Guzons’ Visit: Here is a report sent in by Dennis on Tuesday:
It has only been a week since Dr Eugene Guzon and his wife Lulu landed in Wellington (21 Aug) in response to the National Pastoral Team’s move to request they come to encourage the Masterton congregation and do some training also. I am thankful that all seven of those laid off last month have already found work, or an offer of work. Hence the arrival of the Guzons is both an encouragement and a special pleasure as they celebrate finding new work and the opportunities these will give them.
Aside from resting and overcoming jet lag, the first couple of days spent in Wellington enabled the Guzons to meet five young people, four being children of German (George) and Emma Sotalbo. The layover allowed good opportunity to discuss the needs and challenges GCI Masterton presently faces, and what might be useful for the members. Sue, the Guzons and I travelled over to Masterton on Friday and dined at the Ornejas home that first evening.
Saturday’s plan included lunching with the Sotalbo family and attending the 23rd Anniversary of the Wairarapa Filipino Society in the evening. These plans were suddenly compromised, however, when Mrs Guzon suffered strong pain and needed to visit the local hospital emergency department. It turned out to be an abscessed tooth. So, while the arrangements for the day did go ahead, Mrs Guzon was for much of the day waiting to be seen by a doctor so her condition could be confirmed and appropriate medications prescribed.
The Filipino Society’s celebrations proved quite an occasion, with 200-300 in attendance (of the 800-1000 Filipinos in the region). The first order of the evening was sharing a meal, after which speeches and presentations of awards to students completing their studies were made. The occasion was well stocked with celebrities including the Masterton Mayor and two counsellors, Wairarapa MP Mike Butterick, the Filipino MP for New Lynn in Auckland, and Philippine Ambassador to NZ, Her Excellency Kira Christianne D. Azucena. The Ambassador spoke of the range of ways in which our two nations were opening to each other, sharing resources, forming business, military and educational partnerships, and the ways in which Filipinos were being integrated into our society and “making NZ a better place”.
Following on from Sunday’s worship service, the pastoral team and emerging leaders met to chat about the challenges, needs and opportunities the members face, and about learn about administrative, pastoral and leadership needs being experienced, for which training will be given in the weeks ahead. A leadership retreat is planned for 6-8 Sept.
In the days since, the Guzons have already visited several families to hear their needs and to encourage them to join in with the training sessions being offered. I return them to Wellington on Wednesday in readiness for Mrs Guzon’s early morning flight Thursday back to Manila. Dr Guzon will then return with me to Masterton. Saturday is set aside for a half day of leadership training, and then Dr Guzon will speak to the whole church on the Sunday Zoom service on 1 Sept.
Your ongoing prayers for the success of Dr Guzon’s trip to Masterton are truly appreciated. Initially he came to encourage our members in their time of discouragement and need, but it is presenting an opportunity to train current and emerging leaders there for the work ahead, to further establish the GCI team-based pastor-led ministry leadership model in the church here and establish frameworks for strengthening and growing this congregation as the Spirit leads us to fulfil his will in this place.
Please continue praying that Dr Guzon and I receive wisdom and discernment from the Holy Spirit about the needs of the church and of the members, and that the Masterton church is both readied for the doors of service that lie ahead, and empowered to speak the Gospel message of salvation in Christ Jesus boldly and confidently.
New Employee: We’re delighted to announce that a new employee started working for GCI NZ this week! Anthony Dady, who currently lives in Cambridge, has joined our ministry staff on a half-time basis for a 6 month fixed-term contract. Over the next 6 months Anthony will be assisting me in the Auckland and Waikato regions, while he completes a course of study with Waikato Institute of Technology.
In recent months Anthony, who moved from the UK to NZ last September, has been assisting David Wong in serving the Hamilton Fellowship Group, and he will now be able to pastor that group, with David still visiting them from time to time. He will also be able to travel regularly to Auckland to give sermons and serve the church here, along with Alison and Tabitha.
Anthony served as a Regional Pastor in the UK for several years, so he is well qualified to take up this role in NZ. We appreciate God's blessing in providing a younger family to join in serving the NZ church. The photo shows the Dady family at a church barbecue at their home in Cambridge.
Rotorua Retreat: Plans are going well, with an interesting programme being lined up for our retreat, which is now only just over a month away. On the opening evening, we’ll be viewing and commenting on a TED talk on the subject of “Vulnerability” given by Brené Brown. It would be great if you could preview this short video before going to Rotorua. Here is the link: The power of vulnerability | Brené Brown | TED (youtube.com)
Birth: Marius and Elvise Taren of Rory, Vanuatu are pleased to announce the arrival of a new baby daughter, Tesaliah, born August 8th. They now have three lovely daughters.
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