Week 3 - Hearing God's Voice and Tongariro

Our first week of backpacking didn't go according to our plans, but definitely went according to God's plans! We went about 3 hours from base to a campsite and had plans to backpack in that area, near the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate, so we camped one night, had to stay at a hostel the next night because of rain and then headed back to base for the rest of the week. We did get to do the Tongariro Crossing which is a 12 mile hike up through a mountain pass. It was incredibly beautiful and we had great weather for most of the day! We're so thankful that God cleared up the weather for that one day so we could hike and we could really feel his presence on the trail! His majesty in creation was so evident!

We had a great speaker this week, Cheyne Hosking. He has been with YWAM for 15 years and he spoke to us about Hearing God's Voice. He was very flexible with our ever changing plans and spoke in the rain and in the classroom. We learned so much and are so thankful he shared his wisdom and experience with us! He helped us to see that God wants us to hear His voice as that is a huge part of relationship with Him. He also showed us the simplicity of hearing from God and that faith and humility are some of the key ingredients to hearing his voice. We learned so much and had lots of time to practice hearing from God for ourselves and then getting words from the Spirit for our classmates! It was an incredible time of learning and encouraging each other. I can already feel myself growing closer to God and feeling more in tune with the Spirit. 

When we got back to base we had some much needed time to relax and recover. We also did some small hikes around the area and got to see some of the amazing views that Tauranga has to offer. We're so thankful for this week and are looking forward to next week!

Below are some pictures of our hike at Tongariro Crossing.