Term 3 2021… another term that differs from the plan we set, who would’ve thought that would happen?! 😆😬
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| Token family selfie |
Time in the Hawkes Bay
We started term 3 with a couple of weeks based in Hastings. Roy was working in Elsthorpe, which was a very beautiful 45 min drive from where we were staying. Luke and Jess Collis who head up ‘Unashamed’ - an evangelistic youth outreach ministry - have moved a house onto a section there and are working towards getting their off-grid house liveable.
In the two weeks we had there, we (along with the MMM Team that joined us) managed to do quite a bit, Including:
Building a new deck and continuing on with a partly done one
Building a shed to house the solar and water pump equipment
Demolishing an old ranch slider and porch, reframing the wall and installing new bi-folds
Interior plastering, painting and some curtain making
Other team members helped the plumber who was onsite the first week to get his paid work done faster
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| A man with a plan |
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| Well, why not? |
It was a great couple of weeks there, not just exploring the Hawkes Bay, but the section at Elsthorpe is pretty amazing too. So serene and beautiful. It will definitely be a nice place for the Collis’ to retreat to with a busy ministry life.
The kids really enjoyed going out to the building site and getting a taste of farm life. We also spent a lot of time chilling out at the house where we were staying watching a lot of Olympics. The kids were all very interested in this and it led to a lot of research into different countries, languages and designing their own flags and countries.
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| Te Mata Peak gives amazing panoramas of Hawkes Bay |
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| Just the guy we needed to hold the sheets together for a minute |
Lockdown in the hometown
We then headed back to Waikanae for a project at St Luke's Anglican, our home church. We were blessed with house-sitting only 1km up the road from the house that we own, it was so nice to be back in our home town for a decent stint. St Luke’s had some long term plumbing issues in the kitchen and bathroom that required completely stripping out the rooms, so they could be re-plumbed and put back together.
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| Some helpful volunteers who are always looking for a photo opportunity |
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Josh and Kathy putting on the carpet protection film
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| Water going where it shouldn't = bad |
Things were humming along nicely until everything got put on a two week hold. The day we were all told of the pending Level 4 lockdown, Roy and Josh went back at night for a last minute effort to put on the three remaining weatherboards that were on the to-do list for the next day. Once back in Level 3, the project was able to continue but at a slower pace due to the restrictions around working alongside other people and trades. All this meant a bit of reshuffling with the dates for our next MMM projects adding extra time in Waikanae. In hindsight this was a blessing in disguise, enabling us to deal with several other side-issues we uncovered as we worked on the main task.
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| Night mission complete! It rained lots over the lock down too, so a worthwhile effort |
Being in Waikanae for a longer period of time also gave us a great chance to properly catch up with family, friends and our church community. It was really refreshing to be back ‘home’ again and part of it all. This included being able to celebrate Josh’s 11th birthday with a family game at ‘Lazer Strike’, totally recommended. Thank you so much to all our family, friends and church family who helped us slot back into Waikanae life again so easily. It has become a bit of a joke in our family that when asked, “where are you from?” no one knows what to say anymore. It is at least nice to feel at home in Waikanae. We did hit the ground running being there, which was really nice to be busy and feel like part of the community.
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| The old 'tub of ice cream and random candles from the drawer' trick. |
Being constantly on the road and going to new places all the time gives us lots of opportunity to explore new places and meet some amazing people, but can be tricky to constantly make new friends and there is not always much for the kids and I to do. Our lives really can look very different from job to job with what we get up to, how we can get involved and what we do.
Being at our home church, the kids and I took the opportunity to get involved wherever and whenever we could while Roy worked. We enjoyed helping out with the ‘Friday Foodshare’, which is how the food bank now runs at our church. If people are in need, they can come to our church on a Friday morning and receive free food, no questions asked. If you are in Kāpiti and know someone in need, let us know and we will get them in touch with the right people. This became a real highlight for our kids, they got to buy items from the supermarket, choosing what they thought would be useful for someone at the foodshare. They would then watch with anticipation and excitement as someone would choose the items they had bought. They also loved building relationships with the preschoolers who came along. It is special to see them growing hearts of compassion and thinking about practical ways they can help people in need.
We also enjoyed helping out with lots of other jobs around the church, we were definitely all kept super busy in Waikanae and loved every moment of it.
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| Preparing for the Friday Foodshare. So many viable egg puns to use here but I just couldn't do it |
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Testing the cupboards from the old kitchen joinery still work after their relocation
to the Foodshare room. |
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| Vacuuming sawdust is extremely satisfying |
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| Many hands make light work |
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| The perfect spot for some school work |
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| This kid is pretty accurate when it comes to marking measurements |
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Re-configuring the kitchen cabinet to fit around a concrete pillar
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| Josh informing me that I had missed a bit of gib |
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The kids with Serenity, who along with her Grandparents, (Kathy
pictured earlier), were included in our extended level 3 bubble |
New Adventures in the South Island
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| A Spring day's outing to Whites Bay, near Blenheim |
We carried on South at the right time though, as COVID started creeping its way down the country. We left the North Island about the same time parts of the Waikato went into lockdown. It has been awesome to be able to come to Blenheim to help support a missionary family also supported by St Luke’s (who usually live in Central Asia). They are home for a short period of time with a rental home that needs a bit of TLC. It is nice to support and encourage them in what they are doing. Our kids have enjoyed hanging out with their kids as well as Serenity who came down with us from Waikanae for the holidays (with her Grandma, Kathy). Kathy has been an amazing support to Roy on the building site both in Waikanae and here in Blenheim. It has been so nice having some familiar faces with us a little bit longer. If you would ever like to join us for a time, we are always keen for others to tag along. We even have lots of projects coming up with extra accommodation available. No previous building experience required! Just drop us a line, we would love to chat more about it.
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| Saying goodbye to the North Island from aboard The Interislander |
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| Roy and Ronnie replacing a bedroom floor in Blenheim |
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| Rachael cleaning up after the floor was completed |
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| Full credit to whoever made this epic drift-wood fort on Rarangi Beach! Also this is the place to come for a lifetime supply of skimming stones |
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| A dusk adventure to Seymour Square in Blenheim |
The Future
We have now reached 3 months since we left our home base of Pirongia, although we weren’t there much the month before leaving either. We have a couple more months until we get back there at which time we will definitely need all our summer clothes. For now we are still planning to get as far south as Queenstown before returning for Christmas in Wellington.
Fiji has said they are opening up again to some countries, including NZ, as soon as December 1st, however we are still waiting for the final work permit paperwork for Roy and the kids to be allowed in. Assuming festivals go ahead this summer (which is anyone's guess to whether they actually will), we have commitments in New Zealand until the end of January. It feels like a lot could change in New Zealand between now and then. So we will see how the next few months go… but maybe, just maybe, we have seen our last winter for a while!
If you haven’t checked out our blog before or are interested in reading past posts you can do that here.
We thank you again for all your prayers, support and encouragement. We really do appreciate you all,
Roy, Rachael, Josh, Gabrielle and Caleb/Kelepi
Some bonus pictures
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The Faraday Centre in Napier is one of the best hands-on museums
we have been to (and we're getting to be museum experts) |
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