The Prac Week season has begun! This is when we head out in small teams to serve the community through the church and para-church organisations. This semester one team left just yesterday for Cooma, to serve the church and our team leaves tomorrow to serve with the Salvation Army in Sydney. Just to give us a heads up for working with the disadvantaged our team began the week spending two days working alongside the clients at Mission Australia's Triple Care Farm. This is a drug rehab for 16-24 year olds and it's situated about half an hour from us on 100 acres of beautiful farm land. We made some really good friendships there and on Wednesday we invited them back to work with us on our property. Six came and we had a great morning of work followed by a delicious lunch and then a trip into Bowral to enjoy a GREAT coffee. This is real ministry. A lot of the clients find it hard to talk about everyday stuff, instead they talk about their 'party' lifestyle so we encouraged them as we spoke of things like food, cars, movies and music and even computers! It was great and we look forward to returning before the end of term to build up these friendships.
A lot of the work we do is all about building relationships. This is what Jesus did - all ministry should be through relationship - that's the difference Jesus makes! We go to give and there's a lot of love that we can share from Jesus. We always top ourselves up by having a Quiet Time at the start of everyday so that all that we do is the outflow of our own relationship with Jesus. Our aim is to be led by the Spirit in all that we do and simply join in with what God is already doing. Sounds easy but often we can get in the way!!
At TCF it was interesting that as we helped them to paint their chicken pens it was very easy to strike up conversations. Our guys were able to share lots of what we do and what we believe in a very easy going environment. We were also able to learn lots about the backgrounds of the clients. Somehow it seems unfair that they have had to face so much heartache and hurt in their lives, but we believe whatever their experiences, there's nothing that Jesus cannot redeem them from or forgive. God loves to use all our experiences for his glory and maybe help us to relate to others who have experienced the same as us.
In a little over a week I'll be able to share a lot of the stories of our team experiences and encourage you how Jesus is using us to make a difference in this world. I already know that even though we go to give we will also receive so much more - just wait and see...
HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND AND A TERRIFIC WEEK!
STEVE aka WOODSEY
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
REPORT: Hong Kong Mission Trip September 2009
Going to Hong Kong with a mission trip for the second time this year was a huge blessing. Not only did we raise all our travel money with relative ease, but we also had a bounty of cash to donate which, when added to what we gave in April came to way over HK$100,000. This we gave with much joy to the Building Project, which consisted of a prayer sanctuary, a swimming pool, and a school building. This is a wonderful confirmation of the fruit of the partnership that we have enjoyed with St Stephen’s Society for the past five years.
Speaking to the three guys who went - Thane, Thomas and Jordan - it was clear that that three things impacted them the most; the lifestyle of worship, the commitment to a personal relationship with Jesus and the huge sense of community. Here are some stories that describe something of what they experienced.
We lived in a community at Shing Mun Springs that consisted of a little over 200 people who were either dedicated Christian staff or recovering drug addicts looking for new life in Jesus. There were five main housing blocks in which we all lived. The staff was made up of singles and married couples, many had babies and there were lots of children.
The daily routine would begin at 7.30am when we would start with exercise followed by breakfast, then onto Quiet Time for an hour followed by worship ministry and sharing. Often during these Spirit-filled ministry times the brothers, (the name given to recovering drug addicts), would be healed of physical and emotional wounds. After a short break there would be time to do the household chores before lunch and in the afternoon there would be more work and recreation. Each evening consisted of worship, ministry, and sharing with social time before bed at 10.00pm.
Some of the house leaders would change up the daily routine which gave an amazing result – virtually during the normal course of the day we were able to hear the heartfelt cries of worship coming from somewhere!
At Shing Mun Springs prayer also seemed to be continuous. The ‘new boys’, (the name given to any new brother coming into the house), would receive round the clock prayer and care for ten days. During this time of ‘detox’ many would sleep peacefully and be ministered to by the Holy Spirit. In fact, we prayed for all the needs of our community – all through the day! It was very refreshing to see prayer as a way of life and an obvious foundation to the effective ministry of St Stephen’s Society.
Joe Joe was one of our robust helpers in Block 4. He had entered the community some years earlier looking much like a skeleton with only seven days to live due to cancer. He was given round the clock care and prayer and he attended the worship sessions whenever he had the strength. He was healed. He is now reunited with his family and serves at Shing Mun Springs with the Father’s love and gives much hope to all the brothers.
One of the things we did which the brothers particularly enjoyed was organizing a Western Food Night. Our team along with two helpers shopped for over six hours in all the local markets to return and prepare the biggest Mexican meal that has ever been seen at Shing Mun Springs. We calmly chopped tomatoes, sliced lettuce, cooked mince, and put sauces into bowls while the tortillas were warming in the sun. The result almost transformed our houses into restaurants! Over 100 people were fed until they were full! We felt so satisfied to see the happy faces of everyone and the joy that we had brought in this way.
The evening progressed to worship and Jordan presented some of his own songs. He taught the guys one of them and you would have thought that they were all fluent English speakers! Jesus was in everything! Thomas then showed a video of the Torchbearer’s community sending a message in Chinese - the brothers thought it was wonderful. They responded with an equally uplifting message for us back at school – all soaked in a spirit of gratefulness and fun. We will all remember that evening forever!
After two weeks we returned home having made lots of friends and having touched lots of hearts. Our aim was to go to give and we were satisfied that our mission was accomplished. During our time we realized that no matter what our role, whether upfront or unseen, our purpose is always to use the gifts God has given us to serve His Kingdom purposes. As we stepped out in faith to do this and sowed into rich soil we left as much better people for it – totally inspired, tired but refreshed and eager to learn more and give more. All glory to God!
Speaking to the three guys who went - Thane, Thomas and Jordan - it was clear that that three things impacted them the most; the lifestyle of worship, the commitment to a personal relationship with Jesus and the huge sense of community. Here are some stories that describe something of what they experienced.
We lived in a community at Shing Mun Springs that consisted of a little over 200 people who were either dedicated Christian staff or recovering drug addicts looking for new life in Jesus. There were five main housing blocks in which we all lived. The staff was made up of singles and married couples, many had babies and there were lots of children.
The daily routine would begin at 7.30am when we would start with exercise followed by breakfast, then onto Quiet Time for an hour followed by worship ministry and sharing. Often during these Spirit-filled ministry times the brothers, (the name given to recovering drug addicts), would be healed of physical and emotional wounds. After a short break there would be time to do the household chores before lunch and in the afternoon there would be more work and recreation. Each evening consisted of worship, ministry, and sharing with social time before bed at 10.00pm.
Some of the house leaders would change up the daily routine which gave an amazing result – virtually during the normal course of the day we were able to hear the heartfelt cries of worship coming from somewhere!
At Shing Mun Springs prayer also seemed to be continuous. The ‘new boys’, (the name given to any new brother coming into the house), would receive round the clock prayer and care for ten days. During this time of ‘detox’ many would sleep peacefully and be ministered to by the Holy Spirit. In fact, we prayed for all the needs of our community – all through the day! It was very refreshing to see prayer as a way of life and an obvious foundation to the effective ministry of St Stephen’s Society.
Joe Joe was one of our robust helpers in Block 4. He had entered the community some years earlier looking much like a skeleton with only seven days to live due to cancer. He was given round the clock care and prayer and he attended the worship sessions whenever he had the strength. He was healed. He is now reunited with his family and serves at Shing Mun Springs with the Father’s love and gives much hope to all the brothers.
One of the things we did which the brothers particularly enjoyed was organizing a Western Food Night. Our team along with two helpers shopped for over six hours in all the local markets to return and prepare the biggest Mexican meal that has ever been seen at Shing Mun Springs. We calmly chopped tomatoes, sliced lettuce, cooked mince, and put sauces into bowls while the tortillas were warming in the sun. The result almost transformed our houses into restaurants! Over 100 people were fed until they were full! We felt so satisfied to see the happy faces of everyone and the joy that we had brought in this way.
The evening progressed to worship and Jordan presented some of his own songs. He taught the guys one of them and you would have thought that they were all fluent English speakers! Jesus was in everything! Thomas then showed a video of the Torchbearer’s community sending a message in Chinese - the brothers thought it was wonderful. They responded with an equally uplifting message for us back at school – all soaked in a spirit of gratefulness and fun. We will all remember that evening forever!
After two weeks we returned home having made lots of friends and having touched lots of hearts. Our aim was to go to give and we were satisfied that our mission was accomplished. During our time we realized that no matter what our role, whether upfront or unseen, our purpose is always to use the gifts God has given us to serve His Kingdom purposes. As we stepped out in faith to do this and sowed into rich soil we left as much better people for it – totally inspired, tired but refreshed and eager to learn more and give more. All glory to God!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
THE FIRST DAY OF A WHOLE NEW ADVENTURE!
Today is the start of two-week break and, 'YES!' is the cry from our students!! Weeks of hard work are now rewarded with a few weeks to recharge and refresh! And what better place to do it than in Australia! It is no surprise that most of our students are traveling north to enjoy the beautiful sunshine, beaches and opportunities of sharing their faith with fellow travellers. It's a whole new adventure! No more doing things because they are scheduled, but now its a question of the heart - and how their hearts have been growing to serve Jesus! I'm looking forward to hearing the stories when everyone gets back and I'll post a few to share with you.
Two of our students will be traveling overseas to Hong Kong. This is our second opportunity to go to New Boy House, (with St. Stephen's Society), to serve guys who are coming off drugs and looking for new life in Jesus. Thane and Thomas are going with Jordan from our community along with myself. We have spent many hours in training to be ready for a whole new adventure - different culture, different language, different food, different way of life BUT the same Jesus working through all of them! This is a ministry that transforms lives and as we serve with them we are transformed too. I will be very excited to tell you some of our stories in our next post too. Please help us by praying for a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ as that will help us with everything we do! You might like to know that with all the fund-raising that we did this year for St. Stephen's we will have given them just over HK$100,000 towards their building fund. We thank God for using us in this way.
In our school there are lots of other things going on while the students are away. We have the Women's REfresh Conference this weekend, followed by a group of people next weekend from an Indonesian church and they are followed by the Kairos Prison Ministry who will be serving the ladies in the local Berrima Jail. For the people who stay behind it is another whole new adventure! Life is never dull with Jesus!
So, with this news update I'll close. I will be posting some updates on the i58 facebook page for anyone who would like to follow our progress in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, have a great couple of weeks and I'll look forward to sharing those stories with you then.
GOD BLESS
STEVE aka WOODSEY
Two of our students will be traveling overseas to Hong Kong. This is our second opportunity to go to New Boy House, (with St. Stephen's Society), to serve guys who are coming off drugs and looking for new life in Jesus. Thane and Thomas are going with Jordan from our community along with myself. We have spent many hours in training to be ready for a whole new adventure - different culture, different language, different food, different way of life BUT the same Jesus working through all of them! This is a ministry that transforms lives and as we serve with them we are transformed too. I will be very excited to tell you some of our stories in our next post too. Please help us by praying for a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ as that will help us with everything we do! You might like to know that with all the fund-raising that we did this year for St. Stephen's we will have given them just over HK$100,000 towards their building fund. We thank God for using us in this way.
In our school there are lots of other things going on while the students are away. We have the Women's REfresh Conference this weekend, followed by a group of people next weekend from an Indonesian church and they are followed by the Kairos Prison Ministry who will be serving the ladies in the local Berrima Jail. For the people who stay behind it is another whole new adventure! Life is never dull with Jesus!
So, with this news update I'll close. I will be posting some updates on the i58 facebook page for anyone who would like to follow our progress in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, have a great couple of weeks and I'll look forward to sharing those stories with you then.
GOD BLESS
STEVE aka WOODSEY
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
BENEFIT ALL ROUND
Hi Everyone!
Last weekend was amazing! We had the Benefit Night for Missions and Ministry on Saturday and our regular knockout SN@C programme on Sunday. Some of our fantastic supporters came to both events and had a most blessed time.
The students worked incredibly hard to transform the Conference Hall into the most inviting place with great decor, relaxing music along with coffee tables decorated with candles, chocolate money, snakes (sweet ones for the kids!) along with drink and dessert menus! All our guests were waited on by our wonderful students who served up home-made mouth watering cakes with a choice of fresh coffee, hot chocolate or flavoured tea. The guys had the best time presenting the cakes on large white plates that left lots of room for creative presentation!
While this was going on Mark and Sheree went around the tables talking to our guests and Mark also sold some handmade cards by Alyssa from last term, (thanks Alyssa!). We were all doing our bit!
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the 'goodies' and were ready for the entertainment to start soon after eight. Jordan Worner kicked us off by singing one of the songs from his new album DECIDED, then Christie sang a few songs accompanied by guitar while Prue and I played the Ashokan Farewell for two violins. And that's not all! Jon gave us the most incredible drum solo lasting over eight minutes and then we had Sheree and Jordan round things off with the song 'Lucky' - how awesome!!!
Then came the auction of our student's gifts and talents led by Michael Kime, a regular SN@C attendee. He looked the part in his white cowboy hat and what with his fast talking we weren't always sure whether our students were stocky men or beefy cows! Nonetheless, the bids just kept coming and we raised heaps of money!
Altogether, our Benefit Night was a huge success with lots of fun had by all and we raised a little short of our target of $2,000. A huge THANK YOU to all that came along with all the students, staff and friends who made it all possible!
And the following night we were out welcoming our guests once again, only this time for SN@C - and it was amazing, with a great presentation focusing on forgiveness.
What a weekend!! Lots of life and lots of love. We experience both a great deal here.
More news next week, which will be the last week of term. We'll have a break as I three guys and myself will be off to Hong Kong for our Mission trip to serve with St Stephen's Society.
Goodbye for now and I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!! GOD BLESS!
STEVE aka WOODSEY
Last weekend was amazing! We had the Benefit Night for Missions and Ministry on Saturday and our regular knockout SN@C programme on Sunday. Some of our fantastic supporters came to both events and had a most blessed time.
The students worked incredibly hard to transform the Conference Hall into the most inviting place with great decor, relaxing music along with coffee tables decorated with candles, chocolate money, snakes (sweet ones for the kids!) along with drink and dessert menus! All our guests were waited on by our wonderful students who served up home-made mouth watering cakes with a choice of fresh coffee, hot chocolate or flavoured tea. The guys had the best time presenting the cakes on large white plates that left lots of room for creative presentation!
While this was going on Mark and Sheree went around the tables talking to our guests and Mark also sold some handmade cards by Alyssa from last term, (thanks Alyssa!). We were all doing our bit!
Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the 'goodies' and were ready for the entertainment to start soon after eight. Jordan Worner kicked us off by singing one of the songs from his new album DECIDED, then Christie sang a few songs accompanied by guitar while Prue and I played the Ashokan Farewell for two violins. And that's not all! Jon gave us the most incredible drum solo lasting over eight minutes and then we had Sheree and Jordan round things off with the song 'Lucky' - how awesome!!!
Then came the auction of our student's gifts and talents led by Michael Kime, a regular SN@C attendee. He looked the part in his white cowboy hat and what with his fast talking we weren't always sure whether our students were stocky men or beefy cows! Nonetheless, the bids just kept coming and we raised heaps of money!
Altogether, our Benefit Night was a huge success with lots of fun had by all and we raised a little short of our target of $2,000. A huge THANK YOU to all that came along with all the students, staff and friends who made it all possible!
And the following night we were out welcoming our guests once again, only this time for SN@C - and it was amazing, with a great presentation focusing on forgiveness.
What a weekend!! Lots of life and lots of love. We experience both a great deal here.
More news next week, which will be the last week of term. We'll have a break as I three guys and myself will be off to Hong Kong for our Mission trip to serve with St Stephen's Society.
Goodbye for now and I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!! GOD BLESS!
STEVE aka WOODSEY
Thursday, September 3, 2009
WE ARE BACK IN ACTION!
It's been a few weeks since I last posted a blog - apologies to our regular readers. Hope you will like the new-look i58 now that it has 'flash' technology! Thank you all for your patience!
I'm on the road at the moment as Torchbearers Australia is looking to set up a Mission Trip in an Aboriginal community for next Easter. This is an exciting time! We are looking to God to show us where He would like us to be. I am traveling with Tony, a student from last semester, and we are visiting various churches who have great connections with their indigenous communities. We've been to Port Macquarie, Tweed Heads, Moree and tomorrow we will go to Dubbo. So far we've seen some GREAT work going on and I think we'll have to pray and use lots of discernment to know where God would like us to serve. More news about this will follow once we get back and report to Dave and Neil. I just have to say that the hospitality that has been extended to us has been outstanding! People have been SO kind to us. And while we have been traveling we have enjoyed some new sights - we took some photos and the best of these I'll put on our facebook page.
Other news from our school is that there is a lot of baking going on right now!! We are holding a Benefit Night on 12th September for Missions and Ministry which will support our mission trip to Hong Kong on 28th and also help students who need help with their school fees. The evening includes desert and drinks plus entertainment and the main attraction will be the auction of the special gifts and talents of all our students! Most of the talents involve a fair bit of muscle, (gardening, cleaning, farm work etc) but others include help with IT, speaking German and baby sitting! How great is that! We hope to raise $2,000. I am impressed to hear from the students, (even though I'm on the road), that my flat now resembles a bakery!!
Lots of good stuff is happening at school - all part of a 'normal' week; GREAT teaching from our director, Dave, on the first book of Peter, GREAT family nights with trips to two local bowling allies and GREAT Guys and Girls nights with great bonding and praying.
I'm looking forward to sharing more news of life at our Bible School next week. Meanwhile, HAVE A GREAT WEEK!
STEVE aka WOODSEY
I'm on the road at the moment as Torchbearers Australia is looking to set up a Mission Trip in an Aboriginal community for next Easter. This is an exciting time! We are looking to God to show us where He would like us to be. I am traveling with Tony, a student from last semester, and we are visiting various churches who have great connections with their indigenous communities. We've been to Port Macquarie, Tweed Heads, Moree and tomorrow we will go to Dubbo. So far we've seen some GREAT work going on and I think we'll have to pray and use lots of discernment to know where God would like us to serve. More news about this will follow once we get back and report to Dave and Neil. I just have to say that the hospitality that has been extended to us has been outstanding! People have been SO kind to us. And while we have been traveling we have enjoyed some new sights - we took some photos and the best of these I'll put on our facebook page.
Other news from our school is that there is a lot of baking going on right now!! We are holding a Benefit Night on 12th September for Missions and Ministry which will support our mission trip to Hong Kong on 28th and also help students who need help with their school fees. The evening includes desert and drinks plus entertainment and the main attraction will be the auction of the special gifts and talents of all our students! Most of the talents involve a fair bit of muscle, (gardening, cleaning, farm work etc) but others include help with IT, speaking German and baby sitting! How great is that! We hope to raise $2,000. I am impressed to hear from the students, (even though I'm on the road), that my flat now resembles a bakery!!
Lots of good stuff is happening at school - all part of a 'normal' week; GREAT teaching from our director, Dave, on the first book of Peter, GREAT family nights with trips to two local bowling allies and GREAT Guys and Girls nights with great bonding and praying.
I'm looking forward to sharing more news of life at our Bible School next week. Meanwhile, HAVE A GREAT WEEK!
STEVE aka WOODSEY
Thursday, July 30, 2009
GOD AT WORK BIG TIME!
WOW! Only into our second week and each of us is feeling God's hand upon us in a very special way. Part of the wonder of God is that He knows each of us individually and where we are at. What amazes us that through the teaching of His Word, through one person speaking, everyone can receive a personal revelation from God. We have countless testimonies of this happening already. Students are peeling back so much of who they are so that the God of all reality can be their reality and together we can walk in that reality of GRACE, LOVE and UNITY. A huge thanks to Dave Sharman, our Director, who has been teaching from the book of Ephesians this week - mate! God has used you mightily!
I guess the other big news this week is that Keith Walters, the former student who designed the i58 website is coming here to upgrade the website. He only has a few days to spend with us but we hope he will not only achieve his goal but also enjoy some good hang out time with all the new students!! Thanks Keith for your amazing gift to us - and for flying in all the way from Texas!!
Last Sunday was our first SN@C of the new season and it went off with real passion as the team introduced the new students, played some crazy games and led us into a great message of GRACE. This combined with great worship meant that everyone there was well and truly fed and went home blessed! That's the way we like it. Thanks to all the local community who support us and be part of this amazing time together!
This week the theme of the SN@C is 'gossip' and it is viewed from the context of community - looking at what builds it and what tears it down. What an awesome reminder to all of us about our responsibility, not just to ourselves but to the wider community for the building up of the body of Christ - can't wait to see their presentation. If you can, come and join us and, as we say each week, BRING A FRIEND!
Well, it may be Friday, but there's so much to look forward to this weekend. Tomorrow night we are taking a bus load of people to Hillsong to hear their evening service and, as usual, enjoy a meal at Mackers on the way home! Some of the students are going into MacArthur to watch a movie and do some shopping. Oh, and tonight, I have a bunch of guys coming over for a dinner. Tim, our Greek Masterchef and I have come up with a menu and this arvo we'll be putting it all together. Love it!!
So, as I close, I wish you all a GREAT weekend and hope to hear from some of you either in the comments or on our i58 page on facebook! Why not check out our new photos!!!
God bless,
STEVE aka WOODSEY
I guess the other big news this week is that Keith Walters, the former student who designed the i58 website is coming here to upgrade the website. He only has a few days to spend with us but we hope he will not only achieve his goal but also enjoy some good hang out time with all the new students!! Thanks Keith for your amazing gift to us - and for flying in all the way from Texas!!
Last Sunday was our first SN@C of the new season and it went off with real passion as the team introduced the new students, played some crazy games and led us into a great message of GRACE. This combined with great worship meant that everyone there was well and truly fed and went home blessed! That's the way we like it. Thanks to all the local community who support us and be part of this amazing time together!
This week the theme of the SN@C is 'gossip' and it is viewed from the context of community - looking at what builds it and what tears it down. What an awesome reminder to all of us about our responsibility, not just to ourselves but to the wider community for the building up of the body of Christ - can't wait to see their presentation. If you can, come and join us and, as we say each week, BRING A FRIEND!
Well, it may be Friday, but there's so much to look forward to this weekend. Tomorrow night we are taking a bus load of people to Hillsong to hear their evening service and, as usual, enjoy a meal at Mackers on the way home! Some of the students are going into MacArthur to watch a movie and do some shopping. Oh, and tonight, I have a bunch of guys coming over for a dinner. Tim, our Greek Masterchef and I have come up with a menu and this arvo we'll be putting it all together. Love it!!
So, as I close, I wish you all a GREAT weekend and hope to hear from some of you either in the comments or on our i58 page on facebook! Why not check out our new photos!!!
God bless,
STEVE aka WOODSEY
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
BACK IN ACTION
One of the most exciting days for the staff at Torchbearers Australia is the day the students arrive. For some of them it is returning home, (after already completing one semester with us), and for others it is a whole new adventure about to begin.
During any break we have the time to relax and refresh and in a way, that only makes us more excited to greet our new family and start our journey of doing life together in this beautiful place that God has blessed us with.
So, they're here!! They all arrived safe and sound and have come from all over the globe; America, Canada, (of course), England, Germany and many different parts of Australia. And for the first time in over eight years we have more guys than girls!! What amazing times are in store for all of us as we learn to enter into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ!
Already the students have been given lectures by our Principal, the Rev. Neil Bernard, on Christ in Hebrews, as well as having been given a great grounding in the ways we operate here. To break this up a bit we all went out as a family on Wednesday night to HANG DOG which is an indoor rock climbing centre in Woolongong. We all loved it; some preferred to traverse, belay, or talk but most loved the climbing itself, whether it was straight up or going round various ledges or just 'hanging out' in the bat cave, (excuse the pun!!). And let's not forget the great conversations that were going on in the bus - even though we were a little tired going there we were certainly fired up on the way back!
Last night we split the guys and the girls to have our regular Thursday night prayer groups. Here we bond with our own gender, have a focus and then pray and the guys then split into prayer triplets. It was a great time to get to know each other better AND pray together and for each other. For the staff this is a way of life but for our students this is the start of establishing healthy spiritual habits that may last a lifetime.
So today, Friday we finish the first week with the guys going camping and the girls have a 'fun night in' doing whatever it is that girls do!! The guys will be sitting around a great fire, eating some terrific food - one of the Aussie students is half Greek so we'll be eating Greek food par excellence - and looking at the stars as we share stories and just enjoy the GREAT Aussie outback.
So we are back in action and God is very much working in our lives already. Our first SN@C is on Sunday and already our first team is roaring to go with a programme that will get us getting to know each other with lots of fun and hearing a GREAT message on grace.
How good is that for a first week at Torchbearers Australia! Wish you were here? Just get in touch and join us for what will undoubtedly be another GREAT semester!
Good bless,
STEVE, aka Woodsey
During any break we have the time to relax and refresh and in a way, that only makes us more excited to greet our new family and start our journey of doing life together in this beautiful place that God has blessed us with.
So, they're here!! They all arrived safe and sound and have come from all over the globe; America, Canada, (of course), England, Germany and many different parts of Australia. And for the first time in over eight years we have more guys than girls!! What amazing times are in store for all of us as we learn to enter into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ!
Already the students have been given lectures by our Principal, the Rev. Neil Bernard, on Christ in Hebrews, as well as having been given a great grounding in the ways we operate here. To break this up a bit we all went out as a family on Wednesday night to HANG DOG which is an indoor rock climbing centre in Woolongong. We all loved it; some preferred to traverse, belay, or talk but most loved the climbing itself, whether it was straight up or going round various ledges or just 'hanging out' in the bat cave, (excuse the pun!!). And let's not forget the great conversations that were going on in the bus - even though we were a little tired going there we were certainly fired up on the way back!
Last night we split the guys and the girls to have our regular Thursday night prayer groups. Here we bond with our own gender, have a focus and then pray and the guys then split into prayer triplets. It was a great time to get to know each other better AND pray together and for each other. For the staff this is a way of life but for our students this is the start of establishing healthy spiritual habits that may last a lifetime.
So today, Friday we finish the first week with the guys going camping and the girls have a 'fun night in' doing whatever it is that girls do!! The guys will be sitting around a great fire, eating some terrific food - one of the Aussie students is half Greek so we'll be eating Greek food par excellence - and looking at the stars as we share stories and just enjoy the GREAT Aussie outback.
So we are back in action and God is very much working in our lives already. Our first SN@C is on Sunday and already our first team is roaring to go with a programme that will get us getting to know each other with lots of fun and hearing a GREAT message on grace.
How good is that for a first week at Torchbearers Australia! Wish you were here? Just get in touch and join us for what will undoubtedly be another GREAT semester!
Good bless,
STEVE, aka Woodsey
Thursday, June 18, 2009
GOD IS DOING AMAZING THINGS THROUGH US
Hi everyone! Seems like a lot of time has passed since I last wrote and for sure, a lot of things have been happening in the lives of the Torchbearers community! As you know, the school went on what we call Prac Week a few weeks ago. So let me give you a bit of a run down on the time out. If you want to check out any photos, go to the i58 page on facebook to see heaps of pictures.
Without a doubt the highlight of the Nowra Prac Week was the Saturday Night Youth Event, organised by their local Anglican church who they had been working with along with all the local schools, some Christian and some not. Here, following the message our team did a drama to music, (drime). It showed how the world can have such a hold on us and only Jesus can set us free. After this there was an appeal to the youth and between 25 and 30 gave their lives to Jesus and our students had the privilege to lead them to Christ. They said it was awesome. When we got the news from them we all celebrated too. How worthwhile is it to become passionate about Jesus and go out to those who need Him and be used mightily to extend the Kingdom!
The other Prac Week team worked with the poor on the streets of Sydney with the Salvation Army. It’s not always easy to adjust to working with the poor but this team had Jesus paving the way! Their report included comments like, ‘I was taken outside of my comfort zone and realised that it wasn’t so uncomfortable’ and ‘God showed me how He sees these people – they are His creation who He dearly loves’. I could not have asked for more. Our work included a lot of cleaning homes for the poor with such grateful responses such as, ‘I felt like a Princess in my own home’. I was very proud of the team and praised them for how much they had all grown. They all said that they wanted to do something to serve the poor when they return to their home churches – how good is that!
The very next weekend following our few days off after Prac Week I took 12 students and community members to the Salvation Army’s Winter Sleep-out. It was an amazing experience together with about 300 other young people who all had a heart to do something to raise the profile of the 32,000 street sleepers in Australia today. Kevin Rudd is committed to halving this number and we are happy to support this cause. No one was too cold and we experienced lots of ‘live’ entertainment from TV personalities, Miss New South Wales and also a street kid Rapper who stole the show with his hard hitting message of moving on in Christ no matter what – His stage name is Supernal and his everyday name is Dwayne. We had got to know him on Prac Week and after our sleep-out he came back to stay with us for a week.
We had the most awesome week with Dwayne and his buddy Stephen. They loved every moment with us and thought they were in heaven except they could see that our grounds had weeds!! Dwayne is hoping to join us next semester – how good would that be!!!
Our SN@C (Sunday Night At Capers) was absolutely AMAZING last week – the power of God swept the place and touched lives in a way we have not seen before. Lots of people were moved to tears, received prayer and one guy gave his life to Jesus! Praise God. We had record numbers – over 100 and this week there is the promise of even more people coming. We heard from one youth club that they would be bringing out their whole group from Robertson!! We are so blessed!
The end is very much in sight and we are all reflecting on an absolutely life-transforming semester and looking ahead to the transition back into the world of family, work or study.
I’ll sign off now and report back at the end of the semester.
HAVE THE BEST WEEKEND
STEVE aka WOODSEY
Without a doubt the highlight of the Nowra Prac Week was the Saturday Night Youth Event, organised by their local Anglican church who they had been working with along with all the local schools, some Christian and some not. Here, following the message our team did a drama to music, (drime). It showed how the world can have such a hold on us and only Jesus can set us free. After this there was an appeal to the youth and between 25 and 30 gave their lives to Jesus and our students had the privilege to lead them to Christ. They said it was awesome. When we got the news from them we all celebrated too. How worthwhile is it to become passionate about Jesus and go out to those who need Him and be used mightily to extend the Kingdom!
The other Prac Week team worked with the poor on the streets of Sydney with the Salvation Army. It’s not always easy to adjust to working with the poor but this team had Jesus paving the way! Their report included comments like, ‘I was taken outside of my comfort zone and realised that it wasn’t so uncomfortable’ and ‘God showed me how He sees these people – they are His creation who He dearly loves’. I could not have asked for more. Our work included a lot of cleaning homes for the poor with such grateful responses such as, ‘I felt like a Princess in my own home’. I was very proud of the team and praised them for how much they had all grown. They all said that they wanted to do something to serve the poor when they return to their home churches – how good is that!
The very next weekend following our few days off after Prac Week I took 12 students and community members to the Salvation Army’s Winter Sleep-out. It was an amazing experience together with about 300 other young people who all had a heart to do something to raise the profile of the 32,000 street sleepers in Australia today. Kevin Rudd is committed to halving this number and we are happy to support this cause. No one was too cold and we experienced lots of ‘live’ entertainment from TV personalities, Miss New South Wales and also a street kid Rapper who stole the show with his hard hitting message of moving on in Christ no matter what – His stage name is Supernal and his everyday name is Dwayne. We had got to know him on Prac Week and after our sleep-out he came back to stay with us for a week.
We had the most awesome week with Dwayne and his buddy Stephen. They loved every moment with us and thought they were in heaven except they could see that our grounds had weeds!! Dwayne is hoping to join us next semester – how good would that be!!!
Our SN@C (Sunday Night At Capers) was absolutely AMAZING last week – the power of God swept the place and touched lives in a way we have not seen before. Lots of people were moved to tears, received prayer and one guy gave his life to Jesus! Praise God. We had record numbers – over 100 and this week there is the promise of even more people coming. We heard from one youth club that they would be bringing out their whole group from Robertson!! We are so blessed!
The end is very much in sight and we are all reflecting on an absolutely life-transforming semester and looking ahead to the transition back into the world of family, work or study.
I’ll sign off now and report back at the end of the semester.
HAVE THE BEST WEEKEND
STEVE aka WOODSEY
Sunday, May 24, 2009
READY TO GO!
This will be the last blog post for a couple of weeks as the whole school is about to move out into the wider community to serve in various ways. One team is heading south to work with the Anglican Church in Nowra and the other team is going to Sydney to serve with the Salvation Army and their street ministry.
So here’s a run down of some of the highlights over the last week. First up, our lecturer this week was Satish John, the Director of Torchbearers in India. The students were very impressed by his stories as he expounded on ‘The Servanthood of the Believer.’ This timing of these lectures was perfect – the week before heading out for Prac Week.
Here’s a few alternative stories; some of the girls went over to the Briars for a coffee and they got the giggles when then saw an elderly lady fall asleep on the sofa – Kelsy said, ‘You could see right up her nose!’ All the students enjoyed our Thursday morning breakfast as we had porridge for the first time this autumn (fall). We also had lots of other goodies like dates, yoghurt, sultanas and a fruit platter as we broke up into our Prac Week teams to enjoy a time of bonding! Oh yes, and how could I forget, we have three new additions to the school – three miniature ponies grazing in our paddocks – they are a great hit with the students, especially the girls! And for the guys, the latest update is that Thane and Cade have changed the name of their car from Thade to M – if you want to know what ask them on the i58 page on facebook.
Talking to the students, the highlight of the week was most definitely going to Sydney to help the Salvation Army collect for the Red Shield Appeal. We left at 7.30 in the morning in the pouring rain, wondering if we would ever return the same, when suddenly as we passed Campbelltown the sun began to shine brilliantly. What a perfect day! We arrived at the Street Level Church to be given our uniforms, (something like a red pinafore with the Salvos’ logo), and then sent out into teams of about six. We had one of our SN@CERS, Zac Barr join us, to help collect all the money. We started around 9.30 and went straight through until 4.30. Once we had finished, the Salvos estimated that we had collected $12,000 - $15,000, not bad for a whole day’s work. I have to say, I was very proud of the students who went – they worked very hard and as well as collecting so much money they also had great team work and enjoyed themselves heaps.
Well, tonight is SN@C, the last for a couple of weeks so we are expecting a huge crowd. The team have been working hard, as usual, ready to make an impact with the gospel message on all who come.
Oh, just one last piece of news. Following the huge success of the Hong Kong Mission Trip we have decided to go again in September. I am so excited about this and am looking forward to what God will teach us as we step out to put our faith into action to build into the lives of the poor.
Well, until I write again, enjoy wonderful times with Jesus,
STEVE aka WOODSEY
So here’s a run down of some of the highlights over the last week. First up, our lecturer this week was Satish John, the Director of Torchbearers in India. The students were very impressed by his stories as he expounded on ‘The Servanthood of the Believer.’ This timing of these lectures was perfect – the week before heading out for Prac Week.
Here’s a few alternative stories; some of the girls went over to the Briars for a coffee and they got the giggles when then saw an elderly lady fall asleep on the sofa – Kelsy said, ‘You could see right up her nose!’ All the students enjoyed our Thursday morning breakfast as we had porridge for the first time this autumn (fall). We also had lots of other goodies like dates, yoghurt, sultanas and a fruit platter as we broke up into our Prac Week teams to enjoy a time of bonding! Oh yes, and how could I forget, we have three new additions to the school – three miniature ponies grazing in our paddocks – they are a great hit with the students, especially the girls! And for the guys, the latest update is that Thane and Cade have changed the name of their car from Thade to M – if you want to know what ask them on the i58 page on facebook.
Talking to the students, the highlight of the week was most definitely going to Sydney to help the Salvation Army collect for the Red Shield Appeal. We left at 7.30 in the morning in the pouring rain, wondering if we would ever return the same, when suddenly as we passed Campbelltown the sun began to shine brilliantly. What a perfect day! We arrived at the Street Level Church to be given our uniforms, (something like a red pinafore with the Salvos’ logo), and then sent out into teams of about six. We had one of our SN@CERS, Zac Barr join us, to help collect all the money. We started around 9.30 and went straight through until 4.30. Once we had finished, the Salvos estimated that we had collected $12,000 - $15,000, not bad for a whole day’s work. I have to say, I was very proud of the students who went – they worked very hard and as well as collecting so much money they also had great team work and enjoyed themselves heaps.
Well, tonight is SN@C, the last for a couple of weeks so we are expecting a huge crowd. The team have been working hard, as usual, ready to make an impact with the gospel message on all who come.
Oh, just one last piece of news. Following the huge success of the Hong Kong Mission Trip we have decided to go again in September. I am so excited about this and am looking forward to what God will teach us as we step out to put our faith into action to build into the lives of the poor.
Well, until I write again, enjoy wonderful times with Jesus,
STEVE aka WOODSEY
Thursday, May 14, 2009
EVERY WEEK IS A BIG WEEK!
Hi everyone! Sometimes I wonder what I might write the following week, then when Thursday comes there’s so much that’s happened in this wonderful community at school that I have to think about what to include! Sometimes we get great surprises like this week when Rod came to visit. He is our former Property Manager who I wrote about a while ago who sadly lost his wife Elizabeth and two sons, James and Matthew to the Victorian bush fires in Marysville. As he and his wife met here he wanted to come back to relive some wonderful memories and shed some tears as part of his grieving. He shared with the students on Thursday morning and it was an awesome testimony of how Jesus has personally walked with him through his “Job” experience without being bitter and instead being filled with the joy of the Lord – truly remarkable.
And on to something completely different! Last Friday the guys discovered the sauna on campus and totally got into putting new life into it. So on Saturday evening the fire was stoked and the steam came pouring out! All the guys enjoyed one of the best experiences of a sauna they have ever had. And tonight, which is our regular ‘Guy’s night’, (where one of them shares on a topic of the day and then we break up into prayer triplets), we are going to hold in the sauna – different for sure and lots of fun! It’ll be the first time that we’ve been so clean as we start our prayer triplets!!!
Last week our principal, Neil, taught on the ‘Life of David’ and the students just loved it. So this week the Bible Studies, which are presented by the students in their respective family group, were based on themes from that teaching. Our students gave great presentations which built up each family – they are growing so much that it seems easy to do all these things that last term seemed so difficult!
And now onto this weekend, which is a little special. One family group will be taking a hike to the Blue Mountains and then a whole bus load will go to the Acer Arena to watch an AFL game. The students and sooo excited about that!!! Also, on Sunday I will be taking some students to Narrabeem Baptist Church to give a special presentation. Alyssa and Jordan will sing three songs as part of the service and at the end we will have a chance to chat with the people about Torchbearers. We have also been invited out to lunch – how cool is that!
Then it’s back to school in time to practise for another SN@C. Alyssa and Jordan are leading the worship on Sunday so they will be relying on Jesus for lots of strength!
Yesterday our secretary, Katie, went off to Germany to be at the wedding of two of our former students, one of whom she mentored while she was here for a year. We love being part of the lives of the friends we make here and it is such a privilege to be invited to so many weddings even if we can’t go to all of them. We send our love and God’s blessings on Sam and Damaris and they look forward to their BIG day.
And lastly, I spoke to Keith this week, he’s the American former student who created the i58 website, and we are planning lots of new things for the website – so be excited lots of good things are being planned especially for you!
All in all another BIG week at school where our students are continually being stretched to grow – how awesome is that!
HAVE A GREAT WEEK!
STEVE aka WOODSEY
And on to something completely different! Last Friday the guys discovered the sauna on campus and totally got into putting new life into it. So on Saturday evening the fire was stoked and the steam came pouring out! All the guys enjoyed one of the best experiences of a sauna they have ever had. And tonight, which is our regular ‘Guy’s night’, (where one of them shares on a topic of the day and then we break up into prayer triplets), we are going to hold in the sauna – different for sure and lots of fun! It’ll be the first time that we’ve been so clean as we start our prayer triplets!!!
Last week our principal, Neil, taught on the ‘Life of David’ and the students just loved it. So this week the Bible Studies, which are presented by the students in their respective family group, were based on themes from that teaching. Our students gave great presentations which built up each family – they are growing so much that it seems easy to do all these things that last term seemed so difficult!
And now onto this weekend, which is a little special. One family group will be taking a hike to the Blue Mountains and then a whole bus load will go to the Acer Arena to watch an AFL game. The students and sooo excited about that!!! Also, on Sunday I will be taking some students to Narrabeem Baptist Church to give a special presentation. Alyssa and Jordan will sing three songs as part of the service and at the end we will have a chance to chat with the people about Torchbearers. We have also been invited out to lunch – how cool is that!
Then it’s back to school in time to practise for another SN@C. Alyssa and Jordan are leading the worship on Sunday so they will be relying on Jesus for lots of strength!
Yesterday our secretary, Katie, went off to Germany to be at the wedding of two of our former students, one of whom she mentored while she was here for a year. We love being part of the lives of the friends we make here and it is such a privilege to be invited to so many weddings even if we can’t go to all of them. We send our love and God’s blessings on Sam and Damaris and they look forward to their BIG day.
And lastly, I spoke to Keith this week, he’s the American former student who created the i58 website, and we are planning lots of new things for the website – so be excited lots of good things are being planned especially for you!
All in all another BIG week at school where our students are continually being stretched to grow – how awesome is that!
HAVE A GREAT WEEK!
STEVE aka WOODSEY
Saturday, May 9, 2009
BACK IN ACTION
Well, the term is well underway. All the students have settled back after their mid term break and are now preparing to go on Prac Week in just over two weeks. Haven’t written the blog since returning from Hong Kong as there’s a been quite a lot of things to catch up with. The Hong Kong Mission Trip Report is now complete and I’ll attach it at the end of this blog – it was truly a life transforming experience.
First up, though, have to say that we loved hearing each other’s stories of how God had been so faithful to the whole student body during two week break. Our God is truly an AWESOME God! Stephen was the only student who didn’t come back as he was dealing with a family issue over the break. We hope to see him return to school any week now. We are in touch with him and he is doing well and missing us!
Traditionally, on the first Friday back we have a Guy’s Night and a Girl’s Night. This term the girls opted for a night in watching a movie while the guys made the most of our new student Jon’s help to stay in Sydney at the Marriott. It was quite a treat and brought home our love of saunas. As I write this the guys have just had their first sauna on campus by resurrecting the sauna at the back of the hay shed - how good is that! This week’s guy’s group will be led by Cade – in the sauna – and I’m sure he’ll give us something to sweat about!
Getting back to the more serious stuff, our focus is now moving onto Prac Week. We have two teams; one will be going to work with the Salvation Army in Sydney serving the poor while the other will go to the Anglican Church in Nowra and serve all kinds of church ministries and build up relationship with the youth.
We hope that as we step our to serve we might attract many young Australians to take time out here at Torchbearers to be built up in the knowledge, experience of serving and relationship with Jesus - it's such a great place to grow.
Our SN@Cs, (Sunday Night @ Capers) have been going from strength to strength. Last week week had 60 from the community join us for a great presentation sharing all about New Life in Jesus. This week the theme is Grace, Mercy and Justice. The large number of local people who now come is a great testimony of the incredibly creative ways in which the students work to make these SN@Cs happen combined with a GREAT commitment. Well done all the students!!!!!!!!!
Well now its time to post the HK update. Hope you’ve enjoyed the latest from us and are inspired by all what God is doing in our lives. Catch you all next week.
STEVE
HONG KONG MISSION TRIP APRIL 2009
Well, we’re back and we had the most amazing time. Here are some quotes from the guys:
Carl “I’d never before experienced God work so much in my life”
Jess “The Lord really opened my eyes to His grace”
Tony “Hearing God speak so clearly was amazing”
As trip leader these quotes are a reward in itself but to have witnessed these guys serve the Lord and be used in such strategic ways will always be a source of encouragement to me. Enthusiasm was something that just burst out of these guys. It was like from the moment they met the community in New Boy House they had a passion to share the love of Christ with them. This came out in such a variety of ways; playing games, sport, going on recreation, doing housework, worshipping together, praying for each other and just plain hanging out. And all this without being able to speak Cantonese! How does this happen? Well, as Jess said, there was a lot of grace around. Not even language prevented them from serving with all their hearts.
For me, going back again is a huge privilege. I’m able to reconnect with many
people, (both helpers and brothers), and show that the love we come to share is ongoing. It’s interesting that our guys experienced so much of the love of our Father through everyone in the New Boy House community.
I’d like to share a few stories and then move on to some of the challenges, highlights and effects of this ministry on us now that we are back at school.
First up, here’s the incredible story of an Aussie guy, (former addict who loved Jesus), who had gone to NBH to find new life. We pick up his story on our first day. He had been there for a few weeks and was quite unsettled and wanted to go back to Australia. He found us being there quite an encouragement. As we built a relationship with him and talked life into him he gradually peeled back and with the help and encouragement of everyone else he let Jesus do a mighty work in his life. He had had quite a troubled past and had an issue of not being able to forgive his father. As the days rolled by he said he was ready to forgive and the ensuing prayer session led to an amazing revelation of Jesus ‘taking out the thorn in his heart’ which had been the cause of so much pain. It led to a total transformation in this young man’s countenance and a new passion in his heart to stay and learn how to help others with similar problems. Praise God!
Our ‘Western Food Night’ was quite the event. We decided to cook Kentucky Style Chicken with chips, ketchup and bread and butter. We ordered the food from the market a few days in advance and got some good deals, after all we were cooking for over 100 people! We had two woks and about four hours to pull off this amazing feat! It started with a surprise – we couldn’t tell what temperature the oil was at in the wok so when we put in the chicken the next thing we knew was a thick black fog everywhere.
The brothers, who had put their trust in us came running out as though the house was on fire!! From that moment on we had all the best cooks there, ready at hand to help with anything – how marvellous! Together we cooked 360 pieces of chicken, 150 potatoes worth of chips and buttered ten loaves of bread! The meal was served with Coke and followed by ice-cream. The whole night was a HUGE success and a terrific memory of the Lord’s blessing.
In all we did we made friendships, some very close indeed. Oddly, Jess and Tony made particular friends with the older guys and Carl and I made close friends with the younger guys. We all miss our new found friends and the good times that we shared with them.
Our guys were well prepared for living in a new culture and responding to the work. One of our challenges was to meet up every day as we were split up into two teams. This mostly worked during the lunch break when we could share a Mars bar and pray for each other. These times were so encouraging. It was a little tough for Tony as he really struggled with the Chinese food even though he could eat the rice. Often after breakfast he and Jess would slip round the back of the house to eat a chocolate bar for lots of energy. One of the helpers asked to see if they had a smoking problem!!
One highlight of the trip was the worship sessions (twice a day in NBH). With about 40 guys singing with all their hearts to the rhythm of the guitar, it was quite an overwhelming experience. God showed up in power and we always had such beautiful times of prayer where a lot of the brothers would be healed. Indeed, when we were at the Drug Addict’s meeting the Lord revealed He was there to heal the sick and one crippled lady stood up and danced before us completely healed! I particularly liked going on the street one night to feed the poor. We went to the ‘church’ under a flyover where over 200 people gathered. They sang worship songs, prayed for each other’s needs and were then given rice boxes.
Now we are back at school we are full of the joy of the Lord. We have shared our stories with many groups and know that we have truly touched lives. We are more aware of God’s presence in our own lives and are responding to what He is doing to allow us to grow into the likeness of his Son Jesus Christ.
From the stories that we’ve shared there is a great interest for another trip to NBH this year – for that we’ll just have to see what the Lord has for us.
We are so grateful to everyone who helped us financially and prayerfully. We left a gift of $12,000AU for St Stephen’s Society’s new buildings project. Jackie was surprised and delighted and sent her heartfelt thanks to all of us who contributed to make the New Boy House community thrive.
STEVE WOODS April 2009
First up, though, have to say that we loved hearing each other’s stories of how God had been so faithful to the whole student body during two week break. Our God is truly an AWESOME God! Stephen was the only student who didn’t come back as he was dealing with a family issue over the break. We hope to see him return to school any week now. We are in touch with him and he is doing well and missing us!
Traditionally, on the first Friday back we have a Guy’s Night and a Girl’s Night. This term the girls opted for a night in watching a movie while the guys made the most of our new student Jon’s help to stay in Sydney at the Marriott. It was quite a treat and brought home our love of saunas. As I write this the guys have just had their first sauna on campus by resurrecting the sauna at the back of the hay shed - how good is that! This week’s guy’s group will be led by Cade – in the sauna – and I’m sure he’ll give us something to sweat about!
Getting back to the more serious stuff, our focus is now moving onto Prac Week. We have two teams; one will be going to work with the Salvation Army in Sydney serving the poor while the other will go to the Anglican Church in Nowra and serve all kinds of church ministries and build up relationship with the youth.
We hope that as we step our to serve we might attract many young Australians to take time out here at Torchbearers to be built up in the knowledge, experience of serving and relationship with Jesus - it's such a great place to grow.
Our SN@Cs, (Sunday Night @ Capers) have been going from strength to strength. Last week week had 60 from the community join us for a great presentation sharing all about New Life in Jesus. This week the theme is Grace, Mercy and Justice. The large number of local people who now come is a great testimony of the incredibly creative ways in which the students work to make these SN@Cs happen combined with a GREAT commitment. Well done all the students!!!!!!!!!
Well now its time to post the HK update. Hope you’ve enjoyed the latest from us and are inspired by all what God is doing in our lives. Catch you all next week.
STEVE
HONG KONG MISSION TRIP APRIL 2009
Well, we’re back and we had the most amazing time. Here are some quotes from the guys:
Carl “I’d never before experienced God work so much in my life”
Jess “The Lord really opened my eyes to His grace”
Tony “Hearing God speak so clearly was amazing”
As trip leader these quotes are a reward in itself but to have witnessed these guys serve the Lord and be used in such strategic ways will always be a source of encouragement to me. Enthusiasm was something that just burst out of these guys. It was like from the moment they met the community in New Boy House they had a passion to share the love of Christ with them. This came out in such a variety of ways; playing games, sport, going on recreation, doing housework, worshipping together, praying for each other and just plain hanging out. And all this without being able to speak Cantonese! How does this happen? Well, as Jess said, there was a lot of grace around. Not even language prevented them from serving with all their hearts.
For me, going back again is a huge privilege. I’m able to reconnect with many
people, (both helpers and brothers), and show that the love we come to share is ongoing. It’s interesting that our guys experienced so much of the love of our Father through everyone in the New Boy House community.
I’d like to share a few stories and then move on to some of the challenges, highlights and effects of this ministry on us now that we are back at school.
First up, here’s the incredible story of an Aussie guy, (former addict who loved Jesus), who had gone to NBH to find new life. We pick up his story on our first day. He had been there for a few weeks and was quite unsettled and wanted to go back to Australia. He found us being there quite an encouragement. As we built a relationship with him and talked life into him he gradually peeled back and with the help and encouragement of everyone else he let Jesus do a mighty work in his life. He had had quite a troubled past and had an issue of not being able to forgive his father. As the days rolled by he said he was ready to forgive and the ensuing prayer session led to an amazing revelation of Jesus ‘taking out the thorn in his heart’ which had been the cause of so much pain. It led to a total transformation in this young man’s countenance and a new passion in his heart to stay and learn how to help others with similar problems. Praise God!
Our ‘Western Food Night’ was quite the event. We decided to cook Kentucky Style Chicken with chips, ketchup and bread and butter. We ordered the food from the market a few days in advance and got some good deals, after all we were cooking for over 100 people! We had two woks and about four hours to pull off this amazing feat! It started with a surprise – we couldn’t tell what temperature the oil was at in the wok so when we put in the chicken the next thing we knew was a thick black fog everywhere.
The brothers, who had put their trust in us came running out as though the house was on fire!! From that moment on we had all the best cooks there, ready at hand to help with anything – how marvellous! Together we cooked 360 pieces of chicken, 150 potatoes worth of chips and buttered ten loaves of bread! The meal was served with Coke and followed by ice-cream. The whole night was a HUGE success and a terrific memory of the Lord’s blessing.
In all we did we made friendships, some very close indeed. Oddly, Jess and Tony made particular friends with the older guys and Carl and I made close friends with the younger guys. We all miss our new found friends and the good times that we shared with them.
Our guys were well prepared for living in a new culture and responding to the work. One of our challenges was to meet up every day as we were split up into two teams. This mostly worked during the lunch break when we could share a Mars bar and pray for each other. These times were so encouraging. It was a little tough for Tony as he really struggled with the Chinese food even though he could eat the rice. Often after breakfast he and Jess would slip round the back of the house to eat a chocolate bar for lots of energy. One of the helpers asked to see if they had a smoking problem!!
One highlight of the trip was the worship sessions (twice a day in NBH). With about 40 guys singing with all their hearts to the rhythm of the guitar, it was quite an overwhelming experience. God showed up in power and we always had such beautiful times of prayer where a lot of the brothers would be healed. Indeed, when we were at the Drug Addict’s meeting the Lord revealed He was there to heal the sick and one crippled lady stood up and danced before us completely healed! I particularly liked going on the street one night to feed the poor. We went to the ‘church’ under a flyover where over 200 people gathered. They sang worship songs, prayed for each other’s needs and were then given rice boxes.
Now we are back at school we are full of the joy of the Lord. We have shared our stories with many groups and know that we have truly touched lives. We are more aware of God’s presence in our own lives and are responding to what He is doing to allow us to grow into the likeness of his Son Jesus Christ.
From the stories that we’ve shared there is a great interest for another trip to NBH this year – for that we’ll just have to see what the Lord has for us.
We are so grateful to everyone who helped us financially and prayerfully. We left a gift of $12,000AU for St Stephen’s Society’s new buildings project. Jackie was surprised and delighted and sent her heartfelt thanks to all of us who contributed to make the New Boy House community thrive.
STEVE WOODS April 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
EXCITING TIMES
Well, the moment finally came. We boarded our minibuses and headed to the Entertainment Centre in downtown Sydney. The countdown was on – in just a few hours we would be witnessing something the live album recording of the latest Hillsong CD!
I drove one of the buses and the crew were so excited that there were flashes going off, what with taking pictures of simply anything that moved, oh and a few of themselves too. And then there was the singing – just about every song from worship to Disney and back again!! There was no doubt, we were ready for action.
Once we were there some ran in straight away, hoping to get a place in the mosh-pit, while others queued respectfully to get a seat somewhere in the 20,000 seat arena which we had already heard was pretty packed. The fortunate ones got into the mosh-pit and the rest of us eventually got inside – the atmosphere was of great expectation.
The presentation began with Joel Houston, singing a song which, in his own words, didn’t have an ending. It was the best unfinished song I’d ever heard!! Then some of the more familiar singers took to the front of the stage to reveal other new songs. We appreciated the line up – Darlene, Reuben, Brooke and others. Absolutely awesome! I had a lot of favourites (if that’s possible) but the song that has stuck in my head is the one where the chorus begins ‘No weeping, no tears or pain’ GREAT JOB GUYS – can’t wait for the CD.
Then came Monday: our Pizza Night at the Colosseum – the fundraising event for our mission trip to Hong Kong. It was with great anticipation that we went. All the preparation had been done, all the prayers had been prayed - all it needed now was for us to be there and for a huge crowd to come. Well, God didn’t let us down. Soon after things were set up, (we had Alyssa singing and Prue playing the violin), the phone didn’t stop ringing. There were heaps of orders and then the steady stream of people coming to pick them up.
At one point I wondered if the whole evening was going to be like this, with no-one eating in, but then things turned!! Our waitresses were put to the test as all the tables were filled and the crowd was ready for something more than just a pizza – and they weren’t disappointed! We began our auction of all the donated goods from the local shops. The response was truly amazing – people were bidding for all kinds of things and just loving the whole atmosphere.
At the end of the night we cleared $1345 which included the 20% from all sales along with the auction proceeds and some donations. How great is our God!!
That’s the exciting news for this week - now we’re looking forward to lots of fun over the weekend. Next week I’ll give my last blog update for a little while as I’ll be gone for two trip to Hong Kong.
HAVE A GREAT WEEK!
Steve / Woodsey
I drove one of the buses and the crew were so excited that there were flashes going off, what with taking pictures of simply anything that moved, oh and a few of themselves too. And then there was the singing – just about every song from worship to Disney and back again!! There was no doubt, we were ready for action.
Once we were there some ran in straight away, hoping to get a place in the mosh-pit, while others queued respectfully to get a seat somewhere in the 20,000 seat arena which we had already heard was pretty packed. The fortunate ones got into the mosh-pit and the rest of us eventually got inside – the atmosphere was of great expectation.
The presentation began with Joel Houston, singing a song which, in his own words, didn’t have an ending. It was the best unfinished song I’d ever heard!! Then some of the more familiar singers took to the front of the stage to reveal other new songs. We appreciated the line up – Darlene, Reuben, Brooke and others. Absolutely awesome! I had a lot of favourites (if that’s possible) but the song that has stuck in my head is the one where the chorus begins ‘No weeping, no tears or pain’ GREAT JOB GUYS – can’t wait for the CD.
Then came Monday: our Pizza Night at the Colosseum – the fundraising event for our mission trip to Hong Kong. It was with great anticipation that we went. All the preparation had been done, all the prayers had been prayed - all it needed now was for us to be there and for a huge crowd to come. Well, God didn’t let us down. Soon after things were set up, (we had Alyssa singing and Prue playing the violin), the phone didn’t stop ringing. There were heaps of orders and then the steady stream of people coming to pick them up.
At one point I wondered if the whole evening was going to be like this, with no-one eating in, but then things turned!! Our waitresses were put to the test as all the tables were filled and the crowd was ready for something more than just a pizza – and they weren’t disappointed! We began our auction of all the donated goods from the local shops. The response was truly amazing – people were bidding for all kinds of things and just loving the whole atmosphere.
At the end of the night we cleared $1345 which included the 20% from all sales along with the auction proceeds and some donations. How great is our God!!
That’s the exciting news for this week - now we’re looking forward to lots of fun over the weekend. Next week I’ll give my last blog update for a little while as I’ll be gone for two trip to Hong Kong.
HAVE A GREAT WEEK!
Steve / Woodsey
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
IN THE NEWS
It’s great when good things happen! There’s often too much bad stuff going on that distracts us from all the good that Jesus is doing around us ALL the time! This week it’s good to report on a number of things that are making the headlines – literally.
First up, I’ll start with the latest fundraising initiatives for the mission trip to Hong Kong at Easter. The local Pizza House – The Colosseum - has agreed to host a fundraising night for us this coming Monday and its owner, Nick Losardo, will give us 20% of all sales for Hong Kong. Well, this story has captured the imagination of the community and has made it to the front page of our local newspaper plus a half-page spread inside. We’re praying for the biggest night EVER with lots of fun with music, making friends, great food, raffles and lots of donations to Hong Kong.
Next up, our last SN@C, (Sunday Night at Capers) was held in a local church – Bowral Baptist Church, and the result was extraordinary. We had so many young people come along for the evening from our community that we had an overflow of people that meant some had to sit outside the hall boundaries! We got emails about the service too, here are a few quotes:
“Please pass on Congratulations to the SN@C team!
KELLY
"Woodsey.....last night was the BEST night I've ever had at Bowral Baps.....THANKYOU and all the capernwray guys for what you are doing each week - man....you really DO feel Jesus there amongst us each week hey! :D
Its been a real privilege getting to know all of you at capernwray more, Jordon
We like feedback like this – it reassures us that we are doing what God wants!
This weekend we are also very excited as the entire student body will be going to the live Hillsong Recording of their new album – an exciting event to say the least. We have gone to this for the past two years and the students love the atmosphere of praise and worship along with getting to know the latest songs.
As you can see there are lots of things happening: we are either making the news or are being part of what is in the news. That’s life at Torchbearers and we love it!
Just one final note: a former principal of our Bible School has been teaching here this week. His topic has been the book of John and the students have been wrapped. This guy, Geoff Hobson, has such a teaching gift, and it is terrific to hear how each of the students are responding to the truth.
HAVE A GREAT WEEK AND GOD BLESS!
WOODSEY
First up, I’ll start with the latest fundraising initiatives for the mission trip to Hong Kong at Easter. The local Pizza House – The Colosseum - has agreed to host a fundraising night for us this coming Monday and its owner, Nick Losardo, will give us 20% of all sales for Hong Kong. Well, this story has captured the imagination of the community and has made it to the front page of our local newspaper plus a half-page spread inside. We’re praying for the biggest night EVER with lots of fun with music, making friends, great food, raffles and lots of donations to Hong Kong.
Next up, our last SN@C, (Sunday Night at Capers) was held in a local church – Bowral Baptist Church, and the result was extraordinary. We had so many young people come along for the evening from our community that we had an overflow of people that meant some had to sit outside the hall boundaries! We got emails about the service too, here are a few quotes:
“Please pass on Congratulations to the SN@C team!
KELLY
"Woodsey.....last night was the BEST night I've ever had at Bowral Baps.....THANKYOU and all the capernwray guys for what you are doing each week - man....you really DO feel Jesus there amongst us each week hey! :D
Its been a real privilege getting to know all of you at capernwray more, Jordon
We like feedback like this – it reassures us that we are doing what God wants!
This weekend we are also very excited as the entire student body will be going to the live Hillsong Recording of their new album – an exciting event to say the least. We have gone to this for the past two years and the students love the atmosphere of praise and worship along with getting to know the latest songs.
As you can see there are lots of things happening: we are either making the news or are being part of what is in the news. That’s life at Torchbearers and we love it!
Just one final note: a former principal of our Bible School has been teaching here this week. His topic has been the book of John and the students have been wrapped. This guy, Geoff Hobson, has such a teaching gift, and it is terrific to hear how each of the students are responding to the truth.
HAVE A GREAT WEEK AND GOD BLESS!
WOODSEY
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
GOOD QUESTION!
Just before our students went on Travel Weekend we had Principal’s Period where notices were given. As Dean I often say encouraging words to our students but last Friday I challenged them to ask themselves a question: What will they be so proud of when they come back from Travel Weekend? Answers soon spilled out like, ‘No alcohol’, and ‘Not spending too much money’.
A lot of our teenagers come to Bible School having experienced the full force of the world in their lives - it’s not easy to go against the flow of peer pressure. However, here at Torchbearers, all our students are in the company of others who want to live the same high standards for themselves as well as for their friends – that’s healthy living! I was so proud of our students – and I told them – when they returned and shared of having had such good times. They made good choices and were proud of them - fantastic!
Some of the things they enjoyed were the beach in Sydney, the Apple store, Coldplay in concert at the Telstra Arena, a home visit to the folks in north Sydney, and camping along the south coast with members of our community. What a life!
Looking forward to our next break – in between terms – we have a Mission Trip to Hong Kong which falls between April 10th – 25th. Three guys, Carl, Jess, Tony and I will be heading to Shatin in the New Territories to support Jackie Pullinger-To’s work with former drug addicts. We will live in what they call New Boy House where as many as 50 live together as a close family. We will do everything the guys do and as we share our lives with them we hope they will see Jesus in us and that will be a huge encouragement to them. We plan to have a Western Food night in which we’ll cook up some great Spaghetti Bolognese and serve it will garlic bread – something they always look forward to!
We also want to make a donation to St Stephen’s Society to help complete their building project. Our aim is to raise around $20,000 Australian which will convert to $100,000 Hong Kong Dollars. Not an easy task, but we know that what is impossible with men is possible with God. So far we are very encouraged by people, young and old who want to help. My heart is so touched by the care that people have for the less fortunate – I sense that God is very pleased!
We’ll keep you posted on how things work out. If any of you would like to contribute to our fund raising activities please contact me through office@torchbearers.com.au and I’ll be happy to give out information that will make giving as easy as possible.
Thank you all for your interest in our school. Just want to say that we had a local guy, Tony Parks, come for a ‘Taste and See’ week and after having such an awesome time he decided to join us as a full time student. We are all thrilled at the way Tony has settled in and is already an established and valued member of our school. May God bless Tony mightily during his time with us.
HAVE A GREAT WEEK EVERYONE and GOD BLESS,
Steve (otherwise known as) WOODSEY
A lot of our teenagers come to Bible School having experienced the full force of the world in their lives - it’s not easy to go against the flow of peer pressure. However, here at Torchbearers, all our students are in the company of others who want to live the same high standards for themselves as well as for their friends – that’s healthy living! I was so proud of our students – and I told them – when they returned and shared of having had such good times. They made good choices and were proud of them - fantastic!
Some of the things they enjoyed were the beach in Sydney, the Apple store, Coldplay in concert at the Telstra Arena, a home visit to the folks in north Sydney, and camping along the south coast with members of our community. What a life!
Looking forward to our next break – in between terms – we have a Mission Trip to Hong Kong which falls between April 10th – 25th. Three guys, Carl, Jess, Tony and I will be heading to Shatin in the New Territories to support Jackie Pullinger-To’s work with former drug addicts. We will live in what they call New Boy House where as many as 50 live together as a close family. We will do everything the guys do and as we share our lives with them we hope they will see Jesus in us and that will be a huge encouragement to them. We plan to have a Western Food night in which we’ll cook up some great Spaghetti Bolognese and serve it will garlic bread – something they always look forward to!
We also want to make a donation to St Stephen’s Society to help complete their building project. Our aim is to raise around $20,000 Australian which will convert to $100,000 Hong Kong Dollars. Not an easy task, but we know that what is impossible with men is possible with God. So far we are very encouraged by people, young and old who want to help. My heart is so touched by the care that people have for the less fortunate – I sense that God is very pleased!
We’ll keep you posted on how things work out. If any of you would like to contribute to our fund raising activities please contact me through office@torchbearers.com.au and I’ll be happy to give out information that will make giving as easy as possible.
Thank you all for your interest in our school. Just want to say that we had a local guy, Tony Parks, come for a ‘Taste and See’ week and after having such an awesome time he decided to join us as a full time student. We are all thrilled at the way Tony has settled in and is already an established and valued member of our school. May God bless Tony mightily during his time with us.
HAVE A GREAT WEEK EVERYONE and GOD BLESS,
Steve (otherwise known as) WOODSEY
Sunday, March 15, 2009
SNAC - SUNDAY NIGHT AT CAPERS
SNAC - SUNDAY NIGHT AT CAPERS
Last week’s SNAC was tremendous. We had about fifty young people from the local community come to fellowship with us, worship with us and learn from the Word through a dynamic presentation that our students put together to touch the heart of this generation. Fantastic! It was an amazing week to choose to do a feature for the i58 blog. Let me tell you about it!
We usually start the night with worship, have the student presentation and then end with more worship before ‘hang out’ time over a hot drink and some specially made cookies! But last week was completely different. The Conference Hall was set up as a coffee shop, so lots of ‘comfy’ chairs and tables with candles so the atmosphere was quite intimate. There was a coffee bar and food was placed around the hall – everyone got into the relaxed mood of the evening.
Our Master of Ceremonies, Thane from Canada introduced the night, as he usually does, and gave us an update on the week. The mission trip to Hong Kong was announced along with some fund-raising events and then we were straight into it. But instead of having communal worship, we had our talented musicians sing and play to us while we chatted to each other enthusiastically even if not too quietly! The wall lights and only added to that feeling of intimacy and we all just enjoyed lots of catch up time while listening to the beautiful singing.
Then, after about ten minutes the first of the ‘dramas’ were presented by the SNAC team. There was ‘grandpa’ sitting with his grandson, (Thane back again), reminiscing about his time at Capernwray while his grandson asked him the tough questions of how our faith is made relevant today. To help the audience ‘get it’ there followed a drama that clearly made the point – we were so built up! Then there was more music, then more dramas and so the evening went on. The last set of songs was sung by our very own Alyssa with Jordan from the local community. Together they brought us into the very presence of God – they were simply sensational. Their final song, Lead me to the cross, which was originally sung by Tim Hughes and Brooke Fraser, was so God breathed it literally took our breath away!
What an evening! When speaking to everyone afterwards they just loved the relaxed atmosphere and enjoyed really connecting with so many different people. Jordan Worner, who is in the process of recording his own CD, told me that he asked Alyssa to join him to record a song on his new album AND she said, ‘Yes.’ I’ll keep you posted as to when the CDs are available.
Also, this week we had Quite Day at Capernwray which meant that all the students could just spend the day in the Word. For some this is a little daunting, but once the day got underway they really meet with the living God. In the evening there were lots of testimonies of how personally God had met with them. This is always a highlight for the staff – to see just how the students are deepening their relationship with God – AWESOME.
Next week I’ll tell you a little more about the mission trip to Hong Kong and let you know how the Travel Weekend went, when all our students went loose in Sydney!!
HAVE A GREAT WEEK and God bless,
WOODSEY
Last week’s SNAC was tremendous. We had about fifty young people from the local community come to fellowship with us, worship with us and learn from the Word through a dynamic presentation that our students put together to touch the heart of this generation. Fantastic! It was an amazing week to choose to do a feature for the i58 blog. Let me tell you about it!
We usually start the night with worship, have the student presentation and then end with more worship before ‘hang out’ time over a hot drink and some specially made cookies! But last week was completely different. The Conference Hall was set up as a coffee shop, so lots of ‘comfy’ chairs and tables with candles so the atmosphere was quite intimate. There was a coffee bar and food was placed around the hall – everyone got into the relaxed mood of the evening.
Our Master of Ceremonies, Thane from Canada introduced the night, as he usually does, and gave us an update on the week. The mission trip to Hong Kong was announced along with some fund-raising events and then we were straight into it. But instead of having communal worship, we had our talented musicians sing and play to us while we chatted to each other enthusiastically even if not too quietly! The wall lights and only added to that feeling of intimacy and we all just enjoyed lots of catch up time while listening to the beautiful singing.
Then, after about ten minutes the first of the ‘dramas’ were presented by the SNAC team. There was ‘grandpa’ sitting with his grandson, (Thane back again), reminiscing about his time at Capernwray while his grandson asked him the tough questions of how our faith is made relevant today. To help the audience ‘get it’ there followed a drama that clearly made the point – we were so built up! Then there was more music, then more dramas and so the evening went on. The last set of songs was sung by our very own Alyssa with Jordan from the local community. Together they brought us into the very presence of God – they were simply sensational. Their final song, Lead me to the cross, which was originally sung by Tim Hughes and Brooke Fraser, was so God breathed it literally took our breath away!
What an evening! When speaking to everyone afterwards they just loved the relaxed atmosphere and enjoyed really connecting with so many different people. Jordan Worner, who is in the process of recording his own CD, told me that he asked Alyssa to join him to record a song on his new album AND she said, ‘Yes.’ I’ll keep you posted as to when the CDs are available.
Also, this week we had Quite Day at Capernwray which meant that all the students could just spend the day in the Word. For some this is a little daunting, but once the day got underway they really meet with the living God. In the evening there were lots of testimonies of how personally God had met with them. This is always a highlight for the staff – to see just how the students are deepening their relationship with God – AWESOME.
Next week I’ll tell you a little more about the mission trip to Hong Kong and let you know how the Travel Weekend went, when all our students went loose in Sydney!!
HAVE A GREAT WEEK and God bless,
WOODSEY
Thursday, March 5, 2009
We've got talent, yes we do!
Well, life at Torchbearers continues at a pace. We’re already half way through this term! Can you believe it? Still so much to learn and so much to do!
This week’s highlight was undoubtedly the TALENT SHOW. Thane and Katie, (both extravert students from Canada), hosted this spectacular evening and did an outstanding job. They introduced us to such a variety of acts including guys improvising with props, violin duets, poetry, leg wrestling, beautiful singing, comedy acts and even a student take off of a staff meeting! At the end of the show Thane and Katie gave away a prize to the act with the loudest applause and it was a very close thing between the ‘staff meeting’ and the girls’ act of dance and song to the tunes from ‘Grease’. What a night! Those times of fun and laughter really help to bond us as a family, (not forgetting the hours of endless fun putting the acts together!).
God’s been pretty busy just of late – well it seems that way at least. It’s around this time of term that a few feathers are ruffled; some people just have to let off a bit of steam. And that’s great! Why? For then comes the time to talk things through and let God have his way! There’s a kind of paradox at work here – we love happy families but we can’t truly have them if we don’t also love the ‘messy’ times too. This assures us that life is real and with God right in the middle of it, we wouldn’t have it any other way.
We have a mission trip organised for the two week break for three students, Carl, Jess, Tony and me. We are all getting excited about helping the poor in Hong Kong with St Stephens Society and are busy getting trained up even to the extent of learning some of the language! Today we learnt how to say, Hello, my name is…It comes out something like this: Nei ho, ngoh gui Stefu. We had quite a few laughs as I’m sure you can imagine! Please pray for us and the trip as its going to be a challenging two weeks for sure!! When we come back we’ll share lots of our stories.
As part of our trip we’re also planning some fund-raising projects and have some pretty good ideas going already, like organising a huge Pizza Party!! We’ll keep you posted on how our activities go and how much money we raise. We’d love to take a significant financial blessing as well as giving of our time and love.
Well, that’s about it for now. Next week I’ll do a focus on our SN@C programme and tell you something of the exciting times here on Campus on Sunday nights with the community.
Until then, have a God blessed week!
WOODSEY
Steve Woods
This week’s highlight was undoubtedly the TALENT SHOW. Thane and Katie, (both extravert students from Canada), hosted this spectacular evening and did an outstanding job. They introduced us to such a variety of acts including guys improvising with props, violin duets, poetry, leg wrestling, beautiful singing, comedy acts and even a student take off of a staff meeting! At the end of the show Thane and Katie gave away a prize to the act with the loudest applause and it was a very close thing between the ‘staff meeting’ and the girls’ act of dance and song to the tunes from ‘Grease’. What a night! Those times of fun and laughter really help to bond us as a family, (not forgetting the hours of endless fun putting the acts together!).
God’s been pretty busy just of late – well it seems that way at least. It’s around this time of term that a few feathers are ruffled; some people just have to let off a bit of steam. And that’s great! Why? For then comes the time to talk things through and let God have his way! There’s a kind of paradox at work here – we love happy families but we can’t truly have them if we don’t also love the ‘messy’ times too. This assures us that life is real and with God right in the middle of it, we wouldn’t have it any other way.
We have a mission trip organised for the two week break for three students, Carl, Jess, Tony and me. We are all getting excited about helping the poor in Hong Kong with St Stephens Society and are busy getting trained up even to the extent of learning some of the language! Today we learnt how to say, Hello, my name is…It comes out something like this: Nei ho, ngoh gui Stefu. We had quite a few laughs as I’m sure you can imagine! Please pray for us and the trip as its going to be a challenging two weeks for sure!! When we come back we’ll share lots of our stories.
As part of our trip we’re also planning some fund-raising projects and have some pretty good ideas going already, like organising a huge Pizza Party!! We’ll keep you posted on how our activities go and how much money we raise. We’d love to take a significant financial blessing as well as giving of our time and love.
Well, that’s about it for now. Next week I’ll do a focus on our SN@C programme and tell you something of the exciting times here on Campus on Sunday nights with the community.
Until then, have a God blessed week!
WOODSEY
Steve Woods
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Putting our faith into action
Torchbearers Australia is a wonderful place to live learn and grow. Where ever we are on this 25 acre property we surrounded by God’s beautiful nature and His peace. A lot of our students particularly enjoy this especially as it’s a far cry from a world that’s pretty full-on at distracting us just about every minute of the day!
We love to build up our students in their faith and then sending them out to put it into action! Every week there are lots of ministries happening here in our local community – all offering our students lots of variety such as working with young kids, youth, street kids, church, or old folk!
This week I spoke to some of our students and asked them to give us a flavour of the activities they get up to. I started with a group of three girls Cari, Kristen and Shannon, all from Canada and all go to ‘Xgen’ the youth group of One Life Church in Moss Vale. They said that it runs every Friday night from about 7.30 until 9.00 and there’s a lot to get excited about. They love just hanging out with the young crowd of about 15 youngsters before they begin to worship with the band. Then their ‘on fire for Jesus’ youth leader, Scott Cummings, leads a game and shares a message. I asked Cari what she liked best about the night and she said, ‘I love the atmosphere, its great! And I’m impressed that the kids get along so well, (aged from about 13 – 20).’ Shannon and Kristen both said they liked Scott’s motto, ‘When you come to Xgen, bring a Bible, bring a notepad, bring a pen AND a friend!’ I have to say I rather like that too!
Our other neighbouring town is Bowral and that’s where Thomas and Cade, (also both from Canada), go to on Monday evenings from 5.30 – 7.15. Their destination is St Jude’s Anglican Church’s Boys Club where there are heaps of 7 – 13 year olds all wanting to cling on to their arms and their legs when ever they can. They said that the boys sometimes they get so carried away with the games that it’s hard for them to hear what’s being said so Cade and Thomas have to shout a lot!!! I asked Cade what was the best thing about the club and he said, ‘Bonding with the kids. One of the guys only has sisters so it’s good to be a big brother to him.’ How cool is that!
There’s always something going on here. With 24 young people the energy levels run pretty high and they certainly keep the staff on our toes. But I have to say that the energy we really need for all this work is the life of Jesus. This week I was talking to the class about spending Quiet Times with God. I used the titles of two Hillsong songs to make the point: ‘The more personal time we spend with God the stronger we are FROM THE INSIDE OUT so that when we are in the world and faced with temptations we’ll be able to say, ‘I’LL STAND’ without falling!’ I think they got it and I hope it may encourage you too!
I’m off on a conference tomorrow in Sydney for two days and among other speakers I’m looking forward to hearing Dr John Dickson talking on Humility, the essential leadership quality. That will definitely provoke our thinking!!
Oh, just one other thing, the students who did an awesome job at fund raising for the Bush fire victims made it into the Southern Highlands News – another great story of putting our faith into action!
Looking forward to catching up with you all next week. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
WOODSEY
We love to build up our students in their faith and then sending them out to put it into action! Every week there are lots of ministries happening here in our local community – all offering our students lots of variety such as working with young kids, youth, street kids, church, or old folk!
This week I spoke to some of our students and asked them to give us a flavour of the activities they get up to. I started with a group of three girls Cari, Kristen and Shannon, all from Canada and all go to ‘Xgen’ the youth group of One Life Church in Moss Vale. They said that it runs every Friday night from about 7.30 until 9.00 and there’s a lot to get excited about. They love just hanging out with the young crowd of about 15 youngsters before they begin to worship with the band. Then their ‘on fire for Jesus’ youth leader, Scott Cummings, leads a game and shares a message. I asked Cari what she liked best about the night and she said, ‘I love the atmosphere, its great! And I’m impressed that the kids get along so well, (aged from about 13 – 20).’ Shannon and Kristen both said they liked Scott’s motto, ‘When you come to Xgen, bring a Bible, bring a notepad, bring a pen AND a friend!’ I have to say I rather like that too!
Our other neighbouring town is Bowral and that’s where Thomas and Cade, (also both from Canada), go to on Monday evenings from 5.30 – 7.15. Their destination is St Jude’s Anglican Church’s Boys Club where there are heaps of 7 – 13 year olds all wanting to cling on to their arms and their legs when ever they can. They said that the boys sometimes they get so carried away with the games that it’s hard for them to hear what’s being said so Cade and Thomas have to shout a lot!!! I asked Cade what was the best thing about the club and he said, ‘Bonding with the kids. One of the guys only has sisters so it’s good to be a big brother to him.’ How cool is that!
There’s always something going on here. With 24 young people the energy levels run pretty high and they certainly keep the staff on our toes. But I have to say that the energy we really need for all this work is the life of Jesus. This week I was talking to the class about spending Quiet Times with God. I used the titles of two Hillsong songs to make the point: ‘The more personal time we spend with God the stronger we are FROM THE INSIDE OUT so that when we are in the world and faced with temptations we’ll be able to say, ‘I’LL STAND’ without falling!’ I think they got it and I hope it may encourage you too!
I’m off on a conference tomorrow in Sydney for two days and among other speakers I’m looking forward to hearing Dr John Dickson talking on Humility, the essential leadership quality. That will definitely provoke our thinking!!
Oh, just one other thing, the students who did an awesome job at fund raising for the Bush fire victims made it into the Southern Highlands News – another great story of putting our faith into action!
Looking forward to catching up with you all next week. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
WOODSEY
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Lots of exciting things happening
Welcome to all our new bloggers and thanks for being part of something great at Torchbearers. You will be kept up to date with all our news and of course, if you have any questions or suggestions please send them to the new email address: i58@torchbearers.com.au. I’d love to hear from you and respond to you straight away.
I was talking to Keith Walters this week, (he’s one of our former student from the States who designed this website for us), and we were discussing phase two for the website. During the next three months we will be working with flash and also looking at ways that will allow us to interact more with each other. We’re living in exciting times – please pray for us as this is an awesome way to tell young Aussies all about what Jesus is doing here in and through you guys.
This week the staff watched the live SKYPE broadcast of the memorial service for Arno, (former student), and Andrew who tragically died in a car accident. It was a service filled with the Spirit of God and all the hope of our eternal salvation despite the sadness of such loss. Many stories were shared of Arno and Andrew and it was clear that they lived their lives to the full and for God’s glory. What a blessing! We praise God for their lives and continue to pray for God to comfort their family and friends.
Last week’s SN@C was another creative programme to attract heaps of youth from our community. Together we learned more about God and sung our praises to Him. As people were arriving we showed a one minute film of all the action from the previous week and our SN@CERS loved it! Well done Thomas and Carl who put it together – you now have a new ministry!! This will become a new feature at SN@C so come along and see yourselves on screen or catch up on an awesome programme. We are planning to put those One Minute Clips on i58 so watch this space!!
This Friday our talented students will be joining Springetts’ Arcade in their efforts to raise money for our Victorian brothers and sisters affected by the bushfires. We’ll be doing lots of singing, playing and dancing - all to entertain the shoppers and to encourage them to give.
This Saturday we’re taking our students to the evening service at Hillsong Church in Castle Hill. Most of them have never been to Hillsong even though they have sung their songs and may have been to a United event, so this is again an exciting time for us.
Next week I will invite some of our students to share a little about their time at Torchbearers. You can hear news about our ministries and the ‘goings on’ of everyday on campus.
HAVE A GREAT WEEK
Woodsey
I was talking to Keith Walters this week, (he’s one of our former student from the States who designed this website for us), and we were discussing phase two for the website. During the next three months we will be working with flash and also looking at ways that will allow us to interact more with each other. We’re living in exciting times – please pray for us as this is an awesome way to tell young Aussies all about what Jesus is doing here in and through you guys.
This week the staff watched the live SKYPE broadcast of the memorial service for Arno, (former student), and Andrew who tragically died in a car accident. It was a service filled with the Spirit of God and all the hope of our eternal salvation despite the sadness of such loss. Many stories were shared of Arno and Andrew and it was clear that they lived their lives to the full and for God’s glory. What a blessing! We praise God for their lives and continue to pray for God to comfort their family and friends.
Last week’s SN@C was another creative programme to attract heaps of youth from our community. Together we learned more about God and sung our praises to Him. As people were arriving we showed a one minute film of all the action from the previous week and our SN@CERS loved it! Well done Thomas and Carl who put it together – you now have a new ministry!! This will become a new feature at SN@C so come along and see yourselves on screen or catch up on an awesome programme. We are planning to put those One Minute Clips on i58 so watch this space!!
This Friday our talented students will be joining Springetts’ Arcade in their efforts to raise money for our Victorian brothers and sisters affected by the bushfires. We’ll be doing lots of singing, playing and dancing - all to entertain the shoppers and to encourage them to give.
This Saturday we’re taking our students to the evening service at Hillsong Church in Castle Hill. Most of them have never been to Hillsong even though they have sung their songs and may have been to a United event, so this is again an exciting time for us.
Next week I will invite some of our students to share a little about their time at Torchbearers. You can hear news about our ministries and the ‘goings on’ of everyday on campus.
HAVE A GREAT WEEK
Woodsey
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Highs and lows of life
This week has been an awesome week for us. Going away last weekend was the highlight of the student’s time so far. The girls couldn’t believe how much fun it was to go out riding on the back of a Ute with a spot light looking at Australia’s amazing night wildlife. They saw so many kangaroos and lots of wombats – even got some pictures with one very docile wombat! The guys on the other hand loved the beach, surfing, eating BBQ ribs and just chilling under the stars. These experiences have offered our students so much opportunity to bond that they all feel as though they’ve been here for months – I think the homesickness has gone forever!!
Amongst the highs of great times and growing relationships we have also experienced some of the tougher sides of life.
The outcome of the Victorian bushfires had a devastating effect on everyone living in Australia. At Torchbearers we heard that one of our board members only just escaped with his wife and lost his entire house. A former property manager wasn’t so fortunate; he lost his wife and two daughters. Our prayers make a huge difference at times like these and we rely on our faith to help us through and see the good in everything. The spirit of the Aussies to rally round and help in so many different ways is outstanding. We have started our own appeal and some of our staff and students will be involved with fund raising.
On top of all that, a former Canadian student, Arno Ekkert and his friend Andrew Atoui, who were travelling around Australia, were killed in Queensland’s worst motor accident. We have all been grieving and our Principal, Neil, has flown to Canada to speak at the memorial service and be with the family. We truly love all our students not only while they are with us but also through life’s journey.
It’s amazing how these though times have brought us together as family. My prayer is that our faith will continue to grow and sustain us what ever we face and that our example may lead people to see Jesus in us.
WOODSEY
This week has been an awesome week for us. Going away last weekend was the highlight of the student’s time so far. The girls couldn’t believe how much fun it was to go out riding on the back of a Ute with a spot light looking at Australia’s amazing night wildlife. They saw so many kangaroos and lots of wombats – even got some pictures with one very docile wombat! The guys on the other hand loved the beach, surfing, eating BBQ ribs and just chilling under the stars. These experiences have offered our students so much opportunity to bond that they all feel as though they’ve been here for months – I think the homesickness has gone forever!!
Amongst the highs of great times and growing relationships we have also experienced some of the tougher sides of life.
The outcome of the Victorian bushfires had a devastating effect on everyone living in Australia. At Torchbearers we heard that one of our board members only just escaped with his wife and lost his entire house. A former property manager wasn’t so fortunate; he lost his wife and two daughters. Our prayers make a huge difference at times like these and we rely on our faith to help us through and see the good in everything. The spirit of the Aussies to rally round and help in so many different ways is outstanding. We have started our own appeal and some of our staff and students will be involved with fund raising.
On top of all that, a former Canadian student, Arno Ekkert and his friend Andrew Atoui, who were travelling around Australia, were killed in Queensland’s worst motor accident. We have all been grieving and our Principal, Neil, has flown to Canada to speak at the memorial service and be with the family. We truly love all our students not only while they are with us but also through life’s journey.
It’s amazing how these though times have brought us together as family. My prayer is that our faith will continue to grow and sustain us what ever we face and that our example may lead people to see Jesus in us.
WOODSEY
Thursday, February 5, 2009
The students have arrived!!!!!!!
Most of our students come from half-way around the world so settling in to a new semester can be the biggest adventure if they love meeting new people or a bit of a nightmare if they are shy! Whatever our student’s personality type we make the whole process as pleasurable as possible.
We offer friendly smiles and serve scrumptious food, (haven’t gone for the kangaroo steaks just yet!), then we take trips to get to know the local area and each other. Last Sunday arvo we swam in the local rock pools and raced to a friendly neighbour who gave us more delicious food, (like home made Oreos and pecan tarts). That night as we thanked God for all His goodness and sang awesome worship songs – heaps of Hillsong and Tomlin!
Our foreign students, (mainly from
As I’ve got to know the girls they say that they can’t wait to see kangaroos and wombats, (which they think are cute), and can’t understand why the Aussies don’t get excited about them! The guys just love the weather and love the surf, (Wednesday was beach day), and our only Aussie guy, Stephen, has been busy giving surfing tips in class and in the ocean.
There’s just a little bit of homesickness, but with bonding getting stronger everyday it’s feeling like family already.
There’s a fair bit of information about our course to soak up in the first week, but we also like to give a taste of what is to come. Our principal, Neil Bernard, has shared four lectures on ‘The Revelation of God’ and the students have lapped it up! Awesome job Neil!
We’re all looking forward to Friday when the girls head to a local farm to camp and the guys are heading to
Then on Sunday we present our first SN@C, (Sunday Night At Capers), where some of our students present an engaging programme for the local youth – can’t wait!!!
What an awesome start to what will undoubtedly be an awesome term.
Talk to you all next week,
WOODSEY
(Steve Woods’ nickname)
Thursday, January 22, 2009
At last we're up and running!
Welcome to i58 – Torchbearers Australia’s youth outreach website. We’re really excited that you can see so much of what happens at our centre as you look at all the photos and hear great stuff from the podcasts. We’d like to keep in touch with you through the blog, so read ahead, make some comments or ask us some questions, and keep in touch with the weekly postings – they are sure to encourage you! We are looking forward to getting to know you and helping you in your walk with Jesus.
Here’s an introduction, about us – enjoy getting to know us more.
At our beautiful Torchbearers centre doing life with Jesus is normal for us. Our greatest resource is you, the students, that’s why we invest so much of ourselves in you through great teaching, times of prayer and worship, guys and girls groups, mentoring, serving, family times and just hanging out and having fun.
As our students grow in their faith and put it into action they change – just as it says in Isaiah 58 verses 6-9. Change is not always easy; sometimes it’s a struggle, that’s why it’s good to happen in a safe environment where there are people who really care. Our students say that they experience God far more from living in community than from going to lectures – I guess that’s about where the rubber hits the road.
Developing a personal relationship with Jesus is the key at Torchbearers followed closely by making amazing friends – where else can you get to hang out with such a bunch of amazing people your own age, all seeking the same goal?
So, whatever you are doing, no matter wherever you are, there will always be a warm welcome waiting for you as a student at Torchbearers Australia.
We want to see more young people fired up for Jesus – help us by keeping in touch. Ask any questions and I’ll do my best to post a response within 24 hours.
I’ll post our latest news of what’s happening next week.
STEVE
You can call me Woodsey if you like – everyone else does!!
Here’s an introduction, about us – enjoy getting to know us more.
At our beautiful Torchbearers centre doing life with Jesus is normal for us. Our greatest resource is you, the students, that’s why we invest so much of ourselves in you through great teaching, times of prayer and worship, guys and girls groups, mentoring, serving, family times and just hanging out and having fun.
As our students grow in their faith and put it into action they change – just as it says in Isaiah 58 verses 6-9. Change is not always easy; sometimes it’s a struggle, that’s why it’s good to happen in a safe environment where there are people who really care. Our students say that they experience God far more from living in community than from going to lectures – I guess that’s about where the rubber hits the road.
Developing a personal relationship with Jesus is the key at Torchbearers followed closely by making amazing friends – where else can you get to hang out with such a bunch of amazing people your own age, all seeking the same goal?
So, whatever you are doing, no matter wherever you are, there will always be a warm welcome waiting for you as a student at Torchbearers Australia.
We want to see more young people fired up for Jesus – help us by keeping in touch. Ask any questions and I’ll do my best to post a response within 24 hours.
I’ll post our latest news of what’s happening next week.
STEVE
You can call me Woodsey if you like – everyone else does!!
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