The October Update of Rayd
Hello all. It is true that I haven't written anything about my life for quite some time. To formulate some excuse for this would really just be creating stories. I would indeed say sorry, but the word implies that I intend not to do it again, and whilst I do wish to continue updating this blog, I also know full well that the lack of urgency and committment I have to updating will prevent me from holding to my word. So I will not say sorry.
However, I am updating now.
To my many readers, primarily based in Christchurch. Dunedin offers a very different life for me compared to the one I once lived. Many things are the same but it is important to focus on the differences.
In Dunedin I feel as if I have grown closer to God much more than I would have had I stayed in Christchurch. Perhaps this is because of the social pressures of drinking, partying, and having general "worldy fun." I say this because having to fight these things every single day causes me to turn from the emptiness I know it produces and run into the loving and fulfilling arms of Christ. There is also another thing that helps me to do this. For one, my living in a flat this year with primarily Christians has allowed me to stay free of the overwhelming pressure Christians face in the halls. I have seen many "once were Christians" give up following Christ in order to conform to going out with friends and being carried home at 4am because they aren't in a state to walk themselves. The other reason I shall mention here is that of my being discipled. Because discipleship means imitating the life of Jesus, adherring to His every word, allowing myself to change for Him and to be willing to disciple others; I have been given three mentors down here to train me and build me up in doing the things affore mentioned as well as helping me gain confidence in sharing my faith to pre-Christians. Perhaps I would not do this if those mentors were not on campus themselves (which I believe was why I was never so compelled to talk about Jesus in my school, among also being to timid to).
A second difference of Dunedin to note is the Christian male friends I now have my own age. In Christchurch it was difficult to find brothers to talk to who were going through the same mindset that I was. I greatly value having older people to talk to who can relate their past experiences to my current situation but I also believe that having people going through it with you is just as important, as we need to focus on both the "right now" and the "blessings of coming out of it" views. Dunedin has allowed me to find this friendship that I believe I was a great deal missing in Christchurch (not saying it was absent there but for close friends it certainly was).
Another difference has been the proccess of learning. In highschool I did very little work and in fact, for the most part, forgot how to study. It has been a massive learning curve this year in my "learning how to learn." There are certainly many things I can still improve on, but I am now a much more effective studier.
I have noticed also the maturity in me has grown as I remember beginning the year walking into a lecture theatre of 550 students and feeling out of place, however there is no ackwardness now when I climb over seats infront of that many people to get to my seat in the third row back (apparently the best place for efficient learning).
My organisation has also improved, as I took over many of the roles of leadership at my flat over the course of the year and have set up my next year's flat completely. I first took over the position of paying rent every week; I delegated someone to do flat shopping (the idea infact disintergrated and is no longer in existence due to several reasons); a Bible Study was set up every morning at 7am with cooked breakfast, later reconstructed to a Thursday morning Bible Study due to fatigue of Uni students attending ;) ); I enquired about flatting next year, acquired 5 guys and spoke to the landlord and current residents of the flat I wanted to move into, have worked out the finances of next year's flat and have delegated flat shopping to a committed individual; set up an action group at university for discussions with a couple of pre-christians; and have used my diary extensively to time my studying, meetings, lectures, laboratorys and social events. Though this proccess of being more organised began to develop last year (with Jason as my Growth Coach) I had no immediate need to change my habits and so did very little to.
And lastly, this year I have primarily introduced myself with my nickname Rayd. This was a decision I made at the beginning of the year. For several reasons. For a start, I wanted a permanent reminder that I was to shine God's Radiance wherever I went, this was especially significant in Dunedin, a place I had heard was spiritually dark. Secondly, I wanted a reminder of Opawa Baptist Youthgroup as it has been a significant part of my life and it was there that the name Rayd was given to me. This also extends to part of my dream to work at least to some degree as a youth worker being made evident in my life. Why? Because for one, the name is from a youth group and two, because if I am to radiate God out of my life then I must live right and to be in a position of leadership I must be living right, or my influence will lead others astray. Thirdly,but not so significantly, Andrew is a very common name and as an easy way to leave an impact in places I go, a unique name that people will not easily forget is simple and impacting.
That's a small update/retrospective glance of the happenings of Rayd this year.
Janei,
Rayd
However, I am updating now.
To my many readers, primarily based in Christchurch. Dunedin offers a very different life for me compared to the one I once lived. Many things are the same but it is important to focus on the differences.
In Dunedin I feel as if I have grown closer to God much more than I would have had I stayed in Christchurch. Perhaps this is because of the social pressures of drinking, partying, and having general "worldy fun." I say this because having to fight these things every single day causes me to turn from the emptiness I know it produces and run into the loving and fulfilling arms of Christ. There is also another thing that helps me to do this. For one, my living in a flat this year with primarily Christians has allowed me to stay free of the overwhelming pressure Christians face in the halls. I have seen many "once were Christians" give up following Christ in order to conform to going out with friends and being carried home at 4am because they aren't in a state to walk themselves. The other reason I shall mention here is that of my being discipled. Because discipleship means imitating the life of Jesus, adherring to His every word, allowing myself to change for Him and to be willing to disciple others; I have been given three mentors down here to train me and build me up in doing the things affore mentioned as well as helping me gain confidence in sharing my faith to pre-Christians. Perhaps I would not do this if those mentors were not on campus themselves (which I believe was why I was never so compelled to talk about Jesus in my school, among also being to timid to).
A second difference of Dunedin to note is the Christian male friends I now have my own age. In Christchurch it was difficult to find brothers to talk to who were going through the same mindset that I was. I greatly value having older people to talk to who can relate their past experiences to my current situation but I also believe that having people going through it with you is just as important, as we need to focus on both the "right now" and the "blessings of coming out of it" views. Dunedin has allowed me to find this friendship that I believe I was a great deal missing in Christchurch (not saying it was absent there but for close friends it certainly was).
Another difference has been the proccess of learning. In highschool I did very little work and in fact, for the most part, forgot how to study. It has been a massive learning curve this year in my "learning how to learn." There are certainly many things I can still improve on, but I am now a much more effective studier.
I have noticed also the maturity in me has grown as I remember beginning the year walking into a lecture theatre of 550 students and feeling out of place, however there is no ackwardness now when I climb over seats infront of that many people to get to my seat in the third row back (apparently the best place for efficient learning).
My organisation has also improved, as I took over many of the roles of leadership at my flat over the course of the year and have set up my next year's flat completely. I first took over the position of paying rent every week; I delegated someone to do flat shopping (the idea infact disintergrated and is no longer in existence due to several reasons); a Bible Study was set up every morning at 7am with cooked breakfast, later reconstructed to a Thursday morning Bible Study due to fatigue of Uni students attending ;) ); I enquired about flatting next year, acquired 5 guys and spoke to the landlord and current residents of the flat I wanted to move into, have worked out the finances of next year's flat and have delegated flat shopping to a committed individual; set up an action group at university for discussions with a couple of pre-christians; and have used my diary extensively to time my studying, meetings, lectures, laboratorys and social events. Though this proccess of being more organised began to develop last year (with Jason as my Growth Coach) I had no immediate need to change my habits and so did very little to.
And lastly, this year I have primarily introduced myself with my nickname Rayd. This was a decision I made at the beginning of the year. For several reasons. For a start, I wanted a permanent reminder that I was to shine God's Radiance wherever I went, this was especially significant in Dunedin, a place I had heard was spiritually dark. Secondly, I wanted a reminder of Opawa Baptist Youthgroup as it has been a significant part of my life and it was there that the name Rayd was given to me. This also extends to part of my dream to work at least to some degree as a youth worker being made evident in my life. Why? Because for one, the name is from a youth group and two, because if I am to radiate God out of my life then I must live right and to be in a position of leadership I must be living right, or my influence will lead others astray. Thirdly,but not so significantly, Andrew is a very common name and as an easy way to leave an impact in places I go, a unique name that people will not easily forget is simple and impacting.
That's a small update/retrospective glance of the happenings of Rayd this year.
Janei,
Rayd
posted by Rayd at 6:30 pm
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