August 25, 2022 -- First Newsletter from Sydney

Feet on the Ground! After a 2+ year Covid delay, God opened up the doors for my arrival in Sydney about seven weeks ago! It is perhaps a bit surreal to be here, and to look back on all that transpired over the last few years. But I'm so thankful for God's provision and for the prayers, encouragement, and financial partnership of so many rope holders. Thank you for your role in all of that! My team leader has been very gracious in allowing me time to adjust to life in Australia. I was able to purchase a 2014 VW Jetta within a week of my arrival, and secured an apartment within three weeks. Moving in with just a few pieces of luggage, I was able to furnish the apartment with the basic necessities and make it a comfortable home for my own rejuvenation as well as for hosting friends and events in the future. The location is convenient to the church and has easy access (via train) to the city. And after gaining my own experience in renovation/construction over the last two years, I have a view of a large new apartment building under construction right outside my windows! In fact I was given a $300 ($200 US) discount per month because of the construction. I find it rather entertaining, even as a port-a-potty is sailing past my window from a crane as I type this! Being quite settled, I've been getting more involved in ministry work over the last couple of weeks. Ministry Much of my time has been spent becoming more familiar with the various ministries of the MTW team in Sydney. In the first week I participated in a men's ping pong tournament. I hadn't played since Christmas 2020, and my first and only match was against the man whom everyone knew would win the tournament, and he did! It was a great opportunity to get to know the lads (as they say in Australia) of the church. City Sanctum, the ministry which I'll be leading, has been on a complete hiatus over the last year. When Australia shutdown the nation due to Covid, an attempt was made to continue meeting online. But without a City Sanctum leader, and with general exhaustion among the steering committee, we decided it was better to discontinue all activities until Covid restrictions eased and I arrived to give leadership. Our team met with the steering committee members this past week to discuss the future, and how we can most effectively meet the needs of city workers. With most office workers still working from home most days, and the needs and daily patterns of life changed, we will be re-evaluating everything in the coming months toward the goal of relaunching. Follow FB Group Forward to a Friend Prayer Points   Praise God for opening the doors to Australia, safe travel, and allowing me to get established in Sydney. Pray that God will bless my efforts to deepen relationships at the church. Pray for the City Sanctum ministry and our work to reorganize it toward effective ministry both in the city and to those around the world. Praise God for a Japanese friend whom I met in Jackson, MS at the First Presbyterian international ministry. He moved to Texas last year, and continued to seek for God and was recently baptized! Pray for his spiritual growth. Culture Corner   Adjusting to Australian culture has certainly been easier than my previous adjustments in Japan. Instead of struggling to recall the most basic of words, my ears are adjusting to the Aussie accent. Instead of learning how to navigate the Japanese train system, I'm learning to drive manual transmission on the left side of the road (had a little practice with that in Japan as I occasionally rented a car). But more than that, I'm working to understand the Aussie way of thinking. It's subtle, but it is different! Australia is very egalitarian; regardless of one's place in life or society, if one acts too high and mighty, they can expect to be taken down a peg or two. 40% of Sydneysiders are foreign born. Driving around, I traverse through neighborhoods of Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Arab, etc., all with their grocery stores, restaurants, and places of worship. My own neighborhood is very diverse with only 37% of the residents born in Australia. The world is mobile, coming to our doorsteps, providing incredible opportunities to share the hope of the gospel to the masses who have never heard.