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news from Chris and Pat

We left Camp David after over 3 happy years there.

Moved last week into a rented small 3-bed house in Havelock North. The house is quite small, so we've got a lot of stuff filling the garage. We're gradually sorting ourselves out. We thank God for the provision, though: the timing couldn't have been finer, the rent's resaonable and the kids' school is only a 4-min walk along the road, we're also close to the centre of Havelock North..

Pat has started work for "Growing Pains" a project helping children with personal/social problems, involving 5 schools. Things have started quite slowly as there have been a few organisational and personnel changes in the Anglican Church Social Services Trust. No doubt there will be many challenges ahead.

Chris has nothing definite yet, though is pursuing one accounting job opportunity. He's been working hard on a friends orchard this week!

Beth & David are back to school and normal life after 2 months off! They've had a great summer.

Please keep in touch.

GOD Bless,

Pat Chris Beth & David ('The Walters")

from the Walters in NZ

Kia Ora!

Just a quickie with some latest news

Hitting our busy season. Lots of school groups, plus some weekend camps over next 8 weeks. It's good we're busy as Camp needs the revenue. We've all had a pay rise; now get at least the NZ minimum wage and new contracts - taken ages. New Manager, Derik, doing really well; lots to get to grips with plus decisions about the future of Camp. New Maintenance Guy, Quintus, starting to eat into the overdue jobs and realise the things that should be done. Rosey, Horse worker, now settled in and taking over from Pat who was temporarily in charge of the horses. So good things happening.

Now we need to get sharper about running our next few ministry camps which means coming up with ideas, planning, publicising. How can we be more effective communicators, carers and touch more young lives

Personal prayer requests:

Pat:  suffering from ongoing discomfort in her foot, neck and hip. Physio thinks mainly result of injuries when she was younger, poor posture and not full recovery. Doing the horse-riding activities often takes a lot of effort.  Wisdom and help for following up kids who made responses to God during the previous holiday camp. Organising a Teen Camp just before Christmas. Planning for January summer holiday camps. Recruiting leaders. Pat would also like to build up links with local churches and Camp. Also would like to deepen some personal friendships outside Camp.

Chris: starting his role as Business Manager. Needs to take over running the Camp's finances and bookings in the next month from an elderly couple who've voluntarily done this since Camp started. Trying to get the budget set up for camp; apply for grant funding and review Camp's marketing strategy.

Beth: level 2 exams soon. Thinking about her final school year and plans thereafter. looking at being an English teacher and eventually working in Africa.  SHE'S DECIDED TO GET BAPTISED - 18 NOV. Had a quiet 17th birthday, though enjoyed a day's shopping in Wellington.

David: level 1 exams soon. Just split up from his girlfriend. Started the cricket season. Busy with his music. Sang two of his own songs at church last Sunday.  His band ('Rival') have 2 gigs soon. He's also looking forward to seeing The Police in January.

Appreciate any of your prayers to God along these lines. As a family we need wisdom for some decisions and grace from the Lord to be proactive in serving Him.

Love to hear your news too.

Thanks,

the Walters at Camp David   waltersatcd7@yahoo.co.nz 

Latest from the Walters

Hi! In the middle of the winter holiday camps here. First week went well with 60 children on camp; lots of fun, with the weather being good - rest of the country it's been wet & cold. Kev, the Manager, has now left leaving Chris as Acting Manager. Pat is the main co-ordinator of the holiday camps. Beth is a leader for both of the weeks of camps. We have a week after they finish to get things sorted at Camp and ourselves sorted before we fly over to Engalnd arriving Colchester 23 July.  During that week there will be interviews for the new Manager and Business Manager - please pray that the right people are appointed - hopefully Chris is one of them. We're going through a period of change at Camp. Fortunately it's the quieter winter season; we hope things will be clearer by September when we start to get busier again.

Looking forward to catching up with as many people as possible. We'll have 6 - 13 August in Colchester, so please let us know if we can call by. Please also pray for Beth & David whilst we're away. We hope will have passed her drivig test just before we leave.

Thanks, Chris.

from Bethany in NZ

Hey!

Well, David and I just wanted to fill you all in on life for us at the moment.  Firstly, we are becoming quite busy with school work, as we are both sitting exams at the end of this year. It’s a bit of a drain, but seems really breezy in comparison to GCSE standards!! David is also very busy, currently, because he is playing one of the lead roles in our school production of “West Side Story”; he is really talented and is enjoying it heaps, but is finding it a little draining because of the build up of rehearsals and performances.

Both of us absolutely love every opportunity we get to be involved in camp life. This weekend I have been hanging out with our beginners’ horse camp, which has been so much fun, especially because I got the chance to ride our new pony, Benji, who only arrived here two weeks ago.

A few weeks ago I was a leader during the holiday camp programme, and my friend Alice and I were in charge of the Junior girls (5-7yr olds) and also helped with the Junior boys. Davy was, as usual, completely priceless in the kitchen. He isn’t yet old enough to become a leader, and so helps out with the kitchen work and wherever else he is needed around camp. He also led some of the music during evening chapel times, which always involves a lot of craziness and hysterics!

Probably the most exciting news that Davy and I have at the moment is that we both have friends at school who we are praying for and who we feel are quite close to giving their hearts to Jesus. My friend Kate has already bought herself a Bible, even without any prompting from me, and is expressing interest in coming along to the Christian group that is run at school. I am so excited and thankful for this amazing progress. Tiho is a friend of Davy’s, and is the drummer on his band. To be perfectly honest, I was quite shocked when Davy told me that Tiho had been asking lots of questions to find out more about being a Christian. This came as such a surprise because, up until this time, I had felt that he was a rather definite atheist who wanted nothing to do with the thought of God. He, too, has come along to our Christian group, so we are praying and rejoicing for him also.

All prayers for these two would be greatly received.

That’s about all for now. Hope this finds you all safe and well.

With love

Bethany (and Davy, who is currently asleep!!)

from Chris and Pat in New Zealand

Just as you would have been starting your 10:45 service on Easter day Hayden & Emily arrived here with their first car load of belongings out of storage from Wellington.

Good to see them. Their new shed is ready - attached to our carport.

Looks like hayden is heading back tomorrow whilst Emily will stay here for a few days and help with our kids holiday camp starting early tomorrow morning.

Christ is risen!

Love

Chris.

Yes we're still alive!

Admittedly we are slow with this blog thingy: but here's a quick update.  Summer holidays are over; we ran 3 holiday camps (5 - 12 yrs) and a Teen Camp here at Camp David. All of them went well and God blessed us with good weather even though the forecasts had been sometimes to the contrary. Kids had great fun and as staff we were glad that we had few discipline problems and weren't totally exhausted by the end. For the first time, Beth was a group leader for 2 of the holiday camps. It was a challenge for her to keep going even when tired, but she did a great job.  David was involved with various things including assisting with kayaks and leading music at evening chapels.

Pat had virtually organised the whole of Teen Camp. We had 28 kids; half of which were at a camp for the first time. Some come from really difficult home backgrounds. Teens got on really well - programme included a beach afternoon, Barn Dance and sleep out.

Other things happening around Camp. We are now up to full strength, with 3 new staff Erin, Levi & Phil having come on board and fitting in realy well. However, Fiona has a broken foot at present, which means more work for Pat & Beth looking after our horses. Our busy period from September to mid-December went really well with a lot of good feedback from the school s and other groups that visited. A review us currently under way of how the Camp David Trust is run and the management structure of Camp - a major thing as things have been as they are for many years.

Family news: we had a nice Christmas break with Pat's brother and family visiting from Australia. Chris, Beth & David went with other friends to the big Parachute Music festival nr Hamilton 2 weekends ago. Had a fantastic time; saw lots of bands incl. Darlene Zschech, Third Day. Beth & David started back to school this week  both had done very well at their NCEA exams in Nov..  David has a part in the school's production of West Side Story this term - this means a lot of after school practices and, therefore, a lot of running around by his drivers!

The pic is of us from summer camps ! Click it to enlarge it

Appreciate your prayers for us & Camp David.

Walters' June Report

Greetings from the Future

Things going well here Down Under - winter has arrived with first frosts, but glorious crisp sunny days.  Camp David staff have been stretched, with 3 vacancies, but God has blessed us that we've still been able to cover all the needs of our visitors. Now mostly weekend bookings and planning for our winter school holiday camps - Pat is busy trying to recruit leaders for both weeks.

Pat & Chris being blessed by doing an Alpha Marriage Course. Chris coped with being in charge whilst the manager, Kev, was back in England for 6 weeks. Pat recovering from being bucked off a horse 2 weeks ago, suffering delayed reaction and mild whiplash.

Beth & David counting down to their return to England for July. (Look out for them at Lexden 9 - 23 July!) Both continue to do well at school; beth in top choir; David now in Junior A soccer team. They enjoy being involved with the church youth group. David started as lead singer in a band started by school colleagues.

Thanks for all your support - Cheer Bro'!

Walters update

Just a quick update on what's happening here. All well and presently corrected as we near the end of summer. 

First 3 weeks of January were busy with kids holiday camps. The theme was Christmas - what next. Generally successful though also conscious of the spiritual battle we're involved with. Had a week's holiday including 2 days at Parachute Christian Music Festival. Over 20000 people; great atmosphere-  enjoyed some excellent bands and seminars - especially Delirious? (from UK) our favourite. The Teen Camp that Pat and Sofe organised although only having 26 teenagers was an excellent time; they got on so well together having fund and challenges. Matt, a schoolfriend of David came along and started to open up to God. DP, a guy Beth & David knew from previous camps also came along and has since been coming to our church - also started to get to know his family.

Its been great to see Beth & David maturing so well - still the usual teenage things but also showing signs of real responsibility. David is now the tallest in the family!  Beth has just got into the top school choir. David is currently playing cricket and volleyball for school teams.  This will mean a lot of extra trips taking them to games & practices over the next few months for Pat & me. Round trips of at least 30 miles on country roads - our car is clocking up mileage. Diesel is now 30c / litre more expensive than when we came; now at $1.08 / litre.

Currently have a number of school bookings over March. We hope to show something of God during children, teachers & parents' short stay here (typically 3 nights)

Chris is now instructing abseiling! and hopes to be proficient enough to instruct High Beam - walking a long a wooden pole 10 metres above the ground, the instructor stays on the ground (!!) holding the safety rope. Chris needs to get more motivated/organised to take on some of the role of manager at Camp, to free up the Manager, Kev.  Not so easy as 2 full-time staff and a part-timer left at the start of February with no immediate replacements lined up.

We need to start planning for the Easter kids holiday camp we run. Due to the peculiar school term dates this year we will only have one 5-day camp. Still lots to organise; Pat has taken on the main organiser role which she enjoys but is also quite a lot of pressure. One of the current difficulties is recruiting enough group leaders - a lot of our 'regulars' we already know cannot make it this Easter.

The Lord is challenging us a lot about spending quality time with Him and about knowing the purpose He has made us for.

Hope the above gives you an ideas of what to pray for us and Camp David.  We really value your prayers for us.

Walters NZ no.1

G'day Lexdenites & other earthlings. We're enjoying life in NZ, 13 hours ahead of most of you, working at Camp David Adventure Centre, Hawkes Bay. Set in beautiful countryside, Camp offers 'inside development outside!' to school groups, church groups and our own kids holiday camps. We aim to be a place where people can hear about God, enjoy His creation and develop their abilities by getting out of their 'comfort zones' and sharing experiences with others. More info see Camp's website.

Now settled here after 15 months. We pray that we are are a family ministry. Keeping good family times/relationships is always a challenge. Chris: mostly involved with hosting groups, instructing things like abseiling & archery, admin., grounds and odd jobs (and no accountancy!!). Pat: mostly involved with hosting, instructing horse-riding, planning holiday camps, liaising with Holiday camp leaders and church contacts. (There's always cleaning and kitchen help too!)

Beth: involved with church youth group; training to be a holiday camp leader; helping look after horses and in other ways at Camp; singing with school choir. Now started Year 11 at Havelock North High School (Equivalent of GCSE year); she's also started to learn to drive.

David: involved with church youth group; just started playing guitar at Chapel times in front of groups; helps with kitchen workers during holiday camps & is roving cameraman. Plays volleyball & cricket for school teams. Now Year 10 at HNHS, though people think he looks like a 16 year-old!

Prayer requests - use your God-given imagination (re above)!

Current activities - Beth & David making new friendships: Matt David's school friend came to a teen camp and is v interested in Christianity; DP, a contact thru holiday camps,  going through stuff but also started coming to church due to their friendship.  Chris needs to take on more managerial role to assist the Camp Manager, Kev. Pat planning next Easter holiday camp. A variety of school groups coming here over next 2 months - how do we get the attention on God?

Blessed by having Hayden & Emily working with us at Camp for4 months last year and by Kate Orr's recent brief visit. Anyone else welcome to come to visit us  - we need more staff, come and work here!

We're all travelling the same speed - 60 mins/hour - but some get further than others, why?

Thanks for your support; God bless; P, C, B & D.

This has been Chris signing off from the future ...

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