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To Chase The Wind

King Solomon was eminently qualified to make the following statement about human effort void of God, that “work that is done under the sun…is meaningless, a chasing after the wind” from Ecclesiastes 2:17-22. Many of us have felt that futility--that vapor, that appearance of substance only--during our lives. For me, this was experienced at a time when I had a perfect job at an oil company, without debt, happily married and a stable future of ease and comfort. But, what was missing? Why...

Ministering To The Military In The Asia-Pacific Region

It was over 10 years ago that my wife and I were ambushed by God and evicted from our comfortable lives on a government salary with the military, to reach back into military communities across the Asia-Pacific region. It hasn't been all smooth sailing, but we are thankful that He interrupted us! Our basic ministry strategy starts with finding ways to serve military personnel and their families, without an agenda. As we do that and trust builds, we look for opportunities to share our faith (1 Pet...

Refelcting On Mission From A Very Middle Eastern Tale

Walking in the centre of our town one evening, we lost our wallet. It had a considerable amount of money in it. We live in a town of around 60,000 people. We had been in the country for three months by this stage. This is what happened next… Three days later, I miss a phone call from Omar, a Christian acquaintance who lives not far from us. I receive a message from him to get in touch about ‘something important to (me)’. The other few times I have seen Omar around town, h...

Take A Risk

As a little boy, I loved hearing the stories of Abraham, Joseph, David, Daniel, Peter, Paul, … the list goes on. Growing up, these men were my heroes. And they still are I must add! And if I had been a little girl, I am sure my heart and mind would have deeply impacted by the stories of Esther, Sarah, Hannah, Dorcas and the like. In these stories we encounter real-life people who, in their pursuit of God, took huge risks. For some it was reputation, for others their very life! When gettin...

Australian Fires

We’ve all been concerned for the loss our friends in Australia have had as a consequence of the bush fires.  Their devastation is massive.  Many are facing the loss of life of loved ones.  Many more are now displaced, having lost most of their personal assets.  Their future is uncertain, the loss of hope will be huge and the need for help to rebuild lives is urgent.  As we pray for them, let’s also consider ways we can practically support them too.  Through our ...

A Story of Extreme Neglect

In DR Congo the problem of neglect has many tentacles. There is the neglect of the governing authorities to provide education, the neglect of justice for those who are wronged, abused or attacked, then there is the neglect of medical care and infrastructures. Kasongo wa Ngoy lives in a small village of Mulumba. The nearest state hospital is 55 km from her village. There is a small village clinic 15 km from her home in the village of Muyumba where some basic treatments are given when medicines ar...

Hope For The Forgotten

In 1965, Roger Dahlberg, a young man from Whanganui, travelled to Malaysia with wife Jenny and family to start his ‘apprenticeship’ in international mission. His heart was for the poor, the neglected, the forgotten, and the abused in South East Asia. After a sabbatical for Jenny to get cancer treatment in 1977 in New Zealand, Roger made repeated visits to Asia and, in 1981, started visiting Thailand. He found young girls being tricked into slavery and prostitution, and his heart ached for th...

A Hippo, a crocodile, a buffalo and some snakes...

It sounds very much like the beginning of a joke, doesn't it? But for David and Endless, these are just some of the causes of the medical events that they have to deal with.  David ended one of his recent newsletters by saying "Any update from Africa would not be complete without some snake stories". We agree. In the following article, we are given a down to earth account of some of the animal-based situations that occur in and around the Mukinge Mission Hospital in Zambia. The hospital has...

Can I Hold Your Hand

It was such an exciting day for four-year-old Cles. It started in their simple tribal house that has no furniture, running water or power. And it ended lying on a bed in the city. That morning, she and her mum had walked 3km along the muddy trail to where they met me. We set off to the city, about 4 hours away, where her mum was to have a medical procedure. It was 7 pm by the time we finished at the doctor’s and arrived where we were to stay for the night. Cles’s mum, tired out, went straigh...

Introducing Matt & Holly Lister

GC3 is pleased to introduce to you our new Youth Director, Matt Lister.  Matt has officially started in the role and we are excited by the skills, enthusiasm and passion he brings. Matt was born in Cape Town, South Africa and moved to Australia when he was eight years old. Although he grew up in Melbourne, his life has been full of travel. He studied at Harvest Bible College in Melbourne,  where he graduated with a BA in Ministry. Over the last couple of years he has been based in Chia...

Mission From Everywhere To Everywhere

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) This verse is known as the programmatic passage of Acts, laying out as it does the “programme” for the entire book. When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples it transformed them  into bold witnesses for  the  risen  Christ  in Jerusalem (Acts 2). After this the disciples themselves ha...

Changes At Headspace

Readers of e-Connect will be aware we at GC3 have appointed Matt Lister as our new Youth Director (refer 24 July). Matt will be officially taking up that role on Friday, 18th October. He can be contacted on 0226 525 931. Charlie Shadbolt will continue to be involved with the Headspace team until the celebration of their year on November 9th. (Note your diary to be a part of that amazing event at Lifezone at 1:00.) And she will continue to be available in an advisory role for a while after that. ...

Thank You Russell!

The GC3 Board and staff congratulate Russell Thorp, our current Missions Director, on his recent appointment as Executive Director of LeaDev-Langham. While we are sad to see Russell go, we know that with his passion and experience he is well suited to this new role. We would also like to extend our thanks to not only Russell, but to Pearl as well for all that they have contributed to both the GC3 and wider Christian communities. We wish them well on this new journey. Please pray for Russell as h...

The Ripple Effect

O was born in the north of the country.  She was committed to the local religion but always felt that there was great gap between how she lived her life and what God must surely expect.  She was troubled by the fact that she could see no solution within her own religion, but still felt that surely God must have to solve this problem. When she moved to another city to study at university, she visited her elder brother who lived there. She was struck by the beautiful poetry her brother q...

The Power Of The Written Word

It was just another morning in Safa, a village of a few hundred people built on the side of one of the countless river valleys that crisscross this particular part of the rural Philippines. I woke to the sound of the church bell – a rusty old caterpillar tread that hangs outside the church building – ringing seven times. I blearily put my mosquito net away, gulped down a cup of coffee, and along with about a hundred other people, turned up to the morning church service to sing some hymns and...

They Say Life Begins At Sixty!

This has become a reality for us and as we look back over the last few years, we can see how God was preparing us for this to happen. We were in our early sixties and planning for an easy retirement where we could spend time with our children and grandchildren, do a little travel, spend time at our holiday home, and perhaps help with different children’s programmes in our home church. We had downsized our house and garden ready for the time when all this would happen. Over the last fifteen yea...

IBCM7 - A Foretaste Of Heaven!

In June I had the privilege of attending the Seventh International Brethren Conference on Mission (IBCM7) in Rome. As an accountant, it is only proper that I start with some facts and figures. The theme was ‘You shall be my witnesses’ – Engaging with the world and its Needs. With 900 people and 122 countries represented, it was the biggest conference in the history of IBCM. The organising committee did an out-standing job in arranging all aspects of the conference, so we received clear pra...

is commendation relevant today?

So, what is commendation, anyway? It’s a word we don’t typically use in our everyday conversations, is it? The Oxford dictionary puts it this way, “an act of commending or recommending (esp a person to another’s favour)” For me that’s a clear explanation that fits well with the term frequently used in the Bible around the life of the early church. In this setting, apostles and teachers moved from one place to another, bringing the gospel message and encouragement for holy living to t...

Delivering To Jesus Himself

We all like to do things for people in Jesus’ name and hope they will notice that. But how does that work where we can’t communicate that to them, and they have no knowledge of Jesus? Kaylene and I finished up our six years flying with Mercy Air in Southern Africa and came home to NZ for our son's wedding. We had only been back a couple of weeks when I noticed in my weather apps (which I'm still addicted to following) a major weather system starting to develop in the straights between Mozamb...

Headspace - Cross-Cultural Exposure Trip

Block Four: Cross-Cultural Exposure Trip Dates: 28th July to 13rd October  Block Description: This is the offshore component of the programme where the team spends nine and a half weeks working alongside our partners in Thailand, in both rural and urban settings. During this time the gappers will have a period of learning Thai language and culture before starting to teach English in schools and other community groups. A truly spectacular experience which will test the teams’ ability ...

Entering Into A Culture For Jesus' Sake

I will never forget the conversation we were part of soon afterarriving in Myanmar. Rebecca and I were newbies in this culture, and the conversation was with a church leader whose home was a virtual grand central station for visitors from various parts of the country (that itself was part of her culture). Our friend was recounting how she had come across a woman, staying in their house, in her sister’s room, searching through her sister’s handbag. She was shocked and rushed into … an ...

Sharing Jesus In India

It’s that time again. We sit down on our couch ready to skype back to India. We take a moment every Sunday to switch our minds from Mission Aviation Fellowship Arnhem Land to the ‘Help the Needy’ Mission (HTN) congregation back in India. It’s always such a blessing for us to see God causing the evangelical work of HTN to flourish. We skype every week to share God’s Word with a house congregation there and to encourage them. Prabhu started HTN in 2012 before he joined MAF and it’s bee...

Everyone Needs Compassion

It’s March 15 in Christchurch. People are going about their daily routines as usual. This included Muslims gathering at two mosques near the city centre. Suddenly, a gunman begins shooting at those who had gathered to pray. At the end of the day, 50 were left dead, 50 injured in hospital and our nation changed forever. I was deeply affected by what happened. This happened in Aotearoa NZ! A little country at the bottom of the world of no global significance.  This could not have happened i...

A Challenge To My Worldview

Kudjip has been my home for the last two months, where I am working as a medical doctor at this 120-bed hospital. As well as a lot of learning and growing medically, I’ve enjoyed grappling with a different way of seeing the world and particularly illness. These experiences have challenged some of my own ideas, as well as provided opportunities for me to challenge others’ beliefs and speak Christ into difficult situations. One experience that will stay with me for a long time was Baby of Kath...

The Power Of Partnership

Last year the Headspace team had the privilege of having Wijit join us as an intern. Wijit is 24, lives in Thailand, and is originally from Burma. He has had continued contact with Headspace for many years, first through his school that Headspace visits, then through joining the team as a translator once a year and in 2017 for the full trip. He has shared with us his story, which so beautifully displays the direction and provision of God over the years of his life. Born in Burma, Wijit is the ol...