Anyone who was using a “20/20 Vision” style theme for this year would have had a tough time predicting this one, right? Strange times indeed, but we are so grateful that God is still on the throne and has not taken a day off.
RETURNING FACES
It has been a blessing to see a number of former church members back in attendance since the lockdown. It has certainly taught me the value of having our services online, as many of these folks started watching while we were locked down and then came back to church once the lockdown was lifted. My prayer is that someone in the church will be burdened to take on the digital side of the services as a ministry. Please pray with me along these lines.
MISSIONS CONFERENCES IN NEW ZEALAND?
It has been a blessing to attend and preach at a Missions Conference in a church here in New Zealand. The theme was “Local Missions,” and the church spoiled us for the few days we were with them. I was also privileged to preach for a church at the other end of the country. This was a recorded sermon, which would have seemed so out of the ordinary a year ago, but now seems par for the course. How quickly the world changes!
TRANSPORTATION
We have had to spend a fair amount of money on our van recently, and it seems like more is going to be needed to bring it back to a good standard. We have been driving a 2001 Honda Legacy for the last six years, and it has been a solid, reliable vehicle, with very little needed beyond maintenance. Today it had another issue crop up, so we are at an interesting point of decision where we had been praying and saving towards something new (to us, at least) rather than putting more and more into a vehicle that is on its way out. We are also at a point where a second vehicle would be a tremendous time-saving investment, and over time, it would probably save a lot on petrol. Please pray for us with these decisions.
BUILDING PROGRESS
I have a meeting with a real estate agent this week to start the discussion about us leasing a property in town. This option could see us set up with a place to hold services for the next decade or more.
TRIP TO THE STATES
COVID, COVID, COVID. I am truly interested to see how quickly it will go away with certain possible election results. As it is currently, we would be forced to pay the equivalent of our flight costs in order to stay in government-mandated isolation for two weeks. We need this to change in order to make a furlough/deputation trip financially prudent. I am humbled by your continued support of us here in New Zealand. Thank you so much.
In Christ,
Nick, Beth, Abby, and Zack Watt