Monday, July 23, 2012

From the rain forest to the desert... Kansas City Week 1

If I were a mathematician, the formula for migrating from the rain forest to the desert might look like this:

3 hour drive to Auckland, NZ + 3.5 hr flight to Brisbane, AUS + 13 hour flight to Los Angeles, USA + 2 hour flight to Salt Lake City, USA + 2.5 hour flight to Kansas City, USA = HOME!

1 week ago today I arrived in Kansas City for a brief home assignment and holiday.  It has been a blessed time of reuniting with family and friends, sharing about God's work in New Zealand, and rediscovering the necessity of sunblock and ice-water.  :-) More than anything it has been a genuine refreshment and reminder that God's people are sprinkled all across the globe and to be a part of his holy people is a gift!

Despite the dry desert-like conditions and extreme heat here in Kansas, the time here has been for me an oasis and I am thankful. 

Home is comprised of much more than merely a house and bed to sleep in at night. Many things here in Olathe make home a treasure for me: immediate and extended family, church family and supportive Christian friends, fellow gymnastics and swim coaches, faculty and staff at MidAmerica Nazarene University and Nazarene Theological Seminary, teachers in the Olathe and Blue alley School districts, the employees at the local Hy-Vee grocery store a myriad of other seemingly small things that make home. .. well. . . "home".


 After a year in New Zealand, a new home has also been formed for me across the Pacific. In two weeks time I will be returning once again to this very special place, continuing to live, love, and participate in God's mission in Whangarei.  I can't say thank you enough to all those who have so faithfully supported the ministry in New Zealand , as well as me personally this last year.  Keep up the good work!  We're all in this together.  :-)


Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Homeward Bound!

I don't know what kind of images the word "home" conjures up for you, but for me it means family and friends I've missed like crazy, food I had forgotten I was craving, and ..  .summer heat!
July 16- August 8 I will be on a short home assignment in Olathe, Kansas, USA before returning here to New Zealand.

In the process, and in true missionary fashion, I will be speaking at various churches (and with anyone who wants to hear) about what God is up to here in New Zealand.  What a privilege!
Please continue to check this blog for updates and photos, and information on how you can continue to support the ministry through prayer, finances, and encouragement.

For those of you interested in donating to the ministry here in New Zealand, please visit my NEW Global Serve page: http://web.nazarene.org/goto/alison.  There you will find information on how to donate financially and will receive a giving receipt for tax purposes.

Thank you!