The best seven

There are certain moments when it's good to be an Englishman in New Zealand. This is one of those moments. This weekend the IRB Sevens World Series has reached its Wellington leg. New Zealand were at home, favourites and looking to retain the trophy they won last year. 43 games passed. Two teams remained - New Zealand and England. New Zealand led 17-5 at half-time. As the hooter sounded to end the second half New Zealand led 17-12. But unlike football play continues at the end of normal time until the ball goes out of play. So England had one last chance. Which they took. A try under the posts, duly converted. England win 19-17. In the Kiwis backyard. Ouch! :)

Yesterday, making the most of the lovely weather and the public holiday that is Waitangi Day Joanne and I took our bikes up to Bottle Lake Forest Park for a ride around. It's a lovely place on the northern edge of town, with tracks and paths where people ride horses, walk, cycle or run or whatever. It's so nice to get out and do some outdoorsy stuff whenever we can.

Last night we went round to Jona and Jane's, friends from church, for a bit of a party type thing, which was nice, to catch up with a few people. And this morning we went round to Dave & Kylie's for morning tea. Dave is the new assistant minister at St John's and one of his responsibilities is Bible studies and that includes the Christianity Explored and Exploring Discipleship courses. It was really just an introductory thing so we could get to meet them and so that he could hear from us about ED and from Cam & Jo about CE and stuff. If you are after prayer requests by the way, it would be great if you could pray for the Christianity Explored course that starts at church a week on Wednesday, that people would come along and have open hearts and minds to what they'll hear discussed from Mark's gospel. We're not involved in leading at CE any more of course, with our involvement in ED, but it'll still be great to have you joining us in prayer for the course.

Christmas - what is it really all about?

Please, please watch this.


That's Christmas! from andy pearce on Vimeo.

Ask me if you want to know more.

Coming to the end

Tonight we had the penultimate week of the Christianity Explored course we've been helping with at church. The numbers are definitely thinner on the ground than at the start but there's still a decent number who've perservered to the end. If you've been praying for the guys attending (and us helping lead) over the past eight weeks thank you for your support and encouragement. If you wanted to continue praying over the next week can I ask that you pray that those people who are coming along would be challenged by what they're hearing about Jesus and would recognise the truth evident in it about his identity as God's promised King who died so that we might be reconciled to God. If they've not yet made a commitment to accept Jesus as their saviour and Lord please pray that God would open their eyes and hearts and they would make that commitment, and if they have made that commitment and are just attending to learn more and remind themselves of the gospel please pray that their passion and love for Jesus and desire to live for him would be refreshed and renewed. Thank you.

If praying is not what you, you can ignore that whole stuff.

Joanne and I have got our long weekend holiday thing up north (of the south island, at least) this weekend. We're so hanging out for a break. We've both been pretty full-on at work recently (at least I've not had to work weekends though) but one good thing has come out of that. My boss called me into her office the other day to say that she and her boss (who I do most of my work for) are really pleased with the work I've been doing lately and they recognise the effort I've been putting in and so I should take Joanne out for dinner this weekend while I'm away and recharge it to the company. Nice, eh? It's very pleasant to get positive feedback and feel appreciated for your efforts, I guess.

Joanne had her first netball training session last night. Actually I don't think I've mentioned that before have I? Just as I've decided to start playing competitive (social) football this season, Joanne's decided to start playing for a netball team. It's been 15 or so years since I've played for a team on a regular basis. It's been more like 20 years since Jo has. She really enjoyed it though and at least has a month before her games start so she can refresh her knowledge of the rules of netball. Time has definitely left gaps.

Almost a taste of home

I went to the butcher's today to pick up our custom-made, specially-ordered Lincolnshire sausages. 52 sage and pepper pork sausages. The best $42 I've spent for a long while. I tried a couple tonight, practically the minute I walked through the door (after cooking them, of course!) I approve. I've had better, it is true, but not in this country. Given the pepper and sage proportions were guestimated from a range of online recipes I've found I couldn't really expect them to compare to Birketts' or Petitts' or Boston Sausage's but they're a really good step in the right direction. Maybe I'll get them to add a touch more sage next time.

I was speaking to a guy at work the other day about playing football. During the winter he runs a team, a proper 11-a-side team. He's recruited a couple of other people from the office. I mentioned I might be interested but unfortunately he's got a full quota of players. The good news though, is that one of the IT consultants we have around the office also runs a team in the same league and he's looking for players. I gave him a call and am ready to sign up. It's been quite a while since I've played full outside footy competitively. We had the fortnightly Barge footy back in London but it was still pretty much friendly stuff. The most recent regular stuff would probably be back at uni when I played for Ian's team sometimes, once the American football season was over. So Saturday afternoons from April onwards (except the 5th because the team has a bye and the 12th becuase we'll be up in Abel Tasman) I'll hopefully be playing a bit of footy. Training is on Wednesdays unfortunately, so given our current commitment to helping run the Christianity Explored course at church I won't be able to go along, at least for now. The guy who runs the team doesn't seem to think that'll be a problem though. I'm a bit worried about my fitness levels and my ability to last 90 minutes but with the rolling subs I've heard about I'll manage. And it'll get easier over time. And it's not like I'm doing no exercise at all or anything. I just need to ration the sausages.

Smooth, round and shiny

Autumn has definitely arrived here. It's a bit cooler than it was (although there are still times when the temperature gets above 20 degrees) and the leaves are slowly filling the city with a golden sheen. One thing Autumn also brings is conker season. And there are millions of the things around. Each morning and evening between the car and my office my short walk takes me past a row of horse chestnut trees. And each morning and evening I cannot walk past without stopping to pick a few up. Well, I say a few. My desk is littered with them and I hate to think what Joanne's going to make of the ones filling the slots and boxes and compartments in the car when she gets back from Oz at the weekend.

I just can't resist them. Maybe it's something to do with them being so smooth and nice to play with in your hands, or maybe it's something to do with them being so shiny and mottled like an antique walnut dresser. Or maybe it's just a hang up from when I was twelve and the walk on Sunday mornings from church to my nan's through People's Park in town that involved stopping and hunting under trees for conkers all autumn and relishing the feeling when you found one and finding a suitable stick to lob up into the tree to try and knock down that elusive conker not wanting to leave the safety of its bough. Conkers were rare in those days. Everyone wanted them, everyone at school played with them, and they were a commodity. Today, especially here it seems, you can quite pocketfuls lying around on the grass each morning and then again each evening. It seems such a waste to walk past and leave them there, all smooth and brown and shiny nestled among the green green grass. So I don't. I can't. I don't know what I'm going to do with them all though.

With Joanne being away at the moment, the rare evenings I've been in have led to me watching some stuff on TV that I might not normally watch. Like an English dramatisation of the Mayor of Casterbridge. Or the first half at least. I presume the second half is on next week. I remember studying the book at school and not really enjoying it. It could have been the fact that we had to write essays on it every few chapters discussing the characterisation and interplay between key characters and such like. But after we left school I always remembered the novel fondly. I even bought a copy a few years later but never got around to rereading it. So when the chance came up to watch it on TV it seemed like a good idea. At least, it will have been a good idea if I find out when the second half is on.

But yeah, it's been a pretty busy week really. No busier than usual I guess, just what I've done has taken more time. Like on Monday at touch, perhaps as there's only a few weeks of playing left, we played half an hour or so longer than usual so that it was past half eight by the time I got home. On Tuesday I rushed out of work to the gym for the boxing circuits class thing before making my way to Lisa & Steve's for our bible study group via the supermarket and then ended up staying till 11 chatting to Ruth and Lisa and Anthony. And then last night, again a rush to the gym followed work before I arrived at church for week four of the Christianity Explored course. After setting up, the discussion times, the talk and clearing up afterwards Joel, Ryan, Tim and I headed out with a quick drink and again it was after 11 by the time I got home. It's been a non-stop week.

Oh, and yes, I am missing Joanne. The house is empty without her.

In summary

Ok, only time for a quick summary of the week since I wrote on Tuesday, I'm afraid, but I thought I better write something to fill in the blanks before anyone else tells me off.

On Wednesday afternoon we had the disputes tribunal thing regarding the payment for the wall we had built across our garden. I probably can't write too much about the details here (and it would take too long) but in summary, the dispute was resolved ammicably and we don't feel hard done by, so that's good. We paid half of the amount the builder considered due and he had to take the other half on the nose. Feels about right really, but a big relief to have it all dealt with now. It was just a shame that it had to come to that.

On Wednesday evening we had the first Christianity Explored session, as I've mentioned before. There were perhaps not as many people there as we'd hoped (some people who had signed up didn't make it) but the bottom line is that there were some people there, and if one person gets to hear the gospel faithfully explained then it's worth running the course.

Thursday evening saw us lose 9-8 at footy, but I so enjoyed this week's game compared to last week's game when we won 16-3. It was a real battle right up to the final whistle. Last week our opponents gave up at half time effectively, and then the game isn't enjoyable for anyone.

On Friday evening Joanne and I went to the cinema to see Jumper. It was ok, I guess, fairly enjoyable but I wouldn't advise anyone to rush out to the cinema to watch it. I couldn't help think of Hayden Christensen as anyone other than Anakin Skywalker and the film really felt more like a pilot for a TV series than a proper movie.

On Saturday my dad got back from his coach trip and was understandably full of stories of the places he'd been and the sights he'd seen. I think it's fair to say that he rather likes Nuzziland. Tomorrow he heads up north to spend a few days each with both of Jo's parents. I know he'll have a great time up there and that Shirley & Tom and Len & Val will take good care of him and give him opportunity to take lots more photos.

Last night Dad took us out for dinner, which was nice. I'd booked us a table at Stromboli which Lisa at work (or at least, she used to work with us) had recommended. The food was tasty, it was a nice place, but somehow I got given a kid's portion of the pasta I ordered.

And then finally we arrive at today. We had Wally & Rosemary (our vicar and his wife) over for lunch after church. We've been trying to arrange something with them for a while and we finally got a date in the diary. It was nice for them to be able to come over and meet Dad while he was here too. It was good to hear a bit more about them and their history and what brought them here and stuff. And also to be able to share a little of our history with them too. At Joanne's request, we ate bobotie. I have a great recipe for the Cape Malay dish (thank you, Helen) that always goes down well. I not sure me having it with HP Sauce is necessarily authentic (and I'm sure my South African friends would tut in disapproval, eh, Ruth?) but I'm not a fan of fruit chutney and it achieves the same end really.

More than a postcard

I've had some texts in the past couple of days from my dad. He seems to be have a great time on his South Island tour. He's getting mostly beautiful blue skies to make most of the stunning views it seems. I don't think he was quite prepared for just how amazing the scenery would be. You can see pictures and watch films and stuff and think you know what to expect, but when you're surrounded by the natural beauty, in the middle of it, it's another matter. To quote my dad - "Blown away is right. What a country to live in". Indeed.

Tonight I went along to the first evening of the Men's Christchurch Convention. It's always such an encouragement to get a group of Christian men together to pray, sing and hear God's word faithfully taught. This year's speaker, at the 4th annual MCC, is Richard Coekin, the convention chairmen of the London Men's Convention that I've been to in the past at the Royal Albert Hall. I guess some of you in London will have heard of Richard before and maybe will have heard him speak too. He is speaking on Hebrews 11 and 12 over two nights. Tonight's talk was great - challenging and encouraging. It's just a shame that I'm going to miss tomorrow's talk. At least I can get it on CD later, eh? The joy of MP3s.

The reason I can't go tomorrow is due to the Christianty Explored course Joanne and I are helping lead that I've mentioned before. It's the first night tomorrow. If it's what you do, please do pray for tomorrow evening. We really appreciate your support in that way. Thank you.

Blue-sky lunchtimes

I really love working so close to the Botanic Gardens, being able to go for a wander at lunchtimes, to sit by the river and watch the punts glide by. Definitely a nice way to spend an hour. When it's nice weather, that is. Like yesterday. Today, on the other hand, is not so nice. When Dad arrives this afternoon he's going to wonder if this is summer after all. The weird thing is that it's still warm, probably nigh on 20 degrees, but just grey. So grey. It's almost enough to make me feel homesick, clamouring for the grey Februarys of my youth. Almost.

I do hope the weather improves while my dad's here though. January has been such a great month, weather-wise while February so far's been a bit rubbish. And typically, I've been told, February is the better, more stable month. There's so much I've got planned that's weather-dependent.

I relaised yesterday that our six months of being in Christchurch has been and gone. Last Friday marked the six month point since our arrival down here. I've said it before, but time really does fly doesn't it? I've spent a bit of time recently looking over all the old posts from our first few weeks in Christchurch. It's so weird how the words can evoke the feelings from back then as well as the memory of the events. I am so glad I did this whole blog thing. It will definitely be something I look back over in the future. Like reading an old diary, I guess.

This Sunday just gone at church, after the service, a sausage sizzle was organised. Basically a barbecue was fired up and hundreds of sausages were cooked (while the barbecue worked, that is) while the church family and visitors (it was a guest-focussed service this week) can stand around chatting and stuff. A very good idea, I think. The reason I mention it particularly though is that the first time Jo and I visited St John's, three years ago pretty much to the day I guess, was the same sausage sizzle event. Back then we were just visiting Christian family we had been regularly praying for. And now we're part of that Christian family. Three years ago we never would have imagined that would be the case in three years' time. We never know what God has in store for us, eh?

Last night Jo and I met up with Cam and Ryan to discuss the plan and the format and stuff for the Christianity Explored course we're helping lead that starts next week. If you want to pray for us and for the course please pray we'll have time to do the prep we need to thoroughly despite my dad being around, that people who have signed up would come through the door next Wednesday evening, that people would continue to invite their friends and family along to the course, and that ultimately people would come to know Jesus through the course as their eyes are opened and the Holy Spirit works in their hearts. Thank you. If you don't want to pray for us, you can ignore that whole last bit.

Last day of freedom

So, the last day of my Christmas holidays. Back to work tomorrow. Not for Jo though. She's off until Monday. It's going to be strange being back at work. It's been less than two weeks since I was there but I feel I've forgotten everything already. It's also going to be interesting over the coming months seeing how everything shapes out following the structural changes. But yeah, my last day on holiday and it's been a busy one.

Following a second successive most enjoyable lie-in Joanne and got up and headed out to Lyttelton for lunch. I do like this idea of having the 2nd January as a public holiday. It kind of eases you gently back into the New Year of work. Going to work on the 2nd Jan always came as such a shock back in the UK. Although it does mean that finding a place open for lunch that wasn't a chip shop was tricky. And then they had the gall to stick a 15% public holiday surcharge on the bill. Cheeky.

So, Lyttelton, yeah. It's a strange place, kind of caught between trying to be a seaside town and trying to be a port. It kind of falls somewhere between the two - a port with a seaside feel. There were way too many tourists to be a bonafide port. It's a nice enough place, I guess, but I wouldn't go out of my way to see it, apart from visiting the timeball if you're into marine chronometry and that sort of thing. Much nicer than Lyttelton are the succession of little bays that surround the harbour. Of course, they were all very busy on a public holiday in summer but probably worth a visit another time instead of the fly-past we gave them today as we drove home.

This afternoon, while Joanne did a bit of weeding, I thought I'd take advantage of the good weather and head out on my bike. There's a place called Tai Tapu about 10km south of us that I thought was a decent distance away so off I headed. The ride down there was easy, a nice tail wind meant that I set a decent pace and was still able to take in the stunning view, the hills to my left, the plains and mountains to my right. Once I arrived in Tai Tapu and turned around though it was a different story. The wind today was blowing from th north. It only seemed like a small breeze as I cycled south. As I headed north with it blowing in my face head on the whole way home I realised it was a stronger breeze than I thought. Canterbury is flat and when you have a head wind there is no let up and no shelter. The 10km home took twice as long as the outward 10km. But still, it's all good exercise, eh? And if I hadn't intended to raise my heart rate a bit I might as well have stayed at home.

No rest for the knackered though as as soon as I got home there was time for a quick shower before we had to head out again. James, a guy who a few years ago was in our Christianity Explored and follow-up group is in Nuzziland on holiday and today we had a small window of opportunity to catch up. The joy of Facebook. We wouldn't have known he was in NZ if it wasn't for that. It was great to see him and say hi and found out how his hol is going and how he's doing generally. Plus he brought me in some of the good stuff from home - five packets of Airwaves Blackmint - just enough to see me through until my dad arrives in Feb!

Just time for a quick coffee and a bit of people watching with James in Cathedral Square before we had to head over to Sarah's house. She'd invited us for a barbecue. She may be Scottish but she's becoming very Kiwi ;) Also there were two English couples quite new to Christchurch and St John's - Dan and Fizz from Ripon who've been here about five weeks, and Tom and Sarah from Canterbury (the Kent one) who've been here about ten weeks. It was really great to get to meet them and have a chance to get to know them a bit. Sarah's so great at welcoming new people and having them round to her place and stuff. She does a great job. I was saying to Jo on the way home tonight that I'd love to have the guys we met tonight over for lunch to ours after church on Sunday. When we first arrived at St John's everyone made us feel so welcome and really opened up their homes to us. I'd really like to learn from our experience and make sure we are as warm and as welcoming to new people we meet.

Family growth

Well, we're just back from a marvellous long weekend away. The site was awesome, sitting just the other side of the Porthills, overlooking the Lyttleton bay and being perfectly equipped for the kids and familys and everyone. Just look at that view. It took less than 25 minutes to get to Living Springs from home.

The whole weekend was awesome really. Apart from the sunburn - I really need to learn that the NZ sun burns so much faster than the UK sun, even when it doesn't feel hot. We arrived on Thursday evening and in total I think there were almost 200 people either there the whole time or coming out for day visits. Probably 50 of that number were kids. I think that's one thing that has really struck us about St John's, is the family feel. On the Barge we had some people with kids but they were in the minority. At St John's, at least at the morning service, they're a whole lot more prevalent. Also, becuase the kids have grown up around each other and around each other's parents there is a true family feel. When a child falls over, anyone's child, any parent will comfort them. And more tellingly, the child is willing to be comforted by someone other than their parent. It made quite an impression on us.

We are really enjoying being part of a church family with a whole mix of people and ages. We had a church camp photo taken before we left today. I'll try and post a copy when I can get hold of one so that you can see what I mean. We've had chats this weekend with young people, people our age, and older people alike. Sometimes it was easy, being at St Helens or on the Barge, to think that the evangelical Christian world doesn't have any older people in it. It's refreshing to be around older, experienced Christians, Christians who have lived their lives following Jesus and so have so much to give to the younger generations.

The teaching has been fantastic this weekend too. Jay, who is Wally, our vicar's son, came to talk to us and taught us around a theme of Firm Foundations, the building blocks, if you like, of the Christian faith - faith, love, hope and repentance. Faith - trusting in and relying on the work of Christ on the cross; love - for God and our neighbour, as perfectly demonstrated in the Father sending his Son for us; hope - hope in the world to come, focussing our hope on God's promises for the future; and repentance - the right response to our salvation through Christ.

There were also a couple of seminars we attended. One on living a rich married life - we shouldn't need it, but it is good to be reminded to refocus our relationship with each other on God, and another on St John's - the next ten years. This weekend was perfect timing for us in so many ways. It was great to have a chance to spend time with our church family (the last one was four years ago) and given we moved to Christchurch to be involved at St John's it was great to have a chance to hear about the developing plan for the next ten years.

Speaking of our involvement at St John's we've been asked to be involved in the Christianity Explored course that is being running, starting in February. We're really looking forward to it. We enjoyed leading CE back on the Barge and then the follow-up course. It's going to be exciting, and challenging, to be involved in it again. Also, it's on Wednesdays so we can still be involved in our Tuesday bible study group.