Heading Out

Josh and I are heading to Taupo (the city next to the lake Taupo, the largest crater lake in the world) in about an hour. We are looking forward to hanging out with Marty and Candice. They have been heading up the IWT project in Ohio, so there is lots to catch up on. We hope that you all have a wonderful first couple days of 2009.

Happenings around the world

For all of those readers wondering what is happening with us....here is short account.

Our students in the Philippines
1. MJ is recovering well at the base in Manila. She is now regaining her strength.
2. Triston - has made it back to Australia after being released from the hospital on Christmas Eve. You can imagine attempting to rearrange airline tickets when all insurance, airlines, and everything else is shut down for Christmas.
3. Our team in the South are working with a kids camp for the week in an outer island.
4. Our team in the North is focusing on "Red Light District" ministry in the capital city.

Family Stuff
1. Alana Cole (Josh's 16 years old sister) is with Misty's family in Kansas City, USA for the Onething conference.
2. Misty wishes she was also with her family in Kansas City, attending the conference she used to help run.
3. The Greater Cole's are in Snell's Beach with Anna (Josh's other sister).
4. We have a few more days of work before hopefully taking a short break over new Years to see our co-workers and friends that are here from America.
5. We are off to go flea bomb the inlaws house while they are away. Apparently the dog has something to answer for besides killing all the turkeys.

That's about it from the peanut gallery. Hope everyone is well. Miss miss you guys!

Philippines in photographs

Want a larger view? Just click on each picture.

Update on our sick students....

I just talked with Josh who is now heading for the airport in Manilla. Some of you might have been praying for the situations at hand....and some of you may not know what is happening. Things alway get interesting on outreach.

MJ - MJ came down with pnemonuia and was in the hospital for 5 days. She is now back at the base and is slowly getting better. Her grand-daughter Kelly is staying with her while the rest of the team is out doing ministry.

Triston - Triston has been diagnosed with Dengue Fever and is in Hospital in Davao. His team has postponed traveling to the outer regions of the area till after Christmas. He’s feeling a lot better today, and his temperature has dropped dramatically. That also means his platelet level has also dropped a lot and he may have to have blood transfusion, which apparently will prevent internal bleeding. The doctors are monitoring him very closely and he has someone from the team by his side 24-7. They say that he should be out within 3 days, which is great news.

Misty - Back in New Zealand, I was hit in the eye by a flying champagne cork at work. I was lucky and it hit the "eyebrow bone" and not the eye. I think this is the last time I follow company policy of offering champage to our clients. It should be a bit black and blue by tomorrow. Perfect timing for Christmas pics :>

As you can see we need your prayers. Thanks for being involved in our little journey.

Davao

Kia ora from Davao, Philippines! The people here have beautiful hearts, and the hospitality has been off the charts! If you like fresh mangos, papaya and pineapple, I’m telling you, this is the place to be! I have been here for the last 5 days with half of the DTS, the outreach team that has been focusing on the Mindinao Island. It has been great being here, seeing so much growth is each and every team member. The ministry opportunities have been so diverse, they have done everything from Prayer/Worship, street evangelism, physical labour, church services, youth services and ministering to sexually abused girls. The fruit has been awesome. The other night a couple of the team were sharing the gospel with a group of teenagers down town, and 8 guys and 2 girls gave their lives to Jesus! This morning as some of the girls were sharing the love of God with about 20 young girls who had been abused, there were many tears shed as these girls were told how beautiful they were, and how much God loves them. Awesome!

While being here I have also had the opportunity to connect with many of the leaders here which has been awesome.

Tomorrow I’ll be flying to Manila in the afternoon to spend the next 3 days with the outreach team there. I’m really looking forward to connecting with them all and hear testimonies of how God is working there in and through them.

Please be praying for MJ and Tristan, they are both sick and are out of action at the moment.

Christmas is Almost Here

What do parades, cotton candy, brazilian dancers, caramel apples, Scottish bagpippers, people walking around in bathing suites, and giant crains have in common? Well....not much except that they all made an apperance at the Mount Maunganui Christmas festival today (that I happend to attend by default when I was at work). Yes, we totally celebrate Christmas differently in New Zealand than those in the Northern Hemisphere do....but I think that is due to the fact that it is simply really hot outside. If we drank hot chocolate we would litterally start sweating!

This week is already turning out to be a busy one. I have yet to talk with Josh, as the internet connection where he is has been cutting out....but I have gotten a couple of emails. For all those parents of our students, be reasured, everyone is in high spirits and are busy getting down to ministry, mostly with teenagers. In a couple days Josh will leave the south and go to rejoin the team in the capital city. Hopefully communication will be better from there.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is an incredible city of 7 Million lined with hundreds of skyscrapers everywhere you look, lights, shops, and people absolutely everywhere. Being here has really taken me back to my high school years growing up in Singapore. It’s been a real privilege to be here during this significant time to lay the ground work for what is coming in May/June 2009. We’re here alongside Mark Anderson, the International founder and director of the Impact World Tour, and also the director of the Call2All and the Global Pastors Network. The Call2All is a vision to gather all of the top leaders in the body of Christ to provoke them to focus outwards on accomplishing the great commission and adopting unreached people groups. It is a congress which is seen as a precursor to the IWT events to bring unity and vision for reaching those who don’t know Jesus. It’s believed that this can be completed within the next 10 years.

In the first week of June 2009, the first ever global Call2All congress will be taking place in Hong Kong alongside the global day of prayer and the global day of missions. We’re expecting 3,000 of the worlds top leaders in the Body of Christ to converge on Hong Kong for a week of seeking the Lord and strategizing to reach those who don’t know Jesus. The YWAM Asia/Pacific field leaders (300-500) will be also be gathering alongside this congress. We’ll also be looking to do some smaller scale IWT church based outreach events here around the same time with the view of eventually doing full blown campaigns down the line. This is a very strategic time as Hong Kong is the gateway into China, and also the financial hub for this part of the world.

We have been asked to help coordinate and facilitate these meetings/events next year. We’ve had an incredible time the last couple of days with many divine appointments and connections. Today we have a vision sharing meeting with Mark Anderson and about 100 leaders in Hong Kong including God TV leadership who will be involved next year. It’s exciting what is taking place.

Tomorrow morning I fly out to Davao, Philippines, to reconnect with the DTS outreach team. Both teams are doing well, and seeing God move in incredible ways. It’s great to be part of what God is doing in Asia. More to come….

Zach and Josh

Hey guys! Josh has arrived safely in Manila and from the reports I have been hearing things are going very well. Everyone is in high spirits and full of faith, in the midst of learning to do new things. Here is a report from one of the students.

"Friday we went to a slum. We broke up into small groups and headed out to different sections of one of the poorest area's i have seen in my life. We all told testimonies and preached Jesus crucified and His resurrection to all in the streets! We even played basketball with a group of 12-15 year old. Others ministered to a church leadership! Wonderful things happen; inner healing and even a women with one deaf ear was healed as one of the team members prayed for her! But, the best part for me was all the beautiful children! at one point 3 of us gathered around 50-60 kids and told bible stories. It was cool."


This is the girls learning how to wash clothes without washing machines.

On the way....

Today at noon Josh started his journey to the Philippines. He lands sometime tomorrow, hopefully after a few hours sleep on the plane. There will be lots more news from the team once he lands. Despite lots of trips over the last two years, it never seems to "normal" to have him gone. I guess now I will have some extra time to prepare for his Birthday, Christmas, and catch up with girl friends.

Oh well off to clean the house after the whirlwind of packing.