Wrapping Up Our Trip

Only about a week left until we head home. It will be nice to slow down and relax, have time to pray and reflect, and have normal American food! We have experienced so much over the last 6 weeks it is hard to put it all in words.

I think we have come to understand what it will take to minister here, what some of the needs are for the community, and what our role will be with this church. It will certainly be a challenge battling not only the apathy but the antagonism towards the church in Australia. Plain and simple, for a lot of people in Australia, it is difficult to live out your faith. And from what I've seen that is especially true for high school students. I've been able to be in the public schools here a number of times teaching, speaking, and volunteering as much as I can and I have an increased desire to not only equip our own ministry but to actively be recruiting others (particularly experienced youth leaders) to come to Australia and work at building the Lord's Kingdom here.

Some exciting news - we have two teens in the youth group who are thinking through making the commitment to be baptized! God is working here and we are blessed to be a small part of that!

Please be in prayer for the ministry here, the students and their decisions, that God would raise up Christian leaders in and for Australia, our last week here to be effective, and our safe return home!
God bless you all as you share our burdens.

One of the best parts about youth ministry is getting to make other people look ridiculous! All for Jesus, right?
So I decided last week since I was preaching about JUDGMENT that I needed to break out the BIG BIBLE!

One of the elders from the church and his wife took us for a pick-nick in the Watagans - the small "mountain" range about 30 minutes inland from Newcastle. From the overlooks you can see down into the Hunter Valley and basically the whole coastline.