"Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said:
'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up
their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life
will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will
save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world,
yet forfeit their soul?'"
Mark 8:34-36
Sometimes life throws us a curveball that we were not expecting. It seems to happen when we are comfortable with life...job is good, life is good, people are happy, etc. That is how I felt in preparing to come to New Zealand and the feeling only intensified when the move actually happened. However, I believe that God uses these times to help us grow stronger in our faith and to rely more fully on Him. Our experiences here in New Zealand have been good for the most part, but there have been a few rough patches that have tested our faith. Satan has tried us and we have chosen to press on. Our time here has not been perfect but it has been blessed!
This past week one of my students invited me to her baptism over the weekend. Unfortunately, I am not going to be able to make it due to time constraints. However, I told her that I was excited for her and that this is a big decision in her life. I also feel excited that she felt comfortable in talking to me about it. We have had people in our church and youth group recently who have never been to church in their life! What an exciting opportunity for God to make a difference in their lives! I feel blessed to be a part of things happening here! With only about 8 weeks left here in New Zealand I hope that God will allow us to see other things that are happening that He has orchestrated. Even if we don't see many things happening I believe that seeds are being planted for Him that will be harvested long after we are gone. Friendships have been formed that will strengthen the faith of believers and possibly help to begin the faith-filled lives of others. What an amazing opportunity God has given us to be here and carry on with our lives in New Zealand these past 11 months.
Trying out a new game at youth group!
Sometimes the youth group games get a little weird...
"The Gang"
View between Whangarei (where we live) and Dargaville (where I work)
We have had some really unexpected and exciting opportunities to witness to people such as school and work. These have often led to new friendships which, again, lead to opportunities to witness to people. I am glad to have been part of starting a men's group through our church as well. Dean, one of the newer attendees of our church, has taken on the role of being in charge of our men's group and has done quite well with it. I have full faith that this group will continue to grow and minister for a long time under his guidance.
Our men's group went skeet shooting. That's me shooting and Dean watching.
Harrison did really well for his first time skeet shooting!
Our pastor, Rob, getting in a few shots!
John, who owns the farm where we were shooting, taking his turn.
The town is widening the road in front of our church. We are losing a few parking spaces because of this.
One of our assemblies at school.
Don't worry, our kids are still as weird as ever.
Church service.
Last Sunday I had a really neat experience in that In-Kwon and Jeong-Seok Kim were speaking at our church. They are the Korean family that runs the Mango Tree Respite Center in the country of Tonga. This is a facility that I have spoken about a couple of times at our church in Tennessee during the mission education services. They are a lovely couple/family and truly have a heart for God in doing what they do in Tonga. They have truly taken up the cross that God has called them to and left everything else behind.
In-Kwon sharing his message with us.
The son of a Korean family that attends our church kept visiting me as I ran the powerpoint during In-Kwon's message.
In March we were blessed to have Lori's sister, Mindi, visit us for about 10 days. It was really nice to have family here with us to talk to and laugh with. We revisited Hobbiton as Mindi wanted to see it as well as took her to Rotorua and a few beaches. We even had an afternoon to try our hands at waka ama (a traditional style of Maori canoe). We had a great time while she was here and can't wait to see the rest of our family soon!
Lori and Mindi at Whale Bay beach.
Hadley "driving" in the sand.
Hollister stopped for a photo along the trail to Whale Bay.
As a science geek I love the trees and landscape of New Zealand!
Family photo at the beach. Wow, the kids are getting so tall!
Trying out the waka ama. That's me in the hat with Hollister behind me. Harrison is second from right and his friend, Tiare, behind him.
Lori, Mindi, and Heidi going out in the waka ama.
Selfie at Hobbiton. That's Bilbo's house in the background with the smaller tree on top of it.
Panorama inside the Green Dragon at Hobbiton.
Maori wood carving at the Millenium Hotel where we stayed in Rotorua.
It poured down rain while we were in the redwood forest.
We had to take Mindi to our favourite beach at Smuggler's bay (she was taking the picture).
May God bless you all!
