The Seasons of Change

They say that the only thing that we can be sure of in life is change and that pretty much sums it up for our family right now.

It has been about 6 weeks since I last wrote and we have slept in 6 different places in that time. The last 6 weeks have been so jam packed, we have done so much and seen so many places and people. They have been good, crazy, busy, chaotic, exciting, fun, but also at times, kinda hard and full on.

Ignite Sport project, Lower Hutt

Our first project on the road away from Pirongia was meant to be in Auckland in June, however due to Covid-19 this job was cancelled. Around the time I heard this, I read a newsletter from ‘Ignite Sport’ in Lower Hutt. They have a building project converting a football clubrooms into a purpose built venue for their organisation. “Ignite Sport is a volunteer-based youth development organisation offering a unique delivery style. Using sport and recreation to engage, Ignite Sport encourages young people to consider character, values, balance and heart.” Having grown up in Lower Hutt, I knew a lot of people that had been involved with this organisation and knew a bit about what they did and we were keen to get onboard and help them out. Ignite Sport ran my sister Lucy's leadership training as a head student at Hutt Valley High School last year and Roy played in a couple of their Sports camp teams at Totara Springs Christian Centre years ago. I asked a few questions and next thing we knew after all our goodbyes to family and friends in Kāpiti and Lower Hutt, we were heading back to down for a couple of weeks for Roy to work with Ignite Sport.

It is only the beginning of a big project for them, they had recently missed out on some significant funding, and it was good timing for them to be encouraged and see the start of their building transformation. 

Out and about with Lucy on Te Whiti Riser, Lower Hutt

Being in Lower Hutt also gave us a good chance to spend some quality time with family and speak at a couple of churches that we had planned to share at before lockdown flipped everyone's lives upside down. One of these was Petone Baptist, the church I grew up in, the other a Fijian service that is held at that church in the afternoon. It was a lot of fun being in a Fijian speaking environment, though I am not sure we have ever experienced a Fijian church service in the cold before! 

At Bell Park with some of the Ignite Sport team

Roy spent a few days working at our house in Waikanae, re-roofing the shed after discovering a nail bucket full of water (coincidentally placed in the perfect spot to catch the drips) when we were packing the shed. We are very thankful for the friends that were able to help out on the job. 

We made the most of being on the Kāpiti Coast by having all 3 kids do a week-long block course of swimming lessons. With living in Fiji still our long term goal, the idea of having the kids as competent swimmers as possible is pretty important to us… Caleb might have all the confidence in the world, but he needs to learn a few tricks to keep him safe! Their swim school in Kāpiti is awesome too, so worth the trip back for. It was great to also be in Wellington for my Grandad’s 90th birthday celebration in this time.

Caleb learning some tricks

While in Waikanae we were able to have a commissioning service at our church, St Luke's Waikanae. Howard Robinson, the Director of MMM NZ spoke, which was a great way to help our church better understand the work of MMM. It was so good to be back with people who have walked the journey with us over the last 5 years and supported us all the way. A great send off, we will miss our church whānau there a lot. But also know it will always be home and know they have our back and appreciate their ongoing support and prayers. 

St Francis Church project, Tairua

Since June 20 we have been in Tairua, on the Coromandel Peninsula. Roy is leading a team working on St Francis Anglican Church, a small congregation run completely by volunteers, including a very popular op shop that is able to help support the church and community. Our kids have enjoyed taking their pocket money over to buy some treasures! The church had a large window at one end of their building that was rotten in places, so they are taking the opportunity to add an entrance way and foyer in place of the window that will make the use of the building more practical. 

Caleb's thoughts on the progress to date... 

We have been able to use the opportunity so far to explore the area with the kids - there is so much to see and do around here. We have done bike rides and walks, explored beaches and on the weekend we went to Cathedral Cove, Hot Water Beach and were able to visit friends in Pauanui. The kids loved Hot Water Beach and are keen to go back… but who wouldn’t love lying in hot water at the beach for a couple of hours in the middle of winter?!

Our highly efficient Hot Water Beach technique

Other Thoughts...

We have successfully received school exemptions for Josh and Gabrielle which allows them to legally be educated at home, so now we have started incorporating some more structured learning times but are also enjoying being able to learn from the environments we are in. This has been a learning curve for all, but also fun to tie it in with their interests. Josh and Gabrielle continue to compete against each other in ‘Simply Piano,’ spending lots of time practicing. Josh has also been working his way through an online ‘Red Panda Challenge’ through The Red Panda Network to become a virtual ranger and is always rattling off Red Panda facts. Did you know they are escape artists and one actually recently escaped its enclosure at the Columbus Zoo?

I see the kids growing in resilience as they are continually put in new experiences, situations and with new people. This is something that couldn’t be learnt if they weren’t put outside of their comfort zones. 

At Cathedral Cove with the self-timer and a log for the win

So there has been lots to keep us busy and explore, but also heaps of change. I have been reminded that one thing we can be sure of in life and in our new journey is that there will be different seasons, but none of them last forever and even in the depths of the dark winters where there maybe a lot of chaos and confusion, the new life of spring isn’t too far away… but we need those hard bits to learn how to persevere so we can really grow when spring comes. 

It may be a surprise to some that I don’t actually like going to new places and meeting new people all the time, I actually quite like just being around the people I already know well. But as I walked alone along Tairua’s Ocean Beach one evening looking out at the incredible view I was reminded that sometimes you gotta make yourself vulnerable and uncomfortable to see the beauty that was there all along. I wouldn’t have been able to see that view or had the experiences our family have had in the last 6 weeks if we were still living our comfortable lives in Waikanae. The kids all told me that as the week of their swimming lessons went on, it got easier and I think it’s true, doing new stuff isn’t always easy… but slowly it becomes easier when you keep at it. 

Mount Paku leading down to the ocean and Motuhoa/Shoe Island

We continue to be humbled and overwhelmed by the generosity, encouragement, support and prayers of so many people who help us negotiate these changing seasons.

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