Holidays and Harvests

The broccoli patch needed harvesting--as did the potatoes, zucchini, snow peas, and onions. Knowing we were going to the TSBC graduation, we decided it would be a perfect place to bless others with the bountiful broccoli harvest. So, we harvested most of the broccoli and took it along with us to Saturday's graduation ceremony. It's always a blessing to bless others.

Well, we're now two days into summer vacation, known as 'school holidays' around here. Micah has already become bored, as our neighbor boys aren't finished for another couple of days. One of the girls in Micah's class invited the entire class to her home for a bonfire and supper (evening snack). As Greg and Micah were off for this event, I decided I'd better get busy grating the zucchini we picked on Saturday. After all, why does one grow zucchini? For zucchini bread of course! (Well, we've had some nice stir-fry as well as a lovely plate of veggies prepared for the TSBC graduation tea). I want zucchini bread year round, so I keep it grated in the freezer. After grating up Saturdays harvest, I went out to the garden and picked the pile that's pictured here. I ended up with 27 sandwich size Ziploc bags full of grated zucchini. Yum!

End of School Year!

Well, we've come to the end of our first full school year. Micah has just completed year 7 and TSBC students (and faculty) are breathing a sigh of relief. While it may be Christmas where you are (and likely cold), it is summer here in New Zealand. We've had a relatively cool start to the summer with cool temps and several days of rain. Last week the schedule was full of end-of-the-year activities, including Hastings Christian School's Prizegiving (the Kiwi version of an awards ceremony/graduation. Unfortunately, I was unable to get any good pictures of Micah at the prizegiving, as he stood in the back of the student body, besides we were seated near the back, but here's a picture of Bea playing her cello in the school orchestra.

The Making of a Man

This past weekend, a small group of young families from Riverbend enjoyed a retreat together at a nearby Christian camp. Each husband/father participates in a men's Bible study, where they are encouraged to be men, that is to be men who lead their homes biblically. We were invited to join them, as Greg was asked to speak to this group on Sunday morning on the subject,'The Making of a Man'. This group of young husbands recognize that they are on the front-line in the fight for the sanctity of their homes and meet together weekly to encourage and support one another in the fight. We were greatly encouraged to see their commitment to be men of the Word, to love their wives as Christ loves His church and to raise their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. We were also blessed by sweet fellowship and good Kiwi fun! Greg did a great job addressing the men, as well as involving the wives and children in his Sunday message. We are so grateful for the ministry set before us. May we be faithful ambassadors!

Blast from the Past

Well, the day we arrived home from the states, our long time friend, Linda arrived for a week-long visit. We first met Linda when Micah was in the hospital as an infant. She was in charge of Micah's home health care nurses, when he first was discharged from the hospital. Before long, she was our dear friend and often babysat Micah in his first year. Linda is our first visitor from the US (apart from Kevin Edwards--who came for the TMAI Symposium). We had a lovely visit with Linda, showing her bits and pieces of life in NZ. Of course, we had to take her to the beach, where Micah was intent on boogie boarding for the first time this season.

An Unexpected Journey

Life often brings unexpected journeys doesn't it? And, walking with the Lord is always a journey, of sorts. We don't know what a day holds--despite our calendar keeping skills, our to-do lists, our planning. We do know that nothing takes our Lord by surprise. He is absolutely sovereign in all things and He knows what is best for us. On October 3rd, Greg's dad was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and was given twelve weeks to live. After having several weeks of medical tests, months of severe back pain and numerous other medical issues, doctors finally determined the cause. Immediately, we began to make plans for an unexpected journey to the US to visit him. With each passing day, his health deteriorated dramatically, and we began to wonder if we would even make it home in time to see him. Well, as the Lord would have it, we didn't make it. We received word on our way to the airport, that Glenn had gone home to be with the Lord. We praise the Lord that he didn't suffer longer than he did. But now, Mom begins an unexpected journey, that of life without her partner of 55 years, whom she met at fifteen years old.

Spring has Sprung

Well, in our last post we had snow. And, within days of that post, the weather began to turn warm (fine up, as the Kiwi's say). At present, we are experiencing cool mornings (and still the odd frost), with gloriously warm and sunny days. The garden is all but planted and we are enjoying longer days. But, life and ministry are as busy as ever. Greg is teaching two courses, Old Testament II and Biblical Counseling. Traci continues to co-lead a small group at the ladies Bible study and is preparing to teach the ladies study September 21 and 28 on the subject of the tongue. She continues to meet with three college gals on a weekly basis. Micah's school year continues to progress. Life is full and ministry rewarding.

In mid July, our new landlords moved onto the property. Micah is enjoying having boys to play with, as they have an 11-year old and a 12-year old. In the second photo, Micah and Chris are atop a wooden sculpture in our front yard, playing with an Ipod. They have begun to make changes to the landscape as well. Just yesterday, they brought home two three week old kids (first photo). We are told that two adult emus will be joining us next week. They are also rearing six baby chicks which will be introduced to the chicken pen in the coming weeks. The chickens have been getting a bit of freedom of late, having a bit of a wander around the yard (last photo taken in our front yard).

Oh, and we are in the midst of the Rugby World Cup, which began on Friday with a very impressive opening ceremony. As the host nation, this is a huge deal for New Zealand. And we confess, it was quite exciting to see the All Blacks whoop Tonga in the opening match.

We Got Snow!

Ol' Man Winter has struck the Hawke's Bay! The weather forecaster predicted we'd get snow (as most of the country did), and he was right! Micah was determined that the roads would not be passable this morning and he'd enjoy a three-day weekend. But, alas, that wasn't the case. We did wake up to snow this morning, though. And, while I did take some photos of our back yard, they were all blurry. It was just a dusting anyway. This photo was taken from our living room and is a nearby hill. Thank the Lord for a wood-burning stove and a shed full (well, it's not full anymore) of wood!

Holiday Happenings

So here's a snapshot of a few ladies from Traci's small group. They gathered for a potluck lunch during the school holiday. Several were not able to make it, but they had a lovely time.

Also a couple of snapshots of Micah and his mates, who have come for a two-night sleepover. They built a small fire in the backyard and just minutes before dinner came requesting marshmallows. They are having a great time. Last night we played a couple of games out under the bright stars with our gumboots on and our flashlights in hand. In fact, as I write, they are down at the river doing who knows what! They took a backpack full of snacks, ginger beer and matches. Hmm, wonder what they'll get up to.

Holiday in Hamilton

Micah is one week in to a two week school holiday. Early in the week, we went to Hamilton, about one hour south of Auckland, where Greg had three sessions at Equip Bible Conference (topic of sanctification), hosted by River City Bible Church. River City is a new church plant, pastored by TMS alum Bryan Martin. Wednesday we were able to meet up with Matthew & Tammy Anderson, Greg's long time mate from university. They minister in Auckand, with Campus Crusade. Thursday, we drove home, via Waitomo Glowworm Caves.

Later this week, Traci's small group from the ladies Bible study will come for a potluck lunch and Micah is planning on an overnight outing with his mates (as in sleeping in a tent). Mind you, it is winter and the weather report is for an Antarctic blast to whip through the country this week.

Good Byes, Good News and Great Joy!

Would you look at that! It's only been six days since our last post! Greg had a wonderful time of ministry in Christchurch, with about 85 in attendance at the biblical counseling training which was conducted. Only the Lord knows the fruit which will come of that, but we trust He was glorified as the Word was proclaimed to be the answer to all of man's problems and church leaders were trained in how to help people cope with the stress and aftermath of the earthquake

Soon, we'll say good-bye to Reuben & Verity! We will be so sad to see them go, but so excited for what lies ahead for them. Reuben is starting pastoral training at The Master's Seminary this fall, along with his dad and three other Kiwi families (one from Riverbend). As I've mentioned in previous posts, it has been a true joy to get to know Reuben & Verity. We've talked ministry, seminary, life in So Cal, where to live, where not to live, freeways, shopping, professors, seminary wives, etc. etc. While it brings back such wonderful memories for us, we are glad to be where we are and not where they are (in terms of just starting training). They have a long, but thrilling ride ahead of them. They'll even get to live with our dear friend, Stephanie, for the first term. They also know Stephanie from her visit to New Zealand. Thanks, Steph!

In other joyous news, our residency application was accepted for consideration! This doesn't mean we've been granted residency...simply that our application was accepted and that the government will assign an officer to our case. So, really this is just the first hurdle, but we made it over!

And, finally, today Traci was given a New Zealand driver's license! Yippee! We went to apply for our driver's licenses back in October, but were unable to get them, because we needed to know the exact date that we began driving. And, since we both started driving soon after we turned sixteen, neither of us knew that date. So, we had to wait long enough that the computer system used would accept the date on our current driver's license (instead of rejecting us, since we haven't been driving long enough--according to the system if that date was used). So, Traci went to get hers early this week, but failed the eye exam!! For whatever reason, she was only able to read two of the three columns of letters in the eye machine. Ugh! (Notice the stamp on the temporary license: 'corrective lenses must be worn while driving') So, of course AA (the Kiwi version of AAA) would not grant the license without an official eye exam. Fortunately, she found an optometrist in town who conduct a driver's license exam (as opposed to the full exam). So, $15 and 15 minutes instead of $150-odd. Hot diggity! (Don't worry, Greg will get his soon.)

Well, that's all for now. Tune in next time for more news!

To Fly or Not to Fly?

Yes, I know it's been way too long since our last post. Maybe one of you could volunteer to be our blog writer, hey?

Impact has come and gone. It was a fantastic conference, Stepping Into Eternity, and indeed we did, albeit via our human speakers. It's safe to say, we are looking forward to heaven even more than ever! Greg taught a seminar session entitled, Doing Missions Right.

For more info and photos, visit Nigel's blog: http://2tim42preachtheword.blogspot.com/

This weekend, Greg and Russell are in Christchurch conducting biblical counseling training. The aftershocks continue in Christchurch, including several today. People are becoming more and more desperate in their search for answers from city and government officials. Many don't know if they can rebuild at all. They are living with whoever and wherever they can. Survival is difficult, to say the least. It is winter now and there are still people living in tents in their yard because their home is uninhabitable. Many homeowners are stuck with homes they cannot sell and cannot live in. Much of the land is not even stable enough to rebuild. Any businesses still open are struggling due to so many people leaving the area. It is a desperate situation. Russell and Greg were asked to train church leaders in biblical counseling, as they are struggling to know how to help this dire need. We're praying this training will be instrumental in many lives as the church leaders begin to implement what they have learned.

Well, getting to Christchurch was a challenge all it's own! Because of the ash cloud from the Chilean volcano, many flights to the South Island have been cancelled. Knowing this, we checked the Air New Zealand website first thing yesterday morning. All morning flights were cancelled, afternoon flights yet to be determined. After lunch, we popped into a bank to make a deposit and found there was an Air New Zealand desk there. How convenient! Perfect! No, it wasn't, because the woman was misinformed, as she told us that Greg's flight had been cancelled. Immediately, we spread the word and began to make plans for Greg and Russell to drive to Christchurch, complete with a booking for the ferry, accommodation plans, etc. Greg had to drive Traci home, so she could hop in the other car and drive back to town in time to get Micah from school. Half way home, we decided we'd better abort that plan and return to town (after getting calls from Russell and Ian that the flight was not cancelled). It was now less than an hour from departure. We dashed back to town, picked up Greg's things from his office, then sped to the airport. Upon check-in, the announcement was made, "Flight delayed". Either which way, breathing resumed at last!

Later than night, we heard that there were six meter swells through Cook Strait. Greg was certainly glad to not be on that ferry.

Royal Buzz

The country is a-buzz with the royal wedding. Everyday there is a story on the news about the upcoming Royal Wedding. We've heard how the pottery manufacturers mucked up the royal pottery by misprinting something and about how the New Zealand Post misprinted the commemorative postage. Then there was Prince William's visit to New Zealand a few weeks ago. He visited Christchurch (of course the site of a catastrophic earthquake in February and numerous devastating aftershocks) and Greymouth (where the 19 miners were lost). And, the story today was that New Zealand was contributing $10,000 to the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal as Will & Kate's wedding gift. Oh, and yesterday, Prime Minister John Key was interviewed about his upcoming lunch with the Queen when he goes to the Royal Wedding. Is anyone as excited about the Marriage Supper of the Lamb? Just wondering.