Firsts

This year begins with a brand new experience for us - being at the OTHER side of sending kids into the wild and woolly places of the world, where the needs of the poor are desperate and immediate. Jason, our eldest, left today to spend 6 weeks in Kolkata, (Calcutta) India working amongst street children. We are delighted, proud, nervous and above all grateful to Jesus for planting this desire in his heart. We know he will be a changed young man when he returns, just in time to go back to Uni in February.

After a busy 2011 with all the sports activities, academic challenges, and youth groups activities Chelsea and Daniel have enjoyed down time over the summer holidays. The absolutely rotten weather has given them a bunch of time to blob out, but with highlights of friends and family visiting from Australia. Chelsea begins her finial year at high school in January, loves playing guitar, and hopes to play again with the girls First XI soccer team. Daniel begins his first national exams (NCEA1) - do they have an X Box subject? He's loving playing both his drums and tennis.

This less than delightful weather over Christmas did mean that Graeme and I were very happy to get on with our DYI house projects, and achieved another first - painting the interior of our very own house. It may seem like a small thing to be so excited about, but it was a delightful first for us. It even turned out OK!

We have some  exciting events coming up this year in our work in New Zealand with Mercy Ships, the most immediate being a PR event at the end of the month at Parachute - Down Under's biggest Christian music festival. With 27,000 expected attendees the exposure for people with a heart to serve the poor is tremendous.We are trusting God for people to sign up to volunteer onbaord as wellas to support this work with Africa's poor finacially.Either way, they become part of something life-changing for people with little hope.

Our lives have been radically impacted by God's heart for the poor, and one of the most incredible things we have experienced is now seeing our children also stepping out determined to make a difference in this arena. Go God!