On the 19th of November 2010, the Pike River Mine near Greymouth exploded and 29 men tragically lost their lives in that disaster.
Over the days that followed, I found myself as a local minister quite involved in the process, eventually ending up as the lead minister on the stage at the memorial service at Omoto.
We had around 11,000 people in attendance.
It was a challenging time, but it was also one that I felt God had prepared me for. I'd been quite involved in the life of my community for the last 12 years, and especially in the role as a funeral celebrant, often helping people dealing with grief and often tragic situations.
So I felt I was prepared for what unfolded that day.
But there was a twist – and it was a twist that I only became aware of after the events, something that spoke to me quite powerfully of how God is still sovereign and involved, even in the midst of tragic situations.
Five months before the mine exploded, I had attended a New Wine conference up in Nelson on prophecy – hearing from God.
I'd taken a crew up from Greymouth, and we sat through Friday night and most of Saturday learning about prophecy. And in the last couple of hours, the presenters suddenly said to us, "Well, we've been hearing and learning about prophecy for the last day and a bit. How about we actually take the last hour to put it into practice?"
They broke us into groups of three or four, and then what we had to do was to wait on God for each person in the group in turn. Then we would share what we felt God had been saying for the person. We would write it down and share it with them, and then we'd move on to the next person.
In my group, there were three strangers, people I'd never met before this weekend. And as we went around the group, I felt myself listening intently and trying to hear what God had to say for each of these people. It felt like it might have been more my own impressions or imagination, rather than actually something that maybe God had for them. I shared what I heard anyway.
And to be honest, it was pretty much the same for the others. The words felt a little bit generic.
But when it came to me, it was very different.
The second person said, “I see a bright light in the future, an event. You have an important message for families. It will be a message that's going to be shared nationally.”
“Maybe even internationally,” one person added.
The last person said, “I see you as demonstrating gentle strength, eyes shining bright, seeing into things, speaking into what's happening and being upheld in prayer.”
After the third person had spoken, I didn't really know what to think or say. Their words for me were different from everything else that had gone before.
I thanked them, took the inscribed bit of paper, put it on my wallet, and we all drove home.
And I found myself as one of those at the forefront of the media coverage of the event, trying to foster hope and comfort through my words.
At the memorial service, I was the lead on the stage, speaking to families from past experience about grief, tragedy, our emotions, and God's place in it all. The service was broadcast across our nation and even to a few countries overseas.
The incredible thing that it was only about a week after the service that I remembered that piece of paper, and I went and grabbed it and I read it.
I sat there quite amazed. It was like reading a script as to what my role would be during the Pike River tragedy.
And because we had taken the time to wait on him, he chose to reveal it.
I think we need to listen more. Who knows what else God may have to say to us.
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
We have invited these writers to share their experiences, ideas and opinions in the hope that these will provoke thought, challenge you to go deeper and inspire you to put your faith into action. These articles should not be taken as the official view of the Nelson Diocese on any particular matter.
On the 19th of November 2010, the Pike River Mine near Greymouth exploded and 29 men tragically lost their lives in that disaster.
Over the days that followed, I found myself as a local minister quite involved in the process, eventually ending up as the lead minister on the stage at the memorial service at Omoto.
We had around 11,000 people in attendance.
It was a challenging time, but it was also one that I felt God had prepared me for. I'd been quite involved in the life of my community for the last 12 years, and especially in the role as a funeral celebrant, often helping people dealing with grief and often tragic situations.
So I felt I was prepared for what unfolded that day.
But there was a twist – and it was a twist that I only became aware of after the events, something that spoke to me quite powerfully of how God is still sovereign and involved, even in the midst of tragic situations.
Five months before the mine exploded, I had attended a New Wine conference up in Nelson on prophecy – hearing from God.
I'd taken a crew up from Greymouth, and we sat through Friday night and most of Saturday learning about prophecy. And in the last couple of hours, the presenters suddenly said to us, "Well, we've been hearing and learning about prophecy for the last day and a bit. How about we actually take the last hour to put it into practice?"
They broke us into groups of three or four, and then what we had to do was to wait on God for each person in the group in turn. Then we would share what we felt God had been saying for the person. We would write it down and share it with them, and then we'd move on to the next person.
In my group, there were three strangers, people I'd never met before this weekend. And as we went around the group, I felt myself listening intently and trying to hear what God had to say for each of these people. It felt like it might have been more my own impressions or imagination, rather than actually something that maybe God had for them. I shared what I heard anyway.
And to be honest, it was pretty much the same for the others. The words felt a little bit generic.
But when it came to me, it was very different.
The second person said, “I see a bright light in the future, an event. You have an important message for families. It will be a message that's going to be shared nationally.”
“Maybe even internationally,” one person added.
The last person said, “I see you as demonstrating gentle strength, eyes shining bright, seeing into things, speaking into what's happening and being upheld in prayer.”
After the third person had spoken, I didn't really know what to think or say. Their words for me were different from everything else that had gone before.
I thanked them, took the inscribed bit of paper, put it on my wallet, and we all drove home.
And I found myself as one of those at the forefront of the media coverage of the event, trying to foster hope and comfort through my words.
At the memorial service, I was the lead on the stage, speaking to families from past experience about grief, tragedy, our emotions, and God's place in it all. The service was broadcast across our nation and even to a few countries overseas.
The incredible thing that it was only about a week after the service that I remembered that piece of paper, and I went and grabbed it and I read it.
I sat there quite amazed. It was like reading a script as to what my role would be during the Pike River tragedy.
And because we had taken the time to wait on him, he chose to reveal it.
I think we need to listen more. Who knows what else God may have to say to us.
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
