2007_12_16 Home Group Christmas!

2007_12_16 Christmas Fun!

2007_12_08 I'm Outta Here!

Kelsey ready to head out to Grandma and Granbob's for her first night away from both Mum and Dad!

2007_11_19 You Can't Beat Wellington On a Good Day Off!!!

Heather's favourite spot - Oriental Bay! Kelsey seems to like it too...I wonder why?!

2007_11_19 Encouraging Stuff!

We wanted to share some recent encouragements!

We've seen a number of children and young people commit their lives to God as a result of the recent HARVEST 07 event.

Youth group (TYG) has undergone a real transformation in the second half of the year. We've had some really good times together, and it has been great spending time with them all! It's been great to see some of the guys sharing honestly about their lives, and others being challenged by God. We've just finished a short sortie into 'Music' - The messages in the music they're listening too, guidelines for music from God's word, and obtaining music legally! Check out the TYG blog for more on this. A good number of the youth are now coming to church on Sundays too.

Also, the parents of two of the youth have attended church in the past couple of weeks, with one set of parents keen to do a 'Christianity Explored' course (This is starting Nov 27th. Please pray for this).

A constant source of encouragement and support this year has been the guys who work alongside us with the youth - Nigel & Pam, Blair & Rachael, Tony & Rachel. Their input has been invaluable this year, and we've enjoyed sharing the ups and downs with them (and a few laughs in between!).

Generally speaking, there have been some times that have been hard for us, experiencing some tiredness and flatness towards the end of the year. It's been encouraging though, to see God at work in-spite of us, reminding us of who's really doing the work!

2007_11_18 Andy's First Ride!

Wellington's weather turned it on for Andy's first outing on his new mountain bike. Andy turned it on too, proving to be a bit of a natural! His normally wide smile, was wider than normal!!!...Probably still is now, too!

2007_11_16 D-Team Reunion

We had a really fun night! D-Team has been a real source of encouragement for us this year. Following on from the camp that many of the Power Up kids came to in July, 20+ kids attended D-Team in term 3. The reunion pulls those kids together again one more time towards the end of the year.

D-Team (short for 'Discipleship Team') consists of games, study/discussion in small groups, and some awesome suppers, generally provided by the kids. We were really thankful to have Matt, Lizzy and Monica helping out and they did a great job leading a small group each. Marty also came along to the reunion. Thanks guys!

The kids are a neat bunch, and there are some real characters among them. Our hope is that they will all choose to make God a part of their lives as they move into their teenage years. We pray too, that we'll be able to continue our relationship with them as they move on to college next year. Please pray for this if you get a chance.

2007_11_04 My First Birthday!

Cousin Emily made this card for Kelsey!
































Kelsey shows just enough interest in her cake to please the cake-makers!

2007_09 Our Break Away!

At the end of September we headed away to 'Big Toms Cottage' in Havelock North. It was great to have a break and chill out together. Day 3 Kelsey woke with the Rota Virus so that made for an interesting time!! We made it to Gisborne (after some dodgy nappy changes in random places) and met up with Pete's family at the reunion. Even with Kelsey so sick we had a great time and would definitely head back to Havelock!

2007_09 Kelsey Makes Some New Friends!

2007_09_09 Police Station tour

Pics from recent youth group trip to National Police HQ in Wellington

2007_09_05 Heather's Catchup

Hard to believe we are nearing the end of the year! It's already been a full one complete with 'ups and downs'. I've been reading SexGod by Rob Bell and have been really challenged to look at our lives with gratitude 'cause until we can center ourselves on what we do have, on what God has given us, on the life we do get to live, we'll constantly be looking for another life. He says "God commands his people to remember who they are, where they've been, what they've seen, what's been done for them. If we stop remembering, we may forget. And that's when the trouble comes." When I take time to think (and it's often during the 'downs') - we really have so much to be thankful for. God has given us huge encouragement this year through friends and family, the youth, kids and leaders we work with, financial gifts given at opportune times and such a great little girl. It'd be cool to take this opportunity to say thanks to those who keep up with what is going on for us... we appreciate you.