The Engle's in New Zealand!: January 2016

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the

Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth,

unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and

dies, it remains only a single seed. But if

it dies, it produces many seeds."

--John 12:23-24

With a new year always comes reflections of the past and thoughts on the future. I must admit that during my eight months here in New Zealand I have often wondered if I am doing anything that will have lasting effects on people and God's kingdom. After all, that was our whole purpose for moving here in the first place. As I have thought about it, I can't tell you what effects will be noticeable in the future, but I can tell you that God is working. I have had the opportunity to witness to many people here in different situations from students to professed atheists to fellow churchgoers to complete strangers as well as friends and neighbors. I don't really know what will come from any of these conversations and opportunities but I know that I have tried to plant a seed that will grow with God's help. Being a gardener I always enjoy the spiritual references to plants, seeds, etc. such as the verse above that I started with. Over the years people helped to plant that seed in me while God watered and cared for that seed until I could be like the seed that falls to the ground only to have numerous other plants and seeds come from it. I hope that the things I am doing here in the land of Kiwis is making a difference; not because of me but because of God and the Holy Spirit infiltrating these peoples' lives. I'm saying this to challenge you to think about whether or not you have died to yourself and allowed Christ to take over your life (see Galatians 2:20). I'm not saying that I am perfect...far from it. However, I had to allow Christ to take over certain parts of my life in order to follow through with this missional adventure to New Zealand. It has been one of the most difficult yet rewarding things I have experienced. Why don't you let Christ become the center of your life and give up the reins to those things you don't want to let go of. It won't be easy, but I promise it will be worth it.

On to a few of our recent happenings. Over the past two weeks we have traveled the entire length of the North Island of New Zealand (we are still on summer break here so we have had some extra time to see and do things). First, we went north to Cape Reinga to see the northernmost point of the country where the Tasman Sea (between NZ and Australia) and the Pacific Ocean meet.

The week after traveling to Cape Reinga we made the long haul (11 hours) to Wellington to visit another American family. We met Matt and Shannon Lesniak since we have been here in NZ and grown to become good friends with them even though we are living far apart here. Matt is the pastor of the Valley Church of the Nazarene in Wainuiomata, near Wellington (http://valleychurchnz.weebly.com/). We had the chance to spend a couple of days with their beautiful family and loved it! We had eleven people in one house together and we all survived. Actually, it went quite well with all of us together. They took us the southern tip of the island to show us a seal colony. The winds there were incredibly strong and the waves were spraying mist in the air. It was quite impressive. They also took us into Wellington for a ride on the Wellington Cable Car and to visit the Te Papa museum. However, I think my favorite moment came when Lori and I joined them for their Wednesday night prayer service. One other couple showed up, Reg and Leeth (not sure if I spelled her name right). They are a Maori couple who truly love the Lord and their church. They shared several stories with us that had us laughing and praying together. Along the trip we were also able to see two volcanoes in the middle of the island, one of which was used as Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies. The clouds partially covered them but it was still pretty awesome.

I loved that this flower was blooming while growing on a rock in harsh conditions.

This is Mt. Ruapehu, the largest active volcano in NZ.

This is Mt. Ngauruhoe, better known to Lord of the Rings fans as Mt. Doom.

Our recent visit to the Mermaid Pools at Matapouri Beach, one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Visiting the Wellington Cable Car.

View of Wellington and the bay.

Incredible larger-than-life display of the Battle of Gallipoli at Te Papa Museum. That is Matt Lesniak and his son Tommy on the left.

At Te Papa Museum.

Hollister and Hadley at Te Papa Museum.

At Christmas we received a package from Lori's parents that included 63 Christmas cards from our church in Tennessee! This meant a lot to us and it was wonderful to sit and read each and every card.

May God bless you and yours as you accept the challenge to put Christ in the center of your life!

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

"For I know the plans I have for

you" declares the Lord, "plans to

prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

Well Christmas has come and gone and the new year is here! If you told me this time last year that I would be spending the holidays in New Zealand I would have been very excited and wondering how everything would happen. Now that I'm here it seems a bit strange to celebrate the holidays in the middle of summer. It is fun though to be able to celebrate Christmas and New Years before the rest of the world as we live in the first time zone of the world! With the new year always comes thoughts of the past year as well as plans for the new year. My plans for this year are a little different than last year's plans...no, they are a lot different than last year's plans! Last year I was planning for job applications being sent to numerous schools and businesses in New Zealand in hopes of hearing positive news from one of them. This year I already have the job secured and am hoping to be able to continue living here in an effort to spread the gospel of Christ and be a part of our church in Whangarei.

New Years fireworks off the Skytower in Auckland.

Harrison and Heidi performed at a Prize Giving program at school.

First Christmas in New Zealand!

Youth group likes to have good, "clean" fun!

We are currently taking a break from our weekly kid's club and youth group meetings but that doesn't mean these kids aren't learning about Jesus. I recently had an opportunity to speak with a middle school aged boy about Jesus. As he was talking to me before a church service, he asked about a picture of Jesus on the wall. He pointed to the picture of Jesus on the cross and asked if that was a bad thing. His lack of knowledge and understanding about Jesus and the bible are unfortunately very typical of a Kiwi youth. Most of them grow up having never attended church or heard any messages of the gospel of Jesus. Most families and adults act as if they have no time for Jesus. It's quite sad really when they live in a country that is free and independent, yet most don't have time to even acknowledge their creator. Anyway, I took advantage of the question this young boy asked and told him that Jesus' death on the cross looks like a bad thing but was really a wonderful thing as he died for us. I don't know how much of everything I told him he understood but I know that he wanted the truth. I am thankful to God for the opportunity to share that with him.

Being off work for the summer holiday has given us time to visit a beach or two and relax with some gardening, sunshine, and fixing a few meals on the grill (or the barbecue as they say here). We have learned to make homemade breakfast sausage (as they don't have that here) and have been trying some new foods, most of which are pretty tasty (or taste yum to use another Kiwi phrase). We have all been here long enough now to begin to appreciate many of the differences between American culture and Kiwi culture. However, there are some things I'm not sure any of us will fully get used to (no heat or air conditioning in houses for example). I still don't understand cricket but I will admit that rugby is pretty cool to watch. Go All Blacks!

Hadley got a cricket set for Christmas and he loves it!

Hadley jumping into the foam pit while Hollister watches.

Harrison catching some big air flying into the pit!

In reference to the scripture at the beginning of this blog, it's nice to know that as we start a new year, God has plans for us already. This is comforting to think about whether starting a new year, a new relationship, a new job, or just a new day. God is always in control even when we feel like our lives our out of control. Knowing that God is there for us can be such a comfort and bring such peace. I wish that those who don't have a relationship with Him could realize this. Remember this in your day today and be sure to share it with someone!

Finally, I will try to be more regular about updating my blog on Tuesdays as I have been scolded for not keeping up with it. I won't mention any names (Deanna Phipps) but someone told me that I was not doing a very good job with it...and she was right. Anyway, may God bless each and every one of you that read this and I hope that this short message can give you a smile and blessing!