Jill Shaw in New Zealand 
 

Jill Shaw:  SPCF New Zealand

April 2015

To lead myself and others into a restoring relationship with Jesus through creativity, relationship and recovery of what has been lost; with grace, gratitude and generosity consistently shining through for God’s glory.
24 Hours in the Life of Jill
Met with potential new church planting team, a 6 continent ICOM initiative, at Reuben & Anna’s for dinner.
Then responded to urgent request of old neighbours’ to stay with a 6 yr old boy until grandparents could arrive while mum & dad went to hospital to have a new baby.
Been to dentist for routine check, then to lab for routine blood tests to check liver enzymes which would indicate return of melanoma.
Emails.
Doing laundry while inputting ministry expenses into Expensify.
Hand is numb from a compressed nerve exacerbated by paddling a canoe for three days on the Whanganui River Feb 7-9 with my interns and friends.(I love to use exacerbate!)
Going for acupuncture at 4.
Bible study at 7:30.
We’ve Moved
The first few months of the year have been taken up with finding a house to rent, packing, moving & unpacking amidst the usual and unusual ministry opportunities. During that time, I developed lateral epicondylitis in my left elbow while trying to protect the compressed nerve in my right wrist. We are a houseful of women and there was much to be done.
 
We hope for a good winter because there’s only a single pane of glass between us and the outside and this house has many windows. A big thanks to Denise Sears who remade curtains during her visit while others on her team helped with ‘settling in’  tasks inside and out.

We found a place to rent on a side street off a busy road… so a little noisy but good access to buses.
 
There are only 4 bedrooms and I’ve already had up to 8 people sleeping here, but the younger longterm residents were generous to sleep on mattresses on the floor for the times needed.
 
13 ‘guests’ have come & gone over the two months we’ve been in, plus the regular four of us who share.
 
The rent is NZ$630 per week which is best we could do in a safe area.
We have yet to see averages & norms for utilities. It’s been a good summer weather wise. Let’s hope for a good winter. We also have a wood burner stove & a fireplace, so maybe firewood is more cost effective. 
 
We are grateful for your thoughtfulness & generosity in helping with moving costs, and the ongoing partnership that keeps the ministry influential here.

April/May Prayers Needs
In the midst of conversations to be had, reports to be written, meetings attended and plans to be made, I have a speaking engagement on April 18th; the topic is grace AND truth…

My intern of 8 months, Hailey, leaves 28th April.
Then Spirituality Week on campus in early May 
Then leading a contemplative retreat May 9th
Then speaking on discipling at a conference in Taupo 20-22 May …. 
Then I fly to US for 2+ month furlough which is an exhausting tour of churches & friends.

So pray too for wisdom to say no to anything else… I’m not getting younger!

Also with some supporting churches diminished in size, I need additional funding, whether from individuals or partnering churches.

Pray for good connections at a couple of IN & OH churches, please, or others you may know of.

Thanks,
Jill
Interesting Conversations
I’ve had interesting invites to speak to classes at Massey University lately!  Sociology (religion & identity in diverse society) and Social Work practice (self-care).  I again presented the Christian perspective of Spirituality in Death & Dying to nursing students.
Any chance to speak the Gospel is a good opportunity.
Baptisms
Five baptisms were to be celebrated rain or shine, but we are a transient church in that we do not have our own building, we set up and tear down every Sunday, and we usually do baptisms outside in a midwife’s birthing pool.
So ‘shine’ is a lot easier and more pleasant. 
 
Some spoke their testimony, their journey thus far.  Others wrote it out. There were seven baptisms in the end, and ongoing conversations with others will likely lead to more. One was in my present Bible study.  Another was in one of my Life Groups.
 
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jillspcf.org
jillspcf.org
Contact Jill
Contact Jill
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Partner with Jill’s ministry by donating online
To financially Jill’s ministry click the online donation link above or write to:
*South Pacific Christian Fellowship P.O. Box 43581, Louisville KY 40253 USA*
TOP: My housemate Stephanie and intern Hailey enjoy the Asian Lantern Festival in Auckland City.
ABOVE: Weaving flax is a traditional Maori art that provides everyday useful items.
BELOW: Auckland is more ethnically diverse than Sydney or London with more than 100 languages spoken.
BOTTOM: Richie makes friends in ways that crosses language barriers at Massey University and everywhere.
We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.  For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me. ~Colossians 1:28-29