Good evening, my fair blog readers.
This blog brings us to the beginning of our final week of holidays before Semester 2 at Ridley begins.
We've had a blissful 5 weeks off so far, and have managed to find great ways to use it, including a trip to Philip Island with classmates, a road trip to Adelaide, and running a holiday program from kids at Wattle Park (eastern suburbs of Melbourne).
The best news of today is: We Passed Semester 1!!
This is great encouragement to both of us as we head into Semester 2, knowing a little more what to expect, and at the same time, knowing it might possibly get insanely busy!
This Semester our subjects are:
Stephen
New Testament introduction (part 2)
Old Testament introduction (part 2)
Early Church History
Greek
Sarah
New Testament introduction (part 2)
Old Testament introduction (part 2)
Intro to Theology
Gospel, Church and Australian Culture
As you can see, in a change from last Semester, we now only share 2/4 subjects - instead of 3. Sarah's Theology subject is specially tailored for Grad Dip students, because it assumes that they will not be studying any further and aims to give a broad overview of theological issues, etc.
Stephen has decided to enrol in Greek B at Melbourne School of Theology. This is for a few reasons, but mostly, will allow him to go over material he has learned, to consolidate it, and still be able to finish Greek by the end of the year.
News on Sarah's front is regarding decisions for 2013....(me speaking now!) I have found the subject matter that I have been learning to be life-changing, having deepened my faith and understanding of God, and would love to put this new-found knowledge to use in some way. During a subject last semester, we were assigned the task of putting together a 3-5 year plan for the future in regards to ministry. In thinking about this, and coupled with my enthusiasm for what I'm learning, and my desire to pass it on/use it in some way, I decided that I would like to do a practical apprenticeship in an area of ministry to see if this would be a possible future occupation for me. So, I've been speaking to campus directors at various university campuses around Melbourne to pursue the possibility of a 2 year traineeship with AFES (Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students). The talks have been great, and I've got one more to go before I decide which campus to do the traineeship.
These traineeship positions require self-funding, so expect to hear more about that in future blog posts - for now, please see the prayer points below related to this exciting development!
In other news, we've both secured some form of paid employment. Stephen is working casually at the local Video Ezy (yay! cheap movies!) and Sarah is doing some marketing work for the Melbourne Mission Week in September. This income has actually been very helpful in getting us through some of the extra spending that holidays bring, as well as every day bills and expenses.
Also, this week, we begin a Marriage Course being held at St Jude's on Tuesday nights for the next 2 months. No need to panic - things are fine! But we thought this would be a great opportunity to have a marriage 'tune-up' and reminder about the important ways to look after our marriage, so that we love each other fully and glorify God in our relationship.
And now for the most important part of this blog!
Please praise God with us for:
- Academic success in Semester 1 (passing!) and, more importantly, the knowledge we've gained, and opportunities to use this knowledge.
- The long but productive break from study that we've both enjoyed.
- Safe travel during the breaks
- His daily provision of everything that we need!
Please pray with us for:
- Wisdom and direction for Sarah, as she makes ministry plans for next year
- Focus in Semester 2, as we will be busier than the first semester, but with equal amounts of study to be done!
- Stephen's continual learning of Greek, that this knowledge would sink in and he would gain confidence by switching to MST for this subject.
