Coming back to the States

Well we fly back out tomorrow... can't believe the time is here. We are happy yet saddened at the same time... we will really miss this beautiful country!!

We fly out of Auckland at 6pm, and will arrive in Denver at 7:10pm (Friday). We will spend a few days in denver doing "YFC Exit" stuff, visiting some friends/family, then continuing on back to Charlotte. We'll be arriving in Charlotte June 11th at 1:25pm. Thank you all for your prayers for our journey and safe travels!!! 

Can't wait to catch up with you all.

We need your help!

Hey Guys

We are in the process of making a video for churches/supporters about our time in New Zealand. We wanted to know what hot topics there are you would want to hear about, or what mosts interests you about our trip here. What questions you would ask you??

Thanks so much for helping us with our informational video!! 

Cheers :)

Seasons Change

Well the seasons are once again changing. As we experience a drop in temperatures and head back into winter time, others are starting to experience the warmth of summer. With the season of temperature change also comes the season of ministry change. We're heading into our last round of club nights with the Rock Solid students and preparing ourselves for wrapping up any loose ends in NZ, moving out, and getting back into life in the states. 

There is a lot going on in our neck of the woods, many decisions about our futures to me made, and new paths of life that lay ahead. In addition, we will soon find out the sex of our baby and begin packing our bags. All this will happen before we know it. 

Time seems to have flown by so fast. We feel like just yesterday it was Christmas time and we were celebrating the holidays. The pregnancy has also flown by - we're not 18 weeks along and feel our little one move and squirm. Where did time ever go?

We are certain that with the time we have had to serve here in Whangarei, we have made a huge difference. Thank you all for your love and support for us as we faithfully follow God's call on our lives to serve in New Zealand. 

No real reason, but this song has been a huge favorite of mine (Preston) lately. It just talks about basically that you are not the only one who struggles and you have to continue to move along no matter what. No real deep lyrics but it just helps to keep me going. It is written by the All-American Rejects. You can hear it on YouTube if you feel like it...

"Move Along"

Go ahead as you waste your days with thinking
When you fall everyone stands
Another day and you've had your fill of sinking
With the life held in your
Hands are shaking cold
These hands are meant to hold

Speak to me, when all you got to keep is strong
Move along, move along like I know you do
And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along just to make it through
Move along
Move along

So a day when you've lost yourself completely
Could be a night when your life ends
Such a heart that will lead you to deceiving
All the pain held in your
Hands are shaking cold
Your hands are mine to hold

Speak to me, when all you got to keep is strong
Move along, move along like I know you do
And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along just to make it through
Move along
(Go on, go on, go on, go on)

When everything is wrong we move along
(Go on, go on, go on, go on)
When everything is wrong, we move along
Along, along, along

When all you got to keep is strong
Move along, move along like I know you do
And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along just to make it through
[x3]

Pregnancy Brain

So we went to the grocery store the other day and bought a few things. We of course proceeded to put them away and move on about our day. After a few hours, lunch time rolled around and I went into the refrigerator to get something and I found something that didn't belong. I went to take out this misplaced item to place it where it belonged and found something in its place. Can you spot the items? I guess pregnancy brain is kicking in full swing...

We Came, We Saw, We Helped

We pulled off a great Surge weekend and just got home for some much needed rest. We worked on about 14 or 15 projects all around Whangarei and were able to finish each and everyone of them. All of the teams were extremely happy and felt great about the work they were able to complete. The organizations and individuals we worked for were blown away to see the young people (as well as the not so young people) working with such diligence and care. Thanks for all of the support and prayers. We are going to be around the office and home today trying to get ready for our week long camp with 40 middle school aged kids. With only a day to "rest", we have our hands full to get ready to go on the road. We are extremely excited about camp and ask that you continue to pray for us. Thank you guys!!

Surge 2009

This is what we have been up to and what we are planning.... check out below for a little more information.

SURGE 2009

April 16-19 (Thurs-Sun)

Whangarei

Surge Event Overview

Who: The Whangarei Community in partnership with Incedo New Zealand (anticipating 50 staff and 100-150 youth from all over the country)

What: Three days of community service projects around Whangarei. We will be working with local organizations and individuals to help complete projects and clean up around the community. We will be doing everything from painting, to clean up, to trail repair, to helping old ladies cross the street and everything in between…

When: Thursday 16^th April- Sunday 19^th April 2009

Where: Out of town volunteers accommodated at local maraes, schools, churches, etc.

Why: To demonstrate, and inspire the increased impact of partnering together to work for the good of others. Also to give young people and example of what it means to help others and show them something else to do with their weekends.

Surge is an annual project run by Incedo New Zealand (www.incedo.org.nz)

“Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words”

- St. Frances Assissi

Happy Easter

We hope you all have a very great and joyous Easter!!

Easter Joy
Jesus came to earth,
To show us how to live,
How to put others first,
How to love and how to give.
Then He set about His work,
That God sent Him to do;
He took our punishment on Himself;
He made us clean and new.
He could have saved Himself,
Calling angels from above,
But He chose to pay our price for sin;
He paid it out of love.
Our Lord died on Good Friday,
But the cross did not destroy
His resurrection on Easter morn
That fills our hearts with joy.
Now we know our earthly death,
Like His, is just a rest.
We'll be forever with Him
In heaven, where life is best.
So we live our lives for Jesus,
Think of Him in all we do.
Thank you Savior; Thank you Lord.
Help us love like you!
By Joanna Fuchs

Photos from Club Nights

Here are some recent photos from Club nights... enjoy! 

The Real Deal

We made the paper for our Surge Event coming up in about 10 days. Check it out...

(Click on the article to zoom in)

March Happenings...

Wow have we been busy. The last 2 weeks we were in the states, compliments of the McBrayer’s – for Haley’s beautiful wedding. We were able to share and celebrate in a most special time as Haley McBrayer and Joel Merritt got married. While back, Preston and I were also able to catch up with our big family, see all our parents, siblings, precious nieces and nephews, and spend time with our brother and sister in laws. We also took a quick trip to Charlotte to see my family, spend time with them, and share in some special time with my Grandparents. We were very excited to be able to see a few friends while we were home and to share in some special news: we’re expecting a baby! October 4th is the date our new addition will hopefully arrive, and we are very excited.
We are now back in Whangarei after many long flights of travel. I think we have finally figured out what day it is, but our poor bodies are still needing more time to adjust. We’re back in full swing at the office working frantically on our SURGE mission trip stuff, On the road - Camp planning, Rock Solid programs, and Expressions planning. The next few weeks ahead will be crazy busy office days, sleepless nights, and time away faithfully serving our Lord.
Our last few months here will fly by faster then we can imagine. We are blessed to be continually challenged and used by God and are looking forward to all that God will do through us in the coming weeks. Please keep our ministry in your prayers. Also, please pray that our funding needs will be met as we are struggling to meet our budget needs each month due to the struggling economy, and supporters who can’t meet their pledges due to having a job loss. Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated!

A great & busy Weekend! Now off to the States!

We have had a great but busy weekend.... 

This weekend we were able to hang out with some friends, and catch up for a nice South African dinner; then we all went possum shooting. (little pests are bad for NZ). It was fun, not to many furry creatures out due to all the rain days before.

We enjoyed some time at the beach for some good surfing, and continued packing all weekend. We needed these little fun events to break up our packing because packing is no fun. We also went out for a date on Friday night, which was marvelous. Preston took me to the circus. It was a small deal, but it was really cool. Much different from the Warner Bros and Ringling Brothers. This circus was the "Weber Borthers." It was an event mainly on acrobatics, illusions, and magic; no performing animals. It was situated in little "Cirque du soleil"  kind of tent at a park. It was a lot of fun, they did some dangerous stuff that was amazing - and it made for a great evening out.

Late last night we finally finished packing - we are bringing home a lot of our stuff with is to put in storage; so it wasn't just our "trip bag" and clothes for the wedding. We did Closet clean-outs! We have 4 very heavy bags, and 2 carry-on bags. Hopefully we won't get charged for the weight thing... but time will tell. We are flying out this afternoon and should arrive in Atlanta at Midnight on Monday. I love time Travel. (it's already Monday here).

We are excited to see the family, and very excited for the Celebration of Haley & Joel's wedding! I am sure we will have a blessed time!

We will try and blog some while we are over there, Until then... it's off for the airplanes. ( 1 of 5)

We've been slack

Wow! We have been really slack in updating our blog lately; but a lot has been going on. All our clubs and small groups are back into full swing; we’ve got students in new schools, new students at club, and are in the process of organizing SURGE – which is a work camp for 180 youth. The camp is actually in Whangarei this year, so we are running it, hosting it, interviewing people to find work projects, finding tools/materials, funding, accommodation etc…. Needless to say, the blog got put on the back burner for a while there; sorry!

Currently we are very excited and awaiting Monday to come. We are flying back to the states for a family wedding. (Preston's sister, Haley). We are thrilled we will get to see some family, our nieces and nephews,  and spend time back in America. It will be a short trip as we are only over there a week, but I am sure it will be a blessing - we have a lot to look forward to in the upcoming week! Please keep our flights in your prayers - we have 5 connections to make and will be traveling for about 27 hours. (Whangarei - Auckland - Tahiti - Los Angeles - Denver - Atlanta). We'll update again real soon! Blessings to you all!!

* Girls Night * - Slumber Party

Well I had a very successful Slumber Party last night with 4 girls; and we had a blast. As much as I was hoping we would all "just go to bed" at a certain hour, I quickly saw that was not going to happen. Chick flick movies, Pizza, cookies (Biscuits), brownies, balloons, and Projector to show movies meant there was too much fun to have. Karaoke, and dancing kept us up until 2:45am hot and sweaty. Nearing 3am I finally had to cut off the YouTube dance videos (to: CandyMan, Mr. Wiggles, High School Musical etc...) and get sleeping bags set up. I didn't realize how much "older" I felt until I no longer wanted to stay up all hours of the night and clown around. We had some great night time discussions / Girl Talk, and I really connected with the girls here. Of course they want to come back and do it all over again, but for now - I need some Sleep!!! I have heaps of great photos to share with you; and will look to post them a little later today or tomorrow. For now, I am off to take a nap on the beach because it's such a beautiful Saturday!!

Summer is Sensational!

Today was a Beautiful day. We spent time muddling through Youth Lessons and literature, listening to the birds, and being in awe of God's Beautiful creation. Late this afternoon we went for a quick swim at the beach and enjoyed basking in the sunshine for an hour. It's as if we could feel the warmth of God radiating all over us. If it were up to me, I would sit out there all day. I love Summer! 

Tomorrow we begin meeting with High School students to find out what kind of ministry programs they want to be involved with. Students these days are so busy, so It's our intention to find them when they have the least amount of stuff going on and fit to their needs. We are not sure where we will be going with the High School ministry- whether that be small groups, a large group program etc... there are so many options. We have been praying about this ministry with High school students for a long time and are anxious to see what God will have us do. But for now, we're having a Meeting at PIZZA HUT tomorrow afternoon with all the High School students, and I can't wait to get my hand on some of that Pepperoni Pizza!!!

The Beauty of New Zealand

'
Just some random photos from our trip to the South Island...

God did something special when he created the landscape of this country. It is just amazing!!

A New Year

It is of course the second month in 2009, and it is also the beginning of the school year in New Zealand. The young people have gone back to school and our programs are getting ready to kick off full swing. We plan to continue strong in our intermediate (middle) school ministry and we are going to make strong steps towards growing our high school ministry. We are hoping to develop some good ways to continue ministering to the kids that become to old for middle school ministry by plugging them into a high school ministry. LeeAnn is dreaming and trying to develop the best way to connect with the high schoolers in the Whangarei area. Please continue to pray for us and our new high school ministry.

We're Back

We are back from our Holiday on the South Island and had such a blessed time together. There is some amazing scenery down south, and very wonderful people. We have actually been home for 4 days now, but have been so caught up in cleaning, laundry, unpacking etc... that we didn't have any time for blogging. But Hopefully by next week we will be back on a regular schedule and write a few submissions a week.
I know we just got back to the North Island, however, in two days (This Thursday) we are going back to the South Island to Christchurch for a 'New School leaders conference'. It will be a quick weekend trip but it is sure to be a blessing. We are flying this time, as there is no way we could drive all the way back down there. So please pray for our safe travels.

BACK TO SCHOOL
Yes, it's that time where the summer holiday has gone by very fast and students are back to school. Since schools here are year round they have shorter holidays - due to Christmas and New Years, this holiday was about 6-7 weeks. Kids will get all new teachers, be in new grades, and switch schools. As schools go back in session so does Rock Solid Club - our weekly meeting on Tuesday nights, in addition to our newest program for High schoolers "Breakfast club." We will have our work cut out for us very soon as everything will be "gung-ho" into a new year. The time we are living in would be compared to Middle of August/Sept. for the states.

We hope you are all doing well. Thank you for keeping up with us, for praying for us, and being a blessing to our lives!!

South Island Journey - Journal #2

Today we visited the most Southern Point in NZ: Slope Point. (South Island). What a beautiful place. We have had a great trip thus far – we’ve ventured down the entire East Coast staying with some YFC people and also visiting some good friends of ours (Nate & Deb) in Dunedin. Nate & Deb gave us a great time down south as we played all over their parents farmland. The guys went Dirt biking and Deb and I went Horse back riding; cantering through the fields. We spent 2 days with them at their parents house and had great company. It was wonderful to enjoy a good sleep in a real bed, and have some good home cooking.
Since the last blog we have: visited the Cadbury chocolate factory to see how chocolate was made (this was a very yummy tour). We ended up with heaps of chocolate and even got to see the worlds largest Chocolate Waterfall!! We also spent some time in Christchurch touring there, we saw a brewery, some old historical churches, heaps of waterfalls, some Lord of the Rings places, we took a punting ride through the parks in Christchurch, visited some museums, did a little tramping (hike) here and there, spent many nights camping, drove up the world’s steepest street, (boy was it steep!!) and made cheese fondue!
Now we are off heading up the South Island’s West coast for some of the most beautiful places on earth. Doubtful sound & Milford sound. We are half way through our journey and have had a great time. Thanks for all your prayers for our safe travels! This trip has been such a treat for us and we have been doing it all strictly off our personal wedding funds.

South Island Journey - Journal #1

(Friday, January 9th)
Quick Snip-it: We started our South Island journey, met some YFC people at their bases in Wanganui & Wellington. Toured Wellington, Had our ferry canceled, got adopted by strangers who are nice old couple who have 4 children & 12 grandchildren, stayed with them at their batch (holiday home), Preston mowed their grass, and we went diving for Paua and Muscle. How’s that for the beginning our of South Island Holiday Trip??

Here is The Story: It’s day 3 of our South Island Journey and we have had an incredible and blessed time thus far. We drove about 8 hours the first day just to “get south” and stopped off in Wanganui to catch lunch with a friend, Melody who is serving YFC in that city. From there we had a 3 hour drive to Wellington where we Met up with Karl and his wife Mel and their 2 cute little kids. (Poppy & Mia). We spent 2 nights in their home and were able to tour Wellington during the day. We visited the Te Papa Museum, which was much larger then we anticipated, and then took a cable card ride to the top of a mountain to overlook the city, see some botanical gardens, and a few observatories. Can you believe all those activities in Wellington were Free!!? That’s how we like it. It was just $5.00 for the cable car and then $12.00 for a day of parking!Our second day in Wellington is where the adventure began…. We were suppose to be at the Vehicle Ferry at Noon for a 1pm shipping. However, we got a txt message saying that the ferry was canceled due to mechanical problems. Don’t get me wrong, I am glad they canceled it; it’s a 3 hour ferry trip on a good day; and I didn’t want to be on a broken boat stranded in the middle of the ocean. But it also kinked our plans. We could either ferry the next day or at 7pm that night. However, by taking the night ferry we wouldn’t arrive on the South Island until 11pm. In doing this, it would be really dark to drive, and hard find a camp ground with openings when we arrived. So anyway, neither of us really cared what we should do, so neither of us wanted to make the decision. We just wanted the cheaper and most convenient option.

So the story continues from there….. Preston would not tell me what he wanted to do at all. So standing in the parking lot at our car I gave him a dramatic play on describing both sides. (stay in wellington another night and waste a day, or go in the dark and have to setup camp so late). After my whining was almost over a nice old man walked over and asked: “Do you not know what to do?” and after a short conversation he said “take the 7pm ferry and come to my home and pitch your tent on our lawn so you don’t have to find a camp ground – I have a holiday home right in Picton where you want to go” Then in the next breath after his wife walked over - he said “Actually we will give you a bed and a nice hot shower just follow us when you get off of the ferry”. WOW! What a nice guy.

So long story short: Here we are in Picton staying at a “batch” (holiday home) with some nice ole Grandparents. (Doug & Rhonda) We were only going to stay one night, but they want us to stay again, and since we had no real set plans, we are. We all went in their boat today and collected heaps of 

muscles to cook; and we also went snorkel diving for Paua Shells. (Paua is a gorgeous shell with bright colors and has a black thing in it that you can eat). PS: I am not eating it!!

 We hung out, popped a bottle of wine, had a cook-out and Preston mowed their Grass. Yes – all with some strangers but lovely people!! We’ve spent 2 days hanging out with them and absolutely loved it. Great conversations, great hospitality; and they use to be in tourism so we’ve been getting heaps of tips and pointers on where we should go, what we should do, and where to stay! Since we will be gone for 21 days and planned on camping, any genuine hospitality is great – sure beats paying for a camping spot, sleeping outside, and cooking our own food.

We saw Seals on the side of the road today sitting on rocks at the beach. 

We walked right up to them for photos!! 

Summer Holiday

Well now that we are in the heart of Summer and have Summer Harvest Camp behind us, we are all escaping on holiday while we can. Feb-May will be crazy busy months for us so we are taking 3 weeks to do a little traveling while we visit some YFC bases along our journey. We're headed down to the South Island!!

We will be traveling down to Wellington today (12 hour drive) stay with a YFC guy and his family for 2 days while we do some touring, catch the vehicle ferry on the 8th to get to the South Island. We have heard some horrific and some great stories about the vehicle ferry and it all depends upon the sea and if there are any storms. It could take anywhere from 3-6 hours to get across to the South Island. So we will see how our journey goes. When we get to the South Island we will start in Nelson and work our way south to Dunedin and Alexandra, then curve around the southern point of the island along the coast and head up the West Coast. We are planning on seeing some wild penguins, stopping for a swim with the dolphins, hiking up to see the big ice glaciers, some of the Lord of the Rings places (These are all Free!!) and then find heaps of other free stuff.  We were told that pretty much anything on the south island that costs money to see - you can see for free if you just know where to go. And Luckily a lot of the Lord of the Rings places are either just a hike in or are off of the road; so we are excited to see them as well. Who knows, we might even spot a Hobbit here or there!!! :) 

We might try and post a story or pictures here and there from our trip but since we will not have too much web service since we are camping, who knows when we will get them posted. But check back every once in a while!! We will be back around the beginning of February :) 

Summer Harvest Camp Photos (Dec 28 - Jan 2nd)

We spent our New Years ringing in the New Year 80's style with 200 youth at Summer Harvest Camp. We had a great time at the camp and saw lives change in mighty ways. We Arrived at camp the day after Christmas to setup and prepare the cow field for the arrival of many eager teens. We setup marquees, a workers kitchen, lighting, sound, radio station, camp microphone, nurses station etc... We spent 2 whole days setting up, and then the fun began....  

Preston and I were "tent town parents" - basically we were "mom and dad" to a specific group of kids (boys) in our tent town (Yellow Boys = Rubber Ducks). We had all the Northland boys in our area, and they soon named our tent town the Rubber Duckies.  As our tent town also had a name, so did we.  At the beginning of camp the guys called us "Mom & Dad" then as the days went on we were referred to as Mrs. America and Captain American.  

We had a great time leading daily/nightly talks with the guys as a follow up to the speakers we heard all week. In addition, we enjoyed great worship with the camp, and a wonderful time at the beach among the Hot and harmful sunshine. (The Sun in NZ is the worst anywhere due to a hole in their ozone).  We only saw one cold day of rain, but other then that the weather was perfect. Lives were transformed and changed this past week and we are so blessed to have been a part of it.  We absolutely loved our role at camp and have found it to be our favorite ministry opportunity thus far.  We prayed with students nightly who were going through tough times and were handing everything over to God; we saw complete transformations in students, and were blessed to pray with so many who accepted Christ in their lives for the first time, and for those who were fixing a screwed up life.  We appreciate very much our role here; it was even more evident this past week when one of the students told us that they only feel comfortable talking to us about their situations; they know we will pray for them.

We heard many amazing testimonies from students about how they totally enjoyed the New Years celebrations, and how it was their first New Years not actually drunk - they had good fun, and they remember it.  Others (adults) commented on how it's nice to see teens having a good fun time and celebrating together, without peer pressure, and a beer in their hand. 

We saw many students find their worth despite the horrible things their families call them: worthless, loser, mistake, freak,  lost, disgrace etc.... God has worked in many mighty ways through us, and we continue to seek him to help heal some of the students from camp of so much brokenness. 

New Years

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! We just got back from Summer Harvest Camp and spending the new year (80's style) with 200 youth camping in a cow field! We saw many lives transformed, walls broken down, and the Holy spirit move in mighty ways. I will spend a bit of time tomorrow uploading some videos, photos, and posting pictures of the Harvest Event. So please check back later on in the evening for that!
We hope you had a very blessed and happy New Year!