upsidedown charlotte

update thirteen: the lion and the lambs...

“Welcome Child” he said

“Aslan,” said Lucy, “You’re bigger.”

“That is because you are older, little one,” he answered.

“Not because you are?”

“I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”

(from Prince Caspian)

(Photo is of me at Castle Rock, an area close to here where scenes from Narnia were filmed)

“Just like Susan from Narnia, you are a queen, stately and regal. And I have given you authority in this land. I am Aslan- a powerful Lion and your King but also I want to play with you, just mess around and DANCE with you!

This land is yours. Stride out. Walk tall. I have called you and you have authority to be here. I will provide. Do not worry. Just pray and press into Me”

These were the very words given to me by four godly men praying over me earlier this year. I had sat down with little expectation and just said silently but desperately in my heart… “Lord please romance me here ‘cos I’ve just had it!” I hadn’t mentioned this to those praying for me and also they didn’t know that I had come to NZ simply because I heard God say “come and dance with Me”. In fact I had only met them all earlier that day!

Writing that down again, (copying it from my journal!) is great ‘cos I remind myself of God’s LOUD AND CLEAR promises, as most days- I’m ashamed to say- I forget and I just spend the day wondering how much longer I have to do all this on my own (worldly speaking!) and whilst being poor (worldly speaking!) and wasting time comparing myself unfavourably with others (erm… worldly speaking!) I’ve come close recently to quitting, (still am on the verge most days if I’m honest!) But those words are just wonderful to hold onto.

Amongst all the goodbyes I had in the UK in the run up to coming here there’s one I remember very well and that’s Martin, the vicar at our family church in Camberley, who hugged me and simply said “Fly”. (And I don’t think he was trying to give me advice on the most suitable way of getting here….) Ten months later I’m still here (phew!) and I’ve got to know myself masses more and got more intimate with God (who has got bigger!) than I ever dreamed possible but I still I don’t think I have truly ‘flown’ yet, not REALLY let go, actually not by a long shot, just IMAGINE what God can do if only I let Him! Hmmm back to the drawing board!

Must apologise for lack of photos in this blog... doesnt seem to be working as it usually does but Ive managed to add a few on in separate posts which you will find underneath this one! dont miss them!

Anyway, in my last blog post (about 10 years ago) I seem to remember promising you some work-news as I was getting concerned that you were all beginning to think my time out here was actually just one long jolly in disguise as all I was writing about was my travels!. Sadly in reality I have only had about a months worth of ‘travel’ here and the rest of the time has been very much knuckling down and getting on with lots of things!

I have 3 main areas of work:

1) My ‘bread and butter’ job, working at Vircom: a power supply company mon-fri 9-1.

2) Parish Work, as Andrews PA, events, campaigns, noticeboards(!) etc etc

3) Summer Wine Co-Ordinator (New Wine for the South Island happening in Jan)

1. Vircom
Now this job, as I keep telling myself, is a means to an end. It’s not a career move and it’s certainly not fulfilling a passion in me!

Still the ladies I work with are lovely … real local Cantabrians and I learn so much about authentic Kiwi life from them. Because they all know I work at the church as well I can be really open about my faith and we’ve had some great chats over tea breaks (mainly prompted by the fact they can’t understand why I’m here on my own (no one's on their own over here.. everyone has a spouse or more often than not a ‘partner’) and also why I’ve chosen Rangiora over ChCh or Auckland!).

My day to day work is boring data entry and a lot of telephone work with technicians as they carry out jobs around the country. This is my favourite part as they are all great and really fun and they just LOVE my ‘ixxcent’. I must confess to cranking it up to the max when speaking to the nice-sounding younger techs! (“Oh Heeeelllllooooo…!”)

I struggle in the ‘non-creative’ environment though. The other day we were handed out forms titled “Official Staff Gap Analysis Assessment” to fill in…. “Huh?” Basically had to grade ourselves 1-5, how we rate ourselves on a list of our daily tasks. (using the photocopier etc…. blah blah BLAH) Had a snigger as I was filling it in as reminded me of that scene from ‘The Office’ : “Always the same, always the same….”

I spend most mornings at my desk fighting the urge to gnaw my own arm off with the sheer ADMINISTRATION of it all, the only thing stopping me is the fact I’d probably have to carry out a full ‘Risk Assessment’ beforehand and submit a detailed ‘Health and Safety Report’ afterwards….

Not worth it.

Fans of ‘The Office’ will know that I’m not exaggerating about all this when I tell you that someone actually LABELLED THEIR STAPLER WITH TIPPEX* the other day as people kept borrowing it!... I rest my case.

*English to Kiwi translation = Twinkie

Still, the morning walk to work is always an absolute pleasure…. Just like my London ‘commute’ (a 2 minute one from one side of the Brompton Road to the other!) I say hello to at least five friendly people, and just like London, I catch glimpses of majestic snowcapped mountains in the distance, and just like London I walk across the unbarriered rail lines only waiting if a huge lumbering freight train is making its way past towards the mountains, and just like London, I pass by the garage forecourt where the owner is polishing his….. tractors.

So it’s all just like London really.

The best day is my once-a- week coffee treat where I stop off at the best coffeehouse on the ‘Main Drag’.
“Hello Lovely!”
The lady is making my coffee to my exact specification almost as I step through the door. I just LOVE that. The first time she did it I told her that back in London I felt good if someone noticed I hadn’t been lying dead for a month being chewed by Alsations (in full Bridget Jones style) let alone how I liked my coffee! (OK so I played it up a little).

Anyway as I said, the ladies at work are great, real friendships are slowly but surely really being formed during the 10-minute tea break (they’re wary of outsiders!) and I’ve actually had my first invite round to one of theirs (Teresa’s) for dinner.

Now my social life has taken a massive nosedive since being here (actually is currently bearing more than a passing resemblance to the Dodo) so you will forgive me for being excited about spending my Saturday Night in a ‘shid’ in a field in the middle of nowhere. For that is where Teresa and her partner Michael live whilst they build their own home on the land. Do I miss the trendy sophisticated bars and dinner parties of Knightsbridge….?? altogether now … YES!!!! (actually no not really….. but sometimes VERY really!)

2. Parish
This is where my heart really is here, its a real challenge! New Zealand is SUCH a secular country, people have their families, lifestyle block and a great way of life so ‘don’t need’ the church. They say that an Englishman’s home is his castle but they don’t hld a candle to the Kiwis (though I s’pos you could argue that they are all English anyway!)

However, like most places in the world, hidden loneliness is rife here, bubbling away just under the surface. The local paper the other week had an article on the lack of community and the difficulty that newcomers have in really integrating. One comment jumped out at me.. made by a recent immigrant from England…. “A smile just isn’t enough”; she was referring to the fact that whilst this country is seen as being really friendly (chatty shopkeepers etc) it is only on a surface level and there is no infrastructure in place to enable real community to develop.

Well WHAT an opportunity for the church to be THE CHURCH! The centre of the community and the place that facilitates REAL relationships and provides a place for people to come and BELONG. But instead of stepping in, the NZ Anglican Church is (generally speaking and -I must stress- in my opinion!) just so ‘dry’ with an ageing population and an underlying feeling of it being a ‘club’ where newcomers are almost feared as it will mean changing things. (perish the thought). The message given out (perhaps subconsciously) is that of course you can come in and join but you must fit in with what WE do.

It’s a tough environment to work in, Andrew and Christine can testify to that! Not hostile but perhaps worse than that… ‘indifferent’ . I recently learned that the opposite to ‘love’ is …. (no not hate!) but ‘indifference’ and that’s sooo true. Hate CAN’T be opposite to love as it can often stem from love… it a passionate feeling, not a passive one. If you love someone you can hate them but its simply not possible to be indifferent to them. (ooh mini sermon sorry!)

There is hope though(!) the church in Rangiora has been hearing from God over the past year or so with the promise from Isaiah 43: (See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland... ) and it really is, slowly but surely small shoots are peeping through, there are some awesome people in the church, both older ‘stalwarts’ and new younger families. One family in particular, the Devlins, (from Luton and speak like London cabbies with humour to match) and have such a raw and unpolished passion for God… I think they are FAB!!

We are currently in the middle of a big campaign: ‘40 Days of Community’, the follow up to ‘40 Days of Purpose.’ So instead of examining the question; ‘what on earth am I here for?’ its ‘what on earth are WE here for?’; building relationships both within the church and between the church and the local community. Its brilliant stuff the teaching is great and its been wonderful to see the beginnings of people putting it all into practice on a day to day level. (I include myself in that!)

There are several events staged throughout the 6 weeks, one being a local community project (we called ours ‘Serve Rangiora’ and provided a free carwash and coffee for allcomers one Saturday, with teams also going out and about around the town to carry out odd jobs for people who needed a few extra pair of hands… gardening, washing walls etc.)

Disappointing that we didn’t have many people sign up and help and also that several church members actually came to have their car washed rather than to serve(!) but never mind….. *sigh* just felt saddened for them, for missing the point and consequently missing out as those who did come had a great time both serving and also getting to know each other a little more as they worked together.

We are also holding an end of campaign event at the local RSA( Returned Services Association- like a working mens club! ) in a couple of Sundays and its all about celebrating what God has done during the 6 weeks and a chance for people to come and find out what its all been about. Its going to be a really informal service, so it will be interesting to see how those who refuse to come to church unless communion is on offer will find it all (that’s if they even attend!) Anyway several people who we came into contact with through ‘Serve Rangiora’ are keen to come and so that’s fab!

3. Summer Wine
Check out www.summerwine.org.nz and click on the ‘step out’ button. To find out all about this! Just want to clarify, we had no say in the layout design of the website- yuk!

So work life is definitely busy, but enough of work talk!.... I’ve recently had my hours at Vircom reduced so don’t work on Mondays now and Andrew has insisted I take off Monday afternoons from all the other work so each Monday I now go AWOL, switch off my cell (I mean mobile) borrow the spare vicarage car and head off for the day somewhere nice.

So far I have been blessed with wonderful warm late winter/early spring days, the cutest baby lambs are everywhere, leaping about on their wobbly legs and daffodils are also currently en masse. (very odd for late August!) I have just been so refreshed with the JAWDROPPING scenery, augmented by the crystal clear blue skies… Only thing that would make it nicer would be to share it all with someone!

One day whilst driving along, I was listening to a talk on the radio about living your dream. Just at the very moment the speaker posed the question to listeners … “are you sitting at your desk in a stuffy office wishing you were elsewhere…” I was crossing a bridge with a RIDICULOUSLY PERFECT view of the braided river and snow capped mountains. That was a romance moment! (and I shouted "NO" back at the man on the radio!)

My NZ driving test was a couple of months ago (had to wait the mandatory 6 MONTHS before I could take it!) Andrew & Christine were away but I had arranged with them to borrow the spare car for the afternoon, so went round with a friend to pick up the car and drive to the test centre.Meanwhile, back at the ranch.... Unaware of the arrangements, Simeon had returned home to find the car gone and so (quite understandably!) called the police. So I was tootling around the local roads blissfully unaware I had the entire local police force trawling the streets attempting to hunt me down.

Luckily they failed dismally which, whilst a relief in the circumstances, on reflection is not perhaps particularly encouraging in terms of their effectiveness in tackling local crime -After all, Rangiora isn't exactly a sprawling metropolis and I wasnt exactly trying to make a fast getaway!

Never mind, I passed (yey!) which is the main thing and has made a real difference to my life here for whilst I dont have my own car, Andrew & Christine have v. generously said I can borrow their spare one anytime its available which, after finding myself stranded in a rural area with no transport (not to be recommended) .... is real freedom!- being able to get to places easily (or at all!) is perhaps one of those things that have extra enjoyment for me as I dont take it for granted.

On the housing front.... Neil and Natalie, the Youth and Children’s workers here went home to England for a month to introduce their new baby Matthew to family and friends (and I think to stand aimlessly in Tescos for an hour just because they could. It’s funny what you miss!) They offered me their house for the time they were away which stands in the church grounds and it was quite wonderful!Best bit was being able to have people over for dinner (first on the list of VIPS was naturally the Allan-Johns and it was a real pleasure to be able to host them for a change!)

Dinner parties aside, I was also able to have Jessica and Emma round for a girlie sleepover party. A night of pyjamas, DVD’s and fish and chip takeaway… great fun. (though what wasn’t great fun was the 6AM wake up call (Sunday morning) It certainly wasn’t “Hallelujah” I was proclaiming under my breath as I was awoken that particular Sunday!

Speaking of takeaways, perhaps you care to take a moment and join with me for this interesting experiment….. Grab your nearest Kiwi (human variety as opposed to bird (tricky to find) or fruit (wouldn’t work)) This is not hard if you are reading this at HTB as chances are you only have to reach over to the next desk, but I appreciate may prove slightly more taxing for the readers in Surrey/deepest darkest Wiltshire/USA/France/etc etc amongst us!Got them? Now ask them to say “Fish and Chips”…..

“……. Fush and Chups.”

It’s Very Funny

Anyway so after a few nights back at the vicarage where I really enjoyed being part of the family again (I found I had strangely missed their relentless teasing over my mini hot water bottle) I’m now in a new housesit, a few streets away sitting for another English lady, Barbara who is in the UK for a couple of months.

Opportunities to partake in Fascinatingly-Authentic-Kiwi-Experiences have been a bit thin on the ground recently… the country seems to shut down for winter mainly due to the fact (as far as I can work out) that people dont have central heating here but rather rely on a log burner so are too scared to leave it for more than 30 minutes at a time incase it goes out.

However, I did have the chance recently to go to a local annual pig hunt gathering. Unfortunately this came on a day I was totally exhausted so declined but after seeing the pictures from those who went, I was devastated I had missed it…. LOADS of blog fodder (and rumoured Brett sightings!) Apparently there were races with people carrying the pigs on their back over an obstacle course followed by kids races where they carried hares!

I did visit Christchurch to witness (and sample!) a 150metre long cake made to celebrate the 150th birthday of the City of Christchurch being founded.

Still, whilst actual experiences have been a bit elusive recently, the local paper always provides me with hours of entertainment (I think it was Bill Bryson who said that he found that local papers provided such a fascinating truthful insight into wherever he was visiting!)

For instance, I was amused the other day by an article, reporting on a couple of world records that a local school was making an attempt on. One was OK… joining with other schools in the "world’s biggest simultaneous tooth brushing session" (they beat the record). But the second record… was get this… “the world's longest human tunnel that a dog could run through”. Inspired by their success at such an epic and undeniably worthwhile feat, I’ve decided to make my own attempt at a world record….. “ the biggest group of people called Charlotte Bates who live in Rangiora simultaneously writing a blog” Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, you are witnessing a piece of history in the making….

Well that’s just too much excitement for one posting so I will end there thogh there is LOADS more to write on! I really must start writing little and often and spare you the effort of having to block out a 3-day period in your diary to make time to read my updates (that’s assuming there is actually anyone left who has made it to this point!) (“helloooo is there anybody there!!!???”)

WILL WRITE AGAIN SOON and don't forget to look at the photos listed under this post......

Lots of love
Charlotte x