Written on March 12th

Greetings, from New Zealand! The 6 week ABS (Adventure Bible School) course has come to an end, and I have transitioned into the main school program, at Monavale. I apologize for how long it has been since I last wrote – I’ve just been so busy!

As a prelude to the entry, I’d like to say that the ABS program was the best 6 weeks of my life. I felt the beginning of a transformation within myself, and I learnt heaps about who I am, who God is, and who God is through me. The ABS course is very intense physically, emotionally, and spiritually, and it is run in a way that you never know what is going to happen next. The whole course comes as a surprise, and that sense of wonder adds tons to the effectiveness of it all. I want to keep my blog updated as best I can, but I want to be sure that everyone who does ABS goes into the course with the same sense of wonder that I did.. Therefore, rather than trying to ensure that no future ABS’ers would somehow read this blog, I’ll just waver on the side of ambiguity to be safe..
As expected, Adventure Bible School was full of life changing adventures; Adventures that took me all over the North Island of New Zealand, seeing sights that most locals go their lives without seeing. I developed an incredible sense of adoration for our God, as we saw some of the best of His creation! Often times on the course, students or staff would turn and ask me “how have you experienced God today”, and almost always my answer was through the scenery that we got to see! New Zealand is a breathtaking country, and despite spending hours and hours doing long hikes through the wilderness, and going for long treks up mountains, I never once lost the appreciation for the environment, and the praise for our Father that I found in that.. Although some of the adventures were individual, I was privileged to work in a group most of the time, and the group of people that I was blessed to share the adventures with were unbelievable. I was with 17 other people of varying ages, coming from all over the world (albeit predominantly North America), and coming from all walks of life. The mosaic blend that created the community on ABS was really neat. After only 5 days of ABS I remember turning to a new friend and commenting on the fact that I knew her better at that point, than I did most of my friends who I have known for years.
Through the testimonies of God’s work in our lives that we all shared, and through the trust in the group that was demanded, hyper-speed relationships were created, and everything progressed incredibly quickly. When ABS finally finished, it was really hard.. I felt as though I lost a little bit of myself.. I’ll probably never be in another situation where I feel so comfortable, so accepted, and so known. Everything was exposed amongst the group, every issue was a public one, and everyone was a huge positive influence on me.
Some of the things that we got to do on ABS include: Caving, white water rafting, white water kayaking, abseiling, climbing, tramping, camping, etc. The activities were very intense, and we never did things the way that the common public would. We didn’t go to the public caves, but to private caves, that had crevasses that I could barely squeeze through, and water and mud up to my waist.
At the end of the ABS course, we were forced to take a large amount of time to spend alone, and we were isolated from the group with only our bible and journal. I took this time to do some more bible reading (I read the New Testament in the 6 weeks), and I journalled as well. I summarized everything I learnt over ABS in 10 points.
1) Jesus is absolutely amazing, and I LOVE the character of Jesus. Reading through the New Testament slowly, I tried really hard to understand who Jesus was, and what reasons there are to love Him. Jesus is selfless, and humble, yet still passionate, and a revolutionary. After John the Baptist was beheaded in Matthew 14, the disciples went to Jesus, to tell him the news. Jesus was sad, and went in a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee, so that he could have some alone time. Jesus wanted time to be alone, to rest and be rejuvenated, however when he arrived to the other side of the Sea he was crowded by people. Matthew 14:14 says that when Jesus saw the crowds of people he had compassion for them, and healed the sick.. and then went on to feed the 5000! The meaning of the Greek word that translates to compassion, is perhaps more accurately described by the word pity. Jesus was dealing with the death of John the Baptist, his very close friend, yet he was able to put that aside because he had pity, and to do the work needed work of the Lord.
2) My family is amazing. Being across the world made me realize how truly blessed by them I am. After every out trip/adventure that I went on, I couldn’t wait to get onto the phone and tell them everything that I was doing!
3) I’ve learnt what it means to be a servant. You CANNOT get by on ABS alone.. There is no room for big ego’s, and it was a really humbling experience, having to rely on other people to get by. Romans 12:10-11 “Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honouring one another. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.”
4) I’ve learnt that change starts with the mind. If you want to change, you have to change everything about yourself, and the way you do that is by changing your self-identity. For example, if someone was an alcoholic, and they label themselves as an ex-alcoholic, nothing has really changed. Whether you’re an alcoholic or an ex-alcoholic, you’re still identifying yourself by alcohol. Alcohol is controlling your identity. If you want to change you have to change what is the centre of your life, and you have to replace it with something else. You have to go from being an alcoholic, to a follower of Christ, for example. Gal 2:20, Romans 12:2, 2 Cor 5:17
5) I’ve learnt a lot about who I am.. I’ve learnt about my temperament , and how I can fit into this world. I’ve learnt about who God can make me become, and how he empowers me to be great. God’s grace is a free gift, and the freedoms that come with that grace empower us to be extraordinary. John 1:16
6) I’ve been humbled, and realized the importance of putting others first. Phil 2:3-4
7) I’ve found a sense of adventure!! I’ve been filled with an effervescent outlook on life, and have found absolute contentment with life! Ecclesiastes 11:9 says “Young people, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do.”
8) I’ve learnt that spiritual discipline may require giving up things that are good. Sin is anything that separates us from God.. If I am filling my life with good things, and making myself too busy to draw close to God, then that is a form of sin. I must make myself available to Christ. Hebrews 12:1
9) I’ve learnt that weaker personalities are still very valuable to the body of Christ.. and just because I may feel that I’m being drowned out by the stronger personalities, I’m still of great importance to the body of Christ! 1 Cor 2:22, Eph 4, 2 Cor 13:11
10) I’ve learnt that purity can be gained through the blood of Christ.. No matter your past, If you want to be pure, you just have to pursue it.. God perfects us, and has pure standards for us. Hebrews 9:13-14 “Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we cam worship the living God.”
That is a very vague way of describing what has happened in the last 6 weeks. . But hopefully you can get the jist of the experience!! I’d love to talk in more detail about what all happened, so if you’re interested let me know :)
God bless,
Zakk.