FOCUS mission 2009

FOCUS' mission is to give international students a great end to the year.

We'll have lots of adventures and a heap of fun, while never losing sight of our desire to help International students to know and grow in their relationship with God.

Here is our plan (it might change a little as we add or change events):

Wednesday 11^th Nov

9am Bible and Prayer

(this is for the Christians but if you'd like something like this that is suitable for people who are not Christians... just ask and I'll see what I can do)

10am 2W2L training

(this is just for Christians too... its teaching them how to explain the good news about Jesus in a simple and interesting way)

2pm Inviting people to FOCUS

(we'll go to uni / sandy bay road / ???)

8pm Bible study

(I'll bring Australians if you bring the friends... we'll break into small groups and do a pretty easy Bible study with lots of discussion time for you to practice your English!)

Thursday 12^th nov

9am Bible and Prayer

8pm Fishing or Movie night

(this depends on whether I can get Australians to help us to do this)

Friday 13^th nov

9am Bible and Prayer

6pm Friday FOCUS

(this will be bigger and more exciting than usual as I try to get other people to help with how the meeting runs)

Saturday 14^th nov

10 am Inviting

7.30pm Games Night

Sunday 15^th Nov

9am Visiting local churches to say ‘hello’ and ‘thanks!’

(come and see a normal Australian church and help me to thank them for helping us with food and finances over the year)

Monday 16^th Nov

9am Bible and Prayer

10am 2W2L training

11am Coffee and conversation

(we'll either go to a local cafe OR my home and drink nice coffee and have some discussion about some interesting topics)

Tuesday 17^th nov

9am Bible and Prayer

2pm inviting

8pm Movie Night

(at 1 Lord street... big screen big sound...)

Wednesday 18^th Nov

9am Bible and Prayer

10am 2W2L training

2pm Inviting

8pm Big Bible study

(same style as last week)

Thursday 19^th nov

9am Bible and Prayer

1pm picnic at botanical gardens

2pm travelling story of the Bible

(we'll travel around Hobart and at each location I'll tell you a piece of the story of the Bible; it should be nice sightseeing as well as informative)

Friday 20^th nov

9am Bible and Prayer

10am 2W2L training

2pm inviting

6pm Friday FOCUS

(same as last week)

Saturday 21^st nov

9.00am Pageant helpers

10.30 Christmas pageant

(come and see the pageant with FOCUS members)

1pm BBQ and FOCUS olympics

(more details soon!)

Sunday 22nd nov

9am Visiting local churches to say ‘hello’ and ‘thanks!’

Monday 23^rd nov

9am Bible and Prayer

10am 2W2L training

11am Coffee and conversation

2pm Inviting

Tuesday 24^th nov

9am Bible and Prayer

8pm Movie night

Wednesday 25^th nov

9am Bible and Prayer

10am 2W2L training

2pm Inviting

8pm Bible study

Thursday 26^th nov

9am Bible and Prayer

The Amazing Race

(more details coming soon... its a competition where you will walk around the city, talking to people and doing challenges...so much fun!... for me at least!)

Friday 27^th nov

9am Bible and Prayer

10am 2W2L training

2pm Inviting

6pm Final Friday FOCUS Party

want to join in a parade?

On Friday night I had trouble explaining what a parade was. I have provided a clip below for you to see. Of course its Hobart and so it will not look as good or professional as this clip, but it will give you and idea of what to expect.

Have a look

A local church is going to have a Christmas story float (like the pic above) in the parade, If you want to join in just email FOCUS or tell me on Friday.

What FOCUS main meeting looks like...

...was Boaz fat?

We're almost finished our series in the book of Ruth. I think everyone is curious about Boaz. He is a kind, gentle, self-sacrificial man, honest, fair and a great listener. Also, even though Ruth is from Moab (and so an enemy of Israel at this time), a widow and can't have children, he is not ashamed of their relationship.

But Boaz is not a 'boyband' boy or a 'Shanghai Guy' (i.e. a bit girly), he is a man! He is strong and powerful, committed and convinced; he knows what he should do and he goes and does it; he promises to look after Ruth and he works hard to do what he says he will.

Lastly, and most importantly Boaz is a man who loves and serves his God. He knows him personally and wants to bring God's blessing of committed forever kindness to all people (even his workers).

I think everyone at FOCUS agrees with this... Boaz has a great and godly character...but what they really want to know is: was he fat?

He must have been well muscled as he worked hard in the field and at the threshing floor, but perhaps he ate a lot of the barley that he harvested? Also, he was past the normal age for getting married so he probably had a beer belly. hmmmm

...talking about death....

In my culture we don't like to talk about death. In fact we pretend it doesn't exist. I think this is pretty silly because it happens to everyone and everything. God thinks this is foolish and that you can become wise by thinking about death; 'The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.' Ecclesiastes 7:4.

I liked this movie because it talks about death, especially about the importance of a good death. I also liked that it expresses the importance of being prepared for the journey through to the next life. These ideas fit with the Bible.

Of course the Bible and the movie certainly didn't agree on everything! In 'Departures' it is the Daigo's ceremonial "encoffination" that prepares the person for the next life. Whereas in the Bible it is only Jesus' work on the cross that can make that journey safe...

some useful information about God :-)

John's Haircut

John used to have very big hair... now he looks fantastic! bald heads always do right?

The Cancelled Cancelled Bible Study Group

I tried to cancel Bible study group last night. I failed...

Adventures in Ruth

Here are my plans so far for FOCUS and our Ruth series:

#1 How should I think / act when suffering comes?

—If God is sovereign...Can I blame God?

—#2 Ruth and Kindness

—Are you kind? What is kindness?

—Is God kind...how can I know?

—#3 Ruth and Sex

—What is good sex? And how can i get it?

—How can I be attractive to the opposite sex?

—#4 Ruth and the world

—What does Ruth have to say to non-Israelites?

—Is there any blessing for other nations in Ruth?ations in Ruth?

AFL Grand Final

Last Saturday about 24 people came around to Joel’s house and squeezed into his small lounge room. They came to watch the AFL grand final, which is arguably the biggest sport match of the year in Australia. The Match was between St Kilda and Geelong. According to Tim, St Kilda haven’t had a win in over 40 years. In spite of lots of shouting for St Kilda, (only one or two people were cheering for Geelong), Geelong pulled through to win in the last few minutes of the game. This made some people quite sad, but the game was really exciting to watch and it seemed like most people had a fun afternoon. The food consisted of meat pies, ‘footy franks’ (small sausages), lots of snacks and some cakes. If you didn’t make it, keep the day free for next year!

Joel