Weekly newsletter for the Adventist Church in South New Zealand

Bible verse of the week

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip—

he who watches over you will not slumber;

indeed, he who watches over Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you—

the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm—

he will watch over your life;

the Lord will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore.

Psalm 121

ADRA responds to cyclone in Vanuatu

Vanuatu has declared a state of emergency as category 4 Cyclone Kevin swept through the island nation on Friday (March 3), destroying homes and leaving many in need of shelter. The country had already been hit by extreme weather two days earlier after Cyclone Judy battered Port Vila on Wednesday (March 1).

Many fruit trees were wiped out, affecting families that rely on the harvest for both food and income. Flash flooding has also affected communities in Tanna and many remain without power.

Tanna and other islands located in the south of Vanuatu are without telecommunications, meaning that many communities have been unable to contact others.

ADRA is on the ground in Vanuatu responding. The humanitarian agency opened two evacuation centres—one in Santo and another in Port Villa—to provide shelter during the cyclone. The centre in Port Villa remains open, providing shelter to people who have lost their homes, along with food and counselling services.

The ADRA team on the ground is working to survey the needs of affected communities to determine how best to respond. ADRA Vanuatu project manager Pastor Thomas Belden who runs a health project in Efate was one of the first on the ground conducting a rapid needs assessment of his local community.

The Vanuatu Mission is working closely with ADRA to provide support and an ADRA emergency operations centre has been set up in the mission office.

The local ADRA team in Vanuatu is partnering with a regional response team with members from ADRA South Pacific, ADRA New Zealand and ADRA Australia.

“Our local team on the ground have been amazing; they have spent this last weekend setting up an emergency response to help families when they need it most,” shares Anna Cherry, a regional response team member and ADRA New Zealand program manager.

To support ADRA’s disaster response work visit www.adra.org.nz/help/

- Sarah Ryan/Record Staff

Cyclone Gabrielle Response

Families have been devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle. People have lost loved ones along with homes and belongings. There is a long road to recovery ahead; ADRA is responding. We're providing cash assistance to families most affected, allowing them to respond to their own greatest need.

ADRA is also conducting a needs assessment and partnering with SDA churches to determine how else we can provide assistance. We will be sending a response team to Napier later this week to provide relief.

If you would like to give at this time, you can donate to provide cash assistance here. Please only give at this time if you are able to.

Adventist Employment in New Zealand

Teaching Position - Footsteps Christian Community Preschool

We are looking for an experienced qualified Christian teacher to be a part of our busy Preschool, in Papanui. We are looking for a fun, committed, and bubbly person who is passionate about Christian Early Childhood Education. More info

ABC Store Assistant - Pakuranga, Auckland

The Adventist Book Centre located at 47 Ben Lomond Crescent, Pakuranga is looking for a committed part-time staff to work Monday and Tuesday with some weekdays when needed. If you are passionate about sharing Jesus, resourcing people, working with books and have initiative please send an email along with a covering letter and a current CV to PaulBrown@adventist.org.nz. More information on the role is available upon request.

Primary Teacher, Full-time, (Yrs 3-5) - Waitakere SDA School

We seek an enthusiastic, passionate, well-organised, highly skilled, capable of teaching multilevel classes (Years 3 to 5). The successful applicant will require to have sound knowledge and strengths in literacy and mathematics and values strong collegiality with school colleagues. More info

Administrator - North Harbour Life Development Centre

Are you an experienced administrator who enjoys working with diverse groups of people and would relish an opportunity to be part of a Christian organisation? More info

Principal, Permanent Full time - LAC

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a proven Seventh-day Adventist leader to lead Longburn Adventist School. More info

Relationship Manager - ADRA

Are you passionate about people? ADRA is looking for a relationship manager to help build stronger connections with our supporters and churches here in New Zealand. This meaningful work will help ADRA raise the vital funds needed to serve thousands of people and help them overcome poverty and hardship. View the full job description and apply online: adra.org.nz/work-with-us

Programme Manager Wanted – ADRA NZ

Join our team in 2023 and take on the meaningful role of managing life-changing international projects. You will get to use your project management experience and be guided by best development practices to help communities overcome poverty and hardship. adra.org.nz/work-with-us

For current vacancies around the South Pacific Division visit adventistemployment.org.au

Sunset times & Offerings

Sunset Times

Fri 10 / Sat 11 / Fri 17 March
NELSON - Fri 7:57 pm / Sat 7:55 pm / Fri 7:45 pm
CHRISTCHURCH - Fri 8:00 pm / Sat 7:59 pm / Fri 7:48 pm
INVERCARGILL - Fri 8:19 pm / Sat 8:17 pm / Fri 8:06 pm

Upcoming Offerings

11 March: Adventist World Radio

18 March: Local

Give Online at eGiving.org.nz

Adventist World Radio Offering - This Sabbath

From war zones in Ukraine. to assassins-turned-evangelists in the Philippines, to the airwaves of Nazareth, you can’t miss today’s thrilling updates from Adventist World Radio on this special offering Sabbath. God is using AWR’s many broadcasts and platforms to reach people previously deemed “impossible to reach.” Today we invite you to partner with AWR in this vital ministry. Just mark your offering envelope “AWR,” or give directly at at awr.org/give

Click here to see more info and to download the offering video.

Upcoming Conference Events

10-12 March - PLA & MG Training (Mt Hutt)

18-19 March - Adventurer & Pathfinder Training (Invercargill)

18 March - Global Youth Day

18-25 March - Youth Week of Prayer

11-16 April - Junior Camp

21 May - SNZ Executive Committee

26-28 May - Basketball Tournament Weekend

23-25 June - Women’s Retreat

Junior Camp (10-12 year-olds)

11-16 April 2023, Mt Hutt Retreat

This school holidays we have an exciting and faith-filled camp for our SNZ Juniors. The theme is ‘Outside the Box’ where we will be looking at what it means to step out in faith! Our speaker will be Pr Willie Iererua, the Lead Pastor of Papatoetoe Seventh-day Adventist Community Church. Pr Willie will encourage our Juniors to develop a stronger relationship with God by stepping out of their comfort zones and learning to trust in God’s guidance. As always, there will be a variety of fun and challenging activities and we are sure everyone will have an unforgettable experience while growing in their faith. Don't miss out on this amazing opportunity, register now!

Rego closes at midnight on 26th March. Register online

Local Church Events

Community Breakfast

9:30am, 11th March 2023

Come and join Garden City Fellowship Church for the complementary community breakfast this coming Saturday. Our aim is to serve you in these difficult times.

442 Tuam Street, Phillipstown, Christchurch

Other Events

Digital Discipleship Conference

5-7 May 2023 | Sydney, Australia
Digital Discipleship's purpose is to create, inspire, encourage, educate, and resource digital disciples while creating an environment for collaboration. We welcome Digital Disciples from all over the world to join the Digital Discipleship in Sydney.

An unparalleled line-up of digital evangelists from across the globe will come to share their secrets in effective digital evangelism.

More info/register at https://digitaldiscipleship.au/

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