JOLLT - December 2011

1. End of Year Summary
Merry Christmas to you all, especially those suffering from end-of-year-itis! This is the first time in 11 years that we have been in NZ for 12 months. We had forgotten how magical spring could be! Below we offer a short summary of how 2011 ended & a sneak peak at what 2012 might hold.

a. N
N’s year at school started with an assessment by the RTLB specialist, who presented recommendations to help him make up for his shaky start. Consistent work by his teacher, teacher-aid, tutor at Kipp McGrath, and home-work warden Sandra, and (most of all) N himself has paid dividends. He has ended the year reading only slightly below others of his age. This is great news! Although (like many third-culture kids (TCKs)) he has struggled socially at school, we are delighted that he has clicked with one of our mate’s sons.

b. K
Our creative Miss KJ has had a good year. She has enjoyed a good circle of friends. One of her closest is actually her second cousin! She continues to excel in English and art, but demonstrates the disinterest in numbers shared by others in the family. Who wants to do numbers when there are words on the menu!? At her school’s end of year prize-giving, she received the citizenship award for her class. This is given to the student who has consistently showed the best character.

c. S
S enjoyed her pastoral care paper at Laidlaw College for which she received an A. She has enjoyed the women's group at the Mt. Albert Baptist. Although hard work on N’s part is the main reason for his progress, S has also put an enormous amount of effort into his home work routine. Her name is no longer S: It is Super-Mum!

d. C
C’s year of writing, and speaking ended on some high notes. His book was published by the European publisher in late November.

ASIDE: Readers curious to take a peak, click here:

What made this even sweeter, was that its release roughly coincided with the publication of a book by the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) that C had contributed a chapter to. These publications nicely demonstrate our commitment to both mainstream anthropology and Islamic studies, and mission thought and practice.

2011’s final flourish—the subject of a Prayer Jollt in late September—was full and fruitful. The Malaysian students in Wellington appreciated his seminar of connecting with Muslim mates; his conference papers in KL went well; and the two-week intensive course on Southeast Asian Islam at Asian Theological Seminary in Manila was well received by students and faculty.

So, 2011 has been good year for all of us!

2. Sneak Peak at 2012
We’re pleased to be able to provide the following sneak peak of what aspects of our next Southeast Asian chapter will look like.

Our concern to adequately meet the kids’ education, social, & emotional needs has led us to make the difficult decision to temporarily base ourselves in CM, North Thailand for two years from July 2012. Schools there offer affordable (compared to those in Bangkok), but quality education. The size of its expatriate community means that their (growing) social needs will also be met. While their emotional needs mean that the kids will live at home for the first two years, OMF has two excellent dormitories that the kids will be able to shift into once Nathan is ready. The presence of these dorms means that relocating to South Thailand after two year in CM, remains a possibility.

While in CM we plan to strategically contribute to Muslim ministry in South Thailand & wider Southeast Asia. While details about what this looks like will have to wait until 2012, S is likely to become involved in TCK care. We hope to regularly visit South Thailand to mentor the team & for C to conduct another research project (he is likely to keep his research affiliation with his university in Bangkok). Theological education in Southeast Asian theological seminaries is also likely to be a priority.

We are like to have a more Barnabas-like ministry, the key elements of which are co-option, encouragement, training, and advocacy. Such ministries produce Paul-like workers, & we all know what they can do!

3. Praise God for…

• Settled kids
• Progress & Success with study.
• Publications completed.
• Growing clarity about our SEAN chapter

4. Prayerorities (prayer-priorities)

1 That we’ll all be able to change our pace and daily routines over January. Like work, rest is not a 4-letter word!
2. For quality time together as a family over the summer that will include all grandparents.
3. For Chris as he preaches on Jan 8th (including that he doesn’t forget!).
4. Inspiration during our occasional bursts of planning and preparation of publicity material for 2012.
5. That the details of our strategic contributions from Chiang Mai will incrementally take shape.
6. That we will be 100% supported by 30th of May, 2012. This will require doubling our current support levels.
7. That we’ll experience the LORD’s leading about what groups we speak to between February and June 2012.