Curtis and Mimmie are involved in morning, afterschool and holiday programs for children aged 5 to 13 years old. They also have monthly mentoring and discipleship programs for 11 to 16 year olds at our house.
Daniel is involved with school and holiday camps for children 8 to 13 years old and is also serving as children’s pastor at church. He is also trying to reach and minister to the families of these children.
People Group
We are working primarily with unchurched New Zealand children and families. We do have some children and families which have relocated to New Zealand from other countries such as the U.K., South Africa, Australia, etc. but most are New Zealanders. Only about 10% of New Zealanders claim to attend church and that number is shrinking among the younger families. I would say that less than 5% of the children we work with have ever attended church anywhere.
Ways to be Praying
-
That the hearts of New Zealanders to be open to the Gospel
-
That the children would not just have a head knowledge of Jesus Christ, but a personal heart experience with Him that changes their lives.
-
That we, as foreigners, would be able to relate culturally with these families and children.
-
That we can continue to disciple children we've reached with sound Biblical instruction.
-
That families and children we reach would get involved in local churches and would begin to reach others.
-
That the number of children attending our programs would increase.
Short Term Volunteers
It would be great to have young people who are excited about the Lord and have a desire to teach children come and serve with us. They would need to be able to speak well in front of 30 to 40 children for about 30 to 45 minutes each morning during the week. Individuals would be welcome and groups of no more than four.
The best times are during our summer holiday programs which run during December and January. The other holiday times are during two week holidays between every ten weeks of school, usually in April, July, and October.
Keep in Touch:
We try to send out email updates quarterly. Click the button or email us at estesdownunder@yahoo.com to start receiving our emails. Daniel's email is dcestes@gmail.com.