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Dear Support Team,
The weather
is warming up, it’s a beautiful sunny afternoon with the birds
singing and it’s hard to believe that Christmas is right around
the corner. It’s strange to us but yet we are looking forward
to the novelty of a summertime Christmas. We’re even planning
to have a Christmas Eve beach party for the youth and their
families.
National
Conference
The last
weekend of October was The National Conference of The Wesleyan
Methodist Church of New Zealand (WMCNZ). We were disappointed
that the keynote speaker, our very own Atlantic District
Superintendent, Dr. HC Wilson and his wife Gloria were unable to
make it due to an injury while getting on the plane. But
several other capable speakers stepped up to fill the void and
it ended up being a wonderful few days of “Leading, Learning, &
Loving, Better Together”. This motto was fitting as we could
truly feel the sense of community, love and support of the
extended Wesleyan family in New Zealand. I was especially
excited to finally get to meet representatives from all of the
other Wesleyan churches and truly experience the full breadth of
our multicultural church. During our Friday evening service we
had five languages represented in our prayer time. On Saturday
evening our combined Fijian congregations hosted a feast and
provided entertainment in the form of traditional Fijian dance
and songs. The Tongan churches hosted the Sunday afternoon
Ordination service with a Tongan feast to follow. It is such a
special joy to be part of this corner of the family of God.
During Saturday night’s celebration someone commented that it
felt like heaven. And throughout the weekend as we all came
together and lifted our voices in praise in different languages
I was reminded of Rev 7:9 – this glimpse of Heaven with all
nations, tribes, languages standing before the throne and in
front of the Lamb.
Building
Update
There was
another miraculous highlight to the weekend. Craig Dunn, the
director of the Wesleyan Investment Foundation, came to launch
WIF New Zealand. He went to see ECW’s new church building (you
may have seen the pictures on our website) and he was prompted
by the Holy Spirit to give us the miracle our Servant Leaders
(Board Members) had been praying for. He has agreed to partner
with us so that we have the funds to be able to pursue a
building that is much better suited for our growth. The old
restaurant that we were pursuing was the best with what we had
to work with but the leaders knew it had its limitations and
would have to be only an intermediary step in our growth. We
were able to back out of that deal and the leaders have been
looking into other options. We’ll keep you posted when we know
more.
Missions
Opportunity
We are very
excited about the future of ECW and the WMCNZ as a whole and we
are looking forward to upcoming “extended family” events. You
also can be a part of one of those upcoming events - our
Wesleyan Family Convention. Many of you are aware that The
Atlantic District is planning to send a short term missions team
here in 2007. The dates for that trip have been changed to
correspond to the Convention time. The team will arrive around
May 30th, and be heavily involved in the Convention,
especially the youth ministry tract, from June 1-4. The
following week will involve visiting several of our Wesleyan
churches and youth groups and being involved in round table
discussions and training times for the youth leaders. There
will also be some time for fun and sightseeing. Don’t miss this
opportunity! We would be greatly encouraged to have a team from
home here with us and I can guarantee that the churches here
will be encouraged as well, and will heap love and blessing upon
you. So, if you have any interest and experience in youth
ministry, music ministry, or just have a heart for seeing the
Kingdom of God grow around the world and would like to
strengthen and encourage the Wesleyan family bonds across the
globe – Please, let us know or simply sign up today on the
Atlantic District website
http://www.atlanticdistrict.com/missions/index.htm
Prayer requests:
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There is an
urgent unspoken prayer requests concerning some friends of
ours. We cannot share the details with you, but ask that you
would agree with us in prayer that God’s will will be done in
this situation.
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ECW as we
search for a new building in which we can grow our church as
well as the Wesleyan Methodist denomination in NZ, as part of
the space will be used for the National Church Office.
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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
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Over the last
couple of months we have seen around 10 new faces at our Youth
group functions. Only one has consistently returned. Please
pray that seeds were planted for Christ and that these and more
new young people would join our group and get to know the love
and hope of Jesus.
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One of our
teens will be graduating from College (High School) in December
and going to Singapore (his country of origin) for 2 years of
service in the armed forces. Please pray for him in this
transition time as he leaves his friends and family here. Pray
also they he will be a light to his friends and family in
Singapore.
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Pray for the
missions team coming in June. Pray that God would call those
whom he wants on the team (that may be you!) and that they would
be an encouragement to the teens that the church here in NZ.
Thank you
again for your continued prayer and support.
Blessings,
Amy & Drew Donovan
Missionaries in Auckland, NZ
www.addministries.com
amy@addministries.com
Check out the changes to our website:
www.addministries.com
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New pictures
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New pages: Culture Shock and ECW Student
Minsitries |
