Anglican Missions Board of the Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and Polynesia Te Poari Mihinare mo te Haahi ki Aotearoa, Niu Tireni me Pasifika; Komiti ni Veivaka – Lotutaki ni Lotu Jaji e Aotearoa, Niu Siladi kei Polonisia

Vol.12 No.2 July ‘10

Past LegacyPresent growthFuture Vision

ANNUAL REPORT INSIDE

MISSIO

N A

CTIO

NM

ISSION

AC

TION

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Mission PerspectiveBIShOP RIChARD

Mission action is published

three times a year to inform and

encourage the supporters of the

global mission of the Anglican

Church in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

the angLican Missions

BoarD was established in 1927

by General Synod to encourage,

promote and coordinate overseas

mission for the Anglican Church

in Aotearoa, New Zealand and

Polynesia. In partnership with

others, the AMB actively supports

and enables the Church’s mission

throughout the South Pacific,

Tanzania, North Africa, South-East

Asia, Pakistan, Cambodia and

beyond.

Designed and printed by:

Kapiti Print Media Ltd

angLican Missions BoarD

Anglican House

32 Mulgrave St

PO Box 12012

Thorndon

Wellington 6144

tel: 64 04 473 5172

Fax: 64 04 499 5553

email: info@angmissions.org.nz

website: www.angmissions.org.nz

A VISION IN ThE PLANNINg!

I once read a paraphrase of Proverbs 29:18 that said ‘without vision the

people wander aimlessly!’ And I have always liked Bill hybels’ axiom that

‘vision leaks!’

I often reflect on thIs reality within the church and certainly took it to heart when it came to developing a strategy for overseas mission for the Diocese of nelson: vision leaks and constantly needs to be recast.

The word ‘mission’ is used several times within our Diocesan strategic plan and it has become somewhat clichéd unfortunately in all our talk about being ‘missional’ and so we needed to begin by reclaiming a theology of mission – in particular the concept of ‘Missio Dei’ which had alienated some evangelicals in the 60’s and 70’s with its added emphasis on the social gospel. one quote really helped us: ‘The Church does not have a mission apart from Christ’s mission. It was Jesus himself who said “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And so, whatever we do, in word or deed, every aspect of mission is directed towards making known the good news of the Kingdom of God. So rather than simply being one of a number of marks of mission what has been the first mark should be developed and made an over-arching heading – the mission of the church is the Mission of Christ to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom. The other marks then flesh out dimensions of that one mission.’

The next step was to set up a strategy for mis-sion. It seemed appropriate to start with Jesus’ challenge to be his witnesses in ‘Jerusalem, Judea, samaria and to the ends of the earth.’

We have begun to plan for four geographical perspectives in our mission strategy – and we embrace all four as critical dimensions to our mission. A truly ‘missional’ church will under-stand every aspect of its ministry as missional!

And so our commitment to overseas mission is no longer a nice little ‘add-on’ to the real ministry of the church but an integral part of being ‘mis-sional.’ It is not a luxury that we might get round to if we have some spare money or spare time.

And we intend to be intentional in develop-ing three dimensions in our commitment to ‘overseas mission’: ‘short-term’ mission teams (sending and receiving) – understanding that this dimension encourages and nurtures; ‘long-term’ missions that plant and build and sustain; and finally fostering companion Diocese relationships where we share ministry together. It’s a new step in a journey from ‘mis-sionary’ to ‘missional’!

Bishop RichardBishop of Nelson

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Canon Robert KereopaExecutive Officer

TRACTOR APPEAL LAUNChCan you help AMB raise $25,000 for a tractor? Please read on . . .

In mID mArch, At the InvItAtIon of Bishop clyde of Dogura and the Anglican missions Board, malcolm Pease headed to Papua new Guinea to do some research for a pos-sible tractor project in the diocese. At that point almost all that malcolm knew about Dogura was that it was up a steep hill from the sea, and had regular heavy loads to transport from the wharf. Based on this limited information, malcolm knew that a “look and see” visit was in order. Also, he wasn’t certain of the maintenance facilities and trained personnel available to take care of a tractor.

so, what is Dogura like? Inaccessible to be sure! It involves flying first to Alotau, which is a port town on the most south-eastern tip of PnG, and gateway to much of the timber milling and palm plantations. The hot and humid journey to Dogura starts at Alotau. The next stage is a somewhat precarious truck ride to the boat landing at Garauhi, followed by the Bishop’s boat which takes you to Dogura. Then follows a ninety minute boat ride along the coast viewing the local crops of rice, kumara and hand cultivated peanuts from the boat. A bit of line fishing for tuna can be done en route, and if you are lucky, you land a nice fish for tea. At the jetty, the boat pulls up and passengers disembark for the long walk up the hill to Dogura plateau set-tlement. everyone carries part of the load, including the Bishop and his wife.

malcolm had meetings with the local people and elders of the wider Dogura community to get as much information as possible and to gauge the feelings of the whole district about the purchase of a new tractor. The final decision was made to purchase a small tractor and to overhaul a large tractor which

had been unusable for some time, and restore the workshop to maintain both. The original idea for a project was to buy a four wheel drive tractor, but it appears that this was not suitable to the actual needs or maintenance capacity in Dogura.

one of the people who could benefit from the provision of a tractor is Peter, a peanut farmer – a live wire of a man with a growing family. When malcolm arrived, he was in the Dogura clinic with pneumonia. As a subsistence farmer he works his crops on the steep hill tops. to get a good price to sell his crops he would have to go to Alotau market, involving his family car-rying as much down the hill as possible, then a 90-minute boat journey, then a one-hour truck journey from the wharf to the town.

In consultation with the people of Dogura and the Anglican missions Board the tractor for Dogura Project will comprise the following:

1) A medium two-wheel drive tractor (sourced in nZ) with all components, tyres, service and spare parts for 10 years, workshop tools and shipping. This will be ideal for medium weight haulage on established roads from the dock to Dogura station and for light cultivation work.

2) replacement parts for two larger tractors onsite in Dogura.

The total funds required for the above project are estimated at $25,000. Donations towards the Dogura tractor Project can be sent directly to AmB, or through your parish. If more funds than required are received for this appeal, AmB will direct the surplus to another area of ministry within PnG.

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steVe writes:robert Kereopa and I attended two conferences in UsA and Brazil in April 2010. New Wineskins for Global Mission is a mission initiative. The new Wineskins for Global mission is a tri-annual conference held in Asheville UsA that aims to inspire, equip and mobilize the American Anglican/episcopal church for global mis-sion. The event brought together about 1000 people from around the world including archbishops, bishops, clergy, youth ministers, parish mission mobilisers and potential missionaries.

As I sat on the front row in a packed auditorium at the new Wine-skins mission conference listening to a nigerian Archbishop talk about what God has been doing in his corner of northern nigeria, I was stunned by what I heard. This humble man began with a brief overview of the challenges facing nigerian christians – the violence and persecution, loss of jobs, homes, and loved ones all for the sake of the gospel. Then, without even skipping a beat, the most rev. edmund Akanya continued . .. “Fifteen years ago there were three in my area of the country, today there are 49. In spite of the challenges, God has done a miraculous work.”

Wait a minute . . . three what? And now 49 what? You may think he meant church plants, but he actually meant dioceses! 49 new dioceses in 15 years is amazing growth! each dio-cese has between 25 and 50 congregations. We heard story after story of God causing his church to grow in Africa, my-anmar, India – despite intense persecution and challenges. The rev. s.D. Ponraj of Bihar out-reach network (Born) shared how the gospel has been spreading among youth, castes and tribal groups as churches work together to reach the unreached and plant 10,000 churches by the end of this year in Bihar, a northern state in India. The most rev. stephen Than, Archbishop of the Province of myanmar and Bishop of Yangon (rangoon), told us about the work of the church in myanmar where there are 70,000 Anglican christians in myanmar (formerly Burma). A team from singapore made up of mission leaders, deans and other members of the mission deaneries of cambodia, Indonesia, laos, nepal, Thailand and vietnam shared about the gateway of mission in se Asia through teaching english and called on us to seize the ‘kairos’ moment for sending people.

The last message was a challenge to all the participants to consider what part they will play to see the picture in rev 7... people from every nation, tribe and tongue gathered before God in heaven. There

was a call to go out and share faith especially with the ‘nations’ on our doorstep! It begins by inviting migrants in our neighbourhoods for a meal. What part will you play to make this revelation 7 vision come to pass?

Faith2share LeaDershiP consuLtation in Latin aMericaFaith2Share is a network of christian mission agencies (mainly Anglican) in Asia, Africa, europe, Australasia and the Ameri-cas that began a decade ago to facilitate deeper collaboration, mutual support and encouragement in the mission of God. The faith2share leadership consultation in recife, Brazil brought together 34 leaders from around the world. We saw real miracles as visas were issued for our Kenyan and one American colleagues and all managed to arrive before the Icelandic volcano so badly disrupted international travel. some took longer to return home. With a number of local visitors, visits to local mission projects and churches were possible notwithstanding the difficulty of communicating in Portuguese. We saw a rubbish dump that had been transformed to be a church that was a light house to the

community. We were also given a really good introduction to the latin American mis-sion movements and their strategic priori-ties.

While in the Us, we had met Bishops and sAms1 UsA mission-aries serving in latin America. We are hop-ing to continue build-ing relationship with the Diocese of hondu-

ras (which currently has 156 congregations and has doubled in 10 years – key focus is micro enterprise) and chile (100 churches and 42 clergy). chile Diocese has some very creative ministry especially among university students.

some of the topics included: Business as mission, north-south Partnerships, mission and migration, economic engines for mis-sion, culturally Inclusive organizations and Insider movements.

some emerging priorities of mission included:

• Missional church how can we best support local church leaders to build christian communities that are outward looking and equipped for mission?

1 society of Anglican missionaries and senders – formerly south Ameri-can missionary Association. sAms nZ was amalgamated with nZcms in 2000.

report by robert Kereopa and steve Maina

WE hAVE A fAITh TO ShARE

Delegates at the Faith2Share conference, Recife, Brazil

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• Deepening relationships We aim to build relationship in mission which go beyond ‘partnership’, bridge cultures, are based on trust, and model the rich diversity and unity of the Body of christ.

• Training We see the need for contextualized training and life-long mentoring and support for all christians as they are called into mission.

• Mission personnel We want to see mission ‘de-profes-sionalised’ with migrants, business people, children, etc. all empowered to play their part.

concLusionspending time with robert helped us to get to know one another better and to explore how to promote mission work in our churches. I discovered robert’s unusual love for music. It’s great for nZcms and AmB to be working in partnership. mission is about sharing Jesus, changing lives. our lives were changed as we saw and heard how God is at work in the world. We need to rise to the challenge and do more for we have so much to give and to learn.

roBert writes:It was a real privilege to travel with steve, and to network with so many Anglican missions leaders and people from across the globe. steve provides an insightful report on our visit above, and I would like to add a few highlights for me.

firstly, it seems to me that the missions global community is becoming far more co-operative aided by organisations such as faith2share who see it as their mission to bring together different mission organisations to encourage the sharing of ideas, teaching, resources and pastoral care. This is a significant and welcome shift in mission practice worldwide. meeting John and mercy Wesley and tK, representing sending agen-cies from India was a special treat. John and mercy oversee nearly 600 missionaries, and tK over 800 – all from India, and working to plant churches in India. In terms of numbers they had the largest number of missionaries sent by sending agencies represented, yet they were the quietest people at the faith2share network meeting.

secondly, it seems that the world still wants and needs missionaries from Aotearoa, new Zealand and also from the south Pacific region. It was some-what surprising for me to learn that our church may still have a role in south America, aided primarily by willing partners such as sAms UsA and cms UK latin division who can assist with expert mis-sions and pastoral support in the region.

Thirdly, networking with south American bishops opens up real opportunities to work directly with Anglican churches in the region. Working with Anglican churches seems to be a strong emphasis

that steve maina is bringing to the work of nZcms, and this certainly sits well with the AmB mission statement. linking with the Bishop of honduras and the Bishop of chile may lead to the place-ment of nZcms missionaries in their dioceses.

fourthly, representation from our church at conferences like these should probably be given priority, to be a part of and to help shape the global mission environment. A significant outcome may be the delivery of meaningful workshops at our own common life missions conference next year. A number of invitations have been sent, and we already have one acceptance from a young russian orthodox working with the faith2share network. I am hopeful that the Asia/Pacific regional conference of faith2share will be held here in nZ in conjunction with the clmc.

fifthly, it was unnerving for me to see the deep division in the episcopal church of the UsA first hand. The ‘breakaway’ group is using the ‘Anglican’ brand which means that ‘Anglican’ may be seen as a dirty word in some parts of the episcopal church of UsA. Unfortunately, most of the missions organisations are seen to be aligned with the ‘Anglican’ breakaway group. I was invited to attend a ‘reconciliation commission’ meeting for the West north caro-lina diocese of the episcopal church, where there seems to be a

sense of loss and helplessness with regard to the division in the church. They seemed very interested to hear our ex-perience with reconciliation between our tikanga in our church. The unique legacy of AmB as a missions activity for the whole province seems to provide one important means to encourage unity in our church.

finally, I want to thank steve for his invitation to journey with him, mirroring the

way AmB and cms have journeyed together for many years. We roomed together wherever we went in some very interesting places. our church is being served very well by a rather special missionary from Kenya who is bringing new ideas, new ways of doing mission and new ways of relating to the world for the betterment of our missions effort. I look forward to journeying with steve again in August when we go to investigate sending possibilities in PnG and the solomons.

Steve Maina & children from “My Father’s House” Anglican Mission, Orlinda, Brazil

EO Robert Kereopa with Pastor Rafael, Spiritus Sanctus Church, Recife,

the largest Anglican Church in Brazil

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Canon Robert Kereopa Executive Officer

gROWINg IN MISSION AND PARTNERShIP

together MaKing a worLD oF DiFFerenceour 3-tikanga church is a church of great diversity, working together to make an impact on the world scene.

All mission grants pledged by the Board for 2009 have been honoured, the result of contributions from across the broad spectrum of our church. Incorporating different ethnic and cul-tural traditions, languages, worship styles, theological expres-sions, and local contexts – all 3 tikanga and 95% of our parishes provided financial support to the Global mission of our church coordinated through the Anglican missions Board. This legacy begun in 1922 continues to make a world of difference.

FinanciaL resuLtsIt is pleasing to report a better than expected financial result for the 2009 financial year. The Board set a budget deficit of $68,450 for 2009 but achieved a surplus of $128,000, in part the result of record giving from our church. In addition, the Board is report-ing a strong financial position as reflected in the Board’s balance sheet. The strong financial position and performance of AmB will help maintain stability for our missions effort moving forward.

a growing Mission taongaDespite a global recession, sacrificial target giving from our church increased by approximately 3% during 2009. The mission taonga from our 3-tikanga church reached a record $1.363 million – an exceptional result for the year enabling continued growth in missions support.

The dioceses of Wellington, Waiapu, nelson, Polynesia and te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa exceeded the targets they set for 2009 while Auckland, christchurch, Waikato, Waiapu, nelson and te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa increased their giving over 2008.

The h&W Williams trust has provided significant support to mission work in Papua new Guinea in past years, increasing their support significantly during 2009. They are also strong supporters of the Diocese of Polynesia. The AAW continue to support special projects of their choosing, contributing over $54,000 in 2009, including $22,000 raised for water projects in fiji. We have also seen a steady level of giving from individual donors who provide important funding for specific appeals.

growing in Mission anD PartnershiPmission grants and allocations provided by AmB on behalf of the church increased (9.8%) to $1.32 million during 2009.

our church’s largest funding mission Partnership is with the New Zealand Church Missionary Society (nZcms) who are actively supporting many people serving overseas. A $491,000 mission grant was made to nZcms by our church through the Anglican missions Board. our goal is for our church to provide 100% of the maintenance and support of mission Partners sent through nZcms, and this was achieved for 2009. Due to a sig-nificant increase in new missionaries this year, sending support

to nZcms is expected to increase by approximately 30% during 2010.

other significant grants for 2009 went to the work of The Diocese of Polynesia ($160,000) supporting various projects including evange-lism, education, clergy support, health and Development Projects; The Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea ($137,000) supporting evangelism, Theo-logical education, clergy support, and Development Projects; Tikanga Maori Missions ($75,000) supporting the Australian maori missions and further development within the Anglican Indigenous network; and The Anglican Church in Tanzania ($18,000) supporting the establishment of an education office for the Province. further grants have been made to The Episco-pal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East ($15,495), The Anglican Church of Melanesia ($2,000), Sharing of Minis-tries Abroad New Zealand ($3,852) and Tikanga Pakeha Mis-sions Council ($24,524) supporting projects in PnG and Asia, a teacher in tanzania and support for a tanzanian PhD student.

growing our eMergency resPonseAnother record for our church was increased giving in re-sponse to emergency appeals during 2009. The Board held four emergency appeals for Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, Fiji Flood Relief, Sri Lanka Refugees, and The Pacific Tsunami, raising a total of $171,657. The Pacific tsunami Appeal alone raised in excess of $100,000, used for various projects including children and youth trauma counselling, building 2 com-munity Halls/multipurpose centres in Samoa, fishing boats for Niuatoputapu, Tonga, support for Habitat for Humanity to rebuild over 300 fales in samoa, and the support of Angli-cans who went to help the rebuilding effort in samoa.

Future VisionDuring 2009 the Board organised a missions consultation for the church to help guide the Board’s future direction. Is-sues raised at this consultation have been incorporated into a strategic Plan for the next 5 years, with a new vision statement: Shaping the Church for Mission. In a sense, AmB is looking to grow its own mission to our church, to inspire and equip the church for its participation in Global mission.

thanKsmay I extend my grateful thanks on behalf of the Board for the commitment made by the many church groups, parishes, rohe, dioceses, hui Amorangi, mission motivators, Diocesan mis-sions councils and tikanga missions councils of our church. Through your prayers, giving and voluntary support the mis-sion work of our church is able to be carried out. We all have a stake in this mission together!

rev canon robert Kereopa, executive officer

Bishop Gabriel Sharma Chair

nZcMs Polynesia Papua New

Guinea soManZ Melanesia Jerusalem &

The Middle East tanzania

specified Donations

tPMc Te Pihopatanga

o Aotearoa other

allocations emergencies

ThE DIVISION Of ThE TAONgA ThE BALANCE AChIEVED

grants & allocations

Board oversight administration Publicity church support other

hOW ThE TAONgA IS CREATED

auckland waikato waiapu wellington nelson christchurch Dunedin Polynesia

Te Pihopatanga o Aotearoa

Fundraising appeals

specified Donations

aaw o&o Legacies other

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Continued on Page 9

It is with great excitement and sincere appreciation I write a brief report on the

work of the Anglican Missions Board for the year 2009.

the cAll of GoD and the honour to respond to such a call has been a shared responsibility as we have joined our hands together in

supporting the work/activities of the missions Board. You the people of the wider church through your giving, praying, going and ongoing support have indeed enabled the missions Board to respond to God’s call in proclaiming, demonstrating and actively sharing the love of God with those who are in need. Because of such overwhelming support I can confidently say that the Angli-can church of Aotearoa, new Zealand and Polynesia has been actively participating in the Global mission of God.

to have been the chair of your missions Board over the last four years has indeed been a privilege on the part of tikanga Polynesia in its contribution for such exciting works. for this opportunity tikanga Polynesia is grateful and gives thanks to God Almighty, in whose mission we have been able to partici-pate. The support and help provided by the executive officer, the executive committee, and the board members together with the untiring efforts of the office staff, has been tremendous and is sincerely appreciated.

The missions Board has endeavoured to objectively work on its goals and has been successful in carrying this out during 2009. The following paragraphs endeavour to reflect the achievements of the Board in some of its major areas of work and will hopefully bring joy to you all for a job well done.

In acknowledging and appreciating your enormous support, may I on behalf of the Board encourage you all for your contin-ued support and prayer for the ongoing missions work under-taken by the Provincial church through the missions Board.

TIkANgA MISSIONS gIVINgDespite its challenges and difficulties, the year 2009 has been a very successful and yet another historical year in relation to the tikanga giving. Your continued generosity and committed giv-ing has enabled the Board to surpass its projected income for the year as well as the record giving of 2008. This is a fantastic achievement on the part of every donor/giver for the extension of God’s mission. The Board is indeed delighted in achieving such a milestone in exceeding the income target for two years in a row, and wishes to record its sincere thanks to you all.

such an achievement confirms your committed support for the ongoing work of the Board for global mission, in trying to reach out to the needy people around us. It is through your giving that the love of God is actualised through the several agencies of global mission work and the various projects un-dertaken by your missions Board.

BOARD MEMBERS The last twelve months, despite the challenges it presented, have been satisfying in undertaking the responsibility for the ongoing global mission of the church. shortfall in the annual budget was labelled as ‘faith gaps’ with intention, trusting that God our provider will meet the needs. Despite the difficul-ties, the faithfulness of God has been the end result, through the support of prayers and contributions made by you faithful people.

The wider church has much to be grateful for in the work of those who represent it on the Board. The composition of the Board with bishops, priests and lay people, women and men, young and old brings a great variety and richness from the

ChAIRPERSON’S REPORT 2009

Delegates

SUMMARY fINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2009suMMary stateMent oF FinanciaL PerForMance For the year enDeD 31 DeceMBer 2009

2009 2008 2007INCOME $ $ $Auckland 250,277 243,829 233,218Waikato 202,335 196,037 193,924Waiapu 172,959 164,140 162,448Wellington 281,690 292,528 277,349nelson 126,331 108,257 120,084christchurch 237,240 227,077 237,524Dunedin 57,515 60,312 57,805Polynesia 12,000 12,131 12,000te Pihopatanga 22,802 20,036 15,000total tikanga contributions 1,363,149 1,324,347 1,309,352fundraising 240,155 75,937 38,882other Income 404,235 280,648 247,990

2,007,539 1,680,932 1,596,224

LESS EXPENSESGrants & Allocations 1,322,064 1,204,305 1,199,347Board oversight 37,534 29,815 34,188Administration 186,462 154,471 198,586Publicity 121,903 111,523 70,376church support 91,766 82,972 23,808Depreciation expense 24,202 24,570 17,782other 95,141 93,459 63,967

1,879,072 1,701,115 1,608,054

net surplus/(Deficit) 128,467 (20,183) (11,830)

suMMary stateMent oF FinanciaL Position as at 31 DeceMBer 20092009 2008 2007

$ $ $current Assets 580,614 335,441 326,285fixed Assets 487,411 484,889 498,755other non- current Assets 310,371 410,469 415,652current liabilities (173,346) (154,216) (143,926)non-current liabilities 0 0 0equity 1,205,050 1,076,583 1,096,766

suMMary stateMent oF MoVeMent in eQuity For the year enDeD 31 DeceMBer 20092009 2008 2007

$ $ $equity at start of year 1,076,583 1,096,766 1,108,596net surplus/(Deficit) 128,467 (20,183) (11,830)equity at end of year 1,205,050 1,076,583 1,096,766

Figures are extracted from the audited financial statements. The Anglican Mission Board’s full audited financial statements are available from the Board’s office at32 Mulgrave St, PO Box 12-012, Thorndon, Wellington, New Zealand ph: 04 473-5172These Summary Financial Statements were approved for issue on 22 February 2010 for and on behalf of the Board by Canon Robert Kereopa, Executive Officer.

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ChAIRPERSON’S REPORT 2009 Continued

church. It has been a wonderful blessing and privilege to work alongside such a diverse yet committed group of people.

MISSIONS BOARD CONSULTATION like any other effective organisation which needs to consult its client/support base, the Board intentionally undertook this ex-ercise to reconsider its goals and renew its objectives in the area of mission. representatives from the diocese/hui amorangi across the three tikanga met over almost two days to investigate new, enhanced and effective ways to support the ongoing work of the AmB.

findings from this consultation were prioritised and have now become a part of the five year plan for the AmB. These objec-tives will gradually be implemented in order to have maximum impact of all funds utilised by the Board for its mission agen-cies and partners. The Board is clear in its intention that every dollar given for its work must have maximum impact on people that are helped.

ThE COMMON LIfE MISSIONS CONfERENCE 2011 After its success in 2007 and a desire by participants for frequent gathering of such a nature, the Board is now working towards a missions conference from the 19th to 22nd July at Waikanae in Wellington. A three-tikanga subcommittee, with the help of some other members, is planning this wonderful event and details will be forwarded to individual parishes/min-istry units encouraging their participation.

As many were hopeful during the conference, I am also hopeful that the provincial church will not wait another decade for such an event to take place. such an event reinforces to the wider church the purpose of its existence – mission into the local and international worlds is our business.

ThE BOARD’S OffICE AND STAffThe committed and hardworking staff, under the leadership of the executive officer, has ably supported the Board’s tasks throughout the year. Jane the new executive Assistant, has taken over from valerie Aull, and has settled well into her role and the mechanics of the Board. The inclusion of rev hamish Thompson as the church support officer has also strengthened the work of the Board over the last almost two years.

The Board is greatly indebted to such commitment and sincere individuals in its day-to-day operations for carrying out the mis-sion work undertaken by the Board. There are also others who have lent a hand and continued to provide unwavering support behind the scenes. such support and help is greatly appreciated by the Board.

my sincere and heartfelt thanks to all of you for your unwaver-ing support during the 2009, a year which has been a success in several aspects of our mission work and responsibility. may God our heavenly father richly and abundantly bless you all for your support in every way which has resulted in the achievements of the Board.

Bishop Gabriel SharmaChair

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PREPARINg fOR ThE MISSION fIELDBy Jean

for the lAst foUr months I hAve Been studying at st Andrew’s hall in melbourne. The course is teaching me tools for working in a cross-cultural envi-ronment. There is a huge amount for me to learn and I hope this time in melbourne will equip me to better serve God not only in the cross-cultural context I am heading into but in my own culture. I hope it will give me skills and insights that enable me to be more able to serve God, my friends and family, those I come into contact with in everyday life, and on the mission field.

The course is run by people who have a wealth of experience in cross-cultural mis-sion. They are helping us prepare for all the challenges that come with missionary life. This includes saying good-bye well, maintaining communication with those at home, our responsibilities to the sending and receiving organisations, and coping with the stress that is associated with moving to and living in a new culture. In all of this, God is showing me how he wants to work in my life and the things I need to work on before following his call to work for him overseas.

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NZCMS STORIES

fROM EVERYWhERE TO EVERYWhEREBy Rosie

I WAs 13 When I fIrst UnDerstooD the GosPel and committed my life to Jesus. As I grew as a christian, I became more and more aware of my role and responsibility as a follower of Jesus; to love others, and to share the good news of God’s love with others.

one opportunity that has shaped my passion for serving others was helping at an informal english language programme for international students run by the Anglican chaplaincy at victoria University. many of the students were in nZ a short time, and there were great opportunities to provide a real need of friendship, to have fun together, and opportunities to share the gospel.

Another significant experience has been living in an intentional christian community in central Wellington. Through weekly open dinners and community church services, we sought to provide community to those on the fringes of society in the inner city, and a place where we could show love to our neighbours.

I’m really excited about doing this same work, and the same calling, but in another part of the world. for me, there is something so exciting about mission being ‘from everywhere to

everywhere.’ seeing the church as one body and having brothers and sisters in every nation, means that we should be involved in each other’s lives so to speak. I believe we have a responsibility towards each other in supporting each other and building each other up.

The image in revelation of “great multitude which no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues standing before the throne of Jesus” is a beautiful image, and the bringing of this is something that I want to be part of. I am currently studying at st Andrew’s hall in melbourne, run by cms Australia. After st Andrew’s hall, I will be working with refugees as a Development officer through the Anglican cathedral in cairo, egypt.

UPDATE ON DONEE STATUSPlease note that currently donations made by individuals directly to AMB do not qualify for a tax credit. We are in the process of working with IRD regarding this issue.

See our website for more information www.angmissions.org.nz/doneetaxstatus

A GroUP of men AnD Women from the Waikanae Angli-can Parish recently travelled to samoa to volunteer their time and labour to habitat for humanity’s rebuilding of fales (homes) for families affected by last year’s tsunami. They helped on the build of eight fales during their two weeks there.

We were a mix of ages and ability but with a common aim to help the samoan people who had lost their homes, and in many cases lost loved ones as well.

We travelled from the samoan cap-ital Apia to the part of the island in Upolu where most of the devasta-tion had occurred. our home for two weeks was a church hall in a village called lepa, set upon a hill looking out over the sea.

It was unbelievably hot and we worked hard, rising before six and often not finishing until five, mixing and pouring barrow after barrow of concrete, tying and reinforcing steel, digging ground littered with volcanic rock, painting, sawing, making roof trusses and frames, plumbing, roofing and wiring. We were cared for wonderfully by the local people who prepared us meals, and entertained us with their laughter and performances at night. We were humbled by their willingness to care and provide for strangers. for many of us being served was an uncomfortable concept but we came to respect it and appreciate it in the spirit of its offering.

We also looked after one another, and were able to laugh at ourselves and our circumstances. We bartered for the precious

few luxury goods one another had brought, coffee sachets for liquorice allsorts, biscuits for bandages.

The local samoan staff working for habitat were great and had us organised in no time. We also had great team leaders, formed

both from our team and the teams that were already there, who organ-ised us each day as we prepared to go out on site and delivered us to the sea at the end of each day for a swim. We did not have to travel far to see the terrible damage the tsunami had inflicted upon the communities living along the coast. It was a sobering experience.

We got to know each other well and made friends with the other teams that came and went during

our stay. With our samoan friends we built greater understanding and respect for one another.

We saw how our lives can impact others for good, and how the lives of the samoan people can similarly impact us. no matter how fleeting the contact, no meeting or conversation felt left to chance.

coming back to new Zealand we miss the importance of the mo-ment that we had learned to appreciate in samoa. But we loved coming back to our families, and we did not miss the insects, pigs, and the stray dogs and cats that kept us awake at night! Thank you AmB for your financial help in subsidising each team member $240.

PROjECT SAMOA hOPE: TEAM 20 IN SAMOA

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Waikanae Anglican Parish team

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Robyn Hickman

AAW OVERSEAS AND OUTREACh UPDATENew Zealand Association of Anglican Women

In february the NZAAW Executive meeting was held at the Community of the Sacred Name

in Christchurch. here we welcomed the new AAW leaders of Christchurch and the member

appointed to the National Committee for the World Day of Prayer. Elizabeth Crawley of Waiapu

is now President Elect for NZAAW, to take over the reins at the next AgM in August.

nZcms hAs sent thAnK YoU letters acknowledging our support for holy trinity school (Dodoma) via Patricia mcKelvey; Pennell high school (Bannu) for students’ sponsor-ship; for Kunri Krafts, via Jude looser; and for madam Ansaf ’s work in cairo. nZcms writes “We thank you from the bottom of our hearts and on behalf of the above recipients for your gener-osity given so willingly”.

AAW continues to sponsor Bible in Schools and a recent donation of $3000 will help them to resource and train around 200 volunteer chaplains to work with students, teachers and families in nZ schools. A chaplain is

a major asset to a school as they have the time for one-on-one with students and have a greater opportunity to be-friend both the pupil and their family in contrast with a busy teacher.

AAW also received letters from Fiji thanking us for the sewing machines they were able to purchase last year. The two fijian – st Paul’s, naviavia, and st Athanasius, tamavua-i-wai – groups are now making clothes to sell at the market, thus making some funds available for other essentials. money has been distributed to the kindergar-tens as parents now struggle to meet the nominal fee. samoa received fund-ing to help with travel to meetings.

The tongan group has yet to purchase their machine, but they have received the funding.

The members of AAW would like to express their sorrow at the sudden death of Libby Laing whilst she was in Dhaka at easter. her work at Kai-lakura with Dr edric Baker has been invaluable.

The funding for mission Projects for the next three years will cover projects and people in the following regions: Polynesia, melanesia, PnG, sri lanka, cambodia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, tanzania, egypt, s. America and mid-dle east.