Dear Friends, As we arrive home in Canberra we reflect on what has been an incredible time for us during the Foundations for Counselling Ministry School at YWAM Perth. Thank you for journeying with us this past six months. The adventure is really only just beginning as we continue to apply what we have learnt now and into the future. Our last two weeks of outreach were a wonderful experience. Both of us had chances to preach, teach, counsel and share in churches, at Teen Challenge (an alcohol and drug rehab centre), and at the Aborigional Schools where we were based. For both of us, sharing at Teen challenge was a highlight as we got to talk to some courageous, humble people who are fighting addiction and getting their lives back on track. The kids travelled really well in the car and enjoyed making some new friends at a church camp/retreat we ran. Perth to Canberra Our report back and graduation week in Perth was an emotional time looking back on how far we had come in our personal and skills development and of saying goodbye to some wonderful friends that we had made in our six months away. Now we are back in Canberra and finding our feet again. Chris had to find a new job as the old one fell through a week before we were due to return. Phoebe and Jethro are settling back into the routine of pre-school and playgroups, and enjoying rediscovering all the toys they had forgotten they had. At present everyday is Christmas!!! So… what’s next? We’ve been hinting for a while about the ‘next adventure’. It’s all still very much in the early stages of becoming a reality, but we are taking small steps towards moving to live the UK. We have known for a while that we wanted to move to England and we have been increasingly feeling like this move should include working in Youth With A Mission longer term. So we are in the process of looking at where we should go and what we could do when we get there. We also have to consider: · Chris’ visa options to stay in England – We have a couple of options open to us. One has a time restriction of a maximum stay of six years, the other is permanent but has HUGE financial implications. More on this when we have more details ourselves. · Phoebe’s school in England – She should start at Primary school in September so we want to be settle in for the beginning of term so she doesn’t have to start mid term · British Passports for Phoebe and Jethro – both are entitled to them, but we still have to go through the process of applying. · Regular financial support to stay in YWAM – a volunteer organisation where everyone is responsible for raising their own support. We need to have approximately a couple of thousand dollars (just over a thousand pounds) pledged per month. Practically we'll also need a car in the UK. We’ll publish exact amounts when we have them worked out. Small Steps So you can see its all a bit vague, but we are working towards more concrete details. As a start and a step of faith we have begun to sell our belongings. We have sold some things online and recently we had a table at a Kids and Baby Market where we sold about two thirds of the items pictured. We have more garage/car boot sales planned as the weeks go by. Every little helps! So join with us as we pray about our future. And if you’d like to help us out financially either one off or regularly then please let us know. As ever, thank you all for your love and support…
Chris, Carol, Phoebe and Jethro |
Hattons...We're a family of four changing the world starting with ourselves! Archives
February 2018
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