Another photo from the hike
It was mentioned that we were travelling thorough bear country, so a scenario arose. If being chased by a bear (Dan) would you (Josh) be able to climb a tree safety? The answer that you can see clearly is "No".
Before we hopped into the pool we discovered the swimmers that you could rent. They call these "historics". You can easily see why. So myself, Paul, and Josh decided to have a bit of fun. And yes - we turned heads.
The Hot Springs. A big pool. Outdoors. But apparently natuurally heated.
Dan discovered that while his boardies were out in the cold they went rigid. So what would any 18 year old male do with this discovery? On the car ride back hang them out the window and see how rigid they can go. As you can see the experiment was a complete success.

This was a quantity of sausage that contributed to the 180 pounds of deer sausage (you work it out) that we made on the 12th and 13th of Feb. This was during the week that followed K country and preceded Banff.
Once again it's Paul goofing off - this time he's a manikin in the window of a Sports store called Sports Check. It's like Rebel.
Josh and Dan D taking a stroll down the High Street of Banff Alberta two days ago on Wednesday.
The mountains of Alberta. Photo taken from the leisurly hike on Wednesday.

A couple more photos from the hike.


To the abaove photo there is 10 points to the person who can guess what that is. And its not a rainbow. There are two "sun dogs" either side of the sun there.

The next photo is one taken from the snow camping trip at home base with tha cabin and such.

The next photo is unbelievably not a photo of a really strong cup of coffee. It's a photo of a really really strong cup of tea. And yes it was a unbelievably wonderful cup of tea.

Photo collection

This is the lovely Crossroads church to which Soul Edge has been born from, and which wholeheartedly supports Josh, Joel, Cody and the group. It's a non-denominational church but apart of the Life-Links group. Really cool church. This church is really small. One service on a Sunday at 10:30am, and the Pastor - Richard Erb - is working there voluntarily.
This next set of photos are from the day hike that we did back on the 27th of January.
This is one of my favorite photos. The group is all together except for one guy. It's Paul, and he's the tiny dot behind Cody on the hill there.

This is getting close to the frozen lake.

This is the frozen lake, and while it looks like Paul has slipped and pole-axed himself he is merely taking photos of some of the massive cracks in the amazingly thick ice.

Canada Log 4

Well here is the next installment.

Now last time I blogged I hadn't been camping in a long time - that is no longer the case - I also had never been snowboarding - that is no longer true - and last time both my knees were in good condition - this also is no longer true.

Wednesday 31st of January

That night we had small groups again - and yes like my former small group buddies it is on a Wednesday just like it was for us. This fact I was quite impressed with. Their small groups naturally run differently to ours. Such as they do not do a Bible study, but there is always an element of teaching or encouragement involved in it such as the previous week where Dan D gave his testimony which was really cool. I thouroughly enjoyed it. This week though it was a competition between England and the Colonies (ie Australia and Canada, the majority of which were Canadians seeing as there is only one Australian amoungst the group. Which often means I have to extend a lot of grace and understanding to my English friends when they pay out Australia, and myself for being Australian, for while they honestly believe England is the best in the world we all know otherwise). So we had the school gym booked and played a game of basketball and soccer (the guys would stone me for calling it that) where England thrashed us at soccer; 7-1, and then lost horrendously to Canada in the basketball - no one kept score on that one, but it was a hiding. Then it was a game of floor hockey. The teams mixed up for that one.
Twas a fun night.

At this point in the journey of Soul Edge I have been reading a book called Wild at Heart by John Eldridge, which has taught me so much about masculinity and who men are called to be. And for just a taste of this amazing book, there is a powerful and life changing message in it that men are not called to be "nice christian guys". Yes there is nothing wrong with it, but that is not our ultimate calling. The humble servant that Jesus was, was also the man that went into the temple and turned over tables saying "You brood of vipers!!". Jesus was a powerful man, but also sensitive to every situation and knew what was required of Him in every circumstance. This is also what every man is called to be. We are to draw our strength from God, and are to step out and be powerful men that do not conform to the world's idea of a man, but embrace what God has intended us to be. And in that we find our identity. This has been my challenge.

Thursday the 1st of February
(For Luke a sleep in - but for everyone else...) An early start!!!

It was up at 6am for our trip to Elkwater for snowboarding - Hoorah!
It wasn't hoorah for very long though for after the long 6 hour journey we discovered that they were closed due to extreme cold. It was -35 degrees and -30 is their cut off point. So we drove a bit past and found a nice place to do a hike and start a fire. Paul at this point decided that for a laugh he would run 100 metres in shorts and shirt in -35 degree weather, while it was snowing. I don't know about you but "for a laugh" would never be enough motivation for me to do such a thing. Well.... maybe... So we had the hike in the cold, and in the snow, and in the wind, and we built a fire and it was good fun. The thing that made it worthwhile - apart from the cold - was the amount of snow that the area had recieved recently. So when we got there, we were walking through massive snow drifts at least knee deep. The beauty of all the pine trees was also wonderful due to the snow that had collected on all of them.

When we were done there it was back into the van and onwards to a bit of on-the-spot evangalism. But before we got to our destihanation we found some hay bales that were surrounded by big drifts of snow. So with a van full of young guys, with time to kill and always looking for adventure what did we decide to do? You guessed it- jump from the hay bales into the drifts of snow. After what transpired next ended up spending most of the day in the hospital. The other Tim went second, after Joel jumped first into a spot next to where Tim jumped, and he hit a big block of ice, slipped, landed on his butt and crushed a vertebrae in his lower back. For the next six hours we were in the hospital waiting and receiving an X-ray and Cat-scan for Tim to see the damage, if there was any at all. There was. What did the Doc tell us? Three weeks of recovery while the pain subsides, and continued rest. If it hurts - don't do it. He subscribed Tim some pain killers and sent us on our way. So while Tim is injured he will be ok, and in the mean time he is still with us here in Canada and his travel insurance will cover the hospital bill.

What the Doc was most concerned about was whether when the vertebrae was crushed pieces of the bone when braking moved into his spinal column and caused further damage. This was not the case - Praise God!

When that was all done we headed onto our hosts that were giving us a place to stay the night. They were Ric and Cindy, and were a wonderful Christian couple that had a wonderful dinner and breakfast planned for us. This is also the place where Josh and Joel's younger sister was staying while she is a University. Her name is Hannah and all the guys warmed to her. She wasn;t really all the impressed when the guys jsut before they headed to bed started walking around in their underwear, the worst case being when one of the guys towelled it across an archway between the shower and his room. Sorry Hannah.

Friday the 2nd of February

So this morning we wake up and are welcomed by Ric and Cindy and Hannah with a wonderful breakfast, including my sorely missed friend pineapple.

Oh and I forgot to mention that we were staying in Lethbridge in Alberta.

Today was a special day for we had to make a decision on what we wanted to do for the following days. Stay here for another night and go snowboarding tomorrow, or meet our missionary friend and then head on home. Before we reached a decision we had a time of sharing and confession where any false faces that were in place came crashing down and a much greater sense of unity and deeper friendship arose amoungst the group. We decided to go snowboarding.

Then it was off to lunch and to meet Daniel our missionary friend in Kenya. Daniel is married to Marlies and they have a 9 month old baby boy. Daniel was the only one we met for he is doing some travelling around at the moment to do with speeches at conferences, and meeting up with friends to talk business about how people can help and problems and all sorts of other stuff. Canada was one stop over, so Josh and Joel snached up the oppurtunity to meet with Daniel. So there we are sitting in a place - I have no idea where - in a board room sitting there listening enraptured by the amazing stories that he had concerning his work and the amazing things he has seen God do. Oh and if you are wondering why these people see God move and perform amazing miracles and why we in Sydney do not it is due to the simple fact that they need God much more then we do. God is their source of everything. Finances, food, and their protector. They have completely surrendered themselves to God and His will for their lives and they know without God they will not live much longer. This is a place that I wish to find. A place where I am completely surrendered to God, and depend on Him for everything. Whether that be going to Uni, or working in the mission field (I am not hinting at anything, it is merely an expression) I want to see God speaking to me daily, and guiding me in everything. Just as Brother Andrew saw 'his job in the chocolate factory as his first mission field, I wish to take that same attitude towards anywhere I am.

Daniel told us about the construction project of another orphanage in his area that we will be building, as well as the church planting he has been doing, that we will also be involved in.

Then we headed off to a chinese restaurant for lunch with some beautiful food, and then dropped Daniel home and headed back to Ric and Cindy's for chill out and eventually dinner, and sat back and watched Star Wars number III. Truly and great film.

Saturday the 3rd of February

Snowboarding!!! Finally!!!

Well this is kind of a climax but there really isn't much to say.

We got up early, packed up, had breakfast, loaded the van, and headed out. Got to Cyprus Hills and went snowboarding. A lot of fun, pretty hard, but you start to get the hang of it at the end of the day, and fall on your butt a lot, and I had a couple of good spills where I caught my front edge where that sent me tumbling end over end, but no serious stacks. Pretty sore at the end of the day and then we started the long drive home. Cypruss Hills is really pretty though, and it was really good to have some fresh powder, which was really kind to me throughout the day whenever I fell, and is always the best stuff to be boarding on.

We got home and were very happy to be sleeping in our own beds, but it was only for one night before we headed out into Alberta again, except this time out to Kananaskas Country, and this time it was camping.

Sunday the 4th of February

Well it wasn't an early start today for we went to church because once again worship was great and Richard Myers gave a talk on love. But dont worry it wasn't cliche, it was wonderfully challenging and fresh.

Then eventually onto K Country. But before that it was onto a friends place (not one of mine at this point in time). This friend was Mike, he is a pastor at a church in Calgary and came to this camping trip to do a couple talks. We went to his house to have dinner and the family had prepared a wnderful lasagne and despite their very busy day they made time to have dinner with us. It's a lesson that I am taking note of. If you want to humble someone, don't elevate yourself and show that what they do is not that amazing by saying you do more or better, but humble yourself and serve that person with your time, and/or show great generosity in anyway possible in an attitude of service and love. With all the generosity and grace shown to me of late I am ever taken down notches in my sometimes arrogant opinion of myself and I am ever humbled. It's the same as Jesus washing the disciples feet. Peter did not wish to be shown generosity and grace in his arrogance and inability to receive gifts, but he was soon humbled something amazing by his Lord and Saviour's amazing grace and generosity.

So then it was onto K country and the lodge that we would be staying in. For those that have been to my house and can remember the cabin was the size of half our lounge room and all 9 guys were sleeping in it. It was a nice adventure to trying to get the van up a hill that had fresh snow on it for the van never had a hope getting up there on its own. So bakc the van goes to get a run up, Joel floors it gets near the top slows down with wheels spinning and 4 guys run up behind it and push it over the crest.

Then it was sleepy time and we wake up the next morning.

Monday the 5th of February

Well it was up at 8:30 and we had a session with Mike where he talked about rushing ahead of God and and what we called "making Ishmaels" such as Abram did with Sarai's servant girl Hagar after God promised a child through Sarai even in her old age. And making sure that we did what David did when he didn't murder Saul, and we wait for His timing in all curcumstances.

It was on this day that we went rock climbing. I as the other guys did to a lesser extent was dress lightly as it was a wonderful day in K Country with very warm weather of 15 degrees at the max. Of course what happens is when we get there it is a huge freezing cold wind that froze everyone. It was a pretty good rock that we climbed and really pretty view. But before we got to the rock it was a steep walk up a hill.

Once again its back to the lodge and that afternoon we had a really good worship session where a lot of the guys including myself were prayed upon and were given real words of encouragement through Joshand Joel from God, that have really inspired and encouraged the group about the plans that God has to empower and equip us.

Than sleep and wake up.

Tuesday the 6th of February

What do we wake up to this morning? Dan D literally banging on pots and pans - well maybe not literally; it was a wooden spoon and a lid off a pot, but aside from that - it was a wake up that really does not inspire you to get out of bed. Then he reminds the group of the bacan and egg breakfast that was very close to ready. That got me out of bed pretty quickly, especially since canadian bacan is amazing and Josh and Joel are amazing cooks.

Then a session with Mike again. This time he talked about Jesus' temptation and ensuring that we were always walking in step with the Spirit, and in our excitement of doing work for God's kingdom we don't rush ahead in the flesh. That was the main part where he was continuing the them from the other session, but there was also other stuff natuarally and arose a great discussion about Satan and his methods to trick, deceive and lie to us.

The activity was to be a hike and camp b'ut the conditions were such that we were deterred from doing so. Instead the fort that Paul, JJ and Tim (not me) had started was now completed by the entire group. An amazing piece of work by the boys really. I had a great time contributing to the construction. I was weilding an axe like a mad man creating plenty of fire wood and by the end of the day had felled a couple of trees (dead ones) and had increased my masculinity rating by a couple of points......

It was this that the group worked on for the day and such was the room and quality of the for that the majority of the boys slept in the fort overnight. With the fire going and such they commented that it was luxury accomodation and that they slept really well. That is except for Cody who spent most of the night loading logs onto the fire.

Then sleep and wake up.

Wednesday the 7th of February

Today we woke up with Dan D, Josh, Joel and myself out and about cooking breakfast while waiting for the guys from the fort to get their stuff together and come down to pack up and get ready to head out to the hike and camp. Twas a wonderful breakfast for we had waffles (sorry luke they weren't danish) and sasauges and ham. I thoroughly enjoyed eating all of that wonderful food. And doing it with a room full of hungry guys with hige stomachs means that everyone doesn't mind going back for more and more food, as long as there is enough to go around. When there is an excess of food it is truly a wonderful experience for you can gorge yourself and no one wil think twice.

Well after the pack up it was packing the van to capacity then dropping off Mike which was sad because he realy offered and contributed a lot to the group. So after the goodbye and wishing him well with his church and work we headed onto the heart of K Country and began our hike. I was immediately blown away by what the wonderful country in Alberta presented to us. A wonderful breathtaking scenery that shouted glory to God in all aspects of it. It brought home the power and magnificent nature of our powerful and majestic Creator. It was so raw and so real. It really is where man is supposed to be. In nature. We are not meant to solely live in clasrooms, and offices. We are not meant to be caged. We are to be free. And in nature - in the wild - we are allowed to be that. So throughout this hike I did all that I could to embrace this. I embraced the side of me that was looking for this all along, and God took my breath away and filled me with a wonderful joy to be out here and doing this.





The chatter of the group was a real bonding experience and filled memories I shall do my best to hold onto. On this amazing hike though it was also the place where my knee began to deteriorate. By the end I was in a lot of pain but fortunately it was where I could take a moment ot rest it and get off it. So we set up camp and collected plenty of fire wood as swiftly as we could before it got dark. We did so successfully - well I would like to think so. Josh had to get up in the middle of the night and get more. Kind of unfortunate. But with that amazing heart of his he really didn't mind.

The first photo is near the end of the hike where we are a couple hundred metres from the campsite, thenthe next one is further away where we had a couple gorup photos, and then at the campsite its about -15 and paul's in shorts posing in front of the fire.

Then sleep.


Thursday the 8th of February

So we wake up and find out the events of the previous night all of which I had slept through.

Joel's hiking boots had melted completely off at the back, utterly destroyed. Paul's sleeping bag had frozen over during the night, so he stayed up the second half and just layed the logs on the fire, taking over from Joel.

We had a great morning apart form the dehydration that I experienced in the morning, that drew to nearly bringing up my dinner. All good though, I was fine in n hour after being rhydrated.

But I only lasted a couple of km before I caved to the pain in my knee and the guys insisted on placing me on the sled and dragging me most of the way back to the van. 5 guys pulling the sled, with their own packs as well, left them a little buggered at the end of the hike. Again I was bathed in a lesson on humility. It also showed me that despite how much we may hate it we must allow God complete control in some situations and just sit back and enjoy the ride, no matter how much we would rather prove ourselves.

Back to the home base and have a nice healthy relaxws dinner and get to recouperate from the hiking. Not me so much though.


Friday the 9th of February

An amazing pancake breakfast that I was really proud of. There was sausage and hama nd pancake, and pineapple, and maple syrup and butter in abundance. It was amazing. The Canadians know how to do a pancake breakfast. The Aussie's I am afraid to say are in second, but not by far, mind you the English have really got no idea when it comes to this kind of pancake breakfast. In their defence though they do do it very differently, and they do their very well. It's not as good though. (And it's ok to slag them off. They can handle it, they give as good as they get, and I'm pretty sure they don't read this blog. Mind you I'll prob ably get found out eventually.)

We made it back and on the ride home I finished Brother Yun's amazing, touching and powerful book. We all have a lot to learn from that man.

The long ride home was great, I am starting to really enjoy being in transit because things can always be acheived during that time. It doesn't have to be wasted. And we should always be trying to accomplish something with every moment that we are alive. Time is too precious to be wasted.

It was absolute bliss to get home (excuse that) and be sleeping in my own bed again (any chance you can let that one slide too?). Finally we get to settle into a little relaxed routine again, with the oppurtunity to recouperate and be ready and refreshed to go when the trip to Banff comes around.


Saturday the 10th of February

A wonderful day where sleep and rest abounded in a land filled with milk and honey.

There was also a dinner on at the school where a famous speaker came to talk to the older generation about getting laughter and fun back into their lives. To start laughing again because the average middle to older aged generation has forgotton how to laugh. He did a wonderful job and getting everyone laughing, and to inspire them to make sure they went away doing more of it. The man was a true genius when it came to jokes. Really funny. Here's one.

His mennonite neighbour has apparently the best mennonite jokes, and I would agree with him.

"Did you know there is substantial evidence that supports Adam (Garden of Eden Adam) was a mennonite? Who else would while sitting next to a naked woman be tempted by an apple?"

Twas a good night.

Sunday the 11th of February

To church to hear the story of two missionaries who have dedicated their lives to work in Indonesia. They have been their temporarly working, and have currently got people covering their positions, but they do plan to head back their to work indefinately. At the moment though they are waiting on money which God will supply. So please be praying for this unnamed couple. But don't fret, God know's who you are talking about.

Monday the 12th of February

It was back to daily routine. The funny moment was when Dan and Dan decided to tie either around one of their ankles and then ran in opposite directions. It was a good moment and a great example of boyish nature and stupid adventure. They did get polaxed. twas funny. Good to see that Tim's incident hasn't hindered us.

There was also Joel's challenge to us to be reflectors of Christ and to really ensure that what comes off our tounged is never pulling each other down, but that we are always edifying each other. For in this situation, and this environment the enemy is always going to look for oppurtunity to tear us down. But is this not always the case? Isn't the enemy always looking to take each one of us out? Will he not take simple and trivial disputes and blow them out of proportion? Hence why James urged us to tame the toungue, and why Paul emphasises the need to ensure that no unwholsome talk comes out of our mouths, but that we must look to build each other up, and to never tear down, even when we do it unintentionally. It is something that everyone must always be looking to do.

Tuesday the 13th of February

Then came another day of routine.

There were also called made to the family, and it was a really good oppurtunity to catch up and edify in all that is happening here and there.

We also made Sausage as we did yesterday. Deer Sausage. Ones that Cody killed himself, and gutted, and deboned. He's a real man.

Ever wondered what the skin is made of? In this case - Pig intestine. Yummy...

I also got to go to Simon's Club which is similar to Kids Club except this was all for young guys. This for me and Dan D and Cody was instead of Cell group. It was amazing to see some of these kids really seeking God and wanting to learn mre about him and his nature. It was really good to see such innocence in young kids. You see it less and less in Sydney.

Thursday the 14th of February

The main event for today was to meet up with the young guys we are mentoring. Really exciting stuff, and I was really eager to see if I could have an impact in my mentoree's life. It was a test to see if I had what it takes to support, encourage and exort an young bloke to go after God with everything he had. Alas today for me it was not to be. He was doing a science test - as admirable as that is - because he has a basketball tour that he's participating in. A little dispointing yes but by no means the end of the world.

Well that's the end of the blog. The next one will be a new post.

Have a good week everyone, and God bless

Tim

From Top left:
Tim (Vircilles), Josh, Cody, Joel, Dan (Clifford), Dan, Paul, Josh (JJ), Me (Melvin, or the Aussie)
On top of a mountain. See my lack of muscles.
This here is Paul. "Lance armstrong is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he has nice calfs, uuuummmmm mens calfs. (btw im not a gay.)" It's true he's not; but you do wonder sometimes...


End of a long day of hiking, with a lovely sunset.

Canada Log 3

Hello everyone, i do hope that yopu are all keeping well, and I hope that you are living on the Edge, in abandonment for your Creator.

There is a lot going on here in Canada, and as I hear a lot down under as well. I will really miss Steve and I hope that everything that he learns and goes through will glorify our wonderful Lord and Saviour.

Now onto the stories...

On the 25th - a thursday - the gang plus one more, headed out to a local town, called Moose Jaw about one hour away from Herbert. The plan there was to take $500 and simply by the Holy Spirit's prompting go out and bless people. we were to do whatever we thought was a good idea, or whatever God told us to.

So the first thing that we did was get a breifing on the situation. I will now go through the same thing with all of you because the stuff that has been happening is incredible.

The $500 comes from a Bible College in Moose Jaw, where they hold an event called Youth Quake. This is an event that packs out 6000 people into a chapel where the college gets huge bands playing at this event. This includes Switchfoot and Jars of Clay. This time round though they could not get the bands booked to play. They tried but it did not work. So the board sat down and thought about what theyw ere going to do with this situation. They came to the conclusion that in the past they only booked the bands because that is just what they did. They didn;t book the bands that God wanted or because that is what he wanted to do with the event. They did it because it was merely so. So this time they decided to do something else. They decided to go with what was happening in the town and college in this point in time and follow the Spirits leading. I'll come back to the event in a moment.

So at the moment God is doing some serious stuff in this college. He is moving in some amazing ways, and people are being saved left right and centre. This is an example. In comes Keith, one of the lecturers at the college, and is an amazing man of God that is profoundly gifted with Prophecy. And one day he comes into class absolutely drunk on the holy spirit. This man is doubled over and shaking with the Holy Spirit. The only man in his class that hasn't just been filling his head with knowledge on the Bible and God but actually intimatley knows God is the man that I labelled "plus one" before. He turns and says to Keith "your having a great day aren't you ey?" Keith's response is "Yep, (and under his breath as he's walking to his desk) praise Jesus". He is just having an amaziung experience. On top of this is the fact that there is an exam on during this class, and Keith eventually has to get himself together, focus and get on wiht the exam. But before he does this he asks the class if he would have their permission to hand them on a piece of paper something that God wants them to know when they hand in their exam. Their response is 'yes'. And so essentially what Keith has done is handed each one of his students in his class a written prophecy when they have handed in their exam.

Another thing that has happened in the college, is the hospital down the road has been sending every patient that they cannot nurse back to health or fix to the Bible College to get the people there to heal them. Whether the Dr is a christian or not, they are sending their patients to the college and people are being healed.

So the college board decided to go with what God has been doing in this college and the town and are giving people $500 to go out and bless people in the town and college. They also take out a video camera and film what happens to be shown at the Youth Quake event that is still on.

So the Soul Edge team and Jake (Mr "plus one") head out into Moose Jaw to Bless the town. It was an amazing experience. We first headed over to a bike store because we felt that God wanted us to speak to someone there. God pointed out an employee there that He wanted us to speak to but because He did not give us anything to say to him we said nothing. This apathy would be corrected throughout the rest of the day where we would not not pray or talk to someone that crossed our path.

So then it was onto the Hospital. We decided we would buy lots of toys and teddy bears to bless as many children in the childrens ward as we could. So we spent $400 on the toys and teddy bears to give to the sick children, and a really big pink fluffy dog to give to a little girl that had just gone through knee surgery and was with her dad. The guys that went up there did not get to see the toys handed out to the rest of the chiuldren because of a virus that was going through the ward at the time. But the dad of the little girl really appreciated the charity - We know that much.

Then it was onto A&W for dinner. We had dinner and then ?Jake told us to go pray for all of the staff. We only asked and they all said yes. So we did and they all loved it. It was all realy positive stuff and they all loved it. We ended up praying for two girls with a high 5 prayer with all the guys reaching over the counter and then Jake prayed for all of them.

Great stuff.

The next day Richard Myers talked to us during a session about vision and where we want to be and why and what we think God wants us doing in the future. I'm really excited about it all and pumped about what i could be doing in the future.

Then the next day is Saturday and we went hiking all day long. Got the pictures.

Then Chgurch on Sunday and God moved someting amazing with the song worship where The song Freedom Reigns by ____ larson. Firget the first name. God freed some people that nmorning and I got to play bass. Yay! Woo!

Thats all to report for the moment.

Oh and the nickname i have been handed by the group is Melvin. See if you can figure out why.

Tim

Canada log 2

Hello everyone, i hope everyone is keeping well.

i got to stay on my toes, a couple of the guys have fallen sick with a cold that has temporily knocked them off their feet, and seeing as i am not the fittest or strongest of guys a cold is something that i really dont need. in the mean time though i am fine. Doing plenty of physical activity which has not made my calves my best friend, as every time i straighten my legs they scream at me.

The reading is really beneficial - i am learning heaps. it is fantastic. While i may not be at school, my brain is being forced to stay sharp and alert. There are some amazing things that i have learned about various disciplines such as solitude which was todays and simplicity was yesterday's. They have made me aware of makiing sure we keep things simple, stay focused and always have our eyes on our God.

The morning sessions that we have together are amazing. We pull out one guitar, and ten guys in the room are singing their lungs out in praises to God. Hands are up and out, and there is usually at least one person kneeling, completely overwhelmed by the Spirit's movement in this house in a tiny little town called Herbert.

i am finally starting to get my bearings in this place, and am starting to relax around the guys. i am feeling more free to be myself, and let my sense of humour come out, despite one of the guys declaring how he hates aussie humour. Actually most of the time the guys can't keep up with me and spend time scratching heads wondering what i meant by that last comment and where the joke lies in it. Meh... makes for something different, and they are starting to get the sense of humour. n the meant ime though bi have to make sure i dont offend anyone ( not that i would set out to do something like that).

The timne spent at the ranch is really good. it's a 10 minute drive to the ranch and then its usually on to the feed lot where the cows are. about a 5 minute drive. There its out in the elements (the cold that is - usually about 0 degrees) and feed the cows and at the moment we've spent some time fixing a tractor. Then back to the house there and its coffee time! There we sit back and chill out with the food that Josh, and Joel's mum has prepared for us. That lady can teach us all a thing or two about hospitality. Her heart and joy to do what she does for all the guys is amazing.

The meals that are cooked are always great, and the guys never go hungry - except when we're fasting.

The physical exercise is great - we go for a 2 mile run most nights, and everyone comes away absolutely stufffed and sore.

The boys are all bonding really well, and are all top blokes. Not an annoying one amoungst the group. Josh and Joel are setting an amazing example and i am really trying my best to learn from them - and yes they are easy to tell apart. The uncanny thing about the group are the names. We have two Tims, two Daniels, and two Joshuas. i have no idea how that worked out.

The guy that i am rooming with is an amazing man of God. am only just becoming aware of the impact that he may have amoung the group when he starts spending more time wth all of us. He is a leader - literally, a leader on this course - and lives in Herbert. He hjas other things on at the moment, so he is only here part time at the moment, but he wl be coming to Kenya with all of us, so we will see much more of him.

Well small groups are starting - my first one - so i have to go.

Tim

First update from canada

Well I have safely arrived in Herbert Saskatchewan Canada.

It is good here. Very cold. It's about 2 or 3 degrees outside at the moment - and they call this beautiul weather... Actually the other week it got to -47 degrees celcius. im sure we'll have a day like that before i leave.

It is really beautiful over here. Wonderful white and dry and powder snow.

The craziest thing is going in the entire house ta the moment. A masive tea towel fight is ocuring. I think someone may come away with visible scars. One of the guys Dan is lethal with them. I tried but it was never going to work.

Dan just screamed in pain.

On the flight over i got stopped by Canadian immigration due to myself being scome kid appearing unable to self sustain while I'm here. but i got it sorted without lying. Dan not being able to do so. He said he was here to see family.

And there is another Tim staying here. So I think they will be calling me by my middle name edward.

we have what we are calling sessions. This involves some worship music led on guitar, and i tell you what there is something inspiring just singing like that with a room full of guys and a guitar. it is an amazing place to enter into with the Lord.

Well its currently lunch, so im going to have to suspend this blog and finish it later.

Tim

this is tim reporting from los angeles airport at terminal ttwo.

will in a cuple ofshours board a fkight onto calgary and yes tom you were right i have to go through customs there.
all safe andsound and have alrady been to starbarks.

out of time

cya

tim

The trip to Canada

Well hello blogees, glad to see that you are interested in the trip that I will be taking overseas, and that you wish to find out more by reading this blog.

By clicking the link it will take you to the website of the course that I am undertaking. It will tell you what the course is about, why it is being done, and what it hopes to acheive. It doesn't actually tell you what I will be doing on the course. So what follows is some the speech I gave at my fundraiser. It goes into detail about everything that will be happening on the course. Please don't be discouraged about the length.


When is it?
I shall be getting on a plane for Regina, Saskatchewan on the 19th of January. I will be picked up from the airport by the guys running the course and shall be driven to where we are staying in Herbert – a town north east of Regina in central Canada.

So what is happening in Canada?
Canada is where myself, and the other six guys undertaking this course will be trained and equipped for work in Kenya. We will be sharing a house together and living there for the following three months. There will be work in various ministries and disciplines so I will come away trained and equipped. This includes daily sessions and adventure trips.
The Daily sessions include immersing ourselves in the Bible which we must read in the following five months. We will focus on the inward, outward and corporate disciplines.

The inward are:
§ Meditation
§ Prayer
§ Fasting
§ Study

The outward are:
§ Simplicity
§ Solitude
§ Submission
§ Service

The corporate are:
§ Confession
§ Worship
§ Guidance
§ Celebration

As we work through those things we will be going through topics covered in various books including things on leadership, how to go about reading the Bible in order to get the most out of it, the Holy Spirit, and the Kingdom of God.
Reading the Bible in five months is going to change and grow my self-discipline. I will grow vastly in knowledge and wisdom as well as falling more in love with God as he reveals so much to me through His Word.
This in conjunction with the books that will be read my head knowledge will be ever greatly expanded. This of course is no use unless this is also matched with heart growth and action. These things will be addressed through the general challenge of adapting to a very new environment where I will be sharing a room with a couple other guys and sharing a house with nine guys all of which are between the age of 17 and 21. You can feel the testosterone already!!! That of course is a minor challenge in comparison to what this course is also offering – I will get to these other aspects of the course in a moment. The Daily sessions also include much prayer time among the group and many bible studies. These things will create unity among the group where we will learn to support each other in the challenges we face, as well as learning to become attuned to the needs of other people. The group will also spend time with the father of the two men running the course who is the pastor of their local church. This time will be spent to help guide the group during our training time and focus us in what we are trying to achieve and get out of the course and the time we are spending there.
What I have just outlined is the day-to-day activities of the group. This will become our routine, and what each day will generally involve.

The next thing to address is the adventure aspect of the course.
The Weekly Adventures will include but are not limited to:
- Snowboarding
- Paintball
- Hiking Trips
- Day Hikes/Camping
- Boldering
- Ice Fishing
- Sledding
- Bow hunting
- Night hunting
- Night Hikes
- Survival camping
- Night Hawk training adventures (that is surprise training sessions)

We will also go on Adventure trips. There will be three of those. These will be:
- Snow Boarding In the Rocky Mountains
- Hiking In the Rocky Mountains
- Snow Camping in Northern Saskatchewan

There will be two main adventure trips. These trips include traveling somewhere a distance from the base for a more extensive adventure. One of these will be a trip to Banff which is located in the Rocky Mountains of Alberta Canada. This trip will take place in mid January as a break from the intensive training as a team building time. The group will be staying in a family Cabin located in Banff. Most of the time there will be spent snowboarding and hiking.
The other main adventure trip will be a trip to Northern Saskatchewan for a snow camping expedition. The group will be outfitted with gear from Steve Maier who is a certified wilderness and mountain guide. We will be staying in wall tents with wood stoves. The group will be camping up in the bush of the rugged country of Northern Sask. This trip will take place in February; and even if it is cold it is still on…. That is; cold for a Canadian winter; ie around -30 degrees Celsius.
The weekly adventures aim to provide opportunity for team building and to experience new things in the outdoors as well as having fun. Some of the weekly adventures will include trips to places a few hours drive away where others will take place closer to the base.

In Canada there will also be times of ministry to various communities in Canada. There will be a ministry trip to Northern Saskatchewan to minister to the indigenous people in Pelican Narrows. This trip will take place later on in the course in the month of February. This will be a long week end trip, as it is an eight hour drive up to this part of Sask. The ministry will involve outreach to the First Nations young people in the area. Outreach will be done on a real practical level building relationship with the local youth, Drama, and music.

We will be ministering to these people due to this area suffering from alcohol abuse and high suicide rates, and many abusive homes and dysfunctional families. There is a lot of opportunity to bring the Kingdom of God into their lives, and the guys really believe that the Lord is moving among the First Nations people. The trip to minister on a reserve will be a completely different experience and life changing time.

There will also be ministry opportunity to inner-city Regina a city that is a two hour drive from Herbert. One of the opportunities in Regina is to serve on the Love lives here Bus, which is a bus that goes out at night to serve the homeless and Prostitutes in the inner-city. There will also be opportunity to do street evangelisms, which I am really looking forward to due the simple matter of having such a great opportunity to bring the love and grace of God into their lives.

We also hope to do some prison ministry, which would involve speaking to the prison inmates and doing music, drama and building relationship. Many prisons are set up for Christian organizations to come in and be able to speak with the inmates. This would be a great opportunity to reach out to the lost and provide opportunity to minister and be changed.

So what is happening in Kenya?

The trip to Kenya will begin in London when we board the plane to Nairobi Kenya. The Soul Edge team will travel together. We will arrive in Nairobi where we will meet up with the arranged transport. The main contact in Kenya is Daniel and Marlies Hoogteyling who are running an orphanage outside of Nairobi. Daniel and Marlies formerly led Soul Survivor Holland and have been in Kenya for a few years now.

Much of the work and the things we will be involved with will coincide with the needs of Daniel and Marlies; serving them in any way that we can. As they have been working in Kenya and know the local people our contacts will come primarily through them.

Projects will include, local ministry to the community we are staying in; clean up projects, music and drama. There will also most likely be some building projects and possible renovations and painting. Much of the details of the projects have yet to be planned as we are working with Missionaries. More details will follow as we work that out with the Hoogteylings.

My UAI

This is my UAI. This is good. I quite like this. I really didn't think I would get in the 90's with my marks, but I guess they scaled me. Good luck to everyone, and I hope your HSC was also a success.

My HSC marks

These are my HSC results for those that are interested. Hope everyone got the results they wanted, and got what they needed to acheive.

U2

Today I found an interesting article on the nine msn site about Bono and U2, concerning Bono's involvment in Make Poverty History. Apparently Bono has caused a stir in the band with his work in this area. But things are never easy when you are doing God's work. Satan will attack and will do his best to bring you down. And sometimes he will attack what means most to you. And for Bono that has been pressure placed on him by his band members.

The thing about the article though is that no dates are listed. The comment that Bono said he thought he was going to be forced out of the band does not carry a date on when he said that, and when he thought that might happen. So this whole thing may have happened a very long time ago.

Another interesting thing that I saw on TV was a small snippet of Andrew G's interview with U2. Bono was talking about the voice he has recently acquired. Since the passing of his Father he has become increasingly aware of the improvement in his voice, and how recently his voice has dramatically improved, and that now he is able to hit notes that he ahs never been able to before. What he put this down to was God.
'When you look after God's stuff he looks after yours. Can't be sure but that's what it feels like.'
That's not an exact quote but it's pretty close.
As obvious as it is, I'll still say it. Because of the fan base that U2 has, Bono has gone and worked for the poor on a very large scale. He has answered the calling that God has on his life, and it would appear that God has rewarded that to an extent. He has blessed Bono with a gift of his voice.

I think that's pretty cool.

Personality

Now apparently I'm a Cocker Spaniel...


Cocker SpanielNo bones about it, you're a perky, loving Cocker Spaniel. (Think Lady from Lady and the Tramp.) Playful and energetic, you're a real people person — er, dog. People can't help but fall hook, line, and sinker for your friendly, well-rounded personality and natural charm. It's a subtle thing, though — being outgoing and flirtatious, not showy, is the name of your game. Friends, co-workers, and potential dates can't help liking you. How could they not? Your winning-yet-humble ways make you popular, admired, and a joy to be around. Woof!

Cake

I have cake in my desk, been there for a while now, dunno how long, haven't kept track. Oh well, guess I'll eat it sometime. Seems to keep pretty well, so you know, oh and its yummy too.

Mmmm...

Yr 12

Right, well here's the update.

I recently did a physics assignment on scientists that contributed to the exploration of space. It was 18 pages long. *jaw drops here*. Yes it was silly, and it was ok, none of it was completely irrelevant, it was all on topic, and if I crack the 90% range with it, it will all be worth it. Plus now I know heaps about these really cool scientists.

Did you know that the father of rocketry Robert H. Goddard invented the bazooka?

Now I have a modern history, chemistry, and 2 maths tests. So you know, got a bit of work ahead of me.

Yr 12 jersey's came in. WOOHOO!!! We are the first year 12's to get their jersey's in the 4th term of yr 12, the earliest any pervious year has gotton jersey's. We're special.

Well, God Bless, WWJD, and have a good week.

Tim

U2

Well it is official, and has been confirmed on their website; U2 are coming to Sydney on the 31st March and will be playing at Telstra Stadium. This will be the first time they will have played in Australia in eight years.

This is a very exciting time, for the have also released a DVD of "Live in Chicago" which would be a lovely christmas present for any of you friends.

Oh and the tickets go on general sale on December 5th.

Well on the study day I went to the other day concerning the western front in WW1 had some interesting information on howitzers and the other gun that i can't remember the name of*. Well the gun you see is a howitzer. It fires long range shells over the horizon and gives off an explosion. They are technological wonders; pity about their destructive purposes. They are awesome machines though.

Modern History Study Day

Today I went to the city to learn about the Western Front in WW1. It was really good and interesting because the speaker knew so much and was really good at communicating what he wanted us to learn and get out of the day.

Shrapnel shells, howitserzs, trench warfare, tactics and all the generals in command of their forces.

First time the Aussies and U.S fought together in battle, they were under the command 0f Monash the Aussie commander.

And Curry the Canadian general - made a stand against the British General Haig. - After the offensive that was launched by Canadian and Aussie force Haig said to press the attack when the forces were starting to meet some resistance. Curry said to Haig 'No. We will not press the attack, men will be killed and little gained.' Haig told him again to press the attack; but Curry remained steady and said no, and he said that if you continue to order me to attack I will talk to my government and tell them to pull my troops out. This is because while Haig was in charge and in a real powerful position Curry was in control of his troops. So Haig went 'oh ok no need to get so upset' and so the troops were pulled out and attacked another position. and through this the secret to winning the first world war was discovered.
I thought that was cool. Canadians rock!

music is good. i like music. bass is fun, thouroughly enjoyed it on Sunday night in band. But apparently I shouldn't sit down, people didn't like that.

Oh and I would really like to see more people reading my blog, really would, cos currently no one does. Oh well, what are you gonna do?

Teachers go on strike tomorrow as well as a lot of other public servants. Someone called what people are doing tomorrow as illegal, and they shouldn't go off the job unless their bosses are ok with it. But the way I figure it is that the employees bosses that let them go off the job in the morning have nothing to fear from those bosses, the ones that don't let them go off work are the ones that will reduce wages and sack people under unfair grounds.

Australia has a lot of interesting things going on in the government at the moment, some policies are really not immpressive; on the grounds that many people seem to have a very big problem with them. John Howard and many people with a lot of influence in the area of these laws have a lot to think about and a lot to consider. I just wonder what their motives are for the laws they are trying to push through.


But none the less Paul had some wise words:
"Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceful and considerate and to show true humility toward all men."

Titus 3:1-2