Moore family update

 

Mark 10:27

     Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."

 
We are nearing the end of our official "learning language and culture" phase.  Although in reality we will never stop learning language and culture, we will no longer be able to commit to that in a classroom setting.  In a way, we have been very much in a preparation phase, and there is a great sense of anticipation as we survey the possibilities before us.  We are a bit like the Little Engine that Could, believing that we will accomplish the impossible.  Yes, we think we can, we think we can, we think we can...though not through any power nor planning of our own, but only through our complete dependence and trust in the One true God who loves to show His children that nothing is impossible with Him.

 

 

We have had so much fun at language school!  It is hard to believe that our time there is almost finished.  The school that teaches us Indonesian also teaches English to Indonesian children in the area.  From time to time, they organize fun outings for us all to interact...like this one at the beach!  We will also miss our interactions with our language teachers.  Many of them are not believers, though many seeds have been planted.  Please pray that the Lord will bless these teachers, and that the seeds planted there will flourish!

 

 

 Here it is...Our Team!  We recently assembled for a planning retreat, and took a moment to celebrate Waitangi Day (for our New Zealand members) and Groundhog Day.  As you can see, we are a varied group at different stages of life, and bring very different experiences and skill sets to the table.  As an answer to prayer, God has provided us with a national partner (not pictured)!  His vision for empowering workers here is amazingly similar to ours.  Please pray for us as we endeavor to find how the Lord would have us work together.  Right now, our difficulty seems to not lie in finding projects, but in being able to clearly discern which one(s) we should focus on.  (Please excuse Silas...he just was given an American blow-pop and didn't want to take it out for the photo!)



 



And now we must interrupt this time on the island to visit Georgia this summer!  Having been here two years, our visas will expire, and we will have to leave this country to get new ones.  What a wonderful opportunity to be able to reconnect with many of you face to face!  It will also give us opportunity to reflect on the Lord's work that is being done here, and how He would like us to move forward.  Looking forward to seeing you!










 Copyright © 2015 Moore Family, All rights reserved.

Soul Action South Africa

As a church we support Phil and Rachel Bowyer, through prayer and giving, in their work with Soul Action in Durban, South Africa. Here is an update taken from their latest newsletter. Copies of the full newsletter are available in church.

Many of you will know that we spent the Christmas break in the UK. We clocked up a few thousands miles traveling England and Scotland sharing what God is doing through Soul Action in South Africa.

We were surprised how 5 weeks still wasn’t quite enough time to see everybody. Even though we did visit all our partner churches, we still ran out of Sunday’s to speak. We hit the ground running by speaking at our home church Hope, who also blessed us with a shared meal. In Dunfermline we had great food and conversations with the leaders at the Link.

There were a few personal highlights – meeting friends in Scotland, the Midlands and London, spending Christmas with our families (although it reminds us of just how much we are missing them). I know that standing on the Southbank watching the NYE fireworks fulfilled one of Rachel’s dreams, whilst Zac and I were treated to trips to Anfield (4-1) and Vale Park (0-2).

Mostly the whole trip reminded me that despite our geographical distance, what we’re up to in SA is incredibly connected to our relationships in the UK. Thanks to everyone that welcomed, hosted and fed us.

ZAC’S BIG YEAR
 
On returning home, I was a little shocked to find out that not only had Zac come second in his year (Jan – Dec 2014), but he had also won subjects prizes for History (91%), Accounting (88%), and Math (87%). It was unfortunate that our trip to the UK meant he hadn’t been able to receive his awards in person, but as Zac said, he, "...much preferred being in the UK."

2015 is a big year for Zac as he sits his iGCSE’s; the results of which will determine whether he can do A Levels or not. It’s the same for every UK child Zac’s age, but the issue where we live is that we’ve previously been told pupils don’t normally do A Levels, since AS are enough for Uni here. Zac will have to do exceptionally well for school to even consider offering A Levels. Pray for him.

2015 Global Conference

We’re very excited that this years Integral Mission conference is going global, with delegates from Southern Africa and the rest of the world being invited to join those involved in compassion ministry in KZN. Soul Action has teamed up with YWAM, Tearfund and Call2All internationally, and We Are Durban and Glenridge Church locally.

Some of the themes we will be exploring include:

Equality: gender, race, economics and many other issues divide. How do we seek justice in a broken world & often with a wounded church?

Advocacy: how does the church find a confident voice to influence the public sphere?

Community: how do we help people without causing harm? How do we genuinely help people realise their God given potential without trapping them in dependency on welfare?

Discipleship and church: how do we lead the whole of God’s people as participants in God’s holistic mission to the whole world?

Creating effective partnerships: building effective partnerships and community across racial, social and theological divides In addition to plenary sessions and workshops, there will be space to reflect,
worship, pray and connect with fellow delegates. For the first time ever, this years delegates will be

able to go & visit Durban based ministries.

 

As a result of this years conference delegates will have a greater appreciation of how compassion ministry relates to the pursuit of justice as part of the mission of God. They’ll also take away fruitful connections with like-minded people and proven approaches to implement in their own ministries.

Centre of Excellence

 

As an organisation we offer different training opportunities to the network, based on where we feel God is leading and needs people express. Training that is planned to take place this year includes:

Business Training

Four workshops during Jan and Feb for people wanting to develop skills to start their own business.

 

Keeping Children Safe

Two workshops in June and September to help organisations develop a Child Protection Policy.

Equip

For people working with children and young people.

Four workshops throughout the year exploring:

• * Creativity and learning styles
• * How to plan/prepare
• * How to manage behaviour
• * Peer mentoring

NPO Know How

Four practical session for leaders of organisations which explore theory, praxis and toolkits.






Please pray for the Soul Action team as they prepare material and deliver training; that they would allow for thinking time and cater for all forms of learning styles.