RAISING THE BAR ON LEADERSHIP
I’m writing this letter to you from Te Anau deep in the Fiordland national park. And it’s cold windy and wet. Mind you Auckland has not been that much warmer.
I’m down here to run a Bridge Builders course with the local Lakeside Presbyterian church. There are 35 people on the course which started last evening runs tonight and all day Saturday. I shall be preaching at the church on Sunday before my colleague Barry and I make the 8+hr journey back to Christchurch. The reason I was asked to take the course here is that a year ago I had coffee at a Presbyterian conference in Mosgiel with the Church Secretary and she could see how valuable this would be for them as a congregation reaching out into the community here.
So far it is going well and one of the men on the course wanted to go with Barry and I this morning on a walk so he could practice on us. We went on the Keplar walk. Well at least an hour in and then back out. It is so beautiful and I can see why people go on the 3 day hike. My heart did well and my breathing only got difficult when we went up a step incline for a hundred metres.
I am still trying to get enough participants for the Caleb Leadership course due to start 22nd July. I picked up another registration yesterday so we push on.
We have had to shift the Brisbane course out to November because the ITA biannual face to face meetings will be in Chang Mai Thailand in October. Last week the ITA Board completed the selection of a new CEO who is already part of the management team and will be working with the current CEO in few months of transition. Last week the Board made the historic decision as the new CEO will be the first from a majority world nation. I’ve worked with this person and roomed with him and am delighted in the appointment.
I continue to do the monthly supervisions and have a new client who started in April.
I have preached in a couple of churches including Manurewa Baptist where I was Pastor way back.
In late April, our granddaughter Ada ended up in Christchurch hospital with pneumonia. PTL she came right quickly. We went down a week later to visit. Now Caleb who is in an open plan classroom has hit the wall having had little down time in the school holidays and so he is staying home for the next few weeks while meeting are held with school special ed and Rachel and Jonny to see what can be done to get Caleb back and settled into his class safely again.
Rachel is part way through a course on becoming an editor for peoples manuscripts for books they are writing. She will do well with this and it will bring a little income and she can do it from home. She currently has two clients.
Jonny had surgery on his legs and is healing well, otherwise the rest of us are doing pretty well. My meeting with the Cardiologist nurse went well and he is please with my progress. He did say that my fitness assessment appointment does need to happen although he thinks I’m pretty fit. I still need to read the signs from my body and don’t overdo it. It’s now 6 month after the event.
In terms of church attendance, we are still doing the rounds spread out because of the preaching as we wait to see where the Lord would have us fellowship. We are also praying through whether it’s time to restart the house church at our place on a Sunday evening. We need prayer to get clarity on it all.
Thank you for your continued love and support. It is a huge encouragement for us as we serve the Lord.
Every blessings
Rex, Yvonne, Rachel, Jonny, Caleb & Ada, Jeremy, Sakura, Kayla & Chloe, Tim & Aimee & Hannah.