Samantha
We are just coming off the high of Samantha's First Birthday Parties. Yes, that's right: Parties. We had 2 parties, cause Samantha has so many friends, we couldn't accommodate them all at once. In the morning, all her play group and preschool aged friends come to celebrate with a pool party. By the afternoon though, a storm was rolling in, so her older friends only managed a short dip in the pool before running inside. We all had so much fun playing with Samantha and all her toys. A couple of Samantha's guests decided to help her unwrap gifts, one boy taking it so far as to actually open the box and play with it!

Samantha is a brave swimmer

Samantha is on the go and has been walking for about a month now. Nothing slows her down. She's super social and would prefer to be out and about than at home with just Mum. She loves to 'talk', but we still can't understand her (silly grown ups, what's wrong with them?). She is so intense, she has been known to make little Thai boys cry in her attempt to express her excitement to play. But her intensity also includes a strong stubborn streak. It brought joy to my Mummy soul (NOT!) about a week ago when she threw herself onto the floor at the mall and chucked a tantrum. I stood there, horrified, and all I could think was, "I thought this sort of thing didn't happen till they were two!!"

Okay, now that all you veteran parents have finished roaring with laughter at my expense, we'll continue with the news at hand.

Hmmmm... Fire

Noarlunga Salvation Army
In late March we had the pleasure of hosting a team from Noarlunga Salvation Army in Adelaide. While we were living in Adelaide in 2006, the Noarlunga Corps Captains and congregation took us into their family. Out of that relationship, we started planning a team to come and serve with us for a short time. When they arrived, it was like welcoming family into our home.

Can you spot the non-Aussie?

Their visit was very short - only one week, but they accomplished so much. They painted the Lighthouse Coffeeshop, a new ministry of City Gate Church, and helped to prepare the ground for landscaping. They also visited a 2 of our daughter churches, teaching and praying for the members of the church. Sean, Anne & Samantha all went along, too. It was Samantha's first village visit, and the three of us stayed in a tent next to the church. Needless to say, Samantha didn't want to go to sleep, she was too busy looking at the night sky and shadows of the trees.

Can I ride too mommy?

COFM
On April 5 we loaded up the truck and headed off to Chiang Rai for the COFM. Sean was very busy the whole week, organizing evangelism times, games, and just generally running around with different responsibilities. He made lots of friends, and poured himself into the Conference whole heartedly. Anne only attended part time, taking lots of time to care for Samantha. Samantha made lots of friends, and was a bit of a star the entire week. I think that every delegate got at least 2 photos taken with her.

Sean lead this evangelism team and met many people interested in hearing more about Christianity

A highlight of the conference for Anne was the last day when Kevin Darrow shared for a few minutes before he had to leave. Kevin has been fighting cancer for many years, and his life is a miracle in many ways. He encouraged us to keep serving God no matter how hard or painful life is, no matter how much we suffer. Yes, sometimes we want to give up. But we need to keep pressing on. There have been many times when I have just wanted to give up and go home. We've experienced a lot of pain in the last few years and at times it's felt like the storm would never end. Hearing the testimony of a man who continues to serve God full time, while he is in continuous pain and his life hangs in the balance, helped me remember God's faithfulness and the reason why we do what we do. It's not for us, it's for Him. I wish we had been recording the sessions, cause that this is the most important thing that I heard all week.

Sean led this group on a Scavenger Hunt

Church camp
This year we were so exhausted from the COFM that we only spent one day at the camp. Anne helped with the kids, while Sean was camp photographer/videographer for a day.

CGC Family Camp with Daughter Churches

YTW: Youth Training Week

Village trip
Recently Sean visited one of CGC's daughter churches called Tung Deng Prao. We got a call during the church staff meeting that the night before a big storm had passed through the region, and damaged many homes all over the north. The pastor called to say that his house and several others were severely damaged. We went up the next day to offer some rebuilding money and to pray for them. We met a woman who said that she had sat in her flimsy bamboo shack and prayed all night. She was terrified because her house was more frail than the teak houses around her. Yet all night long she heard the other houses crash down but hers was one of the few that remained. She wanted everyone to know that it was prayer that saved her house.

The cinderblock wall of this home collapsed as well as loosing some of the roof.

XTTV
(Facebook photo album)
On Wednesday evenings, Sean is still hanging out with and mentoring MK’s (Missionary Kids) at Xtreme Teens TV

It's not all hard work

Recently they have been hard at work on a new project. Sean and Anne starred as Art and Ellen in a new docudramma chronicling the events of when Art broke his neck and miraculously recovered. They set up film shoots at various locations around town. The kids were the directors, cameramen and editors. The kids were a fantastic witness to everyone we met. We hope to put the 15 minute reenactment up on YouTube eventually.

XTTV Camera Setup

Thanks for your love, prayers and support.

Sean & Anne

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