Support Raising and the Gospel.

We could pick any number of tunes to soundtrack our support raising journey.   Some popular choices might be Survivor by Destiny’s Child, The Final Countdown by Europe, Roundabout by Yes, Shake It Off by Taylor Swift,  Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control by Tame Impala—considering our context and the fact that Tame Impala are from Perth, Australia this one makes me laugh pretty hard and is a personal favorite.  All are funny and in some cases appropriate.  But if I had to pick one song, it would be Some Days Are Better Than Others by U2.  I’ve loved this song for a long time.  It serves as a reminder not to be weighed down by circumstances of the day but that some days really are better than others and  it’s cool to acknowledge it.  My favorite line:  “Some days it all adds up and what you’ve got is enough.”  Some day soon, right?

In this process of support raising it’s easy to let my feelings be dictated by how many pledges we’ve had that week or day.  If we’ve had multiple pledges I find myself feeling proud and searching for the magic formula to keep this run of pledges going.  On the flip side, if it’s been a while since we’ve had any pledges I find myself searching for what I can do to get things going again.  And in both scenarios I often succumb to anger, which is ultimately born out of a sense of embarrassment of how long this process is taking, worrying what others might be saying or thinking regarding the slow-ness of our journey, and the fact that I haven’t been able to make it happen.  And in my head and heart I make it all about me trying to earn favor with God so that He will release the funds for us to go to Australia.  It becomes an ultimate thing.  And when I make support raising the ultimate thing—the thing I put my hope and trust in and it lets me down.  Every time.  This is not the gospel.

The gospel frees me (and all of us for that matter) from this self-centered way of thinking and trying to earn favor with God resulting in some warped transactional theology.  If I do this than God will do that.  Friends, the work was done at the cross.  It is finished.  I need to hear this every minute of every hour of everyday.  Of course there is work for us to do in support-raising.  We do it.  Some days we do it better than others!  We believe God has gone before us and raised up those who will partner with us.  It's our job to be obedient by sharing about our call and asking and waiting on God to provide.  The reality is God doesn’t need us to do His work.  He's graciously invited us to be a part of His plan and share the Gospel with everyone we meet-- Christian and non-Christian.  We all need the gospel.  Everyday.  As we finish out our support raising process let that be your prayer for us each and everyday: that we remember God has done the work and our trust and hope is in Him and not in the work of our hands.

News from Down Under

We’ve been Face Timing into meetings with our core group in Australia to stay connected and continue to build relationships with those we’ll be working with once we’re in Perth.  This is important as they prepare to move into the launch phase of church planting.  It’s exciting to see God raising people up to be a part of His church and we cannot wait to get there and join in the work!

You're Invited 

This summer we went to New Mexico to visit friends and meet with some churches about support raising.  When we booked that trip I had my doubts about how well we’d be received at these churches and if we’d see any support raised at all.  I was wrong.  That trip has turned out to provide not just of a number of new partners but a source of continued encouragement.  

It all began when a few years ago when Missy started her job as a gifted and talented education specialist.  One big aspect of her job is working with the parents of her students.  And since Mis has those students for 3 years at time she’s able to build great relationships not just with her students but also those parents.  In a handful of instances some of those parents have become friends after the students have moved on to 9^th grade.  

That’s case with our friends, Amy and Josh.  Josh works in the film industry (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and countless others) so they split their time between Saint Louis, MO and Albuquerque, NM.   Early on in our friendship we were able to share about our call to Perth with them.   As far as we knew they weren’t churchgoers and were unclear where they stood in matters of faith.  They asked some great questions about our work and seemed genuinely curious in regards to our faith and excited about us moving to Perth to help plant a church.

When they invited us to visit them in New Mexico- it was Amy who was eager to have us contact churches in the area to share with them about our work and see if they’d partner with us.  Once we got there we were surprised and excited when they told us not only that they wanted to partner with us but also that they wanted to open their home in Saint Louis this fall to host support raising events.  Missy and I cannot begin to describe the source of encouragement Josh and Amy have been in this process.  We praise God for their friendship and hospitality!

On the evening of November 7^th, Amy and Josh will be hosting a dessert for us at their home at 6:30pm.  This will be a great opportunity for us to share more about our work with potential partners.  We've invited a number of folks but we also want to invite those who live near St. Louis join us and bring a friend who might be interested in hearing about our work in Perth.  If you’re interested in coming please respond to this email for more details!

Thanks for reading and more importantly thank you for your prayers.  We are some thankful for all of God’s people who are with us in the journey!

Soli Deo Gloria,

Andy & Missy

Why Australia?

Perth, Australia | February 2015

Sharing the Gospel in Australia

Recently, we were working at a conference sharing about the work we're called to in Australia.  Missy had gone to lunch with a friend and I was at the Mission to the World booth catching up with a friend and fellow missionary who works in Ethiopia.  As we were talking, a gentlemen walked up who was excited to speak with my friend.  They started talking and my friend introduced me and the gentlemen smiled and asked where I served or would be serving.  I smiled and told him "My wife and I are going to work with a church planting team in Perth, Australia."  His immediate response was, "Now why are we sending missionaries to Australia?"  I laughed, smiled, and responded with a quick explanation of why our ministry and calling mattered.  He thanked me but said it really didn't make sense why we'd send missionaries there. He then said goodbye to us and was on his way.  After he left, my friend turned to me and was somewhat apologetic and shared that he was impressed with how I'd handled the situation.  I laughed, sharing with him how that man's posture and question is not uncommon for us and that I'd had a lot of preparation for learning how to embrace those moments!

We're sharing the story above not for votes of sympathy or affirmation of our calling--  We believe we're called to go to Australia and MTW and our team in Perth feel the same way!  However, we've had to learn that a large part of that calling is helping educate not only why we're called but also asking what missions looks like in this ever-changing world and helping cast a vision for that calling.  We're sharing this story because maybe you've been wondering, "Why Australia?" and we'd like the opportunity to answer this question and paint a picture of the work God has called us to in Perth.

Why Australia? 

Australia is a land of breathtaking beauty, but it also has a unique spiritual character with both strengths and weaknesses.  

Generally speaking Australia is:
Secular Around 10% of Australians go to church on Sundays (compared to 45% in the U.S.) and religion is not a topic of polite conversation.

Unbelieving  In the 1700s, Australia was settled largely by convicts who saw the church as an ally of the prison guards.  Ever since, Australians have had conflicted feelings about the church and are deeply cynical about matters of faith.

Discouraged  Unlike the United State's history of successful expansion and enterprise, much of Australia's history involves crippling disappointment.  This attitude of dejection bleeds into matters of faith.

But Australians have:

Commitment  Australians highly prize authenticity, a value reflected in the church.  While the number of Australian Christians is few, the ones believe are highly committed.

Huge Potential  Australia has access to solid Christian resources.  With training and discipleship, they are positioned to be influencers and leaders both in national churches and beyond. 

Why Perth?

Despite having strong ties to international commerce and a long and lasting legacy in the creative classes, Perth remains one of the most isolated cities in the world.  Loneliness, skepticism, and despair weigh heavily upon the city and its people, revealing deep spiritual needs.  Australians living in Perth have asked American Christians for help and partnership in sharing the Gospel.

Why Us?
A few years ago as we were praying and exploring the possibility of becoming missionaries to Australia, we were contacted by the existing MTW team in Perth who asked us to come join them and help with worship, evangelism, and strategic planning.

Andy's focus will be planning and leading worship, discipling and developing new worship leaders, and engaging musicians outside the faith, inviting them to join in our church community.

Missy's educational background provides opportunities for students and families to have meaningful dialogue about faith, creating a safe space for big questions about who Jesus is.

Our Approach

Church Planting
We'll be joining existing believers in church planting, empowering and encouraging them in worship, evangelism, and discipleship.  We'll also be working to establish networks and build relationships with local business and community leaders to develop opportunities for meaningful conversations about Jesus and His church.

Community Evangelism
Our desire is to become actively involved to engage and participate in the values and practices of the local community.  Education, the arts, recreation, and service are areas where we can build meaningful relationships while contributing to the quality of life in the city and its neighborhoods.

We'll look for opportunities to invite unbelievers to be part of our community-- not just with special events and activities, but also in the ordinary tasks of daily life.

Over the next couple of weeks we'll be sharing more stories about Australia from our own experiences as well as from our teammates who are already there in an effort to give you a continuing picture of how God is moving down under.  Please pray for us as we prepare to leave, pray for our teammates as they share the good news of Jesus with the people they meet, and pray for those Australians who have yet to hear the Gospel.  Pray that God will work and prepare their hearts to hear and receive it.

We're looking forward to sharing more cool news on Monday!  Have a great weekend!

Soli Deo Gloria,

Andy & Missy

Incredible Impact Update

We've had an encouraging week of support raising.  As we shared last week we're praying that God will provide 100 partners giving or increasing $10/month by October 5th.    This week we're praising God for the four partners who pledged to support us.  Here's what our current numbers look like:

Total partners promising $10/month or more: 10
 Total number of dollars pledged per month: $340
Number of $10/month promises needed: 90

Please pray with us as we ask God to provide and please consider pledging to help support us in the work God has called us to in Perth.  

If you're interested in supporting us financially, increasing your current support, or just have questions, please click the link below:

MAKE A PLEDGE

If you would like to speak with us directly, you can always click "reply" on this email and you'll be chatting directly with us.

Thank you for praying with us as we journey towards Perth!

Soli Deo Gloria,
Andy & Missy

Incredible Impact: $10 Challenge

A couple of weeks ago we shared that if everyone who receives our emails or is in our Facebook group pledged to support us for $10 per month or increased their current giving by $10 per month, we'd have more than enough to leave for Perth!

The report for those first weeks of the campaign look like this:

Total partners promising $10/month or more: 6
 Total number of dollars pledged per month: $240

While it's obvious we still have a LONG way to go- we saw something that encouraged us.  Those 6 partners did the work of 24 in the scope of our campaign!

So we're going to keep this campaign going for the next 4 weeks.  The final day will be Sunday, October 4th.  We're praying and asking God to provide 100 partners from our email list and Facebook group to make new pledges of $10/month or increase their current pledges by $10/month.

Number of $10/month promises needed: 94 

We also want to share that we're working hard at support raising and have a number of events, individual appointments, and meetings with churches scheduled over the next 2-3 months.  We believe this combined with the $10 Challenge can get us fully funded and off to Perth-- hopefully by year's end!

We'll be updating each Monday for the next three weeks and on the Friday before the deadline to keep you up to date.  We'll be announcing the totals from the campaign on Monday, October 5th.

In the mean time would you please pause for a moment, pray, and consider this $10?

If you're interested in supporting us financially, increasing your current support, or just have questions, please click the link below:

MAKE A PLEDGE

If you would like to speak with us directly, you can always click "reply" on this email and you'll be chatting directly with us.

Thank you for your partnership in this incredible ministry!

Why Australia? Why Perth? Why Andy & Missy?

We get asked these three question in some form or fashion quite a bit when we share that we're going to plant churches in Perth, Australia.  It occurred to us that maybe some of you are wondering the same thing.  We put our heads together with dear Australian friend and friend who is gifted in graphic design we came up with this graphic and we want to share it.  Take a look and take a moment to pray and consider partnering with us monthly.

Incredible Impact: One Person at a Time

ANAZAC Morning | Perth, Australia | Photo by Brett Ballington

Our summer has been a wonderful time of traveling and sharing about the church planting work God has called us to join in Perth.  We are continually blown away by God’s provision in our lives and in our partners' lives as He works to grow his Kingdom.  At the moment we’re back in St. Louis, ready to make the final push to leave for Perth this December!

As you may have heard, we recently found out that we've reached 75% of our current monthly support goal!  Please praise God with us as we rejoice in this huge encouragement.

While being at 75% is a reason to rejoice, we cannot leave for Perth until we have reached 100% of our monthly support goal.

You can be a part in helping us reach this goal!

Many of us go through a range of emotions when we think about supporting missionaries— some of us get excited while others become anxious, feeling as though they cannot take part because it's going to cost a ton of money.  We want to share an amazing number with you:

$10

If everyone who receives our emails or is in our Facebook group pledged to support us for $10 per month or increased their current giving by $10 per month, we could leave for Perth!

Even if you can't swing $10 per month, every $5...every $1 makes a difference.

Would you please pause for a moment, pray, and consider this $10?

If you're interested in supporting us financially, increasing your current support, or just have questions, please click the link below:

MAKE A PLEDGE

If you would like to speak with us directly, you can always click "reply" on this email and you'll be chatting directly with us.

Thank you for your partnership in this incredible ministry!

Take Five!

The Water Labyrinth at Murray Street Mall | Perth, Australia

First, we're excited to announce that we're at 71% of our current monthly budget!  Praise God!  It's so exciting to see His continued provision on this journey.  Also, our time at the PCA General Assembly was wonderful-- we got to catch up with a lot of friends we don't get to see very often and we also made some new friends. 

Second, we're asking each of you to set an alarm on your devices to pray for us for 5 minutes on July 5th at 5pm for the following 5 requests.  

Prayer Requests:

• Pray that God will graciously provide the rest of our support so we can leave for Perth later this year.
• Pray for those that God is drawing together and to Himself in Perth to be a part of the church we're helping plant.
• Pray for the Hinkle family as they will most likely be moving in the next month or so to Australia. They've got 5 kids ranging in ages from 4-18!  It will be super exciting but also stressful.  Total travel time from States to Perth is in the neighborhood of 35 hours.  So please pray for smooth flights and fun adventures as they make their way to their new home down under!
• We'll be starting our Visa application process in August when we get back from our support raising travels.  Please pray that this process goes smoothly and that we'll be able to secure our work visas.
• Please pray for us as we begin saying goodbye to our families and friends.  Ask God to provide peace and patience for all of us and the capacity to express our love and thankfulness for each and every relationship.  The necessity of this prayer really hit home for Andy as he recently ended an 8 year run with one of his bands.  Each time we see our families we grow more aware that this will be one of the last times we'll see them for quite some time and that is harder than we EVER imagined.  But it is teaching us to treasure these moments.

Thanks for the prayers and we look forward to seeing how God moves this summer!

Far Away Sounds: Australian Popular Music

Tonight I'll be going to see my favorite band, Tame Impala.  Tame Impala are from Perth, Australia. The first time Missy and I visited Perth in June of 2010 their record Innerspeaker had been released in late May and I saw posters all around the city announcing it's release.  I made a mental note to listen to the album but as is the case with most of my mental notes I can't remember where I put it. Suffice it to say it wasn't until a little while later when a band mate played the record for me that I really got into them.

Knowing that Tame Impala were from Perth, I started reading some interviews with Kevin Parker the "ideas guy" for the band and I began to realize there was this thriving music community in Perth that was beginning to gain attention from the rest of the world.  As I dug deeper and began to explore other bands and musicians from Perth I grew more and more impressed with what I heard and interested in why this isolated Australian city had such a thriving music community.

I believe it's got a lot to do with the fact that the city is so isolated geographically from the rest of world (and other Australian cities for that matter).  It's not the only factor but I believe it's a big one.  I also think there is a lot of freedom to create and try new things.  I was discussing this with my friend Lee who we'll be planting the church with in Perth and we agreed that while much of the music coming out of Perth (and Melbourne) can be and is often artistically challenging it remains extremely accessible.  That is to say it asks a lot of the listener but isn't seeking to ostracize the listener with it's abstraction.

I've provided a link to an essay written by Perth musician, Nick Allbrook who has played in a number of bands from Perth.  Most notably he was the touring bassist for Tame Impala from 2008-2013 and is also in his own band POND who are growing in popularity and success.  Allbrook's essay deals with Perth and it's isolation and it's impact on the artists that call the city home.  I want to say that I think he gets a lot of things right about Perth but also leaves out the inspiration of the geographical beauty as well the city itself.  For those that want to do choose to read the article understand that Nick uses some fairly harsh language in sharing his experience.  If this is something that is oft-putting I'd recommend that you skip reading the article.  Otherwise, I think it gives great insight into Perth's music community.

Nick Allbrook's Essay on Perth Music Community

As someone who is moving to Perth to do church planting in Fremantle, the neighborhood where many of these musicians and other artists live; it's important to understand what is influencing them and how it is impacting their art.  By listening to, researching, and championing these artists it provides the opportunity not only for understanding but to be impacted and touched by their artistry. It's easy to listen to these artists and go wow they really need the gospel.  But in my case, more often than not- they end up reminding me of my own need for the gospel.  

For those interested in listening to some of the music that's recently come out in Australia you can listen to this Aussie music mixtape I've shared.  Below I've listed out the bands on the mixtape as well as the cities they call home.

Tame Impala – Feels Like We Only Go Backwards [Perth]

Pond – Elvis' Flaming Star [Perth]

San Cisco – Too Much Time Together [Perth]

Jagwar Ma – That Loneliness [Sydney]

Chet Faker – Gold [Melbourne]

Cut Copy – We Are Explorers [Melbourne]

Hiatus Kaiyote – Swamp Thing [Melbourne]

Luluc – Star [Melbourne]

Felicity Groom – Houses Are Gone [Perth]

Courtney Barnett – An Illustration of Loneliness (Sleepless in New York) [Melbourne]

The Growl – Liarbird [Perth]

Fascinator – Showin' off [Perth]

Peter Bibby & His Bottles of Confidence – Goodbye Johnny [Perth]

Spacemanantics – We Could Have Gone Far 1 [Perth]

Shiny Joe Ryan – Whatever Happened To The Space Race [Perth]

Just for Fun: The Right Way to Eat Vegemite

Vegemite's been making the rounds lately on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.  It all started last week when a couple of Aussie kids wrote a letter to Fallon explaining why they liked the show and that Higgins (Fallon's sidekick) should eat Vegemite because he doesn't really do anything.  So of course the two break out bread and Vegemite, slather it on like Nutella or Jif and the results are predictably hilarious.  For the rest of the week Vegemite became the butt of many jokes for the cast of The Tonight Show.

Then on Monday this week, Aussie guest and apparent Vegemite evangelist Hugh Jackman shows Fallon and company the right way to eat Vegemite.  Questlove's reaction is priceless.  Check it out:

In case you're wondering we enjoy Vegemite.  Our preferred way to eat it is on toast with avocado!

Vegemite and avocado on toast with Tasty Cheese and Dilmah Tea

ANZAC Day

 Perth ANZAC Memorial

"Anzac Day is one of Australia’s most important national commemorative occasions. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War."

I doubt I'll ever forget my first [and up to this point only] experience with ANZAC Day. I was working with YWAM in Brisbane, Australia in 2004. We'd been told we'd have the day off on April 25th for a national holiday. I asked one of the YWAM staff who was also from the states what type of holiday it was and they said, "It's similar to Memorial Day".

While I agree with the spirit of that statement, the reality couldn't be further from the truth. Both days were set aside as holiday's to commemorate war veterans. But the comparisons stop there. The ways the two countries choose to commemorate are far different and provide a deep insight into both country's culture at large or 'cultural DNA' as our MTW team leader, Stephen Rarig might say.

Similar to me at that time, you're probably wondering what does ANZAC stand for and what is it commemorating? It stands for Australian New Zealand Army Corps. The holiday was originally set aside in 1916 as day to commemorate Australia's involvement and fallen soldiers of the World War I battle for the peninsula of Gallipoli. The objective was to knock Turkey (an ally of Germany) out of the war but the battle quickly became a stalemate and somewhere in the neighborhood of 11,000 Anzac's lost their lives. Ultimately the battle was lost and the campaign failed but as a recent BBC article states:

"Gallipoli holds a special place in Australian hearts. Many believe it was here Australians proved themselves the equal of any in the world, heralding the young nation's emergence onto the world stage. "

Shortly after waking up on April 25, 2004 my Australian mates Daniel, Tony, and Pat invited me to visit the ANZAC Memorial with them.  We went into the city of Brisbane and stood at the memorial in silence- it wasn't a long time but it was long enough to understand the weight and the importance of what the day meant to my three friends and the many Australians around me doing the same.  Soon images of my two Grandfathers, who had fought in WWII flooded into my mind and soon I was thinking about sacrifice as well.  The silence slowly gave way to quiet conversations about about life, war, death, freedom, and ultimately our shared faith in Jesus and how his ultimate sacrifice on the cross made us right with God.  We were brothers in faith and bonded by the blood of Jesus.  We were part of his church.

Brisbane ANZAC Memorial

I'm thankful my three friends invited me to experience ANZAC day with them.  We made our way back to the YWAM base and ate BBQ and played soccer with the others.  And ANZAC day showed those familiar and comforting similarities to how Memorial Day is celebrated in the States.  My love and appreciation for Australia deepened that day.  I believe God used this experience to strengthen and give depth to my sense of calling to share the Gospel in Australia that day.  It was the day I went from observing to participating in an important Australian cultural moment.

We look forward to participating in more cultural moments in Australia and pray those moments will give way to understanding Australia and further opportunities to share the gospel with those we meet in Australia.

ANZAC Day 2015 -Dawn Service in Perth | photo by Brett Ballington

Praise God!

Praise God!

We're excited to share that we are currently at 100% of our one-time gifts!  This allows us to focus on raising our last portion of monthly support.  We currently need:

33 Partners at $100/month.

It's our hope to get to Perth sometime later this summer or fall.  If you aren't currently a partner with us please pray and consider joining our team and the work God is doing in Perth. 

Maybe you're interested in making a monthly pledge to support us, if that's the case you can fill out this PLEDGE FORM and we can count you as one of our monthly partners! 

Thank you again for your prayers!

Sun's Coming Up | Perth: February 3rd-19th

In February, Lee and I traveled to Perth to meet with our team leader Stephen Rarig, other members of our the MTW team we'll be joining later this year, and the Presbytery that will be sponsoring our visas.  The purpose of this trip was to meet and secure visa sponsorship from the presbytery, meet with the core group of believers we'll be planting the church with in Fremantle, and do a lot of strategic planning.  It was great trip.  Below is a photo diary of our time down under.


We arrived in Perth, Australia on February 5th and had a day and half to get rested and adjusted.  That meant spending some time at the beach, eating fish and chips, and catching up with a few of the people who will be involved in planting the church- which we're calling the Village.



Throughout our trip we had a number of meetings with pastors from the Westminster Presbytery.  Lee had a transfer of ordination exam and we both shared and answered questions regarding our call and our vision for church planting in Perth, we attended a church planting committee meeting (pictured above) where we discussed the details of our work visas, and on our last evening there we attended the presbytery meeting where they voted to sponsor our work visas!



We got to spend time with a WPC church in Mandurah.  Lee preached and Stephen served communion.  Afterwards they fed us an amazing meal of Aussie meat pies and pavlova for dessert. It was so good.  And it really turned out to be an exciting service!

The Left Bank in East Fremantle.  We had a lunch meeting here and this was our view!  Fremantle is the area of the city where we'll be starting the Village.


A view of South Fremantle from the water.  We spent some time praying, discussing our roles and vision for the church plant out on the rocks in the Fremantle harbor.


This is a shot from Cottesloe beach looking south toward Fremantle.  I had never been to Cottesloe beach so Stephen stopped on our way to a lunch appointment so I could see it. 


We got to spend a lot time with various pastors involved with the WPC.  This is Roger Palmer.  He's a pastor from South Africa serving at Maida Vale Presbyterian Church.  He spent a number of years at Twin Oaks Presbyterian Church in St. Louis and a couple of our partners connected us back in 2013.  I'm thankful they did- and it was great to finally meet him in person and here about his ministry!





One of the most exciting moments of the trip was preparing and leading music for the first gathering of the Village!  Lee and I cooked a huge Mexican feast, then we sang some worship tunes, prayed, and Lee preached.  I cannot tell you how encouraging it was to be a part of this night and Missy and excited to be in community with these folks everyday!



Just north of the city in Jundaloop, there is a group of Australians and South Africans who are planting a church that our team leader Stephen is connected with- he consults with and preaches for them occasionally.  They had a huge BBQ feast and invited us.  I took this photo on the way to the BBQ. West Australian sunsets are hard to beat!


Lee and I spent Saturday, February 14th exploring all over Perth.  We walked up Mount Street and saw that one of the super Luxe condos on that street was having an open house. The view of the city from the balcony was spectacular.  Later that afternoon we met up with Stephen and Berenice at Langley Park to see the Giants (which are giant marionettes that were in town from France for the month long Perth Festival). They spent the weekend roaming city.  An estimated 1.5 million people came out to see them!



The following Sunday morning Lee preached at Canning Vale Presbyterian Church.  CVPC is pastored by MTW missionary Richard Bailey.  God is using Richard and his wife TC in big ways.  Richard holds a regular bible study at his house on Sunday evenings for university students and early career folks.  He invited me to join them that evening and asked me to sing some worship tunes and share my testimony and how God has worked in my life to bring me to Australia.  This was another one of those moments where everything hit home for me and provided another example of how our role on the team.  I can't wait to join with Richard in this bible study.  Over 30 people where in attendance that evening!



On our last day Lee, Richard, Stephen, and I had lunch.  We prayed for that evening's presbytery meeting, discussed how we can pray for each other in the coming months, and dreamed about the day we are all together in Perth