The Canterbury Tales

IFES World Assembly

2011-07-25T20:36:00.003+12:00

I'm presently in the UK, enroute to Poland for the IFES World Assembly. IFES is the international student mission movement that TSCF helped found. At the World Assembly I'm part of the NZ delegation which is exciting and nervous in equal measure. It's strange being back in the northern hemisphere where it's summer. I Skyped Lizzy last night and at home there's the biggest snowfalls for 15 years.

The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Take Five (1961)

2010-05-11T14:25:00.001+12:00

Simply a brilliant piece of music, well performed.Enjoy - especially the drum solo in the middle.

Seven ways to be a missionary in college

2010-04-19T20:25:00.002+12:00

Here's an interesting piece from The Resurgence.Yes. All yes. This is my work. This is why I work with students, to get students to see the possibilities of mission right where they are.Read the article and get student friends to read it.(And if you can explain point 3 I'd be grateful - I've no idea what he's talking about!).

Long time no see

2009-06-01T14:53:00.021+12:00

Where does the time go? June already! Her Royal Majesty's 80somethingth birthday (it's a bank holiday Monday here in NZ) and several people have given us a gentle reminder that we've been a bit slack on the blogging front.Lizzy here, by the way.So, as I kept waiting until we had time to write a blog, and now I've realised that having a baby means we'll never have time for anything ever again in

Gideon meets the Hodges

2009-04-05T20:08:00.001+12:00

Fortunately Gideon was only grandparent-less for one week after the departure of the Fullers before Tim's parents arrived in NZ!Here he is with his Grandma.And here are three generations of Hodge men (all with a middle name of Richard) studying hard.We got to go on another holiday - this time to Tekapo. The hot pools were most enjoyable, though Gideon and Grandma just spectated on this

..and wisdom....

2009-03-26T09:06:00.003+13:00

Tim Chester at The Resurgence is on the money once again: The great Reformer Martin Luther spoke of theologies of glory and a theology of the cross. Theologies of glory look for the revelation of God in his mighty works: creation, miracles, spiritual experiences. But this kind of knowledge, said Luther, only puffs people up.

Silliness....

2009-03-26T08:56:00.003+13:00

Two silliness things today:1. Yesterday I went to pick up the new Lincoln University Christian Fellowship large, bright orange banner. A new one was being made because the old one got stolen a couple of weeks back. The signwriter sent through some good proofs, but on actual pickup it turns out they'd misspelled 'Christian'. When I pointed out that 'Christian' has two I's they didn't even notice

2009 O week at Lincoln University

2009-03-04T09:38:00.010+13:00

O week stands for Orientation Week. The first week of lectures of a new academic year - and it's now all over.LUSA (Lincoln University Students Association) did a great job at welcoming new students, and arranging O week and Freshies week too, (the week the halls students move in). During both Freshies week & O week LUCF (Lincoln University Christian Fellowship) worked hard at welcoming students

I think my wife's a Calvinist

2009-03-04T09:04:00.002+13:00

2009 is the 500th anniversary of John Calvin's birth. Calvin was used by God during the reformation - a French theologian changing the world from Switzerland. His influence continues into the 21st century church, as the following video testifies.Well done Brandon Milan. My wife loves this, especially the mandolin. Good times.What's your choice of best line? Mine is 'you made me burn my NIV Study

Gideon meets the Fullers

2009-02-24T13:25:00.013+13:00

My (Lizzy writing by the way) family have just spent 3 weeks with us here, and we had a great time together, and took Gideon for his first holidays around NZ.Here we all are at the top of Conical Hill in Hanmer.We also went to Nelson and the lovely Milo took everyone out on his boat, (though Gideon and I watched that particular outing from dry land!)Lucky Gideon got taken for lots of walks in his

2009 Minty1 - Raumati, Kapiti

2009-02-01T17:29:00.003+13:00

It's Feb 1st. We're already 1/12 of the way through 2009. And today is the start of 2009 TSCF Minty - the Ministry INTernship Year. From Feb to Nov Minterns, who are recent graduates, are trained and enthused about the grace of Jesus. This year is all about grace - giving things a go and growing in the knowledge and love of Jesus; all within the student context.The aim is based on Psalm 92:12-15

Gideon plays air guitar

2009-01-15T15:20:00.007+13:00

We've been quite overwhelmed by how interested everyone is in the boy Gideon! Obviously we think he's the most gorgeous baby who ever lived, and spend many hours admiring him, but apparently lots of our friends want to take their turns too!So as there were one or two comments about Mothy's last blog not having quite enough Gideon focus, here is Lizzy's attempt to rectify the situation.Gideon and

Wee Gideon

2009-01-08T19:50:00.007+13:00

Liz is fantastic. In the summer heat she lasted until after the end of both the Black Caps vs Windies ODI (a fine Black Caps 7 wicket victory) and the end of the Aussie vs SA test, with Smith batting at 11 with a broken hand in an attempt -that almost worked- to gain the draw....anyway, Liz, not cricket....Yes, Liz is fantastic - after the cricket she had a 4 hour labour and birthed wee Gideon

Nope, not yet

2009-01-06T15:23:00.003+13:00

HiLizzy here.We seem to have had lots of phone calls and visitors lately, all asking pretty much the same question, so I thought it was time to publish an official press release.As of 3.40pm on Tuesday 06 Jan I'm still preggers, and just to prove it, here's a photo Mothy took a couple of hours ago, while we were going for a walk on New Brighton beach. He took the picture just as the sea came in

Happy Kiwi Christmas

2008-12-29T14:13:00.005+13:00

For one reason or another we decided not to go away on holiday this Christmas, but instead have enjoyed a Kiwi/British style Christmas holiday with Anna staying with us. I (Lizzy) worked with Anna in Gloucester, and she's now based in the TSCF Wellington office - trying to bring order to staff-worker induced chaos.It was Anna's first non-UK Christmas, so instead of the much more traditional BBQ

Kolkata - city of contrast

2008-12-22T11:58:00.037+13:00

Kolkata is a city of contrasts and a vibrant and joyful place. I've recently returned home after 3 weeks there helping lead a team of 9 people from NZ. Here's the team in the BMS Hostel garden (BMS is the Baptist Missionary Society, where we stayed), wearing their Indian clothes. Thanks for your prayers about team dynamics. Although the first time we were all together was only Singapore airport (

Movember completed

2008-12-22T11:41:00.007+13:00

Well, Movember 2008 is now over. Hopefully there was lots of awareness raised for prostate cancer and men's mental health, and funds raised for research into both. Have a look at www.movember.co.nz for details on what happens to funds now.Growing a mo is fantastic - I'll let you be the judge but I reckon I look really ugly with a moustache! Here's the photos - clean shaven Nov 1 in Lincoln and mo

Movember

2008-11-16T21:09:00.003+13:00

We're half-way through Movember - the month formerly known at November. The good guys at Movember came up with the winning idea - blokes growing moustaches and raising funds for prostate cancer and mental health research. Last year I grow a fine mo, if I say so myself, so this year it was time to give it another go, much to Liz's chagrin! The rules - clean shaven on Movember 1st, with before and

Nelson Anglican Youth Spring Camp

2008-10-22T09:49:00.011+13:00

The Nelson diocese covers from Greymouth to Reefton to Nelson to Blenheim to Kaikoura - a large area, about the size of Wales, and it was a delight to be invited to be the speaker at the Nelson Anglican Youth Spring Camp held in St Arnaud recently, though I was slightly apprehensive and overawed hearing the stories about some previous speakers - I mean, come on, I'm just a muppet for Jesus! All

Lincoln Norovirus

2008-10-20T10:04:00.001+13:00

The Press reports a norovirus outbreak at Lincoln Uni. Not a nice way to start your exams.....

The big move (4 doors down)

2008-10-12T12:20:00.011+13:00

Hooray! We've shifted! We now live at 5 William Street, Lincoln.It seemed to take a long time to get to moving day, but on the day things happened super fast! We had so many wonderful people helping us, in so many ways, and we certainly wouldn't be able to sit outside, lazing in the sun, blogging about life just 2 days later if they hadn't all done such a sterling job!Here is the roll of honour.

Happy things

2008-09-07T21:00:00.005+12:00

HiLizzy here.Just a quick blog to tell you about some things that have brought a smile lately.Number 1:Here's a box of home-made goodies we found on our doorstep not so long ago, (the fudge was AMAZING) from Jess and Teresa, two members of the outgoing Lincoln University Christian Fellowship Leadership Team. The note says it's to thank us heaps for our support over the past three years -

105 & Dubai

2008-08-25T12:29:00.004+12:00

I'm writing this from the TSCF office in Wellington at the start of TSCF annual staff training - and am greatly looking forward to the week.A quick update on the house: Last week we sold 105 (for the 3rd time). Significantly, this time it's to a cash buyer who is an ex-pat Kiwi living in Dubai, and his mum from Tai Tapu has been round doing all the looking and advising him.So, we're excited, but

Moving house?

2008-08-11T08:37:00.005+12:00

Back in April we blogged about wanting to move house We sold our house to a lovely couple wanting to downsize to be nearer grandchildren. They loved our house. All was good. But, over the last few months it transpires that they've not been able to sell their house in Hororata so have pulled out of the sale of our place. This is frustrating, to say the least.We still want to move; Catalyst means

Terry not Terri

2008-08-08T16:25:00.005+12:00

Lizzy & I went to the hospital for a baby ultrasound scan yesterday. We thought we'd be in and out in a couple of minutes but apparently they take hundreds of photos and dozens of measurements for first the radiographer, then the midwife to check, and that takes an hour. It was a dimly lit and warm room, so on a cold winter's afternoon we both just wanted to fall asleep! We didn't really

TSCF Lincoln Jesus Week

2008-07-28T09:09:00.010+12:00

Jesus Week 2008 for Lincoln Uni has come and gone. There is much to encourage, and also much that needs to be worked on to help the students be clearer in proclaiming Jesus to their campus.The week was arranged around the theme of 'slavery'. To raise awareness of physical slavery throughout the world today, especially in SE Asia, and to highlight that we are all slaves to sin and in need of Jesus

14 steps

2008-07-28T09:06:00.001+12:00

Liz works as an administrator for AgResearch, looking after about 70 scientists in her team. There must be something in the water down the road, because about 10% of her team are shortly to become a mum or a dad. Rather helpfully, some colleagues have been helping her with the below:14 Steps Before Parenthood:Test 1 - PreparationWomen: To prepare for pregnancy:-1. Put on a dressing gown and stick

Terry/Terri

2008-07-09T10:09:00.004+12:00

So when I mentioned Phocas and his Rwandan blessing on us wishing us twins I should have been clearer - twins are great, so our friends with baby twins tell us. And we'd be happy with twins. But one is good enough! Liz is pregnant and Terry/Terri (you'll have to ask us why that's the name of bump) should make a summer entrance in the early New Year. But maybe it'll be Terry and Terri.Watch this

TSCF Conference: Mission from McDonalds to Mongolia

2008-07-08T15:10:00.016+12:00

Auckland. The big smoke. And the location of this year's annual TSCF winter conference, this year on the theme of Mission from McDonalds to Mongolia. A fantastic way to arrive was via ferry. Liz's maiden surname is Fuller so I couldn't really turn it down!It was great to be with so many students from around NZ, including several from Lincoln & Nelson (above is the Lincoln & Nelson crew, minus

Winter in NZ

2008-07-07T10:40:00.005+12:00

We've blogged about early summer in Europe, so here's some photos from winter in NZ....Our car on Saturday afternoon. Nice.Liz inside said car, with snow on the outside (until she opened the window to clear away the snow to see that is - then all the snow came inside the car, onto Liz's lap. He he.)Our garden Saturday morning.This is all excellent news for the ski-fields, but not so nice for

Europe in early summer; part 3 - IFES colleagues

2008-07-06T20:53:00.005+12:00

This is the third and final in a series of posts about our all-too-short-is-this-really-summer 3 weeks in Europe.It was a joy to meet friends and colleagues in IFES. IFES is the international TSCF. TSCF was a founder movement of IFES in 1947; and we continue to be involved with IFES in 2008 assisting in new movements, training staffworkers across the South Pacific, financing Indian staffworkers'

Europe in early summer; part 2 - friends and family

2008-07-04T12:40:00.024+12:00

In June we returned from three weeks in Europe. All the buildings seemed old, (maybe we just weren't so aware of all the new ones!)It was great to meet friends and family - to tell stories of what we're up to here in NZ with TSCF and how God is working through the campuses of Aotearoa, and also to hear friends and families stories too. It was so encouraging meeting those with whom there is much

Sponge of Torah

2008-06-23T19:38:00.006+12:00

The Sons Of Korah is an excellent band from Melbourne that simply writes music to the Psalms. They take a Psalm in the NIV translation, happy or sad, and sing it to their own tune. It's been a great way for Lizzy & I to memorise some Psalms, and it's a bonus we love their music - have a listen, go on!Sponge of Torah is Lincoln's take on the Sons of Korah. I loved being at their first live

Europe in early summer; part 1 - everything is old

2008-06-23T19:28:00.018+12:00

We've recently returned from a three weeks in Europe. It's been a long time since we had summer in June, and it's most pleasant! We went for some TSCF supporter time, updating supporters in that part of the world what God is doing on campuses in the South Pacific; and we also had a few days holiday with family.It's amazing what you forget; here's some things that struck us about the UK:It's so so

Rick Astley would never.......

2008-05-12T09:09:00.002+12:00

Much laughter over this diagram. If you're under 25 or over 35 I guess it won't be funny at all, as it won't make any sense at all, but if you get it you'll think it's hilarious and will be humming along, much to your annoyance, all day long.Enjoy.

Winter's coming

2008-05-04T20:34:00.007+12:00

Mothy got sent this lovely jumper knitted by my (Lizzy's) very clever mum for his birthday this year. As it felt like winter had well and truly arrived this weekend he's appreciated it, and worn it a lot.On Friday night a big southerly storm came through, and the rain and hail kept me awake quite a lot of the night. However I must have slept a bit because I got woken with Mothy at 5.30am by the

UCCF books

2008-05-02T08:56:00.004+12:00

A few days ago we posted about books and resources. This morning, this caught my eye - a short video about books recommended and sold to students at a UCCF conference. UCCF is the UK sister movement to us in TSCF in NZ. Some of the books we too recommend and sell/give to students, some I didn't recognise.But I don't know what I think about the video. Some of it made me laugh (love the orange one!

House selling

2008-05-02T08:50:00.004+12:00

We posted previously about attempting to sell our home and move around the corner. We decided not to use the agents who charge 3-5% plus GST plus advertising costs, and did it ourselves with a TradeMe advert, a For Sale sign outside made by a signwriter and ads in The Press property section.All good it seems, for our home is now conditionally sold, to a lovely older couple downsizing from

Jesse back in the news

2008-05-01T16:21:00.002+12:00

Regular readers may recall Jesse Kappmeyer from two posts a year ago. Jesse was an American exchange student at Lincoln University, a Christian and key member of the TSCF group. He and two American friends went climbing Mt Aspiring and sadly had an accident in which one climber died, one was close to death at the foot of the glacier where they fell, and Jesse broke his back. Jesse tramped out

'It only took six years....'

2008-04-29T16:27:00.004+12:00

'It only took six years...' lines from The Shawshank Redemption movie, spoken by the character Andy Du Fresne, an inmate at Shawshank prison serving two back-to-back life sentences for murder, wonderfully played by Tim Robbins. It's a great film, one of my favourites.The line in question is spoken by him after he has been writing letters to the state authority responsible for prison financing,

Already pining for summer

2008-04-25T22:04:00.006+12:00

Hello, Lizzy hereI'm sitting by the fire in our lounge on a chilly autumn evening, looking at our photos on our phanfare site, and although it was only last month, it seems an age ago already.I think these are my most favourite ones. I love swimming in the sea - though maybe not quite as much as my father-in-law does.But I particularly like them cos Mum took them at a distance and it looks like

House moving time

2008-04-17T09:02:00.004+12:00

We hope to be on the move, house wise. Not far - still within Lincoln! We're in discussion with some friends and neighbours who are also moving, and their house offers significant advantages over our present place in terms of ability to host student meals and Bible studies; and in having people to stay. The vendors have been very gracious in the whole process for which we're very grateful, and we

Stew - Lao style

2008-04-13T17:43:00.005+12:00

Hi Lizzy here.When I helped organise a conference last year at work, my thank you present was a kaffir lime bush. Apparently the limes aren't much good, but the leaves get used a lot in Thai style food.Now, although I am learning to enjoy cooking more I still don't really get creative enough to need to use the leaves very often - though it is a very pretty plant and pot that I was given, and

The Inaugural Microbial Products Petanque Cup Challenge

2008-04-04T17:42:00.006+13:00

Hi, Lizzy here.Today was the day of the Inaugural Microbial Products Petanque Cup Challenge at AgResearch, Lincoln. Above is my colleague Celine, who is genuine French, and showed us how it should be done (and she supplied the Pernod).It was a great way to finish off the week! The premise was that the the microbial products formulation team would challenge their near neighbours - the entomology

Living in the land of understatement....

2008-04-03T17:15:00.002+13:00

'Living in the land of understatement' is the title of my colleague Ben's latest blog here.Ben has come to work for TSCF from overseas so is seeing NZ culture new and fresh. He's much better at putting things than Lizzy or I, so do click through to his blog. It's cool he's had a yarn with Jesse Ryder, and more importantly we agree with his analysis of spirituality in NZ. Thanks Ben!

Easter holidays & 82nd birthday parties

2008-03-27T11:07:00.018+13:00

Easter won't be as early as it was this year for over a hundred years apparently. So whilst that made it cold in the UK with snow on the beach near where Lizzy's parents live in Norfolk, it meant a final chance for summer here before autumn really begins.It's been great to have Easter holidays with my parents and we had a full and relaxing holiday:On Good Friday we headed to Hanmer for a dip in

Toastie town no longer threatened - now thriving!

2008-03-25T17:11:00.004+13:00

An exciting development to this post detailing the derailing of LUCF's weekly toastie town:The LUCF leaders have done well in exploring further options and, in God's sovereignty, toastie town will resume this week in a new venue, that of the Oakland bar in Lincoln University. This little-used area is managed by the dining hall staff, not the Rec Centre or the halls management (who stopped the

LUCF Easter buns & LEO Enviroweek

2008-03-20T16:29:00.007+13:00

This week has been LEO Enviroweek at Lincoln University. LEO is Lincoln Environmental Organisation. Pete is the President of LEO, and also part of LUCF (Lincoln Uni Christian Fellowship). LEO have been stopping cars heading into the car park and asking for donations for tree planting; holding a trash audit; inviting well-known environmentalists into Lincoln for lunchtime talks. Of course, at

Test cricket

2008-03-17T20:26:00.010+13:00

Watching the cricket at the Basin was amazing. I loved the closeness of the action. I loved the dropped catches. I loved the tactics of Vaughan & Vettori. I loved sitting on the embankment square of the wicket. I loved the Barmy Army trumpeter and chants. I loved the Beige Brigade. I loved the company of colleagues, cousins, and a friend from uni days Lizzy & I hadn't seen in several years. I

United Nations - church homegroup

2008-03-17T20:18:00.003+13:00

We've posted on the international nature of our local church homegroup before, but this photo demonstrates that so well.Here's Dali (Papua New Guinea), Gillian (Zambia), May (Solomon Islands), Joan (Malaysia), Lizzy (UK), Kong Chay (Laos) and Carol (NZ).7 women, 7 nations, 1 gospel.All 7 are followers of Jesus and Bible-believing Christians in one homegroup. It's a joy to meet with these 7 and

'I don't believe in sins'

2008-03-11T17:17:00.002+13:00

This is an interesting article from NZ's www.stuff.co.nzSeems the pope wants to replace the Bible in terms of defining what sin is! But that's not what I want to draw attention to. Rather, www.stuff.co.nz is running an online poll today asking readers which of the seven deadly sins they are most guilty of, with an eighth option of 'I don't believe in sins'. Several thousand votes in, and the

Toastie town threatened

2008-03-07T08:47:00.004+13:00

Lincoln University Christian Fellowship has been running Toastie Town for years - a late night cheese toastie making operation from 11pm-2am each Thursday night of term time. Toastie Town is loved by the halls students as they come back from student night at Lincoln pub; it's loved by the halls management as it sobers up halls students; it's loved by LUSA, the student association, as it shows

Unique 'values'?

2008-03-05T11:26:00.003+13:00

'...values are like fingerprints, everyone has a unique set of values....' - Chch educationalistDid anyone else hear this statement in an interview this morning? I was amazed. I didn't quite hear all the interview and can't recall the name of the interviewee, but it wasn't presented as a radical view, which, i suppose, it isn't in the minds of most of the listeners.But for those of us who hold

Regressive dinner

2008-03-03T10:41:00.005+13:00

Friday night was the last advertised LUCF O-week event - a regressive dinner. Similar to the more common progressive dinner where a group progresses from flat to flat for different courses, this time we went regressive - first off was coffee & biscuits; then next flat was dessert (excellent custard squares Whitey!); then mains at Barker St where the boys did real well with bbq lamb chops, salad &

Anika Moa @ Lincoln

2008-03-01T20:38:00.004+13:00

Anika Moa came to play during Lincoln Uni's O week. She's the biggest musician to come to Lincoln in years, and Jo at the student's association was rightly pleased she managed to bring her to Lincoln.Yet I suspect it'll be a while until either LUSA or the university pay to bring such a big name act again - as this photo shows, no-one was much bothered. I reckon only a few dozen people - maybe

The latest crochet creation

2008-03-01T16:37:00.004+13:00

Fingerless gloves, for the lovely Junita.They turned out way too big for her delicate hands, but I had fun making them. And modelling them for you on a Canterbury hillside.

Surveys

2008-02-27T20:36:00.004+13:00

Hi. Lizzy here again I've been thinking about surveys lately, because it feels like I've been surveyed a lot since we came to New Zealand.First off we've been selected (well, Mothy has) to take part in the "Migrants’ Experiences of New Zealand Longitudinal Immigration Survey" by Statistics New Zealand. Which basically means a nice lady comes to our house every year and asks him lots of

Monster garage sale

2008-02-23T18:24:00.007+13:00

Lizzy here.Today was the auspicious occasion of the annual Lincoln Baptist monster garage sale, raising funds for overseas missions. The event is 21 years old this year.Here are my fellow book-stall-holders Prof Richard Dewhurst, and Dr Errol Wood. (I reckon I'm getting so much more intelligent, by hanging out with people with PhDs all the time).(This picture was before we allowed the hoards

N week, O week, LUSA & LUCF

2008-02-15T10:07:00.006+13:00

Acronyms. Don't ya just love them?!LUCF is the Lincoln University Christian Fellowship; they've been working hard to build good relationships with LUSA - Lincoln University Students Association. And as part of that growing relationship we're helping out with N & O weeks.O week is Orientation week - the first week on campus for the new academic year and the new undergraduates. In readiness for

Happy Birthday Mothy and Lizzie

2008-02-13T17:35:00.009+13:00

February 10th was the birthday of one Timothy Hodge, and also of Lizzie Charters, our good friend and neighbour in Lincoln.Lizzie and her husband Stuart (the chap in the picture above who isn't Mothy) moved to Lincoln just over a year ago from the UK, as Stuart got a job lecturing in computery stuff at Lincoln University. Lizzie is a wonderful violin and viola player, and we get to enjoy her

Nelson - Scripture Union

2008-02-12T16:28:00.000+13:00

TSCF Staff & Families conference concluded on Feb1st. On Feb 4th I was again driving over the Lewis Pass to Nelson - the six hour drive is getting familiar to me! I'd been invited to join with Nelson Scripture Union for Equip, assisting last year's school leavers in the transition to university. In addition, whilst in Nelson, I took the opportunity to meet up with some church leaders and TSCF

TSCF staff & families in Nelson

2008-02-10T20:25:00.000+13:00

At the end of January, I was at Bridge Valley camp for TSCF staff & families conference. This is an annual event that is half vision setting for the year and half just being together - and it's great that all staff are there, as well as as many spouses and kids who can make it. This was my fourth such staff & families conference and definitely the best for lots of reasons - The summer weather.

Routeburn

2008-02-08T15:21:00.001+13:00

So, summer holiday blog part 2....When down south my brother Andy & I went tramping along the Routeburn Track. We travelled west to east, unlike most, starting from The Divide, near the Homer Tunnel on the Milford Road. It's a three day tramp, so our wives became latte ladies on route to driving a long long way round by road to get to the other end.This is where the hut was on the first night.A

Reminiscing re holidays

2008-02-06T20:37:00.000+13:00

Lizzy hereAlthough we're well in to the new year now, I've been looking at holiday photos and I thought I should share some with the world.We had a great time with Andy and Louise visiting form the UK. (For those that don't know you'll surely be able to tell, just by looking, who is related to who).We spent Christmas day in the Catlins. Here's the view, waking up on Christmas day.And in case

International lunch

2008-01-24T21:28:00.000+13:00

Lizzy hereWe had an international lunch at work this week. There was lots and lots of interesting food that people brought. IncludingRye bread and herb butter from GermanyHerring on bread from RussiaJonny Cake from CanadaCrepes from FrancePeruvian potatoesDutch Indonesian riceCurry vegetable puffs from IndiaKiwi cheese rolls, hot chips, pavlova, bacon & egg pie and ambroisiaEnglish sconesAnd my

Sir Ed

2008-01-23T09:59:00.000+13:00

It was Sir Edmund Hillary's funeral yesterday in Auckland. State funeral. Suprisingly, it was a church affair. It's surprising given Sir Ed's vocal agnosticism and Clark's even more ardent anti-Christian sentiments. But then again, many seem to love Christianity at the time of death, as Liz Gordon's fascinating, yet flawed, article in The Weekend Press points out (not yet online).It's been

Angels

2008-01-22T16:07:00.000+13:00

Angels - that's what I've been musing, reading in the Bible, and praying about recently. It's summer season and for 3 weeks in January I've been preaching at three different churches whilst the respective pastors have been on holiday. It's been a joy to join with churches in Picton and Beckenham for the last two Sundays, and this coming Sunday at our home church here in Lincoln. And the subject

Crochet queen and Rachael & Emma

2007-12-16T15:59:00.000+13:00

Lizzy is a crochet queen. She really is. Thanks to the encouragement of Lynn Irving, Lizzy's been learning to crochet all year after I gave her a book titled 'Stich & Bitch - The Happy Hooker'. Charming title, with great pictures and patterns. One of those patterns is a baby blanket, as below:The book pattern is the stripy one, and Lizzy designed the square one. Both made of acrylic rather than

LUSA and the sovereignty of God

2007-12-13T08:44:00.000+13:00

God's sovereignty is great. The timing with the way he works things out does make me smile. For example, a couple of days ago I happened to ring Jo at LUSA (Lincoln University Students Association) to enquire about their programme for O-week at the beginning of the 2008 academic year come February. She said it wasn't finalised, but why not come to her office to see the draft?So I did.And in that

Movember

2007-12-06T14:09:00.000+13:00

We're now into early December and I need to give an update on Movember. Movember (the month formerly known as November) is an excellent idea from the Prostate Cancer Research people. Clean shaven on Nov 1, and grow a mo through the month, raising funds for research and raising awareness. I've been telling everyone that more people in NZ die from prostate cancer than breast cancer.Anyway, here's

Cows and politics

2007-10-27T12:29:00.000+13:00

Me old mate Steve has some interesting observations on cows and political systems here; good to see it come up again. Raised a smile in the midst of a break from full-on hard Greek study.

RWC 2007

2007-10-14T19:09:00.000+13:00

So what to say about the World Cup? I reflect with amazement that England is through to the final. This is the same England that many pundits predicated would be the worst defending champions ever. Yet here they are, through to the final next week against either The Springboks or The Pumas, thus becoming (no matter whether they win or lose the final), the best performing defending champions

Encouragements

2007-09-28T17:06:00.001+12:00

It's hard this blogging lark - everything blogged is so public. So to blog about work isn't always appropriate. If you receive our quarterly Canterbury Tales you'll have more of an idea (if you don't get this you should! - send me an email to sign up) of the joys and trials of TSCF work. I do wonder if I err towards the pessimistic side because I've been very surprised over the last couple of

The Barnabas Fund

2007-09-18T15:48:00.000+12:00

This article - from the Times - shows why we're keen supporters of the Barnabas Fund. Great work for the persecuted church worldwide, be that the Middle East, Africa or the UK.We commend them to you. More info here - www.barnabasfund.org

Moana

2007-09-16T21:31:00.000+12:00

We've just spent a lovely relaxing and fun weekend in Moana, which is a very small town on the shores of Lake Brunner, on the West Coast. We stayed in a couple of baches with views over the lake.We went with some friends from church, just cos! (5 couples and a baby). It was great to get to know people a bit more, and we're liking how there's gradually getting to be more people our age (ish,

Fatal car crash in Lincoln

2007-09-11T16:41:00.000+12:00

This article - http://stuff.co.nz/4197246a11.html - tells of the pain of car accident deaths. On Saturday night a car with four 15 year old Lincoln High School students crashed on the open road just near the university dairy farm. The driver had her NZ restricted licence and, according to the article, was good at never carrying passengers, as per the restrictions on her licence. Yet on this one

Spring time in Lincoln

2007-09-02T17:02:00.000+12:00

1st September is the official start of Spring, and we've been loving some Spring time weather. As have the plants in our garden.This week at Lincoln there's been some follow up to the recent Jesus Week, aided by Pete, the Palmerston North Mintern, and 3 Palmy students. This is Hannah and Pete.They've been enjoying the sun too, helping at Sifters, doing some follow-up Jesus questions, and

Ecuadorian visitors x 3

2007-08-13T22:16:00.000+12:00

We've had Mothy's colleagues from CECE (TSCF in Ecuador) staying with us in Lincoln for a few days. Ruth is a kiwi who is married to Josue, and their gorgeous daughter is Ana-Gracia. This is the group together on a picnic in Hanmer yesterday.We had a really nice relaxing weekend there, reading, walking, and of course soaking in the thermal pools. Hopefully Ruth and Josue relaxed too, as their

LUCF Jesus Awareness Week

2007-08-06T08:43:00.001+12:00

Thanks to so many who've prayed and asked for updates after Lincoln's first ever Jesus Awareness Week.It surpassed my expectations - many in LUCF got stuck in and enthusiastic, especially for Txt4Toasties.Here's a short summary I've written for the TSCF quarterly, Canvas:Gordon from China. Majid & Marianne from Iran. Keith from NZ. Just a few of the Lincoln students engaging with Jesus

The UN in Lincoln

2007-08-03T09:00:00.000+12:00

Lizzy and I really enjoy being in such a diverse town. Liz works with people from Aussie, Sri Lanka, NZ, USA, UK, Argentina, Russia, Israel, Mexico, Holland, China, Germany....... and add that to the 66 different nationalities studying at the university and it's a veritable mini-UN.Last night at church homegroup there were 16 of us (which in itself is great as last year it was often just 5 of us)

Minty2

2007-06-21T07:57:00.000+12:00

A few posts back I said I'd continue to tale of my couple of weeks up in Nelson/Marlborough. So this is as promised.In Nelson I met a couple of guys in the fledgling CF in the polytech there, and the wonderful Milo, the local Scripture Union worker.The long holiday weekend saw Liz join me over the hill in Golden Bay, which was great. On the Monday Lizzy returned home and I travelled to Malborough

LUCF now in Fiji

2007-06-18T18:01:00.000+12:00

This is Commodore Vorque Banimarama - the Fiji coup leader who's expelled the NZ High Commissioner.The LUCF 14 who've headed to Fiji on short-term fortnight mission trip over their winter break are now in Fiji. Their cancelled Air Pacific flight and the expulsion of a NZ journalist and the NZ High Commissioner not withstanding, they seem relieved to be there and ready to go, as the following

LUCF to Fiji update

2007-06-15T12:40:00.000+12:00

They're off to Fiji - original flight on Sunday has been cancelled by Air Pacific so the missions agency have them rebooked on an Auckland flight Saturday.They're all excited about going, have been praying passionately, and good to go. They're aware of the political tensions but the missions agency has cleared their departure given the level of caution advised by the government.I pray that they

NZ High Commissioner to Fiji expelled

2007-06-15T09:21:00.000+12:00

Following tensions between Fiji and NZ since Fiji's coup last December, yesterday, Michael Green, the NZ High Commissioner to Fiji, was expelled. Today, a NZ journalist in Fiji has been deported.I don't know the ins and outs of high level politics, but I know that's not good. I know it's very serious. I know that later today I have to explain this to 14 Lincoln CF students who are scheduled to

Nelson

2007-06-14T07:41:00.000+12:00

It's good to be home in Lincoln.I've recently spent longer away from home than I usually do, good stuff up north in Nelson & Picton, but it's still great to be home.Here's a potted timeline of my trip:I spent the best part of a day driving over the Alps via Lewis Pass to get to Nelson. Part of my new TSCF remit is to support the fledgling CF group at NMIT (Nelson Marlborough Institute of

June 1st - Canterbury Tales (non-blog)

2007-06-01T11:24:00.000+12:00

Today's June 1st - first day of winter. But I type from a pavement in Nelson, which seems very un-winter like and distinctly autumnal still.I've sent out the non-blog version of Canterbury Tales today - news for prayer about TSCF. If you'd like a copy and I've not sent you one, then leave me a comment and I'll get you a copy forthwith!

Shaun and his boars

2007-05-25T16:13:00.000+12:00

It's Friday afternoon which means Liz's colleague Shaun will be dreaming of heading off bush tonight for some hunting.Liz and I aren't hunters, but it's amazing just how many people are. NZ is a great place for hunting as there's so many introduced species that shouldn't be here. Ecologically speaking, hunting deer, boar, pigs, ferrets, rabbits, possums, thar, chamois is a really good thing,

Jesse and Mike in Dunedin Hospital

2007-05-17T16:36:00.000+12:00

My previous post told the story of Austin, Mike & Jesse - 3 American exchange student studying at Lincoln this semester, and their horrific accident on Mt Aspiring ten days ago. They fell 400m into an ice crevasse; Austin died, Jesse left Mike in a sleeping bag , climbed out of the crevasse and tramped through the night to the nearest hut to raise the alarm. Once the alarm was raised it was only

LUST

2007-05-17T14:44:00.000+12:00

LUST That's the four letters emblazoned on green t-shirts I see as I walk round campus. It stands for Lincoln University Sports Team, and tends to be worn for the team that represented Lincoln at the uni games. Lincoln did quite well, coming first in the small campus category, and beat several large unis too, so good on them. Good on those in Lincoln Uni CF who took part and won medals and played

Three students in accident on Mt Aspiring

2007-05-10T14:08:00.000+12:00

It was all over the national news yesterday: three American exchange students had been in a bad accident on Mt Aspiring. Liz and I thought it was bad news, but within a couple of hours we learnt that the headline had become much more meaningful for the three were Lincoln students. Not only that, but one of them, Jesse, we know quite well as he is part of the TSCF group here - Lincoln University

LUCF beard growing competition

2007-05-07T08:52:00.000+12:00

This guy has a great beard, doesn't he? I'm not sure what chemicals he's using on his beard, but it seems to work on his smile too! He's one of the winners in the annual world beard growing championships.At Lincoln Uni Christian Fellowship we can't make those sorts of standards, but each year we give it a go. This year, anyone was welcome to spend April growing beards, before their efforts were

Subscribe to The Canterbury Tales via email

2007-05-06T19:40:00.000+12:00

For those that have asked about receiving new Canterbury Tales blog posts via email - now you can! Just use the box in the right hand side panel that I've added this evening.Thanks that you're interested enough to want to receive our musings straight to your inbox!

Mothy's got sore arms from cycling

2007-05-05T20:40:00.000+12:00

It was beautiful weather today, so instead of painting we went for a bike ride on the Motukarara to Little River Rail Trail.It was lots of fun, with beautiful scenery, and we stopped an had a picnic on the beach at Birdlings Flat.We cycled about 24kms! That's LOTS for me, and now my thighs ache. But Mothy's arms ache apparently. He's a strange lad in some respects.The highlight of the day though,

Liz and Hooge

2007-05-04T15:43:00.000+12:00

Hooge. That's how you pronounce 'Hugo' if you come from Norfolk, east UK.Liz comes from Norfolk so I also have now got into the habit of calling our cat Hooge instead of Hugo.This photo shows where Hooge likes to sleep sometimes.Why does it seem that it's always me to chuck the cat out of our bedroom?!

The great swap over has occurred - photographic evidence!

2007-05-03T17:08:00.000+12:00

In a previous post I mentioned that it's now consistently colder here than in the Motherland. The other morning it was colder than it has been- 1 degree apparently. (As an aside - why is the coldest part of the day (7.18am on this occasion) always just when I'm getting up, and getting out of the warm shower into our unheated bathroom. Still, at least I get dressed quickly.....)Anyway - here's

VUWCU camp

2007-05-03T16:22:00.000+12:00

Acronyms are great, aren't they?!Here's one - VUWCU camp. Translated, that's Victoria University Wellington Christian Union Camp. Yep, not so long ago I headed to Camp Elsdon, Porirua to teach at this year's Vic CU camp.I was surprised to be asked - I mean, me? - but real pleased to join them for their camp. They'd asked for some Bible teaching on evangelism, and they liked the idea of going

The great swap over has occurred

2007-04-28T09:23:00.000+12:00

Today - 5/15; 10/21Sun - 6 / 9; 11/20Mon- 8 / 10; 7 / 20Tues - 7 / 9; 11 / 20These are the days, and the low/high temperatures, in centigrade, for Christchurch, NZ and Gloucester, UK according to my personalised Google homepage.Yes, it's that time of year - when our autumn is colder than UK's spring. The great swap over has occurred. And the gap is only going to widen until it reverses in

The Eschatology of Bluegrass

2007-04-28T08:27:00.000+12:00

In case you can't read the full (inspired) title of this book from the picture, it'sEverybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die. Or (the eschatology of bluegrass).Brilliant! What a brilliant title for a book. AND THERE"S A BANJO ON THE COVER! Oh joy, and delight!Maybe this book was written just for me.But of course, there was no way the content of the book could fully match up to the

Win the Ultimate Lifestyle!

2007-04-24T16:20:00.000+12:00

I've just popped down to the Lincoln post shop, and on my way back, saw a sign outside the 4Square that reads 'Lotto Big Wednesday - Win the Ultimate Lifestyle!'.It made me think - what's the prize, Jesus?Isn't is good that Jesus is available without having to buy a lotto ticket?

It's obvious, but God is in control, after all!

2007-04-15T12:52:00.000+12:00

I've just returned from meeting, as usual, with our local church here in Lincoln. I preach at Lincoln about 4 or 5 times a year, and this was one of those times: 'You must be born again', John 3, as one in a series working through all of John's gospel. It's a great chapter, but I knew I was 3 or 4 hours short on prep time. And I reckoned it showed - I knew I spoke too quickly, wasn't clear enough