Answered prayers and final North Island ventures

 September- our final month in Taranaki before we begin the trek south. With the departure of so many volunteers at the end of August, the start of September felt very quiet. The building work continued on with Chris, Marty and the Ogdens on site. It wasn’t long before the outside painting of the building was finished and we were saying farewell to the Ogdens. It was a pleasure to have them with us for over a month- leaving their home and family in Auckland to volunteer with MMM over the coming year. 

A before and after of the exterior of Kauri Lodge once  deck and exterior painting completed

At times the building work felt slow and tedious- going back and forth between the architect, council and specialist fire proofing companies, trying to come up with a plan that satisfied all parties. When we finally reached the point of booking a council inspection there was a small sense of nervousness given the previous issues. As the date approached it looked like there was more work to finish than volunteers and Chris decided it was obvious to delay the inspection…. But something still stopped him. The date loomed closer and closer and still Chris held off. Then, a few days before the inspection we got a call from some new friends from this year- the Fosters (from Highland Home Christian Camp in Pohangina valley who we served in March). They wanted to some help for a day. When? They were arriving tomorrow! It was so great to see our friends again (Hudson bolted for the door as soon as he heard the car arrive, very excited to see his friend Reuben again). And within a day with 3 sets of extra hands the ceiling insulation was completed and the inspection was go! Thanks to Chris’ diligence in communication with suppliers and the architect and the extra hands to finish all the tasks the eagle eyed inspector couldn’t find fault with the work and the final inspection we needed to be part of was done!  The Foster’s had no idea that their timing was crucial to our inspeciton time frame, and Chris would have cancelled the inspection the next day without their arrival. But this is how God seems to use people, He is after the willing and available, not just the skilled and able!

Matt, Stephan and Jen Foster all suited up for putting in the batts

We loved getting to see this family again!

There was still a reasonable amount of work to be done before we were due to leave and we were very thankful to see Mike Taylor, who had come at the beginning of the project, come back to power through the trims and architraves in great speed, and we also had several volunteers from St Andrew’s church come to help and bless the camp site with working hands. In the end, everything was going so well the team were also able to complete some urgent repairs on one of the other accomodation buildings (a leaking exposed wall)

MMM and St Andrew volunteers working on some of the final inside jobs of Kauri lodge before gib stopping

The girls helping to paint base boards before they go on

A before and after of the urgent repair work required on Weka lodge

For me, apart from the site work, most of the month fell into a regular rhythm/routine. For the kids there was schooling in the morning, I was busy preparing meals, home schooling and helping on site occasionally. We were grateful to be able to attend a homegorup with Grace Community Church during the week and attend St Andrew’s on Sunday.  The first Sunday of September Chris was given the opportunity to preach on Mark 14 and enjoyed getting to prepare and share God’s Word with our new church family there. He illustrated how Mt Taranaki is a glorious mountain, and if we wait for the clouds to move, we can see it in its glory, just like how God can move the clouds for us and show us the Glory of his son, Jesus, if we will look and listen. We also got the chance to see a couple more places before we departed Inglewood, the local farmlet/petting zoo and another mini golf course.

The girls at a black light mini golf course in New Plymouth

Stoney Oaks, a nearby farm and petting zoo, was a highlight for the kids

Our last week in Taranaki was the start of the school holidays and that meant camp ROLO! Hudson got to enjoy the experience of camp again before we left. Chris and I also got to get to talk to some kids at camp, and later pray for some who wanted prayer after the gospel night. Speaking to these kids was very eye opening and a reminder of the importance of the ministry of Vertical Horizon and MMM as a supporting ministry. Broken families was a common theme and for many of the kids a source of real distress for them. Camp is often something they really look forward to and a chance to be surrounded by older people who care and are ready to listen to their hurts, their hopes and dreams and also a chance for he the kids to feel the love of God through others.   

A glow stick man dance from one of the groups on talent night

 The campers at sometime singing "Our God is an awesome God"

It felt like we simply blinked and camp was over and suddenly we were packing the van and  the caravan. Over 3 months in one spot- there was a lot to do! One of the hardest parts of the process was the farewells. When we arrived at Pirongia nearly 9 months earlier we had no idea who Marty and Robyn McKone were (our mobile mission team counterparts) or how we would get on with them, and they with our kids! Over the year they had become like family and it was strange to think we weren’t going to be working and living side by side anymore. Now they were heading North to continue working with MMM in the North Island while we were going South. We also had to say goodbye to Paul, the Vertical Horizon’s director, and team and also to our New Plymouth church family St Andrew’s. We had arrived as strangers but were leaving with so many good friend. There were some tears, but we look forward to some of our new friends visiting us in Dunedin sometime (hint hint).

Afterwork farewell with the Vertical Horizon team (involving hitting golf balls over- or more often into- the pond)

Carl, a volunteer from St Andrew's, helped us a lot on the Vertical Horizon job and became a good friend

McMobiles final farewell

All packed and ready to hit the road again it is time to head South. E noho rā Taranaki

A beautiful reminder of our time in Taranaki gifted to us by the McKones

 

Praise points:

• That we got to handover point at Vertical Horizons- now the gib stopper, electrician and plumber take over before the staff due to final inside paint and the building will be useable!
• The encouragement given and recieved in Taranaki with our time there
• Thank God for the children who attended camp ROLO and pray that they will remember what they have learnt from camp- that the best place they can look for their identity is in God

Prayer points:

• For safe travelling over the next month as we are doing a lot of travel
• That the upcoming South Island projects would have many volunteers come and help