Monday 17 December 2001

Christmas Letter 2001 (never completed?)

Please accept our apologies for not writing to you last year. The Year 2000 was for us a very difficult year for many reasons. When it came time for us to write our annual Christmas epistle it seemed that the ‘mountain’ was just a little too high to climb that year.

The year 2001 has also been a challenge, but the lows were more than eclipsed by a sense of hope that we have for the future.
‘For I know the plans that I have for you’, declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future’ Jeremiah 29:11
As a friend receiving this letter, you may not share, but you should all know of our faith in Jesus Christ. All over the world, we have been touched in some way by the tragic events of September 11 and the subsequent ‘war on terror’. It seems that on so many levels, the things we have held to be ‘unshakeable’ have been shaken.

Whether Osama bin Laden, George W. Bush, Tony Blair or John Howard everyone seems to want to leave some kind of legacy. The only person to have effectively done that is surely Jesus Christ, even our calendars use him as a point of reference. His life’s ministry, accomplished in just three short years, changed the course of world history and still changes lives, communities and nations today.
“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father but by me” John 14:6
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” John 11:25

Thomas is a delightful young man who loves the company of others. He turned 7 this year and has successfully completed his year one at Oxford Falls Grammar School. He very much missed the precious verbal encouragement received from his Kindergarten teacher last year, but nevertheless he has made solid progress in year one, particularly in reading and spelling. This year he has also enjoyed playing a season of soccer with the Wakehurst Tigers along with a number of boys from his class; his favourite position was goalie. Thomas is an excellent communicator who loves to talk, his desire to be fully informed about upcoming events sometimes poses a significant challenge for his patient mother. He has really enjoyed church related activities this year, especially Friday Night Live and joining his Dad in the Music Team on the occasional Sunday morning. He has taught himself the drums and already has a deep appreciation for many forms of music. Mum & Dad are hoping to arrange some music tuition for him next year.

Bethany Joy has once again lived up to her middle name this year. She turned 4 in March and has now completed her second year at the Holy Trinity Preschool. She is a delight to her teachers and classmates alike and counts down the days to Thursday and Friday when she can next attend. She has shown some aptitude in construction with blocks, the detail and symmetry found in her creations has often surprised us. She is very popular among her peers, and seems to get invitations to an inordinate number of birthday parties. Bethany too is a good talker, in fact we seem to have bred three excellent talkers, so much so that Mummy & Daddy have had to implement a structured “interrupt rule” in order to maintain their sanity. Bethany adores both her brothers who sometimes compete for her attention. She has retained her title of a “good finder” of missing toys etc. and she has an intense fascination with Simon’s favoured “Ootty Teddy”. Bethany is also famous for inventing “ootty talk”, another language that usually manifests itself when Ootty Teddy is around, much to the delight of all family members! Bethany has a soft heart and a warm smile that seems to melt the hearts of all around her.