“They ask me where I’ve been
And what I’ve done and seen.
But what can I reply
Who knows it wasn’t I,
But someone just like me,
Who went across the sea
And with my head and these hands
Killed men in foreign lands ……..
Though I must bear the blame
Because he bore my name.”
Poem by Wilfrid Gibson
Pushing Boundaries at Adrenaline Forest
“If you keep doing what you’ve done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got” – Anthony Robbins
Young men from Colleges in the Porirua region participated in the various courses at Adrenaline Forest in Wellington as a reward for their progress in school. The course also aimed to encourage the young men to step out of their comfort zones and face the challenge as a team.
By the end of the day, the young men were exhausted from the physically demanding courses but were grinning from ear to ear about what they had achieved. For some, it was a fear of heights while for others, it was the struggle of working as a team. All in all, it was a great learning experience with a bit of fun added!!!
Rugby 101: Passing, Tackling and the Breakdown
“I don’t believe in magic. I believe in hard work” – Richie McCaw
Peeling it back to the very basics of passing, tackling and the breakdown, students attending the rugby clinic learnt the art of mastery. The small technicalities involved in making a good pass to the timing and positioning of a tackle were examined in the sessions.
The students enjoyed the sessions and have the ability to teach their respective teams or work on the drills themselves. As one student summed it up: “you don’t have to get paid like a professional to train like a professional”!
On the second day, the children came back with big smiles on their faces ready to experience an Anzac filled day. We started by reading stories, learning about our soldiers, teddies, dogs and nurses that had been to war. The children had a chance to try on different army gear. This was definitely a highlight for many of our boys. We then headed to the city for a tour to look at the sights, the kids were full of questions and even managed a game of nonstop tag before we headed back to the Challenge House.
Thank you to all the children, parents and people who provided baking and volunteers who helped out on these days. Your support is so appreciated and make these days possible.
Caritas (Catholic Agency for Justice, Peace and Development) promotes the Caritas Challenge. The purpose of the Caritas Challenge is to fundraise, educate and raise awareness for people and places that they work with. This year the focus is Cambodia and Challenge 2000 kick started the Wellington area campaign over the weekend of 1st-2nd April 2016 in Johnsonville. Schools were invited, and they responded with enthusiasm and passion.
We organised to sleep in boxes overnight, workshops, activities and games, presentations, set up a room to look like a Cambodian home, reflections and prayer. We had guest speakers – Nick from Caritas, Kitty McKinley and Geoff Rahari – as well as visits from Cardinal John, Peter Dunne, Deputy Mayor Justin Lester, local Dominican Sisters, parents, a youth worker from BGI, Emily from Young Church Ministries, teachers and supporters. Thank you to everyone who came together to support the cause – the overnight security team, the cooking team and the background missions team.
Thank you to the Colleges who took part – St Bernard’s College, St Patrick’s College Wellington, St Catherine’s College, St Mary’s College, St Patrick’s College, Silverstream – your students’ input was valuable and we enjoyed being with them.
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Welcome to Wellington,
Nau mai, haere mai
To our new brothers and sisters from Syria. We look forward to receiving the many gifts, strengths and life experiences you bring to us – together we will all be so much better off – an alive, inclusive, diverse, generous, welcoming city. Absolutely positively Wellington.
Over the past weeks, many Challenge 2000 staff, volunteers and young leaders have been collecting items to prepare for the arrival of new whanau in our city. Thanks to those who gave money, lifted and shifted, colour matched, purchased and enjoyed preparing homes.
Exciting times are happening in the Wairarapa!!!
On Friday night, 25 young people gathered along with Challenge 2000 staff and volunteers for our first sports night of the year.
The gym was full of energy as we played games, got to know each other and stepped out of our comfort zones!
All the young people had an awesome time with the opportunity to share in food at the end. We are looking forward to working with these young people throughout the year.
If you live in the Wairarapa and are between Year 7 and Year 13, our next sports night will take place on Friday 26th February 2016 from 5pm-7pm at Chanel College gym. Contact Nicole on 021 655 697 for more information.
Over the summer school holidays, Challenge 2000 hosted an array of holiday programmes for the young people around Wellington, Porirua and the Hutt Valley. No two days were the same! New experiences were had and activities included sport days, swimming days at different beaches around Wellington and the Hutt Valley, swimming pools and mountain biking through the Wainuiomata hills.
The young people thoroughly enjoyed their time at the different programmes, with excitement levels high all the time! A great favourite was the mountain biking – the young people commented on how challenging it was at times but were so proud and grinning from ear to ear at the finish. Swimming is always great fun – there was a “bombing” competition from the diving board had at a local pool. It was great to see the energy and interest in the young people for this.
Challenge 2000 realise that it is important to provide these programmes for the young people. These programmes provide fun, laughter, new experiences and form new lasting friendships!
We wish to thank all those who sponsor/donate/fund these holiday programmes. Your contribution is much appreciated!
Watch this space for more fun holiday programmes in 2016!!
The Whanganui Awa, and more specifically Hiruharama/Jerusalem, has long been a source of retreat and inspiration for the Challenge 2000 Youth Ministry team. In January, a team of 18 took four days to gather together to reflect on Youth Ministry and plan for the year ahead. 8 College students, 5 young adult volunteers and staff reflected on what it means to be a youth ministry team for 2016.
Hiruharama, with its rich history of Catholic ministry, was a great venue to pause at the beginning of the year and reconnect with our vision and purpose and get to know each other better. The team took the time to revisit why youth ministry matters, how each of us can contribute to making a difference and what we individually can contribute to the lives of those around us.
It was also an opportunity to reconnect with the whanau up the river holding an activity day for many of the young people who live in Hiruharama and the surrounding communities. It is always a special time playing games, sharing laughs and checking in with the hopes for the year ahead.
The College students took real leadership of the day and leant lots about running activity days. Many friendships were formed and it was difficult to leave!
Challenge 2000 is very lucky to have a longstanding connection with the families living in the area and also at the school in Ranana. Heath Hutton supported a school trip to the Gold Coast last year, so it was great to be able to reminisce about all the fun had on that trip.
Just as Suzanne Aubert did so many years ago, the Challenge 2000 team travelled back to Wellington with a sense of mission and purpose for 2016. Dreams were shared and plans hatched!
If you know of any young people who are in Year 12 or 13 who would be keen to be involved in youth ministry, please get in touch with Nicole Simson on 04 477 0045.
hristmas week our happy staff and volunteers have delivered 85 hampers to families we are involved with. Many, many thanks to all those generous people who sent money in response to our Christmas appeal for meat, veges and fruit. The response was outstanding.
One Parent said: “Thank you for the aroha, my Whanau are so thankful”
A 9 yr old girl said: “is that really for us? I can’t wait for Christmas”
Another caregiver said:
“I can’t believe this, thank you for this so unexpected, but we so needed this”
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