Perseverance

This photo was taken at Fitzroy Crossing in Western Australia. The river had flooded in a big way! Hard to imagine water levels as high as 5 metres and more. Now the waters had receded, and the sun had baked the mud into a clay pan. However as we walked along I spied this plant - pushing its' way through the hardened ground. Tenacity and perseverance. Underneath that mud somewhere was moisture and that plant sent its roots deep to tap into that. I think of our lives - sometimes swamped with schedules, deadlines, other people's expectations - easy to feel overwhelmed at times. But Jesus said "I am come to give you life ABUNDANTLY" - that's not just life to exist - it's life to live to the max, to enjoy, to find fulfillment in His purposes. In times of dryness it takes some effort to find the waters that ARE there for us. Don't look at the surface, they mislead. Dig deep and find the water of life. It's there!

Halls Creek, W.A.

Western Australia (Australia's largest state) is an amazing place and I could write pages on the changing landscapes, the vivid colours, the wildlife and awesome scenery. But for me the highlight of this trip was the people of Halls Creek. If you drive through this town you may get a different impression - it's easy to see the effects of alcohol and to judge and move on. But when you stop and listen - to the stories of the people and the laughter of the children you see a different picture. There are many people in this place who have a sense of purpose and future - our friends at the AAO church there are some of these - they have formed good friendships with local families and are working to see families strengthened and restored, to respect culture and lead in wisdom. For me, the hope is in the children - great kids, huge smiles, terrific sense of humour, a love for fun, enjoying the simple things. For them the future is not something thought about. They play..eat....play again, go to school (not always) and finally sleep. For some, food quality may be a problem...in some homes food money is what's left over after the visit to the local bottle shop. But then that's sometimes the case in families down south too, - alcohol addiction is no respecter of race. My heart goes out to the grandmothers - many helping to rear their grandkids...and to the parents who are endeavoring to break the patterns and raise strong families. As a Christian I see that for these kids Jesus is the answer - not a white Jesus or a religious Jesus - but a REAL Jesus who stands alongside to help us stand up after we fall even if we do it again and again and maybe again. A Jesus who helps us to see that we have potential and can make a change. We have learned so much listening to the stories of the women...of how parents walked out of the desert and met white folk for the first time just over 40 years ago. That's amazing! There is wisdom in these women which we respect and learn from. Hmmmm....we have much to think about after this trip which will not be our last.

Victoria's Terror

In 1904 Dorothea McKellar wrote a poem called "My Country". While the first verse described the fields and orderliness of the English countryside,the home of many of those who had journeyed across the sea to find another life, the rest of the poem beautifully describes her new home, Australia. The second verse goes like this:

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror -
The wide brown land for me!
This week Australians have watched nature in all it's terror as the state of Victoria burned. Over 29 fires roared up hills and into valleys, across rivers and roads. At the whim of the wind it devoured homes, property, livestock and most tragically of all human life. At one stage the fire travelled 25 km in just four minutes. In some areas, by the time people saw it coming, it was too late to leave.
As I write emergency services are at full force aided by the Australian Army, Red Cross, the Salvation Army and many others. The CFA (Country Fire Authority) which is almost totally volunteer driven has worked in shifts around the clock. Three days after the hottest day on record for Victoria (47.6 C or 117F) fires still threaten country towns and the radio station dedicated to emergencies continues to read out fire warnings. "If you can see smoke, you have time to leave. If you see flames it is too late." Some of the survival stories are amazing - a group of three who crawled into a wombat hole and covered themselves with wet blankets - the fire roared over them but they were safe. The family who hid in a bunker reluctantly built by a husband who thought his wife was overreacting at living in the bush. It saved their lives too. A little boy found burnt but alive in a ditch with totally destroyed homes around him. As I write this, the death toll is 181, but all the homes have not been able to be reached and the thought is that this toll will rise significantly. Some of the fires had been deliberately lit - what does society do with someone who does this? But it is at times like these that community becomes a word with great meaning - Australians have huge hearts, and almost every district, club, sports team, church and school along with corporations are opening their pockets to provide relief to the thousands of now homeless people. If you are reading this, please pray for the people who are fighting for life in the burns units of our city hospitals, who grieve the loss of loved ones, for others who desperately wait in emergency centres hoping that their missing relative/neighbout/friend will show up alive, for those who sit dazed and bewildered with reality not yet set in, for those who literally only have the clothes on their back. Pray - give - and pray again. For up to date fire news try
www.abc.net.au/news/events/bushfires

New Knox Camp!

January saw the culmination of almost a year of planning, praying and working to see a new Southern Cross Kids' Camp come into being. A new camp launched in the Knox area, making seven camps now happening in Australia plus one in New Zealand. Colleen (pictured here with me and Bluesea) joined me in directing the camp and did a great job. We had 24 first-time buddies and staff members, who joined with experienced workers to give these kids an unforgettable camp experience. Bluesea didn't do too badly either in her very exacting job of watching for campers displaying good attitudes and kindess. Check out SCKC at www.sckc.org.au

GOODBYE 08 - WELCOME 09

One year drawing to a close....the turning of a page to the opening of a new, blank space. 2009 is approaching fast, and it is usual to reflect on what has gone before and to anticipate what might come. I don't know about you, but the page for 2008 was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster - lows (loss of dear ones,added pressures and expectations of others.. highs - news from a far land, unexpected blessings (my red Forester!) travel to people and places I love (Thailand, Cambodia, USA)....good friends, Southern Cross Kids' Camps... along with the aching of joints that used to work smoothly. What will 2009 hold for all of us? World finances topple....nations continue to war....millions starve or subsist...children are still in enslavement and deprivation. I don't have the answers - I do know that all I can do is my bit. To help where I can. My Compassion boy "Ton" will be educated, fed and given some spiritual input this year, because God faithfully provides for me so that I can provide for him. There is an old song that says "Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, Because He lives all fear is gone, Because I know He holds the future, And life is worth the living just because He lives." [Bill Gaither] It pretty much sums it up - as the psalmist says "My times are in His hands." Psalm
31:14. So I choose to look forward to the year ahead with its challenges, blessings, unexpected surprises. I look forward to deepening relationships, to new friends, new travel experiences and new growth. (Inward growth that is, not a widening girth!) :) To everyone who checks on this blog from time to time - may 2009 be a great year for you and for the ones you hold dear.

The Great Gift Exchange

Christmas in Australia means many things - family time, food, decorations, church, shopping...shopping....shopping. The giving of gifts has overshadowed the greatest gift of all - that of God Himself coming as a child to live among us, experience the challenges, joy, tears and fears that is life, and finally to give Himself to take our punishment, to give us the gift of life. Life now and life eternal. Now that's a big gift! Yesterday I had the privilege of sharing on this aspect at Northside Christian Church in Bundoora. I had two 'bad news readers' come up to read the headlines of today - mostly doom and gloom, tragedy and loss. Then chose a child to be the angel reading the Good News of Luke 2. Finally I chose two boys to represent the two groups of people who knew of the event of Jesus' birth before anyone else - shepherds (the lowest of society of that time, often scoundrels, rough and ready) and wise men (I had this young man wear a mortarboard and hold a diploma - the Bible says they were "wise' not necessarily kings). The two extremes - rough, uneducated, to highly intelligent and capable. One of the messages of Christmas is that God's gift if for everyone and all who will accept it. He offers unconditional acceptance, unconditional love and through His Son, eternal life. WOW! What on earth can I give to match that? The simply answer to this - I can choose to live to serve Him, to live life through His eyes, to accept others, to curb selfishness, to make a difference in this world, not to earn salvation (acceptance of the gift does that) but to seek to see others discover the same gift. Christmas - Christ in our world, our life. Consider this quote from Charles Swindoll: “Emmanuel. God with us. He who resided in Heaven, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Spirit, willingly descended into our world. He breathed our air, felt our pain, knew our sorrows, and died for our sins. He didn't come to frighten us, but to show us the way to warmth and safety.” 

Fund-raising

Southern Cross Kids' Camps benefited from CityLife Church's Christmas production "Finding Christmas" which ran last weekend. Krispy Kreme Donuts and SCKC Calendars helped bring in some much-needed funding for the new camp starting in the Knox area and I got a chance to spruik. "Getcha calorie-free calendars here!"