14 days.

 

The thought of leaving this place brings some very intense emotions from “can’t bare the thought” to “can’t wait to be home” and everything in between. Our time here is almost thru and that alone seems so surreal, we have been completely consumed in the thoughts of Nz for the past nine months and now that chapter is closing.

 

As most of you know our entire team we started with has all gone home for various reasons, so Samm and I are literally the only ones left except for staff. It’s eerily quiet. We have pushed thru the loneliness and disappointment and have had the chance to see God come thru and dwell among us. Even in the midst He is shaping our character.

 

We literally are different people. Our hopes and dreams have changed. Our marriage, our family, our boys, our relationship with God. How we view our lives. We don’t have the same desires in our heart as we did 5 months ago. Our desire is really that everyone would get a chance to know the God who created them and this world. For us to be just about love so they would see all God is about is love, that He isn’t about rules and condemnation..Never has been. It’s only our perception about God that needs to change. He is the same forever. This God is so radically pursuing us each day wanting to wrap us in His love, to heal the scars that we ashamedly hide away from the world. His death was so we could live life to the fullest!! I don’t want to shove anything down anyone’s throat; I am only compelled by His great love. Not so long ago I  was broken and depressed and by his grace and deep love He has healed so much.

 

We go to this kids breakfast club and the conversations I have had with these kids just opens up your eyes…and heart to why the world is hurting. We have reached out in practical ways to the community, only for them to tell us they need prayer for whatever situation they are going thru and just someone to listen to them. Again just love on them.

 

Our boys have changed so much. Literally they used to fight after even five minutes of being together and now they play literally all day and only a few scuffs break out! Thank you God!! They are very strong willed kids and we are positive they will make an impact in their world and will make great leaders. They have enjoyed daddy so much and I know it will be a challenge to change that up, but we are so thankful to God.

 

Speaking of change, please pray for us as we re-enter to home. We know we will face challenges along the way, but your prayers mean everything! Please pray someone has a home that we can live at. After living in a one bedroom flat for five months we can live anywhere! Please pray that God reveals to us where Samm should work. Pray for our lil guys. That they adjust to home as quickly as possible and with the holidays right there when we arrive it’s going to be a busy season. There is SO much more to tell you and in the days to come we will be letting you know the specific things He has done here, it truly has been amazing! But for now we really want to say…

 

Thank you. Thank you! Thank you!

We are so so blessed and cannot believe how you all have been so supporting to us in this crazy ride God has brought us on. We love you all and cannot wait to see your frost bitten nose when we arrive back in the frozen tundra!!

 

 

Blessings to you and yours,

Samm, Angie and the Three Musketeers.

 

What’s your excuse?

 “But they all began to make excuses” Luke 14:18

Lets look at some of the excuses we offer for not pursuing the dream God has given us. First “dreams don’t come true for ordinary people like me. The Wright Brothers wanted to fly. Winston Churchill envisioned a free Europe. Dr. martin Luther King Jr dreamed of racial equality. But you don’t have to be a world figure to have a dream. No, the pursuit of a dream is what makes the difference between ordinary and extraordinary people. Ordinary people live extra ordinary lives when they follow their dream. Read that again. Why do I say that? Because a God given dream will motivate you to make important changes in your life. You wont just change who you are in order to live out your dream; you pursue your dream, and the process changes who you are and what you can accomplish. In other words your dream is both your goal and your change agent.

 The second reason we don’t pursue our dreams,” if the dream isn’t big its not worth pursuing”. Size doesn’t determine significance. Your dream doesn’t have to be big; it just has to be bigger than you. Mother Teresa said, “ We can’t all do great things, but we can all do small things with great love”.

Thirdly-“Now is not the right time to pursue my dream”. Permission to pursue your dream comes from two sources. God and yourself. Novelist George Eliot said “its never too late to become what you might have been.” The timing will never be perfect for you to pursue your dream so you might as well start now. If you don’t next year you will be one year older and not a step closer to it.

Last week was our official first week of outreach. When I was walking a few weeks back I felt the Lord say that He wanted us to bless the neighbors of Ywam with in a mile each way from where we live. So we bought stuff to make baked goods and we made them all with the kids and wrapped them up and we went out on Thursday to deliver them. We had eight plates to deliver and we delivered them all. We got great response and people were very receptive. We told them we just wanted to make their day and tell them what we were doing for the next eight weeks. Our last house we knocked on was an elderly lady that was a widow. She kindly invited us in to have tea with her. We all went in, what a fun bunch we were, one from Switzerland and one from South Africa and Samm, me and Eli. I’m sure she was a little overwhelmed as she put the kettle on. We chatted with her and told her what we were doing and she has been living in this house for over 55 years. We just listened to her stories; she seemed to just want someone to hear her and her story. She touched my heart, as she was so hospitable and kind to us. Even expecting us to help her eat the goodies we baked…something Eli was happy to do. Before we left we said could we pray for you. She kindly told us her prayer needs and we did we just sat with her in her quaint little kitchen and prayed over this sweet woman. She looked up with tears in her eyes, I could tell she had felt the love our heavenly father. We will be coming back to help her with her yard work and other things. I cannot wait to love on her!

The other thing we did was go minister to young children ages 6-12 at a VBS sort of thing. All these kids about 60 come and do crafts and play games. Most of them do not go to a church, most are still really wondering about Jesus. It was a really neat time with these kids. I was at the Popsicle craft table and I started to chat with these eight year old twin girls. We started really talking about deep stuff. Heaven and Hell. How their parents are divorced and their mom hates church but thinks there might be a God. One of the twins had already accepted Jesus into their heart, the other not so much. So I made a great connection with them. I did not know Id be going back the next day. They were thrilled to see me and God was doing awesome things. Samm had to stay at home with the boys and he decided to be interceding and praying that morning for the team. I have no doubt prayer works. Anyhow the one little girl Hannah says to me “Angie do you know that special prayer that asks Jesus into your heart?” Yes I do” “ok thanks” and she walks away. About fifteen minutes later she comes back and stares at me with tears in her eyes. She barely chokes out “Angie will you pray that prayer with me, I think I’m ready” So we do and she accepts Him and I know her life will be forever changed. I know more in the spirit happened than in the natural and He rejoices over each one!! I’m so thankful He has decided to use me…for whatever reason.

So bring it on week two! I know we are going to be going to a mom’s playgroup place, I know we will probably go to the ocean and help clean up that terrible oil spill that happened a few weeks ago. I also know that God has His own agenda. I cannot wait to see what He is going to do!

Thank you all for your prayers, more than anything it is moving all the over here in New Zealand! Please continue to pray for us. God has changed so much in our lives and we are so thankful for every person rooting us on in our corner! Love you all Very much!

When we are living life and we aren’t really seeing Gods amazing power in our lives we tend to assume that He’s probably busy, He’s vacationing in the Tropics or something else. We think only when he comes in and rescues us from our distress that He is really working. This week I did a mini sermon and we had to do it on a bible character that represents a character of God. I chose Esther and how her story represents God’s Sovereignty. The entire book is the essence of who He is in the every day life. There is not one mention of God, or Lord in the entire thing. There is also not a single miracle done, everything is by natural law. Vashti being kicked out, pretty natural. Esther being chosen, she was pretty so that happens. Esther coming to the King. Hard but not impossible.

All this to say is that God works amazing things through ordinary people. In Esther, He works through a drunken husband’s outrageous demand, a beauty pageant, a villain’s hateful and arrogant plot, a king’s insomnia, a king’s absentmindedness, and a boring record. He weaves all of these together and redeems His people from destruction. What if they refused to listen? Refused to stand up for what is right and moral? They would have missed God’s blessing, but God would have found another way to complete His task. He would have used other people or arranged other sets of circumstances. He is always working in the background, pulling things to work for His perfect plan. Even when we don’t see it or even believe it. He is.

The entire Ywam dTS I was waiting and asking God to do an AH HA! Moment. There were many times when I saw Him moving and growing us but it has been a progression. I have seen many things that He has been laying the foundation blocks for. He has changed SO many things in our lives and those are the things I can see! I know there are many more things that He is doing that are happening in the background. God is in the business in turning the ordinary into extra ordinary! I am so glad too because I don’t know about you but next to God I feel pretty darn ordinary! Be encouraged that He is using you and is working out His plans. If you don’t feel like it He still is but maybe check out where He is moving and go there so He can use you! I know that He is so much bigger than our wildest imaginations and every time I try to put Him in a box he shows me He will not be put there. I know now that its all a progress and even when I don’t see Him in the natural working He is always in the under current growing and stretching me to become more and more like Him!

 

As the last week of the lecture phase ends, we are just so grateful for what God has done in our family. We came because God said “go” we did not know all the benefits that He would be blessing us with. How He has been equipping us for future ministries He has called us for. However we are SO excited to go out and give what He has given us so freely…ultimately His never-ending love. We are both so passionate to reach out to those who have no hope, who think that there is no more to life. We want to be a light in this world that is covered with so much darkness!

 

We graduate on Monday and then they commission us out. Half our team is going to Fiji and the other half is staying here in Matamata and reaching out to the community. We are staying here and know He has called us here! Outreach is sure to stretch us even more! Bring it on!

 

Many of you have asked if we need things. A lot of you have blessed us SOO much by sending us care packages and you cannot know what that does for us. Stuff is so ridicoulsly expensive here and we had no idea it would be this way. So if you would like to help us, the best and most economical way is donating right here on our blog and it gets to our account. We know He is and will always be our provider. We have seen Him come thru miraculous and nothing can take that away!!! We just buy the basics like diapers and wipes and a few snacks. The thing that really cost is our laundry. It cost 2.00 per load to wash and we try to dry it on the line but it rains quite a bit so it’s another 2.00! Boys are DIRTY!!! That’s just an example.

 

Prayers would be the most appreciated. If we have learned one thing here it’s that God of heaven and earth listens to our prayers…it’s been so real! Please pray that the boys do ok with outreach, they will be coming and ministering with us. Please keep praying that God has a home for us to live and a job for Samm when we get back. We trust Him in it all!

 

Last week He came thru in the small ways which sometimes means more. We were needing to buy oatmeal for Cy and Samm said we really couldn’t. The next day a package from Aubrey’s mom came and had a whole bunch of packets of instant oatmeal for Cy just when we needed it!! Then I needed to do laundry and I asked God for money to do it, I said God I wont do laundry until you give the money. Next morning put my pants on and there was a 20.00 bill! I have no idea how that could be there…in tact! I had washed those pants just the week before!! Then we needed a folder to put all our loose paper in and we again were going to buy it and samm said lets just wait…next day a package from a good friend came and she put a letter to us in a folder!!! Just amazing! The small and big things have touched us. I have talked to a lot of people and said that our story has strengthen their faith and some who don’t yet believe have started to question maybe there is a God who loves me…just maybe. It’s just nothing to do with us and everything to do with a God who is insanely in love with His children!

 

Yesterday was my 30^th birthday…I know old lady..blah blah. Birthdays are a big deal to me and I had been thinking how bummed I was to be away from all my amazing friends who spoil me on my birthday and make me feel so special. Then one of the school leaders a month ago said we were going to this Christian adventure camp where there would be all kinds of fun things..On October 7! I see now that was His perfect timing and it made my birthday feel so special for me, maybe a small thing in some ways…but a personal thing to me.

So there you are, if God is tugging on your hearts to pray for us or donate to us you can do so right here. Thank you all for your words of encouragement!! We have never been so stretched in all our lives! We love you all and pray for so many of you all the time!

Till next time!

 

Love Samm, Angie & the boys!

Hello to all our awesome supporters! I know its been a while so I thought you would like an update. Life is very busy here in Matamata Nz. I mean a lot of people came here and they were thinking they would be getting a rest from life and that defenetly has not been the case. Every week we are getting some amazing teaching that we must then try to process in between life. Its been so challenging and yet life changing. I have never been in a place where we are so open and transparent with one another. Like it’s a lifestyle not just an idea.

The boys are doing really well and we are really working on some things with them and have really assessed our family beliefs and made a whole mission statement on what the Platt family looks like. Our mission statement is:
” You’re a Platt…Lead the way!”
“We will center our lives around God, putting each others needs first. Be kind and humble to everyone.Boldly showing the love of Jesus to everyone we know. We will celebrate success and love thru failures. Ultimetly laying the foundation for many Godly generations”

We then went into what each others gifts are and how they relate to our family as a whole. It was quite an amazing thing to go thru. We made our family verse Deuteronomy 6:5-7.

Only less than three weeks till outreach so we are busy planning and praying about that and desperately seeking Gods power in the city of Matamata. Two other family’s are deciding to go on outreach to Figi, they have older children so it really makes sense.

This week God has been challenging in what my identity is…like what it should be and what it is. So thru the lectures I am learning a lot of things that He has spoken over my life to erase the lies others and myself has spoken over in the past. It quite hard and yet so freeing!

We really would love the prayers of you all. If I have learned one thing sit is Prayer is amazing and it works!! We are about half way done with our adventure here in Nz and I already know that our entire family will shedding a lot of tears. However we are planning and praying and chatting about what life will look like when we go home. So if you would pray for these things we would feel so honored.

Where will we live? Especially when we are getting back onto our feet.
Where will Samm work…we REALLY need wisdom over this..
Finances in general
General direction for the next leap He is calling us to do.
His peace and guidance thru it all.
Praying for outreach!!!

Thank you for not just financial support but how you have covered us in prayer and gotten the word out! We still look at the mountains and think ” are we really in NEW ZEALAND” God has been So faithful and merciful!
Lots of love
Samm & Ang

Hearing Gods word for some seems like a lost art in someway. Most people think” yea sure God speaks to people just not me and definitely not on a regular basis.” However this idea of a far away God only talking to the “chosen” is not biblical and is a lie from the pit. Your heavenly father is possibly trying to speak into your life right now and we are just so busy with our day-to-day lives we are rarely tuned into His frequency. It doesn’t mean He isn’t speaking He most definitely still is and its an amazing thing to hear the voice of your God. I just wanted to share some ideas that we got in class this week when we were talking about hearing the voice of God.

In the Natural

Thru creation. Most of us really feel close to God when we are in His creation, this is not a coincidence. Math 6;28 and Luke 12:24 Jesus tells us to look at Gods creation because it speaks to us about Gods invisible qualities.

 

Our Natural gifts and abilities.

What am I to do with my life? In Eph 2:10 God says that He has already prepared us for what he has called us to do. Understanding our gifts and what we are meant to do can speak to us about our calling.

 

Other People

God has many times used others to speak into my life and I knew right away that it was from God. Things that no one else knew about me. We should always seek the counsel of wise leaders and spiritual mentors.

 

Music

In worship God may wish to speak words of intimacy or give a direction to us. We all know that music is a very powerful thing. Just read the psalms and you will see why. In Acts 13:2 “while they were worshipping and fasting the Holy Spirit SAID….”

 

Through Supernatural Things

 

The Bible

The bible is not just a method for hearing the voice of God it’s the very framework we must center all other ways of hearing Him around. God will never speak contrary to the bible. I have found that this is the number one way He speaks to me. When I meditate and dig deeper I find his word comes alive.

 

Dreams and Visions

There are many examples of dreams and visions thru out the bible. Joseph, Abraham, Peter.

 

The still small voice

Most people really have a hard time discerning if its Gods or our own and you just need to pray on it and ask for confirmation from Him and all of sudden your ears will pick up certain things or pictures and you are expecting Him to speak to you. Read James 3:17 to see if it stands up.

 

Remember firstly He wants to speak into your identity. Isaiah 43:4 “you are precious and honored in my sight…I love you” If you ask Him to start speaking to you about your identity he will and you will see that He is good and longs for a relationship with you. I have so much more I want to tell you but I will let you chew on that for a while.

 

In other news this week has been extra hard we are facing some situations that are difficult and our neighbors who are the only one from the states has chosen to quit and leave so the left today. It was a hard goodbye and we are all trying to sort out things here. Please pray for wisdom and His will to be done here as we are preparing for our outreach. Samm and I have never in our lives been so stretched and pushed into greater things. God has spoken to us about our next step and honestly it frightens me and yet I know He is bigger. We thought we had to dig in for New Zealand, that was nothing. So please pray that God continues to reveal His will for our lives in this season.

 

Max turned four this week and I really anticipated it being hard because if anyone knows me they know I love to really celebrate my kids on their birthday and its very important to me that it’s their special day. I was feeling homesick and a little down that all his friends and family would not be there bit God showed us even in the little stupid things He is good. Everyone at dinner sang happy birthday and gave him little gifts and made animals out of balloons and its tradition for the father to pray over his son. I cried thru the whole dang thing…God knew that it would mean a lot to me. So in the midst we are carrying on, and seeing Him come alive here. We feel so blessed, thank you all for everything you did and are doing. Thank you for sending us support still remembering that we are relying on Him to fill all our needs. We just cannot find words to express our gratitude. He is so faithful if we step out in faith He is excited to meet us there.

 

Love ya all Samm and Angie

This week was an amazing week and fortunately for us it was a review of all the principals we have been taught and seen at the Crossing. The church’s focus should not be about worship, prayer, communion. All these things are good and things we should do but what is the mission beyond the worship, sermon, prayer? It really should be a place where anyone who’s not part of your “secret” club should be able to understand. We should always want to be inclusive, wanting everyone to know this Jesus we worship and love. So this week was an awesome review of really being the church, not simply attending a church. Tonight as I was finishing up my journal I wrote a poem..a poem? Angie? Really? I know big shocker..the secret is out..Angie is just a kitten. So here ya are.

Arn’t you Tired?

Arn’t ya tired…?
Tired of the pain
staring at the shame
running from your past
Always finishing last

Arn’t ya tired
of hiding the real you
never knowing who’s who
Staring at the floor
not even caring anymore.

Arn’t ya tired
of making them love you
your crying the nights thru
never being enough
never being loved

Well I know a man
a man unlike any other
who loves like a father
the father you never had

And I know a man
who’s cried all your tears
faced your every single fear
Who loves you without end
your one true, only friend

Do you know a man
who died to know you
crying out to hold unto
a girl He’s loved so long

A man who’s filled up your heart
right from the very start
One who will never let you go,
No…He’ll never let you go.

Angie Platt
8-21-11

In a world where we demand things our way and our timetable the idea of giving up our rights seems something so very contradicting to what we feel is right.Why is this something that very few Christians live out, myself included? During my time at Ywam thus far I have really meditated on this idea of giving up my rights as a Christian and of handing Jesus the keys. I don’t mean hand Him the keys when stuff is going down the toilet…no I mean all times in all places in your life. He has the keys and He is in charge of what you say and do. Some might say but Ang you have this I mean look what you did so you could go and be obeiadnt to Him, but let me tell you something its a daily choice. Yes I gave Him the keys for that moment but now I don’t know if he is even in the same car. I can hear his whisper of what He is calling me to.However I very much do not want to do this. I immediately rip the keys out of His hands and take over driving anywhere but where Im supposed to be. If Im honest Im hard pressed to give him back those same keys. The most unusual part is He will not take the keys our of our hands, He wants us to hand them to Him.

So what does this mean “giving up your rights” ? its what it sounds like. We are christians and if we truly give Him our lives as a living sacrifice and a thank you then this is what we ought to do. It means in our daily things. Im here and all is good and fine but to not be able to dry my clothes by means of a dryer and have to hang soggy clothes up for days only to get a stiff resemblance of my favorite pair of jeans makes me want to take those keys right out of His hand. If im giving up my rights then I can simply look at it as the cost knowing that His purposes and plans are so much greater than my own.  Then we get to a little more serious things like giving up my rights to my home and family and things that give us a stability and an identity. Are we willing to do this for Him as his ways are higher than ours? How about our lives….oooh don’t we all say yes If a crazy man pointed a gun in our face asking if we are a believer we would all say yes of course we are…what if we are to march through an amazon jungle to speak to a tribe who has never heard of the love and hope of Jesus only to be killed. I don’t know, its been raising a lot of questions in me. I feel like the Lord is saying “Angie how far will you go for me? what is your cut off line. Your limit or line in the sand? I then hear Him saying “I had no line in the sand, I had no limit” I went to the cross and and endured the most brutal death you could imagine all the while I was praying and forgiving you. Me? An un perfect, broken sinful human. It brings me to tears as I type this. Tears of sadness and shame of would I live that death sentence out? Will I walk out my faith radically and to the fullest its meant to be. Will I? Will you? He is calling each one of us to live a life of radical faith not just the crazy Platts…EVERYONE!  It drives me crazy when people are so inspired by what we have done and yet feel like that is not for them, like just living out their boring ole life is really all God has in store for them? NO!!! He wants us all to be moved and pushed to the next level of faith all the while giving Him the glory and honor! There is something. Something that moves you, maybe its orphans or in justice or poverty, the point is He moves us in our spirits so that we will move in the natural or these terrible injustices will keep on happening!

When I really ponder the events of the cross Im gripped with this. Even though when we are giving up our rights, essentially our entire lives, what we gain in Him is so much greater than any right we could ever imagine. That’s exactly what He says when he says whoever loses his life will gain it. Mediate on the words of your savior, ponder on what He was saying over 2000 years ago.Pray about what this means for you.

Ask Him and He will show you, then you get to decide how far you will go and if its far enough? You will find yourself asking these hard questions and truly living out your faith in a radical real way  that Jesus always meant for it to be.

This last weekend we went to the blue river where a company bottles water. It was like nothing we have ever seen. These rolling mountains with this amazing river running all along side of it. We went with another family and the boys had a great time and it was a three-hour trek but well worth it. These pictures hardly capture it.

This week we are learning on how to study Gods word and I’m sure later I will blog about that. What I really wanted to say was its just amazing to me how God knows us. He sees us our entire life and is always there. Today during intersection a lady from South Korea who can barely speak english had a word from the Lord for me and it took me back when I was eight and a very traumatic experience that I had blocked out of my mind mostly and she said that He was there and He was with me in that moment. I cannot explain the rush of emotions that I felt because I obviously have never shared this with her and she didn’t even know exactly what she was speaking she had only seen this vision. God desperately wants each of us to have this relationship with Him. Do you know what I think? We also want that with Him. We may not know it. We may never even admit it. However we all as humans will worship something, someone. Be it drugs, sex, money, our people we love, etc. He has created us to worship…Him. Thats all as I’m still processing this all.