Let's Get Practical - Introduction

During the past summer, my wife (Colleen) and I had the privilege of attending our son James and daughter Sians' weddings in Cape Town, South Africa.  What a glorious time of celebration and rejoicing as we witnessed our two amazing, talented and gifted children say 'I do'. Making a commitment to their respective spouses to love, honour and cherish them until 'death do us part'.

As a dad, my greatest honour was to walk Sian down the aisle, and then officiate the wedding. It truly was a 'wow' and  a very special moment that I will always treasure in my life.

James and Robyn (Payne) Wewege
Married:  29 December 2013

With three wonderful and amazing children, but by no means perfect, Colleen and I often receive the following praise from people we meet; "you are so lucky you have three wonderful, talented and well-behaved children'.

Whenever we receive feedback like that, I say to them,  "Please look me in the eye. This is NOT LUCK. You cannot buy ready made adults or teenagers from the local supermarket that are already perfect. What you see is a result of blood, sweat, tears, love, encouragement, discipline and prayer". What a mouthful!  But its true.  Parenting is hard work.  It's not for the faint-hearted.

Junior and Sian (Wewege) Fesola'i
18 January 2014

Colleen and I are by no means perfect parents, experts in this field or authors of a number of books on the subject, but ... we did do something right!  My passion is to share some insights to help you in your parenting.  To help you develop a 'I can do it' attitude with your teenagers, so that you will be able to experience and truly love the precious gifts that have been entrusted to you.

Over the next ten weeks, I want to share via my blog 10 practical steps that you can use to help you parent your teenagers.  They will be manageable steps.  Something simple that could be life changing. Practical so that you can experience and witness the change.

If you keep doing the same thing you will experience the same result.  If you want a different result, you must try something different.

From next week, I will commence with the first practical step in a ten week series called "Lets Get Practical" 

Let's Get Practical !

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When The Picture Fades ...

It’s very seldom that I wake up in the middle of the night with the motivation to write.  Last night was one of those moments. In my bed, streams of thoughts making its way through my mind and made every effort to remember them. After few hours with an exhausted mind, I fell into a deep sleep.

This past week has been horrific for the nation of the Philippines and for Filipinos around the world. The worst typhoon to make landfall in recorded history slammed in the central region of the country.  It caused damage with over thousand lost their lives and homes obliterated from where they once stood. 

Typhoon Yolanda gushed in to the Philippines on Friday, 8 November 2013. It left a devastated trail that was never seen before. The people in its path had very little or had no chance of survival.  Worst-hit areas of Tacloban and surrounding areas have attested to be an absolute nightmare for the government and NGOs to bring in the humanitarian aid which was very much needed.  Simply the basics - food, water, shelter and medicine has proven to be an enormous mountain to climb.

In our church in Christchurch New Zealand, we have large number of Filipino members. For the past two years I’ve been ministering about 50% of my time in the Philippines - Metro Manila, Alabang, Lipa, San Fernando (Pampanga), Bacolod City and Kabankalan.

Filipinos have certainly captured my heart. It was an instant connection of love and passion to Filipinos. They are grateful, honouring and very respectful.  Going the extra mile is not an option. They will go extra ten miles for you. Filipinos have gone through so much over the years, but they will bounce back with a huge smile and great attitude. They are known as individuals with positive disposition amidst life battles. These battles left distinguishable scars on their lives which serve as their reminder that God has spared them to continue the fight for peace and righteousness.

In Kabankalan

I love the slogan "It's more fun in the Philippines" - from eating rice at every meal to looking at chicken’s feet or “balut”, thinking "oh no, I can't eat this, help!". After eating rice for breakfast on a recent trip to Lipa, one of my friends wrote and said, "Pastor Bernhard you are now a legitimate Filipino". I often confessed to groups of people and whenever I minister that I have Filipino blood flowing through my veins - it's only my skin has a different colour. Filipinos will always be part of my heart and life.

When the picture fades... my prayer is that the world will not forget this amazing nation and beautiful people of the Philippines. Pictures of devastation will no longer be shown within the next few weeks. The world will forget the desolation of lives and loss of properties. There will be no more pictures that offer opportunities to join together and make a difference.

As this journey continues, how far we go in our lives depends on our willingness to extend help and do our part especially to those who may never be able to repay us. 

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Be Available for the Unexpected

I love my own space when I travel especially on long-haul flights, actually on any flight. The main reason for this is my pretty hectic schedule. The moment I board the plane I am already exhausted, need my own space to rest, sleep, zone out and enjoy the flight.

On 25^th of October, my wife (Colleen) and I boarded a flight from Bali, Indonesia to Singapore. I followed my routine by getting comfortable on my seat - blanket over my legs, my head on the headrest and pillow on my lap. It wasn't long, after takeoff, I dropped off peacefully. No, not from alcohol, but from few hours’ sleep I had during the conference due to late nights and early mornings.

After about 30-minute power nap, I was wide awake, ready to enjoy the great on-board cuisine of Singapore Airlines.  As we were about to eat, I noticed the lady on my left bow her head and pray.  I turned to Colleen and said "I think she is a Christian" then wondered if she attended our conference.  I didn't recognise her from the conference of over 300 delegates from the nations of Asia and Oceania.  I turned to her and asked what she was doing in Bali.

Well, the remainder of the flight was truly amazing and very special as Tina (from Singapore) started to share a little about her life, her family and her career.  As she shared her stories - things that she was struggling with and what she is trusting God for in her life, we both realised that this was a ‘God moment’. God's timing is always perfect, in a right place, right time with the right people.  It was truly a divine appointment and a divine connection.  

Colleen and I had wonderful time encouraging and speaking the word of the Lord to Tina. We both know that the Bible says, "The truth of God's word sets people free”.  After speaking and sharing, her countenance begins to change.

Tina told us that when she saw that her seat was next to ours, she felt that there was 'something special' about us.  Maybe it was my 'white hair' or my sleepy look on my face... ha ha. Tina’s colleague came and offered a seat with her; however, she declined as she 'sensed' that she needed to be with us.  I am truly amazed how God orchestrates things. Amazing.

Before the plane landed in Singapore, I asked Tina if I could pray for her. With eyes closed, I began to pray and minister to this special woman of God.  With tears streaming down her face, the Holy Spirit ministered in a powerful and special way, speaking words of encouragement and allowing God to minister prophetically as well.    

As we disembarked, Colleen and I gave Tina a big hug. We felt that this was truly a 'God moment’, a real special moment with an amazing woman.  Thank you Tina, may God richly bless you.

Be available for the unexpected 

There are so many opportunities to make a difference and to add value to people's lives.  #bwlife

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