Happy New Year

Well, who can believe that another year has gone by? 2008 has been an amazing year for me, personally. From leaving work at Barnardos on 4th January through to leaving Shellharbour City Centre Anglican Church on 28th December, it has been a year that involved a lot of changes. I've survived my first year at Moore College, moving out of the Illawarra, living in community and commuting to Shellharbour for church each week - and through it all, God has remained steadfast and faithful.

As I face more changes, especially with beginning at a new church (Panania Anglican Church) in a couple of weeks, and am sometimes daunted by more change, I can continue to rely on the God who never changes.

In the next few weeks, there is much happening. Tomorrow, I head to Katoomba for my annual week at CMS Summer School - a week-long mission conference, with great teaching and an opportunity to hear of God's work around the world. For a number of years now, my whole family has stayed together for the week but this year will be a little different. My brother and his family will be staying in a house of their own, especially in order to give them the freedom to offer hospitality to others. This means that it will just be my parents, my sister and I in a house together.

At the end of Summer School, I will spend a couple of days at Kurrajong with my brother and his family before heading back to Katoomba to be a strand group leader at the Next Generation conference (pka Katoomba Youth Leadership Conference). This is my first experience of leading a strand group - with a group who is there for the second year! Please pray for Ben (my co-leader) and I as we work through Genesis 11 with the group and help them to see how the whole Bible fits together.

I hope that Christmas was an opportunity for special time with friends and family, but that, most of all, it was a time to remember the birth of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus. I pray that 2009 will be filled with many joys and blessings for all readers of this blog and that Jesus' love will become more real throughout this year.