G’day Praying Partners:
Apologies for the
lateness of our update – but I think that you can understand since we have been
having SO much fun with our family here! God provided in so many ways – to say
that our “cup runneth over” would be putting it mildly! Our son,
daughter-in-law and 2 grandkids arrived on December 12. Jackie had big plans to
take pictures with her phone as they came off the plane – short-lived as she
burst into tears the second she saw them! It’s hard to describe the almost
surreal feeling of having them with us in Australia. That week we rode the
train into the city, patted and fed kangaroos, koalas and wombats and just
enjoyed spending time together. Tori arrived on December 19 – our family was
complete! There was more sightseeing but the biggest blessing was just being
able to wrap our arms around them and hug them anytime we wanted! Our house was
crowded and noisy – and we enjoyed every moment of it! Who doesn’t enjoy being
woken every morning by their grandson? Or watching as your grandkids play with
your dog out in the paddock? Tori had to fly back on January 9th to
be to classes on the 11th (she is in her last semester of
university!). The kids came over on “buddy passes” from a family member which
meant they flew cheap but had to fly stand-by.
This presented no problem until they tried to leave! Originally they
were scheduled to leave on the first of January, but in seeing the flights fill
up fast, Rob decided to drive all night and take them to Sydney (this is where
Delta flies out of). After 2 days of failed attempts, they came back. Nobody
was really disappointed that it meant they were with us longer! In fact, God
arranged for them to be here with us until the 12th – which meant
they were here to celebrate Jackie’s birthday! They flew out to Sydney on the 12th
but couldn’t get on a flight until the 13th. God worked a miracle,
though, and got them home! One of the best things for us was having our
children meet our Australian family – and visa versa. Our two worlds “collided”
for a brief period and it was so awesome! As it turned out, they were with us
for 4 Sunday services (Brooke, our daughter in law, has a beautiful voice and
sang in 3 services). One of the
difficulties of mission’s life is that you live in two different worlds and it’s
not often that the two meet. What a blessing it is that when we talk about our
kids, our church family can see a face and when we talk with our kids about our
church family, they, too, can picture faces.
Anyway…you can imagine that it has been an incredible month!
A couple of updates. We
had our Carols by Candlelight service on December 12th. Originally
we were scheduled to combine with our other BMM church work here, but because our
kids arrived on that day, we had to switch to doing it in the morning. What a
turn out we had! Our church family invited friends and family and we were full
to the brim – we reckon we had over 80 here on the day! So many unsaved people
came; it was such an encouragement to us to see our church family faithful to
bring out their friends and family. The gospel was presented – continue to pray
for fruit! From that service God brought a single mum and her autistic daughter
to our church. They have been faithful coming ever since the Carols service.
Please pray for wisdom as we minister to them.
Jackie will be having
some out-patient surgery on Monday, January 18. It will require anesthesia.
Please pray that all goes well and that tests show everything is ok. Also, an
update on Milos. His fingers are doing well – still surgery and physio and he
will have limited use, but the progress is good. He proposed to one of our
young ladies at church (she and Tori grew up together) so we have a wedding in
our future!
As you know, it’s summer
here. That means ministry slows down as the heat rises! The other day it was
108 degrees! Thankfully the heat doesn’t last more than a day or two before it
cools off a bit. School is back on the 28th which means ministry
will kick back up again! Please pray as we prepare the calendar for the year.
Jackie is scheduling monthly brunches with the ladies where they will be
studying different women in the Bible. With school means Rob will be back being the chaplain and Jackie
will be doing the grandparenting program. Pray for wisdom as we start both of
these ministries back up again.
A new year means a new
beginning. Another year to serve the King. Another year to think that this may
be THE year, the year Christ returns! Another year to see God at work all
around us – and in us – and through us! I think that’s worth looking forward
to! Praying that 2016 sees us all walking closer with Him, living more in His
grace and love and finding the boldness and strength to share that grace and
love with those around us!
Shining the Light Down
Under,
Rob and Jackie
