Christmas 2004.

Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2-11

Dear Friends

What an exciting year this has been, so many different people we met and things happening.

Jesus has been showing us new truths about ourselves and challenging some of our old attitudes!

We’ve both spent much more time reading the Word and praying.

Prue

At the beginning of the year I went to Sydney to stay with Mum, her foot was no better and during the two months I was there it came to the point where she had to decide if she would have the leg amputated or let gangrene take it’s course. I left just before Easter and she had the amputation the Thursday before Good Friday. She came through the operation with flying colours and after some rehab she started a new way of life back home. John and Ros (brother and his wife) have been wonderful with all the extra care she has needed.

After Easter I did relief teaching and then in May Ruth had her 4^th son Jasper Allen Snoswell, he is a beautiful baby and lots of fun for us all.

Early June I flew to Sydney again to see Mum and on the 9^th David and I left to drive to Darwin. Anne and Jason were taking a group of year 10, 11, and 12, students on a Mission trip to Thailand and I was going as the assistant! We did tract bombing, visited a children’s home for boys, and then went to a Karen Bible School, on the Burma boarder (Mayamar). We spent lots of time laughing, talking about Jesus and our faith, seeing new things and cultures and you guessed it we did shop and eat! One Sunday I heard Anne preach in a Karen church, that was really special!

When we returned David and I went to Gawa, an Aboriginal outstation on Elcho Island. I worked with Marilyn Huddleston in the new Christian School. After that we went to East Timor. In both places I was teaching and learning!

David

Building our home near Maryborough in Queensland filled in the first five months of the year and currently the last two with a target date to move in by Christmas! During the Gawa and East Timor trips I spent most of the time building, repairing and teaching others how to build walls, windows, ceilings, shelves, kitchens and bunk beds. We were blessed to have such a great time with Paul and Marilyn and the YWAM team in Dili. We also had some time with Roger Latham from Darwin who is travelling around teaching music and spreading the Gospel. Our spiritual life was so enriched with the fellowship and just being part of a family of Christians working on the front line. It is not easy out there and ones contribution is very much appreciated.

Just driving over the mountains of Timor to Weberek on the East coast is an adventure in itself. Not for the faint hearted.

We are praying and looking to the Lord’s provision towards returning to East Timor for some months next year and maybe a 6 week stay in Fiji with Frank and Robin Hawkes of Pioneers. This would again be building and teaching English. It is rather interesting and exciting just to be able to go where the Lord sends and it is fulfilling a promise that we made in the early seventies to go anywhere He directed. The saying “a rolling stone gathers no moss” is one that has applied to us but we have no regrets for we must trust and believe He holds you, ourselves and all things in His hands. Jesus never promised us tomorrow but it is sure exciting to enter into, one never knows what is around the next corner. I can assure you the grass is no greener (in fact it can be jolly hard work) but I feel that it holds the promise that Jesus gave us, following him will result in living life in all its fullness.

The complexities of dealing with Centrelink are upon us both but one good point is that we can leave our shores for some time without upsetting pensions. This does provide us with enough to live when we are away and the gifts from family and others have provided the travel costs and some of the material costs used in the building renovations. We have a power point presentation which if you contact us we can send you a copy or better still at sidey.poweringon.com

or www.sidey.poweringon.com you will find a collection of photographs.

We pray that this year and in 2005 “You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace”.Isaiah55-12

Our love in Christ Jesus

Prue and David Sidey 828 Teddington Road Tinana 4650 prueanddavid@bigpond.com