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KelI am almost a Dunedin boy through and through. I was raised on the beautiful beaches of Westwood and Brighton with Saddle Hill as my playground.
At a young age I left school and headed north to pick fruit and eventually found myself living in Sydney. It was in a beautiful Anglican Church in the height of an Aussie summer where God chose to intervene in my life. Before long I was back in Dunedin working as a Youth Pastor. I spent a summer in the USA working at a youth camp before attending the Vineyard Pacific School of Discipleship. I spent a short amount of time serving from a cardboard house in Mexico on the southern side of the USA border. |
SharonI was born in Dunedin and raised in a wonderful family consisting of my Dad, Mum and two younger sisters. Our home had a beautiful garden; and I especially love spring daffodils, apple blossom & irises. I was blessed to go to great schools, including Kaikorai Valley College.
Once I'd finished school, I studied journalism in Wellington, then worked in Dunedin as an Otago Daily Times reporter. I travelled extensively overseas as a 13 year old, then later in my mid-20s. Walking alone along St Clair beach in the rain was one of my favourite things to do; also exploring Otago Peninsula with friends. I came to know Jesus as an 8 year old in a Presbyterian church and as an adult, started to experience more of Holy Spirit and Bible-led living at another Presbyterian church. Things I love about Vineyard include experiencing God's heart for the poor; the freedom I've found in worship; and that we try be real with God and each other. |
We were married on a cold summer's Tautuku day in 1998. God was quite quick in sending us out. We studied Primary Health Care with Mercy in Action Vineyard in the Philippines and followed this up with serving for a Pentecostal church plant, feeding malnourished children.
In the year of 2000 we moved to Scotland for more training. We completed Glasgow Central Vineyard's Harvest Ministry College and interned two years with this church in preparation for planting a Vineyard in Lithuania.
We spent 14.5 years in Lithuania; almost all of these with the beautiful people of our newly-adopted city, Klaipėda. Together with a lot of God's help, we established Vineyard Klaipėda. This was a lovely and rich season of deep relationships. Our church had a passion for outreach and spent much of its time ministering in a state-run children's home.
Near the end of 2016, we handed over the church and in the northern winter of the following year, very sadly left Klaipeda for sabbatical. We spent most of 2017 riding our bicycles 8000 km across the USA and Canada. Kel likes to call this his slow decompress. Our days were spent cycling and cooking on our camp stove, and our evenings were spent tucked up in our tent in random town parks.
In November 2017, we arrived home in Aotearoa with tired bikes and revived spirits ready to plant afresh in the stunning city of Dunedin.
In the year of 2000 we moved to Scotland for more training. We completed Glasgow Central Vineyard's Harvest Ministry College and interned two years with this church in preparation for planting a Vineyard in Lithuania.
We spent 14.5 years in Lithuania; almost all of these with the beautiful people of our newly-adopted city, Klaipėda. Together with a lot of God's help, we established Vineyard Klaipėda. This was a lovely and rich season of deep relationships. Our church had a passion for outreach and spent much of its time ministering in a state-run children's home.
Near the end of 2016, we handed over the church and in the northern winter of the following year, very sadly left Klaipeda for sabbatical. We spent most of 2017 riding our bicycles 8000 km across the USA and Canada. Kel likes to call this his slow decompress. Our days were spent cycling and cooking on our camp stove, and our evenings were spent tucked up in our tent in random town parks.
In November 2017, we arrived home in Aotearoa with tired bikes and revived spirits ready to plant afresh in the stunning city of Dunedin.
