The Opening of Australia After 19 months of closing the nation to the outside world, Australia is now opening its borders! Having successfully reached an 80% vaccination rate, the government has opened its borders to Australians who have been stranded abroad, as well as to citizens of New Zealand and Singapore. It is expected that US citizens will soon be permitted to enter as well, perhaps within weeks. Meanwhile, the Omicron variation has slowed down the progress, but the government says they will not turn back. So what does this mean for my entry into Australia? While nothing is yet certain, my prospects look very encouraging; I am hopeful of being able to depart in just a few months! What lies ahead? My Australian immigration lawyer recommends entering with a tourist visa, as there will be such a backlog of applications for other visas. A tourist visa would require that I leave Australia every 90 days. That may mean quick trips to nearby New Zealand or Indonesia, but could also be productive for our team's "island to island" work with Presbyterian denominations in Vanuatu, Fiji, and Samoa. And while in Australia on a tourist visa, I will be able to apply for a more permanent visa as well. There are many questions, such as my ability to rent an apartment, buy a car, open a bank account, but it appears that these should all be possible. MTW will soon do a review of my support status. I've been hovering around 97% since March 2020. I've lost some support, and gained other support. But perhaps most critically, I have not been using much of my budget while in the States, so these unused funds have been accumulating and will be pro-rated across a four-year term. Please pray -- see "Prayer Points." Jackson Missions Cohort From September through early November, I was blessed to lead the first term of the Jackson Missions Cohort (J-MC). This ministry's purpose is to help Christians discern their role in God's gospel mandate -- to go, or to send, but also how to be a witness of God's grace to the many internationals right living here among us. Our cohort heard weekly from missionaries either on furlough or preparing to depart for the field -- how did they sense God's calling to overseas service? What is their ministry? How can we pray for them? We also heard from various speakers teaching on God's gospel mandate, the history of Christian missions, unreached people groups, life on the field, various means of ministry, etc. And we visited a local Hindu temple, learning from the priest about their beliefs and culture. Hearing about it is one thing, but when several families came into the temple and we witnessed their worship of idols and sacrifices of food,  One of our cohort participants shared with me that driving home from J-MC each week was the highlight of his week as he was able to reflect on what God was doing around the world. Please pray for our J-MC participants -- see the "Prayer Points." Follow FB Group Forward to a Friend Prayer Points   Praise God that Australian borders are reopening! Pray that borders will soon reopen to American citizens. Pray for the many logistics of wrapping up work and personal commitments in the States. Pray for my financial support. If you would like to join my ministry team through financial support, please email me or contact Savannah Herrle at MTW, or click here to give a one-time contribution or arrange for recurring contributions. Pray that God will bless the J-MC ministry -- that cohort participants will be responsive to God's call (wherever that may be) in his gospel mandate. Culture Corner   Covid has been very hard on Australia. Beginning in May 2020, the government completely shutdown travel from abroad, including many thousands of citizens who were overseas. Eventually limited numbers of Australians were allowed in each day, but not until this month were they all allowed to return home. Being an isolated island nation, the shutdown was initially very effective in minimizing the number of Covid cases. But cases made it in, and the Delta variant ran somewhat rampant and brought severe restrictions. Inter-state travel was banned, and eventually people were not allowed to travel outside of their "zone." There were no public gatherings, and people were restricted to their homes, with few exceptions for essential business. Pre-Covid, 21% of university students in Australia were international students. Add to this the loss of $33 billion from foreign tourists. Churches in Australia had a difficult time keeping up with policies that sometimes changed daily. No singing, limitations on occupancy based on the size of the space, and for lengthy periods of time no public gatherings of any kind were allowed. The City Sanctum ministry, which I'll be working with, has been shut down until life returns to a more normal state and there is sufficient leadership. Australians have been isolated and are hurting. But our God is sovereign; he uses difficult times to open hearts to himself. Please pray for the many gospel opportunities at home and around the world.