Christchurch

So I haven't posted for ages, and now is no time for catch up really... I just need to say a bit about where I am now. I got to Christchurch on Saturday after feeling useless at a distance, but realising that to come sooner put my family under more pressure. My family are safe, but I can't say that anyone will get thru this totally unscathed. The country, let alone the city, will never be quite the same.

So I want to blog a bit more of what happens, to let people know another part of the story. There are so many stories, and many of them will be far more amazing or traumatic than this. But I want to share some of the things I'm seeing and hearing now.

Dad works in Aranui in a church. His is a support ministry role. I have been there a couple of times with him previously when visiting. I know a few of the faces, and it's not a big congregation. So going this morning was a little surreal. There is a bit of an obstacle course, compared to the previously smooth roads, to get there. Inside the church, past the piles of rubbish and mud, there is a bulge in the floor big enough to make you feel like you're climbing to the centre of the room. We all sat on chairs on slight inclines...

And food donations, wow! There seems to be so much given. Which is both wonderful and difficult at the same time. There is more than can be given out before it will go bad / stale in some cases. Non-perishables are fine, but perishables add to the workload since they need to be given out...

I heard a few stories. One woman lives with her parents on a street that is yet to get Portaloos. They have been given a chemical toilet which is not working very well and is causing considerable annoyance to her father, who has ruined a couple of pairs of shoes trying to empty it... I laughed before I'd realised it and she did say that one day it may seem funny, but it doesn't yet for her father!

Another woman said that even friends across the other side of town don't seem to quite understand what they are going through. She's not bitter; just matter-of-fact. They barely lost power, water, or sewerage, so while they know that the east side have still got issues with these things, they can't quite realise how frustrating it is... And the media focus has quite naturally been on the city centre since it is more like a war zone from another country than "Godzone" NZ. Stories filtering out from people working in there are beyond belief.

So going tomorrow to help out however I can could be interesting. I hope I will be able to help, even if just in listening...

image from weheartit.com

Prayer Request

Well I should have posted how the DW:The Call conference went ay?!?

Hmmm... yeah... about that... well I did mean to. Basically it was great! I met loads of awesome people and got stressed out doing things I'd never done before all while smiling and trying to look as though things were under control :) So final analysis? It was cool and people got some training and learning about mission and met others who also care about mission... and there were connections made between people to help encourage them on in doing mission stuff. Well, so it seemed and so people said! I'll have to find a few photos to post!

Meanwhile I'm doing the big grown up girl stuff dealing with Eric & Adaire not around in the office any more. Sometimes I don't like being a grownup. It kinda sucks.

But it is taking me a wee while to get my head into the things that I need to do to make sure that the main things keep going. It's only been a couple of weeks so I don't think I can say that things are going well yet - they haven't had time to go pear-shaped! Give it time ;)

In the meantime, I have a prayer request, but have to explain background: I have the possibility of going on a trip next year as a work thing. I would get to visit some great friends and check out lots of places where I could send Kiwis to work. I'm hoping to go to Central Asia, which means the -stan countries for those who are unsure. So I want prayer to know that this is the way to go, and some concrete confirmation of it... coz it feels very much as though this is just something I want to do being an MK and having itchy feet, wanting to travel, and plus wanting to visit these friends very badly. So I want to be sure of it! My friends have suggested that Spring for them is a good time - which is Autumn for us. I'd LOVE to go... so please pray that it would be the right thing to do and plan for.

Thanks for reading my random ramblings... I'll try to update it more frequently to let people know what I'm doing! Meanwhile we all rely on grace...

From weheartit.com

Emmy

xxx

Update

Well, although I need to update this properly with what is currently happening, I'm going to begin with the mundane: I've spent the last few days dragging myself around feeling extremely sorry for myself with flu. How nasty is flu by the way?!


But on the plus side, it has meant more time to do things like this which I never seem to usually make time for...!


Ok well that's enough small talk. Now to the real business. There is a lot going on at the moment, lots of it really exciting, some of it daunting.


Firstly, you may remember me blabbing on about doing Destination World, the collaboration between various mission agencies, at Parachute the last 3 years... so now the really exciting thing is that we are doing a conference! It's DW:The Call. And it is in only 3 weeks... yeah the nerves are starting to show a little with planning a conference like we've never done before! But we have some wonderful people on the team / committee looking at what needs to be done to organise it. So I'm looking forward to how it all comes together. Basically I think it will be quite different to a lot of other conferences around. We'll be having less main sessions, more workshops, much more time between things for people to talk, and everyone running anything has been told to make it as interactive as possible. Plus we'll be doing a slum sleepout on the Friday night for people to have fun in experiencing slum life... I'm SO looking forward to that one!


Watch our promo if you'd like:

I think it's gonna be great!


Registration is still open (I should know since I'm doing that!) and there are days prices as well if you want to come along. It's not an age based thing either - anyone is welcome :) Ask me if you want more info, but it's on the website.


The other major thing happening for me at the moment is that Eric & Adaire who I have worked with so closely in the mobilising office since starting here at WEC have decided to go back to the Middle East. They are hoping to go early next year. But with so much to do before they go, not least Eric finishing his studies, they are stopping work with me from the end of September... that's not very many more weeks!

Image from weheartit.com

I'm being a very big brave girl about it, and only having mini panic attacks and / or tantrums occasionally... about one a day!


No... not really, but with other changes in leadership pending here there is not anyone to replace them as yet. The rest of the team will be helping me, and I will be reducing what has been done - I don't see me being able to do the work of 2.5 people (since Adaire works part time)! So part of the hand-over and planning has begun and it's going pretty well. There are a few scary moments, not least thinking of being in an office by myself, with no one to talk to! But as I say the rest of team will be helping me, and so I'll simply get a bit more exercise go into other offices to talk other people's ears off instead of Eric's!


So I'll value prayer on these 2 main things right now: the upcoming Destination World conference, DW:The Call; and changes in the mobilising office. 


I won't bore you with other smaller details of my life now, but feel free to ask! I'll leave you with this piece of graffiti I saw in Christchurch when I was there for a visit a few months ago, which amused me:

I love how watching TV is something we should do... as is acting normal! And I don't know that you can quite see it but it says "I'm free" on the bottom which is what I assume we are to repeat after the writer. 


Thanks for reading and praying. I really appreciate it :)


With love
Emmy

Past newsletters...

Hi there


So I thought the best way to start was to catch people up with my older newsletters, that I've been really slack in sending out... yeah I have several voices in my ear as I write that (and I think you know who you are...!).


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