Media & Testimonies

Kristin

Michigan, USA

Honestly, coming into DTS I thought that the ‘missionary lifestyle’, if you will, was only something that can be seen in third world countries when you’re working with the poor, the destitute, and the dying. God showed me that He speaks to us always, that we can share Him with people in the way we live and the words we speak. I learned how to incorporate my relationship with God into my everyday life. Now I see that God can use me just as much in school or as a nurse as He can working in an orphanage in India. He’s that Big…

Jonathan

USA

I have always enjoyed the outdoors, but this DTS revealed to me how much I truly love it!

Carina

England

I have been allergic to all dairy products my entire life. God completely healed me!

Hunter

USA

This DTS has renewed my love for life and has given me understanding about our Creator that I can build on throughout this journey of faith.

Outreach Report

Katrina and Dave

New Zealand

Hello Everyone!

We just finished our second week of outreach, and it has been incredible! We are doing a backpacker’s outreach, which basically entails doing what the backpackers do, and sharing the love of Jesus with them in the meantime!
We kicked off outreach by spending New Year’s Eve in the Blue Backpackers hostel, and invited everyone in the hostel to share cheese, crackers, fruit kabobs with caramel sauce, and sparkling apple cider with us. 2 backpackers from Holland (Silvia and Preska), a couple from Germany (Anna Marie & Ricka), and a few guys from South Korea joined us for the evening. We had a lot of fun with them, and had the opportunity to share with them why we are in New Zealand traveling around, and tell them more about the school that we’re at. By the time that we left 2 days later, we all exchanged email addresses, and are planning to keep in touch!

After New Years in Kaikora, we headed up to the Nelson area, and did one of New Zealands Great Walks, the Abel Tasman. We spent 8 days hiking, first in the rain forest, and then along the coast of the top of the south island. It was absolutely beautiful, with crystal clear water and isolated beaches with seals and penguins! The first day of our trip, we met our new friends, Shela and Joe. We ended up staying at the same camp grounds with them almost every single night. Through dinner, cards, and laughing, we were able to show them the love of Jesus, which led to some cool conversations about their beliefs,and our beliefs. Shela used to go to church, but said she didn’t believe in going any more after they rejected her during her painful divorce. We invited them to join us for our team devotions and worship, and they said that they felt so at home with us, and loved seeing how much we loved each other! Keep them in your prayers, as we know that God used us to plant a seed in their hearts. We also saw our friends that we met in Kaikora again, and Dave had the opportunity to share Christ with them! We also met another couple from Germany, Steffan and Cena, along with many others that we hopefully planted seeds in!

This week, we rented a house, and our desire was to use it to bless anyone in need! We realized that a lot of backpackers, especially those traveling alone, are very lonely, running low on money, and are very open. We decided to start out our time at the house with a big barbecue, and go into town and invite as many different backpackers as we could! We had a houseful, and about 8 of them have been hanging out with us every day, and about 5 of them have been living with us, sharing our meals with us, and worshiping God with us in the mornings! Only one of them, Tim, is a Christian, and the rest of them either don’t (didn’t) believe in God, or don’t believe in one God. I get goosebumps as I think about the conversations we’ve been having with them throughout the week. One of the guys, Simon from Sweden, didn’t believe in God a couple of days ago, and after many many conversations about God, along with different things, worship sessions, and team devotions, he prayed to God for the first time in 4 years! He’s going to be spending the next 2 weeks with us as well, so be praying for his salvation! He is an amazing guy, and I want to see him again in heaven!
We also had an amazing discussion with a ton of backpackers that we invited back to dinner 2 nights ago. One of them, Mattias, asked why the Bible is split up in to the Old Testament and the New Testament, and we were able to tell them all (including and Israeli,) about how the Old Testament is based on laws, and sacrifices as means to atone for sin, and have a relationship with God, and then the New Testament is about how Jesus came and fulfilled the law, so now we can have a relationship with God through Christ! That led to many more discussions about other topics like evolution/creation, etc. Wow! it was amazing, because it didn’t turn into an argument, but instead, we all talked about some really deep stuff, and everyone was genuinely interested. God is doing some amazing things here, and the coolest part is, we’re just living life here in Nelson, loving each other, and loving others. Our hope and desire is that through this, our team will learn that life and missions aren’t two separate things, our lives should be so completely holistic with our love for God, that He just pours over into other people’s lives, and we can’t help but love the lost, feed the poor, visit those in prison, because through loving God, He gives us His heart for people, and our life isn’t complete if we aren’t loving others!

Right now, we’re praying about what God wants us to do next. We have been hearing a lot about this backpackers hostel that is in the center of Nelson that we might spend some time in. Some of the guys that we’ve met have been telling us we probably wouldn’t enjoy it because the people aren’t good people there and drink a lot…and we’ve been thinking that that’s exactly where Jesus would’ve gone if He was walking on earth now, because those are the people that need Him! Pray for wisdom for us!

Also, a few more prayer requests:
Saskia’s (one of the backpackers who’s living with us) mom has cancer in her back, and we’ve been praying for a miracle!
More boldness for our team to share Jesus’ love with people outside of our comfort zone
That God brings the people along that He wants us to meet!

That’s all for now. We love you all so much, and would love to hear back from you!

Love,
Katrina and Dave