Hello Friends & Family,

Hopeful expectations and Anxiety as well as long suffering have been in tension for us over the last few months. Silas and I have been fighting for peace and trust in God when our efforts feel like they are not enough. In the midst of the tough days, we have been undone by God’s incredible grace and healing that has taken place in the life of one particular student. I (Amy) felt God clearly impress on my heart to pursue her as my 1 in the 99. This beautiful student has grown from walking out of times of prayer, stating that she “just can’t pray”, to searching the scriptures and longing to see Jesus in them. She has gained so much confidence in knowing that she can talk to God and hear direction and guidance for her life. I’ve held this student time and again as she cried and fought anxiety attacks and fear from past experiences. While I have not had very many answers to the pain, she has been through, I have been able to faithfully love her. God has shown up in my broken prayers and has been able to touch the heart of my sweet friend. She is changing before my eyes and it has been a light for me during a difficult time. 

Personally, I have struggled to let my thoughts go at night and let sleep find me. We are worried about the needs of our students, running scenarios in our minds and wondering how to help them with serious past trauma, learning disabilities, and significant questions about who God is and who they are as they read the Bible for the first time. I have been on the hunt for as much information as I can find to help me understand how to lead them, how to coach them, and how to pray for them. 

Part of the challenge has been that for the last 2 years we have slowly lost more and more staff as people have been called away to different things or needed to return home during this crazy pandemic. So, we have faced the challenge of running programs that require the same amount of work, but not really having enough people to accomplish what is on our to-do lists. Every department in our ministry is longing for staff. We are so desperate that almost every staff on Base has to take shifts in the kitchen to at least keep this basic need cared for. And the needs continue with admin, grounds, and training staff. I think we are feeling what proverbs 13:12 says “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life”. Our hearts are weary from prolonged intense workloads; however, we are on the very edge of this season coming to a close. New Zealand borders have largely opened and we are starting to receive applications for staff again. I am filled with hope, but still facing the daily tension as I continue to press forward in the present day. 

Nonetheless we are in week 10 of the lecture phase of DBS and will be starting a local outreach in NZ in just a few weeks. And despite the hardships, we see God’s hand move in our students lives. We are grateful to be here and to have this opportunity to stand our ground for Jesus.  

Praise Report:

– Students are being transformed by the Word of God
– Our visa paperwork is going forward 
– International students and staff will start coming in July!

Prayer Points:

– Wisdom in planning the outreach
– To find joy in the present season 
– For God to prepare our hearts for a trip home after years of distance

Be blessed
Amy