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
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
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
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