboarding.  It is going to be a very growing, challenging, and adventurous school.  

I will do my best to keep posting on this blog! If you want to follow me on Instagram my name is simply joshchamp as well on Facebook. Pictures and everyday life is much easier to post on those websites 

Thank you all who helped get me here I am very thankful for your support! 

Beginning of a New Chapter

What a crazy concept
The past few months being in the Alabama heat, the summer season, soaking up rays at the lake.   Along with enjoying the warm lake water, sweet tea, friends, and family.
Then all of a sudden...
Saying goodbye to family, hopping on a plan, traveling for 40 hours.  Only to walk off the plane into the cold winter of New Zealand. Snowing right outside my window as I am typing. What a uniquely awesome image of the world and how it works. 

God loves to make us trust Him way more than we actually need or honestly want to trust him.  For me it is always about me being in control and knowing what is going to happen.
I was in the Sydney airport for a short layover.  While I was there I had to run over to the ticket counter to get my next boarding pass.  Only to find out that I did not have the correct papers to enter New Zealand. What a great time to just trust the Lord right? Right... Instead like my human nature tells me, I panic, because I am not wanting to be deported and placed back on a 15 hour flight.  I call people trying to get advice, get on the Internet and read all this useless information. After talking to my Dad he did not really say much besides the fact he reminded me to just pray. Not much longer after I prayed, and paying quite a bit of money, did I receive my boarding pass. By the grace of God I made it to Oxford, New Zealand. Seriously it was an act of compassion and love because I was honestly stuck in the Sydney airport waiting to be sent back home. Thank you Lord for pushing some buttons and letting me in. 

Advise of the day: Get the correct visa for the country you are traveling too.  Your trip will become a total trip of dependence on the Lord to get you through immigration if not.  It is not bad to always trust God, and we should, but do your part and get the right visa. Just makes life easier and less stressful!