And I'm sitting there grudgingly in the back
of the church and I'm going, can we hurry up
and just pour this water over this baby and finish
this already? I don't want to feed. I don't need
your food. I just want to go. And I get up and
I leave and I get to the door and I fell to my
knees. The same sensation came over my body from
head to toe and I fell at the door. And that
began the journey. with God. God promises in
Joel 2 .28 to pour out His Spirit on all humanity.
Welcome to Global Outpouring, where we contend
for that promise outpouring, we equip for it,
and we engage in this outpouring. I'm Philip
Buss. And I'm Sharon Buss. Welcome to the podcast
today. We have friends here with us today from
the ends of the earth, from New Zealand, and
they're going to share with us some of their
stories of how they have had outpouring in their
lives that has caused them to be used of God
to change a whole community of gangs. Thank you
so much for joining us today. We know you're
going to enjoy this podcast. And before we get
started, we want to encourage you, if you haven't
already done so, to go to our website, globaloutpouring
.net. and that you will make sure that you are
on our mailing list so that we can stay in touch
with you and you can know what's going on with
this ministry and how we can minister to you.
And if you have any feedback for us, we'd love
to hear from you. You can write an email to feedback
at globaloutpouring .org, or you can use the
feedback form on globaloutpouring .net. And let
us know what God is doing in your life and how
we can pray for you and how we can minister to
you. If you've got an idea of something you'd
like for us to bring to the podcast, we'd love
to hear from you. Let us know where you're listening
from. So, Sandy and Princess Jensen, we are so
glad that you have joined us today on the Global
Outpouring Podcast. Thank you. It's a pleasure
to be here. We're just really excited. We've
been hearing some of your testimonies, and I'm
sure that as we talk some more, we're going to
hear details that we haven't heard before. But
I just love how God does things in people's lives,
and He takes them from difficult situations and
brings them into His glory and brings them into
His outpouring. and then uses them to bring outpouring
to others. So I'm not sure which one of you wants
to start with your story first, but you both
have amazing stories. Yes. Well, I think I grew
up in a typical working -class family in New
Zealand. My parents weren't believers. It wasn't
a Christian home. Both my parents were workaholic
alcoholics. Oh, my. And life was very violent.
I think I started cooking for the family from
about the age of seven, being the oldest of four
boys. There were no girls, so the job became
mine. But it's given me a skill. Yes. An undeniable
skill in cooking, so I am grateful for that.
But my grandparents were Christians. Ah. And
by their advice, I did get sent to Sunday school.
And so I was introduced to Christ from an early
age, but never really got to have a relationship
with him. Gave my heart to him several times
at different holiday camps and things like that.
Even encountered some bizarre things. Like the
first time I smelt the fragrance of the Lord,
I think it was about 11 years old. I walked into
this room and I could smell this beautiful smell.
Being a nosy person I was, I went around trying
to sniff out, see who had this wonderful aftershave.
Couldn't find it on anybody, but it was there
on everybody. Oh, glory to God. And it wasn't
until I got saved as an adult and started getting
introduced to... other manifestations of his
presence that I understood what it was then.
Wow. So I went through a typical Kiwi childhood,
smoking weed, drinking excessively. That seemed
to be quite normal for people at our age group.
Oh, wow. And you didn't have to leave school
to start doing that. That just started. Wow.
And so, yeah, did that. Got caught up in... doing
things like Ouija boards and astral traveling
and seances and ESP and all sorts of bizarre
things. But I really, now I know that was just
a hunger for things of the spirit that was deep
inside of me. It was just going to the wrong
source. Right, exactly. Getting it from the counterfeit
instead of the real. Absolutely, yes. And it
wasn't until I actually... did have a face -to
-face encounter with God that I began to realize
the difference. The best high I ever got was
in God. Yeah. The best feeling from any manifesting
spirit. And free, yeah. Just cost me the rest
of my life. Yes, that's true. Yeah. So, Princess,
give us a little bit of your background. Yeah,
I was brought up in a place called Auckland.
I was born in Auckland. I am from a place called
Rotorua. It's where all the bubbly pools happen.
Oh, okay. It's a big tourist place. I was only
brought up in New Zealand right up to the age
of eight and just turning nine. Then my parents
moved to Australia at the age of nine years old.
But I grew up in a Christian home. Oh. Yeah,
we were taught right from the get -go who God
was and how to have a relationship with God.
And at a very young age, we were trained to train
our spirit man at a very young age. Okay, and
you're Maori, right? Yes, I'm Maori, yes, and
both parents are Maori. And so we moved to Australia
and also got into, I fell a lot because I was
sexually abused at the age of six. Oh, no. For
a while from my uncle and my husband. Turns out
to be a great story. Because I stand in victory
and I'm not a victim. I'm a victim. I stand in
victory. Beautiful. So, yeah. So, yeah, and that
happened. So that sort of had me blind for a
long time. So I adopted a lot of bad behaviours
along the way because of the cause of that. But,
however, it's still my power of choice. Right.
So I got into some drugs and lots of it and I
ended up selling at a young age. Age 13, I started
selling. I'd get out of my school uniform, walk
into the pub, and then start selling drugs in
Sydney, Australia. Wow. And they all knew I was
young, but who I worked for, they would never
ever question it. So the family I was working
for, you would never ever question it. A family.
A family, that's correct. That's a key word,
a family. That's correct, a family. And we're
not talking about your father or mother. No,
no, no, no. La familia. I worked for them for
25 years and I moved in the ranks very quickly.
Wow. And I ended up overseeing prostitute homes
and illegal casinos in Sydney. Well, Sandy, did
you know what you were marrying into? No. No,
no, actually, God. Actually, it's better you
don't know these things. I didn't tell him until
he put the ring on me. No, I think I got blindsided
by God there. He showed me her future, not her
past. Pause, Selah, pause and think about that.
Because that's really where we need to be living,
looking at people, not at their past, but where
God's taking them. And that's key to your story.
That's correct. That's the success of our story.
Yes. So we ended up doing that. And then one
day I had an encounter with God because I knew
as a young child what it felt like to get a touch
from the Lord. Wow. And so we learned this very
young. And so when I was in my bedroom, 3 o 'clock
in the morning, I got in touch with the Lord,
and I had an encounter. And I went like this.
I went, if that's you, okay, I know it's you.
Send me someone to my door. I want B &B music.
I don't want hymns. Send me to a real cool church.
That was my list. And first thing in the morning,
someone came to my door, and it was my niece.
And I was still a bit high. And so she said,
oh, auntie, you need to come in for a baptism.
We're baptizing my daughter. No, they call it
a blessing over there, eh? Because she was only
two years old or something. Oh, like dedication.
Dedication, that's it. So I said, oh, no, I'm
too stoned. I'm too drunk. Oh, no, can't do it.
Last thing I want to do is walk into a church,
not thinking what happened to me at 3 o 'clock
in the morning. You forgot. And then she demanded
it. She goes, Auntie, get in that shower, wash
it off, and get to that church because you're
one of the godparents. Oh! You don't want a drug
head of an auntie to be one of your kids. And
he goes, no, auntie, come on, let's go. So she
was also looking at your future? Yes. She forced
me, practically forced me to get in the car.
So I had a shower. She waited. She jumped in
the car, and we had baby in there, and I'm sitting
there grudgingly in the back of the church, and
I'm going, can we hurry up and just pour this
water over this baby and finish this already?
I don't want to feed. I don't need your food.
I just want to go. Wow. And I get up. And I leave,
and I get to the door, and I fell to my knees.
The same sensation came over my body from head
to toe, and I fell at the door. Wow. And that
began the journey with God. Wow. I was never
the same ever again. Wow. How wonderful. I know.
So you hadn't met Sandy yet? No. Pastor Jack
Harris was my first engagement. He came over,
helped me up, and he said, welcome home. Wow.
And I'm going, what? What are you doing? No,
don't touch me. I know how you trick people into
coming to your church. No, it's okay. Do you
want us to drive you home? No, I can't go home.
This is something else. So I sat there. It was
the right music that I liked. And it was a cool
church. And that's where most of my maturing
happened, I suppose you could call it. Training
happened. and how to train my spirit man and,
yeah, work for the right people. Wow. Isn't that
something? Yeah, so I went to go and finish that
25 -year job and I had to go and see Dad, Papa,
we used to call him. And he was, sat there and
I told him, I said, I'm moving on, I'm moving
into a new space. And he goes, well, what do
you mean new space? What are you doing? I give
you lots of money, I give you houses, give you
cars. What's wrong? Yeah, this is something a
bit richer than that. Oh, wow. And he goes, what
are you talking about? You can't do this. Because
I made him a lot of money over the years, millions.
Wow. My last job with him was getting drugs into
high schools. Oh, wow. And I did about five high
schools at the time. So when he gave me a task,
I did it. And I made sure I completed it. And
that was the last time. I said, no, I can't do
this anymore. Something happened to me. And he
goes, what happened to you? What's wrong? What's
the matter? I got a touch. I had an encounter
with God. And I know you know who God is. Wow.
I know you know him because you're Lebanese.
Oh, yeah. You know him. And so I had an encounter
with God. And his face just looked like, and
he goes, okay, straight away. Wow. It's not like
you got adopted by a different family. No. No.
Well, you did get adopted by God's family. Sometimes
if you leave something like that, they don't
let you go in other ways. It was a two -year
process, so you can't leave them like that. You
just have to do it. what they call a two -year
process. Really? A stand -down. And if any of
the companies or any of the organisations got
busted, they'll come for you. Oh. But I was one
of his most trusted. I moved through the ranks
very quickly and made him a lot of money. I knew
too much. I knew way too much to, you know, easily
the police could have come to me and I said to
them that I would never. Even if I'm a Christian,
I would never, ever do that to you. He goes,
I have to still give you two years. Okay, no
worries. It's okay. So you continued to work
for two years? No, no, no. He let you off? You
stand down. But if any of the companies, you
leave. Oh, yeah. You exit. But if any of the
companies get broken into or get busted by the
police, you take the fall. Oh, I see. Because
you're the last one to leave the nest. Wow. Yeah.
Oh, wow. One of the things that I just want to
encourage everybody with there, because a lot
of times we don't hear about the background.
And the background with Princess was that her
mother was a faithful servant of God. She was
an intercessor. Yeah. Wow. And she prayed for
all of her children. In actual fact. The Lord
kept her alive to see all of her children come
out of whatever they were doing and come to the
Lord. Wow. And that was the last one through
the gates. The reason she got saved is, yes,
God moved on her, but he was a faithful God to
a faithful woman. And I just want to encourage
any parents or any grandparents out there that
are listening to this, and if you've got children
that are in drugs or going through some really
bad stuff, Don't stop praying for them. You are
their salvation. You are the one speaking life
into their lives. Don't stop. Pray until something
happens. Absolutely. Beautiful. And then keep
on praying. Yes, yes. And so there began the
journey of my journey with God. Hung out with
intercessors for a while to teach me how to connect
and how to communicate. And then I met Sandy.
It wasn't a very nice meeting. She was still
pretty raw. Very raw. We won't talk about that.
But names were called. Right across the church.
It was not very nice. And so what happened was
I had to have him over. My mum, she goes, what
did you, did you just say something nasty? Well,
he is. He touched me on the shoulder and told
me not to try and sing the words. Anyway, she
said, oh, we love Sandy in this church. Sandy
is highly respected. And we all call him the
PP. Do you know what that is? The pastor's pet.
And so he was favoured by everybody. And his
old Miss Princess comes along and works his stuff.
But what happened was we had a forgiveness lunch.
I was invited to it at my house. I walk in, they're
all there. The food was all out. Sandy was there
and all my aunties and my aunties and my sister
and my mum. And I go, what's going on here? I've
got to go and get ready for a party tonight.
And he goes, you've just been to church. And
I, yeah. One step in, one step out, you know.
It's a process, isn't it? So she said to him,
they were very disgusted of me because I was
sort of drunk as I was going to church in Stone
and I'm eating away there. But Sandy, it was
Sandy, he sat there and as they were martyring
me and being disappointed in me, Sandy said,
I don't see that. And then that's where God...
It showed. Gave me a vision of what she was going
to be in the future. Wow. And that vision was
so strong and so clear. I couldn't stand her.
A lot of people ask me, well, what do you think
about Princess? And I thought, to be nice, I
just said, not my cup of tea. Because you can't
say something sometimes. You've just got to be
polite about it. But there's just no way on earth
was I going to be involved with that lady. But
at that lunchtime dinner, the mother and the
sisters were berating her in a terrible way.
And actually, it was quite shocking to see these
Christian ladies speaking this way to their daughter.
So God was very clear in what he showed me, what
she was going to be like, this awesome, wonderful,
powerful woman in God. And I actually said to
him in that process, when I saw that, I said,
that I could marry. Wow. And yet there was no
way was I looking at her any way like that at
all. No way, shape, or form. It was just like,
you've got to be kidding me. Well, God was kidding
me, all right. He got me. He blindsided me with
his view. So how long did it take before you
two got married? How long was this? That was
probably about 13 or 14 months. Is that all?
Yeah. Wow. God did a quick work. Yes. There was
a reason for it too. We ended up getting quite
a few missions, ministries together, eh? And
it was what we called tangis, funerals. So Māoris
have funerals in a different way. We sleep with
our... With our past. So they're in a coffin
and we sleep right around them. Oh, wow. For
the last three nights. Like a massive wake for
three days. Yeah, like a massive wake. Three
nights we sleep with them. Kind of like sitting
Shiva. Something like that. Yes. Only with Shiva,
sitting Shiva among the Israelis or the Jewish
people. They bury immediately and then they spend
the time together with the family. Oh. Yeah,
well, we spend the time with the body. With the
body. Tell the stories. Oh, yeah, background
knowledge. Yeah, and then we got that ministry
together. Oh, it was such a joy. It was so good
because we saw quite a few souls come through
that ministry. And also we also took on the Mums
on the Move, which was a sports team, an evangelistic.
So there was only one of us. And the worst thing
about it, our pastor comes over and he sits me
down. And at this time, I couldn't stand our
pastor either. And I was going, what do you want?
What's happening? And I had no respect, no honor.
They knew each other as children. Yeah. Yeah,
yeah. You were locked in the past. That's correct.
I was always looking at her past, what she was.
And so I learned very dearly to listen to that.
Anyway, so she goes, oh, you're going to be a
cell leader. I said, you know I'm still smoking
dope, don't you? Because I was always transparent.
I was always honest with them. I didn't like
hiding things. And they said, oh, yes, but God
said that it's you. And you and I are going to
be cell leaders together. But it's not any normal
cell group. And I'm going, oh, here we go. The
joke gets better. And then she turns around and
she says, it's going to be a cell group that
are unsaved people. I went, great. But I had
dreams. I had dreams after about a month, and
mine are very, very clear, and I remember them
all. And so when I dreamt this, I dreamt of this
team, these people, and I was playing sports
with them. So she took me physically. In real
time, she took me to the stadium, and we sat
there. No one was in the stadium. We sit there,
and I'm going, what are we sitting here for?
She goes, just wait. So this lady comes walking
in. One lady and I looked over and, oh, what,
what's wrong? That lady was in my dream. Oh,
wow. She was, she was goal shooter. No, I swear,
I swear. And I'm going like that to my spouse
and she goes, oh. And then another woman, oh,
my goodness, that lady was centre. Wow. All the
team members that I dreamt of came through the
door. Oh, my. And I said, oh, my gosh, this bleep.
Really works. And she goes, what did you just
say? This bleep really works. I have to tell
you, it's taken 20 years to get that bleep in
there. And she goes, go to the toilet, wash your
face, come back out. And I'm nervous and I go,
now what? Now what do we do? And she goes, go
over there and everything will just flow out.
You go over there. Don't send me in the lion's
den. You go. No, you know all the Bible. You
know how to pray. You're the theologian. You
get over there. And she goes, oh, gosh, get up.
and walk over, everything will come to you. It's
because you had the dream. Yeah. So that's right.
Well, she could have told me that. Anyway, she
walks over and I'm going, Kia ora, hello. In
other words, hello. My name's Princess and I'm
looking for a team. And, you know, to play with.
And she goes, oh, we're just making up one now.
You can join us. Wow. I said, oh, thank you.
She goes, well, can you play? I'm an all -rounder.
What's that? All around is a shooter, center,
defense. I can play anywhere. So what game is
this we're talking about? This is a multi -sports.
So you play netball one week, you play basketball
the next week, you play volleyball the next week,
and then indoor soccer. Wow. So it's a multi
-sports. Oh, okay. Wow, I've never heard of that.
So these women that I was playing with were mothers
that stay home looking after babies. Oh. So we
called the team Mums on the Move. Cut a long
story short, three months later, four generations
of each member of that team came to the Lord.
Wow. Their parents, them, three generations,
and their children. In church, praising the Lord
three months. That's how God works. Wow. As a
result of that, we actually had to step into
discipleship. Sure. That's the next thing. Yeah,
absolutely. And we were the ones, because of
our connection to them, we were the ones that
were doing the discipling for all of them. Wow.
And the awesome thing out of that, out of those
people came cell group leaders, worship leaders,
and pastors. Wow. So, you know, we got this revelation
out of that, that God was using us to train up
a new generation of leaders. Glory to God. And
so we did not really understand that at the time
because you just do what God gives you to do.
Exactly, day by day. But when you see the fruit,
it becomes fairly evident what your purpose is.
And I got to the stage where over half the church
were our disciples. Wow. And this actually begins
to create a different dynamic within a church
as well because now your disciples are asking,
why isn't everybody else doing what you're doing?
And that's a very serious question. I said, well,
stop looking at what other people are doing and
just do what we're showing you and worry about
that. Because it's not what they're doing, it's
what you're doing. And so that became, but we
knew then that things had got to a stage where
now the influence that we were having in the
church was actually. creating a very dangerous
dynamic. Right. And we've seen a lot of church
splits in the past. Yeah. So really it was probably
time for us to move on before something like
that actually happened. And then the Lord sent
us on mission, and I was really glad for that.
So were you married yet? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah,
we were married. We missed that little detail.
Oh, yeah, we were well into our marriage then.
Okay. But we ended up, so I flew over to New
Zealand. At this time. And we know for a month,
we had two boys at the time. They were seven
and six. And so we got up into the plane. We
were up flying into Nelson. And next minute God
says, you're coming home. And I went, what do
you mean, home? Because my connection to God
is good and I'm matured a bit. All the drugs
are gone. All the alcohol's gone. All those stuff
that's gone. All the world stuff. And I went,
what? Did I hear right? You're coming home. You're
not going back to Australia. I'm planting you
here in New Zealand. So I get there and I ended
up going to Nelson. We were in a caravan and,
you know, had our holiday. And then I was praying
with the boys. We had a prayer night and I said,
I want you to go to Wellington. The Lord said?
Wellington, yeah. And Wellington, I've learned
this, is at the south end of the North Island
and it's the farthest capital from Jerusalem.
That's correct. And it's the capital city of
New York. That's right, capital. And so Nelson
is just across the way. Okay. Across the water
on the South Island, top of the South. So I fled
to Wellington and that's where we ended up getting
based at Pumari. I was still living in Australia.
Right. Sandy was still working in Australia.
We were here for a holiday. And then I go to,
I want to cut out a lot of detail. I ended up
going to the airport, stood at Wellington Airport.
And this woman comes by and it was my sister
-in -law. And I said, how did you know it was
me? Because we'd just seen your wedding photos.
And I went, what? And she goes, are you here?
Where's Sandy? Where's Joel and Jerome, our sons?
And I told her and I said, what are you here
for? You've got family. And I went, no, you're
it. Who's picking you up? No, you're it. Can
I hitchhike a ride with you? And I'll try and
explain the best way I can. Oh, wow. The best
way I can. So you just flew from Nelson to Wellington
and you didn't have any connections. No, that
was one of those miracle encounters that you
hear about. And then next minute, you know, and
I said, I hope I didn't look like that on my
wedding photos. Because she just finished looking
and I said, so I jump in the car. She drives
me to, I said, I don't want you breaking your
plan. I just want you to drive and I'll explain.
And I said, I want to buy a cheap and nasty home
here. Cheap and nasty. I don't care if it's flash.
I just want to buy a cheap and nasty. And she
goes, okay. I didn't know Sandy, you and Sandy
were coming back to New Zealand. So didn't I
until about a day ago up in the air. So do you
know any places that are selling their homes
cheap and nasty? And I said, I've got the place.
So she drives me to this place called Housing
New Zealand. It's a state home place. Sort of
like low income. That's correct. Low income.
That's what we call it in the States. So I went,
oh, okay. So she explained herself and, oh no,
I earn too much money to be in your homes. And
she said to me, well, let me be the judge of
it. We got an appointment straight away. You're
supposed to have an appointment first. And I
cold called them and she came out and she sat
me down. And then she went through and she goes,
well, let me be the judge of it and we'll go
through, tick the box. So you said you're staying,
sleeping in a caravan with your two sons? Yes.
Tick. And I'm like this. And your husband is
back in Australia? Yes, tick. Oh, I can't come
in like that. Oh, no, no. Listen, darling, could
you get the manager and just oversee this application?
Because one thing I don't want to do is get you
in trouble, and I don't want to come in the wrong
way. I'm a pastor's wife. Could you imagine it?
My husband won't be happy, and so won't God.
Anyway, she goes, I am the regional manager.
And I went, oh, okay. And I'm going like this,
can I just have a moment? Is this you, Lord?
Really? Do you do this sort of thing? Like I'm
talking like that in my mind. And I'm covering
my face and going, really, Lord? And it was.
Wow. But she said to me that you can only rent
through us and get first preference of the buy.
the purchase if you rent. But you've got to meet
our criteria. That was it, tick the box. And
I got it. So I flew in at 10, flew out at 1 o
'clock with a key in my hand. Oh, my. Never mind
the 18 -month waiting list. Did you know that
she was doing this? Oh, wait, I'm not getting
to that yet. I ring him, and I'm going, I can't
believe this, baby. He goes, well. Hold it, hold
it, hold it. You're more connected than I am
because you're the favourite one. Did you know
we were coming back to New Zealand to stay? Did
God tell you? And there was a long pause and
I knew straight away. He goes, yes. How long
have you known? Five years. I thought we had
no secrets in this marriage. And he goes, darling,
I couldn't tell you. I said to God, you need
to tell your daughter. Wow. So where did he tell
you? In the plane with the two boys. I felt like
a single parent at the time. And he goes, wow.
And he goes, well, I got us a place. Well, God
got us a place. He's opened the door. But we're
going to purchase it in a few months. Anyway,
so I turned around and I said, it's at a place
called Pomari. And he goes, spell it. Spell it,
princess, and I spelt it. And you know where
it was, right? And he goes, Pumari. That's the
proper pronunciation. And I went, yeah, I think
so. And then he goes, yes, and he's bouncing
up and down. He's screaming. He's going, yes,
that's where the gangs are. That's where I used
to smoke a lot of drugs. Yes. And I went, what
does that mean? Are we going back into the world?
And he goes, no, no, we're going to go in a different
man, a new man. Wow. And so that's where we got
our first engagement. We moved in less than a
year. We packed up the houses and we were told
to give everything away. Give everything away
and come only with your clothes. Right? Yep.
Coffee machine. Oh, yeah. Can't leave that behind.
He allowed you that one. Oh, I don't know about
that. That cost me a year. You've got to be very
careful when God gives you instructions. You've
got to follow them. He must have been a very
nice coffee machine. I didn't think New Zealand
had any. Wow. That's why it's all done. Oh, okay.
That's why I brought it. It was British kind
of tea. I know. It was the history. The lady
at the airport, chicken, she lifts the bag up
and says, oh, that's a pretty heavy bag. Yeah,
and I said, I just bought new underwear. And
she goes, pretty heavy underwear. They still
got the price tag on it. So while she was getting
the house sorted out, I was getting sorted out
in Australia. And the Lord actually had me on
the floor most nights. And the last thing that
he said to me before I came over to New Zealand
was, woe be unto the pastors who lead my sheep
astray. And I go, oh, I'm not worthy. I'm not
worthy. I'm not going to be. No, you're a pastor,
but you don't lead my sheep astray. I said, okay,
I'll just be a sheepdog. I'll lead them to you
and let you sort it out from there. He's the
shepherd. He's the shepherd, absolutely. Yeah.
And so in the process of moving into Pumari,
of course, the first thing we started doing was
praying for that community because it was. worst
place to be living and it was terrible um we
had to go in with nothing because we're moving
into a community that has nothing yeah yeah and
so immediately we transformed the house that
we were living in by painting and and doing everything
up and a lot of people you love to come to our
house simply because it was like stepping into
a new world you know because you You painted
it up according to the lifestyle we were living
in and used to in Australia, you know, with feature
walls and nice leather lounge suites. And yet
we came with nothing, but God provided a truckload
of furniture for us as we were moving. We spent
two weeks painting the place up ourselves. And
of course, oh, you're getting free rent for that?
No, no, no. We are living how we want to live.
And so we set it up and the neighborhood began
to use our place as a rest stop. Stepping out
of that community and into our house was like
walking into the TARDIS, they said. I don't know
if you know the TARDIS. No. Dr. Who was a science
fiction character who had this telephone box.
It was actually a UFO. And it was about the size
of a telephone box, and you walked inside it.
It was like a city inside it almost. I don't
think that show hit America. No, it was a British
one. Yeah, I've heard of it, but I've never seen
it. Anyway, so they found it was different, and
a lot of people would come just for the piece.
Wow. And that's how it began, just for the piece.
But we had a pretty… quick and rough introduction
to the community as Princess encountered the
first visitor to our house. It was nothing to
do with the churches or anything like that, but
it was actually from one of the gang members'
wives. Yeah, and she bought a box where I thought,
a box of food, a box on the door to welcome me
into the community. And then I thought it was
a donation week. So I just grabbed a tin of canned
beans and just put it in the box. And she goes,
no, you fool. It belongs to you. This is you.
Welcome to our hood, you know. And I'm going,
okay. Pretty flash hood. But even within the
first month, there was three murders. A lot of
alcohol, a lot of drugs, a lot of crime, a lot
of theft, a lot of everything. Everything that
the enemy likes. And we were dead centre in it.
So before we get to our house, you've got to
drive past their pad, their club, and then get
into our driveway. So we see everything. And
I went, whoa, this is like I'm getting punished.
What seemed like exciting now turns into here
I'm coming in with a Bible and God. Crikey, they've
got guns and stuff, you know. Yeah, wow. But
he said, trust in me. Yeah. With all your heart,
my girl. And I will open up the windows of heaven
for you. Everything you put your hands to, I
will bless. Beautiful. Because of your obedience
coming here. Beautiful. And in that process,
very quickly we managed to get into the local
community house, which was... It's almost like
the centre, the hub of the community. Of course,
that meant all the gangsters were in and out
of that house all the time. And they needed volunteers,
so she went across and started volunteering.
And we had our chance to start to work with these
guys. And in that time, we got to bring about
a whole lot of changes in people's lives simply
by just... being there and loving on them going
to the hospital when they're going to how many
times we had to take the wives into the hospital
because they got beaten up oh my how many times
we had to go and pick up the guys from the police
station because they got hauled and drunk Oh,
wow. And so that was our normal lifestyle for
a while. And you just serve the community, just
love on them, start doing food parcels out. They
came to us with a food parcel. All of that was
organized out of their house, and very quickly
Princess became, within a few months, became
the manager of the place. Wow. And so we actually
got to run our church out of the community house.
Wow. At that stage, we had five of us in our
church. There was Princess myself, our two sons.
Wow. And James. Oh, wow. Papa James, he was our
first disciple here in New Zealand. He was your
first disciple? Yes. Oh. We'll interview him
in another episode. Yes, yes. So he's been with
me for 16 years. Wow. And saw us go through the
transition. Because when we came in from Australia,
we actually had to get rid of a whole lot of
religious. Sure. Thoughts and behaviours and
actually transformed the way we did church all
together. Sure. Because we came over with a devil
-proof discipleship plan. Okay. Yeah, well, that
went out the door. God said, no, I want fresh
manna. My children deserve fresh manna from me.
Beautiful. I said, oh, okay. Chuck that out and
said, okay then, how are we going to do this?
How are we going to do that? And then the first
thing that came was the word. Yes. That's it.
That was our discipleship plan. And I'm going,
okay then, then what? And then we started from
there. But it was all about teaching people how
to have a relationship with God. Exactly. And
it's just like you and me. When I pick up the
phone, if I've known you for a year or so, you'll
know it's me because you know my voice. Exactly.
The same principle as God. Right. I mean, us
Māori people have known spiritual world for a
very long time, since birth. You know, we brought
eat, sleep and whatever. And so we're brought
up really well with it. But what happened was
that we ended up not teaching them how to. connect
it was discovering how they are already connecting
right that's good and it was not like we trained
them it was like they already had it it's just
that they haven't found it yet yeah so we started
teaching them um what they were seeing and what
they were hearing right and to find what was
god and what was not good and so it went from
there that way All the ownership is not on one
person. Right. But they go for their answers
straight to God. Exactly. And not a man. That's
true discipleship. And it's not to say that you
go away from the brethren because you need the
army for the witnesses, you know, the witness
of one or two or three. Right. To back up your
vision or your dream that you had. And so we
started training there. But that came later on.
But with the gangs, however, that was a different
story altogether. It was all about education,
upskilling, and employment, and housing, and
business. That was a massive development. That
was massive, yeah. We go in there, the percentages
were like 95 % unemployed. Three generations
of families that were stuck in that environment.
And that actually turned around within a five
-year period to 95 % employed. Glory to God.
And from homeless to homeowners. That was the
next stage after the gangs. That was the next
stage after the gangs. We took it out of the
community and went into the city. And other communities
started reaching out to the homeless out there,
taking what we'd learnt working with the local
gangs and applying the same knowledge that God
had given us. And they were much more progressive
in taking on God. In actual fact, from those
homeless people, we saw in a three -year period.
During the COVID period, when it was near impossible
to buy a home or get housing anywhere, 100 %
success in getting everybody housed. Wow. 100%.
And it got to the stage where the state agencies
were coming to us for help. Glory to God. And
sending their clients to us to deal with. We
didn't mind that because in the process, they
all got led to the Lord. Hallelujah. And after
the COVID period, and we've got to keep moving
because we're running low, 30 -odd families had
established. home churches. Wow. And each of
those home churches had roughly six to eight
people in them. Well, three or four years later,
that 30 has become 250 home churches. As they
reached out to their families with the same help
that they got. Beautiful. And leading them to
the Lord the same way they were led. That's outpouring.
So that's absolute outpouring. Outpouring, yeah.
So we saw our whole community turn over like
that. One of the big benefits that we got, we
were blessed to have an opportunity to buy all
the land in the community that we were living
in. Wow. And the Lord told us to put in a bid
to buy it. Now that land was worth around about
$16 million at that stage. So this is a few years
ago now. And in the church was the five of us.
Wow. And I was the only one working. Wow. I wasn't
a pastor staying at home. I was a working pastor.
And so, you know, I just had to fill in the time
with everything I could. And you know what? We
put in a bit and it got accepted. Wow. Then came
the scary part. Yeah. 16 million dollars. Wow.
We got the money. Glory to God. God got the money.
God set my wife up to find the right person,
and we got the money. And then God pulls us out
of the deal before we close it because it wasn't
our purpose to buy the property. It was just
to put in the bid and do what we're told to do.
And sometimes God does that. Yes, he does. He
sends us on a mission, not for us to fulfill
that mission, but for us to learn something.
Right. Very true. And I asked him that question,
why did you do that for, Lord? Because you really
upset my wife. And he said three things. The
first thing was by putting in a bid, we got privy
to all the information regarding the development.
Secondly, we got to see that God could do anything.
Yes. That a church of five people could get $16
million. That's pretty amazing. Yeah. And that
wasn't like over 10 years. 10 weeks this thing
happened. Wow. And thirdly, I was to get alongside
another pastor in the community who listened
to what was going on and said, this is so crazy,
it's got to be God. Can I come for a journey
with you? His name's Pastor Greg Moti. Pastor
Greg Moti, yeah. And Rich knows him as well.
We lost the, so I was threatened because when
we came back into the meeting, I had to renege.
But you have a 30 -day close. So, you know. So
I walked in and I got threatened. He goes, you'll
never work in this space ever again. I will make
sure of it. In fact, you're going to lose your
job. You'll never get to work in this space.
And then he walked out the door and I said, man,
I don't blame him for saying that. This was a
long journey for our community. But anyway, he
walks out and about two weeks the next, you know
how you have tenders? and you have expressive
interest, and then you get to win it, but they
go to the next, lay it down, next person down.
Well, this guy named Peter Savage, he's from
City Living, and he ended up getting the deal.
He ended up paying the 16 mil. And then next
minute, you know, he comes walking in. I didn't
know who he was. He comes into the community
house, and he goes, Oh, excuse me, my name's...
Peter Savage. And I said, oh, yeah, what can
I do for you? He goes, I'm from City Living.
I own the property now. I own this property.
I'm about to build all the homes. And I went,
oh, wow. Wow, that's awesome. Well, welcome to
our community. And he goes, what can I do for
you? And I said, oh, I just want to, I'm just
looking for somebody or something. I don't know.
Anyway, I had a dream last night of a person.
It could be a princess or a princess, a real
princess or a person that goes by the name of
princess. And I said, oh, that'll be me. And
he goes, oh, really? And I said, no, really.
And I said, well, what are you doing? And his
wife was next to him. And yeah, well, I'm princess.
And he goes, well, what's happened? What did
you dream? And he said, well, you are to build
a team and to spearhead this development. And
all in all, okay. And then his wife turns around.
She looks at me and she goes, you know what?
When my husband woke up yelling out the name
Princess, I thought he was having an affair.
Oh, no. And I said, well, don't you think I can
get your husband? Oh, come on. Her and I are
very good friends. Her name is Liz, and she's
a lovely lady. She laughed, and we laughed it
off. And I said, I'll be honoured to spearhead
this for you. And I said, what do you think the
team looks like? And he said, I want council
involved. I want kiangora, low -income people
involved, and all the agencies involved. And
I said, okay then. Right, and so we had architects,
we had the builders, we had all them, that sort
of people. And the person that threatened me
was there. He was the regional manager. He was
the new one. So he sat there at the end of the
table and I said, oh, thank you for, and I invited
everybody. I said, thank you for replying to
my message and thank you for attending. And then
I let them know, gave them an introduction of
why we're there. And they were all in. I said,
I just wanted everyone to go around to introduce
yourselves and where you're from and what part
you'd be playing and concerning the redevelopment.
And the guy, when it got to the kainga ora guy,
the guy that threatened me, he goes, and I'm
going, hmm. And he said, oh, thank you for the
invitation. Probably need to apologise to your
princess. Oh, wow. For what I said to you. It
wasn't a very nice thing I said. No right to
say it. Beautiful. Closure. Mate, we're a team.
We're a family now. Wow. Yeah, water under the
bridge. Beautiful, beautiful. So just to finish
off on that story, and I think we need to come
to a close just about on that. We saw our whole
community redeveloped physically on the outside
by the housing, but also internally with the
training and education and the employment of
everybody. And the next step, and I complained
to the Lord about this, and I said, what about
the Spirit, Lord? We've got every other base
covered. What about the Spirit? And that's where
those 30 home churches, which became 250. Was
the next development of it. Beautiful. But that
housing deal, the guy won it. He ended up having
to pay another $10 million. Wow. Because there's
contamination in the land from asbestos. Oh,
no. And then it took another year and a half
for that to be done. Wow. So we were saved by
God. Wow. But he knew what was going on anyway.
Yeah. But we were saved by following his example.
Yes. Abraham's example. Yes. You know, the promised
land, which was the community, was the son, Isaac.
Yes. And then he was told to take him up on the
mountain and sacrifice him. He did that. And
so we were told to sign up the deal. And then
God says, stop. I've got a ram for you. Somebody
else can pay the price. Glory to God. So I just
want to give a quick overview of what really
happened, what happened in New Zealand. So when
we touched base there, there was family violence,
heavy family violence. There was theft. There
was murder. There was so much criminal activity
happening. And then God turned. He poured his
spirit out on all mankind in our community. And
it was rearranged, transformed. But the thing
was, the spirit also fell on believers as well.
Yes. Because he taught us how to look beyond
what we can see. Yes. Beautiful. And I said,
well, what does that look like, Lord? And he
said, I'm going to show you the kingdom of God
inside of people. That incorruptible seed. I
love that. That's inside of people. Yeah. That
I planted, that seed that I planted there. That's
right. And so I thought, oh, this is going to
be good. So we got to practice every day because
we were with them every day. Beautiful. And so
it was like setting myself up ready to practice.
I love it. And then, you know, looking beyond
the tattoos, looking beyond the crime, looking
beyond, beyond. In actual fact, he was showing
us what's to come. Beautiful. See how he sees
them. And so he stopped letting us look at the
present. We stopped looking at the past. Because
that's one of the things that blinds a lot of
people is their present. And then they start
praying like this. Oh, Lord, Lord, please heal.
And that's a good thing to say. Lord, please
heal of drug addiction. Then they start calling
this thing out on these people. And I said, you're
actually declaring this over them. And I said,
well, our prayers need to be praying like it's
already happened. Exactly. Lord, thank you for
the healing. Lord, thank you for the addiction
that you've healed. Thank you, Lord, for pouring
your spirit out on them. Lord, I can da -da -da.
But it's like, and I noticed that was happening,
but he showed us how to build into them, build
Christ into them, and that was an awesome thing.
That's why it was 100 % successful. Amen. It's
because we followed the instructions of the Lord.
Beautiful. And we did not go off. There was a
few mistakes, but, you know. You make them. You're
human. And you repent and you move on. That's
correct. You don't stay there. Right. I think
the key to it for the start for us was not to
get God to try and bless what we were doing.
Exactly. But find out what he was blessing and
co -labor with him. Right. And I think when you
talk to Richard, you'll hear much more about
co -laboring as well. Okay. Well, let's do an
episode with him. As we close, Pastor Sandy,
would you please pray for our listeners? Father.
Lord, we know that you have every need met. Lord,
and I pray, Father, that people are encouraged
to continue to pray for their loved ones. They're
encouraged to look at their community and their
towns and their cities and see the hand of God
moving in the midst of them. Yes. That they would
respond to what you were doing, Lord. And co
-labor with you as you pour out your spirit on
all flesh. Because we are in those days. Yes.
And they haven't stopped from the day of Pentecost.
That's right. Until you return, you're going
to continue pouring out your spirit, Father.
And so I pray, Lord, that we all enter into this
place of cooperation and co -laboring as we see
heaven. manifesting on earth through our words,
through our deeds, and through your Spirit. In
Jesus' name. Amen. Your review helps the podcasting
platform suggest this podcast to other listeners
who are also looking for a great move of the
Holy Spirit. Check out our website at globaloutpouring
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Until next time, this is Sharon Buss. And I'm
Philip Buss. God bless you with His overwhelming,
loving presence.