Communication

Happy Memorial Day Everyone! Well sorry we have not been blogging much. We had a busy week last week with me starting work and Lynn finishing up a 10 day "hot week" at work. We managed somehow to buy a car (Old Honda Odyssey), move to the bay, buy a dryer, get a phone line, get a satellite connection and get the ground work for internet at the new place. We have made great strides at settling in finally. Lynn established the internet connection tonight which makes us already feel more connected to the rest of the world. Our new address is 51 Stuart Street, McLeods Bay RD #4, Whangarei NZ 0174. The land line phone number is (09) 434-0087. We have cell phones but they are for hospital use and are very expensive to use otherwise. You can cheaply call our land line through skype for a few cents a minute (see tab at tool bar on skype, just scroll down to NZ and enter the number we gave you) or buy an international calling card at gas stations, walmart, etc for 5-15 cents a minute (directions on the card with NZ's country code). Our skype name is Lynnanddawn and we hope to videoconference with those who have a computer camera. We are ahead of you in time so reaching us after 2:00 in your afternoon through your evening is usually a good option especially on your Fridays and Saturdays because we are already in the weekend days here.

We are continuing to enjoy meeting people at work and visiting churches. We had Lynn's team (medical student and intern doctor) over for dinner last week and that was fun and informative. We may host a couple of college students from Auckland for a few days next week. They are coming up to work at Miguel's church. I think they are probably helping with setting up a Calvary Chapel Christian radio station that is going to be broadcast from the church. We attended another church that has the local Christian school last Sunday. We enjoyed meeting people there. The pastor didn't speak because they have been doing a video series from a Florida church! We had met one of their elders at a park the first week we were here. It is a small town and a small world. I am gaining an appreciation for the world wide nature of followers of Christ and the commonality among various denominations. As my Johnson City pastor Tom Oyler use to say, "The content is the same but the format may be different." We are seeing that here as the churches range from Anglican to Catholic to Baptist to Presbyterian to Pentacostal/Charismatic. Many don't seem to attend a church (94% Lynn heard) at all while some Christians have chosen to not attend because of mistrust in church leadership. People here don't seem as nominal about their Christianity or casual about their faith. Those who believe are hard core and those who don't just say they don't believe at all. Lynn had to give a terminal diagnosis to a patient and when Lynn asked if he could pray with him, the guy just said, "Well, I don't believe in that stuff but if it makes you feel better go ahead." Lynn said that was a first for him. He has a new nurse who is a christian and that was encouraging to him. They together will be working to develop a system to streamline workup and treatment for lung cancer which may have the highest incidence of anywhere in the world. 60-70% of the Maori smoke and the incidence of lung cancer in the woman especially is astronomical. The sleep medicine issues have taken a backseat for now as this area of lung cancer is more pressing. He had 10 new diagnosis last week (his first full week). It is overwhelming at moments but you just try to do the best you can do in the system your in. The need is high but you just get up and pray, work at it, and ask God to move. You know? Sound familiar or applicable to you? We miss everyone and love "y'all". Dawn