August 2005

For a change of flavour – like a smooth latte with a dash of raw sugar – I, being Cath, am writing this edition of café towns. So…here goes.

family update
Elijah is now 10 weeks old. He is a beautiful boy with his Father’s good looks and big brown eyes. He seems to be enjoying life and even joined us in his high chair (propped up with lots of cushions) for dinner tonight. Our first family dinner. By the end of it he was asleep.

I’m still continuing with uni (4 assignments left till the end of semester!) and I’m also attending my old primary school for 1 ½ days a week. God has really answered my prayers in giving me both mental and physical energy to continue this with Elijah. He has also provided for us in that I am now paid for 4 hours of my work at the school, which will really help us financially.

Joe doesn’t get a lot of time to relax in between Focus and iChurch. But, when he does he has got his head in a book. He is enjoying reading a few short novels lately – in an effort to extend his repertoire and right brainedness (is that a word?).

focus update
I try to get along to FOCUS for the Wednesday meetings. It has been so encouraging for me to be part of it this year – it really is a unique opportunity to receive such great Bible teaching mid-week.

In early July we had the Mid-Year Conference. About forty-five uni students came along for a week of hard work studying God’s Word and what it reveals about ‘The Kingdom of God.’ It was my aim to make it to the seminars and talks each day. I managed to do this and can confidently say that my head has never been so immersed in the Bible in one week ever in my life. Admittedly, by the end I was exhausted. But I came away with a desire to study God’s Word more. I was particularly excited to find many sections of the Old Testament I had often misunderstood or not understood at all were made clear. The Lord really worked in my heart and through conversations with others I know he worked in their hearts too, to teach us just how essential it is to understand the author of the Bible and the examples he has set down in his Word as to what the Kingdom of God is all about.

Last week FOCUS was busy organising a mission on ‘The DaVinci Code.’ If you haven’t heard of it, this is a secular book that is very popular around the world at the moment. It claims to be fictional, but based on fact and has gathered quite a following for its portrayal of Jesus Christ and the Church. Our prayers that it would attract the attention of students were answered: about 12 new people (not Christian) came along and were challenged to investigate Christianity further. Joe followed this up this week with a talk called 'Jesus for skeptics', and is hoping to give out many pamphlets on this topic in the coming weeks. Please pray that Christians in FOCUS would be motivated to talk to their friends who are skeptics with their new understanding.

iChurch update
Our new home groups are going well so far. We have had 11 international students attending our group and are getting to know them all much better. We are hoping to take a few individuals through a series of studies that explains the gospel beginning next week in the hope that many of them put their trust in Jesus. Please pray for us as we begin this, that we would share the gospel message faithfully and truthfully not missing out or glossing over anything.

And praise God! We have two new sisters in Christ at iChurch – Yoyo and Icecream, both from China. You're probably laughing, but we get used to funny names. They became Christians a few weeks ago in Damon and Tineke’s group. Please pray for their continued growth as a Christians.

At the end of August we are having an iChurch Bible Camp. Please pray for the 3 leaders of iChurch as they prepare talks and studies for this event and also pray that our International Students would be able to come.

We are truly grateful for your support both financially but more importantly prayerfully.

Thank you and God bless,
The Towns Trio.

Ps. a message from Joe:

I need to raise an extra $200 per month to do the work I am doing with FOCUS at the University. This is only $50 per week. Can you contribute towards this ($10, $20 or $30 per week)? This may not seem like a lot of money, but I really need it if I'm to continue with this work. If you can help, please use the attached form, which can also be downloaded from http://www.afes.org.au/support.html

Prayer and Thanksgiving
1 Thank God for blessing our lives with Elijah.
2 Thank God for giving Cath energy to continue in her studies and school practicum and also for the pay she is being given.
3 Thank God for the success of FOCUS' Mid Year Conference, the 'Convinced by Da Vinci?' mission, followed by the 'Jesus for skeptics' talk.
4 Thank God for the Chinese girls who have become Christians at iChurch.
5 Pray Joe would have the energy to maintain all that he is doing for FOCUS and iChurch.
6 Pray that Christians at FOCUS will reach out to their friends who are not Christians, and that God brings genuine skeptics to believe in Jesus.
7 Pray for Joe’s preparation for his Resurrection, Ecclesiastes and Jonah talks/studies coming up.
8 Pray for good follow-up of people who have recently become Christians at iChurch, and for ongoing evangelism of those who have not yet believed.