The excitement built as she travelled higher and higher. Then, her stomach dropped as the air whizzed past her face and she threw her hands in the air! This was our daughter on the kids rollercoaster at Rainbows End, when she and her sister had the opportunity to go there in October. Since that time, it has felt like our whole life has been a rollercoaster: plans, budgets, support levels, and emotions have been changing and going up and down on a weekly basis! As one of our mentors reminded us on the weekend, at least we can be grateful that the rollercoaster is moving forwards 😄
And things seem to be moving forward as fast as ever. The first month of 2026 is already past, and with it many events near and far. Adverse weather and flooding, suffering and death amidst wars and protests, and the landslide tragedy in Tauranga to name just a few. With so much going on in the world our journey towards Thailand can seem both insignificant and deeply meaningful. We recently watched the encouraging new David movie and were reminded about the concept of shalom – everything as it should be; comprehensive wellbeing; harmony, security, and right relationships.
Hope in the midst of chaos
Looking around the world we may see a decided lack of shalom. And yet as Christians we hold onto the hope that God is at work in the world to restore all things to himself and to bring about eternal shalom – this is part of the good news of Jesus. We pray that this hope is something we will be able to carry to Thailand and share with humility, while also seeing greater shalom being outworked here in NZ during our absence – and with Waitangi Day just yesterday, we are reminded that this shalom was part of the vision numerous Christians sought to see fulfilled in the creation of te Tiriti o Waitangi. What will it look like for us to be part of seeing greater shalom in Thailand? We do not fully know yet, but we are willing to continue travelling by faith!
