Brooke's Australia Adventure Update - Summer 2014

Brooke’s Australia Adventure Update – Summer 2014, January 4, 2014

Dear friends,

Wow! It’s hard to believe another year has finished up and a new one has nowbegun. I hope this update finds you having had a wonderful holiday season with your nearest and dearest and that the beginning of 2014 brings with it many promises of hope for you and those you love.

"O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life."

- Francis of Assisi, Thirteenth Century

Our family has had a full season these past few months, particularly since I returned to work two days a week in November. Thankfully the children have adjusted beautifully to having Nana come into our home and watch them while I am at work (and Nana has adjusted too J). She had gotten a good chance to start caring for Christabelle on my Arrow Residential in Melbourne in October. Brendan drove down to Melbourne with the kids and I for the residential. We enjoyed the 8-hour road trip with an overnight stay halfway down in the NSW country town of Holbrook. It was an interesting place to visit. Although it is inland, it boasts a submarine and other marine paraphernalia as well as a mini railroad that was operating the day we were there, which was fun for JJ and the rest of us. We also made a pit stop in the gold mining town of Beechworth in Victoria, which was a worthwhile lunch stop, and then stopped at one of our favourite wineries in Victoria, Brown Brothers. Then, Brendan flew back to Sydney first thing Monday morning and his mum came in to help with the kids. Her help was invaluable so I could attend the conference sessions. Nana the kids and I then drove back to Sydney together with another stop in Holbrookon the way. We returned to find that bushfires had done serious damage to some areas near Sydney; we saw many blackened areas as we drove into the edges of the city. It was surreal to see the smoke in the sky for a while afterwards but we were all thankful our family and friends in the affected areas were spared serious damage.

Revelation 22:17

“The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.”

Over the holidays our family has also been able to enjoy some other small road trips including going up the Nelson Bay area over Christmastime to spend time with the family. While there we also saw a koalain a tree, snorkeled in the clear turquoise waters, saw black swans gliding serenely by, kayaked in the bay with JJ and swam nearly every day at different beaches. Our second road trip was inland to the small town of Cassilis to visit a dear friend and Young Life co-worker, Heather Gant, at her family farm about a half-hour outside of the town. This was a great opportunity for Jeremiah to run freely (and our dog Kimba for that matter) and see all the farm animals we always read about (in the books Heather has been giving the kids to prep them J). JJ helped get the chicken’s eggs, pick apricots off the enormously ripe tree, help herd sheep off the mountain by quad bike and even swam in a creek. The swim was very exciting as a red-bellied black snake decided to take a dip at the same time, thankfully Heather’s keen eye warned us out of the water before the story got any more dangerous. Brendan and I also got to experience a pig hunt with Heather’s brother, cousin and friends. We went out at night, standing on the back of a ute. For me the highlight was seeing a wombat in the wild and lots of kangaroos hopping, rather than the actual pig hunting, but it was an entertaining country night. On the way home from Cassilis we stopped off for lunch in the gourmet wine growing region of Mudgee and had a delicious tasting plate with local olives, cheeses and wine. We also stopped at Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains for a treat at the German bakery. Apart from our road trips, we have also been able just to enjoy some down time as a family at home as Brendan has had some time off. We also utilized our best purchase of the summer, a season pass to Sydney’s newest attraction, Wet n’ Wild, which is only 10 minutes from our home. Summer in Sydney is quite hot this year, so this is a great outing and they have a great splash pad and mini waterslides for Jeremiah’s age group.

Ephesians 1:22-23

“God has placed everything under the power of Christ and has set Him up as supreme head of the church. For the church is His body, and in that body lives fully the one who fills the whole wide universe.”

I returned to work with Young Life in November and although I was excited to start back, I did find it was a bit of a transition as there had been many changes since I had been on leave. I’ve definitely had to roll up my sleeves and get to work, but am excited at the tasks the Lord has given to me. The school term was quite a fun one with different clubs and outings planned including a jelly (jello) club (think wrestling in a blow up pool full of jelly/jello), a progressive dinner that went to local Young Life supporters homes, Christmas light viewing and even a sleep-over at a local church hall. It’s also been a busy time recruiting teenagers to come on our annual camp, the ‘Seven Days of Summer’, and of course the necessary fundraising events and initiatives to ensure every student that wants to come can attend. I would love you to keep the camp in your prayers, as it is our largest camp perhaps ever. At this moment we have over 130 teens coming from all over the country, and 26 of these will be from Sydney. Our model with Young Life camping is that leaders bring campers from the area they live in and have been working with all year. Increasingly though we’ve been getting registrations from young people we don’t know that are in care with DOCS (Department of Community Service) or other agencies and these young people have high needs. We definitely see the need for these young people to be engaged and trust that they could have a life changing week of camp with us, however it does change the dynamic of a cabin environment when you don’t know the students in your cabin. So, I would ask specifically for you to keep in prayer the 33 cabin leaders who are tasked with caring for these precious campers for the week and for their energy and health both spiritually and physically, wisdom and for relationships to be forged between them and the campers and the campers within the cabin themselves, and for protection over the work the Holy Spirit wants to do with everyone during the week. We truly believe this can be the best week of these campers’ lives, particularly if they begin to understand the love of God for them and this is always a highlight week of the year for our family as we serve together. This year Brendan and I have the honour of working together alongside and learning from James and Tori Poulos, a Melbourne couple that have been involved in the work of Young Life Australia for over twenty years. Together we will be caring for the cabin leaders to help encourage them in their integral role. Camp is from the 12-18^th of January and all of the workers head down to Jindabyne in the Snowy Mountains next Saturday the 11^th, so your prayers throughout the week would be invaluable.

James 5:16 b

“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

“Young Life is Jesus Christ and don’t you ever forget it. That’s not just what we are about, that is all we are about.” – Jim Rayburn, Young Life’s founder

The growth of our gorgeous children these past few months continues to amaze us and reveal the Father’s amazing love and immeasurable creativity and design. Christabelle is now almost eight months old and absolutely loves her solid food, although she still has to gum it all as no teeth have yet emerged. She is crawling very quickly and ends up under the furniture and doesn’t know what to do and can sit up well now and play with toys. She is the smilieest baby you’ll ever meet and has a little dimple on her temple. She also loves to laugh and giggles a lot when I kiss her under her chin and is already ticklish. She adores her big brother and gets a massive smile on her face when she hears or sees him coming – even if he is screaming – she finds it hilarious. They have began to share a room as she’s moved out of the bassinet in our room to the cot and JJ has moved up to a big boy toddler bed, which he loves. The best part of this new scenario is that CC has started sleeping through the night (at only 7 months, whereas JJ didn’t do this until 14 months) and they really seem to enjoy each other’s company. Jeremiah is an absolute delight and bundle of energy and it is amazing how much we can now converse with him and so fascinating to hear what will come out of his mouth next. He is a little sponge and picks up phrases and expressions from everywhere, the latest, which is the question: “what?” that he repeats a few times. Brendan is trying hard to break this habit and teach him, “Excuse me” or “pardon” rather than the “what.” He also uses very funny words like “disgusting” when there’s a hair on his food. On Heather’s farm during our holiday JJ took his shoes off from being in the paddock (field) and Heather asked him if he had any prickles in his socks from the sand spurs to which JJ replied, “I don’t have prickles, I have toes!” He definitely keeps us laughing and he too loves to laugh, dance and do anything physical. This past term he has started swimming lessons with Brendan and has this “sharkey” swim costume he wears that he loves and comes home singing songs like the “hokey pokey” and “humpty dumpty.” Twinkle, twinkle little star continues to be a favourite song for daddy and I to sing to him before sleeps, but he often will join in the singing now. He still is car mad and is learning to share with his little sister who is very cheeky and always wants the toys he is playing with. They are a pleasure to parent and we know how blessed we are to have them in our lives and filling our home with wonderful noise and busy days. I have actually found it is easier for me to parent two children than just one. This is because the transition from not being a parent to being a parent was so massive and I struggled in my mind to know when I could do what I had on my agenda or how to be available to my son. But with two, I have found really when they are awake and active it is all about them with my headspace. My projects that require thinking need to wait until they are asleep or I have someone else helping me with them. This has freed me up to enjoy the time with them more thoroughly and causes less conflict in my head.

“Love is a nutrient required for our physical survival and if we didn’t get it, or enough of it early in life, then we end up seeking external sources of love that are always temporary, damaging and often dangerous.” - Dr. Habib Sadeghi

 

Matthew 5:14-16

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

With loving friendship,

Brooke