New Friends and Joy

For several months Ulf and I have been spending time with a ministry group called Elisha Care. On Wednesday nights we go to their home group, which was being held in a public place in the main street of Croydon (a neighbouring suburb). There would be a time of worship, someone would speak/share, followed by some prayer time. From the first time we went, we could sense something different about this gathering - the people were being real with God and each other, and His quiet presence was felt there. It felt like coming home. We had longed to be a part of a community where people were real and where God was allowed to do whatever He wanted, for so long that it kind of snuck up on us. It took us a few weeks to realize that this is where we wanted to be, so we said goodbye to the small Vineyard church in Mitcham that we had been struggling to attend and decided to just go to the Vineyard here in Lilydale.

On Fridays from 11am to 3pm Elisha Care holds a free BBQ outside a house on the main street of Croydon. People come and hang out, kick the footy, get some free 2nd hand clothes, get a free lunch and some conversation. It's all about loving people and we enjoy being part of this! It's not without it's challenges, but it's worth it.

Ulf attends a guys' fellowship on Friday mornings and Em has started to go the girls' fellowship as well and we both find these times a blessing.

This weekend we went on a camp with Elisha Care at Torquay (near Geelong, on the Great Ocean Road). We were so blessed to be a part of what God is doing among these people! Many struggle with drug and alcohol addictions, but are reaching out to God for help. It was a beautiful time with God and with these beautiful people. It brought us both much joy to see people being touching by His love! And it was a great privilege to serve them and love them too.



Here are some photos of the camp:


Left: The guys sitting around the
campfire. (View out from the woolshed that we camped in.)






Right: Morning worship. There are many people on the balcony in the shadows. There were about 25 people in total.







Left: Worship and prayer on the
beach just before three people were
baptised in the ocean.





Besides our involvement with Elisha Care, Ulf is now looking after three young children in the mornings (getting them breakfast and ready for school, and taking them to school) for a single Dad. He also tutors a high school student in German once a week and does some cleaning on the weekends. Em still works at the Library at BCV one day a week and babysits a 10-month boy two days a week (lots to learn!).

On the home front, we now have two pet rabbits! They are now 10 weeks old and are enjoying their moveable pen on our lawn. We enjoy them very much - they're like family. We've also planted out a vegetable garden this year, which we are both enjoying a lot, especially Em. There's something very special about nuturing life and watching it grow.

Until next time, Aufwiedersehen!