A fresh start
... a new year and a new beginning ...
Dear friends, all the best for 2025...
This January we had the joy of baptising Lucas and 4 other family members at the beautiful Kai Iwi Lakes. A great way to start the year, glory to God.
Meanwhile back on the farm the daily rhythm of life ticks on at Arapohue Retreat. As we plug away at the daily maintenance and restoration tasks a beautiful space emerges for God to work His miracles in the lives of those rebuilding their lives from ground zero ... thanks so much for coming along for the ride.
Thanks
Ray, Jan and the team
Scroll down to the signature so you don't miss any of the photos or stories and click on the small pictures to enlarge
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them.
Note from James
"When I arrived at Arapohue Retreat I was high as a kite on meth. I shook Ray's hand and instantly I was straight and I had no withdrawals. It was a miracle."
I've had people moaning at me most of my life, "you need to get off drugs", "you need to sort your life out".
I've had one of my sons in tears begging me to change my life. I've overdosed more times than I'd like to admit and had more near-death experiences than the grim reaper (slight exaggeration).
However I finally surrendered my life to our Mighty lord and saviour Jesus Christ which cost me more than when I was using (no exaggerating).
I lost my wife because I was a "filthy lying Christian" and we are all "horrible good-for-nothing people" (her words not mine). Both my sons don't talk to me now. Finally I literally just lost my mother to cancer (which is heartbreaking).
On the plus side of turning my life around, I recently developed a good relationship with my Mum. My Dad and his wife are finally proud of me. I no longer wake up every morning wondering where I'm going to get my next fix from or the money to pay for it. I don't have to worry about waking up in the police cells anymore and I'm not even in the system now (I've been in the system since I was 13, now 48).
So things are definitely looking up. So what I really want to say is no matter how many rehabs or how much prison time or how many people want you to change, no-one will get anywhere if they don't surrender their heart to God and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. If you can't take my word for it then you need to read these 3 Books. No 1 is the Bible (of course). No 2 is Radical Lives Vol 1, Radical Lives Vol 2.
God is and always will be the only answer. If not well I hope you like extremely hot places (No joke). Anyway I'll leave it there. Thank you Jesus Christ for countlessly saving my life. I love you my heavenly father in Jesus name.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all ...
The Holloways
No one ever visits when the house is tidy, right?
And to make matters worse... when you take a phone call and someone says, "I'll be there in half an hour"... then you forget as soon as you hang up and carry on with the dirtiest job on the planet ... cleaning the Arapohue Retreat toilets.
However, it was a total blessing to see Mark and Miriam again, their first visit in 4 years. Miriam is the daughter of Graham Crawshaw, the founder of Arapohue Bush Camp. She grew up here and they also lived here together as a family.
There was a lot of catching up to do, and we loved hearing more of the old stories. Bless you Mark and Miriam! We love you. (Mark got all the tall... see photo)
The Raised Beds
Thanks again to the generous folk and hardworking volunteers who have helped make the raised garden beds happen. Today Maurice Brown and Colin Trim are here building another three totalling eight.
I'm experimenting in this bed with the Three Sisters planting style using corn for the height, melons (or pumpkin) for the ground cover - and beans. Usually the beans climb up the corn but ours are climbing up the wire frame. A great way to make the most of a small space.
|
Urgent needs |
|
|---|---|
|
$3,500 |
Current bills (tyres, building materials, phones, animal feed & care, accountants fees etc) |
|
$1,166 |
February mortgage interest bill |
|
$200,000 |
Mortgage repayment in full |
|
Donations to: Please note we don't receive any government funding, all volunteers are unpaid and we rely purely on donations to keep Arapohue Retreat running. Many thanks. |
|
These bestselling Kiwi books are available at your Christian bookstore.
Thanks to our partners
Your ongoing support means we can continue to work with people who are struggling.
You play a VIP role in providing a place where people's lives can be restored by God. We can't do it without you.
Kind regards and many thanks,
Ray & Jan Curle on behalf of the Arapohue Retreat & WSCT team
574 Hoyle Rd, Arapohue 0374
Wild Side Charitable Trust Registration No. CC55065
p. 027 254 6778 | ray@thewildside.net | wildsidetrust.org
Built with Shorthand