May You Experience God’s Blessings This Christmas!

Cover Photo: Ruby powering ahead in The Dove’s tender1: Zane speaking at Mum’s funeral2: The Hole in the Rock3: Relaxing on the back deck with our old farm, Mataka Station, in the background4: Isaac

2011 has been a year of signif icant milestones and f irsts. It has also seemed to be a long year, fu ll of challenges.

The biggest change was Mum’s passing at the end of March. Z ane turned 21, Betsy f inished College and Isaac and Jonathan are moving up from primary to intermediate school. K errie and I have been married 24 years, and now before Christmas we are taking the children (except Z ane) on a South Island roadtrip. The last time K errie and I drove around the South Island was on our honeymoon.

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Last summer was full of action for us in the Bay of Islands.

We were fortunate to enjoy a great run of weather for our time on The Dove. It was so calm that we were able to launch the dinghy and go through the Hole in the Rock. It was good having Z ane join us and interact with the other children.

While we were up north, Ruby water-skied for the f irst time, and the boys went sailing and did their f irst sheep mustering on small quad bikes. Earlier on Isaac had tried shearing. He camped out a few nights in the bush hut. One stormy night I asked him if he would be ok on his own. “I prefer it on my own,” he stated f irmly.

We went kiwi spotting on our former property, Mataka Station. There are still plenty of kiwis there! We also visited the ex-Y FC

summer camp at Ocean Beach, Whangarei.

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It was full on when I started back at work,

as we organised regional Curtain Raiser Events for Promise K eepers. These were from Kaitaia to Invercargill.

We are getting more involved in the Military Vehicles Club, so the 1940 Dodge had more outings. Our f irst trip onto the Kaipara

bombing range in 25 years was spectacular. Ruby had her f irst driving lesson, although I handled the crash gearbox for her. Later Isaac and Jonathan did a trip with me around the Hunua Ranges and went to Taumarunui for the Club Easter Rally.

5: Climbing sand dunes6: Boom!7: Easter trip up Mt Ruapehu8: All the boys spoke very well

Mum’s passing was very sudden, while she was up north with Dad. We were all grateful that she did not go through a long illness. The

girls organised a spectacular funeral featuring Mum’s favourite colours, pink and gold. She loved the Islands and the Pacif ic people, so a Samoan choir was appropriate. K errie and I were very proud of all three boys as they made profound and heartfelt speeches. The family miss Mum, but we really feel that God took her home at an appropriate time while she was still in good health and able to enjoy life.

19 July 1923 – 31 March 2011

Around home we started on a

patio especia lly to use as a breakfast deck. We also completed a new bedroom in the garage that Z ane moved into, and a few months later, out of again. Ruby was quite

happy to take the room over and we were pleased that the twins no longer had to share a room.

Z ane went f latting and got a job with a company that owns several cafes, including Rushmore’s in the new Wynyard Quarter.

K errie has had a bit of a gap year and will probably complete her counselling degree in 2012.

Betsy and Ruby both enjoyed their year at Lynf ield College. Betsy has really gained a lot of conf idence. She worked consistently and often put in extra time and effort to achieve pleasing results. Ruby got good results while managing to overachieve in socia l networking.

9: Valentine’s Day dinner in the sheep paddock10: Betsy and Ruby11: Chilling out at the beach12: At Promise Keepers

I saac and Jonathan

have continued to be my loyal sidekicks and they are great company. I went on a Scouts camp with them to Kai Iwi Lakes, memorable for a

storm going through at 4. 30am. Scouts continues to be an excellent experience and training ground for them. The boys have also done swimming lessons all year.

I have continued my communications role at Promise K eepers. We were one of the very few organisations to do events during the Rugby World Cup. Although that made our job harder, the Events were very powerful. We continue to enjoy a lot of goodwill from our supporters and we work with a great team of staff and volunteers.

Life is obviously different without Mum. She was a great supporter and encourager, so she is deeply missed. There have been a lot of transitions for Dad that he has handled in his usual action style! He is still doing a lot of ministry including several trips overseas.

John’s Cards 2011

I have enjoyed all the opportunities I’ve had to get out and do things and make memories with the family. This year has also made me more relaxed and conf ident when looking after the children. It’s great to look back and see all our milestones in 2011.

We look forward to 2012 with anticipation!

December 2011

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027 290 4444 Kerriejohn@promisekeepers.org.nzkerrie.subritzky@gmail.com