Kia Ora koutou
Proverbs 25:25 says, "As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country." It's always encouraging to hear how God is working through our missionaries and their teams. They are involved in a wide range of projects, and it's inspiring to hear their latest updates and how God is on the move in so many different ways.
Some of our Missionaries work cross-culturally amongst people from different tribes and nations, and I was interested to discover that here in New Zealand, we have 92 different people groups, with 28 of them still unreached. (An unreached or least-reached people is a people group among which there is no indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelise that people group. Joshua Project.) This equates to 30% of our population. We are all called to share the good news of the Gospel, and if you don't feel called to go overseas, there are opportunities for cross-cultural evangelism right here at home. Jesus said, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few; pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send out workers into His field." Let's be praying for those in our world who haven't yet heard the good news of the Gospel, and look for opportunities to be salt and light in your community.
If you’d like to subscribe to future newsletters, please register your interest by emailing missions@thestreet.org.nz
Merrie Reddington
Missions Pastor
Nick and Sarah
The Way
“A movement of everyday missionaries, a collective of home churches.”
Dear friends. Thank you for your faithfulness in prayer.
We love to know you are praying regarding these matters:
NZ: We are running a “No Place Left” four-day training in both the North and South Islands over King's Birthday weekend and the following weekend. This is a really key moment, as we pull together many of those already active in the work, deepening their understanding and strengthening them in the work.
The goal continues to be a “no place left goal”, that is, that there would be nowhere in NZ where there is not a multiplying gospel work and healthy ‘New Testament style’ churches. We are eager for your prayer coverage over these training weekends.
Uganda: Currently there are two couples who we are investing in. Daniel and Ereanor are doing a great work in the village, sharing Jesus, discipling people, and even establishing a small a co-operative. As Ereanor said, “We are sharing Jesus, but the people need food too.” The Lord is giving them business wisdom and courage. Please pray that the work deepens into multiplication, where those they are discipling become disciple-makers. This is the next step. Samuel and Jessica (the other couple) are new to us, and we are forming a relationship. Please pray for spiritual discernment as we prayerfully consider our involvement with them.
Serbia: Recent baptisms and continued discipleship! One of the new disciples (Ana) is an artist with a gallery. Over Easter, she ran an Easter Exhibition and welcomed many people into the gallery to see works of art depicting the Easter story. She also shared her testimony and gave people cards with wonderful Scriptures on them. Please pray for these new believers and several people who are currently in Bible studies with them, but don’t yet follow Jesus.
NZ: Some dear friends are heading to an Asian country in the new year. Although they go there in a work capacity, they know that they are also missionaries and ambassadors of Christ. We really believe that they will make a Kingdom impact and we are loving walking together with them through this time, training them as they prepare to go. Please cover them and their family in prayer!
NZ: Quaylen & Susanna are soon to do the Te Araroa trail (the length of New Zealand) in order to share Jesus with as many people as possible. They don’t know how many months they will be devoting to the trail, but our prayer is that they will sow the seed and that there will be disciples made. They are doing all they can to train and prepare for this and it is our joy to walk alongside them and invest whatever we can. Please cover Quay & Susanna and family in prayer!
Raetihi: A small group of people in Raetihi are hungry to learn and we will be spending time training them. This is a huge answer to prayer, as we have been asking the Lord to open the door into the central North Island.
Please pray as we train them in the Great Commission
Personal: The Lord shut the door on our plans to sell our home, so we will stay here! We are seeing much fruit in the church that meets in our home, and in our own local outreach. It seems that this is where we are to be at this stage. We are trusting the Lord and are content.
Please pray for the Lord to reach more people in our street.
Please pray that we will keep in step with Jesus in every move we make.
“What is that to you? You must follow me.” Jesus to Peter. (John 21:22)
Ester
Wycliffe Bible Translators NZ
Pray for my next assignment after almost 5 years working with the website and apps team. I have been advised to rest before Wycliffe NZ helps me look for another team to serve with.
Before Easter, our local church had a 4WD outing to Macetown - a former mining town with 48 river crossings just after Arrowtown. The ride was bumpy and the winding road a challenge to navigate … but not for our experienced 4WD drivers! It was a multi-generational outing - both adults and children/teens had as much dangerous adventure as they were prepared to handle. I was content to be a passenger, but an enthusiastic participant in the BBQ lunch in Macetown!
Thank you for your prayers for good health to enable me to continue being a part of God's Mission during this time of transition.
Paul & Barby
Auckland
Through April, Barby and I have been enjoying times as a complete extended family. Our youngest son, Joseph, together with Zoe and their children Jeremiah and Isabella, have been back for a few weeks from their mission work in South Asia. There was time for a photo of all ten grandchildren, most of whom are looking in the right direction, with at least a hint of a smile on their faces…
But the good times came to a close on Monday, 28 April, with our little family returning to Asia and me/Paul headed off on an extended trip in my role as Programme Director with Langham Preaching. Here, let me tell you about what I expect to be doing:
First stop is Izmir, Turkey, for the annual in-person meeting of the Global Leadership Team (GLT), which he leads. Can I introduce them to you, one by one, because they are the focus of my role? Alongside me, sharing the leadership, is Ruth Slater (UK) as my Associate. We meet each week on Zoom with Maggy Samir (Egypt) as a little triad at the core of the ministry. Then there are the four continental Directors, each with their own teams: Igor Améstegui (Latin America, based in Bolivia); Femi Adeleye (Africa, based in Ghana); Andy Oatridge (Europe & Caribbean, based in Hungary); and Dwi Maria Handayani (Asia & South Pacific, based in Indonesia). Then there are two people in ‘portfolio roles: Esteban Améstegui (Prayer Coordinator, based in Bolivia) and Dionisio Orjuela (Preaching Club Coordinator, based in Colombia).
The Global Leadership Team in 2024
From left: Mark (succeeded this year by Andy); Igor, Dionisio, Ruth, Esteban, Dwi, Paul, Maggy and Femi.
I get out of bed in the morning to help these people shine in their roles—and the biggest challenge in doing so is being based in distant New Zealand.
Langham Preaching is one of three Langham ministries. The others are Langham Scholars and Langham Literature. Would you believe it? The leadership groups of these three ministries have never met together in-person! So, immediately following our GLT meeting, that first, historic meeting will take place in Izmir—with lots of people to meet for the first time and an agenda with lots to discuss in it.
After these meetings, there are even more meetings—as Paul makes his way to Carlisle (UK) for a week with the Senior Leadership Team of the entire Langham Partnership ministry, as well as the annual meeting of its governance body—the International Council.
That doesn’t sound particularly exciting, does it?! So let me conclude with a couple of exciting developments.
Back in 2019 I/Paul made a case to one other Kiwi (Geoff New, in Dunedin) and two Latinos (Wilfredo, in Argentina; Esteban, in Bolivia) that they collaborate, across English and Spanish, on a book on preaching the parables. And so it came to pass—after many months of Zooms—in April 2025!
Then in June, visa-permitting, 30 Langham Preaching leaders meet for the annual weeklong Global Forum. This year the theme is ‘locally-raised support’, as we look to move towards being financially self-sustaining at the level of our local preaching movement, of which there are now 120 worldwide. Please pray with us for those visas (it has become so much harder) and for good outcomes.
It means so much to both of us, Barby and Paul, to have you standing with us in this ministry. You are part of it!
Thank-you.
Ben and Bekah
East Asia
Intern Debrief: In April our family travelled up to Chiang Rai, where Bekah gave leadership to the Intern Debrief Conference for Cru interns serving across Thailand. It was inspiring to hear their stories of God’s work in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Hat Yai. These interns have served in diverse roles, from campus ministry on university campuses to teaching at an international school.
We were also encouraged to hear what God has next for each of them. Five of them plan on returning to serve a second year in Thailand. Others plan to return to Thailand to work with churches and schools, others plan to enter the workforce in the United States, and others are still seeking God’s guidance for their next steps. Pray for wisdom and direction for them as they explore a big world of opportunity!
We are passionate about investing in these young adults as they transition first from university to interning with our ministry and then from interning into the next season of life. We pray that we are sending them out even better equipped to walk with the Lord and share the love of Christ with their neighbours all over the world!
Earthquake: Thank you to all who checked in with us after the Myanmar earthquake on March 29th. Our apartment swayed for almost five minutes, but thankfully, we didn't have any damage. We are so grateful that most of Bangkok remained standing, and all of our friends remained unharmed. We continue to pray for those who have lost loved ones and for the devastation in Myanmar.
Over the weeks in April, we heard many stories of how people experienced the earthquake. Many who were in high-rise buildings were sure that their lives were about to end. It was an anxiety-inducing experience for many, and it has given us the opportunity to encourage our brothers and sisters and to open up conversations with others about finding peace in God when the earth beneath our feet is unsteady.
Furlough: We left Bangkok on Sunday, April 13th, and are currently in New Zealand. Then, on June 11th, we'll be off to America, where we'll stay through mid-August.
We'd love to connect with as many of you as possible during our visits. If you're interested in having us share about our ministry and current needs with your church or small group, please reach out to us and we'll set something up! We look forward to seeing you soon!
Rachel and Nelson
Mexico
This quarter has meant many firsts for our family. Nelson caught our precious baby girl, Lani Neve Carreño, who was born on the 27th of January. Then we spent an amazing 8 weeks with my (Rachel) parents in the beautiful Naki learning how to parent and spending some lovely times with friends and family before leaving Kiwiland. We then spent an incredible 10 days with Nelson’s family in Charlotte (USA) before returning to Mazatlan, Mexico.
Nelson returned to work the next day in the marketing department helping to lead their team of creatives. He continues to work towards teaching the team marketing skills by increasing the quantity of the content and sharing more of God's message through social media.
He also continues to connect with the local surf community and is being intentional with both the youth of our neighbourhood as well as the adult surf community drawn to our area for the good surf. This next week he is continuing to make relationships with both local and international surfers by helping out in one of the biggest longboard surf competitions in Latin America, which is here in Mazatlan, with his design also chosen as the brand for this year.
I personally have talked with my leaders about returning to a part-time leadership role in the ships team to help oversee personal care and maintain stability in our team on the base as people rotate on and off the boat and in the field on outreach.
Next week we have the opportunity to travel as a family 6 hours south of Mazatlan and meet up with the ship. Our aim is to connect with the Surf the Nations outreach team who is currently on the boat and do ministry with them. We are excited for this first opportunity to do outreach with Lani and to see what it looks like to travel in missions as a family.
In other exciting news, God has completely met our needs and supplied us with a car. We feel so grateful and blessed to everyone who helped make it happen and to God for making the way in the complicated Mexican car purchase process.
Prayer points:
Nelson’s marketing department in discipling the team and for their rebranding process.
Rachel finding a good pattern for work and being a mum and also being a support for other mums.
Ministry trip next week to support the boat The Amazing Grace and the ships team.
Continued open doors to connect with local surfers.
Continued financial provision for car insurance and Lani’s residency visa.
Sally Hong
Student Life, Wellington
God has been moving across the university campuses in Aotearoa! It’s been amazing hearing across the country of students being reached with the gospel and students stepping out to share their faith. Outreach started off strong with us giving away over 2200 cups in a week at the start of the campus year. In light of the responses, over the course of the first term, we called the 646 students who indicated they were interested in a conversation about God and the 100 Christians keen to learn in sharing their faith. As we cast the net wide, we met with some of these students who we were able to reach over the phone and got the opportunity to share the gospel with them. Over that time, we’ve seen some of these students pray to receive Jesus into their life, explore faith and had Christians come out to share their faith alongside us on campus on a weekly basis.
An overview of what’s happened is in the image below!
One of the students that I’ve had the blessing to journey with through this outreach has been Lasaini:
I met Lasaini on the third week of campus. “I’m a Christian”, she indicated on the survey. But as we met she shared she had never made the faith that she grew up with as her own. She hadn’t yet been invited to accept a relationship with God. So as I asked her “Would you want to start a personal relationship with God? Not one that is through your parents, but a direct, personal relationship, between you and God.” Lasaini prayed to receive Jesus that day. Since then we’ve caught up weekly, going through the foundations of living life as a Christian. I clearly remember our first catch up a couple days after. As we went through the parable of the Prodigal Son I asked her - “what stands out to you?” She answered “that the son was dead and is alive. It reminds me that my wairua was dead and now is alive because of Jesus.” Praise God that he brings us from death to life!
I’m continuing to catch up with Lasaini and she even brought a friend to one of our meetings which was awesome to see God use Lasaini to share Jesus with her friend!
Since then, we’ve also had some awesome conversations through our regular evangelism times on campus (Called Hour of Faith). We’ve had students regularly step out to share the gospel alongside us each week and In the last week we had 2 students pray to receive Christ! Not only that, I had a student I met the previous week message me that she’d actually like to meet again for a conversation again! Praise God!
Coming Up: National Mid-Year Student Conference ‘Follow’
Our mid-year conference has been a marker over the years, where we see students make life-long commitments to Jesus, catch fire for the Great Commission, and take steps of faith in being a disciple-maker. This year students across the North and South Island will gather on the 29th June - 4th July for this and some of them will be non-Christian students exploring faith. We are trusting for the move of the Holy Spirit in the students’ lives and for God to provide the finances needed for every student to make it there through our fundraising walkathon. Would please join us in prayer these next 2 months for God to be using conference to transform lives? I wonder how many more stories like Lasaini’s will come about because of how we pray, how we seek God to be moving, and the steps of faith we take to see our world changed one prayer and one student at a time.
One personal prayer request during this time would be that as I help direct National Conference this year, I would abide in Jesus. That my strength, wisdom, and all things stem from walking in step in the Spirit.
Thank you always for your partnership in the gospel. It’s through your prayers, generosity and friendship that I get to be a part of what God is doing in Wellington!
Caitlin Ormiston
TSCF, Wellington
Reaching students for Christ, changing students for life.
Kia ora church family,
Thanks so much for your prayers for students to be transformed by the good news of Jesus! We have had an encouraging start to the year: groups have swelled, with believers and spiritually curious alike coming along to explore who Jesus is together. Give thanks to God for all he is doing amongst the student generation on campuses across the country.
Thanks for praying for new staff for the field and the TSCF resource team (‘the office’). We are grateful to God for the provision of new team members in Auckland, Tauranga, the office, and, soon, in Wellington, too. Students are the ones at the forefront of mission to the campus, but we know that their impact grows when we have more staff able to support them on the ground. We are grateful for each addition to the team and looking forward to what God will do through them.
Please pray for Summit ’25: Walking with Jesus – faith that endures. tscf.org.nz/summit
Our mid-year national student camp, Summit, is a time to step away from the hustle and bustle of studies and explore not only a different part of the country, but the beauty of Jesus and the work He’s doing in the lives of students. Alongside the main talks which dig into the Bible, there’ll be a range of workshops to help students go deeper in their walk with Jesus, and time in small groups to process their learning together.
Pray that by gathering students from across the whole country, we would enable a mission team of students to be sent out, equipped to take Jesus to their courses, their campuses, and the communities around them. Pray also that God would use Summit to speak into the lives of those who don’t yet know him, that it would be a welcoming and safe space to explore who Jesus is.
Finally, I am currently away on sabbatical, for a much-needed time of rest, reflection and refuelling. I’d value your prayers for this time away from the daily rhythms, that it would be focused time especially with God, and in his word. Pray that God would bring me refreshed and that I would return restored and ready for the next season. Please pray for the resource team in my absence, too, that they would be equipped and able to carry things well.
Thank you for partnering with me!
Caitlin
Gabe
Nepal
Hello everyone and Jai Masih from Nepal! (That is the Christian greeting over here which means Victory to the Messiah!)
I’ve been here for just over 2 months working with a base called Oral Mother Tongue (OMT), a base dedicated to getting the Bible into every language and dialect in Nepal and beyond. It has been an eventful trip to say the least! A trip full of connecting with locals, getting to witness their translation work, attending and running Bible classes and even hosting very close friends and coworkers who came to see the translation work. Here at the base I’m with we are currently translating the Bible into 10 different languages! What has been such a blessing though is seeing how people connect so deeply with God when they hear these stories in a language they are familiar with and communicate deeply in, their heart language.
In fact we hosted an outreach team from Singapore, where my family is from, and translated some stories into one of our local languages and I was so blessed to experience this first hand! To hear God speak and communicate in this language, for me, communicated His Father-heart and humility in a way no other translation has done before.
I’ve spent the last few weeks praying about what steps to take moving forward from this trip. The Lord has opened quite a few doors to help with this OMT work but the one I feel would be best for now is to return back to NZ. I have spent quite a bit of time with the YWAM Furnace base in Tauranga and I know they feel strongly from God to begin this work with OMT back home in NZ and as I’ve been praying, God has put it on my heart to help start this up and I also feel like there is a huge opportunity in the NZ church to be involved with this. NZ is home to so many immigrants who don’t have a Bible in their heart language and who come from countries where it would be dangerous to engage in this work. NZ also has a huge opportunity to be partnering in prayer and finances with countries overseas that need our support to get the Bible into every language.
So I’ll be back in NZ later this year, probably around July and will commit a year, for now, to this base in Tauranga and in navigating our involvement in this OMT work.
Please help me pray for the following things:
My exit route out of Asia. There are a few bases in South-East Asia that want to get involved with OMT work. We are currently talking to see if it would be helpful for me to pass through and run some workshops with them. Please pray for God to help in navigating the logistics with this and to provide a way forward if it’ll help bring people to Him in these places.
Connections in NZ. I’ll be reaching out to local churches to share this vision of OMT and to see if they would like to be involved. Please pray that God would put it on their hearts to see the Word translated into every language and dialect and that we could figure out together how we can mobilise the church in NZ for this!
Thank you all for your prayers and support, I have so many testimonies of God being with me and supporting me through the prayers of loved ones. It means so much having your support.
Until next time! Pachi bhetam la (see you later),
Gabe