Brooke's Australia Adventure Update - Autumn/Winter 2013

Brooke's Australia Adventure Update Autumn/Winter 2013, June 18, 2013

Dear Friends, 

If you read my last update you might remember me mentioning my first Arrow Leadership residential that was scheduled to take place in my 36^th week of pregnancy down in Melbourne… Well, it did take place and my obstetrician did write a letter to the airlines that he felt I would be safe to travel, and the airlines did let me on and I did enjoy the first full day of the conference… then on the evening of the second day at dinner while I was having a conversation with a lovely man from Queensland I had this feeling like maybe I had an ‘accident’. I excused myself and rose to go to the bathroom and I found that indeed my waters had broken… so off I went to the hospital at 36 weeks and 4 days pregnant and about 9 hours and 963 kilometers from home. God was incredibly gracious through the whole process. Brendan hopped on a flight and joined me in the wee hours of the night and our journey awaiting our daughter’s arrival began. The Lord definitely surrounded us with an incredible family within the body of Christ in the form of the Arrow staff. They helped us with baby clothes, snacks, flowers, airport pick-up and car rental for Brendan, lodging for Brendan, etc. Our baby daughter ended up being born by c-section at 10:19 am on Thursday the 16^th of May 2013 at the Mercy Hospital for Women in Heidelberg. The labour never really progressed from the waters breaking and the baby’s head never dropped into my pelvis (this latter part was similar to my labour with Jeremiah). She came out beautifully alert and although born a little early (36 weeks, 6 days) she was a healthy 3.2 kg (7 lbs) and 48 cm (18.89 inches). Her name is Christabelle Candace. Christabelle means “Christ’s beauty” and Candace means “purity”. We chose the names after researching names that had meanings associated with the word  ‘purity’. Brendan had prayed about the name of our baby when I was still pregnant and felt that the name had to have a meaning or association with ‘purity’. We came across the name Christabelle in our research because it is a name of a character in an 18^th century poem of a young girl of pure Christian character. The name seemed beautiful to us and so we went with that. Candace has a Biblical connection, as Queen Candace sent the Ethiopian eunuch that Philip converts in the book of Acts, and there’s a line of Ethiopian queens called Candace. I personally loved the royal and Biblical connotation and since it has the exact meaning Brendan felt led to have, we chose it as her middle name, thus CC joins our family.

Brendan and I had a very nice time together with CC in Melbourne. One amazing thing was Brendan’s parents were watching Jeremiah for us for the week and they already had tickets to come to Melbourne on the weekend for an unrelated event and therefore JJ was able to meet his sister in Melbourne - a lovely reunion. CC is now four weeks old and has been a delight to us. She’s a very content little girl who is a good eater and sleeper; what more could you ask for in a newborn? She doesn’t cry much and is very sweet. Like her brother, she was born with a full head of dark hair that immediately turns light after you wash it the first time and she currently has dark blue eyes, but we wonder if they’ll remain that colour. For my Arrow residential we were asked to bring something small from home that represents us and one of the things I brought was a postcard with a quote on it I had picked up from a Young Life camp years ago and it sits on my cork board at work… this is it and it aptly describes CC’s birth:

“I know God won’t give me anything I can’t handle, I just wish he didn’t trust me so much.”

-   Mother Teresa

Since CC’s early arrival I have been on maternity leave and am enjoying my gorgeous children and our dog Kimba. Since I had a second c-section, I’ve not been able to drive or been able to pick up Jeremiah which has probably been the hardest part for him and I. JJ has been a bit more precious since CC has come along and is crying a bit more when mummy tells him no, but I’ve been trying to encourage him to be a helper to mummy and he’s been good about understanding that I need to go to CC when she is crying. His development continues to astound us as he can speak in sentences now and would know well over 100 words. He is definitely car and train mad and provides a constant commentary when we are in the car as to what type of vehicle is driving past us and what colour it is. He loves the colour yellow, although he knows other colour names, that’s the one that gets a lot of attention. He’s been really enjoying spending time with Nana and Dedo and his cousins in Newcastle this past few months and has had some time up there without us, as well as aweek up there with me, CC and Kimba. It is a wonderful home away from home for our family and so lovely to have family so close that is so welcoming. We are planning a trip to go to the US and Canada in July and August for 3 weeks so my American and Canadian family can get to meet our children and are definitely looking forward to that holiday. With CC’s birth in Melbourne her first flight was when she was only four days old and JJ’s was with his grandparents at 20 months. Both seemed to be good flyers, so we are praying for a good trip on the long haul and are trying to be creative with ways to keep our busy little boy occupied. He’s definitely what I would call rambunctious and with my time at home now I have been taking us to story time at the library often and walking down to the park about once a day. It’s amazing to see him climb up the slide by himself now and as he grows taller his curiosity takes him on to different elements at the park. We really are so blessed to live so close to everything and even in this time when I am not driving we aren’t missing out on anything.

Lamentations 3:22-23

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Young Life has been left in the capable hands of Ben Staunton as Acting Area Manager for the Sydney Hub Area as I am on leave until the end of October. Ben has a great Young Life resume having served in a variety of roles in Armidale, for the Northern Region and even on the National Board and it is really an answer to prayer to know he is helping manage and lead the area in this season while I am on leave. Please pray for the area and for the way God desires to grow the work. Ben is only serving one day a week, so please pray for the interns and volunteers as they take on more delegation in their responsibilities and for the Lord to continue to bring more labourers into His harvest field with young people in Sydney. I do look forward to seeing how God shapes and changes things.  Please also pray for me as a leader to rest in His provision and know that I am not indispensable, but that He will continue to work and move even as my time and attention is focused on other areas of responsibility.

“The missionary who has raised a church to believe that he is indispensable has done the church an injustice. From the earliest days of the work, the missionary should be planning on working out of a job. National leadership needs to learn how to depend on the Lord, how to train its own spiritual leaders, and how to take responsibility for the work.”

-   From Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders

I have really been enjoying the reading list through the Arrow Leadership Program and have found already I am starting to think differently and do things differently in my home life and in the ministry context. I am excited for the time I have to reflect and ponder even as I am feeding my little girl up to 40 hours a week… it is a great gift for me to have a pause in my working life and at the same time to be able to be enriched in thinking of the ministry while I am away from it.

Psalm 119:9
[ב Beth] “How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.”

Thank you for being a part of our lives and sharing your lives with us!

With loving friendship,

Brooke