Half-way before the half-way of 1st year at QTC!

Or in other words, we've just finished Term 1 (7 weeks) at QTC and are on holidays. We've got a two week break (which will be filled with some fun, study and essay writing) before Steph and I head to Atherton for a college missions trip.

It's been a great start to the year. We've learnt so much (I often boast that my Hebrew and Greek are far better than my Chinese) and have been challenged with much. Steph initially found the study hard going - it's a very different style of thinking that we are being confronted with and a lot of our presuppositions are being challenged. But we are growing in our love for studying God's word and are very appreciative of the prayers and guidance we receive from wonderful lecturers.

Please pray for us during this particular time - that we would be resting, but also that we would be able to keep on top of our studies during these next two weeks. Also pray for our upcoming missions trip which will be in regional Queensland - a place utterly unfamiliar to both Steph and I. Pray that we'll be able to serve well during the week, that we are faithful in the work we do and that God would do a mighty work in and through us to the community in Atherton.

Sad moment for SALT tonight

Tonight we did our fifth study in the '10 Commandments' series in 'More studies to go'. It was on commandment #5 - honouring our fathers and mothers. Because we're a predominantly Asian youth group I felt this particular study needed to stress that the reason we are obedient to our parents is not so that we score marks in being 'gwai' - but because it pleases God (cf Colossians 3:20)

On the way home I dropped off a couple of teens. Here's a snippet of the conversation I had with them in the car ride:

Me: Can I ask you a question and get an honest answer?

Teen: Sure!

Me: What are you afraid of most - dissappointing God or dissappointing your parents?

Teen: ... God...?

Me: Really...?

Teen: ...no... my parents...

Pray for the families in our church - that they would not only be counter cultural, but thoroughly Gospel centred.

QTC - Prayer Request

To those friends who read this blog and are in the habit of praying...

A number of things have happened lately at the College Steph and I are attending. A few students have had to pull out of studies for various reasons beyond their control and some other students seem to be looking more run down than usual and sickness has hit some of the first year students. Please pray for these situations and pray especially that God would bind Satan and his minions from doing further harm.

Thank you :)

Movember and speaking engagements

Movember - the month formerly known as November! The Prostate Cancer Council, in response to the overwhelming success of the 'Think Pink' Breast Cancer campaign launched 'Movember' a few years ago and it has grown (pun intended) every year since. The basic idea is that guys will spend the month of November growing out their moustaches to raise awareness of men's health issues. Andrew (that good-looking guy on the right) and myself will be doing Movember this year, not so much to raise money but to certainly raise awareness. I also have the side-goal of losing a little bit of weight to return myself to a healthier Body-Mass-Index (I'm currently sitting at just under 27 - which is considered overweight...). So if you see me at church unshaven ask me how my weight loss is going :P

On another note, the coming month of November will certainly keep me on my toes. Each weekend will be filled with various speaking engagments of some sort and I'm looking forward to the coming weeks! Here's a quick run down:

9/11 - St Lucia English Congregation - Jeremiah 20:1-18
15/11 - Toowong Baptist Young Adults Service - probably Mark 8
16/11 - Chairing St Lucia English Congregation
23/11 - Brisbane Cantonese Christian Church English Service - TBA (either Mark 6 or 1 Corinthians 11)

Please pray for my preparations for these talks as well as my health/weight-loss goals :)

BLT Plus 2008

Tomorrow evening begins BLT Plus 2008. I've been asked to chair a couple of the sessions and I feel quite under-prepared for my chairing! But I know that God is good and faithful and will be at work within me to help me finish my chairing (hopefully tonight).

In the meantime, here are some prayer points that you could be praying for us this weekend.

Praise points:

• Praise God for the power of His gospel to change and transform lives. That though we were once his enemies and without mercy, we are now His chosen people and have been shown great mercy.
• Praise God for another opportunity to gather in Brisbane/Qld to hear God's word faithfully and passionately taught
• Praise God for the chance to grow in our understanding of how to teach and apply scripture faithfully

Petition:

• Pray for Steph and I - I've been recovering from a cold, and Steph is coming down with a cold.. Pray that God would sustain her through the busy weekend and that she would not crash too hard when we get home.
• Pray for my chairing sessions - pray that I would be godly and faithful in my speech and help point people towards Christ and His glory in my leading.
• Pray for the delegates there, for soft hearts to hear God's word and for encouragement in our speech and conduct towards each other.

Thanks all!
Steven

P.S - I've posted up some thoughts on the upcoming release of the ESV Study Bible over on my Salteee blog. Check it out!

Prayer Request - Japan short-term-mission with OMF

Here it is, our long awaited information regarding our upcoming missions trip to Sapporo, Japan. We will be heading off on the 30th of November 2007 for a little over three weeks. We return on the 23rd of December 2007.

What follows is some information about Japan and prayer points for the country, our team, and for us specifically.

Thank you for your prayers in advance – please let us know how we can be praying for you also :)

Info re Japan:

Japan has a population of approximately 127 million people. Christianity has been in Japan since the mid 1500’s, however the church has been persecuted a number of times throughout the history of Japan. Christianity is generally viewed suspiciously as a ‘Western’ religion. Today the Christian population number less than 1% of the overall population. Evangelical believer’s number much less than this.

Church growth recently has been very slow. Many churches struggle without a Pastor and those with Pastor’s have found that the bulk of all church work and administration falls on the Pastor themselves.

Pray for Japan:

• That God will work through economic shock, political instability, and fears for the future, to shock people out of their complacency and turn to Jesus
• For the churches around Japan; many are struggling to grow spiritually and in number, and many churches are still without a pastor
• For more long-term missionaries to be raised to help grow the church in Japan
• That Christians in Japan will grow strong in faith, particularly as many of them face pressure from their non-Christian family members to turn away from Jesus

Pray for our team:

• For good health and stamina throughout the duration of the trip, particularly as we will be adjusting to a very different environment to our sunny Brisbane weather. Pray that we will adjust quickly to the harsh winter conditions.
• For good teamwork, patience, and servant-heartedness, especially as we will be seeing each other for long hours every day!
• We will be going carolling in public—pray that God will work through the words of our carols to arouse people’s interest in the Lord and Saviour we sing about
• Students tend to be more receptive to the Gospel, so pray for the many youths we will be making contact with, that God will work through us to bring them one step closer to Jesus. Pray that God would help us build relationships with these students.
• Pray that people will be receptive when we tell them about Jesus. Pray that we will continue to trust in God’s sovereignty, rather than become disheartened, if people are unresponsive
• Pray that we will be of practical help, support and encouragement to the missionaries based in Sapporo

Prayer for us:

• The next few weeks will be a very busy time before we leave. We are in the middle of preparing for the trip whilst getting as much work done on the upcoming BLT conference in January, finalising the semester timetable for SALT (the new St Lucia teens group), planning the first social events for SALT and getting a few house-keeping things done. Please pray that we will be able to get as much done before we go, but at the same time please pray that we’ll be rested so we don’t leave for Japan exhausted.
• Praise God for the generous financial support we’ve received for our trip!
• Pray for our health as we’ll be constantly moving from the icy-cold conditions outside to heated homes and this may wreak havoc with my sinuses.
• Steph and I feel under-prepared with the language, so please pray that over the next few weeks we’ll be able to brush up a little on our Japanese.
• I have to prepare a number of devotions to lead during the trip, please pray that these will be helpful times of encouragement.

Thank you again for your prayers.
Steven and Steph

Prayer Request - the next few weeks

Things have been getting quiet hectic around here. We've been settling into our new home nicely, but there's been plenty of things to do in the meantime.

Steph and I are heading to Japan in a few weeks for a short term mission with OMF. I will be posting up more details very soon. In the past few weeks we've been getting ready to go and only last Monday was I able to finally find some boots in my size at DFO! A huge praise point (since I was concerned about getting proper footwear for my weak ankles and didn't want the cost and risk of purchasing online from the US).

I'm also preaching this weekend on Colossians 2:6-23 which has been an immensely encouraging and exciting time in my preperations for it. However I've been feeling very fatigued in the last few days so please pray for good rest and energy to sustain me through.

Thank you :)

Prayer Request - Moving House!

Thank you to all the readers of this blog! We hope to post more thoughts regularly in future.

For now, please keep us in your prayers as we undertake the relatively stressful time of moving house (I was told recently that it's one of the top things which stress people the most - I can understand why!). Pray for a smooth transition and for the safe travel of our belongings. Pray also for our cat, whom we're concerned about the most, for his adjustment to the new place and that he won't get lost with the new surroundings.

Thank you and we'll be back soon :)