Wanaka to Christchurch
Final week in Wanaka was terrific!
Wanaka Community Presbyterian Church
January 20 -27: Sunday service at Wanaka Community Church was rich with the presence of the Lord and an abundance of Divine appointments. Neil Cowee, retired Presbyterian pastor, shared special prayers during the service and afterward Charley bee-lined over and thanked him for the encouragement. Later in the week Charley had a 2 hour God-amazing time at his home! At church, we also met Pastor Derek Philips from Kings Church in Christchurch. We set up a meeting the next day and he debriefed us on the city's “needs” and the schism happening in the Anglican Church in Christchurch with the disassociation of several churches. We were also introduced to David Wilson, a member of Wanaka Presbyterian, who explained his son’s part in leaving the Anglican Communion in Christchurch and provided his contact info that we might encourage him on our arrival in CC. Charley is a “cradle-born Episcopalian” and we both experienced much of the same schism pain that occurred in America in the mid-1990s while we actively ministered in the Episcopal Church. Charley's story has been encouraging for those having to make this difficult decision and transition to start over again.
Poike Night at The Zula
Tuesday evening we once again had a great “Poike” dinner at The Zula Lodge, the Israeli ministry in Wanaka. We had so many rich one on one conversations with the guests. At every Zula Lodge community meal on Tuesday and Friday night (Shabbat) the Gospel is shared which generates lots of inquiries and discussions. On Wednesday, Charley enjoyed a long relationship building meeting with Pastor Wayne Ward from New Life Church (Wanaka) while Rebecca prayer walked in town. Learning that we were heading to Invercargill the following Monday, Wayne offered for us to stay at his family home in Riverton which has an amazing Christian history only a few miles from Invercargill. Wednesday evening was a special dinner outing with the managers of The Zula Lodge, Chris and Uta Nel. It was a joy to bless them before we left.
Prepping Shabbat Dinner at The Zula
Building relationships: Thursday, Rebecca maintained her daily prayer walking in Wanaka and the many relationships with guests and volunteers at The Zula. Charley was with new friends at the Wanaka Tennis Center. Friday morning was spent with Charley’s new friend, retired pastor Neil Cowee.
Morning devotions at Zula Lodge
That evening we were at The Zula Lodge for Shabbat. Charley was asked to share the Gospel and his testimony with the 35 Israelis in attendance and Rebecca closed praying the Lord's Prayer in Hebrew. A very special evening. Earlier in the week, Charley had also been asked to give the devotional teaching for The Zula volunteers. It was a precious time with these dedicated, young Christians.
Saturday night street ministry with John (center)
As always, Saturday night we ministered with evangelist John Masters with his “barbeque ministry” to those on the street late night in Wanaka. We had the joy of being the food suppliers providing the sausages, potatoes, and onions on our last Saturday night. A small blessing for our friend John who has maintained this ministry for 10 years! Bleary eyed the next morning, we were off to Wanaka Community Church and New Life Church Sunday. A special day of worship and contacts. Our final evening, we had John and Louise Masters over and enjoyed celebrating communion and dinner together. They shared some amazing God-encounters experienced with their street ministry. Time to pack up for our trip to the southern tip of New Zealand on the way to Christchurch
With Katie and Mikala on Milford Sound
January 28th: Our journey began to Christchurch through Invercargill and Dunedin. As we left Wanaka, I received an email from Neil Cowee encouraging us to make sure we visited his friend, Pastor Ian Wright, at the Invercargill Christian Center. (Neil had ministered in Invercargill.) On our way south, we enjoyed a side trip to Milford Sound and as God seems to do with us He introduced us to two young adults - meet Katie and Mikala, both nurses from the US. (We're still learning how to take selfies!) We loved our stay in Pastor Wayne’s home in Riverton and then off to Invercargill.
With Dayle and Ian Wright
We dropped into the Invercargill Christian Center to see if we might meet founding Pastor Ian Wright. Sure enough, he and his wife Dayle were both available and within no time we felt like we had known them for years. Our short drop-by turned into 5 hours of joy and relationship with them and several members of their staff.
The God smack revelation! As it turns out, Ian sent two of his associate pastors to Christchurch to minister in the City Center post-earthquake. The church they lead there is City Church, the same church the Lord introduced me to in September - the same one lead by Pastors Garth Po and Ysrial Clunies-Ross! This was a huge confirmation! Only God can orchestrate these Divine appointments. As we say at Highlands Community Bible Church in NC, “God’s got this!”
Pastor Ian and Charley at Bluff NZ
One of the highlights of the day was when Ian felt we should go with him to the most southern tip of New Zealand south of Invercargill to the town of Bluff which he declared is “the utmost place on earth”! We had some sweet prayer time there for New Zealand, Invercargill, and Christchurch! Interestingly, he has taken many international guest speakers down to this spot including Loren Cunningham, the founder of YWAM (Youth with a Mission). We say interestingly because we are mission trained by YWAM at the University of the Nations, the mother ship of YWAM. One final aside. We are always seeking the man of peace in all the cities we go to. Ian is referred to by many of his peers in the Southland lovingly as the “Bishop of Invercargill”.
Finally, we made it to Dunedin and settled in for a couple of days! Our time there was spent often prayer walking and learning about the city. We had been told that there was a church on every corner, however, sadly some of the buildings are no longer churches at all - see the pic below of the "Chapel Apartments" located downtown.
Chapel Apartments, Dunedin NZ
While in Dunedin, our pastor friend, Ian, at Wanaka Community Church had encouraged us to reach out to a Godly evangelical, charismatic Vicar, Stu Crossen, who has stepped away with 80% of his congregation from the NZ Anglican Communion and started a new worship center, Hope Church. He was welcoming and we had a great visit ending with an anointed albeit short time of prayer. We have now arrived in Christchurch which we have been prepping for - the next part of our deployment!!
Stay tuned – more to come!