The Hogans are on a Mission

It feels kinda surreal to be leaving this place. As I look over the photos of the last couple of months we have had so many adventures here, met so many amazing people and done so many things. It’s going to be sad to leave.  When we travel, we don’t like being tourists; we love getting to know and live like the locals and I think we have achieved that here. We have explored this area well and returned many times to some of our favourite spots like Sailors Grave. We have also had the chance to check out a fair bit of the Coromandel including Whitianga, Coromandel town and Broken Hills in the Coromandel Forest Park. In our original pre-COVID plan, we were meant to be in Fiji now on a month long trip checking out what will be our home one day and to help decide what we need to take there, whilst also helpin g out on a couple of local jobs. Instead we have been able to slow down and enjoy an extended stay in a small beach town in the winter. Sailor's Grave - a favourite local beach to ...

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, bal...

Well we did it, we made it to the start line. Here we are, in Pirongia, officially Full Time Volunteers with MMM NZ . The start of a new season. The beginning of a new marathon to race and it totally feels like we have just stepped into a different world, a new adventure. We found our new home in Pirongia at the end of the rainbow As we look back over the last month, it is crazy how long ago lockdown now seems. We are so grateful that we live in a country that has been able to control Covid-19 so far. We have so many freedoms, that so many around the world can only dream of. When I think back to lockdown, the thing I found hardest was losing my village. The people that I have done life with for the last 5 years, that have helped me through some crazy times and just everyday life. I had to do life without them, and that was hard, did I mention that 4 year old boys are not made for lockdown?! Trip 1 = All the big stuff fits! I am so thankful that we were able to leave in level 2 where th...

What a weird time we live in right? We are totally living history… even if there is another pandemic in our lifetimes, countries and governments will be way more clued up (well maybe some more that others) and likely respond a lot differently - you’d hope so anyway! Yet here we find ourselves having just survived 8 weeks and more (the kids had colds before level 4 so weren’t allowed at school) with 3 kids in lockdown - what a surreal experience.  Throughout this time I know different people have had to deal with a huge range of different thoughts, feelings and situations, whether it be boredom, anxiety, loneliness, financial pressure, work stress, exhaustion, or a desperate need for a rest or some time out. While others, like Josh, have loved every moment to take a break from the busyness of life and enjoy some time out. Some may have felt all of these feelings on different days at different times… either way, everyone was living it out at the same time and now we need to work out ...

Sounds like a fiction book for kids, not a reality. However, here we are in this state of ‘pause’.   Our teddy bears in the window I know for a lot of people life has just got a whole lot more complicated, how do families juggle 2 parents working from home, while also having 3 kids to manage? Or for others the struggles are that you no longer have a reliable income for your family and the uncertainty around what exactly that looks like. I have other friends and family right now stuck in isolation alone or single parents alone with their kids or managing co-parenting in an isolated way. I have family and friends in essential services, having to regularly go out into the community and be prepared to make themselves invincible to the virus. I know it is a scary time for those that are immune-compromised or with family who are. Then there are others who are learning to live with family in a closer way than they have ever had to before! Whatever the situation, we ar...

What a crazy time we seem to be living in?! Nothing is certain anymore and you don’t quite know what the next day will bring! At least we know that we serve a God who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow! (Hebrews 13:8) But amidst the craziness of life we are still quietly working away at preparing ourselves, our kids and our house for our next phase of leaving Waikanae to work full time with MMM. This last month started with an unplanned hospital stay and operation for Gabrielle after she missed the 3rd monkey bar when jumping straight for it at school. She had been getting more and more confident on the bars, learning lots of new tricks before saying to an older girl, “look what I can do!” and then proceeding to fall and do a decent job of breaking her elbow. She was very brave, barely making a peep right up until getting the IV line put in her hand for surgery… then she let a whole lot of feelings out and everyone knew about it. Unfortunately she gets to do this part of the ...