Hi there, friends of i58!

After four weeks of doing life together at Capernwray the staff and students are working together as a great team. This is so important in community life as we’re all responsible to look out for each other. We serve each other in lots of ways whether we’re in the kitchen, working on the property, helping each other with our studies or leading worship and taking everyone into God’s presence.

This doesn't happen easily in our own strength - we're far too selfish, but when we let Jesus work through us the miracle of new life shines through. Living this life of faith in Jesus Christ is so much easier in community. We really are a help to each other, sometimes without even realising it. We praise God for how he works through all of us in different and unique ways and all to serve a greater purpose than our own need.

Thinking of others, we are proud to announce the team who are going to serve in Hong Kong for two week break. The two leaders are Tony Parks (graduate from last year) and myself with JR, Clint, Amy, Tim, Paul, Brendon, Sam and Zach. We will support another former student who serves in Hong Kong along with living with recovering drug addicts in New Boy House, St Stephen's Society. We have all stepped out in faith to raise our $2,000 and we trust that God will provide in amazing ways. We'll keep you posted with some of the stories!

SN@C was awesome on Sunday and it's great to have so many local people enjoy what God is doing in this place - we love it!

Now over to Colton.

Hello Everyone!

Another week has come and gone as quick as ever and we’re realizing that time management is VERY important! There is just so much to do around here! What ever happened to those dreams of sitting under a tree reading a Bible all day?

This past Monday a local school gave us the chance to use their gymnasium for an evening. It was the perfect time to burn off some energy with some good old dodge ball and basketball.

Last weekend some of us went to Sydney to experience it’s amazing beaches and it’s warm sun (some came back looking like lobsters!!). Another group stayed a little closer to home and hit up the beaches nearby. A third group went to the Camden airport to check out an open house put on by the M.A.F. (Mission Aviation Fellowship). Altogether a great day to relax here in Australia.

On Sunday we hosted our biggest SN@C so far this term - 110 people! We all learned more about God’s vast creation and experienced it by taking the time to just sit back and look at the stars.

Have a great week everyone!

STEVE aka WOODSEY & COLTON

GOD IS MOVING IN THIS PLACE

Hi there, friends of i58!
Well, what a week we've had! Without doubt the biggest thrill was when we saw God move in an incredible way. On Friday I suggested to the students that we raise $1250 to buy a new guitar as we have 22 taking lessons. I asked them to have faith to believe that God would honour the time span we would set. Nathan boldly said, 'Four days', while the rest of the students said up to three weeks. Well, we collected our loose change and made a start - we were off! The next day while we were preparing the Conference Hall for our SN@C presentation on Sunday night I suggested we auction the drawings that last week's lecturer had made and left for us. So, at the end of SN@C the auction began. The first of seven pictures raised a staggering $105. WOW! But that was just the beginning! The bidding just kept going up and up! One sold for $300 and the final drawing of an eagle went for $400! We raised $1312!!! How GENEROUS is God. We have now ordered TWO guitars and all of us have been encouraged in our faith journey with God.
As our faith increases we desire to see more of Jesus and that inevitably means less of us. Sometimes when we focus on less of ourselves we actually do the reverse so the BEST way to go is always MORE of Jesus! In this week's lectures our Director, Haldane Rowan, is teaching on the Beattitudes, (Matthew 5-7). The buzz words that are going around the students are, 'Empty ourselves - just like Jesus did - so we can be filled with the Holy Spirit'. I think Jesus said it clearly in Luke 9:24, 'For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it'. I'm proud that we have a student body who is seeking to do just that and bless you to do the same!
The other big news this week is that our school announced to the community that it was no longer pursuing the sale of the property. This has been welcomed by the community who enjoy our interaction and support of many local ministries. Our challenge now is to update our facilities. With God's help we are eager to get started!
One last piece of news - I plan to take another mission trip to Hong Kong this April and have shared with the students what it will involve - next week I'll announce the team! Exciting times ahead for us all.
Now over to Colton:


Hello Everyone,
First off, we all had our first taste of the community this week through participating in local ministries. The one I am a part of is an after-school program for children in primary school. They call it Fun House, and boy is it ever fun (and a little bit wild). We get children with heaps of energy, and we get the chance to work in their lives, even if it is for just 2 hours a week.

As Woodsey said, we also had a crazy success in our art auction Sunday night. To think that we raised all the money for the guitar in one night just blows my mind. It is great to see God work in unexpected ways. Here is a picture of the highest priced piece that went for $400, purchased by our very own Brendan Johnson.

The sun is shining once again today! (it seems to always shine on work day) and that means one thing: perfect time to go to the beach. 3 of the 4 family groups are headed off to the sand and surf today for an evening of relaxation and a delicious BBQ. It will be my first time to the beach in Australia and I can’t wait to get there.

God Bless and have a great week!

STEVE aka WOODSEY & COLTON

MOVING FORWARD

Hi there, friends of i58!

The transition into the new i58 website is going great and this week's blog is moving in the new direction too. I will include a 'spiritual nugget' as part of what I'll share, add a cool photo and introduce to you Colton Whelpton, a current student who will be writing the student comment every week.

First up, the news of whether our Bible School will be moving or not is going to be announced publicly on Sunday, so I'll post a blog with the news so you can hear it first here - the big question is 'Queensland or NSW?' Sounds like a State of Origin comment!

Next hot topic is who will go to Hong Kong? We are planning another mission trip to Hong Kong this April and right now the students are praying about it to see if God is leading them to sacrifice their two week break and serve the poor in HK. Again, we'll keep you posted about our progress.

Spiritually, the topic of the moment is trusting God. He has brought our student body together but the question still remains, 'Now what?' It takes faith to believe in the things we cannot yet see, (Hebrews 11.1). As we keep living in the moment, responding to God's leading, whether its talking, listening, learning, praying or whatever, we are putting more pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together, and then suddenly we can begin to see the big picture and its very exciting. This whole process is about trusting God that in all things He works for the good of those who love him, (Romans 8:29).

Over to Colton:

Hello Everyone!
10 days into the semester, and all I can say is wow! First off, we had our very first SN@C (Sunday Night @ Capers) and it was HUGE. Everyone had heaps of fun playing games, worshiping God and really just getting to know each other.

The sun finally came out after a week of rain and cloud. ☺ To celebrate a group of us raced off to the nearest swimming hole and went cliff jumping. We got to enjoy some gorgeous weather and an exciting jump. (Hope you enjoy the picture of Cody's jump)

I was also just blown away by Girls/ Guys Night last Friday. We were given the opportunity to bond as a community by sharing a part of our own story with the group. The openness that the guys showed really surprised and encouraged me. Even though I’ve only known everyone for a week or two, we are already feel like family.

HAVE AN AWESOME WEEK!

STEVE aka WOODSEY and Colton

GREAT start to the new semester 2010

Hi there!

The blog is up and running once again and we have lots of news to share about what's been happening here at Capernwray Australia!

First up, we have 31 new students and 2 returning students and together we've had the most incredible start to our semester. Can you believe it - the same afternoon the new students arrived they started playing ball games on our soccer field and learnt each others names as they were doing it!!! AMAZING! No need for name tags!! One big happy family from day one!!!

As well as lots of new students we have had lots of new faces join the staff, some full-time and others for only a day. We just love that we're one big family and all contributing towards the same end - living the gospel driven life. That might be a new expression to you, but its one that we want to keep coming back to this semester to keep the students aware of the BIG adventure we have in Christ everyday and the amazing opportunities/responsibilities that it brings.

During the first week we usually go to the beach, but this year the weather has been so wet that we went to Hang Dog - the indoor climbing wall centre. We had great fun learning who was the strongest to learning who was more monkey-like!! It ended with a BBQ followed by demolishing two enormous water melons in a very short space of time!

The students all seem to have adjusted well to their new home and family and lifestyle. They have also heard some great lectures from our principal, the Rev Neil Bernard, on The Revelation of God in the book of Hebrews. Next week the students will put this new knowledge to work as they prepare their Bible Studies.

This weekend we have our separate times for guys and girls. Again, one group usually goes camping but as the weather is still very wet we'll be having some great Aussie food and entertainment inside. Camping can wait for another week!

The last thing I wanted to mention was that the i58 website is having a make-over and publish the new look in March. At that point the blog will also have a bit of a change to include photos.

Well, that's about it for now. May Jesus be honoured in all we do and say!

Until the next post, God bless,

STEVE aka WOODSEY