Hero Headquarters and God's Garden

We must tell you that our time here with the team in New Zealand has been quite extraordinary. And yet, that is what we have come to expect from the Lord: unique and wonderful things!

  Each evening we have enjoyed genuine fellowship with one another, sharing deep parts of our lives, touching heaven while on our knees in prayer. Each day is filled with fun and meaningful work, new friendships and exquisite scenery.

Today "Captain Chad" , "Acrobatic Alison", "Magnificent Megan" and our superhero teammates made an appearance at "Hero Headquarters". 

23 children ages 5-14 were in attendance, having a blast with silly songs, engaging Bible stories, and heaps of messy crafts, snacks and games. VBS has been a blast so far!

Our little worship facility was filled with people from all over the world.  Who'd have thought that in 4 hours we'd get to rub shoulders with children from India, England, South Africa, Brazil, New Zealand, Australia and America! It is like a slice of heaven.

Day 1 was a huge success and we are anticipating two more days of great encounters with our ultimate Hero: God!

After a busy morning with the kids, we enjoyed a delightful respite in perhaps one of the most picturesque settings in all of Northland, "God's Garden" at the home of our dear friends Noel and Annita.  They have transformed 18 hectares of native New Zealand bush into a place of peace and refreshment, complete with a handmade water wheel, fruit orchard, outdoor sanctuary, floating tree house, and countless areas to hide and collect one's thoughts. 

What a great way to end the day!

New Zealand Week 1

10 days down. 10 days to go.  

We thank The Lord for servants' hearts, creative minds and hard workers these last 10 days.  He has blessed us with a variety of opportunities to serve and sightsee, experiencing New Zealand at its finest. 

In the midst of outreach events, youth activities and preparing for "Hero Headquarters" Holiday Programme (aka VBS) New Hope Nazarene is undergoing a face-lift with indoor murals, outdoor upkeep and new chair cushions, etc.

 Over 200 local folks attended our Otangarei outreach event today, complete with homemade yard games and hot sausages.   What a blast!

The Blog is Back!

Kia Ora, Friends!

   The blog is back!  In just a few short hours, 13 unique individuals from MidAmerica Nazarene University will unite as one team and depart for our beloved New Zealand!  Many of you have given generously over the last year through financial contributions, donation of material goods, friendship and support.  Now we have one more very important request:  PRAYER!

Now more than ever, we are reliant upon the prayers of others for for the "success" of this team, our partnership with God in His mission.  According to the scriptures, success looks a whole lot like servanthood and sounds a whole lot like love.

Would you pray for our team, that we would really make Jesus famous and enjoy safety and harmony in the group while we're doing it? Attached is a copy of our prayer calendar while includes specific topics for which you can pray each day.  Some requests are team-specific, while others pertain to New Zealand national matters and challenges facing churches and families today.

Are you up for the task?
Thank you again and again for praying for our team and lifting us to the Father each day!

Grace and Peace to each of you,

Wedding Photos are Here!

Through the wonders of cyberspace, we were blessed to have over 150 people from four different countries "attend" our wedding via live streaming, not to mention another 200 or so present in living colour.  What a gift!

My brother Josh used his creative photography skills and produced for us some excellent photos.  Enjoy!

Watch the wedding live!

Hellooo from Kansas City!

 

Our long-awaited wedding is only 6 days away and thanks to our good friend Ken, we now have a link to the wedding livestream!  Save this link and view the ceremony online live Saturday, November 21st @ 1:00PM, Central Standard Time.

(For you Kiwis, that's 8:00AM Sunday morning, November 22nd for you!)

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC__iVmpCRgFaoxYUoLdTrtA/live

If you are "attending" the wedding via internet, we would love to see you!  Would you mind taking a group photo or selfie to e-mail to us, so that we may add it to our wedding photo album?

We are so thrilled that you can celebrate such a sacred occasion with us!

It's a Family Affair

75.  47. 1.

75 days ago I landed back on American soil.

47 days from now I will become Mrs. Alison Johnson.

1 day at a time is how I choose to live.

Ever since my arrival in Kansas City, my feet have not stopped running.  Working two jobs, preparing for the wedding, ministering at church, and navigating life's surprises has at times left me feeling as though I have not yet landed. Hovering seems to be a skill I have unintentionally perfected.

The sudden death of my aunt just weeks ago left us all quite baffled and sad, scrambling to bring the family together from all corners of the country for a meaningful memorial service. Only days later, my dad spent a 3 day vacation in the hospital to get his heart condition under control. (Not the kind of vacation most of us envision.)  The ongoing trials of teenage family members and friends make my heart heavy.

Daily I ache for the Pacific. I dream of familiar faces and special places.  New Zealand is never far from my consciousness and vivid images of Whangarei linger in the periphery.  Today I was saddened by the news of the passing of three young children with whom I had the privilege of working in Tonga at the Mango Tree Centre.  Updates from friends in Papua New Guinea bring to mind fond memories from the past.

All of these things affect me.  Why? Why do I care about people 10,000 miles away?  Why do I care  about people in my own household?  For that matter, why should any of us care about anyone else besides ourselves?

Because it's a family affair.

Flesh and blood do not make a family; well, not human blood anyway.  The blood of Christ Jesus however, does.  The love of Christ caused him to spill his lifeblood to pay for all that separates us from the Father, so that kinship with Him could be ours. That love unites us.  That love makes us family. That love makes us care.

This love is what brings Chad and my four beautiful future step-children together.  By the grace of God, we are learning to carry one another's burdens, to laugh together, to cry together, to pray together and to sacrifice for one another.

It's a family affair.

This weekend we formed some new family traditions, one of which was running in the Jared Coones Memorial Fun Run 5K.  "Team Chalison" made their debut and pounded the pavement in the cool morning hours to raise funds for cancer research, in honour of our dear friend Ron.  We then ventured to the Louisburg Cider Fest for a taste of their signature apple cider donuts, an annual must-do for any families in the Kansas City area.

As I find my unique place among my newly forming family, I begin to land. The skill of hovering
is no longer needed, because the love I experience guides me like headlights lining the runway, showing me that I have indeed found a safe place to land.

You see, it's a family affair.  Thank you, Lord, for my family.
 

Parking for the Pantry- Old Settlers 2015

Over $800 in cash and four boxes of food have been donated to our Faith Journey Food Pantry!

How?

"Parking for the Pantry" took place this weekend during Olathe's "Old Settler Days".  Old Settlers is an annual 3-day event hosted by our city, including Kansas' largest parade, carnival rides, crafts stalls, games, fair food, live entertainment, and free stuff.  It's like a good old-fashioned American county fair.

Our church currently owns an empty plot of land in downtown Olathe where our future ministry center will be built and it couldn't be a better location for ministering to eager festival-goers!  Because parking  during the festival is at an absolute premium, we offered free parking while accepting food and cash donations for our food pantry,  turning a rather unassuming empty field into a sacred space.

  The event was a huge success and we praise the Lord for this great opportunity to meet folks from all around our city, giving them an opportunity to be generous and help us help families in need.

Windshield Wipers

The car is going at full speed, but I notice that my destination is fast approaching, so what do I do?  I press the brakes and turn on the windshield wipers, of course!


 Wait . . . Ugh.  I've done it again!

Intending to indicate a left turn with my blinker; I click the wipers instead, something I've done dozens of times since my arrival back in the USA.

In case you weren't aware, we drive on the left side of the road in New Zealand.  This means that the steering wheel is on the right side of the car, as are the blinkers, and the gear shifter is on the left.   (And for you curious types, you cannot turn right on red, but you can legally go 100 down the highway - 100 kilometres that is!  :-) 

 I've been here in America four weeks and still experience the occasional brain fart, defaulting to my habits as a Kiwi.  In fact, just the other day, intending to drive myself home from the supermarket, I entered in the right side of the car, then sat down and put on my seat belt before I realized that there was no steering wheel in front of me!  Sheepishly I exited the car, scoured my surroundings for any perplexed observers, and then walked around to the driver's side.

My embarrassment, however, soon turned to pride.  The sharp awareness that New Zealand was still affecting me, still shaping my behaviours and still my default mode made me secretly happy. Somehow it brought me comfort to realize that Aotearoa was still running through my veins and that without even knowing it, I was acting like a Kiwi.  I confess that I am proud to be Kiwi-ized, and admit that much of me rebels against the American status quo. You can take the girl out of New Zealand, but you can't take New Zealand out of the girl.

In my rebellion, I'd rather eat tomato sauce, not ketchup, and munch on biscuits, not cookies. Taking out the rubbish sounds a bit more posh than taking out the trash. I'd prefer to push a trolley through Wal-Mart, instead of a cart, and pack my groceries in the boot, not the trunk. I will continue to pronounce some words with a New Zealand accent and use the British spelling for everything from colour to kilometre (at least until spell check gets the best of me!).

Why such stubbornness? Why the refusal to adapt?

Is this behaviour a natural result of adjusting to a new country, new culture, new way of doing life?  Yes.

Is this expected for those grieving a move away from loved ones and loved surroundings?
Yes.

Is this an attempt at justifying arrogance and an unwillingness to adapt?
Yes.
Ugh . .. I've done it again.

Its true. I take pride in being different. The irony is that the desire to be perceived as unique and special is common among mankind.  The inability to be "figured out" too easily allows you to remain a bit mysterious and unlabeled, which can be quite attractive, especially to the human ego.
We all want to be different. .. just like everyone else.

I enthusiastically invested time and energy into adapting to life in New Zealand, eagerly shedding my "American-ness" and embracing life as a Kiwi, so that I might like the Apostle Paul "become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some." (1 Corinthians 9:22)
That worked well for me in New Zealand . . .but I'm not in New Zealand anymore.

 For most people enduring daily grind in Kansas City, discussing the potential flag change, sky high youth suicide rate in the Northland, Christchurch earthquake recovery, or any other New Zealand issue is basically irrelevant.  Bragging about New Zealand's  breathtaking scenery or the high quality of dairy doesn't really matter to someone who is just scraping by, trying pay the bills and make sense of life here. The humbling reality is that just as I embraced God's call to serve across the seas and learn to do life there, so must I adapt to life here.

I will heed Pauls' words in Romans 12:2 and "not be conformed any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of [my] mind, so that [I] can test and approve what God's will is, His good pleasing and perfect will."

I will not conform to the pattern of New Zealand, nor the USA.  Vices and virtues exist within all cultures and not one is superior to the other.  Thus, I will embrace the culture of the Kingdom of God and embrace life wherever I am planted in my Father's world.

Next time the windshield wipers make an unwanted appearance when I'm trying to turn a corner, I will thank God for the remarkable years in Aotearoa , then self correct and click the blinker to indicate that I am not only turning the vehicle, but turning my attention to loving God and loving people right here in Kansas city. 

* Forgive me, but I just had to include a few more of my favourite photos from my old neck of the woods!

God of the Underdogs

Ahhh.  Just like old times.  Sweating buckets, spending energy, being silly, hauling equipment, setting up, tearing down, giggling, laughing- you name it.  These are the makings of a great Vacation Bible School!

This week Faith Journey Church of the Nazarene has been hosting "God of the Underdogs" Vacation Bible School, and in true Faith Journey fashion, we don't wait for people to come to church (as if it were a destination),  we bring Church to the people (because that was God's design in the first place.) Remember, the Church doesn't have a mission.  God's mission has a Church.

We've been hosting the VBS outside at a local park, nestled amongst town homes and apartments, proclaiming the love and power of our God to dozens of children and parents.  It couldn't be a better venue!  When the neighbourhood kids see the tents going up and hear the music playing, they come running!

 

It is a great joy to partner with people to whom the mission of God is more important than convenience and more valuable than their pocketbooks; it is something decidedly worthy of their time and devotion.

We've had 45-50 children each night and the week isn't over yet!  Thank you, Father, for the rain-less skies, humble servants, and your love that compels us to spend energy on behalf of our young people.

Thank You Plymouth Heights!

Who doesn't love a handmade quilt?

I came home to find that a lovely package had arrived from Plymouth Heights Church of the Nazarene in Ohio, a LINKS church that has been supporting my ministry in New Zealand. 

This is what I found inside!

Even though I am currently in the USA, they found a way to get it to me before my birthday.

Thank you to the "Sewing Seeds Quilt Group"!  You know how to take good care of your missionaries!

The Cure for Jet Lag

It's 4:30AM Kansas time and I've been wide awake for nearly two hours.   The culprit?  Jet Lag.  The solution?  Prayer.

  It brings me great comfort to know that God never sleeps.  Entirely unaffected by man-made time zones, cultural expectations, or re-entry shock, the Creator of the Universe need not worry about over exhaustion or identity crises.

To take both my New Zealand and American families to God's throne of grace during these midnight hours gives me great peace.  After an epic two-day journey to the centre of the earth (or at least the centre of the USA), already preceded by many days without proper sleep,   I don't know how to do much else, other than pray.   I really don't know how to "be".

Whangarei, New Zealand, has been my home for four years and quite honestly, I don't know how to "be" anywhere else.   The song of the Tui in the forest and the cool ocean breezes greeted me nearly everyday, while soft winter showers produced the most exquisite rainbows time after time after time.
I ran up hills and mountains in my spare time and visited parishioners in their homes and hospitals.  Preaching and teaching was a weekly responsibility, and bounding and twirling about with my gymnasts each day was great fun! I ate "Weet bix" and fejoas, hung my laundry outside, and drove a quirky old car on the left side of the road. New World was my local supermarket and the electric blanket was my best friend on cold nights.

Now as I write this, a good ole' Kansas summer storm is raging outside, something I have not encountered in a very long while.   Those gentle showers are replaced with fierce lightning and thunder, torrential rain and well. .. quite a show! The roads here are flat and straight, a sight basically unseen much of anywhere in  New Zealand.  I'll now be frequenting my local Hy-Vee for groceries, but will have to do without the fejoas and pavlova.  I'll be meeting new gymnasts here in Olathe next week and no longer hanging my clothes outside in the rain. A dryer will do.

Life is changing.  Some of the changes are seemingly insignificant, while others will have more impact.

The thrill of planning a wedding and expanding my family brings excitement and the undeniable sense of being alive! Reuniting with old friends and ministry partners will be enjoyable and special . . . as will eating some classic Kansas City BBQ!

 Eventually I will settle into a new normal, a new routine.  But until then, I have asked the Lord to help me know how to "be" here.

This is what he said:

 "BE STILL and know that I am God!  I will be honoured by every nation (even in America.)" Psalm 46:10.