ChristmasCarols... Singapore style!

For you Singaporeans out there (or those interested in the Singapore 'culture' and 'language'), check this out! Who is Carol? (Thanks to our friends from Singapore Youth For Christ)

The Lion shall lie with the Lamb... musings about feeling (un)safe

A couple of friends came over today and we introduced them to a couple of our 'kids' (i.e. our stuffed toys are affectionately called our 'kids'): A lion called 'Nici' and a Lamb called 'Ba..aa..arbara'. This friend playfully had the lion and the lamb lying side by side and made an allusion to this verse:
Isaiah 11:6 (ESV)
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them.

Then in the evening, Faith and I went for a stroll down King Street in Newtown. We had a conversation that went something like this:
Me: "I wish we were having a stroll like this in Melbourne, or even in Brisbane..."
Faith: "Why is that?"
Me: "It just never feels safe here in Sydney."

In light of the racial riots going on at the moment, but even before these events (did you know the police caught some dude with a grenade near Newtown today... how crazy is that???), I've never really enjoyed going out at nights here in Sydney. It's kinda scary.

But then again, I guess even though I prefer walking around the streets of Melbourne and Brisbane, it's not exactly safe either is it? It's all relative. It especially makes me think of the picture in Isaiah 11, the picture of our 'kids', the Lion 'Nici' and the Lamb 'Barbara' lying down together in our lounge - a picture of true safety, peace and security. Relative to this image in the Scriptures, living in this world should cause us to long for that better world.

Feeling safe and secure? I guess we're never meant to truly feel that in this creation. If you're anything like me, you've forgotten to look forward to the new heavens and the new earth. I'm thankful that even in the ickiness of this world, of this city I find myself living in for the moment, I can be reminded to cast my eyes forward to a better place where I want to keep longing for. I pray you keep longing for that place too.

P.s. photos of our 'kids' (Jossy, Solly, Quinny, Tigger, Nici, Barbara, Melchi and Gigi) will be posted after I do a 'photo-shoot' for them. Stay tuned!

Long Time No Write...

5 days National Training Event...
5 Days 'Mission' @ The Anglican Parish of Greater Queanbeyan...
1 week rest (which included helping out at Faith's sister's 21st Birthday party)...

It's been a while since my last post! Really needed the break after a long couple of months, even a break from blogging - even this requires a fair degree of mental output!

Would love to write a whole report on NTE and Mission, but will save that for next week I think. For now, here's one of my favourite photos from the conference.

Note to Supporters...

For those of you who would like to pray for us and for the ministry we are involved with, we have just updated the ministry blog with prayer points for December. Please click on our ministry blog link!

FOCUS/ESF End of Year Activities!

This is the time of the year for farewells and post-exam fun and fellowship! I'll be trying to upload the hundreds of photos from all the different events. For now, I've uploaded the photos from ESF Farewell Party @ Harry's Woolloomooloo and Karaoke @ Greenbox. Click here! Here's a few samples...Enjoying some good ol' Bundaberg Ginger Beer...

Doing the 'hand sway' thing!