Hello dear family and friends 💗
It has been over 3 months since I last wrote to you all… I have been putting this one off because so much has happened and I didn’t know how to update you all! Anyways, I’m going to keep it as short and brief as possible - but with lots of photos (because if I go into detail we will be here for hours) + something I have appreciated from class recently. 🌻
Anyways… the major life updates: Since we last spoke I went to fieldwork in Malaysia and Singapore, turned 23, did a tiny bit of travelling in NZ, volunteered at a christian holiday program (which was part of my course), went home in July (only for 5 days) and started my third semester at Bible School. This means I have officially passed the one year mark can you believe it (I certainly cannot)!!! ☀️
Spiritual Nourishment 🪴
We must realise that everything starts from our heart. Our heart is our person in action. All our behaviour starts from our heart. It is more than source, it represents us. What we think and feel in our heart is us. Whatever judgement or decision we make is from our heart. This is why it is so important to guard our heart, keep our heart and deal with our heart. Our heart is the composition of our soul (mind emotion and will) and our the part of our spirit which is our conscience. Our heart is the bridge between our spirit and soul. Our soul expresses who we are, so if we want to be those who express God we need Him to spread from our spirit to our soul. For this to happen, He has to go through our heart. 💗
Proverbs 4:23 "Keep your heart with all vigilance, / For from it are the issues of life."
If our heart is not pure for God and isn’t healthy, it will block the flow of God’s life. We need to daily deal with our heart and condition our heart so that God can grow in us. Our spirit only functions properly when our heart is active. Our heart need to be ‘in it’. For example, we might go to a five star restaurant, but if we are grieved in our heart, if our heart has no appetite or desire to enjoy the food it tastes like cardboard. The problem is not the food, it is our heart. This can be our experience when we come to exercise our spirit. If our heart is not in it, our spirit is compromised. Our spirit will be imprisoned and will be unable to show forth its capability. The exercise of the spirit only works when the heart is active.
🌷🌷🌷
We need to pray, Lord, heal my heart. Lord, give me a proper and healthy heart so that I won’t hinder the flow of your life within me. Each day, may we be those who guard our hearts and deal with our hearts so that we can enjoy the Lord in our spirit and allow Him to spread into our soul! 🫀
Life update + photos ☀️
End of Semester 2 update:
I promise I will try keep this short eeee! I would be lying if I said the end of my second semester was easy - it was actually extremely hard for me to make it to the end, but I made it! Honestly, I felt like I was in a broken down car at the bottom of a mountain (the mountain being the rest of my second semester) and I had to get to the top under a certain time frame. It felt so impossible, but the Lord really taught me to open up to the people around me. Through all the prayers, fellowship and support, I really felt all the members of the church were pushing me up this mountain (even if sometimes I accidentally stuck my handbrake on to make it harder for them). I could not have made it without each one and am so grateful for each one of you 💓.
You guys know me though - I didn’t let my struggles stop me from going on adventures and experiencing new things ✈️ :
Starting with fieldwork - in short, last semester I decided to go to Malaysia and Singapore to meet Christians from these countries and experience the church life in Asia! It was both enjoyable (especially meeting new people and the food) and challenging (the schedule was so so busy + tiring). I was super encouraged to see how the Lord has been working in both of these countries and how consecrated these Christians are to God’s move on the earth today! 🌎
I also visited my family in Tauranga and joined a church high school trip:
Went to a young people camp in Waikane, Kapiti Coast (obsessed with the views here) 🌸 :
Start of Semester 3 update:
Despite struggling a lot in my second semester, I made the decision to come back for round 3! I really felt like God was leading me to come back by an inner sense of life and peace so here I am! I will update you more in my next email about what I have been up to so far this semester - but just so you all know I am feeling much happier this semester (for the most part) and am glad to be back :)
As always, sending each one of you my love 💓.
I know I have been so slow in replying to texts, it has been a wild ride the past 3 months - just know that I appreciate each one of you and will try my best this semester to reply quicker (thank you for bearing with me).
Love, Em 🌷