The COUNTDOWN has started!

Less than 10 weeks to go before our little baby will have it's first glimpse of daylight. Very exciting (and for Phoebe also exhausting) times for us. We have antenatal classes on Tuesday nights which really help in preparation for birth and labour... there is so much to learn about the whole process... it's been a real learning curve so far, but I heard the steepest curve is still ahead of us. They say that you can't fully prepare enough for what is about to happen when bringing a new human being onto the planet. So we'll just do as much preparation as possible... and then let the change hit our lives. I'm sure we'll be awe-struck at the sight of our son or daughter!
Just to give you an update on where we're at... well we arrived in Australia about 2 months ago now, and we stayed with friends for the first two weeks. Phoebe found a part-time/casual job at the call centre at church and worked there for about a month and a half before the belly really started to cause her to much discomfort, so she finished up about 2 weeks ago, and is now mainly focusing on mum-hood... setting up the nursery, preparing her hospital bags, sourcing the right baby equipment, and resting. We moved into a 3 bedroom place in Seven Hills North with a beautiful outdoor pergola area, it also has a massive tree with noisy parrot type birds... starting their birdsong... I mean birdscreaching... nice and early in the morning... and at night it houses some fruit bats.... which also audition for the bird-choir. Very different from the UK where the birds are not as pretty, but they can sing a nice tune. Anyways... little by little it's becoming a nice home. I am back working in the maintenance department at church... this time with a lot less work pressure... but still enough work at hand. I know I'm in the right place at the moment, which brings with it a feeling of contentment... but on the other side, I still feel a yearning in me to do all that God has in store for me. But I know it's wisdom to wait... and listen for God's cues, and not try to force things or do them in my own strength.
Our apologies for not being online as much as before... both our computers crashed... so we only have some moments here and there to jump online (after work or during lunch breaks) to keep in touch with you all.
For all you people on the other side of the planet... we miss you... and look forward to seeing you again in the near future.

Blessings,

Tim

AUSTRALIA: HOME

Wow. What a trip! Its now Tuesday morning and Tim and I are recovering after the longest flight in history! OK. Maybe an exxageration. 40 HOURS!!! It seemed as if we had every obstacle under the sun trying to stop us getting home, but we finally did, praise God. 12 hours at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam after waiting in line for the tix we had to pick up...KLM decides to install totally new system on Good friday which had all of its operators in confusion, staring blankly at their screens.... 17 flights were cancelled, so queues were everywhere, and our plane flew off without us, while we waited! Then we had delay after delay as KLM tried to fix things that were wrong with the plane, asking for "just another 15 minutes of our patience" for 2 hours! Once on board they tried to shut the door but the seal came off (ok thats reassuring) as well as the exit light above the door (just a few more minutes of your patience please...) and then my seat wouldnt go back (Phoebe) but of course the guy in front of me had his seat right back the whole trip (ggrrr) and my headset wouldnt work so i couldnt use the entertainment unit...I was NOT a happy traveller! Poor Tim tried in vain to find a comfortable spot to stretch out his long legs, but alas...squeezing a 6 foot 3 man into a 5 foot 1 space is not easy. 11 hours later we were cramped and grumpy (but still managing a smile), tired and achy and arrived in Kuala Lumpur for 4 1/2 hours of waiting where the machine promptly stole tims bank card leaving us with no money to even buy a drink, and all the comfy seats were in the cafes where you had to buy stuff to sit down...so we drifted and occasionally sat there anyway until someone came along to move us on...felt like a vagabond!

Eventually it was time for the last leg of the journey and this was pure bliss in comparison!!! Malaysian Air was fantastic and made up for some of the tedium from before, with comfy seats, headsets that worked, giving us more space to stretch out (they gave us 4 seats to share-yay!) and cool movies to watch. I watched Pursuit of happyness-amaaaazing...totally recommend it, and Tim watched Happy Feet, which he said was cute.

Arrived in Sydney to be greeted by Melisa and Gaby with freshly picked roses in a basket (nicked from the neighbours which i think makes it even more special, dont you?) and their gorgeous faces and cuddles. I felt like Princess Diana being presented with a posy of flowers. Then it was on to Coogee Beach to reintroduce ourselves to that amazing Australian phenomenon, the SUN. Over milkshakes and lattes and earl grey tea, we watched the waves roll in and soaked up the warmth and let the breeze blow away the trip. We even got a little sunburnt, how about that?!? A short play in the water up to our knees (Gaby went in in her clothes and i had fun pushing her), we were driven to Ray and Lindas where we have been put up like royalty, and where i slept for 16 hours in a bed that felt like a cloud. Yesterday was Easter Monday and a public holiday so we sat around catching up with Ray and Linda from brekky to lunch and have been househunting since. it feels so good to wake up to Australian birds and the brightness of the sun, and Tim and I feel like we are exactly in the centre of God's will for us right now, in the very palm of His hand. Catching up with friends and family is on our agenda, and finding that somewhere special to live is too. Keep us in your prayers as we wait on God for further instructions, and also that it all goes well with the pregnancy and job interviews this week.

Bless you

Phoebe

Going back to Australia

After finishing the training course 2 weeks ago Phoebe and I took some time out to see a bit more of the UK before flying over to Holland to catch up with friends and family. Peter, one of the men on the course, was so kind to take us to his retreat in the middle of the Welsh mountains, before taking us to Treardur Bay on the west coast of Wales. The landscape was absolutely stunning.... and refreshing (1 degree Celsius). We even had some light snow! We only stayed a day at Peter's place, but we definitely plan to go back there for a longer period of time in the future.

The drive from his place to the coast through the mountains was amazing! We tried to capture some of the beauty with the camera, but it's something that needs to be seen in real life to experience the majesty and awe of what God created.

We felt very small compared to these majestic mountains, but our God felt very big, which is a good thing!

Our time in Treardur Bay with our friend Todd and his family was inspiring. They made us feel like we were part of their family, with such warmth and generosity. It was a beautiful time of sharing what God has done in all of our lives.

We would have loved to stay a bit longer in Wales, but we had to return to Pierrepont for a hospital appointment in Guildford for our 20 week scan.

The 20 week scan was even more breathtaking than the Welsh landscape, we thoroughly enjoyed a half hour scan looking at our baby's wonderful anatomy, the face, the eyes, the lips, the brains, the chambers of the heart, the hands and feet, and even the baby's stomach. Our beautiful and healthy little son or daughter.

The day after the scan we said our goodbyes-for-now to Pierrepont, our home for the last 6 months, and flew out to Amsterdam. It was a challenge for us to fit all our belongings into the baggage and sticking to all the restrictions of weight, size, and what you're allowed to take on the plane out of London- they got even stricter while we were there- but we prayed for God to cover us and made it through customs with an extra 7 kg of weight without extra charges...phew! And that was with leaving a lot behind! New and dear friends, Samar and Sarah Riaz dropped us off at the airport, and it was one of those bittersweet moments where you want to go and want to stay as well. Its been an amazing, life changing season at Ellel, and its hard to believe its over! While challenging at times, it has been a very rewarding 6 months, and we are better for it.


Ahead of us is the bigger challenge. We're leaving for Sydney on Friday and are looking for a temporary place to stay while hunting for jobs and a more permanent place of residence in the Hills area. If you can help us out in any way we would really appreciate it. A big thank you for those of you who have already offered to help us out so far.

We are looking forward to seeing all of our friends and family when we are back, we have missed you and would like to introduce you to little Bakker. Of course, we would like to meet him/her ourselves!!!

17 week scan as promised

Here he/she is, blowing us a kiss. I am amazed at how clear it is!!!
On Friday I get another one for the 20 week stage and we are hoping that our baby will reveal the gender!!! Sometimes they keep their legs crossed and you have to wait...I would like to know, I think. I want to be able to pray over the baby and pray right into the gender...and then there's the planning of colours for the nursery! We dont know where we are gonna live when we come home but at least i'll know what colour to paint the room!!!

Moving ahead on the journey...

I'm grateful to God for sending us here, my main aim of being here was to support Phoebe in doing the course, and that's what I've been doing. But I've been so blessed by what God has been doing in my personal life. Apart from receiving more healing, freedom and restoration in my spirit and soul, God has renewed and sharpened my vision for the future.

I'm grateful for the opportunities God has given me here to be a part of the worship team, to lead people in worship, and also to teach people. I've known for a while that God had called me as a teacher of Kingdom truth, but here God has started to release me into this area of gifting. And it's only just begun. I've had some experience before, but this time around I felt ready and confident, the hand in glove kind of feeling. I'm looking ahead with an excitement in my heart for what God has in store for us.

Currently we're 17 1/2 weeks pregnant with 'little bakker' or 'pocket bakker', as one of our friends calls our little baby. A couple of days ago we had another ultra-sound scan to check if the baby was doing ok because Phoebe had a week of intense pains and we had little sleep! The baby is fine and healthy and the right size for its age, and we could see him/her doing little exercises and arching its back and wiggling its arms! we even saw it yawn and then it looked like it blew us a kiss! Right then the lady took the picture and its amazing. Next blog we promise to put it on for you to see! Phoebe is still experiencing lower backache, and we would like to ask if you could keep her, and particularly her health in your prayers? We would really appreciate that.

It won't be long before we will be in Australia again, the 2nd term of the course is finishing in about three weeks time, and in a month we'll be flying from London to Amsterdam to visit my family before we head out to the great warm southland. We can already say that our lives have been impacted and transformed by being here... we're so glad we said yes to God... we're heading back changed ready for the next step. What exactly is in store for us we don't know yet, but we're safe in His hands.

One thing is for sure- we wont regret this time of growing and stretching and learning and...making babies! We come home changed in more ways than one. :)

Cant wait to see everyone and hear how life has progressed for our friends and family in the last 8 months (wow, is it really that long?), and catch up over lattes(Phoebe) and Earl Grey teas (Tim). Not long now...

As for the teaching, as the term has gone on it has gotten progressively deeper and heavier in topics, but if anything has shown the amazing and restoring heart of God in the midst of what looks like hopeless situations. Today we heard the testimony of a lady who had fragmented into multiple personalities, due to severe abuse, and yet God had brought her back to wholeness and she was full of His life and hope. Of all the teaching, this one really impacted me (Phoebe) and I feel like she gave weight to all that we've been learning so far, and it is people like her that are the reason to be involved in this kind of ministry. I know its not for everyone, and not everyone needs this level of ministry (although i do think everyone needs this level of teaching-second to none), but for those who do need it...well, its wonderful to know that God is using Ellel so profoundly to heal brokenness in peoples lives and restore people to a vital relationship with God. I am deeply grateful to God for this ministry myself.

It's been a real step of faith for us coming all the way to the UK, but for those of you who have been following our story, you know how we felt God called us to go... all the lines have fallen into pleasant places, and we've been welcomed here with open arms. We really want to give a heartfelt thanks to those of you who have supported us with your encouragement, with emails, in prayers and thought, practically, and financially. We're still waiting for God to provide the remainder of Phoebe's course fees, but we know he has been our help so far and He will come through for us in His timing (does anyone ever wonder why it's so often last minute with God? or even after 'our' last minute, think of the story of Lazarus who Jesus raised from the dead after being in a tomb for 3 days). We would appreciate you standing with us in faith for this provision as well.

Winter wonderland

Here are some beautiful pictures of the one day of snow-pleasure we received from the heavens this month. To our dissapointment it only lasted for part of the day, but it we feel priviledged to have experienced some snow this winter for it has been a really mild winter so far.

It got Phoebe out of bed within seconds of finding out the whole place was covered in a white blanket of snow, and within minutes she was outside taking pictures on bare feet! I assume she doesn't see snow that often in Australia!

For me it had been years too, so I made sure to test my snowball making and throwing abilities... and I discovered that they we're still functioning well! Some of my colleages were on the other end of my tests, which resulted in me receiving some feedback in the form of round white balls flying in my direction. Great fun!

Great news!

GREAT NEWS!

WE’RE PREGNANT!!!

Here she/he is, at 10 weeks, 2 days old. The first photo of the inside of my tummy! And look! Someone’s in there! Snuggled in quite happily and waiting for more food.
We are absolutely thrilled to announce that we are now officially 12 weeks pregnant and are confident that all is well and our first ever baby is due on August 5 2007!!!

Here’s a beautiful story to go with the image you can see in front of you…
On November 3rd, 2006 Tim and I were at an Ellel Conference in Bath, UK. We were in a time of beautiful worship and I was kneeling down, when God spoke to me quite clearly that He had a gift for me. I sensed in my spirit to hold out my hands together and cupped, as if receiving a small, precious thing. I saw in my hands a glowing ball of light and God asked me if I would receive it. I then felt to kind of deposit it into my belly (where I believe our spirit is) area and felt a promise that I would ‘give birth to it’ at the right time. I assumed it was some kind of spiritual gift, even though nothing had happened like that before. The following day this baby was conceived. Of course, I didn’t know that until much later on when we checked our diaries with the midwife. Tim and I both believe that God has given us this gift and that it’s the right time because its His timing.
It will mean some changes in our plans, but nothing could compare to this privilege anyway.
I have been pretty healthy so far, my only real issue being that I wanted to tell everyone straight away and having a very wobbly start to the mornings. I feel very blessed because I know some of my friends had horrible sickness (thinking particularly of Ann and Maggie) but then they had beautiful babies who they wouldn’t swap for the world. I’ve had to become more disciplined about food- always being a very random eater- and I feel much like a cow, grazing all day. I wonder what my classmates think of me pulling out my little packed snacks all through the day…probably itching to pray with me for my eating issues!
The leadership team here at Ellel know, and their response was really lovely. Of course, everyone wants to pray a blessing over the baby, and I’m not gonna say no to that! It has changed the things I can/cant do as part of the ministry team because first and foremost they want to protect the spirit of the baby. That means I can’t minister on healing retreats or deliverance workshops or conferences where people might need deep level prayer. Because you never know what you will encounter until you start to pray with someone, its wisdom for me to be involved in another way. I can be in the drama team on church visits and on the intercession team which is cool and something I really wanted to be involved in anyway.
So when we come home in March, I’ll be 6 months pregnant, and hopefully will have that ‘glow’ everyone tells you about and not the pale, green, complexion I have now!
Clothes will be an issue soon, so all of my recently pregnant friends- DO NOT THROW ANYTHING AWAY!

Here in the UK they give you a big bundle of free stuff when you’re pregnant , and that includes a pretty comprehensive book covering conception, pregnancy, birth and aftercare, and you get these Mum To Be packs for free from the chemist right up until the baby is 6 months old! That’s not a bad system. I just don’t know if I’ll be able to bring any of it home with me! I have been reading everything and Tim has been right there with me, reminding me to eat, take my folic acid and drink loads of water. He has been great. He was so cute after seeing the scan, I thought he would burst he was grinning so much, and when he went back to work he could get nothing done for the rest of the day!
I have my second scan end of March so will post that too, along with if it’s a boy or a girl if they can tell me that by then.

Love to you all…Thanks for reading right to the bottom…
Phoebe, Tim and …little Bakker xx

Chilly weather...(brrrrr...)

We welcomed 2007 this year around the fire-place, warm and cosy inside, no need for air-conditioning. That's a bit of a change, especially for Phoebe, this is her first British-european-northern-hemisphere winter... for me it's been only 6 years ago. So for Phoebe there were no carols in the domain, no picnic rugs, no wiggles singing "Go santa go!", no sand, no surf, no SUN!!! (only on a rare occasion a glimpse of sunlight breaks through the fog)
On the other hand we did experience some light frost, we sighted many squirrels, we had Dutch olie-bollen for new years, sang a lot of old english Christmas carrols, tried some malt wine, and enjoyed staring into the crackling fire. No snow yet, but we're still hopefull!
Anyway... there's a fresh new year ahead of us!

We want you to...

On the straight and narrow

... time is ticking away, we've almost arrived at the end of the first term of the course. We are amazed at what God has done in both our lives! I'm sure Phoebe feels pretty full after 10 weeks of listening and practising Kingdom truth and principles, and it is good that a break is coming up for Phoebe just to let things sink down and be absorbed.
For me it's quite different, working in Site & Facilities here has been really enjoyable, it's a totally different ball-game to the working in Maintenance at our church in Australia. At Hillsong the buildings are not older than 15 years, and that makes a huge difference, some of the buildings here are over 100 years old! Apart from that the climate is very different too... so guess what I've been working on for the majority of time? Leaking roofs, dripping gutters and blocked drains! A nice challenge I say. Apart from that I've been trained up by an Australian Cotton Farmer called Gordon (who flew back to Queensland today) to cut the lawn with the tractor in straight lines. I always thought those farmers on their tractors had boring and easy jobs driving up and down those fields in straight lines. I found out that it takes quite some skill and concentration to keep on the staight and narrow. My respect for those farmers just went up many many notches. Gordon said that the trick was to focus on a point straight ahead of you on the horizon and aim for that, that's when you'll find it's easier to keep course. Isn't that the same for our Christian walk?

My daily schedule is as follows:
8:00am breakfast
8:30am teamprayers
9:00am morning tea
9:30am work time
1:00pm lunch
2:00pm work time
3:30pm afternoon tea
4:00pm work time
5:30pm finish work
6:00pm dinner

I really enjoy team prayers, on monday and wednesday we have prayer time with our own department, on wednesday and thursday we have praise and worship and teaching/encouragement with the whole team. And on Friday we have a communion service with the whole team and the students as well.

The atmosphere here is great, you can really sense the peace and presence of God in this place (well that is if you take time out to sense it, when busy you'll tend to miss it). Apart from that there is lots of encouragement happening, and prayer is common! Another thing about this place is the coming and going of people. There are courses, retreats, teaching days, and healing services on a regular basis so many people come and go... also on team there is a big turnover of people. People are being discipled, trained and send out, which is a good thing!

By the way... it's getting colder now!

Random photos and chats

I caught the trees changing colour before they lost all their leaves. It was magnificent for a few days then it rained really hard and the moment was gone. NB: Must take camera everywhere.
The property is a heritage site and is in the top 6% of listed properties in the UK (think thats right) and is a great example of olden style architecture...plus it looks really cool. This is just next to where we live in the Oakhurst Cottage. If you go left through that black gate you are on Paradise Row

This little path is the sneaky back and quick way to classes in the main building at the end. I'm not allowed to go that way unless im with a staff member because some staff quarters backs onto it and its their private space. i have to make a confession that when im late...(ahem) i go that way. But i ask forgiveness afterwards! he he Not far from Pierrepont is the Little Pond made famous by another blog entry, and this is the walk there...Its pretty hey? This is where we met our first squirrels, and im pretty sure i squealed with delight. Obviously this is Phoebe writing.
And this is Little Pond. The sunsets have been amazing and moved too quick for me to capture the even more radiant colours, but its not bad. There is a path all around the pond and students and staff often come on prayer walks around it. Tim was running every monday night around it but its too dark after work now. He has to settle for indoor footy in the conference hall with the guys on team.

Today we had our first demonstration ministry in the Accident & Trauma class, and Jill Southern (Pierrepont Director), taught all about the effects of an accident on the human spirit. It was amazing and it makes so much sense that you wonder how come noone ever said it before, but thats pretty much what its like here. Two classmates volunteered and were ministered to while we were the intercession team and were picking up the how to's. It was an invaluable class for both the person being ministered to, and us! They got healed, and we learned that no ministry is the same, even if the accident is similar. Because everyone is unique and responds in their own way to an accident or trauma, and believes certain lies about themselves that are unique to them, or believes certain things about God etc. it was such a beautiful time of healing...we were all a mess. i really know that i know that i know that i am called into this ministry, and so its exciting when you are thinking, do this..or i think the person needs healing here...and they do that and you know you are in sync with the way of doing things. i have actually ministered on my own to 2 people so far, with a lead counsellor on a healing retreat, as part of our deliverence workshops which we did in groups in class, and as an intercessor during a 3 day conference. So I am learning heaps. This week conming we have Restoring the Human Spirit which i am looking forward to, and Healing through Creativity where i am hoping to get my hands on some clay, and then Freedom from Fear where Tim will join me in class...that will be fun. well, you know what i mean.

Yeah, but what do you do for fun?

Eat a lot in our main dining hall called Cedars, where they feed us 3 square meals a day which is why Tim is smiling. I love meal times...every day i sit with different people and have great chats
Play ping pong in the student lounge, or the new updated version, ping pong off the wall, over the rafters and back...have to create some challenges sometimes. There's a TV/VCR in this room a whole bunch of lounges, CD player and piano as well. This is where we have our worship nights and project the words onto the wall. Its a great place to hang out and lose a few hours...
We put on and take off our coats a lot which is one form of exercise. This the entrance to Cedars. We watch chick flicks and knit and chat and talk all the way through movies we know and cry just the same because we are all learning how to release our emotions!!! We have breathing lessons for an hour with Barbro who teaches singing in Sweden, and then after that we have our worship night after we have all warmed up our voices safely!

We go to The Bridge for cake and coffee and some Tim and Phoebe time. The cafe is really nice and they are starting to light the fires. They also sell art off the walls and have magazines and brochures from Pierrepont which is over the road. Its just starting to get popular with the locals.

Waterproof sneakers...

Weather: Someone needs to invent a sneaker that is completely waterproof for long walks in the muddy countryside and then I think I can do England. It’s getting colder and trickier to know what to wear as Autumn takes the leaves off the trees and whips up the winds... It’s really taken me by surprise how fast all of my favourite trees have lost their colour. It’s making the place unrecognisable. Still pretty, but more barren and spiky than the lushness I arrived to. I was thinking, I hope no one visits while it looks like this because it’s nothing like what I’ve described! Everyone says this is really mild weather and its more like Spring, so I cant complain!

People:What can I say? Throw 19 nations together 24 hours a day including all meals, and stand back. That’s what I thought. The reality is actually very beautiful. I’ve made such nice friends, and I have been given an eye into other worlds that I would never have seen otherwise. We all get on really well, and have especially bonded after we all ministered to each other in our ministry workshops. We also meet up on Wednesday nights for a worship night that Tim and I started because we were longing for a more drawn out time of worship. Turns out lots of people were after the same thing, so that was a nice surprise. Soon after I arrived I became the birthday person, and so I make sure everyone is celebrated well and usually have 1 or 2 cards floating around the room for signatures. I also got asked to lead worship once a week with a team from the students. Maybe I was already singing so loud they decided to just give me a microphone and be done with it. Either way, I am loving it. There are about 15 people who put their names down to be involved and we rehearse as 2 teams (another girl leads as well) on Monday nights. Its great to be released into it because for years I dreamed of it but was always too fearful, too sick, too…whatever…to audition. It’s a very safe place to grow into your calling here, which I find very liberating. Everyone is so encouraging here, and we all love beginning the day with song. We had a funny time last week when I completely forgot the melody of the next song and was motioning to Tim to just ‘go back around’ until I got it! Tim has been released to join me on my team which has been so wonderful, as we worship God together a lot at home and we know one another well enough to know what’s coming. Everyone loves having Tim there and Wednesday worship night grew out of people requesting Tim to lead them in worship. I have to say that it is really great to see Tim operating in his calling and gifting again, like when I met him at College.
Anne-Thailand,Ulrika-Sweden,Me-Australia,Zena-America,Vreni-Switzerland,Bekky-England
Suzanne-England, Me-Australia, Vreni-Switzerland, Dave-England, Samuel-Ghana

Spare time: There’s not a lot of spare time, but they are really big on everyone having a Sabbath day where you lay everything down and just do what you find restful, and that was yesterday. I went for a walk and happily got off the beaten track to discover a beautiful river and meandering path that had me captivated. Cows grazing in the fields, in front of rolling hills with old sandstone churches and castle like buildings...I wondered whether id walked into the wrong century by mistake. I was completely lost but not far from home (Don’t worry mum) and followed the prettiest path until I found it led me the wrong direction. (isn’t that always the way). Eventually I guessed my way home and (obviously) made it! Maybe not everyone’s idea of relaxation, but it suited me fine, especially as I was on my own and also made it back before a massive storm hit. We do have a pretty intense time in our classes, as the subjects are quite heavy and really confronting, (or just long!) and usually they bring up things in our own lives that we are dealing with, or that are the reason we came into this ministry in the first place. When there is time off, its precious and I love to head to my room and make sense of what’s happening, or have a good chat with Tim or God. There is a great café across the way, and sometimes I go there with friends or Tim and sometimes I hang out in the Bookshop where they have lounges and let you flick through the books with a coffee. I’ve also learned how to knit, thanks to mum, and used my time to knit Tim a stripy scarf for our anniversary. I’ve started some embroidery that mum sent me, and I’ve done a painting for a friends birthday. I pretty much re-arrange my room for fun.
Daily Schedule:
8:30 Breakfast in the main dining hall (if I make it) or in my room in a rush
15 minutes of devotionals together
½ an hour of praise and worship
1 hour class
20 min break
1 ½ hour class
lunch 1pm – 2.45pm
1 hour 15 mins class
15 min break
1 hour 15 mins class
Finish day 5:30pm
Dinner 6pm
Most nights there is something on- rehearsal for worship, a healing service, a diploma meeting, a worship night, movie night or the need to see Tim!

Weekends: Unless there is a weekend course on that we also attend for class, Saturday is usually my laundry day, and believe me when I say that laundry can take hours! Because we wear so many clothes I have 2 baskets without trying, and there are only so many machines. It’s not unusual to find that someone has removed your clothes from the machine or the dryer so they can use it…there’s a good reason why there’s a sign in the laundry room that says, “Let go, and let God”. We are trying to ‘overcome evil with good’ and tonight Tim and I folded everyone’s clothes that were done in the dryer. I arrived to both my loads in wet piles, but thankfully did not need to re-wash as I have had to do. Hate wet stinky wool smell.
When I am not exercising patience in the laundry room, choosing my songs for the next week, or spending time with Tim I may decide that today is my Sabbath and get about doing nothing, especially if it’s been a big week. Saturday nights can be movie nights organised by one of the students, or pretty quiet. Sundays are pretty laid back unless there’s still a course on, and there are a few options for church. We haven’t managed to get back up to London for Hillsong Church, but we did manage to go to Holy Trinity Bromptom for a worship conference with Tim Hughes and Matt Redman which was pretty cool. I saw Emma Schuberg there which was a highlight. She is on staff, and looks very happy and fulfilled which is nice to see. It’s a really beautiful church, but there’s also a great atmosphere. We still plan on making Leatherhead our service, and will make that happen this Saturday for
sure.

One month on...

Wow. Only a month! So much has happened! Makes me sit here and shake my head!
We have much to tell...mostly things of an internal nature- God speaking to us about our future-things that we just have to wait and see about as well as continually yielding our agenda to God. One thing we know for sure, and that is that God is sovereign and had a whole other plan about us coming all this way besides the course! How do we put into words all th things that are stirring in us, and the new vision we have...? All I know is that God can raise up all the things we have lain down, and can enable us to do those way out there type dreams...This is such an environment of faith and of possibiblity, and passion for God's truth and healing to be spread all over the world. How can we not dream in this place?
Its taken a month to be able to upload photos so its hard to choose out of the gazzillion we have taken so far. this place is so gorgeous, and especially in autumn with all the trees changing colour...we are very grateful to be here.

Just a short walk from Pierrepont is the Little Pond, one of the 'areas of outstanding beauty' in Surrey. It is gorgeous. We are lucky to be able to go walking around it and its a very restful place. A little further on is the Great Pond which is bigger, and has a restaurant where you can watch the swans frolic. Squirrels is a new thing for us...we're pretty pumped with squirrels. They are the cutest things...
Here is our room for our stay at Pierrepont. Its just one room, but we are trying to make it nice. The roses were from Tim for our 4 year anniversary, and the cards are from you precious people...Thats Tims elbow in the corner. Living in community is a new thing, and so far we are doing well...Being able to take a car out to have dinner on our anniversary was nice and we had the next day off to go exploring and have a Bakker vision day with our journals out over a pub lunch. So far we have packed the next few years....we'll see where God leads...
Here we are in the beautiful city of Bath where we went for Ellel's 20th Anniversary conference. It was amazing. I have such a respect for the leaders of this ministry. Such humble people and so loving towards one another. It was a full on schedule but we managed one hour of sight seeing and ate lunch where Charles wesley preached from...no spiritual vibes... we really needed more than a few days to appreciate Bath. I felt like i was in a period film the whole time and eventually we would step out into the real world. Some of Sense and Sensibility was filmed there as well as Oliver Twist. Aside from those trivialities, Ellel spent some time looking back over what God has done over the last 20 years and launching into adulthood with new vision. It was pretty amazing to see the way each of the centres was established...all have a miracle story that is worth its own book. Ellel Netherlands was pretty exciting..to see how a centre could be acquired supernaturally, without money, but with the favour of God...I met up with the Netherlands director and he is a really great guy with a big vision for seeing Gods healing come to holland and raising up the young people who have already been through a healing retreat at the centre to be the ministry team... Exciting developments. This is the back view of the Main House at Pierrepont. Its a huge place. I havent seen it all yet, but i think tim may have. Its very green as you can see, and at the moment its getting very cold! We have to say that so far we have had exceptional weather...its been balmy and lovely, just chilly in the evenings, but today my teeth hurt. I think we skipped Autumn and went straight to Winter! They laugh at us...THIS is not cold...You wait til you see cold...yeah yeah...Im from AUSTRALIA. Its not this cold in my fridge.
Here we are on our walk by the pond on our day off. We are very happy to be here, and very happy to be experiencing this together. We have double the experiences really, because tim has one perspective being on staff, and i have the students point of view. Tim has been welcomed very much into the heart of the students though, cause we come as a set, and he is even leading them tomorrow night for a worship night. they have been asking and asking when is he going to lead and so its going to be so nice...we have never heard so many of the songs they sing here, which is kind of cool, but we miss...something. Its great to see how everyone else praises God though, and some of the songs have become precious to us.

As for my course, and what I am learning...well thats been incredible. i knew that when I came it would be a case of being ministered to, in order to effectively minister to others, and i knew that i was willingly opening up my heart for God to change it. Well, He is doing that, and at times i feel wobbly, but i know that lies are being exchanged for the truth and that is very freeing and healing. As yet i havent quite figured out how to process all this amazing teaching , but i am trusting that God is speaking spirit to spirit, and He will bring it to my mind when i need it. I am also being taught how to minister practically by observing and interceding during actual ministry situations like at Bath, and that is a steep learning curve. Its very exciting though, and humbling. I want to have a heart like the people here...and i guess thats why i came.

Here's a course overview for first term...its been changed a bit, but is essentially the same. I'll try to put in words what Im learning for the next blog, and maybe Tim can tell you about his experiences on team.

TERM ONE-

Foundations of Christian Truth

Gospel Imperatives
Foundations of Christian Truth
The power of the Blood & the Name of Jesus
The realities of living in the Kingdom
The work of the Cross
The person & work of the Holy Spirit
Receiving & using spiritual gifts
Kingdom Living

Prayer & Intercession
Spiritual Warfare & claiming the ground
Standing on God's promises
Introduction to Evangelism
Hearing the voice of God & knowing His will
The Biblical Basis for the Healing Ministry

The Father heart of God
The healing ministry of Jesus
Understanding spirit, soul and body
The spiritual realm
Foundations of acceptance
Principles & practice of deliverence ministry
Inner healing & wholeness
Right relationships & Godly boundaries
satans objectives & strategies
Domination, manipulation & intimidation
Keys to Ministering God's Healing Love

Generational iniquity
Blessings & curses
Healing through forgiveness
Bitter root judgements
Belief systems and mindsets
Understanding rejection
The sinful, wounded and Godly heart
Soul ties & ungodly links
Understanding deception & discernment
Understanding prophecy
Idolatry
Pronouncements & inner vows
Creative arts in the healing ministry
Practice of Care, Counselling and Prayer Ministry

Principles & methods of Christian counselling & prayer ministry
Listening skills
Qualities & requirements of a prayer minister
Making an assessment & developing a ministry plan

And that is just ten weeks of study! Ellel use the SEE, HEAR, DO model, so when they are teaching a subject, they will also practice it and we can watch real or role played ministry take place.


So there you go. I will post term 2 later on sometime. My hand hurts!

All Things New

Just over a week ago now we arrived at Ellel Pierrepont, after a long trip from the beautiful coast of Wales where we stayed with our friend Todd. We have to admit Wales is a beautiful part of the UK, we felt like we could have stayed in that beautiful mansion overseeing the breathtaking bay of Treardur for a bit longer... but it was time to move on.

We are settling in well, and now after a week of being here it feels like we've been here so much longer! We were welcomed with open arms, like being welcomed by your own family members, which in the spiritual sense they are. A welcoming note on the door, the bed made up and folded towels on the bed with a kit-kat on top. Behind all this there were friendly faces telling us they were so glad that we made it here, and that they were expecting us and looking forward to see us (these are always nice things to hear!). The first week was filled with conversation after conversation, meeting new people, hearing their stories, telling our story, a bit overwhelming at times, but truly a great experience. I'm sure we'll be enriched with new friendships after being here for a while.

We are very excited to be here, Phoebe has been looking forward for a long time to come here and do the NETS course, and now she's here... and of course... she is loving it. Lots of teaching, lot's of testimonies, and God doing a deep work in her heart in this first week. For me it's a privilege to be here serving this ministry practically, the team I work with is amazing, and I know God has lots in store for me too while being here, He has already started to work on my heart and giving new vision for the future.

They have a saying here that NETS means: Never Ever The Same, and I can already see why this is... we already feel the challenge from God to let go of our own agenda and follow His agenda for our lives.

This is a new season for us, and we believe God is making all things new, this is a fresh start, this is a time and a place where we will be renewed and refreshed, and from here we will be propelled into all that God has for us! ...and we know: THE BEST IS YET TO COME!

Touchdown: London

Ok, so we have finally made our faith leap and jumped on the plane to London...Looking at each other and taking lots of deep breaths.....But for all of you who are following this journey...we arrived! We are safe and sound, AND God did amaaaazing things to make our first day special and significant. Say hello to Melissa, Liz and Simone...ex Sydney/Hillsong chicks who live in London now and who are involved in Hillsong London. Not only did Liz travel all the way inbto the airport to guide us safely back to stay at their place, but dinner was served and chocolate cake made, and all rumours of the social aspect of London are proving true, on our first day!

On our way to the UK

From Phoebe: Well, its time to say goodbye to our beautiful, lovely Holland family and friends, and make our way across the channel to the UK. Its a weird feeling, having just slipped into a groove with all things Dutch, and made beautiful connections with the family. Now I'm really gonna miss them!!! On Sunday night we had a big family dinner and there was...17 people, i think! I wasn't sure which conversation to follow! But I have some wonderful new brothers and sisters who have become very dear to me in such a short time.

So, Wednesday night we fly in to London in time for dinner with Ann & Jason Leitch (and Amielle) from Australia, and then on to our accomodation for conference. We'll spend the next few days smiling and ushering (sorry, hosting) a few thousand people and experiencing church London style, saying hello to old friends, and basically help make the first ever Hillsong Conference Europe amazing. Well, i'm sure it would be amazing without us, but...we'll do our bit!

Then we jump in the car with our old friend Todd to drive up to Wales Saturday night. Crazy, I know. Its about 5 hours drive to the tip of Wales and Trearrdur Bay, Holyhead, where Todd lives. Then its a quick change, off to church, Welsh style, and home for a nap and to rest our feet.
From then on...quiet. And probably some long chats into the wee hours and lots of catching up. We are there for one week and catch the train down to Ellel on Friday 6th October.

October 7 is my 31st birthday (i know!) and the intake for Ellel. New year, new season, new country, new accent, new place to live, new room, new sights, sounds and...well, you get the picture. Basically, everything NEW.

Isaiah 43:18 "Forget the former things. Do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing in your midst. Do you not perceive it?"

We will set up email and post to the blog as soon as we can, and have updated our address details (just in case you want to send us Cadburys, Promite, the ingredients for Lemon Lime Bitters, or all the clothes i should have packed!) in our profile. Keep us in your prayers...its very scary, and my tummy has been a washing machine for days from pure nerves.

Thanks for your prayers so far for my health- I am getting better after completely losing my voice and feeling generally blurgh- and i finished one painting and the other will be finished today. We have you in our prayers, and in our hearts.

Love, Phoebe

The last word is always Gods

Well. Its been a while, and it was kind of left hanging last time, on the nasty little man from the embassy. You will be pleased to hear that there is a way around him, and his power trip! My course is also registered as training, not just study, and i am able to visit the UK for the duration of the training (ten weeks for one term), which means no visa needed. At the end of the term we fly back to Holland for Christmas and then back to the Uk for term 2, done the same way. It was a pretty obvious solution, but you know what its like when you get tunnel vision?
I've (Phoebe) been painting, which has been fun and invigorating, watching it all come together. The paintings are for my mother in law and my sister in law, Anita. Will post them when they are finished, which is hopefully today. I'm pretty low on energy, still battling insomnia for the last two years. Last night i managed to get off to sleep around 6am (wait-that would make it today) and thankfully could stay in bed. Thats not possible when my course starts, so will you please pray that I get sleep breakthrough? Thank you. I also need prayer for my health in general as my throat swelled up on Saturday and hasnt really gone down and i'm also fighting another infection. Have been fighting that since we arrived 8 weeks ago, so am really over it now! If you could stand with us for healing that would be amazing. The enemy knows that he cannot stop us getting to Ellel, but he will try to wear me down so i miss it when i'm there, and i intend to get everything that God has for me at Ellel. I haven't left everything behind to stay in bed all day and be too weak to enjoy it!

Things that make you go Hmmmmmm...

On Tuesday we drove (!) to Amsterdam for an apointment with the British Embassy and plans to make a day of it.. Before we left Australia we found out that instead of a Visa for the UK I (Phoebe) qualified for a Family Permit through the European Union. We checked it out on their website and discovered that because Tim is Dutch he qualifies, and can travel, work, live etc anywhere in UK. Great, we thought! We emailled to see if we could apply for it while in Holland as we would be here for about 2 months. Yes, they said. So I went in to pick it up (i thought) and got quite a shock. Aside from the drab surroundings and high security, the British Embassy is staffed by decendents of Nazi Germany. I was treated like a criminal and told I had to go back to Australia, and that there was nothing that could be done for me and that i fell through the cracks of each different kind of visa. What?!?!? Initially he said we dont qualify because Tim is not "employed" according to their terms, even though at Ellel he'd work a 40 hour week, but then he started a rant about me, and what was I doing there, trying to use my Dutch husband to get in the country, and even said he didnt recognise my marriage certificate, so doubted if i was even married! I drew the line there. He pointed at me and said, "YOU dont qualify for anything", even laughed when he said, "Look, i've ruined your life!...bet this isnt the news you were hoping for!" "umm...no. Not really." The only thing he said i could do was visit the UK, but not to study or live or work or anything else. Of course, all this is fine, IF they had made all this clear before hand when we asked about it specifically. He said he didnt recognise my course even though its registered on their website, didnt recognise that Tim was Dutch even though he was holding Tims Passport in his hand, didnt recognise that I was married to him, despite my certificate being there, declared i was 'without country' and had no relevance to him, no right to even be there, and how had i even gotten an appointment...
One sentence he made sure he said over and over was, "There is just NO way".
Hmmmm.
Before committing to this journey we had 2 words from God about it: "I see no obstacles" and, "He will make a way where there seems to be no way".

So instead of panicking (my first reaction), we drove out of Amsterdam (I couldn't see its beauty anymore), and i briefed Tim on what had happened. We pulled into IKEA to distract ourselves from all the inner turmoil and for 2 hours did some retail therapy. Except that we didnt buy anything but lunch. Love IKEA food. They have some cool stuff which i dont think is in Australia yet, so that was fun to see.

On Wednesday I received the official acceptance letter for the course at Ellel.
Its Friday today and i still cant find it in me to panic or get stressed (or maybe thats all on some unconcious level!) because over and over God has said He will perform a new thing with us.

So there you go. Thats where we are right now.

Exploring the low lands...(part I)

August 2006 officially goes into the history books as the wettest ever recorded here in Holland, July on the other hand was one of the hottest ever recorded! Sadly enough we weren't here to experience the heat, but finally it seems like the rains have come and gone and the season of singing has arrived! So last week we headed out to the beautiful city of Leiden, the birthplace of Rembrandt van Rijn, one of the famous Dutch painters. This year they are celebrating his 400th birthday, I don't think he's still alive though. We really enjoyed exploring this place, the architecture, the rain, the canals, the pushbikes, the boats, little bridges, heaps more pushbikes, some more rain, poems on the walls of buildings, many shops, some dutch treats, more rain, a wall of books, and yes even more pushbikes! And not to forget... a bit more rain! Here are some pics we took:
Top left: The time difference between Sydney & Leiden, it's actually 8 hours difference at the moment. Sometimes it's 10 hours like on the picture depending on daylight savings.

2nd & 3rd picture: I've figured out where all the water is...Holland, which explains the amount of boats you see when traveling.
4th picture: Here you can see Phoebe before a wall of books made out of old wineboxes stacked on top of each other. This stack of books was about 30 metres long! Phoebe is in book heaven!