G’day friends,

Happy New Year!

May your deepest dreams and hopes for this year be guided and encouraged into reality.

In this update there’s a few things that might guide your prayers for my neighbours and I.

Our Christmas eve celebrations were a blast at the end of last year. The pre-school kids showed their appreciation by whacking the pinyatas I made to pieces then rotating to a bunch of fun activities, pockets stuffed with lollies. The youth sat around our soccer courtyard in groups barbecuing  bits of meat in between competitions and games. The unplanned power failure left the kids in the dark huddled around glowing coals telling stories until a fuse was found. Please give thanks that these celebrations went well despite the difference to previous years.

Our neighbourhood house church also came together for a feast of good food and laughs. Just have a geez at my donkey getup to get an idea of the silliness we love in and out of the festive season. Our house church meets weekly in different homes and every time we seem to crack up over some joke or story. Most wouldn’t be printable! Please thank God for this vibrant space that allows people to share their faith in community where they’re at.

Amongst the laughter are the tears - of joy and sorrow. Recently, Meow, one of my nearby neighbours and teacher at the community center, has been sharing the background of how she came to faith. This only makes her impact on the community more remarkable. I thank God for her compassion for neighbours and her go-get-em attitude to transforming people’s lives. I’m grateful for the role she’s taken in introducing me to the neighbourhood.

As a result I was able to be involved in taking a couple of neighbours to the optometrist and a world class hospital. My neighbours often resist going to a hospital that’s provided for the poor as they’re chastised and treated like as ignorant peasants. One of the neighbours I took had been stabbed in the eye with scissors by her husband. She was too afraid of the consequences to go to a hospital and it wasn’t until her good eye started having problems that she spoke up and asked me for help. Unfortunately after the expert diagnosis (that only cost $10) nothing can be done about the bad eye. However the good eye just had dust from her work at the port and can be healed with care and protection by glasses. Please pray she’ll be able to find a sustainable routine to keep her eye protected and clear of dust.

After the optometrist I made my weekly trip to a youth prison to visit one of my neighbourhoods teenagers. I take his gran too as she’s too affected by her addiction to amphetamines to go by herself. Please pray that we could get into a routine that helps her remember to go. Please also pray the teacher for the vocational training he’s set to receive will be able to turn up regularly. The prison is set to move to upgraded facilities also nearby next month. Please pray that if God would have me in some sort of a role there the right opportunities would happen.

This time last week I was involved on the border with a bunch of refugees to start making cards for a Burmese Handicrafts project. At the moment there’s a shortage of paper supply. Please pray the cards will be ready for their Australian launch next weekend.

Please pray as I continue to develop my discipleship time with Jim that we’ll be able to seek the authentic Christ of Klong Toey together.

This last weekend I’ve been recovering from a cold so your prayers for healing are much appreciated.

Thanks again for your prayers and commitment to spend your time wrestling with God on behalf of my neighbours and I. Of course if God happens to throw anything back at you, let me know or even if you’re just up for a chat.

Your bro in Christ,

Rod.