On the 8th of May, the intern team embarked on a journey to Hastings, working with OAC New Zealand for a six-day outreach program. Their time in Hastings was filled with a mix of practical work helping with flood clean up and street ministry putting into practice the evangelism teachings they had learned from Jeremy Dempsey earlier in the year. One particular encounter left a lasting impression on Daniel Pye, reaffirming the impact of their efforts.

One of the outreaches OAC was doing involved door knocking and distributing tracts. This was Daniel's first time ever doing this type of ministry and he was uncertain of how this would go, but was excited to be used by God in this way. 

During one conversation, Daniel found himself engaged in a deep and meaningful dialogue with a man in his 50's, who stood outside his house. Their initial discussion centered on the man's past involvement with the Church. He shared that he had been part of a church in his younger years but had stopped attending after the passing of his mother. Delving further into the conversation, the man opened up about the emotional impact her death had on him.

"His eyes lit up when I offered to pray for him, we spent some time in prayer together, and it felt like a moment of connection and solace. Despite my worries about how the conversation would go, I could see that it had made a difference in his life.

Later that afternoon, as we were walking back down the street, we saw the man stepping out of his house, he came and thanked us, telling us of the impact that conversation had on him. This was particularly encouraging for me as it was my first time doing this sort of thing and I was really worried about how the conversation would go, but I left knowing that it had impacted someone’s life for good. It was exciting to know that although God doesn't need to use me he chose to use me and worked through that conversation to impact that Man's life. My experience of joining OAC for outreach in Hastings was both challenging and encouraging. I was unsure and worried of what I should say but God showed me that it isn't about saying the exact right thing but, about showing genuine interest and care and trusting that God will do the rest."

- Daniel Pye