Missions Report from Diana Pewitt
(Daughter of Lennis and Cheryl Pewitt)

Hey everyone,

Here’s a little update on what’s been happening to me here in New Zealand at YWAM. I am here at Crystal Springs base in Matamata, NewZealand. I have met a lot of amazing people while being here. There are students here from Canada, Germany, a girl from Norway, a boy from the Netherlands, A girl from Denmark, a lot of people from the USA, two girls from Korea, a girl from South Africa, four people from England, and a few Kiwis (New Zealanders). All the people are really nice and we have all grown very close to each other in such a short time.

Wow, there is so much to say but I am struggling on what to write. Lectures have been amazing here. I have been learning so much here. It is so nice to have so many intelligent speakers with so many different teaching styles. I have been getting so filled up every day with the Word of God; it is so awesome. Since I have been here I have seen the Holy Spirit do some big changes in my life and in the lives of those around me. The Spirit is so alive in all the speaking and ministry time and I have been freed from a lot of problems in my past; I am experiencing freedom like never before!

On a few Friday nights I have done some street evangelism in a nearby town, Hamilton. I have realized what a struggle it is to share the gospel to the lost while there are parties and concerts going on, on the other side of the street. It was a challenge to show love to people that I have never met before and when I am tired from a long week. I am glad that our group was able to plant some seeds about God in their lives and tell them of Jesus’ love.

As far as sightseeing goes, I have done very little. I toured Hobbiton, from “The Lord of the Rings“. It is the remains of the set for The Shire filmed here in New Zealand. It was very cool and one of my friends who came dressed up as a Hobbit. I have also been to Mount Maunganui in Tauranga and hiked to a nearby waterfall. Matamata is a small town and the towns nearby are small as well so there is not much to do on the weekends. Hitchhiking is generally safe in a group so I get around that way as well as a weekly trip to Matamata for personal items and food. The food here is interesting sometimes. They serve a lot of pumpkin, potatoes, and rice here. The meat here is pretty awful tasting because it is mostly processed lamb in different forms. There is not a lot of beef here; it’s really expensive. There are a lot of strange things here that are a lot different from what I am used to at home. I am also overwhelmed by all the accents from around the world. I find myself saying things I have never heard of before being here. For instance, here in New Zealand they call garbage rubbish, French fries are called chips, cookies are called biscuits, and the forest is called the bush. So yeah things are a bit strange at times but I have learned to use the Kiwi lingo and I fit right in. Sort of. You may pick up a few changes in my vocabulary if you talk to me in person.

There is not too much work assigned to us here so our weekends are pretty free. I apologize for taking so long to get this letter out to everyone. You may have thought I forgot about you all J I am so anxious to talk to everyone and I check my email a lot here so if anyone wants to email me my address is kabananana@hotmail.com On a side-note, rugby is really big here and if anyone is interested South Africa just won the Rugby World Cup against England. There is a little bit of rivalry between the team’s fans here. It is entertaining sometimes.

From here, I am going on an outreach to Savusavu, Fiji, for over 4 weeks. I believe I am leaving November 26th. There my team of about 10 will be running a youth conference. I’m not sure what that means but I know it will be hard work and a lot of surprises. The culture in Fiji is laid back and there will be a lack of planning and a lot of last minute activities. After the 4 weeks in Fiji, I will then return here to New Zealand for some local outreach around the North Island in various churches. I believe that overall, our outreach team will be doing mainly youth work. We will return to base for a “re-entry” lecture, to equip us for returning home after intense DTS. As far as I know I should be on the plane home to the states on February 5th. Hooray! I miss home!

I appreciate everyone’s donations and prayers. May God bless you all 100 times what you have blessed me. I am happy to report that I have reached my financial goal and have been enjoying peace of mind in knowing that my DTS is fully paid for. Thanks guys and praise God for being awesome and faithful. He is Jehovah Jirah; my Provider.

God is sweet as!

Diana Pewitt