Update Letter - February 2007

Dear Support Team,
In just a few hours we will leave for the first ever NZ Wesleyan Youth Camp.  We’ve all been busy preparing this week and are very excited for what God has in store for this momentous occasion.  Nearly 80 teens and over 20 leaders will come together for the weekend to Ignite our passion, our faith, and our spirits.  We look forward to sharing many stories of growth and transformation with you soon.

 Well it’s back to school for the teens of New Zealand who are starting a new year after what seemed like a very short summer break.  I guess it went by so quickly because we packed so much into it with our eXtreme Summer Challenge program.  The program was a lot of fun and definitely a success.  We heard lots of praise from the parents as well as the teens who really caught on to the purpose of the program which was to reach out and invite new people to the group.  Over the course of the summer we had 19 brand new teens and 5 returning teens who had been to SURGE only once before.  On the closing night of XSC we packed out the hall with a record 34 in attendance.  We are encouraging our teens to continue to invite their friends and we believe that this is only the beginning of the surge of growth for our youth group.

The local newspaper – The Howick and Pakuranga Times – is also helping in our growth process.  You can check out the recent article written about us on our website- www.addministries.com.  Even though there was no contact information in the article we’ve already had some people track us down to partner with us.  We even had one new teen last Sunday whose parents read about us in the paper.  

As you read in our last letter, Richard Waugh and his family will be leaving for the US in June so that Richard can work on his doctorate at Asbury Theological Seminary.  Rev. Dr. Jeffery Fussner will step up to the challenge of filling Richard’s shoes for the year he will be away.  Jeff is the Global Partners Missions Director for the Pacific Area and has been living here in Auckland for two years.  We are all very excited that Jeff has accepted this position and that Global Partners has allowed him the extra time to do so.  The church will definitely be in good hands and that will make the transition a lot more smooth.  Drew and I have agreed to look after the Waugh’s house and car and cat.  So that means yet another move for us in June.

Prayer requests:

-          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

-          Pray for the continued growth and excitement in our youth group.  That the many friends that visited over the summer will return.

-          Continue to pray for the upcoming transitions at ECW.  For the process of getting our new building, moving into it, and transitioning from Richard’s leadership to Jeff’s for the year.

-          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.  We’re off to camp!

 Blessings,
Amy & Drew Donovan
Missionaries in Auckland, NZ
www.addministries.com
amy@addministries.com  

Check out the changes to our website: www.addministries.com
-Article from our local paper about us and our youth ministry
-The Results of the Surge eXtreme Summer Challenge
-Pictures of our prospective new building