A Few Changes

We had great news from our flatmates this past week. They had put an offer in on a new house, and their offer was accepted! The good news is that they asked us to move with them. Why is this a good thing you ask? The answer is simple. The house is much bigger than the one we are currently living in. In fact, it has an entirely seperate lounge, kitchenette, two bedrooms and bathroom just for Paul and I (and possibly another tennant). We are so excited that we will have more of our own space, yet we still get to stay with the people that have become our friends. They are a great representation of Kiwi's, because they are just so hospitable and friendly! Also, the house is not much further away than we are now, its just a few blocks down the road.
Another big change for us is that we decided to find a new church. We really did like Karori Baptist Church because the people there were so friendly. However, it wasn't the style of worship or the overall message that we were looking for. It was fun and certainly enjoyable for a few weeks, but it seemed as though it was ministering to new Christians. We were looking for a message that was more substantial, not just an introduction to the basics of Christianity. After a few weeks of searching, we found a perfect church for us in the city. In fact, it's called "St. John's in the City". It is a fairly traditional presbyterian church with a few contemporary aspects. They have an old, beautiful pipe organ, a choir every sunday and wooden pews (with cusions!). But, they also have a praise band every week that does a few of the songs and an overhead projector (whoa, high tech!). The OHP screen is really cool (a note for FRC...haha) because you can't see it at all when it is not in use. This is a great feature because it doesn't block the cross, the organ or the pastor. Not getting into too much detail, I was really impressed with its design. It scrolled up from the floor, rather than hanging down from an obvious place.
We realized that we are so completely happy with our own church at home that we really wanted something similar, and St. John's seems to fit the bill. Here's a picture of its beautiful building. It's not the greatest shot, but you can see it right next to the modern buildings. You can also see the gorgeous bell tower that welcomes us to worship each sunday.

All in all, it seems as though we are settling in nicely here. We are really happy with the changes that are happening for us, as they are all changes for the better. Hopefully I'll get some more pictures to post soon!

YO