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NATIONAL SUPPORT TEAM

For a ministry and its workers to thrive, "administry" is a necessary part of the mission. Caring for those who labour in the harvest field amongst international students is an important mandate. Workers need to know that someone is there to support them whether it be through management, human resources, communications, or financial concerns.

At the ISMNZ National Office, the team works hard to meet these practical needs for our workers. But more than that our hearts are to care for and pray for all who serve (full time, part time, volunteers, alumni, interns). We echo this prayer of Paul as we serve ISMNZ:

"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." Colossians 1:9-12
Allen Tie
National Director, Auckland

Allen joined ISMNZ as National Director in April 2017. His appointment follows a lengthy and rigorous recruitment process, with applications received from around the world. 

A Malaysian, Allen gave his life to Christ at 15. While at university in the 1980s, Allen received help from the Christchurch Asian Navigators for four years that developed his personal walk with Christ and provided a deep grounding for his 30 years of serving God in the market place. He is married to Goh Swee Lee and they have two adult children. Allen is fluent in both written and spoken English and Chinese. He holds a New Zealand permanent residence. 

The ISMNZ Board is impressed with Allen's deep faith and reliance on God. Allen has experience working with other Christian organisations and he understands the needs of returning students. Furthermore, Allen's expertise is in business operations, discipleship, mentoring and providing leadership. He successfully developed teams in start-ups and established new companies. While working in senior management at multinational companies, Allen secured contracts with major companies such as Dow, ExxonMobil, Shell, Bayer, BASF, and other multinationals. Allen is working toward being a qualified coach. The Board believes Allen is the right person to lead the ministry at this time.

Of his appointment, Allen says, "The harvest is not the problem. The call is to pray for the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers. But I cannot pray for God's solution and not willing to be His solution! I recognised that the work is plenty and the rebuilding of the walls needs foundational leaders - the kind that dares to dream big and think generational, but yet have the security to start small with individuals, and having the discernment to know where to focus and build deep."

If you would like to financially support Allen Tie, please visit our donate page.
Janeen Mills
ISMNZ Consultant for Alumni Ministry

In late 2003, the USA Navigators sent Janeen to serve in the National Office of ISMNZ, working as Personal Assistant to the National Director as well as being involved in project coordinating.

Over the years she has been 'homestay mum' to students from Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Samoa, China, Indonesia and Mexico as she reached the nations from her doorstep. She also served as part of the team that developed and published curriculum for our current Ministry Internship programme and acted as a supervisor and adjunct lecturer for students.

In 2016 Janeen was appointed by the Board of ISMNZ to step into the role as Acting National Director for one year. Once Allen was in place as the new Director, Janeen took sabbatical leave in Japan for 16 months. Her time included Japanese language and cultural training, undertaking a Japanese returnee research project, and engaging in ministry amongst ISMNZ’s returnees in Japan as well utilising her gifts and developing language skills in a local church, pastored by one of ISMNZ’s Ministry Internship graduates.

The result of her sabbatical research has led Janeen to pursue a fresh passion for curriculum development and Christian publishing. “I desire to impact the Christian publishing industry to ensure that materials are truly global in their impact. We say we want our teaching to reach the nations, yet so much of our message is difficult for even the most skilled linguist to translate. I hope to influence writers and publishers to write in ways that don’t require a cultural interpreter to sit alongside translators around the world.”

Therefore, Janeen has begun a Master of Arts Degree in Christian Studies at Denver Seminary in Colorado, USA in hopes to prepare her for this next stage in her journey. Denver has a great reputation, and the Lord can open many doors as a result. But this does not mean she is altogether gone from the ISMNZ family.

“International students and alumni are still my motivation for this next stage in the journey. I will continue to be available to ISMNZ in a consulting role, most specifically connected to our grads (both returnees and those who remain in NZ). Not only do we seek to make life-long followers of Jesus amongst international students, but we also are life-long brothers and sisters in Christ and those relationships continue well beyond graduation. It is also my hope that for some of my seminary writing projects, I can continue to contribute resources to equip international student graduate preparation for the USA and NZ ISM ministries.”

If you would like to financially support Janeen Mills, please visit our donate page.
Sione Naulivou
Operations Manager, Hamilton

Sione Naulivou took up the role of Operations Manager for ISMNZ in June 2018. He grew up in Tonga and had earlier been in teaching and responsible positions in civil service / not for profit organisations, advising international students and co-leading the ISMNZ Hamilton team.
 
Sione is husband to Janice, father of Rachel, Timote and Tafa Rae, father-in-law to Raj and grandpa of lovely Lavender. 

When asked to serve in the operational side for ISMNZ, Sione said, "I have been prayerful (other people have been praying too). The thought that keeps on coming back is 'To whom much is given, much shall be required.' I will be on a steep learning curve but do know we are never alone. It does not matter whether I'm reading the Bible, going to church in Hamilton or elsewhere, it seems like all these are affirming obedience and I step out in faith. Even through familiar passages like Abraham in Genesis 22, the only sensible option is to obey the part that God has already made known. The rest of God's provision is God's to reveal and provide in His time."

Sione works from his home base in Hamilton. His role includes maintaining and developing the infrastructure to support the ISMNZ Society, ISMNZ leadership and staff workers. Sione will take the lead in finance, communications and manage the processes and personnel at ISMNZ. 

If you would like to financially support Sione Naulivou, please visit our donate page.
Cecily Fung
Administration Manager, Palmerston North

Cecily joined the National Support Team as Administration Manager on 17 February 2020. Cecily and her husband Isaac have been involving in the ISMNZ ministries as volunteers since 2011. Their passion in helping international students and families in knowing, growing in and serving the Lord was influenced by their own experience as international students in UK in 1992-1997. Cecily has been serving with Isaac in local church and student ministries in Hong Kong, Taiwan, UK and New Zealand since 1987.

Cecily has a bachelor's degree in information and library management and has worked as a qualified information professional in New Zealand for over 20 years. Cecily finds this new role with ISMNZ very satisfying and rewarding as she can support the ISM team with her organisational and administrative skills, while serving the Lord in a work environment she enjoys.

Cecily shares that she was excited about using her gifts to support the ISM teams in building God's kingdom. She would like to thank the ISM PN team and her church for their prayer support when she was seeking God's will during the transition. It was demonstrated that the Lord had led Cecily to a new path of service as He spoke to Cecily from Isaiah 42:16, "I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them."

Cecily's main responsibility is to manage the administrative operations of ISNMZ's National Office by providing organisational support, finance and donor management, and ministry support. Cecily's current priority is to manage donations, accounting, payroll, and reporting to IRD and Charities Commission. Cecily is also responsible for coordinating financial reviews, monitoring levels of donation support and ensuring legal compliance.  For Cecily’s administration portfolio, she will be involved in planning, developing and improving administrative systems, policies, procedures and records management practices. Cecily will also oversee special projects and attend to human resource matters as required.

Cecily and Isaac's two children, Caleb and Kyla, who are working and studying in Auckland, are very supportive of their parents and are happy to walk with God in this journey of faith.

If you would like to financially support Cecily Fung, please visit our donate page.
Amanda Wang
Multimedia and Communication Manager, Auckland

Amanda comes from Singapore with a BFA in Digital Animation and a Diploma in Mass Communication, and joined the ISMNZ National Support Team in Auckland as Multimedia and Communication Manager in June 2019. There, she was involved with Cru and Singapore Youth for Christ as a student, and often volunteers ad hoc as a graphic designer at her local church. She came to New Zealand on a Working Holiday Visa in late 2017, but was blessed to find full-time work shortly after arriving and stayed on.

Her background is in Graphic Design, Communication, Illustration and Video Editing. Her main responsibilities are to update ISMNZ friends and partners through the maintenance of the Website, Monthly Prayer Calendar and Quarterly eNewsletter, and support ISMNZ staff workers by managing internal and external communications. She also supports other ISMMZ activities and events by designing publicity material for events, and producing videos as the need arises.

When considering her calling to serve as the Multimedia and Communications Manager in ISMNZ, God spoke to her from Esther 4:14, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”, convicting her that He had called her to New Zealand at this time, with the skills He had given her for this purpose to serve Him here.

If you would like to financially support Amanda Wang, please visit our donate page.