Mid yearly Okerrance (or thereabouts)

Dear Friends,

We want to begin this update by thanking all of you who have been actively supporting this Gospel ministry at SMUCF, whether in prayer or financially over the last three years. Your generosity in both these areas is much appreciated. We haven’t been in touch for quite a while, and thought it about time to update you.

Picture (right) - James with some SMU Graduates from CF

As many of you already know, we have been making plans to move on from the SMUCF position here in Singapore. It was not a decision that we wanted to make, but after many months of considering and praying, and with all things considered, we made the decision to move back to Australia to be closer to Maria’s sister in Wollongong, Australia. This news may come as a surprise to some of you – if it does, apologies for not having contacted you sooner to let you know. We will only be too happy to share why we have decided to move back if you want to know more.

As it stands, our moving date will be 9th September 09– only two months from now. We have sold our apartment here in Singapore already, and are actively looking for accommodation in Wollongong as well as a ministry position for James. There are positions open in Wollongong, so its just whether James will be the right ‘fit’ for the positions that are going. Please do keep us in prayer so that we can settle swiftly by finding accommodation and a suitable position. We are also in the process of organizing ourselves for the move back to Australia, so do just pray that serving Jesus and the Gospel would continue to be our priority for the next two months. Pray that James would keep focused on the task of establishing the students in a firm relationship with Jesus and that the transition of staff workers would go well.

The first half of the year has seen a slight improvement in Maria’s health, as she has tried to cut back on some ministry commitments and the stress of teaching Josiah Chinese! Praise God for that, but do keep praying for her and the kids’ health. Pray that Maria can get the right help for her health and that the stresses that exasperate her condition will be seen to as well. As is usual with most parents with young children, we both have been struggling with sleep depravation, with a spate of sicknesses and Jessica’s ‘monsters’ that scour her room at night (apparently). Jessica even managed to end up in Hospital with suspected H1N1 flu when we returned from Australia recently, but it turned out to be common virus!

Picture (left)- Jessica with cousin Rosie

Picture (right)- Josiah with cousin Oscar

Josiah continues to keep up at School and has started to take an interest in football. I (James) am trying to convince him that Manchester United is NOT the team to be supporting, but to stick with tradition and root for Tottenham – our family club. I can see some friction developing between us if he continues to go down that path… :) Despite the many friends he has here, he is looking forward now to the move back to Australia. He saw his school when we were there recently and the appeal of more out doors activities was evident. Pray that Josiah can settle quickly and adapt to his new environment.

We are pretty sure that you might have questions for us, so we thought of some that you might ask…

‘As you move away from Singapore, who will be taking over the position at SMUCF?’

Well, in this interim period our dear brother Denesh Divyanathan (who recently returned from studying in the States) will be covering for me whilst we look for a suitable replacement. We hope to bring on perhaps two associate staff workers in the next year, who will be trained under Denesh to carry on the valuable work there. This is in the pipeline but is in no way concrete yet. Do pray for Denesh, that God would give them strength to continue the work at SMU even with all his other ministry commitments and that we can find a more long term replacement.

What has been going on SMUCF for the last six months?

Well, following our return from the UK during Christmas, we started the term with a two week series on ‘Finding God’s Will for my Life’. Not only was this that the students might grow in their knowledge of the Word and to learn how to make godly decisions, but also to prepare us for the evangelistic talk that was taking place in week 3 – God’s plan is to bring all things under Christ, whether in judgement or salvation. At the talk, I preached from Luke 12 and we had a good number of non-believers come. Several indicated that they would like to get to know Jesus more and were followed up. Having the talk at one of the university cafes helped, since many associated the evening with a relaxed environment. For the rest of the term, we got stuck into the first 18 chapters of Exodus which was a great time of learning as we learnt the Gospel afresh in the Old Testament.

And the programme for this summer?

This year has seen Mark’s Gospel continue to be taught by some faithful graduates keen to see SMUCF go from strength to strength under God. We have had a large number of newcomers come to the Mark studies, including many non Christians thankfully. Praise God that the students continue to be enthusiastic to bring along their non-believing friends. Pray that as they find out more about Jesus the Holy Spirit would work to bring them to repentance and faith. Many seniors and graduates continue to come back to learn more deeply about God’s mercy and power in the book of Romans over the summer as well. Both the Romans and Mark studies are designed as 26 week courses, the first half covered on Tuesday, and the second half on Thursdays. Pray that we would all be challenged to rejoice in God’s Grace, and be challenged to live lives worthy of the Gospel in response.

I guess one of the most critical aspects of the Summer, is the planning for next year. We are so glad that nine students stepped forward to join EXCO which will allow us to be more flexible and far reaching in the work that we are doing. We are in the midst of discussing why we do what we do at CF and adjusting schedules and structures where and when they are not serving the Gospel. Denesh has been in the midst of all this and in the planning for next year. Pray that as a team they can carry on the work of proclamation faithfully and unashamedly, continuing to be shining lights in a dark world.

Now that you’re leaving, does that mean the end of the ‘Okerrance’ as we know it?

Simply put, no. We will of course continue to keep you updated even after we leave Singapore. Wherever we end up, we will keep needing your prayer and support. And we will keep telling you what prayer and support we need!

Can we come and visit you in Australia?

We will be in Wollongong! (One & half hours drive from Sydney airport)

Once we have settled somewhere, we would love you to come and visit. We are hoping to get a place big enough so that we can at least have visitors this time! But before we go, I am sure that many of you might have more questions, so please do write to us. Until then, Keep On, Keeping On.