Brooke's Australia Adventure Update - Summer 2012

Brooke’s Australia Adventure Update – Summer 2012, January 29, 2012

Dear friends,

Here in Sydney we’ve had the coldest start to summer in 50 years (and it feels like the wettest too!). I know for all my friends in the northern hemisphere, to even hear it is summer in Australia now makes you wish you were here, but when my mom and step-dad Dan came to visit baby Jeremiah (and Brendan and I) in December it was warmer in their native Jacksonville, FL than it was here! Although, I am grateful for the great beach weather we enjoyed on Christmas this year – the best weather in my 5 Christmas’ here. The past few months of maternity leave have been very blessed and amazing, and I have appreciated my family and friends so much. I have also had some time to study and have completed a course as a Pregnancy Support Counselor. I heard about this course while attending the Real Choices Conference with Women’s Forum last May and re-connected with Ali McGraith who was interested in gathering some others to help get a pregnancy support centre up and running in Sydney. The idea is to provide a place where women can access non-biased information about their options when faced with an unplanned pregnancy. It will be a place where information can be obtained, resources accessed, referrals made and woman can be counseled. I was definitely interested! There’s a shop front that is being refitted and we hope to launch in February. I enjoyed completing the online course - it helped me reflect and learn so much about: communication, counseling, values and beliefs, sexuality and the process of in-utero development. Maternity leave has been a great time to reflect on this topic and knowing how much motherhood has changed my life for the better, I hope that my role in this service will be one that brings life into other women’s lives when considering their options.

John 10:10

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

We have really been enjoying our new home since moving in on the 19th of November and our new neighbourhood of Holroyd and the surrounds. I’ve taken JJ on many walks through the park to our local library and the shops, and I’ve been able to go back to running, an activity I’ve enjoyed for many years. We live a short distance from beautiful Parramatta Park and the river run that connects it to the city. I’ve enjoyed exploring our environs. Our area also has a great bike path that stretches to Homebush and has many kilometers of trails around the Sydney Olympic site; I got a retro bicycle for Christmas with a child seat on the back that I look forward to doing more exploring with JJ when he’s a bit older. My mom and step-dad Dan came to visit for a week in December and that was a huge highlight of my time on maternity leave. It had been almost two years since we had been able to see them and there was much to catch up on in person – with Jeremiah being of course the focus of most of the attention. It was wonderful to learn from my mom how she used to burp me and watch her delight in being a granny, but I also saw a whole new side of Dan, who has been married to my mom for 10 years now. It was probably the longest time I have spent with them in that time period, and it was such a blessing to have them make the sacrifice to travel here. While they were here Brendan was able to take a week off and we made the most of the time showing them the Blue Mountains, going up to Newcastle to visit Brendan’s family and cuddle a koala, and Jeremiah was dedicated at church with our connect group leaders John and Mel praying over us. It was a great week to share our lives in Sydney with my parents and also they were able to share at our monthly Young Life gathering, ‘The Hub’, at Glyn’s, the CEO’s, house. Their message, which is their heart entirely, was devoted to knowing the time we are in and making sure we are using it wisely for the Lord’s work of the kingdom in letting people know of Jesus’ love for them. I was really able to appreciate my mom and Dan’s ministry and hear more of what God has in store for them and the mission they lead: ‘I AM International’. It was sad to see them go, but so wonderful to know that we are partnered in many ways with mission and life and that each visit together is priceless.

Galatians 6:9
 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

It is hard to believe that my maternity leave is now over and as of the 14th of January when we embarked on Young Life’s annual Extreme Summer Camp, I am back to working in the mission of seeing young people get to know Jesus relationally through leaders who love Him. Camp was such a highlight for Brendan and I and a great first of many I’m sure for JJ. He was the youngest Young Lifer on camp at 4 ½ months, but there was one just a little older: Finn Single at 5 months. Together with Finn’s mum Stella, I helped keep the admin going in the camp office with our little boys playing on a blanket behind us. Brendan helped with the tech on camp and since his work was mainly in the evenings and at meals, it meant he was able to spend quite a bit of time with JJ, which was a great blessing for him and for me to be able to share parenting in a more practical way during the day while he is awake. JJ is quite a happy and smiley little boy who enjoys being social so getting cuddles on camp from the kids and leaders made him quite excited. He got his first tooth the day before camp but he didn’t let that stop him at all, though I did have to try and protect him from getting too over-stimulated with so much going on! During the week I was able to take him for walks and show him kangaroos in the bush around the Jindabyne property, take him on his first speed boat ride while kids were waterskiing behind it on Lake Jindabyne, and he even featured with Finn in the program video one night as the shrunken pirate! The absolute best part of camp though is always the ‘Say so’ when campers stand up and are able to let everyone know if they have met Jesus during the week. This camp was an amazing one, especially in comparison to last year’s being such a hard one, and we saw 23 campers indicate they had made a decision on camp for Jesus and an additional 13 say they want to know more about Him. This was quite a large number since we only had 57 kids total on camp this year. A huge highlight for me personally this year was not only witnessing kids I have worked with over the year decide to make those commitments, but also two girls that were in my cabin last year who come from Queensland and who had been hardened to the gospel were working on the Work Crew this year in a service role on camp. One of them I have known over the past 3 years as someone who was always very loud and often rebellious to authority. She came up to me and apologized for the way she acted last year in the cabin and allowed me the privilege of reading her testimony. I was floored and overwhelmed by the honesty and vulnerability of her story of understanding the weight of her sin and the depth of grace and love of Jesus for her. She had only become a Christian a month or so before camp, but her life was obviously different for anyone who had seen her in prior years and was a great witness of the transformed life in Christ. This is the amazing work I am able to be a part of and it was a great time to get re-invigorated for the year ahead! I have started now back in the office 3 days a week and am so grateful to my faithful mother-in-law Barbara, JJ’s nana, who has started making the trek from Newcastle to our home in western Sydney to help look after Jeremiah 2 days. What a blessing for him to get so much time with her. I grew up far from my grandparents and I know their relationship will be so close because of her time with him. The third day JJ will be with me and I have no doubt he’ll be a blessing to the ministry, although I appreciate the headspace of the other two days as well. School starts back up here this week, so I’d love your prayers as our Young Life leaders gear up to head back into schools for contact work and for the clubs as they start back up, and for each of the young people who had seeds planted on camp, may they continue to flourish and grow and not be stolen away.

1 Corinthians 3:5-7
Amplified Bible (AMP)
“What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Ministering servants [not heads of parties] through whom you believed, even as the Lord appointed to each his task:
I planted, Apollos watered, but God [all the while] was making it grow and [He] gave the increase.
So neither he who plants is anything nor he who waters, but [only] God Who makes it grow and become greater.”

While I was away the Ryde youth pastors continued to meet together and have began running some combined youth events, including a night of prayer and worship as well as a service project. This is very exciting for me as I have had unity among the local churches on my heart for so long and to see the youth rising up in this way is powerful. A friend of mine created this video to share with our local State Parliamentarian for Ryde, Victor Dominello (who is also the Minister for Youth for NSW and we met with earlier in the year before I went on leave) what the youth in the church are capable of. To access it, please go to: http://player.vimeo.com/video/32023520?autoplay=1

In reflecting on the day-to-day work as a mum, I think half my work, as a mother in this infant stage is to feed and try to encourage my baby to sleep. Quite often, even when he was a very little newborn he would fall asleep at my breast and he would come off and wake with a start and start rooting frantically for it once again, as if it had been taken from him and he must have it back immediately - not realizing of course that I was right there and it was so simple for me to continue the feed. I have often thought in the past few months about how our heavenly father, being described in the scriptures as generous and loving and even like a mother in some of the nurturing qualities He has, cares for us. Like I try to care for my baby, He is even more caring for me. And I need to realize that I am so much like my son rooting around and getting worked up, feeling my needs are not going to be met, instead of resting and trusting that He is right there and can immediately care for me when I cry out to him, as my son does to me.

Isaiah 49:15
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!”

As 2011 ended up I am happy to say I finished reading the Bible through using the M'Cheyne reading plan which takes you through the New Testament and Psalms twice and the rest of the Bible once throughout the year. It was a discipline to do as you are reading four chapters a day, but I read it out loud to both myself and Jeremiah, and I found so many rich stories and passages weaving together in the way the scriptures were unfolding through the year. I would highly recommend reading through the Bible in a year to everyone as it really solidifies your knowledge of the scriptures and provides more strength to your sword (of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, Ephesians 6:17). Recently one of my leaders from church and I were meeting with a new Christian lady who wanted to be baptized and yet was struggling with some beliefs she had found comfort in for much of her life regarding reincarnation. She was wondering if she needed to forsake these beliefs in order to be baptized. I encouraged her to read the Bible for herself and see what Jesus says about the problem of pain and suffering in order to have her beliefs match up with what He says, as He is the truth. She rang me just two short weeks later to let me know that while riding the bus she was reading the book of John and the answer to her question was answered. The scripture was John 9:3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” The truth of this resonated through her and although it was simple, it fit in like the puzzle piece she had been missing. What a joy it is to journey with people into the truth that is available in relationship with Jesus. The two words I feel are going to be over this year for me are availability and flexibility. When you are working with people these qualities are definitely needed, as they are in becoming a mum and serving a little one’s continual needs, but most importantly in relying upon and serving the Holy Spirit’s desires for my life. I pray that God’s desires for your year become evident and that you grow closer to His heart in 2012.

Hebrews 4:12

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

Thank you friends for continuing to journey with me in life even by reading this update. I want to share with you a photo that we sent out as a thank you to those who gave gifts after Jeremiah’s birth, you all deserve this as you have each given the gift of friendship, which is the most precious. Our friend Mish took the photo and she has a great business doing family photography here in Sydney in case anyone is looking for someone to capture special moments for your family. Here is the photo and also, if you’d like to see others she did of our family, and check out her website go to: www.mishkoh.com and hit the clients tab at the top and enter the password "jj".


With loving friendship,

Brooke