Hi friends!
I can’t believe that the 30th of this month (July) marks our 5th anniversary of living here in New Zealand! I feel like these years flew. Between getting new jobs upon arrival, starting at Legacy a year into being here, doubling the number of kids we have, navigating the COVID years, the kids starting school, achieving permanent residency, and buying a house – no wonder time has flown! We have been busy, to say the least. So much has happened, and yet so much is in the pipeline. The only thing we haven’t done yet is visited home (yes, we’re very sad about this! We can’t afford it yet).
Now that we’re almost to the 5-year mark, that means we can apply for dual citizenship! I plan to apply for this for myself and the kids. Matt isn’t making a decision for himself at this point, as he doesn’t see much of a point considering permanent residency gets us everything we need. As for me, my mothering instincts are telling me that I need to be a citizen of the same countries as my children, so that is my motivation to apply. Me, Jack, and Diane will apply for New Zealand citizenship and Blaire and Louis will apply for United States citizenship. Of course, I’ll do it on their behalves.
I titled this post A New Season because a meaningful season of my life has concluded and I am stepping into something new. In June, I submitted my resignation to Legacy. I’ve been on parental leave since December and this decision wasn’t made lightly, but God confirmed over and over (and over again) that my assignment in Legacy’s office is complete and He has a new assignment for me. This leads me to share the exciting news – we are starting our own business! This won’t come as a surprise to most, as we announced this on our socials. Our new startup is called Secret Sauce Co NZ. I can officially say that I am currently in the trenches with the startup! The kitchen registration with MPI (Ministry for Primary Industries) is quite the process, but I am getting there piece by piece! They sure are thorough, and for good reason. It’s important to ensure our processes and procedures are conducive to a safe food product!
I’m going to do my best to include everyone on the journey by posting regularly to social media. In the meantime, check out our website!
Back to resigning from my office role at Legacy – I feel privileged to call Legacy home. It was a privilege working alongside the people there. Not only that, but doing life with them. Although this season will look different not working for Legacy, we’ll very much still be involved! We love Legacy Church, and we’re working on starting our own Life Group. When God gave us our home, I knew He wanted us to use it to show hospitality to others. We’ve done this heaps so far, but having a Life Group will allow us to do it on a regular basis, and we’re pretty excited about it!
There’s so much more to Legacy than just the church side of things. They also have Housing and a Community Centre – both serve the most marginalised and disadvantaged people in our city. I’m excited to announce that Secret Sauce Co NZ will work alongside Legacy to reach people in our community. Aside from donating a portion of our profits to their charitable mission, our vision is to host spaghetti dinners at Just Hope, which is the free meal programme located in Highbury.
When I was growing up, my dad also used the sauce to reach people. We lived near some Red Cross homeless shelters and I remember my dad inviting the people residing in those houses to come to our home for spaghetti dinner and a Bible study. I truly believe that God has called me to start this sauce business to reach people, just like my dad did. And I’m so excited to see what God has in store for us in this new season!
It’s taken a huge leap of faith to leave my job to pursue Secret Sauce Co NZ full-time. But God has never let us down. He has always provided for us and has always shown up right on time. I even look back at our story of moving to New Zealand and I see that we were in a different mindset – a mindset we’re having to get back into. That mindset is that we can’t do this on our own and we have to fully rely on God and have big faith that what He promised, he will fulfil. He’s done it before and He’ll do it again!
Anyway, if you like my blog, keep an eye out on the Secret Sauce Co NZ website because I’m launching another blog! This one will be all things pasta sauce. I’ll share my family history, updates on the sauce business, and recipes and meal planning tips! Be sure to subscribe so you can be the first to know when I’ve posted.
Until next time,
The Cullums
The Cullums Immigrate 