Updates from Ryan

Updates from ryan are as frequent as the cell phone towers and our's and his busy schedule will allow us

Day one-five-

 Waitaki landing camping ground gave ryan and dad free accomodation for the night. 

Dad drove him up to the cape, ryan had to pull the cross up a gravel road hill where the gravel was the size of golf balls, quite a few people pulled over and some girls gave him some flax roses they had made.

Ryan started walking from Waitaki landing camping ground to Houhora town. 

Left back packers in Houhora town. 

He cruized down to Kiataia. 

Heading to Kiataia there where some Road works and the road workers ( who ryan had earlier seen at waitaki landing )where cheering ryan on giving him the thumbs up along with the truck drivers who were driving through. 

He walked past a skate board bowl and some skaties cheered him on and tagged his cross, Lol cant tell you what it was because ryan cant read it:)

 God told ryan to wait there till six oclock and if noone came he was to continue on his journey. 5.58pm came and along came a dentist who took Ryan home and gave him a bed and ryan was able to speak at his hosts mens group that night. 

The next day ryan walked over the pass which is several km out from kaitia and then continued on to Mangamooka which is a very steep mountain range. He continued cruizing and trying to take photos of himself. He walked until he was in the middle of no where and the lord told him he would have a bed that night:) Cheers God:) Ryan found a petrol station that had 3 pumps at 5 oclock at night, this was owned by an indian fella, ryan asked if there were any truck stops down the road that he could sleep in, The mans reply was "What under the stars??" and he sent ryan down the road to an empty house which he was the land lord of, the house was only empty for one night as the new tenants were moving in the next day, there was no bed but a roof over your head is just as good. Ryan had a shower and found there was a couch ( obviously the land lord didnt know it pulled out into a bed) But God did lol . 

He stayed there the night and then cruized ( Ryan style) in the morning. Some guys pulled over in the morning and asked him if he wanted any bread...having no idea where he would put it he took it any way:) Ryan arrived in Kawakawa. He pulled the cross into town and stopped by the toilets, a guy from the steam and rail came and took a photo of him for one of the local paper. Ryan moved slightly away from the toilets not knowing where to go or what to do. A man was sitting in the car waiting for his wife and said to himself " Aw thats Ryan". Turns out Ryan had stayed with him on his first New Zealand Walk. Ryan had a bed that night:) 

Cape reanga to Kawakawa

Translations  Cruize-   Ryan style lol...Ryan does nothing in a small way cruizing with ryan for most of us would be quite an uncomfortable speed.

Main reason For walking New Zealand for a second time.

Main reason For walking New Zealand for a second time. 

Three months ago Ryan was inspired by God  to walk the country for the second time . Being only human he couldnt understand why God would want him to do this as he had already undertaken this challenge a year prior. This was some thing he really found difficult to come to grips with  and began fighting with God. 6weeks later he went to church and his spiritual mentour came up to him and told him in a questioning way...Your going to walk NZ again aint you?? He hadnt told anyone that God had already laid this on his heart. 

Ryan said lord if you want me to do this lay it really strong on my heart like a conviction, if not then please take the desire away. The desire grew stronger. He rang his mentor back  and explained that the desire was growing stronger and the reply came back "Why am i not suprised??? Ryan then attended  a prayer meeting where they prayed for him and he got comformation. That was it, ryan knew what he had to do from there. He is now  walking the country BY FAITH!! 

 to encourage people to build there foundation on the world of god, not on money and posistions because of the current economic situation all of these things will rust and be destroyed but if you build your foundation on Christ this can NEVER be taken away. From a young persons point of view; RYAN WANTS TO ENCOURAGE PURITY AMONGST YOUTH so that  they can be used as clean vesels  to their full potential that God wants to use them.

1st walk pt 2

Sign of the cross
by Joseph Lopez

MANY 21-year olds are looking for ways to have a good time. But for Ryan Craig, a walk along the beach one quiet evening in his hometown of Oamaru in the South Island was a time to reflect on what God wanted him to do. The Lord told him he had not surrendered everything. 

A few days later while at work handling arnica plants, used in ointment preparations for strains, sprains, and bruises, the thought came to carry a cross the whole length of New Zealand, from Bluff to Cape Reinga. His father Steve told him that if this was what he felt the Lord wanted him to do then he needed to do it. Mr Craig’s mother Violet thought it was a bit radical but also felt she should not interfere. The young man requested one of his neighbours, a retired carpenter, to help him build the cross and trolley for his gear. The cross was 10-foot with a 6-foot crossbeam weighing around 55 kilograms. On March 23 on Easter Sunday Mr Craig started his walk from the bottom of South Island, Stirling Point in the Bluff, at 9.30 am. The weather was sunny and warm. 

As Mr Craig began his journey, doubts crept into his mind. “What am I doing? Is this what the Lord wants me to do?” On his way up the South Island, on five occasions, young and old men yelled at Mr Craig calling him stupid and giving him the finger. When Mr Craig reached Kaikoura coast, he felt lonely. He was also worried about the North Island. How would people there react to the sight of him carrying a cross? 

He noticed a rainbow out to sea so he set the cross in such a way that it was at the centre of the rainbow. Then he went across the road, viewed the scene and meditated on God’s promises. Refreshed, he proceeded to Blenheim where he met Peet Bekker, a South African man in his forties, who travelled all the way from his home country to prayer walk from Auckland to Bluff. Mr Bekker had read about Ryan’s trek in issue nine of Challenge Weekly. Crossing Cook Strait, a train driver gave him tokens to spend for food on the ferry. Other people gave him money for the fare. 

Upon landing in Wellington, Mr Craig was shocked at the number of cars. As he trekked north to Auckland, there were more cars. Then to his relief he found people in the North Island were not that bad after all. In fact there was only one undesirable incident. At Tokoroa, between Taupo and Hamilton, a man got out of his van and started yelling that he did not believe in hell. The man was shouting so loud that his voice echoed off the trees. Mr Craig just stood there and every so often would ask him, “If not everybody goes to heaven then where does God send those who reject Him?” The guy had no answer. It was also at Tokoroa that 30-year-old Matthew Rotarangi, a former gang-member who became a Christian, asked if he could join Mr Craig’s walk. Mr Rotarangi had found out about Mr Craig’s journey through a Christian radio station. 

The two men were at Tuakau setting off for Pukekohe where they were to speak at a school, when a little girl saw them with the cross and yelled to her friends, “Come here quickly, hurry up, somebody has died.” This made the two men chuckle for a while. Arriving in Auckland and walking down Queen Street was like crossing the Red Sea, people parted to make way. From Auckland to Northland, the two men encountered nothing but friendliness, people welcoming them to their homes for meals and accommodation. On June 19 at 2 pm, the two men finally arrived at Cape Reinga. They shook hands, touched the pole, and thanked God for their safe trip. 

Throughout the 2600 kilometre 88-day trek Mr Craig never got sick except for a runny nose. He did not lose any weight. There were only two days with rain, one for two hours and the other for five minutes. For Mr Craig, the whole trip was amazing. He spent no money from his savings. “When the Lord asks you to do something crazy, don’t look at the worries, where to sleep, what to eat, just look to the Lord, focus on him and go for it,” he said. “When you are obedient, just go, leave the consequences to him and he will provide.” He said the journey was an act of obedience. It strengthened his faith, and was God’s way of preparing him for the future. 
http://www.challengeweekly.co.nz/Vol_66_Issue_No_26.htm

about ryan's first walk

Silent witness
Youth to trek from Bluff to Cape Reinga
by Lavinia Ngatoko

A 21-year-old from Oamaru in Otago plans to walk the length of New Zealand pulling a 10 foot cross. His supporters are hoping, as Ryan Craig takes his silent witness throughout the nation, many will support him. Ryan believes the Lord has called him to undertake this mission to encourage young people to follow their dreams and not give up on themselves. He will leave Bluff on Easter Sunday, March 23, and follow State Highway 1, but avoiding the motorways, until he reaches Cape Reinga. All he will take will be the cross, a bivvy bag so he can sleep outside along the way, if no-one takes him in, and a food and gas cooker stored in a box attached under the cross. On the box, The Ten Commandments and several scriptures are printed.

“I would like to see more Christians taking steps of faith and following God’s will for their lives,” said Ryan, who works in a nursery growing plants for market gardens. “It doesn’t matter what sort of background they have come from and challenges they face. I have dyslexia and haven’t really achieved much, have struggled at school and got bullied a lot. “I just want to show young people that in Christ they can do all things.”

The inspiration for the initiative came during a walk on the beach. Ryan was asking the Lord for new direction. “The Lord said to me that I hadn’t finished the previous job he had asked me to do, which was sell all my collections, which included stamps, coins, 1500 golf balls and antique bottles and give the money away. So he sold the collections and gave away the rest of the money. Then the Lord impressed on his heart to walk the length of New Zealand pulling a cross. At six foot three inches, Ryan thinks he is physically well able to carry the cross.

Ryan has the prayer support of his church, Oamaru Elim, as well as other Christian friends, although he suggests jokingly that he has no support crew during the journey because “no-one was game enough.” All his t-shirts and sweatshirts are printed with “I’m a fool for Christ, whose fool are you?”, and “I’m prepared to walk the talk, are you?” His mother Violet said they knew people would look at Ryan walking along the way and maybe think how “foolish” he was or looked. “But who is the fool? His purpose in life is to be a fool for Christ. He’s willing to step out for Christ and what he believes,” she said. “He is a silent witness to the state of the nation. I hope Christians around the nation will support him.”

Oamaru Elim pastor Max Martin said the church was fully behind Ryan’s mission and would be praying for him. Mr Martin said Ryan would be sharing at the church service last Sunday about what he was setting out to do. “It’s a little unusual but if he feels that is what God is calling him to do, that is great,” he said.

“He has a real passion to share the Gospel and he should get lots of opportunities to do that along the way. I’ll be keeping in contact with him throughout his walk.” Ryan’s journey should take about three to four months. 

http://www.challengeweekly.co.nz/Vol_66_Issue_No_9.html

Welcome...The beginning is nigh:)

Welcome to the land of a man with a mission...to save the world for Christ.

Ryans  walk to spread Christ to the youth of New Zealand will start on Good Friday, April 10th 2009.