Our Fathers Love.....Have you ever.....?

Our Father's Love

Have you ever been in a situation which is very difficult for you personally and yet you know that God is just there arranging everything for you so that it's not sooo difficult. For instance when you notice a close friend or your own child struggling isn't it such a natural inclination to want to make it easier for them. You try to do all that you can to help them, not to remove the struggle but just to make it a little easier for them....Well that is how I experienced this trip to New Zealand with Joanna.....
Let me share how " The Fathers Love " was with us every step of the way.....

Overweight Luggage/ Expired Passport

As you can see we had a lot of luggage (including an acoustic guitar, electric guitar & amplifier) which is normal when you are immigrating isn't it??? It certainly is no joke when airport officials in Manila are telling you.... "Ma'am your luggage is extremely overweight! Can't you leave some stuff behind. This will be VERY expensive for you! " said the kind young man at the airport check in counter. "No I'm sorry but we cannot leave any of it behind. We will just have to pay." I replied." But ma'am it will be soooo expensive for you...You will need to pay at least $150 American Dollars! " he continued. Then I replied " Well I am sorry for that but you see we are missionaries and our daughter is leaving to study in New Zealand and she needs these things."
"Oh you are missionaries..they are missionaries..." he whispered along to his co-staff....After a little discussion together with them he waved me to come forward and whispered.."We will waive it this time Maám but please pray for my little boy as he is sick..." We profusely thanked him and promised to pray for his child..and then proceeded to Immigration. At this counter we had another difficulty as Joanna's Philippine's passport had expired a month ago and her NZ passport was without a visa for the Philippines...Once again we truly sensed 'Our Heavenly Father's Love' as airport officials after a brief discussion at their office returned and informed us they would also waive this as well. Needless to say we then had a very happy trip to NZ!

Joanna and I arrived safely in Auckland with all her luggage!

The Taylors picked us up from the airport and then we proceeded to the Taylor' s home in Auckland and were reunited with this precious family and our son.

Our dear friends the Taylor Family

For the past 20 years whenever we enter or exit New Zealand we stay with Kim & Donald Taylor and their children left to right Jesse, Jade, Jordan and Joshua. We would like to honour them at this time and show off this beautiful picture of their family taken last month. ( If I had a family picture like this I would show it off all over the place, wouldn't you?) Donald & Kim were here with us in YWAM Philippines in the late 80's and have so blessed us over the years in the way they take care of us on our trips in and out of NZ. Also our son Jonathan has been living with them from January up until last week! You guys are a great blessing to us!

After a few days in Auckland Kim drove us down to Mount Maunganui in the Bay Of Plenty which will be Joanna's new home.

Half way to the Mount we stopped at the township of Paeroa where Joanna was able to buy her favorite soda ' Lemon & Paeroa '. This soda is 'the best' and is 'World Famous in NZ since ages ago.'

Connecting with Family & Friends

One of our main goals for this trip was to have Joanna connect with our family & friends as an adult. We also felt it was important for her to feel a little oriented to where everyone lives in New Zealand in connection with where she will be living as she was only 15 when we were in NZ last. So for the next couple of weeks we toured around by bus or using my Dad's car. Thanks Dad! It was so good to drive in NZ again on such beautiful roads and to view the spectacular scenery as we travelled......

Here we are at Oakura Beach. My father and I were reminiscing of our holidays as a family and we even parked the car in the same spot that we had camped in the caravan as a family every summer for years. Those were the days full of barbeque's, surf, sand, friends & relatives, sunburned skin, blue-bottle stings, bonfires, sleeping bags and beach mission! Yes this was where I first responded to the salvation message and gave my heart to the Lord at the young age of 8 years.

Well you cannot visit New Plymouth and not drop by Pukekura Park..It was as beautiful as ever! Enjoy the following scenes all taken inside this special Park!

Here is Joanna getting a grip on her roots..haha. well she was born in New Plymouth!

Quiet time anyone?

We will certainly miss Joanna's craziness!

Th following pictures are glimpses of some of the days with Joanna and I connecting with family & friends throughout New Zealand.

Joanna visiting her Grandfather at his home in the retirement village in
New Plymouth

Catching up with her Uncle Charlie, Aunty Dianne & cousins Connagh & Thomas in Inglewood. Thanks for having us to stay in your beautiful home! Enjoyed your cooking Dianne!

Jamming with her cousin Thomas!

Hanging out with her cousins.

Visiting our dear friends Trevor & Christine Robinson and their lively, fun son David who live just besides Mt Taranaki ...They are another family that deserves special honour from us as they have faithfully been behind us in the ministry for many, many years....Christine also worked with me in the 1980s at the YWAM Nagtahan Centre in Manila...

Then we travelled 3 hours south to .........

.....Visit her Aunty Susan in Palmerston North who drove her through to Masterton an hour further south so that she could catch up with the Cruz family for the weekend.....thanks Susan!



Ray & Sue Cruz's home for dinner....great to catch up. Ray & Sue were with our staff in YWAM Family Ministries Philippines and Taiwan.


It was so good for her to have the weekend with her long time friends /neighbours here in Baguio... Aimee, Cassidy & Ellie Cruz ..thanks girls for taking good care of Joanna....


Meanwhile I went tramping with Susan in the Manawatu Gorge



Yes believe it or not I climbed all the way to the top!


It's a long way down to the car!


Thankfully there are no snakes in New Zealand!





Truly I made it to the top as well as Susan! Who do you think took this picture!!


OK then it was back north to Taranaki where we had time with other friends that I were not able to capture on camera..thanks to everyone else that made our stay so special!

Back in Inglewood where we were able to celebrate Dad's 82nd Birthday!

A grand age celebrated with a very small cake... we were all trying to lessen our calorie intake!

We then returned to Mount Maunganui to get Joanna started with her new life! Two days after our arrival she moved into her new home with the Morton family who have so generously opened their place to her. Thank you so much Brian & Rachel!


Here she is in her new home/room of about 30 minutes.

The next day after moving in Joanna and I walked the streets of Mount Maunganui entering every supermarket, business etc asking if there was any work available. Joanna is hoping to study teaching at Bethlehem Teritiary Institute (BTI) in Tauranga February 2010 so she needs to prepare for her expenses and living needs.

I thought Joanna very courageous doing this. It was certainly a new experience for both of us. Most of the people were pleasant enough but nothing seemed very promising and many of our friends were telling us that it would be very difficult to find work due to the recent economic climate and with so many people being laid off from their jobs etc.

Any way for the next three days she persevered and trusted God to find her a job and continued doing the same thing giving her CV, phone number etc. Finally she got an interview at a little Restaurant/Cafe owned and run by a Filipino. She really liked Joanna and tested her competency in the work and employed her immediately. So Joanna began her first full-time job and is now working in a cute little cafe on the Cruise Deck at the Mount Maunganui Shops named 'Ambrosia'.

We know that this is a God Given Job considering everything and we are so thankful! She has settle in well to her new job and her boss is very kind to her cooking her Phillipine dishes etc. We sense it is like a bridge for her into the culture of NZ, she is working with Filipinos and yet living in NZ. God knows how much we can cope with and thinks of everything!!

Here are some pictures of her at work..
Needless to say I was/am so proud of her! ( In the right way of course! hehe )

Serving her mother lunch!!


With the restaurant's cook Bing and Joanna's employer Flor Bautista. Imagine moving all the way to New Zealand to be employed by a Filipina! God is so creative.


Behind the counter..taking the orders and the money!

Outside view of the restaurant...

So if you are ever at the Mount just go check out the cute little waitress at Ambrosia Caf'e on the Cruise Deck.....she's our daughter!

Now that Joanna was busy working I continued my stay with Marilyn Sing our homechurch's missions team leader who graciously hosted me for three weeks. This included the cooking of delicious meals, inviting people over so I could catch up with them and driving me around! Thanks so much Marilyn!...
Here are some scenes of my stay with her.

A delicious dinner and catch up with Pam Puddle, Katrina (nee-Tulip) & Marilyn at Marilyn's home.

Jonathan even decided to drive down from Auckland for the weekend to check out his mother and little sister.

Here he is cooking lunch and teaching me how he cooks fish!..It seemed like I was on a cooking show with Jamie Oliver! Jonathan was so fast and confident with his cooking..He must have got it from his father as it certainly isn't one of my gifts!

...And here is the finished product...Wow nice presentation Jon!

During his visit we had time with the Morton family whom Joanna is boarding with. Here we are in their back yard having lunch in the sun and eating hot cross buns! Thanks so much for having us over Brian & Rachel. Jon thankyou for your visit! It was a highlight for me!

During those first days at the Mount Joanna was scheduled for an interview at BTI with the Student Liason Officer to discuss her application for Teachers College...this also went very well and she will be scheduled for an interview this September. Here are a couple of pictures of the BTI...not the best shots sorry! They don't do justice to the college as it truly is a beautiful campus.


We are so happy that Joanna has work, a good home with a great family, lives near our home church and on top of all that she is living in a beautiful area of New Zealand...Here are some photos of a day that Marilyn, Denise Hull & I walked around beautiful Mount Maunganui...



As for Jonathan he flew to Vancouver Canada on May 3 to join the cruise ship ' The Norwegian Sun '. Check it out at www.norwegiansun.com This is the same cruise line as before (NCL) but a different ship. He will be working with seven day cruises back and forth from Vancouver to Alaska stopping by Ketchikan, Juneau and Scagway. His contract is for four months. His job will be different this time as he is employed as a cruise host and will be assisting the Cruise Director.

The Norwegian Sun

'The Norwegian Sun' docked in Vancouver Canada

I was just reading this morning in Luke 18:29 "I tell you the truth,"Jesus said to them,"no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the Kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and , in the age to come, eternal life.

Wouldn't it be a whole lot easier to just pack up and move to New Zealand so that we can be closer to at least one of our children......Last night Mel & I were listening to a CD titled 'haruru"by Cindy Ruakere and Craig Jones ( incidently both are formerly from my little home town in Inglewood NZ). The first song on the CD is titled I Press On written by Cindy...the lyrics go like this...


I press on I pursue..
Seize the day follow You..
I will seek to win the prize...
The greatest call before my eyes

I do not count myself..
As having received it ...
But I forget those things..
that are behind..

And I press on..
.
That I can say...
That I have finished the good fight...
Won the race...
Kept the faith...

I press on.....


It has always been our desire to not only begin the race well but to finish the race well. Mel often emphasizes this when he is teaching and now we need to continue walking in this...

We will press on!

Last weekend we travelled 5 hours north to spend time in Bangued Abra at a Mission Bridge Camp run by Pastor Lorenzo & Anna Masigman at the YWAM Abra Operating Location ...Mel spoke on managing your finances, types of families, shakey foundations versus good foundations of marriage and group process. It was a great time! Here are some pictures of our time there.

The YWAM Abra operating location formerly a local co-operative weaving factory

Morning teaching session with Mel.

Lunch time! Can you spot us at the head or is that the end of the table??

Mel with Camp leaders Pastor Lorenzo and Anna Masigman..sorry the pics a bit dark.......

Plenty of floor space for campers to sleep!

Special presentation by the young people of a Maori Song taught to them by a student from the the Arizona outreach team!

On the way home to Baguio we dropped by the St Maria Catholic Cathedral in Ilocos Sur.
This massive building was one of the few not bombed by the Japanese in WWII. We read in the 'Lonely Planet' tourist book that the reason for it not being bombed was that the Japanese were afraid of Dracula! hehe!





It was Sunday morning when we visited and the church was packed full of worshippers...these people pictured were all outside as there were no more seats available inside!

You can always tell it is summer in the Philippines by the presence of these fire trees on the roadside.

Last month Mel was invited to be the guest speaker of the 19th Anniversary/Conference of the 'Tribal Christian Church Association'. A gathering of tribal church pastors and leaders from this region that is held annually. The theme of the conference was 'Building God's Kingdom Together.' and so he made his teaching fit into this theme with various different topics. It was well received by those present. Mel truly enjoys teaching and sharing in situations such as these.

Finally just to let you know that our friends and Family Ministries Leaders in Europe Angela & Andreas Fresz have just published the English version of their book titled 'Families in Ministry-How to Thrive-Not just Survive.' Its great reading for anyone who is involved or plans to be involved in ministry/missions as a family. A little highlight there for us is a personal testimony and photograph of us regarding our experience in years of missions as a family.

This is a very long blog...sorry for that but it's been a while..and now I must publish it to the web before the power goes out as we are in the middle of a typhoon even though it is summer!

Thank you so much for your prayers for us and your on going care towards us as a family.