We know this amazing lady named Mel who has her hands in a lot. She basically lives to serve. One of the things she does, when she’s not running her house as a drop-in center, is help people clean out their homes… in particular… people who hoard. I don’t actually know how she gets in contact with these people. I’ll find out sometime soon I’m sure, but yea, last night we got the youth home church to get together and move all the junk out of this house… then had a pizza dinner after. It was great to help out, but it was also quite horrifying that people live this way. I don’t want to go into too many details, but it smelled, was filthy and cobwebs and mold all over. But will a lot of hands we got it done pretty quick.

Tonight Noah was at a house church meeting and Mary (our housemate), Steve (her best friend slash boyfriend? hee hee) and I met and prayed with a girl they have been discipling (“S”). We processed through and prayed through some of her past—about things that were done to her, the pain she has, and issues she faces now (prostitution, addictions, etc)… then ended up going out to the beach for an impromptu “burning the past” ceremony… basically we wrote down some of the main events in her past that scarred her, and tore them up, dug a hole in the sand, set them on fire and watched them burn. Then we stomped on them, danced around, praised God and came home and baptized her in our tub! “S” has been trying to turn her life around this last month and been relying on several friends who have supported her through the process (Mary, Steve and others). “S” has been living here for almost 2 weeks and will be moving out this Saturday.

In the right place at the right time.
That’s how I feel about our meeting Rob M.

Yesterday I had that lovely craft morning with Karen.
Afterward, before leaving that neighborhood,
I thought I’d stop by the relief center to see Mary and “S”.

While there I found out about Rob M. who had called the center,
asking if he could get some food delivered to his house. Mary
had spoken to him, telling him some numbers for some ministries
and churches that deliver food parcels. But it was too late on a
Friday afternoon and he was unable to request anything until
Monday.

Mary relayed all this to me and said that he mentioned he had
an injury, he was taking care of his disabled son, and that he
was unable to afford groceries at this time.

I felt awful and remembered that we have some extra money
from donations people sent to us in February. We plan to do
some food delivery for other families next Wednesday with
that same money.

So I got Rob’s number from Mary and called him, asking
what kinds of things he likes or needs. He was the nicest guy!
He said, “I don’t know what to say!! Thank you!” and then
when I asked what kinds of sweets he wants (after getting the list
of the more nutritious staples he needed) he said, “Ohhh wow,
I don’t know! We haven’t had those in awhile!”

Today we went to PakNSave and bought a bunch of groceries.
It is so amazing to be able to do that for someone. Thank you
to all our donors!!!

So we drove into his neighborhood which is just north of ours.
It was a really messed up area (from earthquake damages). We
showed up and he walked out smiling. I immediately noticed
his right arm was pulled up to his side and I asked about it. He
mentioned having several surgeries (free healthcare here) from
injuries and some benign cancer. The nerves in his arms no
longer work and he hurts it often because of that.

Once inside we noticed what a disaster the home is in.
We found out later that due to flooding (from rencent snow melt
in his broken roof from earthquake) that the house has tons of
water damage. Everything was in disorder.

Then after talking awhile he mentioned that he couldn’t afford
groceries in the last few weeks because money went to the
cleaning up of the house issues.

As we helped him put away groceries I noticed the empty fridge,
bare shelves… I handed him a hunk of cheese and he “ooh’ed and ahh’ed”,
saying, “Cheese!” clearly expressing he hadn’t had any in awhile!

At one point I said, “I don’t know if you’re a believing man,
but we’d love to pray for you if that’s OK,” and he was happy
for us to, so that was great. I prayed and he seemed really touched.
He kept his head bent down after and murmured,
“That was really touching. No one’s done that for me before.”

Wow. It was one of those beautiful moments.

Before we left he shared with us some more
bad news of things that have happened in the past.
Both of his children (now 18, 23) were raped at young ages.
Gut wrenching. The kids’ mum left when they were young.
He’s raised them and cared for them through all this time
and has been there for them emotionally as well.

He has suffered a lot. He has worked different jobs
but cannot do a lot at the moment due to his arm. And
he mentioned they have no family around, and not a lot
of friends. My heart broke.

We all need community.
We need love and hugs and support.
And prayer.

It was a pleasure to meet him. He has such a great attitude.
He is so caring of his kids and his 3 dogs who he rescued.
We hope to be in his life more.

As we left his house he said, “Thanks again for praying for me!”
And I said laughingly, “Anytime you want it, we can pray! Just ask!”

I literally just wanted to go back and pray, pray, pray
that very second. But I didn’t want to overwhelm him!

We hope to invite them all over for dinner soon.
We’ll keep you updated!

If I hadn’t of swung by the center
we never would have had this
interaction. I love being at the right
place at the right time. So many
opportunities are around us to
love people and take care of each
other…

Hello Faithful Friends + Family!

Thanks for checking in on our happenings! Here are few tidbits.

• Sewer is still unfixed from the February quakes, as well as other major repairs. Waiting for assessments and insurance. We had a tree removed that had sunken down (into a sinkhole) and it was falling over into the sidewalk/road.

• We have a new housemate, Mary, who works with YWAM/Grace Vineyard Church. She is originally from England. We have been talking and praying about how we can partner together in some ministry ideas we have brewing. We currently also have a young lady (who I shall call “S” on here) staying with us temporarily who is Kiwi. Mary has been discipling her the last month. “S” recently left the streets and gave her life to God. Mary met her through the outreach/support center at her church. Mary’s love, compassion and patience in this situation blows me away and it has been an honor to witness her unselfish commitment to “S’s” well being.

• We have been hosting monthly group dinners with two other couples. We rotate homes and invite friends. It’s been a cool way to meet one another’s friends, grow our community circle and love on people. This week we hosted a “Christmas in July” themed dinner at our house.

• We have been brainstorming with two specific ministry projects and would appreciate your prayer as we also pray through them! One involves city-wide organic church, the other involves city-wide prayer. Pray for people to come along to partner with these and that we’d only do what we feel God leads us into!

• Tutoring is going well, as well as various volunteering efforts.

• Please pray for our HEALTH, SAFETY, PEACE and PERSEVERANCE!

• If you have any design needs please get ahold of Noah or pass on his name to people who may need his skills! And if you need any gift ideas, please check out Kate’s hand-stitched photo cards! Price includes shipping.

LOVE YOU!

I love those times when God arranges something you had nothing to do with.

Today we paid our YWAM fees for living in this house. Several months worth.

A couple hours later a friend donated the exact same amount into our account.

This friend told us he felt God had led him to do it.

He didn’t know about our fees or our needs.

Thank you to GOD and our friend for listening and being generous with your hard-earned money!!!

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!!