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