Far our Man... I'm with Yah...

Year's End Relief

I couldn’t resist the above photo, springtime fun at Laidlaw College!  Henry and Eva are both thriving. Eva is into everything, walking, talking, pulling drawers apart and chewing anything that looks edible. (It was blue-tack last week.) Henry sometimes gets frustrated with his sister who not only has taken some of the lime out of his light, but also insists on following her brother everywhere and doing everything that he is doing. Suffice to say that as parents we are beginning to value separate space and individual activities for both children! They are both still attending Olive Shoots childcare, Henry three days a week and Eva just one morning at this stage.

Helen and I can breathe a huge sigh of relief with Simon’s degree now done and dusted. It has been a bit of a slog this semester with the continued juggle of family, work, church and study. But we have made it! And thankfully as final grades are rolling in, they seem to be having a nice vowel-like tone. For now the study is over, or to put it rather more bluntly and in Helen’s words; “you’re not allowed to do any more study until our kids leave home.”

 So what does 2012 hold? First and foremost the search is on for employment and there are some positive signs. Simon has been employed part time as a grounds keeper at Laidlaw this year and it looks as if the role is going to morph into a full-time position. He has an interview later this week. Simon also has a couple of other options open to him, but for now the Laidlaw position is preferred.  Helen has also been looking at teaching positions, mostly part-time and if nothing comes of these will seek employment as a reliever in 2012.   

  

Many people have been asking us, ‘So when are you off to Taiwan?’ The short answer is; ‘We’ll get there when we have enough support.’ As per our last update we are still booked into the Initial Orientation Course with OMF in Singapore in July, but this is dependent on funding. So as well as working to put bread on the table and continuing on with our church involvement at St. Michael’s in Henderson next year, we will be focussing on raising this support. That essentially means a lot of networking, relationship development and travelling around speaking to different groups and churches. If your church would welcome a mission speaker then Simon would be happy to oblige. And if you, your family or your church would like to consider supporting us, just let us know and we can send you the appropriate forms to fill in.

Hoping this letter finds you and you loved ones well for Christmas and wishing you all of God’s blessing as we approach the season of Peace. – Peace I leave you; my peace I give you.   John 14:27.

Winter Break

After a busy first semester we felt well in need of a holiday during the semester break. We have just returned from two weeks away at Tinopai on the Kaipara Harbour at Helen’s Aunty Jill’s bach. We had a lovely time. Tinopai is a small harbourside township and so the two weeks were spent walking, fishing, oystering, playing games, eating yummy home-baked food and making occasional trips to visit extended family in the Northland area. One of the highlights for Henry was going to see Cars 2 with his cousin Matai at the movies in Whangarei. One of the highlights for Daddy was seeing Henry catch his first fish, a snapper, off the Tinopai wharf.

On our return home we had a somewhat of an unfortunate accident.  Everyone was excited to be home, we were in the middle of tidying up and putting our gear away when we heard a scream from Eva, we turned to see Henry looking frightened, blood streaming from Eva’s hand and also on the bedroom door. Her finger had been crushed in the door by her brother. We rushed to Waitakere Hospital, Simon holding Eva’s finger so as not to lose it, there were X-Rays, a trip to Starship Childrens Hospital, surgery to save the finger and a cast put in place which is to be removed this coming Friday after two weeks. The finger tip was 80% lacerated and just hanging on, the doctors are sure however that she will recover well and have the full use of her finger, for which we are grateful. Ah, family life!

During the break, Helen has enjoyed taking Thursday mornings off for herself.  She has enjoyed some retail therapy and a manicure, plus a walk along Piha beach.  Simon has enjoyed being a part of Youthserve at our local church in the first week of the school holidays. Youthserve is a Scripture Union initiative where teenagers engage in practical work in the community and also have an opportunity to share their faith. Simon trained the teens in sharing their faith and then took them out on afternoon mission trips to the local mall where they engaged others in conversation around faith with some very encouraging outcomes.

Last weekend the whole family travelled to Te Puru on the Coromandel Peninsula - just North of Thames.  Here Simon preached and shared a little of our journey toward mission with OMF. We were very warmly welcomed into this small community and are looking forward to continuing on our relationship with them.

Today is the first day of semester two; so it is back to the books and the routine for all of us after a few weeks of change. This will be our last semester studying; all going well Simon will graduate in December. At this stage we plan to keep living at College next year as we continue to raise support toward our mission goals in Taiwan. We have been booked in to attend the July 2012 International Orientation Course in Singapore after which we will fly to Taiwan to begin language study. This is contingent upon raising the necessary levels of support.                

I have uploaded some photos from our recent holiday to Tinopai you can view these photos by clicking on the 'our photos' link to the right.


For those of you who are up to praying for us, please pray for:

·                     Thanks for good health for all of us over the winter months

·                     Thanks for a refreshing holiday over the last couple of weeks

·                     Perseverance into our last semester of study

·                     Healing of Eva’s finger

·                     For Henry to learn to be more gentle and caring

·                     The raising of financial and prayer support

Thankyou once again for your ongoing support,

God Bless,

Simon, Helen, Henry and Evangeline Johnson.

Mid Semester Update...

Greetings, from the Johnsons. We are well into the first semester now - amid a flurry of essay activity for Simon, attempted crawling and burbling of Mum mum and Dada for Eva, racing around at break neck speed in everything he does for Henry and Helen trying to keep sanity in the home as she balances, study, work and a young family. It is a busy year.

A particular highlight for Simon in the last couple of months has been the instigation of an evangelism team at St. Michael’s were monthly Saturday mornings are spent either knocking on doors or hanging out at the local shopping mall and engaging people in conversation around Jesus and the gospel. The reception has been amazingly open; with 70% of people very happy to sit down and have a conversation in their lounge rooms or as they go about their business in the mall. I wonder whether this kind of receptivity would have been apparent a few years ago? It seems as if there is a wide open door for the gospel currently and so long as one is humble in approach and not overbearing, there is receptivity. I have been going back to people to give them Bibles and praying for people’s needs on the street. It has truly been God-driven.

  

We spent Easter with Simon’s family in Whakatane where we enjoyed the company of cousins, Aunties and Uncles and participated in eeling, fishing off the wharf, soaking in hot pools, having rides on the tractor, visiting farms and eating sumptuous dinners – not to mention a grand Easter egg hunt and going to church on Easter Sunday. On a not so positive note, amid all of the excitement, Henry managed to come off his bike and spend three hours in A&E getting his head stitched up – he is recovering well now but will most likely have a scar on his forehead to remind him of Easter 2011 for quite some time.

The end of the mid-semester break saw Helen spend an enjoyable time with her father’s side of the family up in Maungaturoto on the farm while Simon headed down to Greymouth to preach up a storm over four services in three days as well as re-connecting with friends and enjoying the World Famous on the West Coast –Cobden Takeaways . We continue to be thankful for Holy Trinity Greymouth and their ongoing financial and relational support.  

      

As mentioned in our correspondence to date, our family has been formally accepted with OMF and hope to return to Taiwan to begin ministry training as early as May next year. This is all dependent on raising the support we need - both prayer and financial.  And so it is with much joy that we now invite you partner with us in this endeavour. If you would like a copy of our support brochure just email us and we will send you one, siandhele@gmail.com. In the brochure you will find more details of our probably ministry within Taiwan and ways in which you can support us. We invite you to print out a copy and consider becoming a part of our support team.

I close with words of encouragement from the apostle Paul as he exhorts the Corinthian church to follow in his footsteps and become more effective Disciples of Christ, “Run in such a way as to get the prize... I do not run like somebody running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No,  I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” 1 Cor 9:24-27.

May God continue to bless all of you as you hunker down for the winter months. (Southern Hemispherites) 

Bye for now,

Simon, Helen, Henry and Eva.

It has Started...

I must admit it has seemed like a very long Summer - beginning on November 20 and finally coming to an end the Monday just gone. The well stocked shelves of the Laidlaw College Library, the sleek smooth study desks reminiscent of well ordered thoughts and the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafting up from the downstairs cafe are all a welcome relief after attempting to keep up with an energetic three year old and trying to appease an increasingly vocal 6 month old throughout the Summer daze... let study roll on like a river, peace like a never failing stream!

So the year has begun. I am taking a full study load this semester covering 8th Century Prophets, 1st  Corinthians, Epistemology and an Internship paper at St. Michael's Henderson where I am leading a local evangelism group, assisting with the young families ministry and also co-leading leading a home-group.
Helen is also studying part time. She is taking Spirituality and also 1st Corinthians this semester. At this stage we plan to sit together.

Both of the children are doing well. Henry is continuing to enjoy Olive Shoots his thrice weekly childcare centre where he is in the 'Sea Horse' or middle room and eagerly awaiting being a Big Boy who can move up to the 'Star Fish' room. We get a commentary most meal times about how much bigger he is going to be after he has finished eating! Eva is sitting up on her own now, enjoying discovering foods of preference and can also often be heard crying across the Laidlaw College fields, much to the dismay of our neighbours, especially around bed time!

We continue to be actively involved with OMF and looking toward active service in Taiwan some time during 2012. Simon has had numerous speaking engagements to this end already this year and will continue to do so throughout the year - an anticipated journey down to Greymouth on April 30th is set to be a highlight of the first half of the year.

Just prior to heading back to our study routine the whole family enjoyed a weekend away camping in the Hunua Forrest Park, part of the Auckland Council's new juristiction and only and hour and a half South East of Waitakere. We all enjoyed walking, swimming in the river, mountain biking and Henry even got to go on his first fishing expedition with Daddy. You can check out our photos by clicking on the 'our photos' link.

For those of you who are up to praying for us, please pray for:

• The time management necessary to fit everything into our busy schedules.
• Peace and harmony within our home.
• Health and safety for our Children.
• Continued provision and open doors as we look toward Taiwan.

In these times of uncertainty caused by natural disaster and international civil unrest may we remember the words of Jesus who said; 'I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.' John 14:6.

Until I write again,

Shalom.

A New Year...

You may wonder why I have chosen a picture of fish to wish you a happy new year - there are a number of reasons actually. The first and most significant is that I have been studying the book of Luke this year and the passage I studied - Jesus calling the First Disciples or Encouraging Fishing for Men, spoke very strongly to me. I shall share with you my conclusions. In Luke 5:1-1 we are reminded from verse 1 that to be a disciple of Christ we must bathe ourselves in the Word of God, something that I am learning to do more and more. We are also reminded from verse 5 that we are to be obedient to Christ, no matter how silly it may seem. In the passage a carpenter presumes to instruct a professional fisherman how to do his job. The result of the fisherman's obedience in this story is a plentiful catch. Thirdly from verse 8, we are to come to the Lord in humility, Go away from me Lord - I am a sinful man. I have been learning much about humility this year being in a new place with new and highly qualified people. And finally, from verse 10 and 11, we are to have an outward focus on mission, being prepared to leave everything and follow Jesus for the sake of the Gospel - for the sake of Fishing for Men.

So that's the first reason for the fish. Secondly the fish, whose photo was taken by myself in an outdoor night market in Brunei,  mark well a transition for myself having spent three weeks on a short term mission trip with OMF in Thailand throughout December. I led a team of four, three recent graduates and a high school leaver in three locations, two provincial cities and a rural township where we observed and participated in contextual church planting and assisting with Christmas programs, mostly in schools. We did dramas, singing and shared testimonies. It was heart warming to see the growth in the team members and for myself gave me a good experience of leading a team overseas. I was also challenged to think more clearly about prospective roles for Helen and myself as we consider building a future on the overseas mission field ourselves. The stopover in Brunei marked the end of my mission trip and signaled the beginning of the Christmas holiday season for myself. While not actually eating fish myself, the night market was my last overseas meal before home.

Upon returning from Thailand, Helen, the children and I all headed up to Paparoa for a family Christmas on Helen's brother's farm. Suffice to say I was a little jet lagged, but it was an enjoyable time. We have now just spent a few days of down time together in Auckland and will spend the New Year period with my family in Tauranga.

The third reason I chose the fish as a image for this musing was in order to say that it has been a bountiful year for ourselves. We have been blessed with a beautiful, happy and healthy Baby daughter - Eva. Henry continues to go from strength to strength participating well at Olive Shoots childcare on campus - where he was a sheep in the end of year Christmas pantomime and also making the transition to play centre up to two mornings weekly. We will send him to Olive shoots three full days starting mid January. He continues to speak extremely well for his age and is keen on engaging in conversation - his latest trick is to reply when you are talking to him or any one else for that matter -   Yes I Know - rather matter of factly! Another area of great bounty this year was Simon's study where all of his grades reflected the first letter of the super city in which we now live. Having been a somewhat average student the first time he engaged in tertiary study this is greatly satisfying - and a lot of hard work! Helen has really enjoyed being a mother to our beautiful baby daughter this year - she especially enjoys clothing her in beautiful dresses. She has also managed to complete three audit papers at Laidlaw this year and will continue on with four more in 2011.

As we look toward 2011 we begin to consider transitions again. It is our intention to move ahead with OMF in the New Year and continue the process toward becoming full time mission partners by 2012. This will mean speaking and relational engagements in various locations throughout the year as we build our support base. We are currently at the appointee stage, which means we now need to raise prayer support and financial support. If that all works out we will be getting on a plane - hopefully some time in 2012. Until then Simon will continue on studying in 2011and should complete his degree by years end.

We hope and pray this update finds you all well. Feel free to contact us at any time and if you would rather not continue to receive our updates please let us know.

God Bless and have a Happy and Safe New Year,

Love Simon, Helen, Henry and Evangeline Johnson.

Thap Than

Second Day in Thap Than today... two and a half hours NE of Suphanburi. We are again staying with a New Zealand Missionary, Lee-Anne Hill. She has been here 18 months and is learning language and involved in English programmes. We went to Church this morning, very small and very intimate. It was quite touching hearing testimony of God's work in people's lives.... former prostitutes.... people living in fear of the Buddhist spirit world. There is a classic missionary couple hear, Bob and Jan -  they have been hear for 35 years and are in their final term before retirement. Bob gets about the place with a Banjo, playing gospel songs and preaching. Sounds kind of old school, but it is working, with people coming to Christ and lives being transformed. Tommorrow we will participate in an English programme at a local high school. It will be all day and involve games, dramas, songs and ofcourse teaching English. Check the facebook link to my photos.