by Kayla Norris | Oct 11, 2020 | Loving Jesus, Relationships, YWAM DTS
I woke up to the sound of a chainsaw. It’s normal, living on a farm in New Zealand. Maybe not to hear one on Saturday at 7am, but you come to expect the unexpected. Living in Hobbiton—my childhood dream—has its trials. I dragged myself out of bed and glanced down the...
by Kayla Norris | Aug 30, 2020 | Loving Jesus
I slouched in the front seat of the parked van, nauseous out of my mind. It was just after sunrise. It was the only place at our staff retreat I could go to escape the New Zealand winter. To dodge that drizzling rain. And to be alone. (Turns out I really should have...
by Kayla Norris | May 27, 2019 | Loving Jesus, The Creative Heart
When you stand close to a painting, so close that your nose touches the canvas, you’ll just see haphazard splatters and a stray streaks of colour. Nothing looks very much on purpose, the closer you get. Spots and lines, dabs and dots. That’s it. Or, your jaw could...
by Kayla Norris | Jan 24, 2019 | Loving Jesus, Missions Trips, YWAM DTS
I’d seen it all. Those missionary teams, coming back sharing stories about their latest trip. Those Discipleship Training Schools (DTS), telling testimonies on stage. I was so used to long-winded explanations of why you should join “why-wham” and what God could “do in...
by Kayla Norris | Nov 23, 2018 | Community, Family, Loving Jesus
Turkeys are $80 each here—I’m not exaggerating. Well, that is in New Zealand dollars and according to my Google search, that’s roughly $55 US. Still not great. Despite this, we still manage to throw some pretty legendary Thanksgiving parties with chicken (green bean...
by Kayla Norris | Oct 18, 2018 | Community, Loving Jesus, Missionary Kids, University, YWAM DTS
“Just go over to the house sometime, they’d love to meet you!” Fresh to Tauranga, New Zealand, friends had raved about the YWAM Furnace community. My new university was right next door to where their current Discipleship Training School was running, and I wanted to...
