|
Missions Interlink Bulletin
Missions – in, from and to – New Zealand
April 2008
Please pray for family & friends of the recent Mangatepopo tragedy
Missionary Enrichment Retreat – Last chance to register!
Coming Events
- NZTN national day of prayer for Turkey
- Transforming Our World
- Planning meeting for Missions Day on the M/V Doulos
- World day of prayer
- MV Doulos is coming to NZ for the last time
- The Cross and Crescent Conference
- “Refocus” – Two days exploring re-entry and beyond (just got word this is cancelled)
Announcements
- Accommodation and transportation needed
- Accommodation available
- Comings and goings
- Book release – Konnichi wa Kiwi by Warren Payne of OMF NZ
Change of MI e-mail
Reports
- Global crisis grows as food prices soar
- Collaboration team developing Koroutahi Manifesto
Please pray for family & friends of the recent Mangatepopo tragedy
On 15 April 2008 a party of 40, Year 12 Elim Christian College students attending the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre in Tongariro National Park were swept away by a flash flood resulting from a rain bomb. Six students and one teacher tragically drowned. All other students and staff have been accounted for. We extend our condolences to the families of those who lost their lives, to the students, staff and families of the College and pray that God may give them His strength and peace. We have no answers to the many questions this tragedy raises; we can but trust in God. Those whose lives were taken included the daughter of Andy Bray, New Zealand leader for CCC (now known as Tandem Ministries, one of the world’s largest mission organizations).
Please continue to pray for the families and friends involved in the recent tragedy in the waters of the Mangatepopo River. This is of course impacting not only: Elim Christian School, Howick, Elim Churches (and student’s families from several local churches), Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre, but also the wider church and community.
Further information will be posted on the College website – www.elim.school.nz as it becomes available.
Watch Video: Andy Bray speaks about his daughter Natasha
Watch Video: Principal Murray Burton speaks about the tragedy
Missionary Enrichment Retreat
This is the last chance for those interested in attending the Missionary Enrichment Retreat this May 11th to 16th at Lake Taupo Christian Camp. For more information and a registration form contact the MI office at info@missions.org.nz or 09 275 8333. Registrations need to be in ASAP. This year Allen and Charlotte Teal from World Outreach will be facilitating the retreat along with Humphrey and Lois Babbage who are former missionaries to Papua New Guinea and who have served with Wycliffe in Melbourne.
It is going to be an exciting and refreshing week so don’t miss out. Feel free to inform others who can benefit from this opportunity. For those that cannot attend this retreat, another one will be held on Oct 28th to Nov 2nd at Lake Taupo Christian Camp. Note that the MER is for any of the following people:
- Missionaries on furlough
- Newly returned missionaries (2 to 4 years back in NZ is ok; but the sooner the better)
- Mission agency staff
- Those preparing to go into missions (Bible school students, etc.)
Coming Events
NZTN National Day of Prayer for Turkey - ANZAC day Friday April 25th
In Auckland: Prayer breakfast at 9am at the Mission Centre, 591 Dominion Road, Balmoral. Cost $5. For more info and to RSVP e-mail nztnetwork@gmail.com or call Amanda on 021 0397490 by Thursday 24th.
In Christchurch: Prayer breakfast at 7:30am at Elim Cathedral of Hope, 285 Cashel Street. Cost $12. For more information contact Alice on 027 2761668 or alice@jibekjoly.net.
Transforming Our World - by Ian Dally of BCNZ - iand@bcnz.ac.nz.
This is a seminar to explore holistic approaches to poverty, justice and social involvement. Discussion topics will include: the overall problem of poverty; the plight of women and children; the challenges of HIV/AIDS; the economics of development; and more! Held on April 28th – May 1st at BCNZ. Registrations need to be in by the 21st / 22nd So be in quick as there are only limited seats available. There are special discounts for Mission agency staff members! Contact Ian Dally on 09 8379758.
Planning Meeting for Missions Day on the Doulos – George Booth
Any MI members are welcome to come to a planning meeting for the Missions Day (Saturday 28 June) on the Doulos. The planning meeting will be 6 May at 2 pm at the Missions Centre, 20 Amersham Way, Manukau – 6th floor. A great opportunity to promote missions – programs, workshops, mission booths. For more information contact George Booth on 09 298 9990.
World Day of Prayer – by John Fulford
11th of May - it all commences from New Zealand! Check out the international web site for details: www.globaldayofprayer.com. Contact me for NZ information and resources: jfulford@xnet.co.nz. Keep me informed on what you are doing so I can share this with others and we can encourage one another.
M/V Doulos is coming to NZ for the last time
The MV Doulos will be in Auckland from June 10th – 30th and in Wellington from July 4th- 22nd. More information on this is to come, but in the mean time, check out the website for more details: http://www.omnz.org.nz/doulos/. We are working to have a missions conference on board and also a special programme for Bible colleges in both Auckland and Wellington. We would like as many MI members as we can possibly accommodate (priority being given to those that send people overseas) at both events. (See planning meeting announcement above.) Sincerely, George. Email: info@nz.om.org.
The Cross and the Crescent Conference
Visit www.awarenessministries.co.nz for more information.
Christchurch – June 6-7 at St. Christopher’s Anglican Church
Palmerston North – June 10-11 at St. Alban’s Presbyterian Church
Hamilton –June 13-14 at Gateway Christian Centre
Announcements
Accommodation and transportation needed
Please contact Missions Interlink if you or someone you know has accommodation and/or transportation for the following needs:
- A missionary family (with one child) who have been serving in Papua New Guinea are looking for a place to stay and a car to use during their return to Auckland from May 7-21.
- Another missionary family of four (children are 8 and 10 years old) who have been working with Servants to Asia’s Urban Poor in Cambodia for the last 14 years are looking for accommodation in Dunedin from July 1-31 and in Auckland from August 1-31.
Accommodation available
An ex-missionary couple from Papua New Guinea have accommodation available for returning missionaries and missionaries on furlough. It is a one-bedroom, self-contained unit located in Avondale, Auckland. For more information contact Merv McKean on 027 201 8662 or 09 828 8504.
Comings and goings
Ian and Judith Payne recently departed NZ to work with South Asia Institute of Advanced Christian Studies (SAIAC) in India.
On Wednesday March 26th, Ruth Cremer from SIM passed away. Please pray for her family and friends, both here in NZ and in Ethiopia.
Gordon Stanley’s Mum recently passed away. Please pray for the family and friends of this precious woman.
Book release
Konnichi wa Kiwi is a unique and fascinating autobiography by Warren Payne (OMF NZ National Director) who, along with his family, crossed a vast cultural divide to become Christian workers in Japan. A great read for both young and old, especially if you are praying about cross-cultural missions. Available from the OMF Bamboo Resource Centre: nz-bamboo@omf.net or 09 6305997.
Change of Missions Interlink email
We no longer need this (missions.interlink@maxnet.co.nz) email address for MI. Please delete this from your email address book(s) and replace it with this one: Email: info@missions.org.nz.
Reports
"GLOBAL CRISIS GROWS AS FOOD PRICES SOAR"
While many Kiwi farmers enjoyed a $50,000 bonus last year, the future outlook around the world is not so bright. The Chicago Tribune recently had this blaring headline: "GLOBAL CRISIS GROWS AS FOOD PRICES SOAR," with the sub-headline saying What's considered largely an irritation in the U.S. threatens worldwide social upheaval as hunger strains poor nations. See http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-food-prices-global-crisis-story,0,3603827.story.
The article says: Worldwide, food prices have soared 45 percent over the past year as surging oil prices make growing and transporting food more expensive and as economic growth in emerging giants such as China and India leads to rising demand for food, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization….
The article gives the following example:
NEW DELHI — To support his family of six, Raju sells plastic packets of chilled water to commuters on a New Delhi roadside. Like many Indians, he normally spends more than half of his monthly income to buy food. But over the past year, as world food prices have soared and inflation began creeping up, the rice, lentils and wheat his family needs have begun to take as much as 70 percent of his meager monthly salary of $77. With the other 30 percent of the family's income committed to rent, they have had to give up buying vegetables—meat and milk have never been affordable—and will simply have to go hungry if prices rise any further.
In richer developed nations, where people spend an average of 10 to 15 percent of their income on food, price hikes have been a growing irritation. But in the developing world, where most poor people spend at least half of their income to eat, rising costs threaten to create major social unrest…. All told, 33 countries around the world are at risk of social upheaval as a result of acute increases in food and energy prices, said Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank, in a speech this month. In countries where buying food requires half to three-quarters of a poor person's income, there is no margin for survival, he warned. The article also said:
In Haiti, at least five protesters were killed last week after hungry mobs tried to storm the presidential palace, and on Saturday lawmakers voted to dismiss the country's prime minister. Food riots have also flared across Africa's Sahel and in Mexico, Uzbekistan and Morocco. Egypt's government has put the army to work baking subsidized bread.
How does this – or will this – affect our workers (currently about 650 Kiwi missionaries serving around the world)? How does this – or will this – affect their personal and ministry priorities, objectives and strategies? How will this affect you? …your ministry? …your prayers? …your priorities? How might God want to use this for His purposes?
Koroutahi Manifesto – by Jamie Wood
The MI collaboration group focusing on Kiwi mission expansion is refining a vision and formalizing its commitment via the development of a manifesto called the Koroutahi Manifesto. Koroutahi is compounded Maori meaning one/single purpose/desire. The manifesto is still being developed but it is intended to rally mission organizations and churches towards increasing the awareness of and involvement in cross-cultural ministry by Kiwis. The guiding aim of this collaboration is to see some 3000 Kiwis involved in cross-cultural ministry by 2020. This isn’t a hard and fast target; it merely represents 1% of NZ’s current church going population and is acting like a navigational beacon guiding us and like-minded groups/people forward. The collaboration group encourages other groups to collaborate similarly to achieve their desired aims (e.g. local churches, family ministries, youth workers, etc.).
Missions Interlink
David B. Hall, Director
PO Box 59 049, Mangere Bridge, Manukau 2151
info@missions.org.nz -- www.missions.org.nz
New Zealand’s Mission Networks
|
