Today marks the halfway point of Cross Cultural Project! It has been over a month since the CCP team was at home in Minnesota, and 3 weeks since we arrived in Dunedin. There have been plenty of highs and lows throughout CCP so far. All of the students and staff on our team have been learning lots! It has been such a gift to be here, and to be connected to an incredible Campus Outreach staff team in New Zealand. Some of the highlights of the past week have been Thursday Engage night, Thursday pancakes night, Friday Coffee and Donuts, and a weekend cabin trip to Wānaka as a CCP team.
On Thursday we got to be a part of our second Engage night. Engage is what Campus Outreach is called on the Otago campus. On Thursday nights, students come together at Grace House for dinner, games, a Bible talk, and discussion groups. Last week, the theme talk was the gospel, and this week it was the birth of Jesus. It was fun to have a little Christmas in July :) In the first semester (before CCP was here) Engage was going through the Old Testament. This semester, Engage is going through the New Testament. And just to clarify–the reason why NZ is in their second semester of University while it is July, is because it is winter in the southern hemisphere! A typical university school year in New Zealand starts in February, and ends in November. At Engage, the CCP team is encouraged to recruit and spend time with new and familiar students. After Engage, the Cumby and Arana team goes into the dorms to make pancakes! Cumby and Arana are two freshman dorms on campus. Our Cumby team is Carson, Tommy, and Olivia. Our Arana team is Matthew, Landon, and Ashlyn. Bri and David are on a pancake team in a different area of campus that hosts Monday morning pancakes. Last week, for our first week of pancakes, we noticed quite a bit more partying than this week. Influenza A is unfortunately going around on campus, so students haven’t been going out as much.
On Friday morning, Engage hosted a Coffee & Donuts event. This event typically happens twice a semester, and we give students free coffee and donuts. It is super easy going, and we chat with new students and play games. Coffee & Donuts is very laid back and there is no Bible talk, which makes it a great thing to invite new students to. This is an especially great way to get skeptical students in the door of Grace House, so that they can see what we are all about! There are many misunderstandings of Christians in Dunedin, so we want to show them that we are pretty normal people who like to hang out and have fun (while having a heart for Christ and wanting others to know Christ as well)!
This past weekend, we were blessed with the opportunity to spend some time at a cabin in Wānaka! Wānaka is a ski town about four hours from Dunedin. Oh my goodness is it COLD in that part of New Zealand! As we are halfway through CCP, this weekend was a blessing because we were able to slow down and take a break, and spend quality time with just our team.
Wānaka is located on the South Island, still within the Otago region. A family from our church, Grace Church, owns a cabin in Wānaka, and they were so kind to let the 12 of us use it for the weekend. While we were in Wānaka, we did a couple of hikes, including Mt. Iron and Rob Roy Glacier. Rob Roy was the most incredible hike of my life—I have never seen anything like it before! The mountains, waterfalls, and glaciers were absolutely breathtaking. We continue to be blown away as we witness the beauty of the Lord's creation here in New Zealand. We cannot gaze upon the face of the Lord on this side of Heaven, but His creation gives us a glimpse of who He is!
Prayer Requests:
1. That Carson, Landon, Ashlyn, Matthew, Tommy, Olivia, Briella, and David would form meaningful connections with 5 students during their time in New Zealand, and that they would get these students connected with an Engage student or staff member.
2. Endurance despite difficulties. Some of us are doing ministry work with individuals who show zero interest in the gospel, or are even opposed to it. At times it can feel very discouraging or almost as if our work doesn’t have purpose. Please pray that we would remember that God is still being glorified, whether or not we are seeing fruit.
3. Health and safety. Influenza A is going around Otago at the moment.
4. Students in general. Please pray that CCP members would be able to share the gospel and have meaningful conversations with the students that they are pursuing.
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance."
~James 1:2-3
Any difficulties we face here can be met with joy. We know that trials grow us in strength and deepen us as disciples of Christ. And at the end of the day, if the Lord is being glorified, it is so worth it, whether or not we see the fruit.
– Olivia Usselman, CCP Student