I was a student at BCNZ when John was home director of OMF/NZ. He seemed to be forever floating around campus looking for new recruits . "When are you joining OMF ? If not ,why not !" type approach . At an Easter camp at Ngarawahia he told me (an Aussie ) that he wanted to interview me in a Missions segment . There were about 500?people there ,I think . Basically he made a complete fool of me as a most disastrous missionary candidate as supposedly I didn't get on with anyone in the church , family ,friends etc etc . I was set up all in good humour and we did have the crowd in stitches ! He expressed that my only redeeming feature was that I had good ,long legs or something. He was later thrilled we joined OMF and ended up in Malaysia for 10 years at Chefoo ! He wrote very encouraging letters to us and always mentioned my Vauxhall Viva ,whose door was always falling off !

John was an amazing mentor and director when I was working in the home office. I remember the day when I went into his office to tell him I was thinking of getting married and wondered how it would affect my status as a member., as God had clearly called me to serve with OMF. He said to me, “If God has clearly shown you Ray is the man you’re to marry, Don’t worry I’ll talk to head office. Well he managed to persuade them that if I changed my status to admin worker it would be more costly for the mission!! So they agreed. I will miss John’s sense of humour and his wise counsel.

Thank you family for providing such a good live stream recording of John's funeral. We watched it from Vancouver, Canada. John was our NZ home director for 17 years with Joy of course. One story you might appreciate... On our first Home Assignment we needed a car. A lady had phoned the office and said she had a car to donate. John took Doug to pick it up. It was an old Morris 1100. John immediately recognized that it was a bit of an old clunker! We took it for a test drive. It didn't have much power. What to do. We couldn't give it back, so took it and used it for a few months and endured multiple breakdowns. Traveling to Whangarei we had to pray our way up the Brynderwyns stopping regularly to let the engine cool down. When it was time for us to leave we returned it to OMF and John said " I'll get help to junk it and I promise you'll never again have such a terrible car!" For years after when John saw us he'd reflect on that old car with great hilarity. With fond memories and thankfulness for John, Doug and Jill Shortt

I have just watched the live stream of Rev John Hewlett's funeral. John started a youth group in Nelson in 1955 and took us out on bike rides to various parts of Nelson and its countryside. I remember going to Rabbit Island and also way up the Dun Mountain where the mines used to be and where there were parts of the old railway line. I was pleased to see the photo of John and our Nelson Bishop, Bishop Hulme-Moir. I own a copy of the book that Philip read from, from the 150 year celbrations for All Saints. I have got it out and will re-read it.

Wonderful memories of a wise leader, pastoral to new applicants, inspiring as a biblical and practical teacher of God's Word, and an encouraging friend to all. Always helpful, and a privilege to know. Good and Faithful servant of the Lord, indeed! Thank you John and deep sympathy to all the family.

My parents, Fred ( Bills brother) and Connie Simmonds had a lot to do with Joy when she was in the UK in her 20s and they followed her life with great interest and prayers. When she told them about her impending marriage to John our family were very excited and later when she brought John and the family over to see us - it was an amazing get together, as Caroline’s tribute says. I was a student then. I was impressed by John and his strong faith and his great sense of humour. To me he was an inspiring man of God. From this bit of the family we send our love and prayers and sympathy at this sad time.

What a wonderful example of a long life lived fully for the Lord! John was a great inspiration and support to me, with his kindly wisdom so simply and clearly expressed. After welcoming Tim on his arrival in Taiping (under Voluntary Service Overseas), John became a spiritual father to us both, speaking at our wedding over fifty years ago. ``Well done, thou good and faithful servant.''

Such happy memories of Uncle John, from the Hewlett family's visits to us in Branston, Staffordshire when I was growing up and from family get togethers at granny and grandpa Simmonds' rectory in South Malling, Sussex. Competitive games of '500 Up' and Scrabble - always a key feature during such holidays! John had such a dry sense of humour and loved to make us laugh, not least on shared excursions (including the Peak District, Derbyshire and Stratford-on-Avon in the 1980s). Never a dull moment when the Hewlett's were staying! We always looked forward to their visits and wished they lived a lot nearer so that we could see them more often. Then it was so lovely to spend three weeks with John and Joy (August 2001?) in New Zealand and catch up with Paul, Cathy, Anne, Andrew, Philip, Amanda and their families. What a wonderful age - 96 - to have achieved. (A great 'innings'!) I'm sure that John brought many rays of sunshine to the people he lived alongside at Selwyn village, over the years that he was there. A life so well lived, that no doubt brought blessings to many - now rejoicing with the saints in glory. Rest in Peace and Happiness Uncle John. Sincere condolences and love to all my cousins and their families. Sorry I can't be physically at the funeral but look forward to viewing the 'stream' of the service in due course. Caroline xxxx

To be honest, I cannot say I knew John. I knew of him, and no doubt saw him at some point, but my memory is failing me in that regard :-) We arrived in Malaysia in 1975, and eventually headed across to East Malaysia to serve there. But frequent trips to the KL Mission Home allowed us a growing awareness of those senior to us who had served in Malaya in earlier years. Thanking God for every member of the Fellowship who had served in Malaya and contributed to the work and the Church that now exists in Malaysia. Those of us of a younger generation (albeit we, too, are now so-called 'retired'!!) stand on their shoulders and appreciate the challenges they faced in those days. Condolences to the family, and may God bless you all.

John and Joy were such enthusiastic team leaders to us during his time as Home Director and beyond. I especially appreciated the hospitality and briefing on HA