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Update Letter - September 2006
Dear Support Team,
These are
exciting days for us and for East City Wesleyan. It’s been almost 2
weeks since we landed in Auckland, NZ after a few days en-route.
Other than the fact that we are still waiting for our internet to be
set up, the transition has been quite smooth. We absolutely love
our church family (East City Wesleyan) and we feel incredibly loved
by them.
We
arrived on Saturday, September 9th to a wonderful home,
filled with all the necessities and complete with fresh flowers and
a stocked refrigerator and cupboards. Some of the church ladies had
a great time shopping for us before we arrived and we were very
impressed with their ability to pick out things that were just our
style.
We are
enjoying settling into our home and putting the suitcases away for a
while. I’m still learning to find my way around and getting used to
driving on the left side of the road. Drew has picked these things
up very quickly. We really haven’t had much opportunity to be
lonely, especially Drew as he has his hands full with his
responsibilities at the church. I’m keeping busy helping him with
youth and music ministry as well as beginning to look for work. We
are also busy trying to get to know everyone. We’ve had a lot of
help in this area though. It seems we’ve had invitations out at
least once everyday since we’ve arrived.
There is
high energy over that fact that we are finally here and can bring
new energy and direction to the youth and music ministry at ECW and
the timing couldn’t be any better. September 10th was
the 6th anniversary of ECW and of The Wesleyan church in
NZ. Celebrating the past and looking to the future the leaders have
just recently secured a deal to purchase the top floor of a
building, which was formerly a restaurant, as the new site for ECW.
Presently, ECW is meeting at a school with no flexibility for
weekday events, and no place to call their own. This Past Sunday a
group of us met in our new building for a sound check (one of the
tests required by the community in order to receive consent to use
the area as a church), to explore the future possibilities and to
worship and pray over the space. There was such an excitement in
the air and we were so blessed to be a part of it. The time is ripe
for growth and we look forward to the exciting things that God has
in store for us and for ECW.
Prayer requests:
-
Pray for a quick
transition into ECW’s new location (target date: Dec 17). A
reasonable deal has been negotiated but there are still some hurdles
to overcome before we can move in. We need to go through the
process of obtaining resource consent from the community and there
is much work to be done, especially in the underground parking area
which is covered in graffiti, broken beer bottles, etc. (Pictures of
the new facilities will be online as soon as possible. We will send
out an notice of updates)
-
Inside Out film-making
workshop for high risk youth in Auckland– September 25-30, This
event is sponsored by the community outreach branch of ECW as an
means to reach out to young people and connect them with resources
for healthy growth.
-
IGNITE youth camp –
February 16-18 will be the first ever National Wesleyan Youth Camp
in New Zealand. This will be a key outreach opportunity for all of
the NZ churches and Drew will be the keynote speaker.
www.ignite.wesleyan.org.nz
-
Please pray also for me
(Amy) as I search for a job in counseling and work through my role
as pastor’s wife. I’m enjoying being involved in youth and music
ministry but once I start working I need to find the healthy balance
of involvement without burning myself out.
-
Pray also for Drew that he
will have the wisdom to lead the youth and worship arts well.
Thank
you again for your continued prayer and support.
Blessings,
Amy & Drew Donovan
Missionaries in Auckland, NZ
www.addministries.com
amy@addministries.com
Our website is will be undergoing a major overhaul. We will let you
know as changes are made. Our address is:
www.addministries.com |
