Looking back on the past few weeks, so much has happened & I trust some significant things done. Thank you to those who have prayed for us – here’s a few bits & pieces, some reflections on what’s gone on & some pictures to go with the comments.
The past 2 weeks at Victoria Uni CU, we have looked at Relationships, with my talk on “When Sinners Do Relationships” – looking at relationships from a married perspective & then the following week, Gina Wong spoke on relationships from a single person’s perspective. Both weeks, we used films to show how relationships are portrayed in popular culture, mainly through film, music & literature and then sought to look at what the Bible says. The CU had an unusually large attendance of students who were keen to think about relationships and what the Bible has to say about them. In talking to students, relationships are often where the rubber hits the road & the talk of Jesus being Lord of one’s life has to be lived out. The students listened well & I particularly appreciated the comment of one of them, Simon, who is coming to the end of four years at the University.
“I liked the way the gospel was central to what you talked about... that was the big lesson for me. I have heard and thought about most of the themes before, however not with the gospel context.”
It’s always good to feel appreciated, but particularly when students see the Gospel being lived out in the practical application of nitty-gritty life.
On the Friday, I was up in Auckland and spoke with the Overseas Christian Fellowship there. Again, we were thinking of the implications of the Gospel, but this time on friendships. It is a constant challenge to get students to think outside their current friendships and comfort zones and think how they can best reach those around them on their campus. I am keen to help encourage the students there to think outwardly rather than being inward focused. I was encouraged by Ray Wong’s desire to see students do this & am continuing to meet with Ray on a regular basis to help him & the OCF do this.
Big Ali Lauititi (a Leeds Rhinos & Samoa RL player) with a much smaller Ray Wong!
The Saturday was a real highlight of this year. I had been invited, with around 30 other guys, to join Paul Windsor on his annual ‘Pilgrimage"’ to the Marsden Cross up in the far North of NZ in the Bay of Islands. It’s probably 300kms North of Auckland and a significant journey on winding roads. However, it was well worth the trek. We were driven by Andy Shudall, along with Nigel Pollock and Mark Grace from TSCF, before we eventually met the rest of the group. Paul had deliberately invited friends and family from the various decades of his life, and at each of the stops introduced that decade’s friends, along with sharing some of his life from that time, before we sang a hymn from each decade. Judging by some of the hymns we sang, I suspect Paul’s upbringing may have been similar to mine. The lyrics of the hymn from Paul’s teenaged years was one that we sang at City Evangelical Church in my teenaged years – the words resonated with me again:
Lord, speak to me, that I may speak, in living echoes of Thy tone;
As Thou hast sought, so let me seek, Thy erring children, lost and lone.
O use me, Lord, use even me, just as Thou wilt and when and where;
Until Thy blessed face I see; Thy rest, Thy joy, Thy glory share.
It was a marvellous day, and as we arrived at the Marsden Cross, which was where Samuel Marsden first arrived and shared the Good News of Jesus in New Zealand, I felt the emotion of it all. To think that a Yorkshire lad from Horsforth could have made it across the Seas to this remote point, and all because he wanted to share Jesus with those who had not yet heard was such a powerful reminder to me that this is why we are here. The history of the place, the beauty of the surroundings (we have not been that far North before, but would like to again) and the sense of fellowship with believers from around NZ was wonderful.
In my home town of Horsforth and the neighbouring village of Farsley, are 2 monuments which commemorate Marsden and his work. I’m including them in these pictures, as they link together with the Marsden Cross in understanding who he was and why he travelled so far.
Paul had asked me to share a devotional thought at the cross. What a privilege! I decided to read from 1 Samuel 7:12 where Samuel takes a stone and calls it “Ebenezer” saying “Thus far has the Lord helped us”. I reminded those there that an Ebenezer, the Marsden Cross and indeed the cross itself, remind us to look back & thank God for His help in bringing us this far. They remind us to look forward and remember we are not finished – there is work still to do. And then, together, we looked to God and prayed with thankfulness, but also a sense of need of God to come and work again in these islands.
It was a marvellous day & one I will never forget.
From one Samuel to another…our wee man is doing well and growing rapidly! He’s not sleeping too well during the daytime at the moment, so is tiring Jen in the process. He’s bringing us much joy & happiness. Here’s a few photos from recent days which you may enjoy.
However, in the midst of our happiness, there are others in our area who are in the midst of great sadness. The Tsunami of last week in the South Pacific destroyed parts of Samoa, American Samoa & Tonga, but the impact is felt much further afield. Anthony Hubbard, writing in the Sunday Star Times here in NZ commented
“Samoa is now a kind of virtual suburb of Auckland, or perhaps Auckland is a virtual suburb of Samoa. You can swap between them in not much more than three hours, and there is a kind of commuter Samoan equally at home in both places.”
The links between New Zealand and many of the Pacific Islands are inextricably close as the newspaper headlines below show. There are almost as many Samoans living in New Zealand as in Samoa, and the third most commonly spoken language in NZ is Samoan (after English & Maori). In parts of Auckland and Wellington, the Pacific Island community is very evident. Last week, as we heard reports of the tragedy, it felt much closer to home. On the National news, one reporter broke down in tears as he shared of one family’s loss of 14 family members. At the various sports events this weekend, there was a tangible sense of grief as together we joined with our Pacific Island brothers and sisters who have lost so much. One of the stand-out pieces of news footage was a woman filming the Tsunami, who immediately started praying whilst filming. In the Pacific Islands, there are many who are God’s people, but also an increasing number for whom the beliefs and traditions of the past have been rejected. We are encouraging our students to think of ways which they can help support the relief efforts in the Pacific and join with those in need.
In such a time as this, we need to be reminded that:
"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” (Psalm 46:1-3)
Of the group who were there, the possibilities and potential is great. They are a particularly committed and keen group, who have had a positive influence on the work in TSCF over recent years and we will miss them greatly. Here are some of the things they are hoping to do over the coming years:
