You Are So Loved :: An Outreach Serving the Campus

As students walk on to campus one Wednesday morning, they happen to notice large hearts chalked on the footpath with the words next to it “You are so loved…” As they lift their eyes and walk a few meters further up the path, they are greeted by someone with Student Life who smiles warmly and says, “Good morning! Would you like a free cookie?” The students excitedly accept a little white bag with a heart-shaped sugar cookie enclosed. On the outside of the bag they again read the words, “You are so loved.” Along with it, a note of encouragement from Student Life and the verse “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” [2Corinthians 5:14,15]. Students would have also noticed our cookie laden table and billboard in the Quad with John 13:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”The You are so loved outreach was an effort to show students at Victoria University that they are truly loved by God and that we, as Christians, are so compelled by Christ’s love that we would demonstrate it not only by our words but by our actions as well. Our gesture and the cookies (of course) were very well received by the students. We enlisted the help of the US Summer Project team that was in town, some other Christians, and our local church to bake cookies. We gave away between 1600-1700 heart-shaped sugar cookies in the course of 2 hours! In addition, we took plates of cookies to several of the campus faculty and staff who were blown away and felt very appreciated by our group. We believe this is just one more way we can build tangible connections to the campus we serve at and provide students with the opportunity to be within arm’s reach of the Gospel!

Daron :: Finding Faith & Becoming a Disciple

Following the Tune In outreach we ran once again at the beginning of 3rd Term, I had the opportunity to meet up with a Massey student called Daron. I met Daron in the university cafeteria to give him a Tune In magazine and to share about how he could know God personally. Daron is of Maori descent and had no real spiritual background. I asked him if I could share with him how he could know God personally and he was very eager to hear. He listened very intently as I explained how Jesus came to die in for our sins and how we receive Christ through faith. I asked Daron if he wanted to entrust his life to Christ. He enthusiastically said, “Yes!” He proceeded to bow his head right on the spot and pray out loud (in the cafeteria), asking Jesus to come into his life and forgive him his sins and to direct his life. It was so incredible! I’ve been meeting with Daron for about 3 weeks now in order to disciple him and help him grow. He graduates at the end of this next term. Pray that he’d be developed through God’s Word and become a life-time laborer for Christ! (I hope to have a picture of him for our next newsletter)

Farewell to the 2009 US Summer Project

Above is a photo of the eleven Summer Project members that joined us in Wellington from July 1—August 7. This project integrated with our current staff and proved to be an invaluable extension of our campus team. This was a new approach to the NZ Summer Project and done in order to give the students a clearer picture of what it would be like to serve God long-term overseas. It worked very well and two students already have plans to return for a STINT in 2010!

Jill's Journal

For the two years now we have been living in our neighborhood and I have been looking for ways to get to know my neighbors better. Honestly, it has been a slower process than I had hoped and I was starting to wonder if anything would come of these friendships. On the surface, three of my neighbors seemed to have it “all sorted”...they seemed “emotionally unavailable” to developing a new relationship, so I had in a way become stagnant in pursuing them. But I could sense the Spirit telling me not to give up. To persevere. To reach out to them again. So, I did. With each neighbor I did something different depending on what God was asking me to do...for one it was baking muffins and writing a note, for another it was dropping by to give her some baby clothes, and with the last, I simply stopped by for a chat. The most amazing thing occurred. Each person was struggling in a different way when I showed up and God used me in their lives to meet a need. It was glorious! It was so wonderful for me to see that just as God is patient with us and continues to pursue us, that in a similar way we should be patient with each other and continue to be available, open, and approachable in our relationships. God’s timing is not our timing. God also taught me that as human beings we really need community and within community it pays to be vulnerable. People can help meet our needs when we are honest about how we are really doing. I mean really doing. The past few months many painful events have unfolded in the lives of friends in New Zealand and in the U.S. and it has been amazing to see the body of Christ come around them, help them; and heal them. Being honest with others about struggles in my own life has opened up ways for them to reach out to me and show me that I am not alone. You see, we are all more alike than we might think. We ALL have something that we struggle with and we all need a heavenly Father to heal us. [From Jill]

NZSP09 Farewell Video

Laborers of the Harvest :: Saying Goodbye & Hello

On July 13th, we said goodbye to our teammate Nathan. He is the first of the 2009 to leave New Zealand. His early departure is due to the pretty sweet fact that he’s getting married this September. He also has plans to go on to medical school after getting married. We are excited for all that God has in store for him as he returns home, but he will also be missed by our team. Goodonya Nate!


[Our family with Nate at the airport to see him off]


[The guys on the team seeing Nate off]

[Adam, whom Nate led to Christ, says his sentimental goodbye]


Leigh has been involved with Student Life since he arrived at Victoria University in 2007. He has been committed as a student and faithfully served the Student Life community. He has grown in his relationship with the Lord and in his desire to see others come to know Christ. I’m happy to share with you that Leigh has seen the need for laborers on this campus and has decided to apply for an internship with our team after he graduates this year! He will be our first laborer to come out of our local campus movement! We are thrilled to have him come on board and make our team a little more… well… Kiwi.


[Leigh, winning a pizza eating contest on campus!]

More Photos from the N.I. Winter Conference

Josh, Jill, and Roger

Conference Photo

Students Worship

Video of John Fukofuka

I shot this video at the very end of the north island Winter Conference. It is an interview with John, I student I disciple from Victoria University. He was involved in a severe car accident right after leaving conference and miraculously walked away with no injuries! For sure, it wasn't probably the best to drive home alone and sleep deprived following the conference... but praise the Lord he's still here!

I.D. :: The 2009 North Island Winter Conference

Ever wondered who you really are? This year’s Student Life i.d. conference was a chance for north island students to come together in order to discover more about their eternal thumbprint and who God created them to be. Roger Hershey, or “Hersh,” who has worked for 37 years with Campus Crusade in the USA came to New Zealand as our guest speaker. Jill also briefly served under Hersh when he was the director at Miami of Ohio. I believe everyone here found his talks to be funny, touching, and challenging as we surfaced what it means that our identity is now found in Christ alone.
We had 14 students from Wellington attend the conference. The two biggest highlights for the majority of our students were the cross-campus teams they participated in throughout the conference and the day of outreach where everyone went into the community of Matamata to share the love of Christ.
Once again, this conference opportunity has really helped solidify our community as a movement for Wellington Student Life. It has also rekindled ,in those who attended, a desire to talk about Christ with their best mates and extend the Gospel to others on campus.


[Guest Speaker, Roger Hershey]