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Brad's Lastest email (2/22/2007) 2nd one on that day:
Good afternoon,
It's 4:15pm on Friday here (roughly 1:00am Friday morning for you all). I thought I would quickly add one more thing to my "post" for today.
Many of you know I speak routinely on dinosaurs. I heard a rumor that the original fossil "Iguanadon tooth" that was discovered by Gideon Mantell (one that I talk about every weekend) was at the museum here in Wellington. So I called the museum. They told me it was indeed here, but locked away in their private collection. I played the "visiting doctor from the United States" card, and after talking with the collection chairman, was allowed a private viewing this afternoon. We went into a high security sub-basement of one of their storage buildings, and they gave me full access to the fossil. It was amazing to see an object that was found in 1822, and was really the beginning of the dinosaur debate.
I just talked to Melinda (who is staying in Palmerston North these two days while I'm in Wellington), and she is taking the gang to a cricket match this evening.
Once again, we solicit your prayers.
Brad
Brad's email (2/22/2007):
Gidday friends,
This will probably be my last "update" as our time here is quickly drawing to a close. (That is, unless Melinda and I decide to live here, in which case I would be sending many more emails!)
If we flew home right now this mission effort would be considered a tremedous success. But we're not done yet! We wrapped up the meeting in New Plymouth, and were having as many as 26+ visitors each night. Several Bible studies were set up there as well.
Last night I spoke in Wellington (at the southern tip of the North Island.). This is a congregation that meets literally in downtown Wellington. I'll only be here two nights, so I'm doing the best I can to encourage and edify the Christians in the congregation, as well as educate those who are visiting with them.
Tomorrow morning (Saturday) I have an interview with Kim Hill that will be live on radio New Zealand. This interview will be heard by hundreds of thousands of native Kiwi's, so we are excited about the potential for the church. To God be the glory! Please say an extra prayer for this effort as you go to sleep tonight. Our prayer is that the church will be cast in a very good and favorable light--even if Kim gets means or ugly.
On Sunday I preach again in Palmerston North. We have advertised in the paper again, so we are hoping to draw out some more individuals to this last meeting. One final "effort" will occur Monday night, on the campus of Massey University. An apologetics society heard I was on the island and contacted me through email and asked if I would speak before I left. So we will meet with them on Monday in an effort to make some contacts and teach the Truth.
The family is holding up extremely well. We have become mountain climbers in our short time here--literal mountain climbers. During our stay in New Plymouth we hiked up to the end of the vegetation line of Mt. Taranaki, (yes, Claire and Resse went along as well!!! Or should I say we carried them most of the way.). And then the day before, we hiked up another smaller but steeper mountain that was located right beside the ocean.
We are all still getting accustomed to the food. We love the fresh fruits and vegetables, but the food is different here. (A lot healthier!) Melinda and I have talked quite a bit about what we food habits we will continue in the states, and what we look forward to when we return home. (Focus Press guys...I have not enjoyed a mexican meal in over 2 weeks!!!)
We enjoyed a day at the beach on Tuesday, and were even introduced to NZ surfing. I can't describe the scenery. It is absolutely amazing. Every thing is in full bloom here, and they have mountains literally going right down to the sea. We enjoyed a small zoo on Wednesday, and took the kids to a park to play.
On Wednesday night we left New Plymouth (after they had a fairwell "tea") and drove 3 hours to Palmerston North. I'm used to driving on the wrong side of the road by now...but this was fairly late at night (we didn't leave until 9:00pm), so it was "interesting" being in a foreign country at night on the wrong side of the road. It takes some getting used to when you see head lights on what your mind thinks is the wrong side of the road.
Overall, the response has been overwhelming--from both Christians and non-Christians. I suspect the Kiwi's here will be doing follow-up studies and visits for weeks to come. Continue to keep us in your prayers.
We fly home on Tuesday (your Monday,...and then get to TN on your Tuesday).
We miss you all and look forward to "coming home."
Sincerely, in Him,
Brad
Brad's email (2/20/2007):
2/21/2007
Gidday!
I send you all warm greetings from Down Under. I am a little worn out today, so this entry will be shorter than most. We had a great afternoon session yesterday. It was supposed to be just a ladies class, but we ended up having 10 visitors. Last night we had 18+ visitors, with several expressing an interest for a Bible study with the Christians here. We even have one gentleman who said he is bringing his homegroup (church group of 15+) to the seminar tonight. Much of the attendance was brought about by a newspaper article that appeared declaring "American scientist believes humans coexisted with dinosaurs." The article was actually pretty favorable toward the biblical account of creation. We were extremely excited about the free "PR" the church is receiving. Things seem to be building here at New Plymouth as well.
I talked to Nathan yesterday and they had several visitors on Sunday who had attended the seminar. They are spending all of their free time in follow up studies, and he feels confident many of these will produce fruit.
Now, on to the subject many of you have asked about...the debate. Outside of the HOT temps (no air conditioning under those hot studio lights!!), it went extremely well. I will share details later, but I will mention that I got the doctor who professed to be an atheist to admit there was design in the human body. After admitting this, he realized what he had said and quickly tried to white-wash his comment. I landed several hard blows (e.g., he ridiculed people for believing in a God they could not see, but then later admitted he believed there could be aliens...I jumped on that one rather quickly, pointing out the lunacy of his position, since no one has seen aliens.) We were still able to shake hands at the end, and he even admitted to one of the Christians who was traveling with me that he realized how shaky his position was. I'd say by the end he was more of an agnostic than true atheist. Overall I think it was a major success for the Truth, and I pray God was glorified. Those three one-hour debates will be shown all over the country in the coming days.
As for this morning, we are heading off to enjoy some sights, and get some much needed relaxation!
Have a great week.
Sincerely, in Him,
Brad
Brad's email (2/20/2007):
send everyone a warm hello.
We have been in New Plymouth now for three days, and we have combined
a little bit of sightseeing with lots of work. I'll start with the work:
Ever since people have learned I am being interviewed by "Kim Hill" all
of the local papers want interviews. I had barely settled in when we had
a journalist and photographer at the door wanting to conduct an interview.
We are excited about getting the truth out there, and we hope it will
go a long way in giving the church some serious credibility. On Friday
I meet with some local Christians for their weekly home devotional. It
was encouraing to me to see this group so hungry for the meat of the Word.
We started the seminar last night, and it went very well. We had visitors
and even a skeptic or two. I taught a lesson on Atheism's attack on Christianity...which
was a little more challenging for me, as I am used to teaching on Atheism's
attack on America. I think it went well though, and the Christians here
were very excited by the material. I ended up staying late having a discussion
with a man who described himself as an Anglican, believer in God but he
also embraced evoluti
on. I pointed out several Scriptures that contradicted his beliefs, and
he had to admit that this was confusing and troubling. Hopefully seeds
were planted.
This morning I taught worship and Bible class, and again, the lessons
were extremely well received. These people are hungry for solid Christian
evidence material. After our Bible class we had a fellowship meal...again,
no fried foods which was definitely a change for me. (The family and I
may find ourselves the healthiest we've ever been as we continue to eat
primarily fresh fruits and vegatables.)
I speak again tonight, and then prepare for a grueling day tomorrow. I
teach a ladies class at 1:00, then we hurry over to a TV studio for a
4-hour long debate that will be televised, and then back to the building
for a lesson on the weaknesses of the evolutionary theory. Trust me when
I tell you that we are getting the message out!
Now on to the "play" side. Will, Reese, and I (along with some of the
native "Kiwis") played our first game of Crickett on Saturday. It was
loads of fun and the boys really loved it. On Friday our family took some
time to go down to the beach. The view was amazing. We are staying in
a city that has a 8000+ ft. volcano behind it, and it sits right on the
ocean. The volcano is so tall it still has snow on the top...and this
is their summer months. The beaches are black sand, from the lava of the
volcano. We learned quickly that black beaches are hot to bare feet!
On Saturday night we took in a "light show" that was going on in a local
city park/zoo. It was beautiful, and the boys seemed to really enjoy it.
(Plus they got to stay up late...which they also loved.) We continue to
absorb as much as we can regarding the culture and the sights. The weather
combined with the scenery is truly amazing.
Continue to pray for us, and send us a note when you have opportunity.
(Please don't feel discouraged if I don't respond immediately, as I have
little "spare" time these days.) Thanks again for helping us turn New
Zealand upside down!
Sincerely,
Brad
Brad's email (2/19/2007):
Gidday!
I send you all warm greetings from Down Under. I am a little worn out
today, so this entry will be shorter than most. We had a great afternoon
session yesterday. It was supposed to be just a ladies class, but we ended
up having 10 visitors. Last night we had 18+ visitors, with several expressing
an interest for a Bible study with the Christians here. We even have one
gentleman who said he is bringing his homegroup (church group of 15+)
to the seminar tonight. Much of the attendance was brought about by a
newspaper article that appeared declaring "American scientist believes
humans coexisted with dinosaurs." The article was actually pretty favorable
toward the biblical account of creation. We were extremely excited about
the free "PR" the church is receiving. Things seem to be building here
at New Plymouth as well.
I talked to Nathan yesterday and they had several visitors on Sunday who
had attended the seminar. They are spending all of their free time in
follow up studies, and he feels confident many of these will produce fruit.
Now, on to the subject many of you have asked about...the debate. Outside
of the HOT temps (no air conditioning under those hot studio lights!!),
it went extremely well. I will share details later, but I will mention
that I got the doctor who professed to be an atheist to admit there was
design in the human body. After admitting this, he realized what he had
said and quickly tried to white-wash his comment. I landed several hard
blows (e.g., he ridiculed people for believing in a God they could not
see, but then later admitted he believed there could be aliens...I jumped
on that one rather quickly, pointing out the lunacy of his position, since
no one has seen aliens.) We were still able to shake hands at the end,
and he even admitted to one of the Christians who was traveling with me
that he realized how shaky his position was. I'd say by the end he was
more of an agnostic than true atheist. Overall I think it was a major
success for the Truth, and I pray God was glorified.
Those three one-hour debates will be shown all over the country in the
coming days.
As for this morning, we are heading off to enjoy some sights, and get
some much needed relaxation!
Have a great week.
Sincerely, in Him,
Brad
Brad's email (2/17/2007):
I send everyone a warm hello.
We have been in New Plymouth now for three days, and we have combined
a little bit of sightseeing with lots of work. I'll start with the work:
Ever since people have learned I am being interviewed by "Kim Hill" all
of the local papers want interviews. I had barely settled in when we had
a journalist and photographer at the door wanting to conduct an interview.
We are excited about getting the truth out there, and we hope it will
go a long way in giving the church some serious credibility. On Friday
I meet with some local Christians for their weekly home devotional. It
was encouraing to me to see this group so hungry for the meat of the Word.
We started the seminar last night, and it went very well. We had visitors
and even a skeptic or two. I taught a lesson on Atheism's attack on Christianity...which
was a little more challenging for me, as I am used to teaching on Atheism's
attack on America. I think it went well though, and the Christians here
were very excited by the material. I ended up staying late having a discussion
with a man who described himself as an Anglican, believer in God but he
also embraced evolution. I pointed out several Scriptures that contradicted
his beliefs, and he had to admit that this was confusing and troubling.
Hopefully seeds were planted.
This morning I taught worship and Bible class, and again, the lessons
were extremely well received. These people are hungry for solid Christian
evidence material. After our Bible class we had a fellowship meal...again,
no fried foods which was definitely a change for me. (The family and I
may find ourselves the healthiest we've ever been as we continue to eat
primarily fresh fruits and vegatables.)
I speak again tonight, and then prepare for a grueling day tomorrow. I
teach a ladies class at 1:00, then we hurry over to a TV studio for a
4-hour long debate that will be televised, and then back to the building
for a lesson on the weaknesses of the evolutionary theory. Trust me when
I tell you that we are getting the message out!
Now on to the "play" side. Will, Reese, and I (along with some of the
native "Kiwis") played our first game of Crickett on Saturday. It was
loads of fun and the boys really loved it. On Friday our family took some
time to go down to the beach. The view was amazing. We are staying in
a city that has a 8000+ ft. volcano behind it, and it sits right on the
ocean. The volcano is so tall it still has snow on the top...and this
is their summer months. The beaches are black sand, from the lava of the
volcano. We learned quickly that black beaches are hot to bare feet!
On Saturday night we took in a "light show" that was going on in a local
city park/zoo. It was beautiful, and the boys seemed to really enjoy it.
(Plus they got to stay up late...which they also loved.) We continue to
absorb as much as we can regarding the culture and the sights. The weather
combined with the scenery is truly amazing.
Continue to pray for us, and send us a note when you have opportunity.
(Please don't feel discouraged if I don't respond immediately, as I have
little "spare" time these days.) Thanks again for helping us turn New
Zealand upside down!
Sincerely,
Brad
Brad's email (2/15/2007):
Once again I send you all greetings from New Zealand.
We are heading off to New Plymouth today to begin another campaign, but
before we journey there I wanted to pass along a quick update.
According to Nathan, and the other men here, the seminar was a HUGE SUCCESS!
They mentioned that is was not uncommon to only have 3-4 visitors for
a major campaign and Gospel Meeting. On Tuesday night we had 35+ visitors!
Nathan said last night that we've had over 100 visitors total, something
that is unheard of for this area. Melinda offered to watch the children
while the adults atteneded the seminar (she gets tired of hearing me...
Ha!). Anyway, she had 16 children Tuesday night. (Yes, she did get some
help from one of the other ladies). Everyone in attendance was asking
when we would be doing this again, and many were signing up for DVDs or
free information.
Yesterday Nathan and I conducted an hour long radio interview. We both
felt it went extremely well, and we feel confident it will give a tremendous
amount of credibility to the church and the Bible. We also knocked doors
yesterday and had a very succesful morning. Within 30 minutes we had set
up 4 Bible studies, with one of the ladies saying she wanted to be baptized.
Those studies will continue this week as I move on to New Plymouth.
I received word yesterday that they have lined up a lady named Kim Hill
to interview me next week. Everyone here is very excited about it. They
say she is like "Diane Sawyer" for New Zealand. This will be a Nation-Wide
interview, so it holds a great deal of promise for the church. I suspect
she will grill me pretty good, so I've got some polishing up to do before
that one.
Next Tuesday I will be participating in a televised debate in New Plymouth.
I am told there will be three of us on the panel: a believing Christian
(& creationist), a theistic evolutionist, and an atheist. Needless to
say they are "putting me to work" while I am here. But we are all so excited
by the doors God is opening.
Melinda had her first taste of driving on the wrong side of the road yesterday.
Other than turing on the windshield wipers several times (instead of the
turn indicator) she did great. We continue to eat delicious food that
is in season here. (Remember, it is summer, so all of their fruits and
vegetables are in season.)
Tuesday night before the seminar we had a traditional New Zealand meal--consisting
of roasted lamb with mint sauce, pumpkin, potatoes, fruit, kumara, and
pavolva. It was delicious, and the boys ate it up!
Again, thanks for all the prayers. We are truly thankful to be here, and
we look forward to sharing many of our experiences when we return to the
states.
Sincerely, in Him,
Brad
Brad's email (2/14/07):
Once again I send you all greetings from New Zealand.
We are heading off to New Plymouth today to begin another campaign, but
before we journey there I wanted to pass along a quick update.
According to Nathan, and the other men here, the seminar was a HUGE
SUCCESS! They mentioned that is was not uncommon to only have 3-4 visitors
for a major campaign and Gospel Meeting. On Tuesday night we had 35+
visitors! Nathan said last night that we've had over 100 visitors total,
something that is unheard of for this area. Melinda offered to watch the
children while the adults atteneded the seminar (she gets tired of hearing
me... Ha!). Anyway, she had 16 children Tuesday night. (Yes, she did get
some help from one of the other ladies). Everyone in attendance was asking
when we would be doing this again, and many were signing up for DVDs or
free information.
Yesterday Nathan and I conducted an hour long radio interview. We both
felt it went extremely well, and we feel confident it will give a
tremendous amount of credibility to the church and the Bible. We also
knocked doors yesterday and had a very succesful morning. Within 30
minutes we had set up 4 Bible studies, with one of the ladies saying she
wanted to be baptized. Those studies will continue this week as I move on
to New Plymouth.
I received word yesterday that they have lined up a lady named Kim Hill to
interview me next week. Everyone here is very excited about it. They say
she is like "Diane Sawyer" for New Zealand. This will be a Nation-Wide
interview, so it holds a great deal of promise for the church. I suspect
she will grill me pretty good, so I've got some polishing up to do before
that one.
Next Tuesday I will be participating in a televised debate in New
Plymouth. I am told there will be three of us on the panel: a believing
Christian (& creationist), a theistic evolutionist, and an atheist.
Needless to say they are "putting me to work" while I am here. But we are
all so excited by the doors God is opening.
Melinda had her first taste of driving on the wrong side of the road
yesterday. Other than turing on the windshield wipers several times
(instead of the turn indicator) she did great. We continue to eat
delicious food that is in season here. (Remember, it is summer, so all of
their fruits and vegetables are in season.)
Tuesday night before the seminar we had a traditional New Zealand
meal--consisting of roasted lamb with mint sauce, pumpkin, potatoes,
fruit, kumara, and pavolva. It was delicious, and the boys ate it up!
Again, thanks for all the prayers. We are truly thankful to be here, and
we look forward to sharing many of our experiences when we return to the
states.
Sincerely, in Him,
Brad
Brad's email (2/11/07):
Greetings friends!
It is 6:10pm on Sunday night, and the community seminar starts in less than an hour. I just wanted to take a minute to share with you the exciting morning we had at Palmerston North.
This morning we had 79 individuals worshipping together. The singing was great, and there is a positive feeling in the air. I preached a lesson on the Inspiration of the Bible and one on "Is Genesis a Myth" in an effort to recharge the Christians here. The lessons were tailored to edify and strengthen Christians, and I am hoping their zealous attitudes will continue for weeks to come. Afterwards we all joined together for a fellowship meal. (Just as an aside...it was the first fellowship meal that I have been to where there was not fried chicken! Ha!)
Continue to keep us in your prayers. We are all excited about the upcoming series in this community.
We continue to be thankful for your foresight in this endeavor.
Sincerely,
Brad (and the gang!)
Brad's email (2/12/07):
Dear friends in the States,
I send you warmest greetings from Down Under! We are quickly falling in
love with the people and the environment here. Everything is going
incredibly well.
The seminar has been a HUGE success. So much so that we are extending it
by one night here in Palmerston North! To quote one of the Christians here
(Kevin Gray) he said we hit it out of the park the first night...and it
only got better last night.
We had 30+ visitors from the community on Sunday night. This combined with
the local Christians had us setting up more chairs. It was a packed house,
and everyone seemed to really appreciate the material.
We did have some skeptics and an atheist join us and they spoke up during
the question and answer session...but I was well prepared for the
arguments they brought forth. You could almost visibily see the confidence
growing in the Christians in the room as they saw the atheists charges
quickly dismantled. Nathan's wife (Rachel) said she, Nathan, and another
couple stayed up four hours after the seminar (which wrapped up around
9:30pm) because they were so charged up and excited. The campaigners said
they hit the streets with renewed vigor the next day.
Last night was a major success as well. They counted at least 28+
visitors, and everyone stayed around after the question and answer session
for tea & coffee.
Yesterday I was interviewed by the editor of the newspaper here in
Palmerston North. Nathan and I thought the interview would only take 5-10
minutes...but it ended up lasting 45+ minutes. He asked lots of questions
and I shared a great deal of information with him. We really hope the
resulting artile will be done in good taste, and will give some attention
and credibility to the church here.
I am scheduled to do a radio talk show interview on Wednesday (this was
set up by a vistor last night). Also, Nathan and I visited Massey
University yesterday, and made some good contacts there as well. So as you
can probably tell, we are doing our best to stir up the community.
The family has adjusted great. Melinda and the children love the people
and the climate. (I hate to share this with you...but the weather here is
perfect! Mid 70's during the day and upper 50s to lower 60s at night). We
have been to a park and the girls are taking the family on a picnic today.
Continue to keep this effort in your prayers. I was not sure of what to
expect when we arrived...but I feel confident that we are doing a great
work in this area. The Christians are zealous and recharged as they reach
out into the community.
I will share more later. Again, thanks for making this effort a reality.
Sincerely,
Brad
Brad's email (2/10/07):
I send you all warm greetings from Palmerston North, New Zealand.
We arrived safely yesterday after a small delay in Los Angeles. When we
arrived in Cincinnati the ground was completely white, and they were
experiencing snow showers. That caused us to be delayed geting to Los
Angeles, and ultimately resulted in us missing our flight. However, we
quickly made lemonade out of lemons...getting some good rest in L.A., and
then arriving safely in New Zealand yesterday.
Within two hours of arriving, Nathan and I found ourselves sitting in the
home of a young man, conducting a Bible study that went on for nearly an
hour. We made several very good contacts, and have been really publicizing
the upcoming seminar.
I am thrilled to tell you that they have already had one baptism (a woman
with 4 children!!) so their Bible classes will be a lot bigger on Sunday!
Please continue to keep us in your prayers. We know that good things will
result from these efforts. We are very focused and very excited about the
work. I firmly believe a lot of good will result from this campaign.
I will do my best to keep you all posted. Just remember this: because of
you all in Hillsboro, TN there are many people in New Zealand being taught
the Truth about God's existence and His Word!
Our love to all.
Sincerely,
Brad
History:
Dear Brethren,
The Macedonian call is
ringing, and we have the opportunity to fight the culture war and help
influence an entire country toward Christ. The call comes from the country
of New Zealand in which there is very high atheistic and agonistic population.
A special need exits with 26% of the people claiming no religion at all,
while another 26.3% of the people hold to a mixture of evolution and creation.
Because generally speaking religious teachers are considered by many to
be uneducated, therefore not credible, a highly educated and faithful
teacher could have a huge impact on the entire country-including even
the political leaders.
It has been our joy over the past four years to
have financial oversight for the work of Brother Nathan Paki. He is a
native of New Zealand, and a graduate of the East Tennessee School of
Preaching. He is currently working with the congregation in the city of
Palmerston North and with his native tribe of Moria.
Even though Nathan is very well trained to preach and teach the gospel
he is not a scientist, and for that reason the message of Truth concerning
"Christian Evidence" is often going unheard in New Zealand. However, many
years ago a young man - Brad Harrub - achieved his Doctorate degree in
Medicine from University of Tennessee Knoxville. He then chose the "road
less traveled" and now actively uses his scientific background to defend
New Testament Christianity. As many of you know, Brother Harrub is in
great demand as a speaker in Christian Apologetics. This has provided
him with the opportunity to speak around the world about Creationism.
This path eventually led him to the Hillsboro congregation where we grew
to love him and his family, and it was through our congregation that he
eventually crossed paths with Nathan Paki. In the book of Esther we find
Mordecai asserting to Esther: " Who knows if you haven't come to the kingdom
for such a time as this" (4:14) Indeed, we feel that the time is right
for the truth of God's existence to be presented by the Lord's servant.
We believe that Brad's message could very well convert many honest and
open hearts to the faith, encourage, exhort and edify the Church through
out the whole country of New Zealand.
This effort would begin with an initial trip of three weeks and additional
mission efforts considered. Plans would be made there for speaking opportunities
at some of the local schools and even major universities with question
and answer secessions concerning Creationism. He will provide an invaluable
edifying and training service to the local congregations. Evangelistic
opportunities would also be provided in the local communities by conducting
public seminars. The effort would require the fellowship of several sister
congregations and faithful Christians. In order to begin fighting this
culture was in New Zealand, we need to raise at least $12000. These funds
may be sent to P.O. Box 37, Hillsboro, TN 37342 in care of treasurer,
Doug Hennessee, who currently handles the funds for Brother Paki. At this
point we are asking for a one-time offering. Brad has identified two openings
in his busy speaking schedule. The first is in November FY2006 and the
other is in February FY2007.
If you need additional information, call
or email the office of the Hillsboro church of Christ or contact either
Brad Harrub or Nathan Paki. We will keep you informed on the progress
of the effort. Please pray for God's blessings on our reply to the New
Zealand call of the Gospel(Acts 16:9). We believe God has opened a door
of utterance and that His Word spoken lovingly and boldly will save many
souls. Thank you in advance for your consideration of the work.
May God
Bless You,
Elders, Hillsboro Church of Christ
Brad Harrub, Co -editor
of Reason and Revelation, Editor of THINK
Nathan Paki, preacher, Palmerston
North church of Christ, New Zealand
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Apologetic
Mission in New Zealand