After the February quake some of you donated to us financially and others sent money asking that we use it to donate to help others. We have donated here and there over the last several months. Here is a recent story of giving.

It all started a couple of months ago. I was volunteering down at the local primary school one morning when the principal asked me if I wanted to have a yogurt maker that was donated to their school from a company wanting to help them out at the quake. I said sure. When I got home, I opened the box to find three yogurt makers inside! Noah and I decided to sell one of them online and once the buyer showed up, we’d give it to them for free. It was just a simple gesture but it ended up that the buyer was a woman who had many kids and lost her home in the February quake. She was ecstatic to get a free yogurt maker. (What does this have to do with your giving? Keep reading!)

So then, a few weeks later we were at the youth home church and the mom who hosts the gatherings gave us another big box of donations that her friend from the north island sent down for quake victims. She said we could take what we needed and/or donate the rest somewhere. We knew the perfect person! The lady who bought the yogurt maker! So I emailed her, arranged to take the box to her (but she insisted on coming herself), and last night she showed up to receive the box of goods. She was very excited . Along with that, we gave her money from your donations! She was so happy and thankful.

It was a great opportunity to meet her and help her out in a small way. They have lost a lot because they did not have home insurance. But she is taking it well and having a great attitude. Thank you for your donations so we can help bless others!

I love how this story played out from someone donating a yogurt maker to the school… =)

A huge whopping thank you for your heart-felt GENEROSITY toward us since the Feb quake.

When we announced that Noah would be taking time off from his part-time job we were overwhelmed by the response of generosity. You sustained us, encouraged us, fed us, and blessed us. We are so thankful.

We wanted to update you that Noah has started up at his previous part-time job working from project to project. This is neither full-time or part-time. It’s a freelance position. It was a great blessing for Noah to be free from Feb 22 until now to be able to handle issues at the house, volunteer, meet with people, host events, spend time with guests, etc.. without the pressures of working.

At this time we have decided that it’s good timing for him to return to a freelance position so that his hours are flexible. But this means our income will still be unsteady. We are not in the same need for financial support as earlier but we welcome anything you have to give as it frees up time to engage in “ministry”. Thank you for loving us in this way. I can’t comprehend it and want to hug each of you and thank you face to face. We ask God to return your blessing doubly.

We are so grateful for your compassion and prayers for us during this wild ride!
Thank you for lifting us up! I’ll always remember the days following the quake
that I could literally feel the difference… your prayers totally covered us and helped us.
We appreciate you!!!!

If you are interested, Kate is selling photograph card sets that have stitching embellishments.
These are photos she took around NZ. Go here to check them out + order!

In Christ ~ K + N

Hi Friends + Family!

Wow, so many things have been happening in 2011 around the world. I don’t think anyone hasn’t taken note of all the unusual activity. The earth is definitely rumbling and societies are going through shifts. The times are changing. That’s for sure.

As you think on all the issues in the world, it’s hard to process it all. We don’t blame you for being sick of hearing about all our earthquake drama! But if you think of us, please pray around the following topics:

1. That God would impart strength, resilience and revelation to His followers in this season of upheaval in Christchurch. Everyone is feeling a bit defeated.

2. That Christians would step up to be used to bring the good news!

3. That the folks who don’t know the Lord yet would be blessed with His peace and revelation… and that God would open hearts, water the soil, and prepare this land for revival.

For us, we ask for prayers about strength, resilience, fortitude, revelation, protection, health, emotional stability, etc.

Thank you so much.
We heart you.

Here is some footage from Monday’s 6.3 quake.

You can read all about the recent quakes we had on June 13, here at Kate’s blog.

Included are photos + video footage.

This TV special was recently posted online. As the website is NOT ACCESSIBLE in the USA, you can click HERE to download and watch it. (Or if you’re in NZ, just click the image.)

It features a great look into what happened during the first few days after the quake, from the point of view of a police crew that came into help from out of town. Please have a look. It’s hard for us to watch since every shot is a recognizable place/landmark. We heart Christchurch!!

Our lovely neighbors watched their collapsed house get demolished today. They said that though it’s heartbreaking to see, they are glad they don’t have to look at it anymore. They are living in the backyard, in a caravan and have seeing their eerily crushed home every moment since February 22, with the inability to recover any items. They have been building a temporary shower in the meantime, and have been showering down the street at the tennis court complex. Today they were able to salvage some things a few times, when debris was lifted and moved around. This was truly heartbreaking to watch. With your donations were were able to give them some grocery vouchers (a couple months ago) and we will be giving them some cash next time we go over. Tomorrow we hope to have them over for dinner if they are available!

They look forward to rebuilding their new home. Please pray for them as they work with insurance to get the cost covered for demo + rebuild. They’ve had a really tough time nailing down help. Prayers appreciated.

BEFORE:

It’s been an honor to hang out with a particular group of university-aged kids this year.

Since late January/early February?? we’ve been meeting up with a family who has two kids who are 17 + 19. We were connected to them by a mutual friend on the north island. They were keen to start a house church//youth gathering, so we were asked to help get something going.

We’ve been meeting every two weeks and facilitating gatherings, but last night we launched an idea on them so they could transition into leading themselves. We have a passion to see believers not just attend something run by someone else, but actively participate and step up into leading themselves.

We introduced the loose structure of “Eat. Think. Pray. Love.” which is a rotation schedule of themes for each gathering with the purpose of creating a more holistic experience where everyone can sign up to facilitate the gathering.

Eat nights: a time for getting to know each other better, having fun, eating a meal together, games, events, etc. a good time for friends to come along to a “non-threatening” gathering

Think nights: a time to listen to a message/read scripture/meditate on scripture/discuss a topic/an opportunity for someone to speak/sermonize!

Pray nights: a time to pray for one another, pray for issues in the city, prayer walk, worship, attend a worship event/a time for ministry/healing etc.

Love nights: a time to outreach/volunteer into the community, help neighbors, plan a weekend outreach event, talk about global issues that we can educate ourselves about + support..

So all the kids signed up with a partner to host/facilitate a night.

I’m looking forward to seeing what they do and how it goes!

Here is some audio of them from last night… though you might be interested to hear the accents!

Meet the Uni Group by KateCrem

I have to mention Sally here also! Basically on the first gathering this familiar-looking girl walks in, telling me she already knows me, but I couldn’t place her. It ends up that we actually were digging out liquefaction together last September after the first earthquake. We were a part of a cleanup effort in a particular neighborhood and quietly worked together for a few hours. Then about 5 months later she walks into this youth gathering at the house! Super cool living in Christchurch… always running into people you know/or who look familiar! Small town!