The Engle's in New Zealand!

"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!

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body,

arm yourselves also with the same attitude,

because he who has suffered in his body is done

with sin. 2As a result, he does not live the rest of his

earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the

will of God. 3For you have spent enough time in the

past doing what pagans choose to do -- living in debauchery,

lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable

idolatry. 4They think it strange that you do not plunge

with them into the same flood of dissipation, and

they heap abuse on you. 5But they will have to give

account to him who is ready to judge the living and

the dead. 6For this is the reason the gospel was

preached even to those who are now dead, so that

they might be judged according to men in regard

to the body, but live according to God in regard

to the spirit.

--1 Peter 4:1-6

This month marks nine months that I have been in Aotearoa, or New Zealand. During these nine months I have learned quite a bit about myself, New Zealand, cultures, America, and how amazing God is. I have been on quite a roller coaster ride of emotions since I first arrived here in May of last year. The first month was probably the hardest month of my entire life; however, since then it has steadily gotten better with just a few bumps here and there. Lori and the kids have adjusted to living here in a much better way than I have which I am happy about for their sakes! Sometimes it's still strange to think that I am living 10,000 miles away from what had become my "comfortable normal". However, we are indeed here on the other side of the earth from "home". Lori and I set out on this missional adventure long before we ever actually left for New Zealand. Lori originally felt God's call at an East Tennessee district assembly in July, 2012. We both soon felt that God was calling us to go to New Zealand and we began to share that calling with friends and family. Understandably many people were concerned about us moving our family with four children to the other side of the world. However, God's calling on your life trumps everything.

2As a result, he does not live the rest of his

earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the

will of God.

We have tried to follow God's will in everything we have done with our mission to New Zealand including being open to when He would send us and call us home. It felt like forever before we were actually able to leave Tennessee and move to the north island of New Zealand. In reality it was almost three full years from the time of God's calling on us until we actually moved. It was all in God's perfect timing. We have often been asked how long we would stay in New Zealand and our answer has always been that it depends on what God calls us to do and when He releases us from our calling on New Zealand. With that said, Lori and I feel that God has indeed released us from this calling to New Zealand and is calling us to return to Tennessee. Therefore, in June of this year we will be moving back to our house in Shelbyville, Tennessee. We are incredibly grateful for the time and experiences we have had here so far and will continue to have for another three months or so. We are also incredibly grateful for the prayers, money, cards, and gift boxes that have helped us get to New Zealand and lift our spirits after we were here.

Lori and I have talked often about how things here have been quite different from what we expected. I must admit that I am not sure what exactly I did expect but this has been much tougher on my than I would have ever guessed. However, again, we feel that God is using us in the ways that He has planned so whether we see results while we are here or the results happen years down the road and we never even know, we are okay with that. Much of my mission field has been in my classroom and at school. I cannot proselytize in the classroom (much like in America) but most of the students know that I came as a volunteer missionary. This has led to them asking me lots of questions about my faith, what I believe, etc. and an opportunity for me to share with them why I am here. I get these types of questions every week and, often, multiple times a week. I am thankful for these opportunities because many of the young people of New Zealand have no exposure to God or the gospel message. It's really sad to think that there are children growing up here that think that Jesus is only a word to yell when shocked or angry.

Even though we have mixed feelings about going back to Tennessee we are excited about the opportunity to be with family again as well as among familiar sights, smells, and sounds again. I have a feeling that we will bring back a few Kiwi habits with us that might appear strange in middle Tennessee at times but that's okay. We have often looked or sounded strange here when trying to fit in to a culture that was unfamiliar. Sometimes those moments were funny...sometimes they were just awkward. I have enjoyed moments with my students when they ask about American words, habits, schools, etc. We have enjoyed some new recipes and words that we will bring back with us as well as a few we will glad to leave behind (sorry, we're not big fans of veggiemite or marmite). We have made some friendships here that I hope will carry on thanks to social media and skype. We have also been able to see some of the most beautiful beaches and landscape on earth, reminding us that our creator has no limit on what He can do!

So...we plan to do what we can in our last few months here to fulfill God's calling on us. Then, we will head back to Tennessee and become a part of our home church there again. However, this time we will be just a little bit wiser about how God works everywhere for all people. This has been an experience we will definitely never forget and will always appreciate.