OK, this post is supremely overdue. There's been loads happening in these parts!
The students have been off for what feels like ages, and before conference this meant that I spent a lot of my time in the office getting prepped for conference. It was good to have this time to plan some things and prepare bible studies and various things for conference. There are also some things like the sign to the left that manage to brighten things up. Folk at BCNZ clearly need help with descending the stairs...
Was also great to have Sarah Chrin staying with me for the week. She has just arrived in NZ to do the same thing as me but down in Lincoln on South Island. It was good to see her, to introduce her to the exciting sights and sounds of Auckland. It happened to be one of the worst weeks of weather ever - having to be rescued in the middle of a thunder/lightening/hailstone storm is nothing if not a bit exciting!
National Conference
The theme of the conference was 'Lives that Count' and it truly was such an amazing opportunity to get together with students and staff from across the country, to pray and praise our God together. It was great to see the students be totally impacted by so much of what happened: conversations with students from other places; teaching from Acts - sowing expectantly, widely and tweeting the gospel; praising God with I Am Not Ashamed and Santo,Santo,Santo; visiting a Buddhist Temple and being charmed at the Islamic Centre; seeing folk rising to the challenge of various world record attempts; perusing the bookstall with interested students, willing to read and find out more. A massive job was done by so many to make it all possible. The highlight for me was leading a seminar on the basics of the faith for those who wanted to find out more. So great to sit at a conference like that with folk who hadn't yet made a commitment but were willing to come along an find out a bit more about it. Great chat, great study in John3, brill questions and what followup over lunch. This is what its all about!
Had a week or so of back to the office stuff after some time off and then this past week went roadtripping with some of the AUTers down to Palmerston North and Wellington. It really was a fantastic trip. So great spend time with the bunch from AUT - pretty much my NZ family - to laugh, have fun, chat, sing, nap but also have some really quality conversation about important stuff, study Jude and experience some amazing hospitality down south. We were seriously wowed everywhere we went with how generous people were and we came away so encouraged by our fellow believers, the way they are standing for him in those places - what a challenge and an encouragement as to how God is using people.
"To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen." [Jude 24-5]
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