Hello,
Thank you, once again, for your prayers for our transition to New Zealand! God continues to show us His purposes in all things. The ministry is more than exciting, thrilling in fact, as we watch the Lord work in our lives as well as those of the believers in this beautiful land.
This morning was a gorgeous spring morning! At 11:00 was the funeral of an elder saint, who we had not met, but had met some of her family members. Knowing I would be out of the house reasonably early, I got the laundry hung out to dry in the bright sunshine. (Kiwi’s dry their clothes outdoors…they don’t use clothes dryers). The Hohneck’s had two overnight guests, elders from a church in Auckland, so I had made my zucchini muffins for all to enjoy. Micah was off to school and Greg off to his office. I made arrangements with Liz to pick me up at a market down the street, on her way to the funeral. I began my walk to Havelock Village, a quaint downtown with some upscale shops and some small town shops as well. I had a couple of cards to mail at the post (p.o.), along with prescriptions to drop off at the chemist (pharmacy)—conveniently located in the same shop. It was a beautiful walk to the village. I took care of my business along with purchasing some items for dinner tonight—Shepherd’s Pie—Kiwi style. Liz forgot to pick me up, but with a couple of phone calls made, here she came and we were still in time for the service.
It was a lovely service for a dear 88 year old saint, with children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren giving tribute to this dear woman. We even experienced a traditional Maori chant. As the casket was carried out, a Maori woman gave a traditional chant. It obviously took most people by surprise, but I heard at the reception that she had asked the family for permission. We also learned later that the deceased and her husband had a long-standing ministry to Maori people.
A lovely reception was enjoyed with tea sandwiches, pastries, cheese, etc. We ate and visited with many. When Greg left for his office, he asked me to come see him before I left. When I walked over to his office, the sky looked very dark. One of the men passed me and said, “I think we might have a thunderstorm”. I agreed in my mind that it was dark, but thunderstorm? Naaa. After consulting Greg, we decided I’d better get home to get the laundry in. By the time I went to see if Liz was ready to leave or if Greg should take me home, it was raining heavily. By the time we got to the car, we were quite wet. Driving home, the wipers couldn’t keep up and Greg couldn’t see in front of the car. For the next several minutes…absolute downpour. Thankfully, Greg helped me bring in all the clothes off the line. Greg said, “welcome to New Zealand”. Sunny this morning (and quite warm) and pouring down rain this afternoon. And, even before I have finished this email, the sun is back out.
In other news, we are still looking for a home and for a car. We looked at a car last Friday. Greg really liked it and felt it was the car for us. I didn’t quite agree, but was content to allow him to make the decision, praying for it to be the right decision. All day Saturday we looked at homes, finding at least two we liked. The Lord hasn’t made it obvious which one, but there were several we really liked ($$$). Several times throughout the day on Saturday, I would gently suggest that he needed to call the Hohneck’s son, who is a mechanic. We had decided that was the next step in the car. Sunday, we learned that Mark had a stomach bug. Sunday night, Greg contacted the owner of the car to set up a time to bring Mark along. The car had sold! “Thank you, Lord for closing that door!” The search continues.
Well, I just had to share about the downpour and the race to outrun the storm.
Our love to all,
Traci
