New challenges

We arrived in Australia in November 2016 and here we are in February 2018.  A lot has happened in those months and more still to happen.  Simon continues to train new pilots for the field and is currently doing a standardisation course with an Indian national who is heading to PNG with his family.  His wife will be the new HR Manager there which will be a blessing to the team.

Simon has been asked if he can help out in the Arnhem Land programme in Australia.  They are needing help in their Operations Department and so the plan is for Simon to go up there for a week or so to look their systems and to advise where he can.  I am looking forward to the outcome of this visit since I am helping out with HR in Arnhem Land remotely so I have a vested interest in it all.

Simon is also studying for his PNG license.  The idea being that he can go up to PNG and help out with flying and with flight checks and training.  It takes about 3 months for a visa to go through so the process is not fast but he still has some work to do in studying so everything has its time.

Joshua is busy with school and is currently looking for a part time job.  Part of the curriculum at school is to have one weeks work experience.  This will be good practice for him as he starts to think about what he will do once he leaves school.  He is enjoying playing basketball and plays in a futsal team (indoor football) on Friday nights before youth group.  On Monday nights he takes our dog to "Puppy school".  Islay is less impressed with the whole idea and often will sit down and refuse to move.   I am not sure who is more frustrated, Islay or Joshua (haha)

Zara had her braces off this week so she is delighted about that.  Some work still to be completed but at least we are heading in the right direction.  She has started going to a new youth group with her close friends and really enjoys it.  You can only guess what Mum and Dad are up to on Friday nights.....taxi drivers :)  She loves everything animals and often will find a bird that has fallen out of a tree in the park so will take it over to the nearby vet.  Sometimes she will go back and ask how it is doing.  Maybe there is a voluntary opportunity ahead in this area.  We shall see.

I am busy with work and it looks like I will be travelling in the near future up to our Arnhem Land programme also to see how it works so our HR department know better how to support it.  It will be good to visit an operational programme again.

I  have been facilitating a Bible study on Friday mornings with some ladies.  We have been studying  the book of James with Francis Chan.  It has been a interesting study and I am amazed again at how God uses a book that is familiar to all of us and yet He always highlights something new.

Another new venture that Simon and I have been involved in organising is a small fellowship group every two weeks on a Sunday afternoon.  The house that it is hosted at has a pool so that suits the kids very well.  Our second time together is tomorrow and we are going through the Follow Me series from Freedom Church.  I am hoping to having some structured time for the children so that they take some Biblical truths home with them too.  We will see what God does with this group in the future.