Heya! Though I appreciate all that myspace has done for me, I am moving my blog to blogspot.com. So if you want to keep up with our news, check out http://chadandcharitylehmann.blogspot.com. Cheers!

How can we repay the blessings

You have poured out?

Lift the cup of Your salvation

Hold You higher

 

Your kingdom come

Your will be done

Hand in hand

We will keep

All our lives

For our King

 

Here we go!

Into all the earth

Living out Your word

Making Your praise heard

Here We Go, Christian City Church – Sydney, Australia

Kia ora! (Maori for "heya!")

I think its been about 2 months since my last general update, to which I can only say oopsa! (German for "oops!") Ahem, anyway, last time I talked up the initial fund drive for our building project, which was an unqualified success – we raised enough cash to pay off the remainder owing on the property itself, so Surfside owns it all free & clear now, praise the Lord! Add to that pledges of regular donations and available grants from the district council because of service to the community of Raglan, and you get around $145,000 from God working for just the first month in the lives of 75 or so believers. Not bad, eh? ;) So thanks heaps if you prayed for it and if not, its never too late to start!

Life Group is still going great guns, though we had a bit of time off due to various things, so last time we had a record 17 attend (our cottage was "climbing-over-people-to-go-to-the-bathroom" full)! We're praying for apprentice leaders now since at this rate we'll need to multiply off soon – hooray! Its like a mid-week feast to take the Sunday message and let it direct us to just dig in to the word - and good to see that Chad and I aren't the only ones enjoying ourselves heartily. We also love how people really pray for each other and remember each other's prayer requests to ask for updates, like our friend in Iraq and my sister's fight for justice - people on the other quadrant of the globe are praying for you, people! Isn't the fellowship of the saints awesome?!

Recently, I've begun teaching Bible in Schools at a local elementary school, since in New Zealand they haven't totally kicked God out of the education system. This is surprising as they are in many other ways very liberal, but I suppose the roots of Christianity in generations past went deep (See the lyrics for the New Zealand national anthem in the post script).  SO, I only have 30 minutes once a week to lay an accurate/understandable/relevant/interesting foundation of love and reverence for God, His Son, and His Word and come against the lies taught in secular curriculum and sometimes even in the home - all without offending unbelieving staff and parents enough to get us booted out. I know I have it easy compared to some, as at least I speak the language fluently and understand most of the customs (how many teachers in foreign schools have that kind of advantage?). Pray for us (myself and my teaching buddy Marion), as we have only a short time to scatter the seed.

In other news, the success of the Family Portrait Day has marked a turning point in Chad's photographic endeavors, such that he has decided to go semi-pro, and so I announce to you the creation of: Illumination Photography (Matt 5:16, 1 Jn 1:5. to illustrate why the name is apropos). And as the first official widespread launch of the website, I give you: www.illuminationphoto.net (tell your friends!). He has just been asked to become a regular photographer for the local paper, the Raglan Chronicle, and we even have a wedding booked in several months. We are also lining up some individual family photo shoots, and have a booth booked at the local Creative Market next month, where he is going to try to sell some prints and his services. It will be a challenge for Chad to stretch his time to accommodate a hobby that he enjoys and is good at with a full-time job that he enjoys and is good at, all the while remaining a good husband, life group leader, etc., etc., so we'll be praying every step of the way (as always).

All right! I will leave off now before your eyeballs melt and run down your face (as there is still more to come even in this email). Many many congratulations to all my friends with their new babies and new babies-to-be - we think of you and pray for you. I hope this message finds you well, and as always we miss and love you guys.

P.S. The New Zealand national anthem, "God Defend New Zealand". Makes "The Star Spangled Banner" look kind of anemic by comparison :)

1

God of nations! at Thy feet

In the bonds of love we meet,

Hear our voices, we entreat,

God defend our Free Land.

Guard Pacific's triple star,

From the shafts of strife and war,

Make her praises heard afar,

God defend New Zealand

2

Men of ev'ry creed and race

Gather here before Thy face

Asking Thee to bless this place

God defend our free land

From dissension, envy, hate

And corruption guard our State

Make our country good and great

God defend New Zealand

3

Peace, not war, shall be our boast

But should our foes assail our coast

Make us then a mighty host

God defend our free land

Lord of battles, in Thy might

Put our enemies to flight

Let our cause be just and right

God defend New Zealand

4

Let our love for Thee increase

May Thy blessings never cease

Give us plenty, give us peace

God defend our free land

From dishonour and from shame

Guard our country's spotless name

Crown her with immortal fame

God defend New Zealand

5

May our mountains ever be

Freedom's ramparts on the sea

Make us faithful unto Thee

God defend our free land

Guide her in the nations' van

Preaching love and truth to man

Working out Thy Glorious plan

God defend New Zealand

Whew! The Summer weather has been persistently persistent, making it the longest sunny season anyone can remember. I’m not sad about it at all, though Chad is beginning to pine for some cool, rainy days to curl up at home in!

A couple of weeks ago, Jill (one of Chad’s delightful sisters) graciously stopped by for a visit, which though only a week, was cram-packed with at least two weeks of fun & excitement. We took the opportunity to travel around and check out some more of New Zealand’s natural beauty in the Coromandel Peninsula (look it up to test your geogphical research skills!), which we’d become a bit slack about (I guess we’re going native, taking the relatively nearby scenery for granted). We had a fantabulistic time, and are grateful that she had the chance to come. For photographic evidence of said fantabulistic time, see http://picasaweb.google.com/chad.lehmann We are now accepting reservations for Warm Season 2008, beginning this November.

Yesterday was the inaugural Surfside Community Services Family Photo Day for low-income families, which went off quite well - though we’ll wait on feedback from the families before we pat ourselves on the back too heartily. Chad snapped away like mad to get the perfect shot (as is his usual custom) and I had my hands full trying to corral people politely into making their own photos look good (you’d be surprised how slouchy you are until you go to get portraits done!). Now with a little tweaking, courtesy of photo-editing software designed to make ourselves look even more adept, we should be able to make them feel like they didn’t get all dressed up for nothing! All of our "posers" were cooperative and grateful, though some were more wiggly than others :) It was encouraging to see several of the kids in children’s church this morning, so we’re hoping that the parents will follow soon! The positive atmosphere and reception has inspired our Community Services Director to consider making it a regular outreach event. If we get a followup article in the Raglan Chronicle, I’ll be sure to post the link again.

Next on the radar screen is our building project, which kicks off tomorrow with the beginning of New Zealand’s fiscal year (added tax breaks!). As our church board has prayed and felt led to look into putting up a building of our own, God has miraculously provided the property at a fraction of the normal cost, and worked out complicated logistical issues more quickly than anyone would have looked for. Like the Chihuahua that thinks it’s a Great Dane, Surfside has not let our small size (75 or so regular attenders) keep us from limiting what God could do for and through us. Thus, we are aiming for a church that would cover two currently residential properties and hold up to 250 people for Sunday service, while also housing Surfside Community Services and the Raglan Foodbank, and provide a visible nerve center for the Christian community in Raglan. As you might have guessed, all of this comes with a price tag that exceeds what we could realistically do on our own. We’re encouraged to see that at the heart of the whole project is humility and a dependence on the Lord that fully acknowledges Psalm 127:1 that "Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.", and that like Israel, He didn’t pick us because we were the biggest, best, or strongest, but because it would glorify His name for this motley collection of farmers & surfers to pull it off. SO! We would like to ask for your continued prayers in this area:

1) that the Pastors and Elders continue to follow after the Lord wholehearteldy
2) for unity and commitment in the church body as we take on a biiig goal
3) that God would be drawing more of His children to Raglan to serve at Surfside alongside us (including the not yet saved who we will be
    privileged to one day call "brother" or " sister")
4) that Holder of the purse strings of the universe would be pleased to bless us with the means to go on as He has already begun (only 
   exponentially more so, if you feel like getting specific ;)

Right-o, well, we’re off to have dinner (mango chicken!) and go to Sunday night service (hooray!) to cap off our whirlwind weekend. Feel free to drop us a line on how YOU are doing (as some have already done - thanks guys!)

Chad & Charity, servants of Christ Jesus, called to New Zealand and set apart for the Gospel of God – To all in the States who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (A shameless rip off of the apostle Paul, I know, but at least I chose my inspirations well.)

Currently, I am helping a dear friend of mine Janet (our Kiwi "mum") to edit a book she is writing called "The Gift". She has a burning and long-standing desire to express to young women God's heart for their sexuality, including things like purity, modesty, and forgiveness. I pray that I will be able to lend correctness and a bit of eloquence while still keeping the message wholly the way she wants to express it (a good goal, as Chad can tell you - sometimes when I help him write stuff up I "help" a little too much :) It's going to be a small, colorful book filled with beautiful images to compliment and enhance the text, and guess which hotshot young photographer has been tasked to create the bulk of them? She has been delighted with our work so far, and we find it incredibly satisfying to help a sister in Christ fulfill His vision for their life.

Another exciting project coming up for us is a Free Family Portrait Day on March 29^th hosted by Surfside Community Services (an outreach of our church where I am on staff). Our genius food bank manager came up with the idea to have Chad shoot portraits for low income families in Raglan who would otherwise be unable to afford them. The church is covering all costs including a free 5x7 and photo CD, and each family is in a drawing to have their picture printed on a large framed canvas. It's a great way to love on to people in the community, and to let them know what we're about and what we can do for them. I'm tasked to be Chad's handy-dandy assistant (corralling & posing the families) and provide tasty baked treats for the hospitality end of things; two things that I love to do and like to think I'm good at. The event was advertised via an article in the Raglan Chronicle complete with picture of us and the SCS director, so we're now municipally famous!

Due to a series of scheduling delays, we're just now hosting our second-ever Life Group tomorrow, with the added awesomeness of sister/-in-law extraordinaire Jill Lehmann attending. We're praying for a solid turnout again, as we firmly believe that life groups are the way to get plugged in and growing in the body (worked for us, didn't it?!) , and that no lame excuses will dampen people's enthusiasm for getting their kiesters here to study the Word.

Many, many thanks to you guys who have written to express your excitement for what God is doing here in and through us – it's a real encouragement to us as we go!

Now to him who is able to establish you by the gospel and proclamation of Jesus Christ… revealed so that all nations might believe and obey him - to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ!

Amen

God has blessed us abundantly more than we deserve (as always!), and we are delighted to be looking at a year rich with expectation & promise.

We have been asked to join the leadership team at our church, Surfside Christian Life Centre, in the capacity of leading one of the two newly revitalized Life Groups (home, cell, small, whatever kind of group you call it) We are humbled and grateful that God has prepared us and that the church leadership has entrusted us with this responsibility. We listed small group leadership on our list of goals for 2008 that was written only 6 weeks ago, and are amazed that it has already come to pass. We've got the under-35 group, and most of them are single, which will be a new dynamic for us. We are especially looking to grow the young men of our group, as they lag behind the girls somewhat in spiritual and personal development (some of them are a bit "young" no matter their physical age). Several people have expressed a desire for Chad to be an example for them (kudos to his parents for raising him right!), so now he has the chance to do it in a more direct way. Pray that the guys will make a point to come each time and really get stuck in, and that Chad would have wisdom as he leads all of us. I am taking on the role of life group administrator, which means Norris (our assistant pastor, life group supervisor, & Kiwi proxy dad) will tell me what's going on, and I will plan & organize to pull it off & keep everyone informed. Tonight is our first gathering, so we're both excited & just a little nervous.

 I have also been accepted for an internship with Surfside, which means that I'll be serving a lot in different areas of the church (some of which I'm already doing – kudos to my parents too) as well as taking online classes at a Bible college in Auckland. I have a feeling this is going to be the best "job" I've ever had .

In other news, we look forward to a visit from my sister-in-law Jill, who is coming over next month. It should be good times! We only wish she could stay longer. Also, Chad's Uncle David will be working for some months "across the ditch" in Australia, so we're hoping for some reciprocal visits on that end with him & Aunt Diane.

Many, O Lord My God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare. Ps 40:5  And thus, I will spare you until next time

Once upon a time, there was a traveling gentleman and his lady fair who were preparing to return to their homeland, purchase an estate, and give up their wandering ways ("wandering" in a purely geographical sense, of course). But a little voice inside told them it was not yet quite time to forsake Middle Earth (that is, New Zealand), so they decided to remain for a time, and see what orcs they should battle and elves they should meet.

When the year was growing old, and the time came to light the yule log, the man & woman undertook a journey to their own country to see how things fared with the people of the land. The distance they had to travel was so great, they used mysterious forces (called "the international date line") to bend time and space so that they would arrive at their destination before they had even departed for it.

 They first came to a land of ice and snow called Colorado, where they were received warmly by the companions they had left behind. Their number had grown in the interim, and many smiling youngsters now graced the floor of their merry gatherings. Amidst the glittering, icing-sugar streets and many fairy lights they roamed, renewing friendships old and new. They even found time to enjoy the hospitality of Mr. D.P. Dough, and Mssrs. Barnes and Noble. But a week is not long enough where the welcome is so pleasant, and soon it was time to embark yet again, not knowing when they might return. As before, they left a great store of goods in pledge that they might come once more and perhaps someday, to stay.

 At length they traded the chill breezes and drifts of the mountains for the sunny Southern climes of their birth. The hearths and hearts of family awaited, and the necessity of amending their long absence there could not be denied.  Once ensconced in the bosom of their kindred, they sampled delights both traditional (including towers of home-crafted confections and woodland rambles) and novel (such as disporting with a flying disc filled with inner fire, known as a "Light-up Frisbee"). They greeted the arrival of their newest relation (albeit two months late) and passed many enjoyable hours in the company of the Lehmann patriarch, Grandpa. After weeks of feasting and revelry, they parted with many good wishes on both sides and hopes that the honor of their visit might be returned sooner rather than later.

 And so, crossing back over the bend of time and space that brought them there, they returned to Middle Earth to carry on for awhile yet, happy in the warm glow of such loving fellowship. Their hopes to continue in foreign adventure and friendship remain as ever, intertwined with an ultimate longing to settle at last in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Christmas Pics

A few of you have asked upon occasion what's next for the Cheemans, and we've played it somewhat coy in our answers because, in truth, we really didn't know! We came to New Zealand armed with a one-year visa, but qualify to get one for longer. We set about furnishing a house for the second time in six years, but with second-hand gear that could easily be resold. We bought Pedro on the cheap, but sank a good bit of cash in to keep him in good shape. Every way we turned, we got set up for an indeterminate length of time so that we would be both established and mobile.

Mentally, we were no less back and forth. My favorite business in all of Raglan is on the market at a reasonable price, but housing here is ridiculously expensive. The nearness of Australia beckons us to try our hands there for awhile, but everything in nature over there seems designed to kill you. Its fabulously beautiful here, but also a little on the moist and chilly side. We were becoming frustrated with our twin desires of staying to play or going to find yet another adventure, when a moment of clarification came in the form of an unexpected potential baby. Now I am not, I repeat, NOT pregnant, but for 12 heart-pounding hours in late April, we thought I might be. Obviously, it brought to a head a number of issues, as kids tend to do. One was the fact that someone else in Chad's family had recently announced that they were expecting, and we didn't want to seem like shameless copycats - who would believe that kind of coincidence?. Another was where or what did we really want to be/ live /be doing if this was going to be our reality? As the shops that would deal in helpful devices like Clearblue Easy had just closed, we had a little time to mull these things over. By the time I was able to pop into a drugstore the next morning to find out what the verdict was we felt comfortable and unified with our decision, and in the weeks since then, we've only grown more joyful and certain.

And the winner is… (drum roll, please)…

We have decided, the Good Lord willing, that when our visas run out in early November we will be returning to the States to collect our things out of storage, and  once Chad gets a solid job offer under his belt, we hope to buy a house in fort collins, colorado and settle down. Amazingly, that plan wasn't even a forerunner in our early visions for what came next, but we are as excited about "settling down" as we have been about our other big changes, such as leaving Texas or moving halfway around the world. We hope you will continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers, and we plan to still have a ridiculously cool time in the months that we are here, so get ready to keep reading ;)

Last week, we had to say goodbye to our sunny summer cottage. Situated on a dairy farm, the same wide-open spaces and lovely views that drew us to it meant that we had to leave so that the extra workers, whose contracts always start on June 1^st, could take up residence. While we had begun looking around for our next abode some time ago, we had yet to come upon anything we felt would be a good fit. Enter our property manager, who called up to say that an older couple she knew of was moving to Europe for the winter (uh, summer…whatever), and wanted to rent out their house to someone who would take good care of it. She told us that she wasn't going to advertise it generally, and thought of us right away, which felt like a real honor – all that clean living, folks! We went to meet Catherine (who is British and calls everyone "darling") & Rupert (who is Bavarian and does the double cheek smooch by way of greeting) to see if they would feel comfortable having us live there. A good time, tea, and biscuits was had by all – though being unused to the double cheek smooch, I kept managing to almost get myself kissed of the mouth. All breaches of etiquette aside, it was settled that we would move on in practically as soon as they were on the plane.

 

Well, I'll tell you, friends, this house is pretty posh. It sits high up on a ridge overlooking the town and the Tasman Sea, amidst a wealth of gardens. The main house has a large kitchen, a huge living room, two fireplaces (which is nice coming from no internal heating ability whatsoever), and best of all in my opinion…a giant bath tub Jacuzzi. Our bedroom is a detached guest room that rivals our other house in size, with room for our entire living room suite, besides the king-sized bed provided. On top of all that, we're paying less rent! With all this spaciousness, we can't wait to host our Raglan pals for dinners and gatherings, and have been taking advantage of the full compliment of appliances (the cottage was possessed of only an oven). Probably the only downside to all the extravagance is that in the giant, weatherproof barn outside sits the household we painstakingly put together when we first moved out of Tim & Gina's place. But spending the winter in the lap of luxury is a small price to pay for that, and there's always ebay (or TradeMe, as its called here). We're sad to have to miss Northern Hemisphere summer, but somehow we'll get by – probably by making s'mores in one of the fireplaces or going for a swim in the garden tub ;)

 

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Maungatawhiri House

May 12, 2007 marked our sixth year of wedded bliss. In that time, we've learned a few things, such as:

• Always talk it out, though wait until you no longer want to throttle each other, if this helps.
• Going to a $3 movie is just as much of a date as a first-run showing.
• The sacred privilege of Last Bite (of the other person's cookie, ice cream, a particularly tasty dish, etc.) should be claimed only rarely, and is a powerful love token when bestowed willingly and selflessly to your spouse.

To mark this most impressive matrimonial milestone, Chad elected that we should schlep down to Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand, for a night on the town. After making various and sundry reservations, we bailed on work Friday and left Nala in Tim & Gina's most capable hands, as she has yet to learn to feed herself or work the back door. On the way, we made a detour to the town of Napier, which was devastated by an earthquake in the 1930's. The town was rebuilt on a peninsula of land flung up out of the ocean by the earth's histrionics in the prevailing architectural style of the day – art deco. As a result the town retains a number of well-preserved examples of this fashion, which still house businesses both old and new. Some of the streets we strolled down could've served as sets for Annie or King Kong, McDeco McDonald's included.

Our side trip back in time completed, we rolled into Wellington and went to check out our posh new digs. Our 8^th floor room had a nice view of the harbor, a well-stocked mini fridge (that we promptly emptied onto the desk to make room for things like leftovers and ice cream) and even…gasp…a bathtub! This was particularly thrilling as I hadn't had a bath in months (I mean, I did bathe, and all…). Kiwi are mostly only equipped with a shower, so no nice long soaks in the tub after a hard day. Needless to say, the first thing I did Saturday morning to celebrate my marriage was climb over the still-sleeping Chad and head for the tub.

The next item on our extremely relaxed agenda was to check out the free breakfast vouchers that came with our room package. As breakfast fans in general, we were ecstatic to find victuals that were streets ahead of what you would find at your local Best Western. Instead of stale mini-muffins and sketchy-looking apples, there were fragrant pots of Ceylon tea with milk and sugar, a variety of fresh fruit salad, whole-wheat toast with butter and jam, granola, and even a hot breakfast option with sausage, eggs, bacon, and hash browns for those who prefer heartier morning fare. Having given the most important meal of the day its full due, our next stop was the National Museum of New Zealand, known as Te Papa. In Maori the name means "Our Place", or "Our Treasures" but for those with any background in Spanish, it loosely translates as "Potato Tea".

Te Papa consists of six amazing floors of Kiwiana past and present, and admission is free. The natural history wing has a complete 66 ft. whale skeleton suspended within its high blue walls, as if still in transit in the open ocean. Nearby, a group of preserved native birds and sea life hangs in a kaleidoscopic ballet over a display that plays recordings of each animal's facts read by Kiwi children. The European migration to New Zealand exhibit housed a life-sized replica of 3^rd class bunk where whole families would sleep together and store all of their worldly belongings for months in a 6ft x 3ft x 4 ft space. The Kiwi ingenuity section included an entire surfboard covered in a ½ mm layer of Paua shell – the New Zealand relative of mother of pearl. Throughout the museum were children's learning stations that took the surrounding information and turned it into hands-on projects and experiments for the under 12 crowd (and Chad and I a little bit as well). To say it was an interesting place is like saying New Zealand has a few sheep.

Dinner that night was at a Turkish restaurant called Café Pasha. As true city folk don't go to dinner until around 8 o'clock, our reservation at six left us the entire place to ourselves. Aside from extremely prompt service, our solitude earned us a wine-tasting from the bored wait staff. With its rich soil and temperate climate, New Zealand has recently begun to make a name for itself in the wine industry, with quality that earns some of its vintages a place on fine restaurant menus alongside the best Italy and France have to offer While not big wine fans ourselves, we were glad to be exposed to what we'd been hearing so much about, and settled on a Gewurtztraminer, a German (obviously) type of white made in Marlborough, at the northern tip of the South Island.

The big date night for our big weekend culminated in a trip to see the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. The evening's entertainment had a romantic historical significance to us, as we got engaged while attending a symphony performance in Dallas all those years ago. The featured piano soloist was winning major music awards by the age of 15, and skillfully played his hour-long set with no sheet music. After the show, being so old and tired, we decided to forgo dessert out and popped into the local grocery store in our fancy duds for some of the country's finest ice cream (which is saying something as even cheap ice cream here is good). We got the hotel manager on duty to snap our anniversary portrait downstairs, then spent the rest of the evening sacked out in the room watching an old Antonio Banderas flick.

Sunday morning we delayed our departure in order to peruse a huge farmers' market just outside the museum. It didn't seem quite as remarkable as the ones we used to go to in the States, if only because there are many locally owned fruit & vege stands here which carry better quality and variety than supermarket produce. Thus, its not as much of a novelty. Our favorite stand was that of an elderly husband and wife who make homemade jam – in every conceivable flavor! We saw banana, apple-rhubarb, feijoa, and even a mango-banana-papaya-pineapple-I don't even remember it all concoction that we guessed was all the bits and leftovers combined.

Our trip home was long and scenic, and when we dropped in to pick up Nala, we were surprised with a very belated Christmas gift: an oil painting done by Tim's mom that was a very good portrait of Nala. We were delighted as much by the likeness as the thoughtfulness Esther (the artist) showed in even thinking of the idea. It was a great way to start our seventh year together, and like any good holiday, we were loath to go back to work on Monday.

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May 2007