Following in the way of Jesus is a journey into freedom: the freedom of life with God, life from God, and life for God’s good purposes in the world. It’s only by following in this way that we can learn what freedom with God means in concrete, lived experience. So we thought we’d ask three people who attended the 2026 Venn Summer Conference—Victor and Tūī Lelo, and Wingyeung Szeto—what they’ve been learning about the freedom of life with God—Ed.
Tūī and Victor Lelo
Kia ora, we are Victor (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Fiji) and Tūī Lelo (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu), and we will have been married four years this March. We were both raised in Australia and moved home to Aotearoa three years ago. Currently, Victor works at Whakatakapōkai, supporting young people in the youth justice system by delivering fitness programmes as part of Kingslea School. I (Tūī) was previously working in the same area; however, I am currently in my second year of full immersion te reo Māori study at Te Wānanga Ihorangi.
Life at the moment is pretty busy for us as we juggle work, study, and church responsibilities. We help lead a young adults group at our church, Life NZ, and serve in their community kitchen and production team. We also attend our marriage discipleship group every fortnight, which we love, as it keeps us connected to other married couples in similar seasons. Victor also runs two run clubs after work, three times a week, in Takānini and Pukekohe.
We’ve found freedom particularly with our finances and in planning for our future. Since moving home, we’ve really had to lean in and trust that God will provide for us, especially in moments when we couldn’t clearly see what our next move was. Over the last three years in particular, we’ve witnessed God’s faithfulness time and time again. Situations that would normally cause us stress or anxiety don’t weigh on us the same way anymore, because we’ve experienced first-hand his provision and guidance. Whether it was searching for the right rental property, finding steady mahi, or even securing the right place for me to complete my studies, God has consistently made a way for us and we are now living in the days we once prayed for.
Right now, we feel as though God is calling us to trust him more deeply with our extended family and with our careers, especially as we look toward a change of direction next year. With me (Tūī) finishing my second year of study, I’m not completely sure where I’ll be or what I should be stepping into next. It feels like a season of transition, so it’s something we’ve been intentionally praying about and seeking guidance for. We really want to move in alignment with where God is leading rather than rushing ahead. The same goes for Victor and his work with the run clubs. We’ve recently become registered as a charitable trust, and we would love to see that work grow and extend into new spaces and communities.
My biggest encouragement for both of us would be to not be afraid to lean into the opportunities God places in front of you, especially the ones that stretch you and grow your faith. As we know, God doesn’t call the equipped, he equips the called. We’ve seen that truth play out in our own lives. Whenever we’ve stepped into unfamiliar spaces and allowed God to use us, even when we felt unqualified, he has met us there. In those moments, we’ve gained greater confidence, not just in ourselves, but in his faithfulness. Each step of obedience has strengthened our trust in him and in the plan he has for our lives.
I was born and raised in Wellington as a first generation Christian Chinese New Zealander. My dad hails from Hong Kong, and my mum from Malaysia. They both moved to New Zealand for university, found God and each other, settled here in Aotearoa, and then along came my three siblings and me.
After studying in Palmerston North, I moved to the Clutha district, South Otago where I live and work now as a rural vet. I work with “salt of the earth” farmers and their cows, dogs, and cats (among other animals), out of a large energetic practice; I also live by the beach where I can dive, hunt, surf, and generally adventure very close by. My church is a campus of an Auckland pentecostal church where there is a growing young adult community. When I am not in the work, outdoors, or church community, I spend time with my girlfriend Emily who’s based in Wellington.
At Summer Conference this year we had a time devoted to the practice of lament. It was moving. I believe I am naturally a deep thinker but have found myself closed to feeling things deeply, I think for fear of feeling more hurt than I can bear, or raising more questions than answers, or just in the interest of time and efficiency during the business of daily life. Whether it’s an internal conundrum or world-wide crisis, it often feels like too great a can of worms to open, especially in an already loud and opinionated pluralistic world which seems to demand you defend your position on this or that. Because of this, it’s easy to be passive and not engage with the questions.
To hear that we join with God—that he feels our emotions, and speaks first in prayer—was good news to me. We don’t have to fear facing the hurt, injustice and tragedy, doubting if there’s any end point once we start. Instead, to engage honestly with what is truly happening within and around us is the first step in seeing shalom in the situation. We can trust him to hold all that we cannot carry, or process. We can rest knowing that Jesus bore the weight of the world on the cross. Even if no straight answers or solutions come, we can rest knowing that we participated with God in the first step of reconciliation: acknowledging the hurt and wrong. And through journeying with him, we are brought to renewed hope in God, and we can see the joy of the Lord brought to the situation both now, and in the not-yet.
Following this, I am focusing on facing my own deep, and sometimes hidden, emotions and fears when it comes to navigating my own life decisions. I am learning to lament, and entrust these fears to God in vulnerable honesty. Rather than trying to fight doubt just with logic, I am starting where I am stuck—unveiling what truly bugs and worries me. I’m learning to surrender the things I am holding tight, so I can begin to make peaceful spirit-filled decisions with resolve. Through truly acknowledging them, and allowing myself to hold them before our good, good Father, I hope to be able to take captive every thought and make them obedient to Christ. I believe I am also accepting the invitation to allow him to speak into what scares me—remembering that God will sit with me, truly see me, and speak first.
Something else I have been inspired to trust God in is my own engagement with the reconciliation of the peoples of our land, Aotearoa. Since having my eyes opened to some of the true, inspiring, and also heartbreaking stories of the beginnings of our nation, I have begun to devote some of my own time to learning more of the histories of what really happened: to put away my arrogance and ignorance; my heart honestly breaks a little. I don’t have many clear ideas of how to respond yet, but for now personal education and acknowledgement seems like a start—and I am trusting God to lead me further.
You’re going to love reading fiction again! Way better than social media.
