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Dear Friends, Sorry it has been such a long time since you have heard from me. Below is a quick update with photos and few prayer points. Jenny and I had a great time on holidays in late August/September visiting our son Andrew and his wife Katie in Oregon, USA.
Andrew, Kate, Jenny and Tim walking near Crater Lake National Park I returned to Airds in late September and was pleased to hear how the team had continued to progress in my absence. Bob Slockee has been doing a great job of stepping up and taking increasing leadership responsibility. Please continue to pray for Bob, Justine and their 3 boys. A great highlight for me was coming back and meeting with Jayden. He was really keen to catch up to tell me that while I was away he had made a decision to become a follower of Jesus. That news was so sweet. The journey we have shared over the past two years has been amazing. Jayden has just started year 12 and we have been meeting regularly for discipleship and working out a way forward through year 12 and possibly into university. Jayden is quite bright and very talented. He is passionate about being an “interactive digital media artist”. I would like to identify a Christian to connect Jayden with to help him develop a career pathway – can any of you help me with finding someone who is an “interactive digital media artist”?
Jayden and Wes on the Bundeena to Wattamolla coastal walk… During the October school holidays, Wesley and I took a group of our older youth on a camping trip to the Royal National Park. Wes will be graduating from Church Army’s Gap training course December 3rd. Please pray for Wes as he completes his internship and says goodbye to many that he has impacted for the sake of the gospel.
Emma, Gary, Colin, Rene, Bob, Wes, Tim, Blain, Rich and boys at a recent fellowship dinner saying goodbye to Wes… In October we had a visit from two Godly men from Dallas, Texas: Randy and Ken. They equipped us with some practical ministry skills and were a great encouragement as together we put in a big effort evangelistically. We saw 16 people make decisions for Christ the week they were with us.
Wade, Gary, Bob, Margaret, Samuel (baby), Crystal, Justine, Ken, Joan, Randy, Peter
In recent weeks Bob has experienced an increase in Aboriginal men approaching him to enquire about following Jesus. This week Bob and I met with Danial and Danielle. We have known them for over a year but were unable to adequately explain the gospel until now. They decided together they want to follow Jesus and to teach their 4 children to follow Jesus. Along with them please pray for Des, Rich, Mark, Ewon, Stefan, Ronnie, Darren and Gary – these are all Aboriginal men we are having ministry with.
Danial and Danielle immediately following their prayer of commitment to Christ… This coming week we have a visit from Andrew “Fishtail” Fisher from Jesus Racing. Andrew is bringing his V8 ute to the youth group and fellowship dinner. We hope Andrew will be a great encouragement to the many people in Airds who have begun to follow Jesus. Please pray for this event happening 8 December. Also can I ask your prayer for Jason Moss. Jason heads up the youth group along with the ministry in Airds HS. It has been a great year with scores of High School aged youth participating in groups and camps where they have learned about the Good News of Jesus. The experience of working with Jayden has inspired me to develop some structure for helping young men who grow up without a working man in the house. It is very hard for a young man to develop character and learn skills without a positive male role model in their life. The idea is to identify young guys who are motivated. The aim will be to help them to start a whole new generation. To break the generational patterns of welfare dependency, alcohol and drug abuse, broken relationships and unemployment issues. Please pray that what I am learning with Jayden can be multiplied into many young men’s lives.
A final prayer request is for the drug problem in Airds. I estimate 80% of households are affected. It is so sad to see how this destroys lives, families and especially children. I believe this is a spiritual stronghold – deception from the enemy. I regularly hear adults justify their marijuana use by saying it helps them relax, sleep, with anxiety, stress and depression. In fact, recent research indicates marijuana use exacerbates these issues – therein lies the deception. However, its use is deeply entrenched. Thanks for joining in this gospel work through your prayers and support. In His Grip and Grace, Tim