Woke up on a sheep farm in New Zealand

The day before yesterday Tania sat up in bed and said "I can't believe I woke up on a sheep farm in New Zealand".

We spent the last month house sitting for a dear sister in the Lord who offered her house to us while she returned to the field to see if she would be able to get a visa to continue her aid work there. She returned this past Thursday so we needed a new place. Northcross Community Church is the church we are attending here in NZ, they ran an advertisement in their newsletter explaining our need for housing while we wait for our visas. Jakes and Elsabe Jacobson graciously offered their home in Puhoi New Zealand. So we are enjoying the scenery and having fun watching the newborn lambs on their farm.

God has certainly been faithful to us during this time. We hoped and prayed that we wouldn't have to leave Vanuatu so soon. But even though it became necessary He has proven faithful. The Lord is using this time in New Zealand to refresh our souls and heal our bodies. We have also had amazing opportunities to meet with so many wonderful people here in New Zealand. We even had a full house of friends for Simeon's birthday! Who would have thought we would have friends to invite over less than a month after arriving in a new country!!! God is amazing!

Another testimony that I have been so excited about is an email we received a few weeks ago. This story starts back in 2007. When we finished our time in Mexico we drove the 3000 miles home. Most of the way home we decided to take a break in Memphis TN. After crossing the Mississippi we pulled into the Memphis visitors center. Inside there is a huge 20ft statue of Elvis. It is armed with alarms and plastered with signs warning you not to touch the statue. As Tania and I looked at the brochures to see what we could afford to do as a tourist in Memphis we were discovering that everything was quite expensive. Just as Tania was on the verge of deciding that we shouldn't spend any money (after all we live on donations from folks who expect us to use it for ministry she rationalized) we were approached by a couple from West Virginia who were also visiting Memphis. We had a great time of fellowship with these new friends right there in the Visitors center. Before parting ways Eloise gave me a "missionary handshake" handing over the exact amount we needed to take the kids to the childrens museum. When she gave the money she said specifically "use this for whatever you want"! This brought Tania to tears because she had such a great desire to do something fun for the kids but didn't want to use money that was given for ministry. Before parting we also got Eloise and Jim's contact info. We had written them but somehow missed their response. For the past 2 years we would occasionally talk about our time with them and muse about how we wished we could contact them. 2 weeks ago Eloise emailed to let us know that they have been following our travels since our meeting in Memphis. We were so excited to reestablish this contact. Even though Eloise then informed us we had actually been in contact. For whatever reason we had believed we had lost contact. Thank you SO MUCH Eloise and Jim for your prayers and support. Especially since we thought we lost contact with you!!! Many Blessings!!!

We are expecting some news about our visa on Monday. Say a prayer that it is good news!

From Puhoi North Island
The Renshaw tRibe