Indian summer 07

I gave an American student a lift back into town after worship practise at Mosgiel on Friday night. She is sweltering in our lovely weather because she ony bought winter gear after listening to all the warnings about how cold Dunedin could be. Well, the rest of us are enjoying it!

Or they would be if they were well. Janine has a tummy bug today and both Zak and Hannah have had a touch of croup over the weekend.

Yesterday's youth group activity was abseiling off the bell tower at Mosgiel; crazy!

Ordination Invitation

After the shortest congregational meeting in living memory, Mosgiel Presbyterian Church has agreed to appoint Chris and I to a stated supply position there until the end of December. This means that we can be ordained which will be happening Thursday 29 March, 7:30 at Mosgel Prebyterian Church, Church Street Mosgeil.
Needless to say we are delighted and looking foward to celebrating with family and friends.
We are enjoying the job for the most part. Chris had a "sleep over" at the church on Saturday night and the youth and young adults took the service there on Sunday. One of our young people has returned from a short term mission to Nigeria and he was invited to speak - although his slide show was so long we didn't have time to hear his sermon. So we will hear that next week.
I had teacher interviews with Katarina last week. She has settled into Columba College so well and continues to work really hard. Her teachers are all very pleased with her - not that we would expect anything less!!
This week it will be Janine's turn and I expect a similar sort of report from her teacher.
Hannah is really enjoying her swimming lessons and Zach arrived home and announced he would like to play hockey this year. His enthusiasm for sport never ceases to amaze me!
I spent Monday travelling to Wellington, interviewing applicants for a youth ministry support position. The research project is in its final stages and I am hoping to make a start on the Master's stuff soon.

The last days of summer

We've been enjoying a week of brilliant weather. Last night we went with the Mosgiel youth group to Brighton Beach to celebrate the last weekend of Daylight saving, and apart from watching Zak drift swiftly northwards on his boogie board, we had a great time. Fortunately there were lots of strong, tall people who could walk out and drag him back to where we were.

Chris preached at North Taieri on Sunday which was well received.

We are currently negotiating a date for our ordination. This is subject to a congregational meeting next week, March18th, so we will let you know in due course.

Zak spent the afternoon at a friend's place in Mosgiel - can you tell that he is settling into the change? Hannah has found a place in a group of four girls her age, all of whom are blond and love wearing pink. On Sunday we did the story of Jonah, which included piling them all into a tent and opening a tin of fish, for the smell of course!

Janine and Katarina are dividing themselves between Leith and Mosgiel at the moment. We will see how long that lasts as the days grow shorter and it is almost netball season again.

I am working on the final draft of my Research Project and starting to plan the Master's thesis; there are ethical things and paperwork to sort. At least I now have my student card so I can get hold of all those great student discounts!!!

Summertime in Dunedin

March may have begun but we are enjoying lovely days at the moment. Today it was twenty degrees by nine in the morning, positively pleasant!

Chris and I spent two days in Auckland last week looking at a job in Glendowie. We are not sure where we are going with this, so please pray for us. My Mum and Dad came down from Oamaru to look after the children, and Chris's Mum and Dad came up from Hamilton to see us in Auckland on Saturday so we saw both parents on the same day, which does not happen very often!

We are enjoying our time at Mosgiel. MJ preached twice on Sunday, presenting the KidzFriendly program to the congregation. It is taking some time to adjust, but we are starting to remember names and faces now. One of the many good things about working in Mosgiel is the amazing gluten free bakery! They have the best bread!

Hannah came an awful tumble on the way to school last week, managing grazes on seven points in one fall! We kept her at home for an hour or two as it took her some time to settle, after we put plasters everywhere!

Janine particpated in the Weetbix triathlon this week, doing the bike leg for a team of girls she just met at Mosgiel Pres. This is the first time she has ever done something like this, we are very proud.

Katarina continues to work away on her homework, there is a big difference in expectations between DNI and Columba. She still makes time for youth group at Mosgiel and girl's group at Leith Valley.

Zachary continues to invest most of his time on the Playstation, although he managed several hours outside after school today playing soccer. He is also enjoying picking out tunes on the piano which is a joy and a delight to listen to.

I have the first draft of my Research Project in and I am starting to think about outlines for Master's research at the moment.