RAISING THE BAR ON LEADERSHIP
I call it the hesitant hug. Now we are on level one, people we meet can get within a metre and so a hug of greeting is possible. However, I find that for many there’s this hesitation – is it allowed? did he just cough? what should I do? The resolution and resolve; Whatever, here have a hug with distance!
For my work, there’s not much change. Supervisions with pastor’s and businessmen continue. I have 18 who are mostly monthly. I have another 2 sole traders who are more casual. I thoroughly enjoy these times and get good feedback as to the value of our time together.
I continue lead the work with the ITA curriculum review team. Progress is good with some interesting discussions. The Canadian review is still on hold. Back home, the CLC review team are working toward running a trial on a focussed section of the Leadership course on line. It is hope that in September/October we will be ready to run the trial. It will most likely either be on relationship building or on a segment of management. The team will meet for 3 days planning mid August up here in Auckland.
I’ve continued to preach now churches can meet. I’ve preached at 3 different churches one after the other. The Drury Church plant struck a hurdle just before lockdown when the promised piece of land was ‘unpromised’. So I’ve been on the knees asking God where to from here. Please pray for clarity for me and the core mission team.
Excitingly, I have been asked to run a Confident Communicators course for Youth Pastors and Youth leaders for the churches of the Nelson Anglican dioceses. It will be in mid-August. The timeframe has been trimmed to one day with hopefully an opportunity to preach at one of the Anglican Churches. Please pray as I revise the course and put it into a one-day format to fit with the end results the Youth Development Director desires.
It was wonderful to see and hold our newest Granddaughter Ada. She is such a sweetie like her Mum. She is growing fast and is now 3 months old. In a months’ time, Rachel will be going back to see the specialists about her tumour. We are praying that the Lord will remove it and give Rachel the opportunity to witness to His glory and grace.
Jeremy Sakura and Kayla got to spend a few days in a very empty Queenstown. It was a good opportunity for them to relax. Kayla is now 9 months and last Sunday she began to crawl. Her grin and strong grip on the coffee table cloth say it all.
Tim and Aimee continue with their work. Aimee is enjoying being back in the bookshop engaging with customers which she does so well. Tim continues his studies on line and is doing very well indeed. He had a wee mishap at football practice. A tackle that went wrong, left him with a small fracture on his right ankle. He was in a moon boot for a short while before physio. We pray it will heal quickly.
With Hannah we have been using prayer and a behaviour mod programme. The gains we thought we were having have seemed to stall and just this last week, her shouting out has got ‘worse’. It is very stressful and tiring for all three of us. We are seeing our doctor about it all on Wednesday. Please pray that the Lord will guide us to good solutions and He will heal her from this impulsive and very loud behaviour. One of the results of her calling out means Yvonne is unable to open the BnB. We are in the process of getting quotes to sound proof Hannah’s room so that we can have guests and get some uninterrupted sleep.
Yvonne has pulled a muscle in her back which keeps her in pain. Please pray for her healing.
Whatever the ‘new normal’ looks like for you, let me encourage you with v 4 from Psalm 26; “Trust the Lord forever, for in God the Lord, we have an everlasting rock.”
Every blessing
Rex, Yvonne, Rachel, Jonny & Caleb & Ada, Jeremy, Sakura & Kayla, Tim & Aimee & Hannah.