What a packed night in the city Friday was. Marilyn and I caught the ferry in from Pine Harbour which was fine, but on reaching the city it was almost impossible to get off as the streets were so full for the Rugby World Cup opening. We squeezed our way around; got a burger for dinner and found a good spot against the fence in the Viaduct right in front of a big screen. So we got to watch the fireworks display especially from the Sky Tower, and the Rugby on the screen.
Was it worth it? No probably not but we did it, and it is unlikely the city will have an event like this again.
Sad to see the Government take the management of the down-town activities off the City Council for the event. I feel for Mayor Len Brown as he is a top bloke and has become a great friend of the church.

Brett and Alison’s wedding day was perfect with a beautiful day. Brett is an ex All Black so I thought he would have planned his wedding to not clash with the Rugby World Cup!

Tuesday was our combined campus staff meeting and our weekend guest Mike Francen gave some great teaching to the team.

Christmas and holidays are finally over. The Christmas Productions and Christmas Day services were well attended. We were privileged to have our new Mayor of Auckland City Len Brown and his family attend the Christmas Production in the east.

I have managed to get in some fruitful days of fishing over the break, and we had a fun time for ten days at our holiday home in Mangakino enjoying our grandson Hunter. I had a special time taking him to Rainbow Springs in Rotorua.

January as usual was a wedding month. Beryl and Andrew have married after an amazing story. Andy is a retired Elim minister from the UK. Then Adrian and Abby were married on the 8th. They lead our intermediate age group. Last weekend we were in the South Island for Caleb and Natasha’s wedding.

I took the opportunity to speak in our Timaru Elim church which is led by Caleb’s mum and dad. What a good church, very vibrant and lots of young people. Marilyn and I then took a couple of days to travel inland to Lake Tekapo and Mount Cook. This is a beautiful part of New Zealand we hadn’t been to before.

Andrew and Lynley Garrett have left us to lead the Burnside Elim Church in Christchurch. This is a huge step for them as a family but also an exciting opportunity. I am confident they will serve Elim well in this church. Previous Pastors Graeme and Linda Flett have accepted positions with Laidlaw College in Auckland.

Mike Griffith starts with us next week. He had an eventful farewell from Dunedin with his plane having a full on emergency with a bird strike and having to return to Dunedin. That was a farewell with a difference.