We have been so overwhelmed with the help everyone has given us. I told Brandon that it is all very humbling. I am the type of person that likes to take care of things myself and to not rely on anyone for things. I think God has really used this to humble me. It is hard to except so many gifts all at once, I guess mainly because I feel we don't deserve it. Don't get me wrong we are very thankful for all the help everyone has sent our way, it has been unbelievable. Reminds me of how humbled we should be when thinking about our salvation. None of us deserve Christ death on the cross.
We are staying with Josh and Sarah McEwen right now. They have been very gracious in opening their home to us, we have been here a week and are planning on staying another whole week. It has helped a lot to stay with people that remind us (especially me) of home. I think it has also helped Jolene, she gets to see Eleni every morning when she wakes up. It might actually be hard when we move out because they are really enjoying each others company.
God is good, and he provides what we need. We are moving into our new home on Saturday. Again, this is all very humbling. The house is way nicer than anything we have ever lived in. The house belongs to our friend's brother. They are closing on the house Thursday and we should be getting the keys on Friday. It is amazing to see God working so quickly!
Brandon is working on getting internet access to the new house asap so we should be able to keep you all updated on what is going on.
Brandon started a class tonight with some others at church. The class is on how to interpret the Bible. They are offering the class in hope that some of the young people taking it will be future Bible study leaders, Sunday school teachers, etc.
Friday night we are going to a 21st birthday party of a girl from church. She really likes New York City and decided to use that as the theme. We are supposed to dress as glamorously as possible in any era attire we can find. I am looking forward to dressing up, we don't have many opportunities to do so! Sarah and I are painting a New York City skyline that will be used for a backdrop at the party. We will post some pics as soon as we can.
Thanks for all of your notes. We love hearing from those at home, especially during this time in our lives.
Meg
21.8.06
14.8.06
Of Melted Metal and Toasted Mandarin Oranges
Here are the facts that many of you asked for concerning our recent trial:
We were on a holiday in Sydney when we received a call Sunday morning that our house was on fire. At first we thought it was a practical joke but soon realized much to our dismay that it was in fact true, the house we were renting was on fire.
The fire was started by a space heater that was too close to our couch in the living room. Allen Blackwood , as many of you know, was living with us while he attended uni. In the mornings it can be pretty chilly so Allen had it on to warm himself and the room. Allen left to use the toilet and when he got back the couch was on fire. He tried to put it out with wet towels but it was too large at that point. Allen then ran to the neighbors to call 000 (not 911), by the time he got back it was too hot to even enter the room. We thank God that Allen was not hurt , the fire was very intense and the smoke was really bad he could have been hurt badly. We are not upset with Allen, just thankful he is well. We realize that it could have been us who caused the fire instead of him if we had been home. God could have kept it from happening but for some reason he allowed it, he is teaching us something through all of this. One thing that we have seen already is the blessing it is to be a part of a church family. The church here has shown so much love and it is only the day after. We have so much help coming to our doorstep, from those here and from all of you at home. We really feel loved. God is in control and he is sovereign, we are thankful for that.
As far as our immediate needs are concerned. We have lost almost everything. It is a shock but almost all of it can be replaced. Our clothing was not burned but the smoke damage is so bad we may not be able to save some things. The living room, kitchen and dining room were burnt to a crisp. The rest of the house has the smoke damage. It is amazing what fire and smoke can do to things. Our laptop was incinerated, the heat was so intense that my Kitchen Aid mixer ( almost completely made of metal) melted into a lump of aluminum. Funny though what survived. On the counter I found some oranges that were toasted on the outside but still juicy in the middle, yum!!! In God's providence most of our wedding photos survived. I am not sure how this happened seeing as though they were in the room where the fire started. I think God knew that those meant a lot to me, and allowed me to keep them. I am thankful.
Some have asked about helping out with things we need. Shipping items to us is not very economical, shipping charges are outrageous. The easiest and most useful way to help would be gifts of money. Brandon's mom is on our bank account in the US. We have a US credit card as well so things can be bought with the card and then paid off through our US account. Of course we also value your prayers and words of encouragement, these are most important. You could pray for the below items...
1. That life could resume some normality soon. Being pregnant and having Jolene requires some normality. Pray that Jolene would adapt to living on the road again. She is becoming more aware of where she sleeps at night. I am not so worried about myself, more for her.
2. Pray that in the next few weeks I wouldn't become depressed over our situation. This past year has been hard in that we haven't had a home to call our own. We were just starting to feel like we were getting settled into this house when the fire happened. We will be living with families from church for the next few weeks until we find something more permanent. It is hard going back to life on the road. As soon as we know for sure where we will let our parents know.
3. Praise that God is already providing for us. The couple we drove with to Sydney have a brother/brother-in-law who is in the process of buying a house here in Geelong. He cannot leave Sydney for another year and was looking for someone to rent/house-sit for him until then. He already called us and offered the house. We will pray about it and see if that is best for us, but as of right now we are seriously considering it. God's perfect timing!
4. Praise that Allen was not hurt in the fire.
5. Thanks for the church, here in Oz and back home. Brandon and I were wondering how those without a church would be able to deal with something like this.
6. Praise for the peace God has given us. We mourned on Sunday and now it is time to put things back together again.
7. Pray that we could use this to witness to nonbelievers here in Oz. I was thinking especially for those in my play group.
Click here for pictures of the house before the fire
Click here for pictures of the damage
Zec. 13:9
"And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, 'They are My people,' And they will say, 'The LORD is my God.' "
In God's loving hands,
Brandon, Megan, and Jolene
We were on a holiday in Sydney when we received a call Sunday morning that our house was on fire. At first we thought it was a practical joke but soon realized much to our dismay that it was in fact true, the house we were renting was on fire.
The fire was started by a space heater that was too close to our couch in the living room. Allen Blackwood , as many of you know, was living with us while he attended uni. In the mornings it can be pretty chilly so Allen had it on to warm himself and the room. Allen left to use the toilet and when he got back the couch was on fire. He tried to put it out with wet towels but it was too large at that point. Allen then ran to the neighbors to call 000 (not 911), by the time he got back it was too hot to even enter the room. We thank God that Allen was not hurt , the fire was very intense and the smoke was really bad he could have been hurt badly. We are not upset with Allen, just thankful he is well. We realize that it could have been us who caused the fire instead of him if we had been home. God could have kept it from happening but for some reason he allowed it, he is teaching us something through all of this. One thing that we have seen already is the blessing it is to be a part of a church family. The church here has shown so much love and it is only the day after. We have so much help coming to our doorstep, from those here and from all of you at home. We really feel loved. God is in control and he is sovereign, we are thankful for that.
As far as our immediate needs are concerned. We have lost almost everything. It is a shock but almost all of it can be replaced. Our clothing was not burned but the smoke damage is so bad we may not be able to save some things. The living room, kitchen and dining room were burnt to a crisp. The rest of the house has the smoke damage. It is amazing what fire and smoke can do to things. Our laptop was incinerated, the heat was so intense that my Kitchen Aid mixer ( almost completely made of metal) melted into a lump of aluminum. Funny though what survived. On the counter I found some oranges that were toasted on the outside but still juicy in the middle, yum!!! In God's providence most of our wedding photos survived. I am not sure how this happened seeing as though they were in the room where the fire started. I think God knew that those meant a lot to me, and allowed me to keep them. I am thankful.
Some have asked about helping out with things we need. Shipping items to us is not very economical, shipping charges are outrageous. The easiest and most useful way to help would be gifts of money. Brandon's mom is on our bank account in the US. We have a US credit card as well so things can be bought with the card and then paid off through our US account. Of course we also value your prayers and words of encouragement, these are most important. You could pray for the below items...
1. That life could resume some normality soon. Being pregnant and having Jolene requires some normality. Pray that Jolene would adapt to living on the road again. She is becoming more aware of where she sleeps at night. I am not so worried about myself, more for her.
2. Pray that in the next few weeks I wouldn't become depressed over our situation. This past year has been hard in that we haven't had a home to call our own. We were just starting to feel like we were getting settled into this house when the fire happened. We will be living with families from church for the next few weeks until we find something more permanent. It is hard going back to life on the road. As soon as we know for sure where we will let our parents know.
3. Praise that God is already providing for us. The couple we drove with to Sydney have a brother/brother-in-law who is in the process of buying a house here in Geelong. He cannot leave Sydney for another year and was looking for someone to rent/house-sit for him until then. He already called us and offered the house. We will pray about it and see if that is best for us, but as of right now we are seriously considering it. God's perfect timing!
4. Praise that Allen was not hurt in the fire.
5. Thanks for the church, here in Oz and back home. Brandon and I were wondering how those without a church would be able to deal with something like this.
6. Praise for the peace God has given us. We mourned on Sunday and now it is time to put things back together again.
7. Pray that we could use this to witness to nonbelievers here in Oz. I was thinking especially for those in my play group.
Click here for pictures of the house before the fire
Click here for pictures of the damage
Zec. 13:9
"And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, 'They are My people,' And they will say, 'The LORD is my God.' "
In God's loving hands,
Brandon, Megan, and Jolene
4.8.06
A survey put out by the Australian Democrats
Friends of ours sent this to us. I guess this reflects some of Australia's culture and what things the nation as a whole is struggleing with. The survey is from the Australian Democrats.
God and Government: tell us what you think!
We are interested in your thoughts on what the relationship between religion and government should be. Please take a few moments to answer the questions below.
Remember that there's no right, wrong or ideal response.
1. Currently some churches run commercial businesses as part of their operations. These businesses benefit from the tax breaks that churches are entitled to. Should the commercial businesses run by churches get the same tax breaks as the charitable parts of the church operation?
2. A basic level of religious education (RE) is taught in public schools in Australia. It takes place within school hours under the jurisdiction of the school. Although it is not compulsory most schools have an opt out system, which means that unless parents specifically notify the school that they do not wish their child to be involved then their child will have to attend the RE classes. Should religious education be part of the school curriculum?
3. If yes, should it be compulsory?
4. Should it be opt in or opt out?
5. Should RE be linked to a particular religious faith or should it be more about comparing differing religious beliefs?
6. Should classes in ethics be taught as an alternative to RE?
7. Intelligent design is the idea that the complexity of the universe and living things is best explained as the result of the actions of an intelligent supernatural being, rather than a result of a scientific process such as evolution. Recently politicians have started to argue that this idea should be taught in science classes rather than in religious education. Should intelligent design be taught in schools as an alternative to evolution?
8. If yes, should it be taught in science classes or religious education classes?
9. Currently some public schools in states and territories have publicly funded school chaplains. These chaplains come from a variety of religious backgrounds and provide spiritual support as well as generally play a role in student welfare. Generally they are not required to have any specific qualifications or experience. Should taxpayers money be used to fund school chaplains?
10. Should funding for school chaplains be redirected towards funding for professional counselors?
11. Should school chaplains be subject to minimum educational qualifications regarding youth work?
12. Currently some religious groups/individual that receive government funding refuse to provide some services based on their own religious beliefs, For example, catholic run hospitals will not perform vasectomies or abortions and some chemists will not stock or supply condoms or the contraceptive pill. There are also government funded pregnancy counseling services that will not refer for abortion and do not make this clear in their advertising. Should hospitals that receive government funding be obliged to provide vasectomies?
13. Should hospitals that receive government funding be obliged to provide abortion services?
14. Should pharmacists that receive government funding be obliged to provide contraception?
15. Should pregnancy counseling helplines which receive government money have to refer for abortion if women ask for a referral?
16. Should pregnancy counseling helplines which receive government money and DO NOT refer for abortion have to make this explicit in their advertising?
17.
In which of the following areas do you think government policy has been influenced by religious beliefs
asylum seekers
welfare
drug and alcohol use
sex education
contraception
euthanasia
stem cell research
gay marriage
same sex relationships
adoption
abortion
war
industrial relations
18. Do you think that politicians who have strong religious beliefs should try to use the political system to turn their religious beliefs into law?
19. Do you think that religious leaders/churches/houses of worship should try to influence government decisions on issues?
20. In the last 10 years, do you think that political leaders in Australia have used religion for their own political purposes?
21. Would you be in favour of legal moves to formalize a separation of church and state in Australia?
22. Should pregnancy counseling helplines which receive government money have to discuss all three options for an unplanned pregnancy - adoption, parenting and abortion?
God and Government: tell us what you think!
We are interested in your thoughts on what the relationship between religion and government should be. Please take a few moments to answer the questions below.
Remember that there's no right, wrong or ideal response.
1. Currently some churches run commercial businesses as part of their operations. These businesses benefit from the tax breaks that churches are entitled to. Should the commercial businesses run by churches get the same tax breaks as the charitable parts of the church operation?
2. A basic level of religious education (RE) is taught in public schools in Australia. It takes place within school hours under the jurisdiction of the school. Although it is not compulsory most schools have an opt out system, which means that unless parents specifically notify the school that they do not wish their child to be involved then their child will have to attend the RE classes. Should religious education be part of the school curriculum?
3. If yes, should it be compulsory?
4. Should it be opt in or opt out?
5. Should RE be linked to a particular religious faith or should it be more about comparing differing religious beliefs?
6. Should classes in ethics be taught as an alternative to RE?
7. Intelligent design is the idea that the complexity of the universe and living things is best explained as the result of the actions of an intelligent supernatural being, rather than a result of a scientific process such as evolution. Recently politicians have started to argue that this idea should be taught in science classes rather than in religious education. Should intelligent design be taught in schools as an alternative to evolution?
8. If yes, should it be taught in science classes or religious education classes?
9. Currently some public schools in states and territories have publicly funded school chaplains. These chaplains come from a variety of religious backgrounds and provide spiritual support as well as generally play a role in student welfare. Generally they are not required to have any specific qualifications or experience. Should taxpayers money be used to fund school chaplains?
10. Should funding for school chaplains be redirected towards funding for professional counselors?
11. Should school chaplains be subject to minimum educational qualifications regarding youth work?
12. Currently some religious groups/individual that receive government funding refuse to provide some services based on their own religious beliefs, For example, catholic run hospitals will not perform vasectomies or abortions and some chemists will not stock or supply condoms or the contraceptive pill. There are also government funded pregnancy counseling services that will not refer for abortion and do not make this clear in their advertising. Should hospitals that receive government funding be obliged to provide vasectomies?
13. Should hospitals that receive government funding be obliged to provide abortion services?
14. Should pharmacists that receive government funding be obliged to provide contraception?
15. Should pregnancy counseling helplines which receive government money have to refer for abortion if women ask for a referral?
16. Should pregnancy counseling helplines which receive government money and DO NOT refer for abortion have to make this explicit in their advertising?
17.
In which of the following areas do you think government policy has been influenced by religious beliefs
asylum seekers
welfare
drug and alcohol use
sex education
contraception
euthanasia
stem cell research
gay marriage
same sex relationships
adoption
abortion
war
industrial relations
18. Do you think that politicians who have strong religious beliefs should try to use the political system to turn their religious beliefs into law?
19. Do you think that religious leaders/churches/houses of worship should try to influence government decisions on issues?
20. In the last 10 years, do you think that political leaders in Australia have used religion for their own political purposes?
21. Would you be in favour of legal moves to formalize a separation of church and state in Australia?
22. Should pregnancy counseling helplines which receive government money have to discuss all three options for an unplanned pregnancy - adoption, parenting and abortion?
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