RAEWYNNE
“I clearly heard a voice and knew it was the Lord. He said to me, ‘I need you to feed them, I want you to go and want you to buy bacon, eggs, sausages, coffee, tea, milk and sugar. I want you to get the bread rolls and go at the end of the Saturday shift when the bread rolls are cheaper.’ A detailed list.
“My husband, Dean and I were living in the town part of Tauranga at that time, and I had seen so many people hanging around the main bus shelter and in doorways. I was shocked as I had never encountered so many needy people before. Although I was shocked, my upbringing had taught me that you feed people in need. So, I just knew I had to go and feed these people.
“The very next morning we went downtown in our little car, and I saw them in the old bus terminal. The druggies, the alcoholics, some of them still drinking from their bottles. When the ones who had bottles saw me, they tried to hide them behind their backs. I said to them, ‘you don’t have to do that. I have come to bring you fellas some kai, are you hungry!’ When we opened the boot of the car with all the food in it, they asked, ‘Who are you?’ I said to them ‘I am Jesus, and I’ve come to take care of you’.
“I remember this beautiful old pakeha gentleman who told me he didn’t have a bed to sleep in. I haven’t got any clean underwear or socks. I told him to wait until after we had finished feeding the men, I would return with what he needed. He cried.
“God provided the finances for all we were led to do. When we told people what we were doing, they would give us stuff and bless us. The doors opened and we knew we were doing what God called us to do. At that time there was no one doing this.
“So, every Sunday morning for several years, we would turn up with the food God had detailed for us to provide.
“As the needs became known, kind people would provide. One man brought foldout trestle tables. Lord, I prayed, I need urns for the hot water for the tea and coffee. One of the restaurants told us if we got extension cords we could plug into their power point. A bakery invited us to come at the end of their day and take all the left-over cakes and pies. I would get up at 4am and heat them in my oven and to take to the hungry men. God brought us in touch with the most amazing giving people, who I called whanau (family) who came to that place on a Sunday morning.
“One day a well-dressed lady with a long warm coat arrived, said hello and that she had come to help us. Our team started to grow. Another man would arrive towing his trailer packed with pews for the men to sit on. Dean would get up and minister and bring the word while I served on the tables and asked each one what their needs were.
“We became Jesus to all of them. We noticed some of the men would go into the public toilets and tidy themselves up as best they could. I would go to hug them but they would say ‘no whaea (aunty), don’t hug me, I stink’. I would say ‘I don’t care what you smell like, are you hungry’?
“One morning this beautiful family arrived and they brought their granddaughter. We had cornflakes and weetbix but this little girl said to her nana, she wanted porridge. The following Sunday I made sure I had a pot of porridge and served it up with cream and lots of brown sugar. I took a plate and a spoon from home for this little girl.
“Another week a lady arrived in a beautiful, flash white car. I wondered what church she was from. She had come from the Mount with the biggest pancakes and pikelets I had ever seen. She also brought maple syrup, jam and real butter. I cried. I didn’t ask if she was Christian, but she told me, she heard this voice telling her to do that. Those dirty stinking street men came up and shook her hand and thanked her. I have seen God do so many things in my life. God was there and blessed everything we did as we put our hands to the plough.
“Many years before whilst living in Auckland, God gave me a vision of an old-fashioned wooden plough with the horse. When I asked Him what that meant, he said I want you to go and plow up that land. I didn’t understand at the time, but I can clearly see now, He meant Tauranga. It is only now after walking through the valley of the shadow of death, I realise how deeply I needed the foundation God laid in my life, and the steadfast presence of my husband and my church whanau.
“Our journey took my husband and me to the Gold Coast, where we felt directed to a small church called Word of Life set amongst trees and bush. I also sensed this was the area where God was going to give us a house. But I wasn’t keen at all. I knew this was where snakes and creepy crawlies lived and the thought of them close by was very disturbing. On the first evening when we pulled up outside this little prefab church, I felt I could see them in the trees and in the grass. Lord, I cried, I can’t go in there! We turned around to drive away but just as we did the bright outdoor lights came on illuminating our exit. The power had gone off inside the church and in that moment they had switched on the generator. We could see people waving at us, smiling and beckoning us to come in. We parked, put on a brave face and went to meet them. It was beautiful inside, and we immediately felt the presence of God in the sanctuary. We returned the following Sunday carrying a large tray of cheesey cheese scones and date scones with an abundance of dates served with real butter. Our initial reluctance turned into such a blessing through this God led community.
“I was invited to study for a year at Rhema Bible College. God knew we didn’t have the money for fees. Dean applied for his first job, and the Lord showed me his boss was a tall man with red hair, named Peter. When the time came for the interview, my husband asked me to go with him, not to the interview but simply to drive with him for moral support. As we pulled into the carpark, I saw a man ahead of us and said – there he is. When I told my husband he was disbelieving, but he was offered the job and all the details were as God had shown me.
“He started work on the Wednesday morning and the deposit for Bible College had to be paid by 9am Friday morning. On that first day, Peter called my husband into his office and enquired how I was. Dean explained I was hoping to go to study and Peter, a non-believer said something like, oh well perhaps your God will provide. The church community were praying for a miracle and that night Peter phoned Dean and asked him for his bank account number. When my husband asked why, he was told, this money is for Raewynne to register for Bible college. Thank you, Jesus. What a lesson in faith. I believe this gave me the building blocks for my walk with the Lord. Operating in that gift of being able to see”.
“The just shall live by faith” Romans 1 :17
Part 2 posted next Wednesday