My home assignment for 2023 ended up being divided nicely into four almost-equal parts: Wellington region, North Island road trip, more Wellington, annual leave.
Based on my previous such trip in 2021, I had a few aspects in mind:
a) Spend as many Sundays as possible at my sending church, Calvary Chapel Wellington. There were a couple of reasons for this: 1) The church has almost doubled in size since I left in 2019, so I wanted to get to know the people who had joined in that time; 2) I haven't been attending church in PNG, so I wanted to be involved while I had the opportunity.
b) Focus on mid-week dedicated 'open events', where someone would organise a venue and I would speak for about an hour. We found these worked pretty well last time.
c) Look for opportunities to speak to schools and youth groups. Inspire the next generation!
d) Don't try to fill in the whole 'ministry partnership day' with activities i.e. meeting supporters one-on-one. I did this last time, and although people appreciated it, I found it exhausting. Instead, I decided to let people know what my itinerary was, and if someone invited me to catch up, I would do my best to fit them in.
Week 1 - Wellington region
I arrived back in time for my brother's birthday, which we celebrated at the weekend by going to an escape room. It was my first time doing one of these and it was neat to see everyone in our team contributing something towards solving each of the clues - nobody was left out. And we escaped with 2:55 to spare!
On Monday I had my first presentation, to a young adults' church home group. I talked a little bit about MAF, but mostly about calling and how God leads us.
Tuesday was my first 'proper' presentation, at the Kapiti Aero Club. I drove up a little earlier, a) to beat the traffic and b) to treat myself to Burger Fuel. I was the first to arrive at the club and chatted to a few other club members when they came shortly afterwards. Eventually someone turned up with a key and we were all able to go inside!
On Wednesday night I gave the first of many 'full length church presentations', to a meeting of two midweek home groups. I quite like speaking to smaller groups like this, because people often ask more questions than in a larger group setting.
Each morning during the week I helped out with our church school holiday programme. It was a great way to get to know some of the kids and parents, and also to contribute to church life.
The final event for the week was the first-Saturday-of-the-month Mana men's breakfast meeting, hosted by St Mary's Anglican Church in Whitby. It was well-received and the men didn't seem to have a problem with a woman being the guest speaker!
Week 2
On Sunday I was 'interviewed' at church, which was mainly to promote the event on the following day.
The Monday event went pretty well. At the end of the question time someone asked if I could demonstrate the pre-flight safety briefing in Tok Pisin! I was happy to oblige...
On the Tuesday night I spoke at our monthly church ladies' night. Drawing on what I had shared at the young adults' group, I mainly talked about how God leads us, and also shared some of the challenges of being an overseas missionary. I was really encouraged by people's responses.
Wednesday saw me venturing a little further afield, to Queen St Gospel Chapel in Levin for an afternoon meeting. This is a church that has been supportive right from the start and regularly prays for me in their Sunday service and midweek prayer groups.
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