SURE HOPE....

Friday we finished a week of VeBS (Very Exciting Bible School) at New Hope church on Mercer Island. We carried on with the pirate theme (drama and us dressed appropriately) with the Bible Theme "Sure Hope" (using a curriculum developed for Southern Cross Kids' Camps in Australia). I think you will enjoy these kids - they really got into the spirit of the moment! I got a lot out of this theme - with all that is happening in the world, the word "hope" seems anything but "sure". By for those who have experienced the love, forgiveness and redemption of God through Jesus, "hope" is indeed sure. As Hebrews 6:19 puts it "We have hope like an anchor, safe and sure." Hope for today, hope for tomorrow, hope in spite of what we see, hear, or fear - based on Him whose Word never fails.

UPDATE!
For those wondering what has occurred between the last two blog entries a brief summary.
June – I flew across to the US from Melbourne and hit the ground running! Landed in Seattle, then headed to deepest Idaho for a kids’ camp held near Idaho City. Great to have Sue’s new Forrester to go off the beaten track just a little. From there it was back to Seattle, then down to Portland to meet two dear friends Graeme and Angela from Melbourne. We headed to the Oregon coast for four fantastic days with the Hanson family: Doug, Mitzi and Janessa plus cousin Katie. We walked the beach, explored the shops at Cannon Beach, spotted puffins nesting on Haystack Rock, flew kites, ate fab food and played crazy games.














From Cannon Beach we drove in convoy to Boise and a day later headed up to McCall, Idaho to Quaker Hill for the Royal Family Kids’ Camp with Tom and Margaret Tuco, directors extraordinaire!!!!! What a great camp for kids in foster care – it is one of the highlights of our summer each year. It is so good to see what God does in the hearts and lives of these children.



Then it was on to Miracle Mountain in the Grangeville area. This was a really rustic old-time camp setting but we had a tremendous time in God’s presence. Both Sue and I got into Bible costumes and participated in the Bible drama each day. These kids really responded to God’s love, and it was so refreshing to hear one little lad pray his first prayer “Hey God, this is me, Christopher and I am speaking to you. You need to listen and do what I ask you to do….” and he continued asking the Lord to bless Sue and keep us safe. Totally non-churched, he came to experience the reality of a loving Father God.



TIGER LILY….. or Rachael Devore, interned with us this summer for five of our camps. What a great young woman she is! (You can check out her blog at tigerlilyspad)
She is about to enter Northwest College and her dream is to become a medical missionary working with AIDS victims (children) somewhere in Africa. How cool is that?? She was so popular with the kids, and with us! Very easy to travel with and a delight to have on the team! I got to do a bit less up front and worked with the puppets, and audio/visuals more. I enjoyed that immensely. We only did one Rainbow program this summer, but the theme was “Anchor of Hope” with a pirate flavour. A great hit with the kids AND with us. We debuted this theme at the Colfax Nazarene church and pastor and adults all got into it donning pirate costumes and participating in a skit which ran each night. Great to see adults and kids alike responding at altar times too.

As I write this we are preparing to repeat this theme with the kids of New Hope as we drive to Mercer Island each day for a VBS. This time Sue will be in pirate attire – no clown costume and no grease paint! That always makes her happy. We are also working on our pirate riddles and enclose three here (they are endless!) See end of this blog for the answers.

What country do pirates NEVER sail to?

What do pirates like to eat best?

What Bible Story do Pirates like best?



Let me know if and when you read this blog. We are also working on curriculum and programs, and teaching session for our upcoming missions trip back to the Czech Republic. Please do keep us in your prayers.

Answers to pirate riddles: (a) Aaaarrrrrgentina (b) Aaarrrrtichokes (c) Noah and the Aaaarrrrrk.

A Man of Honor

Today (August 4th) is the birthday of one of my 'heroes'. Sue's dad - DALE CARPENTER - is celebrating his 70th-something birthday. He is a godly example of a Christian man. As a loving husband to Bertha, and dad (to Sue and De Ann and her husband John) he lives his faith daily. And this faith is constantly tested - Dad C (my name for him) is challenged with the effects of progressive MS. His mobility is reliant on a wheelchair, his body is becoming increasingly weakened - but his inner strength remains. James writes "Be patient then until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near." James 5: 7,8. NIV
The farmer can be patient because he sees (by faith) what is coming - a good crop.
We too need to allow patience (God's peace in action) when tests and trials come to us, whether it be bad traffic, frustrations in our workplace or simply in our relationships with others. I know Dale or Dad C would love to physically "Stand firm" again - but he has never wavered in 'standing firm' spiritually and what an example he is to me and to many others. Happy Birthday Dad!

Tuesday, March 28

"I think Melbourne is the BEST place to live." Carolyn with Yarra River in background. The 72 metallic fish floating in the river represented every nation competing. At night they were amazing - sound and light special effects with projection screens etc. and on the final night, the top of each fish became the launching pad for all the river fireworks - spectacular!


Apologies for the L-O-N-G silence but life has been frantic to say the least. For those in the US, there has been a two week sporting event happening in my home town. The Commonwealth Games brings together those nations that are part of this union of nations who still recognize the British Monarch. That meant that teams, supporters and tourists poured into Melbourne from 71 nations. It was the biggest thing apart from the Olympics and the organization was outstanding.


Sue and myself were involved with Quest – a gathering of people from various churches getting together to go into the city in teams and simply serve others and share the life within them given the opportunity. Teams were trained in balloon sculpturing, clowning, group games, prayer and more. Each day they were scheduled at different live spots throughout the city, and the reports that have come back have been exciting.


Melbourne is a beautiful city at the best of times, but the autumn weather is great. Cool nights, warm sunny days are generally the rule and it is the month for cultural shows, festivals, exhibitions, the Grand Prix and more. The City looked fabulous during the games and the atmosphere was tangible! People smiled more, talked more, and helped more! What is it that takes something like this to bring out the best in us? We went to the track session one night and afterwards started to walk to the train station. We were not alone – I estimated over 20,000 of the 82,000 attending that night headed to the same station. What was amazing is that there was no shoving or pushing, no impatience or grumbling. Once on a train, the noise of people chatting, sharing stories, even singing “Happy Birthday” at midnight for one young traveller, was just so different to normal train travel. Such a change from the daily grind! Shouldn’t we as Christians, be more like this every day – more patient, more gentle, more cheerful, more servant-like? It certainly gave me something to think about.



















"Sue was happy to turn into an Aussie yobbo (well, the US weren't competing!) and of course could not be missed! Actually when the stadium filled there were many thousands who were decked out just the same.

Launceston, Tasmania

We called this “HAYhenge” – just south of Launceston, Tasmania

Kids' Fun Day - St. Helens

Kids gathering for beach outreach, St. Helen’s











Back in St. Helen’s we helped out at a combined churches kids’ Fun Day held on the St. Helen’s foreshore. Rainbow the Clown was a huge hit (wig firmly anchored by a balloon hat, extra tight!) while Ps. John Denman reinforced the puppet stage with wood and clamps, and kept it upright in strong winds!

MINISTRY to CHILDREN SEMINAR – Melbourne

Peter Lusk preparing to open MTC 2006











MTC flew us back to Melbourne to speak at the seminar. We would have liked to have been there for both days, but had prior commitments in Tasmania. When I was on staff at Waverley Christian Fellowship (now CityLife Church), I started a seminar or training day for children’s workers and this was the first year that Sue arrived in Australia as the key speaker. In fact she was the ONLY speaker and shared at six sessions during the day. It was a God-ordained thing – the following year she returned and we added electives, bringing in experienced people from other churches and so the conference grew. Six years ago we transferred the conference coordination to Ken and Dorothy Gardner, and three years later it passed to Peter Lusk (Careforce Church) who has done a FANTASTIC job of raising the profile of the seminar, and keeping its uniqueness. What a buzz to mix with people from every denomination and Christian group; to share resources, experiences and to learn from so many gifted and anointed presenters. Sue took a key session, plus a workshop, and I took a workshop. We then headed back to the airport – thank the Lord for His protection as we drove back to St. Helen’s through fog and a multitude of night animals, all deciding to wait for us before crossing the road! We are happy to say that we are NOT responsible for any of the road kill in Tassie to date. And that’s no mean feat!