Media Release: CSNZ Serve Fiji
Christian Surfers New Zealand (CSNZ) headed back to Fiji for a second time to serve the
surfing community of Fiji. This was the second international missions team that CSNZ has sent
out; last year responding to a request from the Fijian Surfing Association (FSA), and now taking
up the invitation from the FSA and the newly formed Christian Surfers Fiji to return in 2009. It
was an international team that set off on May 1st 2009 with 20 Christian Surfers from around
New Zealand, Brazil and the USA. The mission started off on time, on schedule, and as planned
– something that was never going to continue in Fiji once island time was encountered. For
some team members this was their first experience of island time – along with lots of the other
peculiarities of life in a developing country – coconuts, geckos, cooking over fire, overloading a
bus with surfboards through the side windows, travelling in the back of trucks, feeding 50 people
in one sitting out of one pot. It was a big adventure for the whole team.
We arrived in Nadi to be met by the welcoming crew of Christian Surfers Fiji – lots of strong
guys to load the gear and surfboards through the bus window. Off we headed to an even bigger
welcome by Kris Stice and more of the Fiji Christian Surfers and local Youth 4 Truth. The first
day was all about fun and we took a boat out to a break on the outer reef known as “Frigates” –
yep some of you will have seen this one in the surf mags! A nice 3-4ft over coral in warm water
kept most of the crew happy for hours.
The team worked closely with Kris Stice and his family, a local missionary and leader of
Christian Surfers Fiji along with Tuks and Mala. Kris and his family run the Marantha Gardens
ministry in Fiji and we attended the local church that Kris pastors on Sunday for a celebration
service with the local community. That evening we were greeted with an impressive lovu (a
meal similar to a hangi) and good times hanging out with CS Fiji. The generous donation of
surfboards meant we were able to gift one each to the local leaders of the two Christian Surfers
Fiji groups (Tuks and Mala from the Coral Coast and Sigatoka). Other boards were donated to
Christian Surfers Fiji and other individuals who needed them.
For the next few days the team split into two groups, one going to Sigatoka and one to Navua.
The team in Sigatoka ran learn to surf lessons for the community, kids programmes in the local
village, and enjoyed the warm hospitality of the Sigatoka locals. Some of the team also scored
waves at Sigatoka, the only beach break in Fiji – with some gnarly sandbanks when the swell
came in.
The team in Navua stayed with the families of local members of Christian Surfers Fiji and had a
great time – especially learning how to dance Fijian style! The team helped out the ministry of
Marantha Gardens run by Kris and Lyndie Stice. They ran a volleyball tournament for the young
people of Navua which was a huge success. Lots of teams entered and were so keen to play
they kept going even when the tide came in and began to cover the volleyball court! Christian
Surfers put on a bbq for all the participants and a prizegiving with lots of awesome sports gear
to share around. Nev and Stephen, one of the local chargers, were able to share their
testimonies with the local community. The team also ran a kids programme for the local
children in the settlement, with 60 kids turning up in the rain. Wow!
The team met again in Sigatoka after sad farewells to their wonderful hosts. The weather was
not really helping along with the onset of the seasonal Trade Winds so the planned girls camp
melded in with the wider surf camp with time set aside for lessons for the women in Christian
Surfers Fiji, Youth 4 Truth, Sigatoka locals, and visiting foreign women who were keen to join in.
About 50 crew turned up for the surf camp and wonderful meals prepared by local women from
Sigatoka, and Shelley and her team from CSNZ. We’d never seen pots quite that big before!
Cooking Fiji style for big crowds was something new. The rain meant the plan for the guys to
sleep outside also didn’t go quite to plan and they were billeted in the village, in the back of the
truck and in other vehicles as space could be found. Great for team bonding.
While we had made plans, God had other ideas – as is often the way. Plans were made for a
competition in conjunction with the Fijian Surfing Association, and the competitors turned up, we
supplied prizes and all was ready to go – except for the roaring swell closing out the beaches.
Everyone had a great time driving the coast of Fiji in the back of a rather large truck searching
for contestable conditions. But none could be found. Christian Surfers Fiji were supplied with all
the equipment and prizes and will hold the competition with the Fijian Surfing Association later.
In the evenings there was time to spend with Christian Surfers Fiji, doing devotions and
watching outdoor movies under tarpaulins away from the rain. There was a great night spent
watching Bethany Hamilton’s movie and encouragement for all the girls hearing from Mel Clark
the National Women’s Co-ordinator for CSNZ. Another night was spent watching Outsiders and
hearing from Gordie Webb about his journey with God.
The surf camp was great, with good times for all despite the weather and wild surf. The girls
loved the surf lessons, several locals were trained by Phil in how to repair damaged surfboards,
the kids loved the programmes, and time and skills were invested in the local community,
including first aid and CPR. The mission built good relationships between the CSNZ crew and
the growing leaders and members of Christian Surfers Fiji, giving opportunities for both teams to
learn and grow.
The key verse of the mission was Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is
the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes; first for the Jew, then for the
Gentile. CSNZ and CS Fiji together took it to heart. Well done to all of the team for their
willingness to step out in faith and serve the local surfing community of Fiji. Christian Surfers
being a Christian presence and witness to the world surfing community. Thanks and well done
to team leader David Farr and his family for their service to the team:
David and Shelly Farr, Joshua, Daniel and Rebekah (CS Taranaki)
Gordie and Jean Webb (CS Cambridge)
Matthew and Sharman Perry (CS Cambridge)
Nev and Maryanne Wells, Makayla and Jessa (CS Taranaki)
Philip La Trobe (CS Central Auckland)
Hayley Rogers (CS Wellington) Melony Clark (CSNZ staff)
Samia Moreira (CS Brazil) Ivy Rodrigues (CS Brazil)
Edson Da Cruz(CS Brazil) Cindy LaFranchi (CS USA)
A big thank you also goes out to all of our sponsors who provided equipment, funds, competition
prizes, surfboard repair supplies, and first aid supplies for the team and CS Fiji!
Backdoor Surf http://www.backdoor.co.nz
St Pauls Church Auckland
Black Sand Taranaki
RealSurf Lyall Bay http://www.realsurf.co.nz
Rebel port New Plymouth
Leamington Pharmacy Cambridge Munro Pharmacy Cambridge
E.J & B Webb Ripwave Surfboards
Walking On Water www.WalkingOnWater.com
Leadership Lineup #5 – Partnerships
Here is the latest ‘Leadership Lineup’ article from Christian Surfers International.
Enjoy!
Christian Surfers NZ – March 2009
Hello to all supporters and members of CSNZ,
In addition to our updates here are a few notices for March 2009. Thank you for your ongoing support.
CSNZ BLOGGING:
CSNZ now have a blog. You can visit the homepage here.
OHOPE SURF COMP:
MISSION FIJI 2009:
A message from David Farr, Fiji Mission Co-ordinator:
This is a final call for Fiji Mission Team Members. In order to secure the best flight costs possible we need to confirm our booking and pay.
If you are still considering making application for Fiji Mission 2009 then you need to forward your application forms to me now please. We may be able to squeeze you into the mission at a later date but we cannot guarantee that the flight costs will be the same. The longer you leave it the higher the prices so get your application form in now before its too late!
Thanks, David.
See the CSNZ site for more details.
CLOSING:
Keep charging!
Matt Foster.
The Line Up – February 09
The Line Up is intended for all supporters and contacts of Christian Surfers New Zealand (CSNZ).
We report on the latest Christian Surfers action around our country as well as keeping you informed with what’s stacking up on the horizon.
In this post:
- Parachute – How did it go?
- Easter 09’
- Fiji Mission Trip 09’ Coconut Wireless
- Girl’s Scene / Support for Mel
- Christian Surfers International (CSI)
- Other News (local groups and contacts, new website funding, dates for 09’, pray day, news from Matt Foster.
Parachute 09’ – How did it go?
In January this year Christian Surfers NZ had a stand at Parachute Music Festival. Thanks to an awesome team who pulled together to run it . It was an opportune time for CSNZ to share with lots of people about the mission through handing our brochures, sharing where our groups are based, collecting emails to build our database and many good chats were had. We’ve had great feedback from this event and recognize its value as one of our annual events. Thanks for your support.
Easter 09’ – Taras Surffest
Fiji Mission Trip 09’, Coconut Wireless
This from Kris Stice in Fiji;
Christian Surfers Fiji …continues as a thriving ministry. We have been building our little team of local surfer missionaries to take Jesus to right where the people are. We have now established a second base at the sand dunes in Sigatoka where we are partnering with Aflame For Christ Ministries. Our development surfing continues to be centered around prayer and the Word. Tuks and I attended the CS New Zealand National Conference at Raglan where we were able to encourage others as well as be encouraged by ministry reports from around New Zealand. It was awesome to hear the heart of Brett Davis, the ministry founder, who holds firmly to the initial vision, NOT to have a fellowship of Christians who surf but to have a ministry of surfers who reach out to their communities with the Good News. This is a missions agency and we prayed long and hard about our association with it, striving only to advance the work of the Kingdom and to in no way water it down. The Lord has established this partnership and we are excited. We recently conducted a 4 day leadership/discipleship camp in Sigatoka for the core leaders of CS Fiji. Tuks took the lead role in teaching each of the sessions as well as leading the devotions and surf development. We will be hosting a CSNZ Fiji Mission the first two weeks of this coming May, our local core group will partner with the missions team members to develop the existing movement as well as using surf development to advance the gospel and generate small bible study groups in 4 other village locations along the south coast of our main island.
We are stoked this year to have Kris Stice and family joining us from Fiji to surf and speak to us at Taras Surffest. Kris is pioneering Christian Surfers Fiji alongside support from Christian Surfers International and CSNZ. He came to our National Conference in 08’ and also hosted CSNZ’s first mission trip to Fiji. This year CSNZ is running another mission trip to Fiji from the 1st to the 14th of May, so the timing is perfect to have Kris here in NZ to connect more with CSNZ before CSNZ heads to Fiji. If you can give financially to support Kris and family coming to N.Z for Easter this year please email David Farr on: farrfamily@xtra.co.nz, donations made are tax deductible. See www.christiansurfers.org.nz for details on both Easter 09’ and the Fiji mission trip 09’.
Girl’s Scene
National Women’s Coordinator – Mel Clark As many of you know CSNZ is fortunate to have Mel Clark working two days a week as our National Women’s Coordinator. We would like to acknowledge and thank those who are already faithfully supporting Mel, we are stoked. It would be fantastic to see Mel’s support increase so that we can see her commit more of her time to CS. Can you please give $5, $10 or $15 / week? Note: Donations are tax deductible and with the recent changes in law even more can be claimed back by individuals and companies. Please return this email with “please send an AP form for Mel” and we will email you a form that you can fill in and take to the bank or you can simply utilise the bank number to set up an automatic payment online. See http://www.christiansurfers.org.nz/ for Mel’s latest news.
Christian Surfers International (CSI)
We’re pleased to announce this year’s Groundswell Magazine is online and ready to be distributed through your groups and networks. It contains updates from many of you, along with news and articles from around the world. We would appreciate it if you would check it out and spread the link to as many people as possible! Groundswell Magazine
Aaron Hughes, Operations Manager, Christian Surfers International
Work: +61 2 4268 2783 Cell: +61 4 0367 2452 Skype: aaronhughes450 aaron@christiansurfers.net www.christiansurfers.net
Other News
- Local Groups and Contacts: Keen to be involved in CS locally? – see www.christiansurfers.org.nz for a list of local leaders and groups.
- Ohope Christian Surfers Surf Comp - Stoked!!!!! C.S Ohope Surf Comp, being held at West End, Ohope at 8am, Sat 14 March 2009. $15 to enter. For more info contact John Whelan on 021739428 or johne5@yahoo.com. Alternatively contact Kerry Whelan on 02102620902.
- New Website Funding: CSNZ is in the process of updating its website and is looking for financial support to help this happen. If you think you could help support this initiative please let us know. We see an updated website as pertinent to the growth and ongoing need to be relevant with opportunities that exist to further the mission. Thanks for your consideration.
- Dates for 09’: See www.christiansurfers.org.nz for a list of dates for 09’ – please diary these now.
- Pray Day: Don continues to do an awesome job with ‘Pray Day’. If you have prayer requests please let him know at: off2don@hotmail.com
A final note from Matt Foster
Lucas Foster has arrived! We are so stoked to introduce to you our new little man – Lucas Jeremy Foster (LJ). In January we had Lucas join the Fozzie family. Lucas said he is not quite ready for surf lessons yet, but is keen on his baths and is practicing arching his shoulders back and looking behind him to see if any sets are coming. All is well, he is growing quickly, mum and dad are doing well and Hana can say ‘shhhh Lucas asleep’ and then yells out loudly. Thanks for everyone’s support, prayers and cards – we are stoked! Keep charging!
Matt Foster – CSNZ National Director
(Feel free to comment below)
Now blogging – Christian Surfers NZ
Kia-ora and Welcome to the new CSNZ blog beginning 09′ – thus our first.
We’re stoked to give you the run down on what the go is with CSNZ.
We’ve had an awesome start to the year having a stand at the Parachute music festival. A huge thank you to the team for their efforts there. Heaps more contacts were made and so many cool conversations went down.
Check out our vision, our core values, what we are all about, what’s coming up and local contacts on our website.
On the agenda and into your diary for 09′ should be:
- Easter Camp in Taras in April
- Fiji Mission Trip 09′ April/May
- CS girls events (keep an eye out on the web)
We have heaps on this year and are stoked to be supported by some pretty cool sponsors and supporters.
Have you been for a wave? Hit us with some stories? Just click on ‘comments link’ below and join the conversation. We want this blog to be a place where conversations happen and friendships are developed. Feel free to get involved!
NB: In contrast to our CSNZ website, the CSNZ blog (as with most blogs) will be a place for conversations to occur given the technology available for readers to comment on posts written and our desire to legitimately connect with the surfing community in NZ.
Confused? Don’t know what a blog is? Here is a definition of a blog.
Thanks for your support.
Foz
CSNZ National Director
