Welcome Summer!

Well, our last post revealed that we were having to relocate again (after having only been in our house for nine months). The Lord was gracious and provided a lovely home just around the corner. With the move now complete, we are busy unpacking and getting settled. It is also a busy time around The Shepherd's Bible College, with Graduation taking place this Saturday.

Micah's school year is wrapping up too! He has one and a half weeks of school left, though the calendar indicates that summer officially begins tomorrow. Today, I could have had a fire going! It was pretty cold. Fire...Yeah! We have a woodburner in the 'new' house! So excited about that! Heating was one reason we began contemplating moving before our landlord told us that he was selling. We were so cold over the winter and spent hundreds of dollars on electricity for inefficient heating. Needless to say our ministry is busy and very fulfilling. To God be the glory, great things He hath done.

FOR SALE!

FOR SALE!?! Yes, our landlord told us a couple of weeks ago that he had decided to sell our house. So, we have begun the arduous task of fielding contacts from realtors as well as looking for a place to relocate to. "How hard can it be?" one asks. Well, it doesn't seem like it would be that difficult, but wading through all the online listings is one thing. Scheduling an appointment to view the house is another thing. Then, determining if we could make it work, given the area the house is located in, the size of the house, the individual features of the house and so on, is an entirely different matter. We are confident the Lord has something out there for us...we just have to be diligent to look, to pursue any potential properties, and wait on Him to show us the right one.

Micah has just started his fourth and final term of school for this year. After a two week holiday, he had three days of school and then another public holiday (Labour Day), resulting in five days off. Over the school holiday, we were able to go away for a couple of nights, spending a day touring Wellington. We had a lovely time. Greg continues with his ministry at The Shepherd's Bible College. We have started a home Bible Study (known as a Koinonia Team). The dynamics of that will surely change some with our pending move. Greg is also being considered as a church elder, a process which is still in progress. Traci continues to lead one of the ladies Bible study groups, as well as being involved in the discipling of several college gals. She is also about six weeks from completing a correspondence course in proofreading and editing through New Zealand Institute of Business Studies, which she began in February of this year. That's all for this time...

Around the World and Back

We left New Zealand June 22 for a long journey to Grace Community Church’s biennial missionary conference in Greece. We enjoyed ten days of touring biblical sites of Paul and his missionary journeys. While it was physically exhausting, we were encouraged and refreshed to fellowship with some sixty other missionary families serving worldwide, many of whom we know from our earlier days at Grace Community Church. We are very grateful for that time of fellowship and affirmation of the Lord's work around the world. From there, we traveled to southern California to visit our sending church as well as family. We do apologize if we missed you on that trip. It was packed to say the least, but once again, we are very grateful to see many supporters along with some family members. Days were long and nights were short, as we were out the door in the early morning and back home late most evenings. We wanted to see as many people as we could and enjoy fellowship with as many of our supporters. On that note, our support has continued to come in. We praise the Lord that He has provided all but about $1000/month. Upon returning to New Zealand, we jumped back into our busy ministries. Greg is on track to teach an upcoming block course in Auckland, one in Hastings and will be preaching in both cities in the next month.

Better Late than Never

Yes, I know it's been a long time since our last post. Isn't that why someone coined the phrase, "better late than never?" Well, isn't it? Truth is, we have been very, very busy! Greg made a two week trip to the states in January. During his absence, Traci was busily packing boxes, one after the other, and carefully wrapped pictures and mirrors. In early February, we moved to town. You may recall that we have been living about twenty minutes (depending who's driving) out of town. While we enjoyed it very much and had a beautiful drive, we knew we wanted to be more accessible to people and not use so much time and money getting to town. The Lord provided a beautiful two story home in Havelock North. It is not only close to everything, but in a beautiful neighborhood that's great for walking the dog. We are also near three different reserves which are great for walking as well. Micah has two friends that live nearby. That's been fun for him to be able to have his friends over.

In late February, we had two seventeen year old girls move in for about seven weeks. Right after they came, Greg was off to the US again, for Shepherd's Conference and more support raising. In the meantime, I filled in at the church office for Michelle, who was in the US getting married! It was a busy time, running from the church office, to pick up Micah from school, to dash home and start dinner, so that when Esther and Arnica walked in dinner was ready. This also kept me on my toes with meal planning, as well as making sure there were ample items for them to take in their lunch. The breadmaker got a workout as well, as while we slept, it was baking bread for their sandwiches. Esther and Arnica have taken a year between high school and university to pursue God and take a missions trip. They were working in one of the apple packhouses to earn money for this experience in Thailand.

Oh, and the day after Arnica and Esther arrived, we had a visit from Greg's cousin and family--Nick & Colleen Sanden, who were on a cruise and came into port in Napier. We had a lovely visit with them. Greg had a class to teach that afternoon, so I showed them around a bit. It was great to meet their son and daughter-in-law who were traveling with them.

Ornithology Anyone?

Not that I've taken up bird watching or anything, but New Zealand has some beautiful birds. This creature has been visiting the pond visible from our kitchen window. I've had trouble getting a good look at him, as he departs the scene at the slightest movement, whether indoors or outdoors. My curiosity as to what it was began to heighten with each visit. He is often accompanied by a companion. He gingerly walks around the perimeter of the pond looking for food. His movement is quiet and very slow. I began to desire a good photo, that I might be able to recognize his marking and coloring. And, of course I searched for his identity online. I discovered that he is a white faced heron. Cool, huh?

Loinne's Visit

Happy New Year! We trust you reflected upon the goodness and grace of God to you throughout 2011. We have certainly been blessed by doing so!

Greg's mum, Loinne, has been here for a visit since Dec. 27 and we've been having a wonderful time. We enjoyed a couple of nights in Taupo (picture of Micah and Grandma is taken above Huka Falls). And, of course, we've shown her around the beautiful Hawkes Bay. So Thursday (Jan. 5), we had a couple of extra hours, so we decided a drive up to Te Mata Peak was in order. Micah was at an all day birthday party/sleepover, and we had plans to eat in town. It was a beautiful sunny day, of which we have had few during Loinne's visit. Just yards from the top of the peak, the car died...as in stopped running. Ugh, here we are climbing the hill toward Te Mata Peak...and the car dies. Fortunately, there was enough of a shoulder to pull over and get off of the roadway, to enable cars to get by us. We waited a few minutes, tried to re-start the car. Nope! Dead! On the phone to AA (that's the Auto Club here...not Alcoholics Anonymous)! Well, we were near the top of Te Mata Peak, so we had to wait for AA to arrive. At least we had a beautiful view and it was a warm day. Greg didn't have a sun hat, so I convinced him wear mine! He was a good sport, but he sure didn't fancy people going by seeing him wear a sun hat with a bow on it. I told him that the hat looked far better than more scars on his face would (from removal of skin cancer)! I assured him he just looked like a Southern California gardener! Turns out we were low enough on fuel that with climbing the hill, the fuel couldn't make it to the motor to do its job. Once AA brought us some fuel, then we also needed help starting the car as we had worn the battery down trying to start the car. So much for Te Mata Peak.

Oh, the other photo is having lunch with the Hohnecks.