sharing our very lives

“We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.” 1 Thessalonians 2:8

It has been an incredible blessing to be working on campus at Capernwray New Zealand these past 4 months. It is such a joy to see the change God is bringing about in the lives of the students that are attending here, as well as serving along side the staff and being encouraged in the work we are doing with Dave for Torchbearers International. God has been challenging us and growing us in new ways during this time and we’ve been praying that He would use us to be a blessing to those around us wherever we are. It is an honor to share what God has done in our lives with each group of students that have been here, and its humbling to hear how God speaks to them through it. We shared with the whole group last October just after we arrived, and then again a few weeks ago with the new students.

Though Chris and I don’t know it all and are far from perfect, we love to share what God taught us during our time at Capernwray and in the last 6 years since we were here as students. It is a privilege to have opportunities to point others to Christ and to share the gospel with them. Yes many of them are Christians when they arrive at Capernwray (though not all) but its true that even believers need reminding every-so-often (every moment really) of what it means to be one with Christ, of what God has done through His Son, the incredible life we have been given in Him.

We are truly delighted to share not only the gospel of God with the students, but our very lives as well. The community here truly shares with one another not only our meals, recreation and living quarters, but our very lives- our hearts, prayers, feelings, our whole self. We share life together over dishes, we share what God is doing over morning tea, we learn together and work together. And it is joy to live in community like this.

Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t always easy and fun living in community either. We all know what a challenge it is to live with our own family at times… even more difficult when your ‘family’ is forty people from all around the world, you’ve never met before, and its pretty difficult to find time away from one another… (if that sounds fun to you, check out ABS).

But overall this is an amazing place to grow, learn, work and connect. The students have become very dear to us and we are excited for what they are learning and how they will grow in Christ during this time. It has also been very exciting to have opportunities to share some of the things God laid on our hearts during our time at Moody. Chris shared during morning tea time last week– you can read his devotion here.