AYM Houses Hui in Ohakune
It was a King’s weekend of journeys.
First up, we journeyed through a 14km bike ride of Ohakune Old Coach Road.
You can see us all gathered before we left Horopito. This was a challenge that everyone really took in their stride and the sense of completion was so satisfactory. We had some bumps and bruises but together had a great experience.
Our second journey of the weekend was looking at our journey through Winter. How do we thrive as houses of hospitality through Winter? What stops us from thriving as people over winter? Jesse Duckworth challenged us all with five ways to survive over summer which included being generous, celebrating winter, and keeping to our rhythms of prayer, youth work and discipleship.
We completed Saturday with an evening and Luke and Amilie Paynter’s. It was a chance to see hospitality in the winter in action as pulled pork, chicken and roast vegetables were such a treat! It was a great way to round out the first day.
Day two met us with a journey up the mountain. We rugged up warm, put on our gloves and beanies then headed up to the top of the ski lifts where we recreated some biblical scenes in a modern context. There were some outrageous renditions, and we won’t share them as some of it might be considered a little heretical! You can see us gathered back at the bottom of the mountain together.
The afternoon was full of activities we could choose to do – rock climbing and board games to name a couple. Followed by a journey looking at how culture in a missional community can decay by Jessica and Jesse Duckworth and then a journey through the two lost sons from Andy Spence. This concluded with some worship and prayer.
The evening activities concluded with a game designed by Jesse Duckworth. It was full of Barons, Godfathers, Jailors, Witch Doctors, and Thieves. With the snacks laid out, the Netflix fire on the TV and a warm Casey Lodge it was a great way to finish off the content of the weekend.
On Monday we packed up and journeyed home – refreshed, reenergised and a little tired. As we continue to serve young people in our communities, we are looking forward to seeing what lies next.
