Sunday, August 30, 2015

     Hello again and thanks for stopping by my blog!  We had a good service this morning at church as our pastor, Rob Hintz, shared with us a message of turning guilt into repentance and, finally, into healing.  Our church has made a very smooth transition from our former pastor, Alison, to our new pastor and his wife, Rob and Kolene Hintz.  We can still see the effects of the great work that Alison did in our church as well as see the effects of the work that Rob and Kolene are eagerly putting into the church now.  I wish that all churches could go through pastoral changes this smoothly!
     We have a kids club on Sunday afternoons that is going great.  The kids have a great time at Kids Club and learn valuable lessons that they can hopefully take with them into their homes and schools.  Here are a few pictures from our kids club of last week.







     We also started a youth group meeting last Friday for our older kids in school years 7-13 (that's grades 6-12 for my American friends and family).  We had nine kids show up and they seemed to have a really good time as Lori goofed around with them for a while before having a lesson time with them.  As you can see from the pictures below, it was all very serious...well, not really, but that's what made it fun!







     I also finished my job at Whangaroa College on this past Friday after three months of working there.  This school was one of my most challenging jobs ever as I made the transition to living in New Zealand.  I have mixed feelings about leaving there because I was able to make a good relationship with some of my students but the stress of working there was taking a great toll on me.  I am hoping for bigger and better days in the future while teaching at Dargaville High School in Dargaville, New Zealand.  However, I must acknowledge one person in particular who helped me at Whangaroa College.  His name is Ant Rodger (Ant is short for Anthony).  Ant helped me tremendously during a time in my life when I was feeling crushed by stress and emotions of a new job in a new country without my family!  I don't think he realizes how much he helped me but God knows how much he helped me and I have asked God to bless Ant and his wife, Kat, especially as they are expecting their first child soon.  So I leave you today with a picture of Ant and myself outside the school at Whangaroa College as well as a few scenes of Northland and, finally, a picture that Lori took of a parrot (the eastern rosella) outside our house.






Friday, August 14, 2015

     Greetings from Aotearoa (that's the Maori word for New Zealand)!  As I sit in the house today avoiding the pouring rain outside, I am amazed at the amount of support we have received from friends and family both in the United States and here in New Zealand.  I get messages from people through email, Facebook, texts, etc. on a daily basis telling me how they are praying for us, thinking about us, and telling others about our missional adventure here in New Zealand.  With my American accent (I don't think I have an accent but everybody here thinks I have an accent), people often will ask where I am from and why we moved here to New Zealand.  This has opened up many opportunities to tell people that I am here as a part of the Church of the Nazarene as a volunteer missionary.  Most of these conversations haven't gone too deep into spiritual or theological discussion  but they have allowed me to place a seed in these people that perhaps God will use at a later date.
     The kids have all been in school now for two weeks and are adjusting well to their new school environment.  They are attending a public Christian school called Excellere College.  They seem to like some of the things in school here such as a tea time in the morning where they have a break from classes as well as a longer lunch than they are used to in America (I think their lunches here are forty minutes long compared to only twenty-five minutes at Cascade School in Bell Buckle).  However, they are still not excited about the uniforms they have to wear!  I asked the kids if they wanted to wear their uniforms to school at Cascade when they get back there and they all replied with a definite no!  Lori has enjoyed her time the last couple of weeks with the kids at school as it has allowed her to do a few things around the house that she wanted to do.  She has also been able to spend some time with our new pastor's wife, Kolene, which I think has been good for both of them.
     I have two more weeks at my current job before I switch to teaching at another school, Dargaville High School.  I am looking forward to the change and have been praying that this change would be good for me.  I am also hoping that I can fit in well with the students and teachers at the school.  The drive will be longer than I would like to do but still much shorter than the drive I have now.  I am still learning about how teaching in New Zealand, and specifically the Northland region of New Zealand, is different from teaching in Tennessee.  Kids will be kids no matter where you are, but cultures are definitely different!
     One good thing about my long drive to work (probably the only good thing about my long drive), is that I can listen to podcasts while I drive.  I have been listening to a lot of Truth for Life podcasts lately with the pastor Alistair Begg.  These are great learning and devotional times for me as I head up and down the curvy highways of New Zealand.  I am thankful for these moments.

"6 This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift 
God gave you when I laid hands on you. 7 For God has not 
given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, 
and self-discipline. 8 So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord."
--2 Timothy 1:6-8

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

This past Sunday afternoon I visited Whangarei Falls with Heidi and Hadley.  It's an amazing waterfall that is a one minute drive from our house.  You can see pictures below of our tramp (that's "hiking" for those in America).  Also, the kids started school yesterday and, so far, all is good in that respect.  The kids are attending Excellere College which is a Christian school on the edge of Whangarei.

"4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.  5 For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.  6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ."    II Corinthians 4:4-6














Saturday, August 1, 2015

     Well, things are happening at New Hope Church of the Nazarene in Whangarei, New Zealand!  Our pastor, Alison Weinstock, has returned to the United States in preparation for her upcoming marriage to Chad Johnson this November.  A few days before Alison left New Zealand our new pastor couple, Rob and Kolene Hintz, arrived in Whangarei.  They were able to spend a day with Alison before she left which helped to make the transition a bit smoother.  Rob and Kolene have quickly settled in as part of our loving church family.  They too are from America although they have called several different places home during their lives (Kolene grew up as a missionary kid in the Philippines and Rob spent part of his growing years in Canada).  For the last eight years they have been serving the Lord in Korea.  We are excited to have them here in Whangarei and they are excited about trying to help our church reach out to the community.
     With Lori and I now living in Whangarei we have been able to be at church functions throughout the week and not just on Sundays which has been great!  We have a prayer meeting on Mondays and a bible study on Wednesdays that is a joy to attend.  I truly believe that God has big plans for how this church is going to reach out to our local community.  We are already seeing a couple of new people coming to the church out of simple interest in the church or from being invited!  The following pictures show our prayer meeting group from a couple of weeks ago and the second picture is of Lori and our new pastor's wife, Kolene.

     Lori and Heidi have also had the chance to sing together at church which everyone enjoyed...well, everyone except Heidi!

     We are also enjoying the backyard play area and the fruit trees in the yard.  


     And, finally, we had fun today at a birthday party and doing some last minute school shopping.  






     May God bless you all as you carry out His mission for you whether that takes you next door, down the street, to work, to school, or around the world!  We thank you all for your continued support and prayers for us!  Steve