Hi Everyone

It’s been a while since the last field report or newsletter – my apologies for that. Lord willing, I’ll get a newsletter out in the next couple of days.

I was going to split this report into two, but decided to put it all in one long post.

Schoolies is like a rite-of-passage for Australian school leavers, a celebration of the end of high school. Tens of thousands of 18 year old kids descend on holiday hotspots around the country to party. Think of spring-break in America, but not quite as wild. Queensland’s Gold Coast is party central for Schoolies.

I arrived at the apartment on Saturday afternoon. It was wonderful to catch up with my brothers and sisters again, and one who I had talked to online but never met in person. It shows how God beautifully designed his church family – we can be strangers, yet wonderfully united in the cause of the great commission. The core team staying at the apartment were Ryan, Bekk, Paul & Justin from the greater Brisbane area, Isaac from NSW, Harmony from the USA, and Phil & I from New Zealand. We were joined at various times during the week by local evangelists Fynn, Jamie, Shannon, and Denton & Evie. Apologies if I missed anyone!

After all the hellos and reunions, we enjoyed our first meal together made by Bekk. She truly blessed us over the week with her awesome creations!

Then it was off to our first outreach down at party central, Cavill Ave. Ryan paired us together and off we went to be used by the Lord. I was with Jamie. He is young, but the Lord is using him mightily for His work!

In my pride I thought I would be able to remember all the conversations I had. But in reality I was fooling myself, and I can’t even remember one conversation I had until I started documenting them on my phone on Monday afternoon. What I do remember from the first night, as per previous Schoolies, is being overstruck by the pandemonium, with thousands of unrestrained 18 year-old young men and women running amuck. Once I was over that, I was able to zero in and start conversing. The first night was a bit of a blur to be honest. I did take a few photos of the team, though.

Sunday morning I can’t remember if it was church first then online, or the other way around. So I’ll write it as the earlier.

We went to Liberti Church in Mermaid Beach. It was an awesome time of fellowship and teaching. We met some people who had links to the ministry and wanted to join us in the streets, which was awesome – the harvest needs more labourers!

The Youtube livestream happens every day, where we can link up with other labourers around the world to meet, and with the purpose to chat to random strangers about the gospel, on media platforms such as ome.tv. 

I spoke with a young lady from Ireland, who was too busy sucking on her bong to listen to consider anything regarding the afterlife. I connected to 2 guys driving on the motorway somewhere in South Australia – the chat was going good, but I much preferred they concentrated on the road. 

The last chat of note was with a young lady named Olivia from Illinois. She was a young teen and very impressionable. It was an awesome chat, and praise God at the end she said she had placed her faith in Christ! I shouldn’t be surprised anymore how God providentially orchestrates any gospel chats, let alone ones with a random strangers on the other side of the world, but He still blows me away!

Sunday afternoon was another outreach. The weather was just nice – sunny but not too hot. The Schoolies were a bit quieter in the afternoons. After dinner we went out again, and again I cannot remember any conversations. I went through heaps of tracts though.

 Monday morning online was crazy. I spoke to a woman from Bloomfield Indiana who was a self-confessed satan worshipper. She had enough knowledge about the Bible to be annoying, throwing out-of-context verses at me left, right and centre to try and disrupt everything I was saying. She did come to hear that all her posturing would just add to her wrath on judgement day, and also she got to hear how to avoid her hell punishment, so all I could do is leave her in God’s hands. 

I chatted to a guy from Melbourne Australia who, after hearing where God would send him, decided that he would tell God how He should deal with him – a small punishment for all. How convenient, but I had to explain that the punishment is meted out by the law makers, not the law breakers. 

I then had a refreshing chat with a young lad from Orlando Florida – he was very humble. He really wanted to go to heaven, and wanted to do anything in order to get there. When I explained the only way, he said he accepted the gift of Jesus taking his hell punishment there and then. He said he had to go. He couldn’t wait to go and tell his mother, who had been praying for him! What an awesome chat that was!

Next I spoke to a Muslim man, who listened to what I was saying, then told me how much he hated Christians, and would not change his stance on Islam.

After lunch we started our group Bible study together, going through the book of Ephesians chapter by chapter. I loved these times, as they were a great time of study, fellowship, and prayer!

Monday afternoon was interesting on the streets. I spoke to a young couple (not there for Schoolies). It was weird, because the guy was a Muslim and the girl was Catholic. I asked the girl how to get to heaven, and she said it was through Jesus and the church. The guy said it was good works only. I asked who was right – the guy said both can be. So at first I honed in on the girl. She honestly thought she was good to go for heaven, but the law soon convicted her. She understood the only way to heaven, but wouldn’t change her actions. The guy said we shouldn’t go around condemning other’s religions. But I said I wanted to know who was right, as neither were. They were embarrassed because they were co-habiting, and they both knew that was wrong, but neither wanted to change. I told them that hell was a sad price to pay for a moments’ pleasure. Sadly they left without wanting to talk any further.

Then I spotted a group sitting chatting, and decided to engage them. Most of them parted away, leaving Jake and Rico to take the heat. Paul came over to engage the other lot, but they weren’t interested, so he sat down and joined us. It turned out to be an awesome chat, with both of them saying they accepted the gift of Jesus taking their hell punishment! I asked them what they were going to say to the other lot, and they said they would say exactly what I told them. They downloaded Bibles and started to look at the church search link!

Monday evening I didn’t take any notes at first but I remember being teamed up with Harmony, and we were tagging in and out of conversations. This is hard for me, as I don’t stick to the script all the time, and get a bit lost when taking over. I do remember us talking to a Muslim guy. I took the lead through the whole conversation. It was a very respectful one. The guy was very hard line Islam, but couldn’t reconcile how God was a perfect judge and perfectly merciful at the same time. He had no answer, so I was able to show him how this was perfectly displayed at the cross. He was quiet for a long time. He said he had never thought of it that way before, and would have to go away and study it. Afterward we prayed that he would not be content until he came to trust in Christ.

Later on, on my own I spoke to an Indian guy named Dee. He was very respectful, listened to everything I said, and left with a lot of thinking to do. I pray it was a stone in his shoe until he relented and accepted Christ’s gift for Him.

I also spoke to a young Japanese guy. His spoken English was very patchy, but he understood the pictures of Jesus taking his hell punishment. That’s OK, God can use that!

Tuesday morning I had a break to catch up on some sleep and check in at home. I wasn’t sleeping very well, waking up after only a few hours. So I skipped the online part and went for a long walk to clear my head. 

Tue afternoon Ryan had planned for us to go to the beach for a swim, but it started raining cats and dogs. So we decided to play a board game – one that Paul had bought with him where you have to take rail journeys across North America. To be honest I didn’t really know what I was doing, but was teamed with Harmony and we ended up winning – although I can’t take any credit. It was a great time of laughter and fellowship. 

After dinner it was back on the streets, and the rain was still hanging around. I was on my own for a while, then teamed up with Denton, from Liberti Church. We fell into a natural rhythm with the chats; instead of passing back and forth, we stepped in when we felt necessary. It felt more natural that way to me. Denton was learning fast, asking some awesome questions! 

We chatted to a Maori girl called Tee. She answered all our questions, but we were left still wondering if the light of the Gospel had gone on or not. Seeds were planted, so we pray to God for the increase.

We also spoke to Gabriel & Pedro, a couple of Portuguese guys. They had a hard time coming up with the words to explain themselves, but it was clear to us that they understood enough of what we were saying to get a clear understanding of the Gospel, even though they resisted it.

Two young guys Jayden and Finn also listened to us for a while, but lost interest – both admitting they were stoned and needed to go to bed. All we could do was pray for them that God would wake them up before it was too late.

Then we passed 2 guys. One wanted to argue over justice and left, trying to drag his mate away. The other guy wanted to talk more. Praise God he did, because his mouth was stilled, and I could see the life change in him. God was working on him, and he said he would accept Christ’s gift of taking his hell punishment! 

Wednesday  morning online I encountered a hard chat, lasting 80 minutes. It was with a guy from New Zealand,  who had suffered physical, sexual, and emotional abuse at the hands of ‘Christians’ at a Christian school. This had led to him rejecting anything to do with God. My heart bled for him. I still wanted him to hear the Gospel truth, but it took a delicate plow of the soil of his heart to get there. He said he would consider the things I was saying. I apologized that there are very bad representations of what a Christian is out there, but it didn’t detract what God requires of him personally. He thanked me and said I was the nicest Christian he had talked to; I said all glory goes to God for giving me the words to say. He did ask if I was a Pastor. I said unfortunately not, although the conversation had taken a very pastoral nature. He said he would check the social sites and ask any questions. After the chat I could not stop weeping for him. I prayed that in his sorrow and bitterness he would come to the only person who could heal his heart and soul.

Wednesday afternoon it was trying to rain. I was wandering looking for people to chat to when I spotted Harmony talking to a couple of ladies. One had started to peel away, so I thought I would engage her. As a rule I don’t approach women on their own, but as Harmony was close, I decided it would be OK. Her name was Trinity. It turned out to be an awesome chat – she was very humble, realizing that she would go to hell, then choosing to accept the gift of Christ taking her hell punishment. She couldn’t stop smiling. She downloaded the Bible on her phone, and started reading John right there and then. Harmony had finished her chat, and Trinity’s friend had also accepted Christ’s gift, so we were all able to praise God together for what He had done!

I approached 2 guys called Jackson & Jacob. We went through the gospel presentation. Both understood everything I was saying, agreeing that they deserved to go to hell, but not wanting to do anything about it.

3 guys named Jimmy, Tyson & Max were my next chat. Max just gave me a mouthful of language and walked away. The others listened intently. I was thinking they would find excuses to join their mate, but they listened and answered all my questions. They thanked me for the conversation, but neither were prepared to do anything about it. At least a Gospel seed had been sown.

The only other notable chat of the afternoon was with two lads Ewen & Jack. They were contrasting reactions – one saying he couldn’t care less, while the other was a humble man who, after hearing the Gospel said he believed me, and had already placed his faith in Christ. His mate just looked at him funnily. I could see the change in him. I encouraged him to read his Bible, get to a church, and if he cared for his friend, implore him to repent (change his mind) about Christ.

Wednesday night the rain returned off and on. I had quite a few chats. Earlier in the afternoon Shannon from Liberti Church had joined us. Her and Harmony had spent over two hours labouring with a young woman. She had lots of questions and kept returning back to them. In the evening I was able to double-up with Shannon for some chats. She was doing awesome, taking the lead on most of them. It is awesome to see these young people growing in the passion of evangelism, especially at outreaches like these, as they relate better to the young folk than this old codger.

Then came two awesome chats, one alone with a guy called Zane, and a couple of friends Maya and another Zane. They were like carbon copies of each other – both larrikins to begin with, but sober-minded enough to realise their coming fate, and to transfer their trust from themselves to Christ. God was doing a great work – despite my tiredness and fatigue – all glory to Him!

Thursday morning online I only had two chats of note. The first one was with a young guy from Mitcham England named Prince. He said he was the son of Tyson Fury (former world heavyweight boxing champion). While chatting I googled him, and it indeed was him. He was very forthcoming with his answers. The internet was playing up, so I sent him the social links just in case. We were going through the remedy for not going to hell when the internet froze. At least a small seed may have been planted.

The other chat was with Lewis form Tower Hamlets in England. He was very tired, but still quite attentive. I think his tiredness was preventing him from giving smart answers. He thought that heaven was only for perfect people, not good ones, and he wasn’t going to make it. I think that woke him up, and he came around to tell me that he would place his faith in Christ 100% right there and then. He said he would keep in contact via the social media links. Praise God for a fruitful morning!

In the afternoon outreach (still drizzling off and on) I chatted to a guy named Auden. He was more interested in quoting non-biblical references about hell than talking about how not to go there. I persevered for about 20 minutes, but he wouldn’t let up, throwing all manner of conspiracy theories in the mix as well. He left with a tract.

A nice Indian man named Ambuje was keen to talk about the afterlife, having a weird mixture of reincarnation and Islam. He listened intently to all my questions, and answered respectfully. He looked surprised when I told him the way to avoid his hell punishment. He said that it made perfect sense. Then his self-righteous heart took over again, and decided that he was happy trying to work his way to heaven. It was a bit frustrating – he was right there – but I can’t will anyone to believe the Gospel who God hasn’t pre-ordained. He did take a tract though, and said he would investigate further.

I chatted to an unmarried Kiwi couple named Shiloh and Cody. They told me they were living together, and knew that God would not be pleased. I tried to tell them it was much worse – their adultery alone was enough to send them to hell. They tried the excuse of saying sorry to God, but if it wasn’t going to result in a change of heart it wasn’t going to work anyway. They were willing to go to hell for a moments pleasure. Sad, but at least they took tracts.

I spotted a couple of guys eating lunch, so went over to engage. One was called Hugo, but I didn’t record the name of the other one. I knew straight off by the way they talked, they were gay. Hugo said he attended a church that affirmed the gay lifestyle. I knew I had to tread softly, as I didn’t want an argument. I asked him if he knew a Bible verse that affirms homosexuality. He couldn’t think of one, apart from saying that Jesus loved everyone and we should accept people for who they are. I said I would try and answer the most respectful way I could, but he might not like what I was going to say. He appreciated that. I started from the beginning, stating that if God was the one who created everything, then He is the one who sets the rules about how we live in His universe, whether we like the rules or not. So if he says we can’t lie, then we can’t lie. If He says we can’t steal, then we can’t steal. And if He says homosexuality is wrong, then it’s wrong. When we break rules in normal society we get punished, and the same goes with God. His punishment for all of our crimes is hell, and that’s what I deserve as well. Hugo said that was pretty judgmental, and God isn’t like that. I said that is what we want to believe, because we don’t think we deserve it. But until we realise the punishment is against a holy and righteous God, we will know we deserve much more. The conversation was very cordial, and I said that even if he wasn’t homosexual, he would still go to hell for lying. I could see in his and his friends eyes that a light was going on for them. They still weren’t willing to change at the end of the conversation, but they said they really appreciated the chat, and thanked me for not hating on them. I said that Christians don’t hate homosexuals, in fact we loved them enough to tell them the truth – it’s just that many don’t know how to tell the truth in a loving way. They really appreciated that, saying I was the nicest Christian they had talked to. I said it was God that should get the glory, not me. They both took tracts and shook my hand. I pray that God would use this opportunity to awaken them from their sin.

Thursday night I was quite fatigued, and I know it was starting to show in my evangelism. Five days of not much sleep and on my feet for about six hours a day was taking a mental toll on me. I knew my energy level was low by the amount of people I approached. I probably should have sat tonight’s outreach out, but I didn’t.

I did manage to talk to a couple of friends Austin and Mia. They were quite interested in the afterlife, but laughed at me when they heard the solution to an eternal hell. I guess they fell into the Gospel being foolish camp. They did take tracts though.

The Hari Krishna guys were a thorn in our side all week. It was hard enough trying to have a conversation in a normal setting, but when they came past with their drums, tambourines and ear piercing amplification, it was impossible to talk. They would go back and forth along the main walkway all night, so we had to time our conversations in between their parades.

While they were having a break, one of them was walking alone, and Harmony approached him to chat with him. Normally they are very respectful, but if you rub them the wrong way they can get very loud and argumentative. So I decided to come alongside for support. Paul joined us as well. His name was Madhav. He was making a point that if you want to get someone’s attention you call out their name – like “Hey, Bill”, and Bill will turn around to see who is calling him. The same goes with God, if you keep calling out His name, you will get His attention, and His favour. Harmony said that it wouldn’t work before God, saying “Imagine you were before the judge, and let’s say his name was Murray. And to get his attention you keep yelling ‘Murray, Murray, Murray, Murray, Murray!’. Would that take away your punishment?” For some reason, that was like the funniest thing I had heard all week – firstly, I’ve never heard of a judge named Murray, and the constant calling of that particular name sounded hilarious. I sniggered, and had to walk away cross-legged. I guess in my tiredness I needed that, and for the rest of the week that became the standing joke. It broke the tension and tiredness for me – thanks Harmony! Unfortunately, the chat ended in pandemonium, as we weren’t going to concede to any of his religious points, and he moved on.

Friday online was very productive in terms of Gospel chats for me. Out of the four conversations I had, three professed faith!

The first was Ernest from Jamaica. He had it in his head that asking for forgiveness means that all his hell punishment would magically disappear. I had to reiterate that the justice system didn’t work like that. When I explained it, he said it made perfect sense. And when I told him how Christ offered to take His hell punishment for him, he placed his faith in Him straight away! We went through some checking questions, and it seemed he was genuine, although only God knows!

Then I spoke to a guy from Nigeria. He was gambling his eternity on his good works. But when I showed him how this wouldn’t work, he was very quiet. When he understood the cost it took to save him from hell (much like the previous conversation), it made perfect sense, and he said it would be stupid for anyone to deny the gift. He said that being a Christian in Nigeria could cost him his life. I showed him how he could download a bible for free on his phone, and he said he would read it straight after the conversation!

Then I talked with a young girl from Suva, Fiji who thought that getting baptised and praising God all day would get her to heaven. It was a long conversation to slow walk her through the law, to get her to understand where she stood in God’s eyes. Once the light came on, the path became smoother, and the end was a delight. She said she would place her faith in Christ and start reading the Bible straight away.

I was connected to a lady named Sania from Jakarta Indonesia. It was quite a long chat, a see-saw one. She started by saying she was a proud Muslim and would never change. But she listened and answered all my questions. She said everything I was saying made sense. She was making all the right noises in terms of coming to faith, but you can never take anything for granted. Then I could see doubt coming in. And sure enough, at the end of the conversation she reiterated her Islamic faith. I did send her the needgod social links, so I pray she follows up with them.

Friday afternoon I never took any notes, so I was either super-busy with chats, or too tired to have any.

Friday night was crazy. It was last night for the Schoolies, and it was dress up time. One guy even dressed up as Jesus. He agreed to let Ryan interview him. You can watch it here.

I paired up with Jamie again. We had a couple of chats that went nowhere. Then I bumped into 2 nice gentlemen Graham & John. They had a lot to say for themselves. It seemed like they had delved into all sorts of religions, because they were coming at us with answers that were more akin to Judaism,  Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity, all smooshed together. It took all our concentration to stop them getting distracted with conspiracy theories, and steer it back to the Gospel. Jamie was brilliant, being able to recall Bible verse after Bible verse to counter their arguments. We were also constantly distracted by who we referred to as ‘Gold Man’, who kept interjecting us. I asked Jamie to pull him aside so I could keep chatting with the other two. Jamie came in and out of the chat every time Gold Man tried to interrupt us. More on Gold Man later. Graham was a Kiwi, and told us that his marriage had ended. He had a particular sin addiction that kept raising its’ ugly head, and destroying his progress. He thought he had to sort the issue out before he came to God. Then he thought that if he fell back into his sin again he would be back to square one. I told Graham that we don’t clean a fish before we catch it, and the same goes with Jesus. Jamie showed through scripture that Christ’s payment for sins was permanent, and even though we will eventually sin, we have assurance that it is covered by Christ’s blood. Over about an hour, the Lord worked to bring Graham around, and he said he now trusted in Christ fully for the forgiveness of sins. I stressed how important it was to be hooked into a local church, where other believers can pray for him and help him grow. He asked us to pray for him, which we did. I prayed that he would learn to place his full faith in Christ, and leave his sins at the cross. He prayed and thanked God for what we were doing, and that the Lord would bless our work. It was a long, but great chat.

‘Gold Man’ was like an alternate evangelist. He was a middle-aged gent, dressed like a cowboy. He was peddling some form of alchemy which creates gold, or something like that. He was also peddling conspiracy theories, and into crystal energy stuff as well. He would walk up to anybody, in the middle of groups even, and just start to take over conversations. It was quite creepy, and everyone, including the Schoolies, tried to avoid him. He said he was ripped more than men half his age, and could take anyone on. It was apparent he had some disability, or was under the influence of something. He talked with Isaac, and I could tell he was very uncomfortable around him. Harmony tried to talk to him also, and he was right up in her face. Us guys made a pact to keep one eye on him at all times. There were other Christian groups at Schoolies as well, some legit, some not. They tried to talk to him, but their idea of evangelism was through prayer and healing, and saying a sinners’ prayer – which is fine if you want to create a false convert.

My last street conversation was with a guy named Nad. He thought his good actions and kind words would grant him entry to heaven. I asked him who sets the entry rules for heaven – God or you? He said God does. We went through some of His rules, and Nad quickly learnt that he would never make it based on his own actions. It left him open to the Gospel, and he listened intently to it. I asked him that since he didn’t know when he was going to die, when would be the best time to accept the gift of Jesus taking his hell punishment? He said now, but he wasn’t ready to do anything about it. Even the question of when was he going to die couldn’t sway him, so I had to leave him in God’s hands.

Saturday morning was a late start. Paul and Justin left for home after last night’s outreach, and the rest of us went to the beach for a refreshing morning swim. Isaac left for home afterwards.

Saturday is Bible study on the chat, and we covered Luke 10. It was a great time of study and fellowship. I love Luke 10, as it contains the parable of the Good Samaritan – a beautiful picture of the law and Gospel.

After lunch it was online again. Saturday is Team Training day, where we are paired up with someone, to alternate with online chats and provide constructive feedback. Today I was paired with Caryssa, who I hadn’t spoken to face-to-face for a long time. After catching up, we got into some chats. From memory they didn’t amount to a lot, but you never know how God was going to use the seeds that were sown. it was also great to get some tips from Caryssa, as it equips me to become a better evangelist. Hopefully I was as helpful to her as well!

And with that, it was the end of Schoolies, and the time I don’t like – saying goodbye to everyone. This is the third year I’ve come to this outreach. For some reason this year there seemed to be a deeper unity in the team, than from the previous. I don’t know whether that was just me or what. 

I was also paired up with Isaac & Justin during the week, and did have chats together. To be honest, I can’t remember who exactly I was paired with for every chat, and I may have gotten a few mixed up. That happens when you have dozens of chats in a small period of time (and you get old) – sometimes they all blend together. So, my apologies if they were a bit muddled!

What I do know is that none of our chats were in vain. God was masterfully working His will with each one of them – some hearts were seeded or watered, and waiting for Him to give the increase; and some were being hardened to the truth. I don’t know how many of those we talked to that God will save, but He does. For that I am greatly relieved, as He is in control of His universe, and I am a mere broken vessel, totally reliant on His grace and mercy just to take my next breath. That is why He gets the glory – not myself, or any of the team.

I have a few people to thank for the week:

My wife Jan – I thank God that you are continually believing in me and pushing me, especially while keeping the home fires burning, and coping with some unwelcome sad news without me. You are an awesome source of love and encouragement to me, and I probably wouldn’t even be involved in these outreaches if it wasn’t for you. I love you xxxxxx. Prov 31:10-11.

Ryan – Thank you for being a great leader and organiser. Watching you in action, it’s apparent that not a lot seems to faze you. You are a great model of leadership, and I pray the Lord continues to uphold and use you to bless the ministry beyond comprehension. Please thank your parents for us being able to ransack the apartment for the week. May the Lord equip you with strength you need to carry out His will. Eph 6:10-12.

Bekk – A great big thank you for the great meals that kept us all wonderfully fed and watered. And thank you for all the background support you do for us and the ministry. We may not see it, but Your King does. Keep writing (and singing) those beautiful songs! Psalm 96:1-6.

Paul – You are a breath of fresh air when things got the best of me. A Chuck Norris joke here, or a funny qiup to break the tension out of the situation. The kids enjoy talking to you for this reason. And thanks also for running us around in the mob car! I pray that that Lord will bless your ways as you continue to seek His will for your life.  Psalm 37:5-6.

Harmony – What an awesome blessing it was to finally meet you in person, and not just talk to a face on a computer screen! Thank you for your inspiring, encouraging, servant heart – and your dopey American sense of humour. Oh, and those snacks! Those snacks! Did I mention those snacks? I pray the Lord continues to use you for His glory, and blesses the rest of your time in Oz and beyond – wherever He chooses to send you in the world! 1 Cor 1:4-9.

Isaac – It was awesome to meet you, and so refreshing to see a young man so hungry for God’s word, and with a passion to save the lost! Keep asking those difficult questions, and never cease to search them in His scriptures until you find the answer! Psalm 1:1-3.

Phil – My Kiwi brother, you are such a model for me – so calm and unflappable! I don’t know how you do it, but it inspires me! It was also great to fellowship over morning coffee across the road. Lord willing, I pray that I may serve on an outreach with you and Emma on this side of the Tasman sometime! Prov 27:9.

Justin – I love the way you strive to understand God’s Word – slicing and dicing it up in order to extract the true meaning. You are an awesome example of a true Berean. Your passion to learn and grow closer to God is an example to all. May He continue to bless you in all you do. The vision of you literally rolling on the floor laughing will be forever burned in my memory! Ps 119:33-35. 

To my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ – I do not deserve to wake up every morning, yet You constantly grant me that pleasure, up until You either return in glory, or call me home. I thank you for sustaining me through the outreach, and making up the vast shortfall in my duty to serve You through a massive measure of grace. May You receive all the glory in everything I do.

It’s been a few weeks since Schoolies ended as I wrap up this report. My body and my brain have amicably agreed on a ceasefire, shaken hands, and are now beginning to talk to each other again. While the outreach is in progress, it is easy to say to yourself “It’s OK, you can do this. Just suck it up and move along”. It’s not until afterwards it all catches up with you. Each year as I get older the recovery period from these big outreaches gets longer. This time I was so exhausted when I got home that I believe I was verging on a medical episode. Praise God that didn’t happen, but it did lead me to ponder whether these big outreaches are best left for the younger ones. I despise my self for saying that, so I will instead say that I’ll be back, Lord (and body) willing.

Blessings

Craig