What an incredibly busy week we just experienced! It’s truly a blessing that we held a meaningful workshop on discipleship during the Labour Weekend.

By prioritizing God and tending to His heavenly garden, we enrich our spirits and look forward to a good season of sowing and harvesting.

NZ Labour Day Monday celebrates the establishment of the eight-hour workday. For Kiwis who enjoy gardening, this day marks the traditional unofficial start of the gardening season.

Thus, we pray for God’s blessings on our backyard gardens, too.

24 October Discipleship Report Evening with Anneta

We had a good turnout of 35 people during the Discipleship Report Evening with Anneta on 24 October. A missionary family of four joined us. We are happy to see our young people joining and making the event their regular Thursday activity for that week.

We thank Anneta Vysotskaya for sharing her testimony and ministry with TEE on the topic “TEE for the 21st Century and How It Can Change New Zealand.” Thank you for encouraging and inspiring us to pursue fervent discipleship in the church.

Watch this video clip of the event.

26 October G.L.A.D. Workshop

On Friday, 25 October, Jewel, Anneta, and I went to Timaru Airport to pick up Ann and Lewis.

The day’s plan was for the TEE Aotearoa team to meet face-to-face at a cafe in Timaru. Why Timaru? Richard, who lives in Christchurch, will drive to Timaru and join, sparing him another hour’s drive to Oamaru.

However, the Wellington Airport authorities cancelled all flights from Wellington that day. So, the TEE Aotearoa face-to-face meeting was postponed.

Ann and Lewis took the last flight to Dunedin and then took a taxi to Oamaru. When they arrived, it was almost midnight. Praising the Lord for His provision.

The Group Leaders Advanced Discipleship Workshop proceeded as planned despite the challenges faced the previous day.

We had 12 participants in the training from three churches: Oamaru Baptist Church (8), All Nations Church of Hope (3), and Cornerstone Bible Community Church (1).

Thank you to all participants and the churches that joined the workshop.

We are grateful to our resource persons, Ann Borquist and Lewis Varley, who travelled to share their precious time and talents.

Thank you, Hopevale Trust, for supporting Oamaru Baptist Church’s ministries.

Thank you to our hosts, who offered accommodation and meals for Ann and Lewis. Thank you to the helping hands who came to help with the preparations and aftercare.

Thank you, Oamaru Baptist Church members, for your prayers and support in one or many ways.

Below are more photos from the GLAD Workshop photos.

Re-establishing the discipleship journey for OBC is challenging and requires commitment. However, we remain resolute and willing to persevere because discipleship is the only way for a believer to grow both horizontally and vertically.

We look forward to starting the “Life of Christ” TEE course early next year.