Portal (Issue 17) by BotanyLife Community Church

Issue 17 | Jan - June 2018

A NOTE FROM

The Editor Hi all, Welcome to the 17th edition of Portal. Sometimes life doesn’t go as we expect, does it? We feel we’ve found a comfortable rhythm; we’re putting plans in place; we’re looking ahead and the road seems smooth (or at least predictable). And then we hit a bump. Or even a pothole. We don’t aim towards a particular theme for each Portal issue; wanting to give our writers freedom in how they approach their articles. But in reading the articles for this issue, several of them discuss different challenges. In some, it’s about being called to step out of our comfort zone; into new environments, situations or conversations. In other articles, people share how they have walked through challenging times in their lives, or share advice that helped them weather storms. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10). I hope that wherever you are, and whatever is happening for you, that this issue of Portal is one that lifts you up and encourages you. With love,

Charlotte Gray

THE PORTAL TEAM {EDITOR} Charlotte Gray {WRITERS & CONTRIBUTORS} Brad Carr / Mark van Wijk / Mel Thorburn / Erika Bond-Milner Baxter Thorburn / Annabelle Tan / Josh Karlsen / Georgia Thorburn / Anna Roughton / Harrison Carr / Mel Palmer Dave & Merilyn Griffiths / Tina Funnell / Joanne Teo / Debbie du Toit / Liz Carter {ART} Art Director / Designer - Amanda Crane / Photographers - Nathan Kavumbura / Mark van Wijk / Mel Palmer 3

Contents 06

Feature Article Multiply

Values/DNA Series We Build Bridges, Not Walls

Leadership Spotlight Meet Harataki & Shona Manihera

Local Outreach Botany Community Day / Splash / Thailand Quiz Night

Global Outreach Project Thailand / Barnabas School of Leadership in Nepal

Regional/National Partners Willow Park KidzCamp

Church Life A look back on Nightlife

Youth Ministry Xchange / ALTR - Easter Camp

Community Groups Take a look at Allsorts

Whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s That? Get to know some of our fellow members in the church

Reviews Grab a comfy seat, turn the volume up, rustle the family together and grab some popcorn

Obituary Andy Bray

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s On at BotanyLife? Get your pens out and mark these dates on your calendar

BOTANYLIFE COMMUNITY CHURCH {STAFF} LEAD PASTOR - BRAD (AND ROCHELLE) CARR COMMUNITY PASTOR - MARK (AND STEPH) VAN WIJK CHILDRENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S PASTOR - MEL (AND DREW) PALMER WORSHIP AND GROUPS PASTOR - ROBIN (AND SONIA) BYRNE KOTAHI MANAGER - MEL (AND JULIAN) THORBURN EVENTS MANAGER - MEL DUNFORD TRUST ADMINISTRATOR - CHARLOTTE (AND NATHANAEL) GRAY

{ELDERS} BRAD (AND ROCHELLE) CARR STU (AND IANTHE) JONES ANDRE (AND CHRISTL) KIRSTEIN STEVE (AND ROBYN) YOUNG

FEATURE ARTICLE Text by Brad Carr.

ur Vision Sunday service on Sunday 18th February was an opportunity to look forward as a church family to the coming year and what we wanted to achieve. The previous year - 2017 - had been the first year of our new 15-year Multiply vision. The key focus had been on building a culture of prayer. As we moved into our second year of Multiply, the leadership of BotanyLife were excited about four key initiatives we wanted to launch in 2018.

from American pastor Kevin Harney, who preached a BotanyLife a few years ago and has written a series of books on evangelism around the idea of “organic outreach”. Kevin uses the idea of a scale from 1-10, with 1 being very low and 10 being an all-out raging evangelist. However, what Kevin says is that the actual number you give yourself isn’t the main idea; the real point is what you’re planning to do to increase your temperature by one degree. Our prayer this year is that everyone at BotanyLife would raise their temperature by at least one degree.

MULTIPLYING MISSIONARIES - LOVE RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE The first key Multiply aspect we wanted to accelerate in 2018 was the idea of multiplying missionaries. This was not really aimed at sending people overseas, but recognising the call of God to all of us to be missionaries right here in New Zealand. The reality is that all of us, if we’re followers of Jesus, have a responsibility to share our faith. But many of us struggle to do that. As an author I was reading recently says,

To do that, we are following three main preaching series around the theme “Love Right Where You Are.” The first series in the book of Jonah allowed us to be challenged by Jonah’s apathy and lack of love for lost people - in his case, the people of Nineveh. We heard the phrase, “I am Jonah” from the synagogues, and were challenged by the fact that often we are more like Jonah than Jesus. The second series that followed Jonah was on prayer, building on the previous year’s emphasis. Following on from the challenge of Jonah, in this 5-part series we asked God to transform us and increase our temperature. We prayed that God would open our eyes to see lost people, then open our hearts to love them, our schedules to include them, our ears to listen to them, and then finally our mouths to share with them the good news of Jesus.

“In a survey of 2500 adults who attend a Protestant church regularly... only 46% agree strongly that they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Jesus Christ with non-Christians.” (Scott McConnell) We want to see that change at BotanyLife, so on Vision Sunday we began talking about the idea of “raising the evangelistic temperature” in our church. This idea comes 6

FEATURE ARTICLE

We have now begun our third series for this year, in the New Testament book of 1 Peter. This was a letter written by one of the most prominent apostles of the early church, to a group of early Christians who felt pushed to the margins of their society because of their faith. Peter wrote to encourage them that even though they felt like outsiders, they were chosen and loved by God, and even though they felt like exiles in their communities, they needed to live good lives where God had placed them. 1 Peter is perhaps one of the best books in the Bible in terms of explaining how we are to love, right where we are.

However, they were never sure exactly how the logistics of that would work. As our leadership team developed the Multiply vision, however, including the idea of satellite churches using video teaching from the church in Botany, Harataki and Shona saw the possibility of how a church in the Hawkes Bay could work. Then midway through last year, Harataki was surprised with a job offer that he hadn’t expected…back in Hastings. Harataki and Shona sensed that perhaps the Lord was taking them home, and as the elders met and prayed with Harataki and Shona, we sensed the same thing.

MULTIPLYING GODLY SERVANT-LEADERS BARNABAS SCHOOL OF LEADERSHIP A second part of the long-term Multiply vision we are excited about in 2018 is helping to develop servant leaders globally. We announced on Vision Sunday that Barnabas School of Leadership was going to become a new global partner for our church. BSL is a ministry launched by Rowland and Elaine Forman, with the goal of helping to train indigenous church leaders and pastors. Currently BSL trains pastors in Ghana, Myanmar and Nepal, and in April I had the privilege of travelling to Nepal with Rowland and Elaine to train over thirty amazing church leaders for a week. (You can check out the article on that trip a few pages on.)

So on Vision Sunday we joyfully announced that we were going to launch our first satellite church in Hastings in 2018, far earlier than we had anticipated, under the leadership of the Maniheras (and you can read more of their story in the ‘Leadership Spotlight’ section of this issue). At this stage we anticipate a 3-stage process over the next few years. Stage 1 was to start a small church in their home, and this is now underway. A small group of people have begun to meet together in their Hastings home on Sunday mornings, which we’re tremendously excited about.

As a leadership, we are currently exploring another request from BSL to return to Nepal in April 2019. MULTIPLYING CAMPUSES AND CHURCHES HASTINGS Another key aspect of our long-term Multiply vision as a church is to plant churches in New Zealand, either as independent church plants or as multi-site satellites of BotanyLife. In our thinking this had always been a part of Multiply that would come years down the track. However, as 2017 unfolded, God surprised us as a leadership by opening the doors to us launching our first satellite church far earlier than we had ever anticipated.

Welcome

Harataki and Shona Manihera have been a core part of our church family, as well as church leadership, since we began BotanyLife in 2004. Originally from the Hawkes Bay, they have always had a heart to return there one day, and Lord willing, start a church. 7

FEATURE ARTICLE

Stage 2 will begin when the home church feels like it is stable and growing, and there are some mature and godly Christians as part of that who can be a support to Harataki and Shona. When that occurs, we will look around for a facility to hire for church services, and the Hastings church will go public. We’re anticipating that will happen sometime in the next six to eighteen months. Stage 3 will be some years down the track, when the church has grown enough to become an independent entity.

MULTIPLYING RESOURCES - THE MULTIPLY PROJECT A final part of what we shared on Vision Sunday was a specific challenge to raise some additional funds for these new initiatives. We called this challenge “The Multiply Project,” and the goal is to try and raise an additional $100,000 over-and-above regular giving this year. These funds will help us pay for some significant expenditure associated with the Hastings satellite, including setup costs when the home church begins meeting in rented facilities, as well as major investment in video and audio equipment so we can film the sermons in Botany. This fund will also assist us with costs associated with rebranding the church and restructuring it legally. We are also hoping to hire a youth pastor as our next staff member at the Botany church, and any leftover funds from this project will be put to that.

Starting a satellite church in Hastings under the leadership of the BotanyLife elders means that we are now officially a multi-site church; one church meeting in two locations. The elders oversee both churches, with Harataki serving as the campus pastor in Hastings and reporting to Brad. It’s been exciting to see this new home church get underway in Hastings, and to watch what God is doing in people’s lives. We’re also excited about other possibilities for satellites in other parts of Auckland and New Zealand in the future. In the meantime, we also announced on Vision Sunday that at some point this year we would be looking at changing our church name to something more generic that would work in different places, as well as changing the legal structure of our church. You can expect to hear more about these changes in the coming months.

We have set up a separate bank account for the Multiply Project with the suffix of -02, and are inviting people at BotanyLife to consider making additional gifts to that account. These could come from work bonuses, small additional giving, or even tax rebates. We shared on Vision Sunday that if everyone at BotanyLife gifted their tax rebates back to the church, we would raise an additional $160,000. We are excited that at the time of writing this article, over $20,000 has already been given to this project.

We continue to be in awe of God and what He is doing in our church family. We can’t wait to see what God does in us and through us in 2018.

VALUES/DNA SERIES

WE BUILD BRIDGES NOT WALLS

Text by Mark van Wijk.

ll of us live our lives based on a series of values and beliefs that influence our priorities and decisions. At BotanyLife, we have tried to articulate the core values that influence our unique approach to church life and ministry. In this Portal issue, we’re taking a look at one in particular: We build bridges not walls.

We share God’s passion for lost people. We value building genuine friendships with those who don’t know God, so that we may in time have the opportunity to boldly share the gospel of Jesus. (Matt 28:18-20; Rom 10:14-15; 2 Cor. 5:16-21; Col 4:2-6).

As Christians we often wrestle with how to connect well with a lost world around us. When we’re faced with stepping into what can feel like a dark, scary and hostile place, it’s tempting to run away, to withdraw, to only spend time with ‘safe’ people - those who share our faith. John 8:12 reminds us though, that Jesus came as the light of the world. He didn’t shy away from anyone, or anywhere. Instead, he reached out to the lost, treating them with dignity, answering their questions, and loving and accepting them in spite of their sin. We see this time and again in the gospels, where Jesus regularly upsets the religious leaders of his day by hanging out with ‘sinners’ – spending time with them, eating with them, teaching them, and calling them to follow him!

Jesus’ example calls us to go beyond our safe places, and to intentionally build friendships with people that don’t yet know him, with the ultimate purpose of sharing the good news about Jesus. Our current ‘Love Right Where You Are’ Sunday teaching series has given us the opportunity to explore what it looks like to open our eyes, heart, schedule, ears, and mouths as we challenge ourselves to love the people around us, and share Jesus with them. As a church we love to help support BotanyLifers in these efforts by running events and courses that provide opportunities for people to build relationships, to encounter God’s truth, and to hear and understand the gospel message. Ultimately, however, it all begins with a love for God and a love for people:

“The starting point of effective outreach is not a system, a program, or a specific presentation. It is a heart deeply in love with God and with people. Without love, no outreach strategy will work. With God’s love, we can change the world.” Kevin Harney, Organic Outreach for Churches

It’s our dream that every one of us would share God’s love for people far from Him, and that we would join Him on His mission to reach them, by building genuine friendships and sharing the good news about Jesus - what better mission could we be on? Let’s tear down the walls around us and go build bridges!

LEADERSHIP SPOTLIGHT

Harataki & Shona Manihera Text by Charlotte Gray.

au mai, haere mai, haere mai. Haere mai ki o tātou whare. Welcome, come, welcome to our home.

Electoral Commission to help promote and support the use of the Māori electoral roll option.

If you walked into Flaxmere’s newest home church this Sunday, this is a taste of how you would be greeted; welcomed into the Maniheras’ house in Māori and English.

Shona and Harataki met in a pub in 1979, and became Christians together in Hamilton on March 7th, 1986. One of Harataki’s favourite verses - John 3:16 - was shared with him the night he was converted.

Harataki and Shona Manihera are key members of the BotanyLife church family; involved from its earliest days. They served as elders and helped support the church as it grew. Now they are leading a church plant of their own; a BotanyLife satellite campus in Hastings. It’s known as Homechurch @ Folkestone, named after their street Folkestone Drive in the suburb of Flaxmere.

“KOIA ANO TE AROHA O TE ATUA KI TE AO, HOMAI ANA E IA TANA TAMA KOTAHI, KIA KAHORE AI E NGARO TE TANGATA E WHAKAPONO ANA KI A IA, ENGARI KIA WHIWHI AI KI TE ORA TONU.” “FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY SON, THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.”

Harataki and Shona have a very strong connection to Hastings and Hawkes Bay. Shona grew up in the town itself, while Harataki was raised on a marae at nearby Bridge Pa. Shona enjoyed getting involved with sports like swimming, softball and netball through her local school. At 15, she decided to leave school to work in the apple packing sheds. Although she was christened, the family didn’t attend church. She remembers a neighbour who took her with a carload of kids to Christian camps in Taupo, and her Bible in Schools teacher.

It was God’s unconditional love, the gift of His son Jesus that really spoke to him, Harataki says. Up to then, he had seen love as conditional, always dependant on external influences. “I’d never actually heard of or experienced a love like it. I didn’t think there was a love like His out there at all, until I’d met Him face to face.”

Growing up, Harataki was one of 14 in his family. His mother passed away when he was 10. Alcohol and violence at home made childhood life pretty tough most of the time. He hardly attended school between Years 7 - 10 (Form 1 - 4). He left school at 14 to work in the fields and the local Tomoana freezing works, then as a shearer. After he and Shona became Christians in 1986, he decided to change career, and spent the early 90s training as a teacher. For the past 18 years, he has worked in the Ministry of Education, alongside students of all ages (primarily Māori and Pasifika) and their whanau; constructing plans to re-engage them into some form of educational pathway. As we go to print, Harataki has just accepted a new role with FamilyWorks (part of the Presbyterian Support network) working with perpetrators and victims of domestic violence. Shona has been working for the

In 1996 God called Harataki, Shona and their whānau to partner with Rowland and Elaine Forman for the church plant at City Bible Church, Hamilton and so they moved from Flaxmere with all their 5 children in January of 1997. This was hard but a choice they have never regretted. Then in 2004, they helped plant BotanyLife. Through 2003, Harataki and Brad were meeting halfway between Hamilton and Auckland, “talking about the vision God had given him when he arrived back from the States to start a new church. We felt God’s call to support that, and so we moved to Auckland with our three girls, Saffy, Rowy and Sky in 2004.” Even after they moved, both said they always knew they would be returning home to Hastings at some point in the future. This became very real when they lost a mokopuna/ 10

guys from their home church. Together with Shona, they are also building up connections with their local community. Harataki will sometimes officiate at funerals and at Hurahanga Kohatu (headstone unveilings) of which there have been a few already this year. One recently was for his aunt, and another for one of Shona’s whānau who had been struggling with meth addiction. They are also looking at creative and respectful ways that they can make connections with the gang culture in the area, through building up respectful relationships and helping practically where there is need. I asked Harataki and Shona how their BotanyLife whānau could be praying for them. They said they would love prayer for three things. Firstly, that God would bring Christian couples or individuals in to partner with them. Secondly - in God’s timing, as the church grows - a place to meet. Thirdly, that there would be many that would meet and be found by Jesus.

“The Lord really started moving last year,” says Shona. “With Harataki getting the job that he got back [in Hastings] July of 2017, that really came out of nowhere. It just all worked out for us to come home.” “The times with the elders and leaders of the church speaking about a possible satellite church in Hastings just took off,” says Harataki. “But then that’s how the Lord works, isn’t it!”

“Our dream and hope is that the church here will be multi-ethnic,” says Harataki. “That’s a biggie for us. We want to eventually be a church where every ethnicity feels safe and welcomed. A place that’s respectful, inclusive and reflective of the community.”

So what does home church look like for the whānau there? Everyone arrives and catches up before they launch into learning new songs. There are worship songs to an acoustic guitar, then a chat about how the week has been for everybody. There is prayer, then Shona takes the kids out to their programme, while the others watch a BotanyLife sermon together. They’ve currently working their way through the Jonah series, which they’ve really connected with. “What a great series,” says Harataki. “Regardless of where we are all at, we’re able to resonate with the messages on the daily. Praise the Lord.” The testimonies shared in episode 3, ‘A Great Fish’, had great impact. “Seeing a grown guy and a grown woman from different ethnicities, crying on a stage, that was moving for us. We love and respect Robin and Susan very much and appreciated very much their before and after stories.” After each series they chat over the sermon’s key ideas or questions, before finishing in prayer, song, and often sharing some kai (food) together.

Above all, God’s glory, God’s timing, and God’s way, is key for them. It comes back to one of Shona’s favourite verses, Psalm 127:1. “KI TE KORE E HANGĀ E IHOWA TE WHARE, HE MAUMAU MAHI TA NGA KAIHANGA.” “UNLESS THE LORD BUILDS THE HOUSE, THOSE WHO BUILD IT LABOUR IN VAIN.” This verse speaks to their strong desire to work to God’s plan for the church; both now and in the future. “We miss you all very much,” they say, “and are so thankful knowing you all are with us in solidarity and prayer. Know we think often of you all thankfully. Our God is a great God and He reigns.” It has been so special for us to have the Maniheras as part of our church family in Auckland, and to continue being connected to their journey with their Hastings home church; our satellite campus.

“No week is the same,” says Shona. “It depends who is there; and whoever the Lord brings.” Currently, the home church is made up of about a dozen regulars, mostly whānau, and different visitors from week to week. It’s a big mix of ages and stages. Alongside homechurch gatherings, Harataki also mentors a few of the

HE WAKA EKE NOA. WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER. MAURI TU, MAURI ORA. 11

LEADERSHIP SPOTLIGHT

grand-daughter to SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) but didn’t materialise until much, much later. Over the last few years many of their whānau and tribal leaders had been requesting they move home, and so it seemed God was calling the Maniheras back to Hastings. People there were hungry for authenticity and realness at church. A place where there was acceptance regardless of who you were. A place where you could actually come as you are. You didn’t have to speak or dress in a certain way. They’d always received great comments from whānau who’d attended BotanyLife over the years, or heard Brad speak, and how authentic and connected it was for the listener. It was a need they’d been praying about for home.

Soaring out of the Darkness is an inspirational and honest account of one woman’s journey out of the hopelessness of addiction into freedom and healing. At 14 years old Staci took her first drink and was hooked. Abandoned by her mother, feeling unloved and unwanted, she found comfort in alcohol. When tragedy struck her life, she was sent into a spiral of self-destruction. Crawling out of the darkness, she finds hope and is sent on a journey to discover freedom and healing through a relationship with Jesus. This is a powerful story of recovery and redemption. Staci’s story tells of the great love God has for each of us and the lengths He will go to rescue us from our prisons.

Available now at www.stacimclean.co.nz

About the Author

facebook.com/stacimcleanauthor/ @staci_mclean info@stacimclean.co.nz

Staci McLean has been in recovery from alcohol addiction for over 19 years. She is passionate about sharing her story and encouraging people to find freedom, healing and peace and develop a greater understanding of God’s love and grace.

LOCAL OUTREACH

Botany Community Day Text by Charlotte Gray.

aturday March 3rd dawned cool but clear. Perfect weather for Botany Community Day!

So what is Botany Community Day? It’s an opportunity for Botany organisations to come together as a community. They all gather in Botany Town Centre. Shoppers out on a Saturday morning can find out more about local organisations they might not otherwise discover. On this Saturday, St John’s Ambulance, the Police and the Coastguard were at one end of a line of stalls. You could explore the inside of an ambulance or climb into a police car. Further along were a myriad of organisations aimed to help the community, from newly-arrived immigrants to parents needing childcare. There were performers on the main stage and – in the case of a bagpipe troupe - amongst the crowds! Botany certainly has more than its share of talented singers and dancers. There were also treasure hunts, tasty treats, a bouncy castle and more! Face-painting was a particular highlight for many children. Helping at the BotanyLife table, my highlights were the chats I had with passers-by, and seeing children tackling our scavenger hunt. We also handed out copies of the Super Cool Story of Jesus – so many, in fact, that we had none left at the end of the day! We also handed out flyers about the Kotahi Mainly Music sessions, and the upcoming April KidzCamp. Both later reported new signups following Community Day. Thank you so much to those who came and helped, and to those who came and visited. It was so lovely to see you. Hope to see you again in 2019! 13

HARRY STEVENSON The best thing for me and Reid was jumping on the bouncy castle - yeah, that was fun. Splash was to get money for people in Thailand.

XAVIER JONES The best thing I did at Splash was the big water fight at the end. The reason we do Splash is to help poor places.

HARRY STEVENSON The best thing for me and Reid was jumping on the bouncy castle - yeah, that was fun!

I loved getting lollies by winning fun games. We have Splash because in Thailand they have a big water festival. We also do it to raise money for the classes we support.

The best thing we did at Splash was going down the slippery slide! We do Splash to get money for poor people in Thailand.

We have Splash to get money for people in Thailand.

RENEE VAN WIJK

EVE & KAYLA MELLOWS

JOSH DUNFORD

AMBER THOMPSON

The best thing was when the foam machine got us all foamy and people looked funny covered in bubbles!

The best thing I did at Splash was have fun with friends who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t usually come to church.

We have Splash to raise money for Thailand and invite friends not from church to come and have fun.

We have Splash to fundraise for Project Thailand and invite friends along to a fun church activity.

KELSEY CLARKE

MAC SMITH

My favourite thing was the big water fight at the end.

The best thing I did at Splash was the waterslide.

We have Splash so we can give money to Thailand schools.

We have Splash to invite our friends, have fun and help Thailand.

QUINN KENNEDY The water slide was the best thing. We do Splash to help the people in Thailand.

On 11 March, we held our annual outreach fun day for BotanyKids and their friends, called Splash! Kids paid a $5 entry fee for water-related fun and food, with the $365 raised going to the Project Thailand outreach ministry. Check out Mark van Wijk and Harrison Carr with the school equipment this money purchased and the kids from the school in Klaw Lor Blur in Thailand; one of two Thai schools who received the donations. How cool is it to see where this money ended up? Roll on Summer 2019!

THAILAND QUIZ NIGHT

WHEN: Saturday 19th May, 7:30pm

Text by Erika Bond-Milne.

WHERE: Kotahi

WHY: Stretch those quiz

muscles while raising honest, BotanyLife quiz nights aside, money for Thailand the last time most of us were in a pub quiz was pre-kids, and I most definitely had a few more marbles kicking round then. Interspersed throughout the quiz was the ‘ponderous puzzle’, a cryptic challenge where teams are given a clue at a time to guess a mystery object. The faster you guess the answer, the more points you get. Each team also had to pick two ‘joker’ rounds where they would receive double points. A difficult decision! Choose wrongly and it would cost you the game.

he royal wedding was not enough to dissuade the 80-odd contestants - plus an incredible support crew - from turning up to the fourth annual BotanyLife Quiz Night. The theme for the night was Thailand, with all ticket proceeds going to Hill Tribe Hope; an organisation which supports villages in Northern Thailand. The front of Kotahi was completely decked out in colourful Thai inspired parasols and fairy lights. The tables were tastefully decorated with red flower leis and included a trio of tasty snacks. The scene was set superbly for a night of fun and festivities. After some mixing and mingling, our quiz master Bryn was away. He had definitely done this before…a professional through and through, with the right balance of humour and getting down to serious quiz business. There were ten teams ranging in numbers, with one of the largest teams of the night being all women (go girls!). The teams themselves were a fantastic mix of familiar and unfamiliar faces. It was exciting to be able to share our awesome space with some new friends.

After having our brains put through their paces for some time - with a 20 minute interval for some tasty Thai inspired food - the winners were announced. ‘No Eye Deer’ clearly had some idea and took away the title of the BotanyLife Quiz Night champions for 2018. Overall, a Thai-riffic evening was had by all, both the winners and the losers. A special thanks must go to the team that made it happen.

The quiz followed the traditional ‘pub quiz’ format, with ten rounds of ten questions on various topics. But let’s be 16

LOCAL OUTREACH

GLOBAL OUTREACH Text by Mark van Wijk.

n March 2018, four BotanyLifers spent just over a week in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and some very remote areas of Thailand as a part of our Project Thailand initiative. Harrison Carr, Mel Palmer, Anna Roughton and I joined four others from Bright Hope World, who are one of our key global outreach partners, and who led the trip. The time spent visiting partners in Bangkok (Rahab Ministries, Good News Team, House of Hope and a youth remand ministry) was a great opportunity to connect with these incredible Thais, who are ministering in their local context, and doing an incredible job with often limited resources and people. (For more about these ministries, check out Portal Issue 16.) It is fair to say that the entire team were challenged by what we saw; especially the partners’ commitment to seeing lives redeemed and restored, and to do it all with the gospel message at the core. Given our ongoing involvement with Hill Tribe Hope, a group of churches working to bring restoration and hope to a cluster of villages in Northern Thailand, it was a real privilege to fly north to Chiang Mai, and (after a number of hours in a 4WD ute) to visit the two schools we support. What a joy it was to spend time with the teachers and students of Klaw Lor Blur and Krae Maw Kee schools. We loved listening to their stories, watching the children dance and sing, playing frisbee, and sharing school resources with them - resources purchased with funds raised by BotanyLife kids at Splash earlier this year. What a brilliant reminder the trip was for me of how and where God is at work. When we go into new, dark or remote places, it’s not as if we’re taking God with us - He is already there. He is already at work and we have the huge privilege of joining Him on His mission, to be His ambassadors, to be His hands and feet. I’ve asked the rest of our BotanyLife team to share some of their reflections with you, which you can read over the next few pages alongside a collection of our photos. 18

Text by Anna Roughton. Thailand! What a blast of heat, sound, pad thai and good good people! The highlight of our time away for me was realising the incredible gift and privilege that we could come to ‘listen’. We had the chance to listen and hear what God is doing through the lives of normal yet extraordinary people whose hearts have been captured by a vision of the kingdom of heaven and the deep conviction that Jesus is able to remake and restore anything. From slums, to the red light district, to remote hill tribe villages where elephants make better taxis than tuk-tuks, these people are living such focussed and committed lives to the call of the gospel. I just wanted to sit and steep in their stories, their vision, and their call. It felt the whole time as if we were getting to lean right into the heartbeat of our friend Jesus as He shared what was on his heart, through the mouths of some very humble, and little, witnesses. Probably the biggest highlight of the trip was meeting the beautiful Chinjut, who runs the prison ministry in Bangkok and has legally adopted some of these prisoners as her own children. The minute she started talking to me, she said quietly, “I didn’t want to do this when God first told me. I looked for someone else to do it, even a Korean missionary! But He told me that I was the one he’d picked, so I said, ‘Ok, Jesus! If You will help me.’” At first, two years passed with no fruit, and yet she is now Mum to five young adults who have come out of the prisons. They have come to know Jesus as their own friend, and who are now working as worship leaders, HIV Aids counsellors and Bible in Schools workers. That plus running a rehabilitation programme in two different prisons... this lady is golden! Coming home, the challenge of listening is still ringing in my ears. A whole big city is sitting here and the same good Jesus is on the move and looking for some little people who’ll hold hands with Him. Change comes by Him, not by my ability, and all it takes is a bit of courage, the Holy Spirit’s helping and a yes. Such cool beans! 19

GLOBAL OUTREACH

Text by Harrison Carr. It was awesome to have the opportunity to meet all of our different Thailand partners and hear their stories and experiences about living out their faith. Something that really stood out for me about going to Rahab Ministries was hearing and seeing all the different lives that have been changed because of their help. For example, they have managed to open a laundromat and a hairdresser which are now run by some of the woman who have left the bars. We also got to see all the different kinds of toys they sell. These are all made by the women who come out of the bars and are sold so they can make a living. I loved seeing the amazing attitude from everyone at the Good News Team, who share the awesome story of God with heaps of students and teachers at different schools around Bangkok. Since I study graphic design, it was cool to meet the guys on the team who design their little Good News magazines, and hear how they came up with ideas and styles. It was also great to see all the work that the Integrated Tribal Development Programme is doing in the hill tribe villages by supplying water and helping build more sturdy structures. Being able to meet all the different teachers we support at the villages’ schools was awesome too. The kids we met were shy at first but very energetic by the end. We all had heaps of fun playing frisbee and dancing with the kids, even though we didn’t speak the same language. It was awesome to go with a great team of people who passionately love God and share a bunch of chats, laughs and food with them.

Text by Mel Palmer . “HEY KIDS, MEET JESUS. HE IS AWESOME!” What a great introduction to be able to make. What a privilege it is to introduce kids to their king! It may not surprise those of you who know me, but one of the biggest highlights for me in our Thailand adventure was visiting some of the Bright Hope World partners who are doing a great job of making that introduction! They are focused on making opportunities to introduce kids to Jesus and share his love with them. There is the Good News Team, who go into Buddhist state schools and share Jesus with the whole school! They run creative programmes that share the gospel message, and then offer an ongoing correspondence programme which builds on what they have heard at school, continuing the lines of communication over a long period of time. They often get a 50% sign up rate from these visits! They are sending biblical materials into homes all over Thailand and seeing kids accept Jesus. So exciting! And then there is Prasert, who runs a ministry called “House of Hope” - and that is just what it is for the community she is in. She believes that if you meet the needs of the community, they are open to hearing about Jesus. So she meets needs. She teaches music - guitar and ukulele - which she taught herself to play! She teaches English, despite not feeling overly qualified. She teaches cooking skills. She has taught parents to make baskets to sell. She provides uniforms. She has a library. The House of Hope is a safe place for kids to be in a community that isn’t always safe. Through it all they hear about Jesus, and they feel his love. Kids have accepted Jesus. She has baptized some in a little pool at her house. Now these kids are part of her team and together they reach out with good news and love to communities around them. Wow! Then there are the Hill Tribe Hope village schools; meeting their community’s educational needs and sharing Jesus in the process. They provide hope and a future to kids for whom life beyond their little village might have once been unimaginable. These kids are now dreaming of being nurses and electrical engineers. It is all so cool. I would just have loved to spend SO much longer with them all…watching and learning. I’m inspired. I’m encouraged. I wish I was half as focused as they are. They are living for Jesus. They are loving right where they are. And God is at work through them. So good! 20

The world's best tasting act of kindness Imagine you’re a poor hill-tribe farmer in the rugged mountains north of Chiang Mai in Thailand. You have no access to fresh water, food is scarce and you are heavily in debt to loan sharks. They have lent you money at 10% interest a month in order to grow crops on a small piece of land and it's unlikely you'll ever be out of debt. Life is grim and, as you don't have official Thai citizenship, government help is inaccessible. Or imagine you're a young woman working in one of Bangkok's notorious red light districts. You have been sold into prostitution by your family to pay off a debt and now you are trapped in a brutal and degrading life with little hope of escape. You have to sell yourself every day, with just one day off a month. Everyone around you exploits you and sees

you merely as a mechanism for earning money. It is these people that the sale of La Mai coffee supports. It is our passion and commitment to give hope to the poor and exploited in Thailand that drives us. Through La Mai coffee, we are doing something to help these people, and when you drink La Mai coffee, so are you. La Mai coffee is very high quality Arabica coffee from the highlands of Thailand, and is custom-roasted in small batches by expert coffee roasters Coffee Worx, based in Christchurch. Head to www.lamai.co.nz to place your order today, and experience ‘The world’s best tasting act of kindness’.

GLOBAL OUTREACH

Leadership In Translation: Nepal 2018 Text by Brad Carr.

am sitting on the outdoor dining patio on top of our hotel, looking out across the bustling city of Bhaktapur in the Kathmandu valley. A smoggy haze lies across the entire valley, blanketing the city in cloud. The incessant beeping of car horns rises from the concrete jungle, broken occasionally by the barking of stray dogs. We have come to the end of our week of ministry, and will shortly be heading home.

using a combination of teaching, personal study and mentoring. Each cohort of 30 leaders meets four times over a two-year period, for a week at a time. BSL is still new in Nepal, and this is the first cohort of students from churches across the Himalayan nation. They first met in September 2017 for Module 1, taught by Rowland and Timon Bengtson from CityReach Church in Adelaide. So our trip this year was to teach the second module on leadership principles from Nehemiah. Over the course of the week, Rowland and I lectured from this Old Testament book, teaching on a variety of leadership topics such as prayer, vision, planning, conflict, and discouragement.

This was my first time in Nepal, a country that is familiar to many New Zealanders mainly through the exploits of Sir Edmund Hillary on Mt Everest 65 years ago - as well as his humanitarian work through the decades. I came with Rowland and Elaine Forman, and my son Logan, to help teach at the Barnabas School of Leadership for a week.

We flew into Kathmandu via Singapore, and stayed the night in the capital. Kathmandu was a shock to the system. After a warm Nepali welcome at the airport from Pastor Ram Devcota, the BSL Nepal national director, I had my first encounter with the “organised chaos” that is Nepal. Rowland and I both lined up at the NCell counter to buy Nepali SIM cards to use in the country. There were no orderly queues or systems; just a mass of bodies all standing around the counter trying to get attention. This was then replicated on Kathmandu’s roads; a horn-honking mass of buses, cars and thousands of motorbikes ignoring traffic lanes, give way laws and normal safety rules.

Barnabas School of Leadership was set up by Rowland a few years ago for the purpose of training pastors and church leaders in the Majority World. Originally, Rowland and Elaine were travelling regularly to Myanmar to conduct training, but in the last couple of years they have added Nepal and Ghana (West Africa) to their travels. Barnabas School of Leadership offers a two-year training program to indigenous leaders in these countries, 22 22

starting a church, growing the people and training leaders. He then hands over responsibility for the church to these new leaders, and then moves to a new territory to begin again - just like Paul did in the book of Acts.

The next day we boarded a small plane operated by Yeti Airways and flew to Pokhara. This â&#x20AC;&#x153;resortâ&#x20AC;? town is nestled alongside a lake to the west of Kathmandu. Nepali churches primarily worship on a Saturday, as that is their government-sanctioned day off. I had the privilege of speaking at two morning services at Nagayuan Church, led by Pastor Grishma. It was my first time preaching with an interpreter, an experience I would then replicate multiple times during the week-long School of Leadership. During the break between services, Logan and I were privileged to witness 11 people being baptised in a tub of water outside, including an 80-year-old woman who had recently come to faith!

These leaders need no training in evangelism or church planting. In fact, they could teach many of us in the West on these topics. So much so that the chairman of the BSL board in Nepal told us that at this point in time, the church in Nepal is growing at the fastest rate per capita in the world. What the churches of Nepal lack is training in the Bible, leadership and ministry. For the first time on this trip, I realised what a gift my education is, and what a privilege I have to pass on what God has blessed me with. The session where I walked these Nepali church leaders through the book of Jonah, so they could teach it in their churches, was a particular highlight for me - especially when I saw the chart of Jonah that I had done in English replicated and translated into Nepali. It was also a joy to introduce them to our BotanyLife app, which many have downloaded onto their smartphones!

Sunday morning then dawned, and church leaders began to arrive from all over Nepal for the start of the School of Leadership. The calibre of church leaders in this BSL cohort was nothing short of staggering. On the next pages, we will introduce you to a few of them, and share some of their stories and current prayer needs. Rowland, Elaine and I, plus CityReach Church member Chris Goodway, had the privilege of sitting down one-on-one with different leaders through the week for mentoring appointments. Lasting 30-40 minutes, these were an opportunity to chat with these leaders, hear their stories, victories and struggles, and pray with them.

As I sit on the patio of our hotel, looking out across Bhaktapur and reflecting on the week we have had, I am so incredibly grateful for this opportunity to minister to such amazing leaders, and perhaps play a small part in the growth and maturity of a dynamic indigenous church. Please continue to pray for the pastors and Christians in Nepal, especially as the threat of increased persecution hangs over their heads.

After one appointment, I told Logan that I had just met with the apostle Paul! This faithful pastor has been planting and growing churches in rural Nepal for close to two decades; making converts,

nepali Pastor

Profiles Farshu Panthi (pronounced par-su)

Yogendra Thapa

CHURCH: Pastor at Himalayan Fellowship in Bhaktapur FAMILY: Married to Daya, with 2 children (10 and 8) MINISTRY: Has planted a small church in Bhaktapur, but his real passion is going into rural areas to train and help pastors. He has a huge heart for encouraging struggling pastors. INTERESTING FACT: Yogendra and another Nepali pastor met Rowland at the Global Proclamation Congress in Bangkok, Thailand in 2016, and asked Rowland to bring BSL to Nepal. Yogendra also serves on the National Board for BSL in Nepal. Both he and his wife are in the first cohort for BSL.

CHURCH: Pastor of Ghairentar Church in Pokhara FAMILY: Married for 22 years, with a 19-year-old son MINISTRY: This guy is a modern-day apostle Paul. So far, he and his wife have personally planted 11 churches by planting a church, building up the people and then handing it over to the new leaders. They then move elsewhere and plant another one. At this point, those 11 churches have also planted 26 daughter churches! INTERESTING FACT: He is the youngest of 10 children in a family from the highest caste, and is the only believer. He moved to Pokhara as a newly married man, and heard the gospel from Pastor Grishma at the church Brad preached at in Nepal. PRAYER NEEDS: He asked for prayer for his wife’s chronic back pain, and for the challenges facing the church in Nepal.

PRAYER NEEDS: He asked for prayer for his family, and for his home fellowship.

Ram Devkota (known as RP) Aneedta Sunuwar CHURCH: Pastor at Elohim Church in Bhaktapur (Kathmandu valley) CHURCH: Ministry leader, Maranatha Church in Lalitpur (Kathmandu valley) FAMILY: She has been married for two years, but her husband works in the Gulf in an effort to lift them out of poverty. This is common among Christian couples and puts great strain on marriages. MINISTRY: She does heaps! She is a leader in youth ministry, organises Sunday School, and runs a women’s Bible Study where she teaches the women principles and lessons from BSL. The women love it! She also does pastoral visitation for the church and is the church cleaner. INTERESTING FACT: Her vision, based on Psalm 78:4-5, is to pass on the faith to the next generation. She would love to pour her life into children’s ministry, run a Bible Study and lead youth, but her pastor would prefer her to be an evangelist. PRAYER NEEDS: Pray for a clear vision of what God wants her to do in ministry. Please also pray that a few strained 24 relationships with some of the youth will be restored.

FAMILY: He met his wife Mithu at Bible College. They have a 17-year-old daughter and an 11 year old son. MINISTRY: He planted Elohim Church 14 years ago virtually the same time as BotanyLife! The church now has four branches in 3 districts. He also served for a time as the President of the Bhaktapur Christian Society, and is now on the steering committee of the Nepal Christian Society. INTERESTING FACT: In addition to pastoring his church, RP also serves as the National Director and a board member for BSL in Nepal. He has a tremendous pastoral heart, and was a fantastic choice as National Director. His vision is to see a BSL cohort in each of the 7 provinces of Nepal, with Nepali trainers, and for churches to be planted in all 77 districts of Nepal. PRAYER NEEDS: He asked for prayer for his role in BSL Nepal, for new churches to be planted across Nepal, and for strength for the Nepali church with the new anti-conversion laws that the government has enacted.

Saru Prajapati

CHURCH: Pastor, Christian Church in Lalitpur (Kathmandu valley)

CHURCH: Ministry leader of Nepali Evangelical Church in Bhaktapur

FAMILY: Married to Chirri, with two boys aged 14 and 17 and a daughter aged 8. Their 17-year-old serves as a musician and worship leader.

FAMILY: Saru is an outstanding young adult who lives at home with her mum and dad and older brother.

MINISTRY: After church planting in another part of Nepal, Ananda and Chirri have returned to the Kathmandu valley and planted their church; primarily made up of young people. But his primary ministry and passion is disciple-making – both in their church, and when he travels to the far reaches of Nepal to encourage and train church leaders. Ananda also serves on the board of BSL in Nepal.

MINISTRY: She serves as a youth leader in her church, as well as a member of the choir and a teacher in Sunday School. She is also a mentor to several women in the church. INTERESTING FACT: Saru has completed a business degree at university. She plans to start her own business so that she can be self-supporting in ministry. She has completed BSL Modules 1 and 2, but will take a break from BSL because she is heading to Norway on a Christian exchange program for a year!

INTERESTING FACT: He is one of a number of Nepali pastors in BSL who have had formal Bible College training, and he is now completing a Doctor of Ministry degree from Singapore Bible College.

PRAYER NEEDS: Pray for her as she goes to Norway as an exchange student and for her dad who is a diabetic.

PRAYER NEEDS: Please pray that he will be able to submit his D.Min. thesis (on disciplemaking) by the due date of 18 September this year so that he will able to attend BSL Module 3.

Rohit Dhakal (pronounced row-heat)

Kishan Chaudhary (pronounced key-sharn)

CHURCH: Pastor of Our Church in Bhaktapur FAMILY: He and his wife have been married for 7 years, and they have a daughter (aged 4) and a son (17 months).

CHURCH: Pastor of Kanchan Church in Kanchanpur (far west of Nepal)

MINISTRY: He planted Our Church in 2014, and so far they have also planted 3 branch churches in the last 4 years. He also runs a small Bible College with 14 students: the Ezra School of Ministry.

FAMILY: He met his wife in seminary, and they married seven years ago. They have one 6-year old daughter. MINISTRY: He has been pastoring in the far west of Nepal for the past nine years. He ministers among former slaves. So far his church has planted 7 branch churches as well.

INTERESTING FACT: Rohit didn’t actually attend Module 1 of BSL late in 2017. He heard about it from friends (including Pastor RP, the National Director) and practically begged to attend Module 2. He is a dynamic young leader with an infectious personality and technological bent.

INTERESTING FACT: He is from a slave family of the lowest caste, and was owned by 5 different masters up to the age of 9, when he was released from slavery. Slavery formally ended 14 years ago in Nepal. He didn’t go to school until he was 12 years old, but now has two degrees. PRAYER NEEDS: Future seminary education, and how to pursue that online.

PRAYER NEEDS: He asked for prayer for a tricky leadership issue at his church with a fellow-leader, as well as prayer for his marriage and children. 25

GLOBAL OUTREACH

Ananda Tamang

REGIONAL/NATIONAL PARTNERS

FIESTA KIDZCAMP 21S T TO 25TH JANUARY 2 01 8 Text by Baxter Thorburn.

ELL ME A BIT ABOUT KIDZCAMP. HAVE YOU BEEN BEFORE?

THE CAMP ALSO HAS TEACHING SESSIONS KNOWN AS SESH. WHAT WERE SOME OF THE THINGS YOU LEARNED?

The Fiesta summer KidzCamp was the fifth camp I have been to. KidzCamps are a really fun way to learn more about God and make some new friends. At camp, you get to play lots of cool games and challenges. At the Fiesta camp, some of the games included a salsa and chip eating competition where someone feeds another person salsa and chips as fast as they can. Another game was the limbo, where we had to try to go as low as possible.

At Sesh during Fiesta camp, we learnt about God creating the world. I really enjoyed learning the daily memory verses and getting to know them off by heart. One of the main things that stood out to me is that God always keeps his promises and we can trust him no matter what. God promised Abraham that he would have a family greater than the stars and that he would give him new land and God gave him what he promised. We also sing lots of cool worship songs at Sesh.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT HAPPEN AT CAMP?

DO YOU THINK OTHER KIDS WOULD ENJOY THIS CAMP?

Every KidzCamp there is a themed dinner and you get to dress up in a costume suited to the theme. For my fiesta costume, I wore a sombrero and a Mexican poncho. I also wore a pair of cool sunglasses that had a moustache hanging under them. At the fiesta-themed dinner, we played lots of games. I really enjoyed a game where you spun the spinning wheel and you won whatever it landed on because you always won something. Another game I enjoyed was basketball tic-tac-toe.

I would highly recommend KidzCamp if you’re in years 5 to 8, or if you’re at high school and would like to be a leader. (P.S. The food is really good!)

REGIONAL/NATIONAL PARTNERS

15TH TO 19TH APRIL 2018

Text by Annabelle Tan.

nnabelle was at KidzCamp for the very first time this April. Read on for a glimpse behind the scenes...

other fun games! I enjoyed Blindlight the most because I enjoyed having to run away from all the leaders and having to camouflage in the dark.

SO THIS WAS YOUR FIRST TIME AT KIDZCAMP! WHAT WAS THE THEME FOR THIS CAMP?

THE CAMP ALSO HAS TEACHING SESSIONS KNOWN AS SESH. WHAT WERE SOME OF THE THINGS YOU LEARNED?

I’ve never been to KidzCamp before so this was a pretty new experience for me. The theme of this camp was Cartoon Camp. We had a themed dinner on the second to last day where we had to dress up as cartoon characters. My favorite outfit was one of my leader’s costumes: Merida. She had a green velvet dress with a belt and a bow, and she also had orange-red hair that made her look even more like Merida!

Well, Paul, our preacher, told us a lot about God during Sesh. He talked about angels and religion and Jesus dying on the cross for us. He even talked about God coming to save the world! I think what stood out the most was when he told us that Jesus was going to come one fine day to rescue us and bring us to heaven. This stood out the most because I think this helps us put more trust in Him so that we will be ready when He comes.

I HEAR THERE ARE PLENTY OF GREAT GAMES AT CAMP. WHAT ONES DID YOU PLAY THIS TIME?

SOUNDS LIKE A GREAT MIX OF ACTIVITIES! WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THIS CAMP TO OTHER YEAR 5-8 STUDENTS?

We had a quiz with questions that were related to our theme, like:

Definitely! Willow Park Camp is a great place to go, with heaps of fun and cool challenges and games. It’s a great place if you want to learn more about God and have fun at the same time. Also the food there is really good and everyone there is just really friendly and nice. Especially all the leaders! There’s even a playground with a big seesaw. But my favorite thing was that it was right next to the beach!

Q: What was Spongebob’s name before he was called Spongebob? A: Spongeboy! We also played Chucky, Blindlight, Octopus and heaps of 27

Time Machine

KIDS CAMP

15-19 JULY 2018 SCHOOL YEARS 5-8 $190 PER CAMPER

CHURCH LIFE

:Pray Text by Charlotte Gray.

When’ s next Ni the ghtlif e ? Sund ay 1 2th A ugus

hilippians 4:6 reminds us, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”

temperature. We prayed that we would keep striving to love right where we are, and for plenty of opportunities to do so. The final action of the evening made the spiritual physical. A giant map of Auckland had been put on the far wall of Kotahi’s auditiorium. Where, we were asked, were people that we could be praying for, right where we lived, worked and played?

This was the focus of our first worship gathering for 2018. With a busy year ahead, there was plenty to lift up to God in prayer. The focus started out global, with prayer for upcoming church trips. Mark, Mel Palmer, Harrison and Anna would be travelling to Thailand in March. In April, Rowland and Elaine Forman would be heading to Nepal for a Barnabas School of Leadership course. This time, Brad and Logan would be joining them, with Brad tackling the new challenge of having his sermons translated live!

One by one, we came up to the map and stuck a yellow dot to represent each person or place we would pray for. Soon, it became hard to see Auckland for yellow dots! As we left, we each took a prayer card, to help us keep remembering to lift each request up to God.

The focus then came a little closer to home, with prayer for Hastings, for Harataki and Shona Manihera, and for the new church they were planting there. We also prayed for those working in our church ministries in Auckland; whether with children, teens, young adults or with community groups.

WITH ONE VOICE WE LIFT OUR HANDS TO SAY WE ONLY TRUST IN JESUS’ NAME LORD OF MERCY, HEAR THIS PRAYER WE RAISE

One recurring theme throughout this Nightlife was raising our evangelistic

(from “As We Pray” by Gateway Worship). 29

YOUTH MINISTRY e Tan.

nabell

y An Text b

change is BotanyLife’s intermediate-age ministry. Each Sunday, our Year 7s and 8s head out to learn a bit more about the Bible together. Annabelle lets us know what they’ve been up to so far this year. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE TOPICS YOU HAVE LEARNED ABOUT ON SUNDAY SO FAR? During Xchange we were taught a lot of things, like how some religions worship false gods and altered the Bible in many different ways. We were also taught who Jesus was, why Jesus had to die on the cross and some cool things that he did when he was on Earth. We even did our very own passover! Now that was pretty cool! WHICH HAVE YOU FOUND MOST INTERESTING AND WHY? I think what I found most interesting was when Mr Anderson taught us that some religions took the Bible and altered it. That really got my attention! I found that interesting because I had always been thinking that all the other religions never thought about the Bible. WHAT SOCIAL DID YOU ENJOY THE MOST? The social I enjoyed the most had to be the beach social because we had so much fun there. We played games, had ice-cream and then played more games! Now that was fun! 30

YOUTH MINISTRY

Text by Harrison Carr.

LTR is our youth ministry for people in high school. In Term 1 we did a series of studies which we called ‘Encounters with Christ’ as well as a few socials. These socials included a BBQ night, hanging out at the beach and our KGB night, but we also attended an Easter Camp. This year we tried out Narrows Park Easter Camp which was different to the one we have attended the last few years. We absolutely loved it at Narrows Park and had a great time growing closer to God and each other. Here is what a few of our youth thought about it: JOSH KARLSEN The most memorable thing for me would be the team I was on. It had really cool people that tried their best. The team-based system was awesome in general. All the games were good and a ton of fun. My favorite part about the speakers was the way they made their message really relatable for people our age, and my favorite thing about the worship was the drummer and his head jamming. GEORGIA THORBURN I think the most memorable thing about camp was probably the social nights and the team challenges. We had two social nights during camp: a Fluro Tribal Pool Party and a Mexican fiesta. We were able to meet heaps of different people through team activities which were held every afternoon. We also got to do some crazy activities that were similar to challenges you might see on Survivor. One afternoon we might have been busy covering people in mud, and on the next we would have to find live fish in a swamp or hold water in our mouths while going down a water slide. I really enjoyed how all the speakers had individual and unique stories that were really interesting and relatable for most of the kids there. They had good tips as to how you find your path with God, but also good ways to deal with social and mental challenges throughout the next couple of years and our journey with God. The worship was amazing too; they had a brilliant band. They also had a variety of songs - quite a few I hadn’t heard before but were great. Some of the songs had verses written in Maori too. Many songs that we might not have known when we first arrived, most of us had picked up by the end and were singing along and praising God. 31

COMMUNITY GROUPS Text by Merilyn Griffiths.

hen you hear the name ‘Allsorts’, what comes to mind? Probably licorice allsorts - an interesting mix of colours, sizes, shapes and flavours. This aptly describes the Allsorts Community Group, led by Dave & Merilyn Griffiths. It’s an eclectic bunch of people at different stages of life; from teenagers, young marrieds and “midis”, through to Super Gold Card seniors.

what the Lord is teaching us through the morning’s sermon and discuss how to apply this truth to our everyday lives. With the wide variety of life experiences within the group, we have very insightful discussions where everyone’s contribution is encouraged and valued. We can all learn from each other, as we together learn to love right where we are.

The Allsorts Group only started in March this year, and in this short time it has been very special to support each other through the ups and downs of life and pray for needs as they are shared in the group.

Every second Sunday from 12.30 - 2.30pm, we meet at the Griffiths’ Bucklands Beach home for a time of sharing, caring and studying God’s Word. After a shared light lunch, we start with a deep and meaningful question such as, ‘Where were you born?’ or, ‘What’s your favourite place?’, giving us the opportunity to get to know each other better.

Our get-togethers are very relaxed, fun times. We still have room for anyone who would like to join our group, so if you would like to come and check out the Allsorts Group, you are most welcome.

This leads into our study, where we look more deeply into

We might even give you some licorice allsorts!

Text by Joanne Teo.

ou know how some people just have that easy-going attitude? Here’s one of them.

catching that next Pokemon than trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my life. He’s a critical thinker and puts serious consideration into

Randall was born in South Africa. His family travelled a bit before his dad’s work opportunities led them to settle in New Zealand. We talked about growing up with families with different religions; my parents converted to Buddhism while his parents were Anglican/ Catholic, and the pressures of doing things because our parents told us to. I could tell that it wasn’t easy - growing up in this world with its constantly shifting trends is already confusing enough as it is - and was probably tricky at times to know who or what to listen to.

his life choices which, again, I am very jealous of. I believe the kids he’s taken under his wing will no doubt grow up knowing they have his support and that he would do his utmost to help in whatever capacity he can. Randall’s currently enjoying doing a building and construction apprenticeship - something that comes in handy during BotanyLife community projects. Outside of work, his interests and hobbies are wide-ranging. From cartoons, anime and movies, to

Randall helps out as a youth leader at ALTR, BotanyLife’s group for high schoolers. He said in the last Easter camp he got to watch some of the kids grow into themselves, and how awesome that was to see. I could hear from his voice and from the expression on his face how happy and proud he was and it was pretty awesome for me to see that passion coming from him, too.

sports such as softball. If you want to talk about your struggles with school and how studying just doesn’t seem like it’s quite right for you? He knows all about that, too. As a child who grew up with mixed messages about religion, Randall probably would’ve been my go-to guy to have a chat about walking with God, so if you’re looking

Randall has an understanding of responsibility that, frankly, I am rather jealous of! At 19 I was more concerned about

for a casual chat why not have a look out for him instead? It’ll be pretty chill! 33

WHO’S THAT?

Randall Reid

Karena & Barry Williams Text by Debbie du Toit.

eet Barry and Karena Williams, who became part of the family at BotanyLife Community Church within the first six months of its launch; introduced by founding member Nikki Bray. Barry shyly admits that they usually ‘just sit near the back of the building’ but are very grateful for their spiritual growth at BotanyLife.

marriage and some time living on her own. They got married a year later. Both were very busy, holding down two jobs at the time in order to stay afloat. These days she enjoys spending time with the grandchildren and doing puzzles when she is not working. Barry was born in Huntly and grew up in what he describes as a dysfunctional family. The family later moved to Tauranga, where he spent most of his teenage years. He became a Christian on a Christian holiday camp, and acknowledges the love and support of camp helpers, Ivan and Wendy Scott, who often invited him to their home after the weekend camps. Even in the busyness, Barry finds time to collect stamps and read. He describes his collection of books as old friends.

“Will power does not change men. Time does not change men. Christ does.” The principle of these words by Henry Drummond are the underlying message in Barry and Karena’s testimony. They share some of the failure, loss and tragedy that they have endured on their Christian journey. They questioned God’s love and grace during the early days after the tragic death of their 12-year old son, Christopher, in 2002. Patiently bearing the cross of grief and pain was the toughest challenge of their lives. Karena recalls how she just wanted to lock herself away, but had to stay strong for sake of the family. Looking back, they know that God has been faithful in every change - always comforting, guiding and healing.

Barry and Karena have two adult daughters and three grandchildren. ‘[At home] it’s only the two of us and the dog…and a cat or two... ” Karena’s eyes smile as she tells of their oldest grandson, who gave his life to Jesus at the Peter Snell youth camp at about the time he lost his cat. He had questions about how he could go to heaven, and his grandparents were able to explain the gospel story to him. We agree that God can use any circumstance to draw people to Him, and feel humbled to be instruments in His hands. I leave their home feeling encouraged about sharing testimonies of God’s grace.

Karena grew up in a strict Open Brethren Church in Auckland and became a Christian at the tender age of 11. As a child, she was not allowed to participate in school sport, and was very sheltered. She left home at 16 and strayed from her faith for a few years. She met Barry a number of years after a failed 34

WHO’S THAT?

The Tan Family Text by Tina Funnell.

s I walked up the Tan’s garden path, Ivy appeared at the door to welcome me in. Meanwhile her husband Weng was getting the jug ready for a cup of red bush tea, and their girls Annabelle (11) and Christabelle (8) were hanging together in the lounge.

As well as being a full-time mum, Ivy is also a part-time gymnastics instructor for babies to 5 year olds at Howick Gymnastics Club. The girls’ after-school activities keep their mum busy too: Christabelle does competitive gymnastics three times a week and Annabelle takes ballet.

Even though I hadn’t met the family before, I immediately felt comfortable with this relaxed couple. We decided it may be our shared middle child syndrome! I am constantly surprised at how much our church has grown, accumulating more and more lovely families and individuals into our church family.

Ivy and Weng met as teenagers, at youth group when they were 18 years old. Ivy had come from a Christian, British educated family and Weng came from an “idol-worshipping” and then free-thinking family. When he failed to get into the government university, he started praying for direction. A school friend of his (a pastor’s son) introduced him to Christianity and took him to his church.

This lovely family, originally from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, have now been in New Zealand for four years. Weng came to New Zealand first, in December 2013, to get things set up for his “queens”. In late April 2014, Ivy remembers, she and the two girls arrived. They originally settled in Devonport, making a weekly one-hour trek to BotanyLife for a year. Wanting to be able to get more involved, they decided to move out this way, and now reside in Flat Bush. At church, Ivy attends the Mission Impossible community group, helping at mainlymusic and with the Orchard. Weng is part of the Ironman community group and helps with church set-up.

Weng is pretty adventurous. After not quite making the grade to go to the government university at 18, Weng managed to get a scholarship in Scotland and moved to Aberdeen for three years. While he didn’t really speak a lot of English, he could understand spoken English, although not Gaelic or the Scottish dialects. This made things interesting. After studying, he moved to Edinburgh to work for about four years. During this time, he managed to fly home, get married and bring his lovely bride back to Scotland to live. Ivy worked in a trauma ward there for two years.

Weng works in town as a quantity surveyor at White Associates; travelling in either by motorbike or car. (Unfortunately public transport is expensive and not very direct.) Ivy is qualified as a registered nurse, with experience in orthopaedics, neurology and urology. However, she can’t work in New Zealand until she passes a $6000 English exam and competency programme which could take up to 6 months. The course also includes a practical posting, which could be to anywhere in New Zealand. Not so helpful!

After a stint back at home in Malaysia, they then decided to move away from the imbalance of living in Malaysia and started looking for jobs in New Zealand. Weng came over to New Zealand after setting up several interviews and was able to find his job at White & Associates. A former work colleague had known KK & Susan from Kuala Lumpur and handed over KK’s details for Weng to contact him when he hit New Zealand soil. The rest - as they say - is history! 35

REVIEWS

grab a comfy seat, turn the volume up, pull the family together, grab some popcorn, it’s...

Review Time album to wade in to. Part driving guitars, part epic vocals and all lyrically brilliant, this album is honest, searching and emotional. This album was written during a time when one of the members was in hospital recovering from major back surgery and the other working through depression.

Album | HYMN OF A BROKEN MAN Artist | TIMES OF GRACE // Genre | METAL Reviewed by Liz Carter

To many people, Christian metal is at best an oxymoron and at worst an unholy noise. Few bands even consider themselves part of the genre. Pop rock band Switchfoot, who are at times described as a Christian band, prefer instead to identify as Christians who play music with Christian themes. Here in this identity grey area lies Times of Grace, a band consisting of Christians playing metal style music with solid Christian themes.

Lead singer Jesse Leach sings through his vocals and lyrics with energy and passion, making every word heartfelt and powerful. The lyrics and delivery of ‘Willing’ and ‘The End of Eternity’ are artfully interwoven with the extraordinary guitar work which, although brutal at times, is equally melodic and skilful. Where this album truly stands out, however, is its overarching theme, one of faith in the face of hardship, love in a time of division and hope even in the darkest times. Truly uplifting to listen to.

The Times of Grace duo are Adam Dutkiewicz (engineer, producer, guitar, drums, bass, vocals) and Jesse Leach (lead vocals). Both are also current members of Grammy nominated melodic metalcore band Killswitch Engage. Hymn of a Broken Man is the duo’s debut album, released in 2011, with a highly anticipated follow up album due to be released later this year.

If you already like a mix of heavy rock, anthem rock and/ or metal, this album is for you. If you’re not so keen on the gritty vocals and wailing guitar riffs, the extended edition acoustic version of ‘Willing’ and the bluesy southern groove of ‘The Forgotten One’ will show you a different side of the metal genre and hopefully leave you wanting to see the deeper side to the wall of noise.

Let’s be clear from the start. This album and this style of music is not to everyone’s taste – but if you were going to dip a toe in the heavy waters of metal, this would be the 36

Reviewed by Erika Bond-Milne

The film, ‘I Can Only Imagine’ snuck into New Zealand cinemas without much fanfare. I stumbled across it when trying to find a suitable film to take my father to. Even the cashier asked me if I knew what the film was about! Despite its quiet entry into our local cinemas, the film was received incredibly well in the United States. It is the third-highest grossing music biopic of all time. Directed by the Erwin Brothers, the film follows the story of Bart Millard, lead singer of the Christian band MercyMe. We are taken on the journey that led him to write the famous song, ‘I Can Only Imagine’. Unbeknownst to me, this song is the best-selling Christian single of all time! The film reminds us that many of our worship songs come with incredibly powerful back stories and are based on experiences that real people have lived through. We see Millard’s troubled relationship with his father, his mother leaving the family - and his discovery of music when a double ankle injury forces him out of the football team. Although predictable in places, the film is worth a watch and it would be one of the best faith-based films I have seen. The film also features some well-known Christians such as Amy Grant, George W Smith, and Priscilla Shirer. Take your tissues, there are a few ‘moments’.

Book | DECEPTION POINT Written by Dan Brown | Age 17+ Reviewed by Joanne Teo

The word on the grapevine is they’re going to be making a movie based on this book. But before you go and watch the film, why not read the novel first? Like all of Dan Brown’s books, Deception Point is full of nail-biting suspense and run-for-your-life action that make you curl your toes and tighten your fingers around the covers in anticipation. Every other chapter involves a shift in perspective but don’t worry! It doesn’t take away from the storytelling at all. It only serves to enhance it further by giving a wide view of the events happening within the book. It definitely made me keep turning page after page after page. Deception Point revolves around a discovery made by NASA and a woman named Rachel Sexton who works in a United States government department. (Don’t worry, you don’t have to be knowledgeable in politics to enjoy the story!) Following this discovery, Rachel is relocated to the freezing Arctic to work alongside an oceanographer, Michael Tolland, to examine, document and authenticate the discovery. As they work together on this rare find, they find they are shedding light on a controversy that soon threatens their lives. In all honesty, I’ll be interested to watch the film to compare it with the book. How will Rachel Sexton be portrayed? Will they remain loyal to the novel or change it to suit today’s shifting trends? I have a few ideas of who the cast should be but why not take some time to read the book and imagine who your dream actors for each role might be? Go on, you know you want to! DISCLAIMER: These reviews contain personal opinions of the reviewers and do not necessarily reflect the views of BotanyLife Community Church. For more specific information on movies and music, check out www.pluggedin.com. 37

REVIEWS

Film | I CAN ONLY IMAGINE | PG

IN MEMORY

Andy Bray 21ST FEBRUARY 1956 TO 2ND JUNE 2018

Text by Brad Carr.

ormally this page features an article written by Andy or Nikki Bray about marriage or family life. But sadly, a few weeks ago Andy passed away, and we lost a founding member and elder of our church. In light of that, we have decided to honour Andy’s life and legacy in this issue of Portal. In my message at his funeral, I commented on four key adjectives that I would use to describe the life of Andy Bray. The first word was courageous. Andy was quite simply one of the most courageous people I have ever met. The litany of medical and physical challenges that he faced was mind-boggling: kidney failure, dialysis, transplants, cancer, strokes, operations, and the loss of the use of one arm. And then on top of all that, Andy and Nikki lost their precious daughter Natasha in the Elim tragedy of 2008. Despite this, he faced every new challenge with incredible courage. It doesn’t mean he didn’t struggle or feel overwhelmed sometimes - I know he did. And yet, in spite of that, he simply refused to give up.

The final adjective that I used at his funeral was humble. Andy was genuinely humble; he really had no sense of the impact his life, words and example had on people. He was genuinely surprised when people thanked him for what he had done, and I don’t think he ever realised just how much God used his life to impact others. The week after he passed away, Andrew Urquhart from Radio Rhema shared a tribute on air for Andy. Part of what he said was this,

The second adjective I used to describe Andy was selfless. He had a beautiful way of caring for other people. He never wanted people to make a fuss of him, preferring to keep his significant health challenges quiet. His instinct was always to take the spotlight off himself, and shine it onto someone else. He was always concerned about others, and how they were doing, despite his own struggles.

“ANDY, YOU TAUGHT US TO FIND JOY IN THE JOURNEY AND TREASURES IN THE DARKNESS, EVEN THOUGH YOUR OWN LIFE HAD ITS FAIR SHARE OF STRUGGLE… THROUGH ALL OF THAT YOU INSPIRED US WITH YOUR COURAGE, YOUR WISDOM, AND YOUR DEEP GENEROSITY OF SPIRIT.”

The third word I suggested was inspiring. His words and teaching were inspiring, as he and Nikki taught thousands of people across New Zealand about marriage and family. But it wasn’t only his words - it was also his example. The creativity and time that he poured into his marriage and kids was inspirational, and for many of us, we were both taught by Andy’s words, but we also caught it from Andy’s example.

I couldn’t have said it better myself. It was an honour to walk part of this life journey with Andy Bray. I look forward to seeing Andy (and Tash) again one day! 38

WHAT’S ON GUIDE

What’s on at BotanyLife... Sunday 15th July

Sunday 29th July

Willow Park Kidz Camp begins

Parenting Teenagers course begins

Nightlife at 7pm

Sunday 26th August

Saturday 15th - Sunday 16th September

Saturday 25th August

Sunday 12th August

Connect Events Rugby: All Blacks vs Australia

Profile dinner

Friday 21st - Sunday 23rd September

Sunday 30th September

Sunday 7th October

Daylight Saving starts

Willow Park Kidz Camp begins

Sunday 4th November

Sunday 18th November

Profile dinner

Nightlife at 7pm

FamilyLife Weekend to Remember

Sunday 21st October New “Relationships” series begins

Community Project weekend

THAILAND TRIP 2018