WILDERNESS AS A PLACE OF ENCOUNTER WITH GOD

SUMMER SUMMERSUMMER SUMMERSUMMER SUMMERSUMMER T ravelling as a small community through remote wilderness areas of Aotearoa New Zealand, 11-day E3 expeditions are focused on developing the character of participants and strengthening their connections with God, others, and creation. Through a combination of shared experiences (back-country cooking, practical conservation and citizen science projects, facilitating decisionmaking), daily discussions and solo-time, Year 12 and 13 participants explore how they fit into God’s story and reflect on what this might mean for the next season of life after school. At E3 Alumni weekends participants have shared about their E3 experience... “One of the major things I took from E3 was recognising the importance of spending time alone in God’s creation as a way of connecting with Him. In this world full of business, it is hard to set time aside to pray and spend time with God unless you are really intentional about it. On E3 we were stripped away from all of life’s business and distractions and placed within His amazing creation surrounded by supportive and faith-driven leaders who guided our thoughts towards strengthening our faith for the future.” “Walking through bush and thinking, ‘My gosh, how am I going to make it up that hill?’ . . . that built a real resilience in me and it kind of applies to my mental health knowing I can make it through the hard times.” “I found my place in nature and I found who I was. It gave me a chance to think about my purpose and where to go in life. Time to reflect and see how people work in nature, and now it has given me a step in where I want to head in my career…” “It helped me develop how I wanted to live out my faith in all the ways that don’t necessarily directly connect to that like leadership at school.” “E3 highlights how my faith and my life have been shaped through Jesus . . . in understanding that as humans we are weak, understanding that in Christ we are made strong.” “I thank the inspirational leaders and time spent on E3 for helping me to recognise the importance of connecting to God through creation and quiet time in it in maintaining a strong faith. Jesus withdrew to the mountains and wilderness to pray and spend time with God. I believe E3 is teaching young Kiwis the importance of doing this also. ‘Yet Jesus frequently withdrew to the wilderness to pray.’—Luke 5:16” E3 is a partnership between SUNZ Adventure Specialties and A Rocha NZ. Participants tramp, mountain bike and raft or kayak through remote areas of Otago and Canterbury. A North Island E3 will start in 2020. AS A PLACE OF ENCOUNTER WITH GOD BY JANICE HUNT Communications Assistant, SUNZ

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