Looking over the last few months and onto the next few!

It's DTS season again! Heading into week nine It never ceases to astonish me how quickly DTSs go- on the one hand, it feels like I've been doing this for ages; but on the other, I can't believe that we only have a few weeks left until outreach! It's a big school this year- 26 students- and only three staff, so it's been a big challenge to get all the behind-the-scenes stuff done while still maintaining the time and care that each student needs. But it has been going well; week by week students have been dealing with things that have held them back from intimacy with God, and have been growing closer to Him. Leading DTS is a huge commitment of time and energy, and I've definitely felt absolutely ragged and empty more that once in the last few weeks! But it is such a privilege to get to be a part of what God is doing in people's lives, I really love seeing the way He'll use me even when I feel like I have nothing left. And in about three weeks we'll be heading off on outreach! Claire is leading a team from the All Nations DTS, and I'm leading one from my Sports DTS, but we will be traveling together for all but three weeks of outreach. That's definitely an improvement from our frequent three-month separations while dating :). We'll start off with 5 weeks in Nepal- 3 in Kathmandu and probably 2 in a city near the Indian border called Biratnagar. Then we'll fly over Chi.na, where Claire's team will stay for three weeks before finishing their outreach in Western Australia, and my team will stay for the full six weeks. We'll be going to She.nzhen, which is a young but rapidly growing city on the east coast of Chi.na very close to Hong Kong. It has a reputation for being very open to the gospel, so I'm really looking forward to seeing for myself! And we've heard a lot of stories recently from YWAM Perth teams in Nepal seeing miracles and salvations... lots to look forward to! Thanks for all your love and support! Bless you, Luke and Claire Prayer point: We still need about $4000 between the two of us for outreach. It's pretty crazy going from one person trusting for $4000 to all of a sudden needing twice that amount! But God has been faithful before and we know He will be again. He has already brought in about half of it, which is amazing, and He'll bring in the rest. Will you pray with us? Our deadline to have it all paid in by is the 11th of December.

Some Changes

Outreach I had a great time leading a team of 10 DTS students to Cambodia, Thailand and the Land of the Great Wall from January to March. The above picture was one of my highlights of the time- playing with children living in an inner city slum in Cambodia. They were largely neglected by their parents, and so responsive to affection despite the language barrier. It was amazing getting to show the Father's love through piggy-backs! On top of that, we got to share the gospel, teach English, do construction, pray for people, organise a Volleyball tournament, visit hospitals, help out at a Rugby tournament, teach Bible and visit orphanages. It was a full on three months, but so good being out there and seeing my students develop a heart for missions. Since October... I've been to Cambodia, Thailand, the Land of the Great Wall, the UK, the USA and New Zealand. And I haven't written about it. So this is a whirlwind update about the last few months, to catch you up on all that's been going on, and a promise that I'll be better next month :). Bless you, and thanks for your prayers! Wedding We're married! After a quick stop in the UK, we arrived in California and were married on the 4th of May. Had such a blast with friends and family from Perth, the US and all over the world. It couldn't have been a better day, we were so blessed by the wonderful people helping out and being  there, and so grateful to God for bringing it all together. This is a good thing :). Home After two weeks in NZ, we got back to Perth to settle into our new home! We spent last week filling it with furniture, and it's feeling comfortable already. This starts another two year commitment for us in Perth, with a possibility of continuing on after that. I'll continue to lead Discipleship Training Schools during this time, and Claire works with a ministry called Megacities. So here we go! We'll continue to keep you in the loop by merging our updates, so you'll hear what's going on from both of us :).

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