NOVEMBER and DECEMBER 2025

Dear Friends,

Summer heat has arrived here in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), and with it a good bit of heat, end of year and Christmas season busy-ness (and blessings), meaningful work, and blossoming friendships.

Here are some highlights and updates from us:

• Bible Study. We wrapped up our year with a “Randwick Park Bible Study Christmas Party” this past Monday. This was a highlight of the year! About fifty of us neighbours feasted together through great food (including delicious hāngi), carol singing, a nativity play featuring over twenty kids; and then we finished off our evening with an epic dart gun battle (boys vs. girls of course!). This was a fitting end to our year. Krystal, Pauline, Michael, and I co-hosted the event. Each of us brought our best to the evening… Krystal is an amazing gatherer (and incredible cook!!), Pauline used her gift of hospitality to make everyone welcome and run the kitchen, Michael brought his unmatched passion for raucous and worshipful Christmas carol singing, and I coordinated the nativity play and the dart gun battle. And everyone who came (not just the four of us leaders) contributed. And everyone received. Sometimes moments of the kingdom of God just seem to burst through the seams of ordinary moments. This Christmas Party was a moment like that. Praise God with us.

Popsicles and big smiles in the grass after the dart battle was complete. Ecclece (in the black t-shirt on the right side) captained the girls team, helped wrangle younger kids all evening (and is one of the Rewa Pac rangatahi)

Nova, Isaiah, and Andrew (Pauline's son, in the blue shirt) were the three Narrators of the nativity play, and all the other kids played the other parts (including Acacia and Lila holding their sheep as the shepherds)

Pauline acts as Lead Host for our Bible Study, but she also bakes tasty and beautiful treats (used with ingredients from her massive garden) every week! These are carrots cakes with edible flowers adorning them.

Nova has been the most faithful of gatherers for our Bible Study. Her dear school friend, Hazel, and her mum (by dear friend Achaal) and brother came to our Christmas party!

Hazel, Sifet, and Nova are quite inseparable at school. They have even gone into business together! They are so creative and fun. And bonus... us mums really enjoy each other as well! So thankful for friendships that are taking deep root for all of us.

• Reading Groups. The 12 students I have met with twice weekly all year are all graduating from primary school next week. It has been such a joy to work with these students all year. Please pray for them… many of them face challenges in their home life, and the teenage years for many in our neighbourhood are fraught with life altering moments and decisions. The world is a beautiful place. It can also be a dangerous place. Please pray for opportunities for these rangatahi (young people) to know the deep love and compassion of our Creator God, and to respond to this love by following Him.

Terangi and I have been reading together for two years. I am hoping she is one of the assistant coaches in Randwick Park Whānau Football next year! Her niece, Tiana, is one of Jubilee's best friends. Their nan (grandmother) Jane and I have also become good friends. Praise God for blossoming friendships!

The students all wrote thank you notes to the librarians after our field trip to the local library a couple of months ago.

Leya built a toilet in Lego club. Creativity reigns.

• Rewa Pac. We stopped meeting formally for much of the last few months, but many of them attended the Christmas Party; and Krystal and I are walking with each of them a bit more informally. One huge praise: several of them have started attending weekly church youth groups (riding public transport into the city) to meet with other teens who love God. Praise God! Pray for continued growth and steadiness in their relationship with Jesus. Also, pray for the many people (kids, teens, and adults) connected to the Bible Study who desire to follow Jesus. Pray for them, and also pray for wisdom for us leaders as conversations come up regarding belonging to a local church, baptism, and further discipleship opportunities.

Rewa Pac silliness with Ecclece and Xyla

• Neighbouring and Family Life. So much has happened in the last six weeks! One big opportunity for me is the launching of a partnership between Randwick Park Whānau Football (RPWF) and Clendon United AFC. I started RPWF this year and it is still in its very early stages. In 2025, it has looked like me showing up at the local park with a soccer ball and playing soccer (football) with kids in the afternoons after school. In 2026, we are expanding to actually have several girls youth football teams that compete in the local football league. We are so excited about this development! Please pray for the “right” girls and their families to commit. Many families are cautious about new things, and some girls (even at age eight, but many by age twelve) think they are not good enough to play sports. We want to shift that narrative! God gives us bodies that are designed for play, imagination, and creativity. Our hope is that RPWF is a great avenue for girls and wāhine (women) to experience the gift of our embodied selves in a fresh way. Also pray that we get the right leaders (some teenagers as assistant coaches and ideally some mums and other women to be coaches) for these teams. It is looking very promising, but we still have a lot of work to do before the season begins in March of next year.

For many of these girls, this was the first sports match of any kind they had ever played.

Speaking of football, it was a joy to coach Isaiah and Ames, along with these other fantastic intermediate boys (6th and 7th grade equivalent) at a recent school-sponsored sports tournament.

We even received some special training from Kenya-based acclaimed football coach Stephen Rigby. Warning: Old friends with excellent skill sets will be put to work if you visit us here. :) For real, it was such a gift to me to receive some on-the-job coaching training from Stephen who has been coaching football for decades.

Michael helped lead a young adults trip on the Abel Tasman a few weeks ago. He was joined by Ames and our housemate and friend, Rebecca Hoops (front right in black t-shirt). The theme of the trip was discernment, and Michael helped these young people learn (and practice) some discernment. As Old Testament lecturer at Carey Baptist College, Michael is so grateful for these opportunities to disciple young people in their walks with the Lord.

Ames offered important feedback about road safety at the most recent Resident Association meeting. One of the biggest answers to prayer since living here came just the other day. As I was saying good night to Ames, he pulled me close and said, "Mom, I think I really like living here." We have all experienced joy, but also a good dose of culture stress and grief over living far away from family and old friends. This comment from Ames was significant, and it made his mama's heart sing.

My dear friend Karis visited us all the way from Kenya just to "Ga-linda-ify" Jubilee for trick or treating. Jubilee looks pretty happy about it.

Galinda (Jubilee), Elphaba (Nova), the Wizard (Isaiah), and the Sky/Flying Monkey (Ames) went trick or treating with NBA Legend Steven Adams.

Michael took Nova on an EPIC backpacking trip to Great Barrier Island. Glorious skies, great weather, cold and frequent swims. "Can life get better? I submit that it can NOT!"

Jubilee and I recently discovered one of our biggest happy places: leisurely french toast breakfast eaten outside.

Ames racing against other Year 7 boys at the annual school Athletics competition. The school does a great job giving kids opportunities to participate in a variety of activities all year.

Ames recently got his comic published in the school newsletter.

Mary rode on a donkey. Nova rode on an Isaiah during a family beach day trip at Mermaid Pool Eastern Beach. Gotta watch out for those tides. Yay for strong (and kind) big brothers!

Speaking of strong brothers, both Ames and Isaiah did so well in Athletics this year! This is them pictured with school mate, Mohammed. Isaiah got to Auckland Athletics finals (for the second year in a row!) in both the 400m and 800m! Ames ran the 1500m so well in the Counties meet.

Jubilee and Nova working on their pūkana

"Working hard or hardly working?"

Merry Christmas to you and yours. In the words of an old hymn that never gets old: "No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow, far as the curse is found!" We rejoice. We also long and lament and wait in this season. May the peace of Christ be with you in the rejoicing and the waiting.

With love,

Rebecca for all of us 💚💚💚💚💚💚