The Journey So Far - Part 2

Continued from Part 1...

Something else that I should mention is that in my role as chaplain and Bible instructor at Hervey Bay Christian Academy, I had been praying for guidance on ways to present the Bible to the students that would help them to better engage with it, and to see God's Word transform their hearts and lives.

That pretty much brings us to 2014.

On New Years Eve, 2013, we received a call to tell us that my brother, Brett, was lying in a coma in hospital on the Gold Coast.  We drove down the following day (Happy New Year) and over the coming days I joined the rest of the family as we kept a bedside vigil until he slipped into eternity on 5th January 2014.

The month following this unexpected tragedy, I had the privilege of taking the Academy's senior students to an "Immerse" event, a week-long camp lead by Travis Johnson (a former pastor of ours whose now in SA) and Jessica Bracegirdle (from WA), who were with Youth Ministries Australia at that time.  It very quickly became evident to me that this was the answer to my prayers regarding how to better present God's Word to see it bring transformation to young lives.

It was a real encouragement to me to see the students so greatly impacted by God's story as it was presented at this Immerse camp.  They responded so well showing an interest and excitement in God and His Word that I hadn't seen much before.  And it's great to see that God is continuing to work in their lives since.

I knew then that I wanted to be involved somehow with these events in the future, and I wanted to see it continue to impact the school community of Hervey Bay Christian Academy.

But God, it seems, has a bigger picture in mind.

God continued to guide us as we have sought Him and His will, and He has spoken to our hearts, through His Word, through people, through circumstances, and has strengthen the desire for us to move to Toowoomba, and has increased the urgency for this move.

Thanks for your encouragement and prayer support.  Please be praying with us for God's will to continue to unfold in our lives as we seek Him.

In Christ,
Mike Smith

Catch Part 3 of "The Journey So Far" here.