JULY 2, 1986

Dear Brethren;

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ who continues to provide everything needed for life and Godliness!

DESERT ROAD CLOSED DUE TO BLIZZARD CONDITIONS
As many of you know we came here at the start of the New Zealand winter. We have had several heavy frosts but the daily norm temp is 40 deg min. and 52 deg max. We have a grapefruit tree just out the kitchen window (in the neighbor's yard). The grapefruit will be ready to pick later this month. The winds we receive are from the south and very bone chilling. (off Antarctica) Further south on the island they have been receiving snow and the skiing season is getting into full swing. We hope you all are enjoying your warm weather in the States.

We are still in our match box size house (less than 900 ft2 ) but will be moving to a larger house this next Sunday. This new house is closer to the church and the kids school. We now live 6 miles from the school. The kids will get to ride bicycles from the other house. When we left PNG we sold all of our large furniture as furniture was available here. We had hoped to use the monies we received from the furniture in PNG to buy furniture here. We have ended up having to use that money to pay off the shipping bill for the container and car that we shipped from PNG to here. You may remember that we have been trying to raise $3500 to pay that off. Well the shipping company was going to take us to court there in PNG and so the money we had from the furniture was used to pay off the shipping cost.

The house we are moving into is unfurnished. Some of the brethren here are loaning us beds and the like until we can come up with funds to buy furniture. There are numerous second-hand furniture shops here in Tauranga and Kathy has been making the rounds looking. We could really make Kathy a happy person by providing funds so that she can furnish this house. CAN YOU HELP PLEASE?

THE CONTAINER UNLOADED
Our container with the printing equipment, small household items and books was finally cleared through customs and moved over by the church. The Bible school operates out of the church building and they have a small shed which we will be using as a printshop. I have moved all the equipment out into the shed and have begun setting it up. It's really tight in there. One piece of equipment which I was going to have to buy here was a plate maker machine. We had hoped to raise funds for this while back in the States but didn't. A new plate maker was going to cost us $4400. Looking in the paper just after we got here a local printing firm was selling a plate maker with a printing press. Kathy and I drove over and looked at the plate maker and press. Both items were in good shape and the selling price was for both. So for $1920 we bought them. These were funds from saving which we were hoping to help get us settled-in here.

With the plate maker I have been able to begin printing again. I set up the new (used) press and ran off some much needed Correspondence Courses for the World Wide Bible outreach program here. I will next run an 80 page song book of English songs. Much more to come !

DIFFERENT CULTURAL STANDARDS
Boy we are back in it again. Everywhere you go in this world people have their different cultural standards. We are back in culture stress !!!!!! After spending over 19 years overseas you would think that it would be easier to slip into other cultures- WRONG! There are all different. Even though school uniforms were used in Papua New Guinea they were optional. Here school uniforms are mandatory and they are expensive. It cost us over $350 to buy the kids winter uniforms for school. This included a certain kind of shoe and sports uniforms by ADIDAS (had to be black with 3 white stripes down the side, a 2 stripe variety was 50% cheaper but not acceptable). The kids don't like the uniform rule either.

Did you know that all Americans come from California? A lot of New Zealanders think so. When they hear us talk they will come up and ask what part of California we are from. Miami vice, Simon & Simon, etc. are on the telly here and so imagine what the people here think of the States. You guessed it ! Many words are different here. Trash is rubbish. The bathroom is the toilet (because they separate the toilet from the bathtub/sink). Tire is spelled tyre. Color is spelled Colour.

One good thing here is that almost all bills can be paid through the post office. True, the electricity, car registration, taxes, even buying stamps is accomplished at the Post Office

After so long in PNG I knew where to buy my supplies for the printshop. I am now having to call all over trying to find the best buy on supplies. Hopefully it will all come together soon. Until we move into a larger house (this next weekend) my office has been set up in the lounge (living room). I have been doing my word processing and book work in the corner. (Even these small rooms have 4 corners).
One of the most frustrating things we are being re-introduced to is the communication delays we are experiencing moving back into the mission field. With mail taking 7-10 days one way it can be up to a month before we receive an answer to requests by mail.SOUTH

PACIFIC BIBLE SCHOOL
The Bible School this year has in addition to Jab Mesa from PNG two Fiji students, Joshua and Lindua. The caliber of these men will greatly further the mission work in PNG and Fiji when they return after their schooling. The Fiji work has suffered greatly over the past few years due to missionary interference. A missionary who worked in Fiji, because he did not agree with other missionaries, began a slur campaign which resulted in all the church of Christ missionaries being forced to leave Fiji. Only just recently Bro. Bill Orange was granted a visa to work as a missionary in Fiji. This slur campaign also was used against the Bible School here in Tauranga. When Joshua came to the school in January to begin his Biblical studies he had been told that the church here used instruments in worship and other unscriptural practices were condoned. Joshua like Jab from PNG had determined that he needed more Bible training so that he help his people exist as strong congregations of the body of Christ. He realized that there might be some false teaching but felt confident that he could discern the truth from falsehood. Much to Joshua's relief all these rumors proved to be false. Brethren we have enough problems with Satan in our daily life without trying to destroy the body of Christ with slurs and rumors. Please pray for the work in this part of the world. Many mission works are being undermined by unsubstantiated and false rumors. LET'S BUILD UP THE BODY OF CHRIST!!!!!

YOUR HELP STILL NEEDED
Since we arrived we have figured out that we have lost over $1000 per month support. Brethren we need your help to see that we have necessary support to enable us to do the work. We not only hope to print for the Oceania region but to go out into the islands and help establish congregations where the church does not exist and hold Bible Training Schools periodically where the church needs to be strengthened. All of this takes money. Also needed are the funds to enable us to properly establish our home here. Funds we had set aside to do this have had to be spent paying off the shipping costs from PNG, tickets to arrive here in NZ, mailing supplies from USA just before we left. (It cost us over $600 for the trip to New York to get our visas.) You have been real good to us and we appreciate the support you provide that has enabled us to continue the Lord's work in the part of the world.

Please send funds to:
OCEANIA OUTREACH-TOBEY HUFF
HIGHLAND STREET CHURCH OF CHRIST
443 S. HIGHLAND
MEMPHIS, TENN. 3811

or you can send them to our New Zealand address which is on this bulletin if you so desire. (An accounting is made for all funds received.)
Would you also see that this newsletter is posted or shared as we are having to mail it from here in New Zealand until we can find a congregation there in the States to mail it for us on a 3rd class mailing. We are only mailing to a small part of the overall mailing list due to postage costs.

Your servants in the service of Christ,

the Huffs