Time Change - Spring Ahead!!

So it appears that there has been a time change here in New Zealand. We have Sprung Ahead!! (one hour) For those of you who have wondered about the time difference to contact us, here it is: Time is 17 hours ahead from East Coast Time to NZ time. 

Example:

3:00pm  EST Wednesday in (USA) - it's 8:00am Thursday (NZ)

7:00am  EST Monday in (USA) - it's Midnight Tuesday (NZ)

Another way to think about it: 

add (5 hours - for EST etc...) to your time and then if it's PM for you, it's AM for us, the next day.

- or-

Between 3pm EST until you go to bed is your best window of reaching us online at AIM/skype.

I hope this was more helpful and wasn't too confusing!!

Crazy Days

Whew! What a crazy week it has been. We started out last week with a building/renovations mission team called MMM International arriving at the YFC office building. They came to renovate the offices painting the inside/outside and fixing some rotten wood. They are doing such an amazing job and have certainly turned our work and ministry environment into a cleaner and more inviting atmosphere. Since their arrival we have had offices upside down and in corners etc... as we move stuff to paint. As we help them, we are also gearing up for summer harvest camp, the charity auction, the youth zone ball, and tending to our normal Rock Solid students and small group ministries. Needless to say, we've had very long to-do lists of necessary tasks needing pronto attention to get everything together and pulled off properly. We are incredibly busy!! School holidays have also started this week - As the students are in year round school, they get 2 weeks off every 8-10 weeks. So this has been the beginning of week #1 of holiday for the students, and then week #2 of holiday will be at Spring Breakaway camp starting next week in Lake Taupo. (about 7 hours away).

It is such a blessing to be a part of so many students lives and to be involved in a continually changing and growing ministry. The ministry we are doing in the Northland is different then that of the church. We are primarily doing ministry to un-churched and non-christian students. as we have slowly been able to get into the lives of the students we are just now beginning to see how we're impacting their lives and being able to share in personal stories with them. Students have opened up to us about their hurts and fears, and how they have faced some tough and trying issues, and we have been here to help and pray for them! We cannot wait to see how God is going to use the camp experience we have with many of these students to open new doors of conversation. I am proud to say that there are students beginning to ask questions about our faith and who God is, and this is all very exciting for us!! Little by little we are making a difference and seeing God reach some of the northland students. Please continue to pray for the students we work with and the ones we will encounter at camp next week!

We certainly miss you all back home. Thank you for all your love and support to us while we are overseas. Many Blessings!!!

Uganda Children's Choir

Last Friday we went to help promote YFC and hear the Uganda Children's Choir perform at a local church. The children told amazing stories about being orphaned at Birth or an early age because their parents died due to Aids. They expressed how they feel free, and know that no matter what happened to their families they have found strength and purpose through God. We celebrated with the kids as they also expressed how they have tested negative for the Aids disease; they were all so joyful!!!  Below is a video clip of them singing at the church.

This was a free concert, and was absolutely packed out with people, wall to wall, and even on the floor. 10 minutes before the concert started the church had to close it's doors and turn about 100 other people away because they were over-full and exceeding the fire code regulations for the building.

Recap of last 3 weeks

So here has been the last 2-3 weeks... 

Things have been really busy so we're going to do a re-cap of the recent events. 

Sept. 9th we took our small groups out for Rock Solid Club: LeeAnn took all the girls 

swimming at the Aquatic Center, and the guys went with Preston

to the indoor vertical playground (rock Climbing). We had a great time with the groups and were able to get in some good quality conversations about everyday life, and the plan that God has for them. After climbing, 

Preston sat down with all the guys 

and they talked about team work in climbing, life lines, and trust. Some of the youth were able to get over their fears of heights and hanging on ropes, and felt good after being cheered on by their mates in their climbing experience. Sept. 12th we went to experience our first professional Rugby game. We met handful of Rock Solid kids and their friends, and were able to spend some time with friends /Co-workers at the game. (who basically explained what was happening). 

Sept. 14th we went off and found the best fishing spot ever. We caught heaps of fish, and one of the biggest ones too! We had a great evening spending time in God's creation and watching the boats go by with skiers. Unfortunately this was the day that our car got broken into when we

returned. So our favorite spot has kind of been ruined for us, and we're not sure if we want to go back. (in the picture: LeeAnn caught the big fish on the left, and Preston caught the bigger fish on the right.) Sept. 16th we had a family night at Rock Solid Club so we could meet some parents, and so they could get to know a little more about the YFC

 organization. We had a heap of games and team building exercises planned with Parents  vs. Kids. We did not have too many parents turn out due to other commitments, but we did have a great time with who was there. One of the games we played which is pictured to the left was a frozen t-shirt race. Look at the pain on the kids face! We had long sleeved T-shirts frozen into big blocks of ice. The teams had to get their t-shirt onto one person in their team. This was a very fun and exciting game. Kids tried to slide their shirts across the floor as they were extremely frozen and needed to be melted. Others had everyone place their hands on the shirts (freezing their hands) until they were able to break some of the shirt loose. One shirt actually got the arm ripped off of it as the ice froze the material so much it would just break. It was hilarious to watch the teams go through this exercise and to watch team members try to get into a frozen long sleeved t-shirt shoving their arms down the sleeves.

No TV? Sunday Afternoon Entertainment

So we have had flies mating in our house, as we have had to get rid of over 10-15 of them this weekend... Preston decided to have a little fun with them before we let them go.  So here is a video of our Sunday Afternoon entertainment.

This is what you do when you don't have TV...

Your feet are beautiful

Thought for the day:

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" - Romans 10:14-15

* Have Beautiful feet today, and bring the good news to someone!! Be the hands and feet of Christ. Remember, we are all called by God to be missionaries. A missionary does not have to be someone far away or over seas, it's simply someone like you. Someone who follows God and has accepted his call on all our lives to spread the word, the love of Christ, and help out when you see a need.

Trouble

Quick Snip-it:

As many of you heard either at church or via email, we did have our car broken into this past Sunday night when we were coming back from a gorgeous sunday afternoon fishing trip just over a hill from the car park. (literally it was a 2-3 minute walk). 

My wallet (ID, insurance, credit cards etc...) purse, watch, USB drives, ipod nano, and car docking station were all stolen. It was a very unfortunate evening which has caused a lot of work in cutting off accounts, replacing ID's and getting new credit cards sent overseas. However, within a few weeks everything should be worked out and we will be back on our feet as normal. Whoever stole our cards did manage to run them up to a zero balance, or charge around $4,000 of purchases amongst liquor, and convenience stores.  Thankfully with the companies we bank with or have credit cards with it appears as if we will not be liable for any of the charges. We did loose out on some cash and our personal belongings, but all is fine as we are both well and safe. It's sad and unfortunate some people choose this style of life to live; so please be in prayer for the people who broke into our car that they can find a bigger and better meaning to life then stealing. We hope to get our car fixed of its damages as soon as we can, so we're also hoping that we don't find that too costly!! Thanks for all your support and prayers for us during this time. 

Blessings!

What's going on with the blog?

So as many of you realized the blog is online, then offline, then you need to be invited to it etc... Then there are posts from last week, re-posted ... yadda yadda yadda...

Sorry!! We have been in the transition of trying to get the blog off search links like google, and only visible to those of you who know the web address. So sorry for all the confusion... 

LeeAnn driving 5 speed??

Many of you have wanted an update on my driving abilities so here it is....
It has been just over a month of (on and off) learning, but my driving is going very well! Tomorrow (Tuesday) will be my first time driving a stick shift van loaded down with kids, but I am confident that we will get to our destination and back safely!! Just stay on flat land, and avoid hills at all costs, right? ... I wish, that's kind of hard to do in New Zealand!!
I have found that the Red van that I will be mainly driving is easier to drive then our little car, so I am very happy. Since I was doing good with the car, I should so great with the van. I appreciate my darling husband being patient with me, putting up with my frustration, and overcoming some parking lot whip lash while I learn how to drive 5 speed. But it has been fun.
Driving a stick has always been something I wanted to do – but always having automatic cars I never had a means or a need too…. I am thankful that here, I did not have a choice – I HAD to learn to drive stick, and boy am I glad. I am still a little afraid of steep hills and rolling backwards onto other cars. Preston says I am good enough at driving now that me rolling back on people wouldn’t happen…. But we took out an insurance policy to cover damage on other vehicles just in case. ☺ So all is well!
Thank you so much for praying for us and our safety as I have had to learn how to drive all over again!!
- LeeAnn (& Preston)

Time flies

(Tomorrow) Wednesday, we celebrate four months of marriage! And an AMAZING 4 months has it been. Can you believe it? The time has flown by so incredibly fast. We look back at wedding photos, watch our wedding dance on YouTube and still laugh and talk about all the memories we made that day; and the amazing people we shared it with. Wednesday also marks the completion of two successful months in Whangarei Ministry, and the start of month #3.
We cannot express how grateful we are as newlyweds to be faithfully serving our Heavenly Father as missionaries; it is such a blessing! God continues to grow as the center of our marriage more and more as we seek to serve him; and live out his calling of having us love on youth and spread his name. Thank you for supporting us, keeping in contact with us, and for lifting us up in prayer!

Some exciting things are happening 'down under.' We had 9 new faces at Rock Solid club last week, which was Outstanding!! A few of the girls who were 'new' have been in contact with us over the last week and I can certainly see that relationships are beginning to form!! LeeAnn has adopted them into her small group ministry of girls that she connects with on a regular basis and is uber excited!! We certainly look forward to the way God might use us in their lives, and many of the other students. 

More exciting news: LeeAnn's parents are coming to visit for 2 weeks, Nov. 7-21st. We are extremely excited to soon see a familiar face and are looking forward to spending time with them, and take a holiday (vacation) with them around the NZ Northland. What a blessed time this will be!!

God is Alive

As we look out over the ridge to the farthest mountain we can't help but hear the lyrics of the Song "God is Alive" by Solomon's wish. 

"The trees give a testimony

Listen to the mountains sing

That only one God could make all of this

And keep it all in place

Even the sky is a celebration

And I am a declaration

That God is alive, God is alive, and working"

It is so Beautiful here....