It seems a familiar routine for me to begin a blog post with words expressing my regret at having not blogged for some time & the blog being filled with the Sound of Silence. Thus far, 2011 has been the busiest year for us in the work here, and it shows no sign of abating. Thankfully, we knew this before the year started, and not every year is the way this has been. However, all this means I've not been as faithful at keeping up to date with blogging. For this, I can only apologise & offer the vain hope that I will try to do better in future!
Where do you begin when there's so much to report on? There have been so many encouragements. Instead of trying to excitedly communicate everything that's happened, here are some of the highlights of what God is doing in our lives at the moment:
Bible Reading
Since January, I've has been working through the Bible chronologically in my daily Bible readings. Thankfully, my mum agreed to work on the same reading scheme. She's a bit ahead of me (I'm a bit behind!), but I've been enjoying reading the Psalms of David and his activities as King. The Psalms I read this morning basically reminded me never to forget the greatness of God. Christopher Hitchens' book entitled "God is Not Great" is simply wrong. He is great, and I must never lose sight of this.
The Boys
The past two months have been noisy in the Carswell household. Sam continues to grow and in particular, his speech is coming on. He definitely has Carswell traits in that regard. We regularly find him, or hear him chattering away to himself, talking to nobody in particular, enjoying the sound of his own voice.
Josh is a much more placid child than Sam was. He sleeps well, and is content to spend time looking at his mum, and listening to his brother.
Both boys have brought us real joy, and we are enjoying the privilege of parenthood, whilst learning some of the challenges too.
Jen
Jen has 'suffered' me being away a fair bit over the past few months. She has held the fort admirably, particularly when her and the boys were all ill whilst I was away. I am aware of the sacrifices she makes, and try as often as possible to limit the time I'm away, or to arrange it so I am around when she most needs it. I'm grateful to friends and colleagues who keep me in check on this. We are looking forward to some family time together after the TSCF Mid Year Conference, when I will take some Annual Leave.
Outreach in TSCF
I am loving being able to focus my energies on outreach within TSCF, having been freed from my responsibilities as Wellington Team Leader. I'm glad Gina Wong is able to focus her time on the team leadership and for Richard Deeble supporting the work as Staff Worker. I'm attempting to think about how we make the most of the opportunities for outreach both nationally and locally (in all the regions), and how we encourage students to make the most of the opportunities to share Jesus with those around them.
Over the past few months, I've met with those who attended the Evangelism Weekend I shared about here. It's been encouraging to hear how the weekend impacted each one, and to hear of some of the impact the weekend had on the students. Here's how one of the students expressed their thanks to me in an email
"Just wanted to say that I really found the training useful and really extremely very very muchly appreciated the opportunity to learn from you, Nigel and other students who share similar passion of sharing Jesus. Would reaaaaally love to have more opportunity as such in the coming year if possible :) Haven't stopped thinking about what I've learnt since..."
We want to see students not only impacted with the gospel, but changed by it and keen to take the good news to others. We thank God for the growth we see in students like this.
Learning to Trust God in Spite of Exchange Rate Falls
Over the past months, the UK-NZ exchange rate has continued to decline. Last year, it hit its lowest trough for 30 years, and has since declined. We are currently at some of the lowest rates ever. Needless to say, this all affects us significantly. Because of this, without losing any of our supporters, we effectively "lose" significant chunks of our financial support. We thus have to raise new support just to keep at past levels. In the midst of a busy year, this continues to be a challenge. We don't want to be those who are known for only talking about money and financial needs, but without changes to the situation, our support base will suffer.
Through it all, it is a reminder that we must only trust in God to supply our needs. He always has and always will. Chatting with a friend in the UK yesterday, it was an encouragement hearing them share how God has prompted them to take a job with a salary 1/10th the size of another job they were offered, because that was where they believed God was calling them. It was a reminder again to me to ensure our treasure is in heaven, not on earth.
Having said all that, there are those who have partnered with us of late, and we are thankful to God for them. Others have asked how they can be part of God's work here in NZ. If you are interested in joining with us, please drop me a line. (There are tax-efficient ways of doing this from the UK, NZ & USA)
Rugby World Cup
The RWC is only a few months away now. The excitement within NZ is almost palpable. Conversations around ministry opportunities continue apace. We continue to work on producing a rugby-themed Gospel for free distribution in time for the World Cup. The bulk of the work on that (from my perspective) is due to be done in the coming few weeks. Please pray that it would all come together well and in time. Do specifically pray that as students & others read the Gospel for themselves, that they would meet Jesus and have their lives changed and transformed by Him, as they come to know Him.
One of the players who has been helping us in it is Deacon Manu. Deacon is the Captain of the Fijian rugby team. He plays Professionally as a Prop for the Neath Llanelli Scarlets in Wales. Whilst living in Wales, he really came to know Christ for himself. In December last year, he fractured his arm playing against Leinster. Tomorrow, he is due to have his first match back as he plays against Tonga in the Pacific Nations Cup. Please pray for Deacon as he works towards playing for Fiji in the World Cup. He is clear that God has given him unique opportunities to be a witness in the professional rugby scene - do pray that God would use Him significantly, particularly in the months ahead. We are looking at a number of potential initiatives with Deacon which work with his rugby itinerary.
TSCF Mid Year Conference
Next week is the annual TSCF Mid Year Conference. It's a gathering of students from across the country for a week of Bible teaching and training, combined with fun and fellowship. Our theme for the week is "What if God was one of us?" We're looking at the incarnation - what it is, what it means, how it affects and changes us. We long for a significant week in the lives of students. Look out on here for a report after the conference has finished!
Overall, I have a real sense of God's hand being on us and working in and through us over the past few months. We really are thankful to Him for all He's doing, but depend on Him to continue what He has been doing in our lives and those He brings across our pathway.
(Some of you may be aware of a little project I've been working on - The Double Listener is a blog where I'm attempting to look at culture & engage with it from a Biblical perspective. I'm deliberately seeking to write from a Kiwi perspective, as so much that we have here in NZ is imported from around the world. I recognise the same can be said of me, but I'm trying to be as Kiwi as possible.) Do check it out & tell others.
