2018 Christmas Letter

We greet you with great joy.  2018 has been a great year for us, our first year in our own home!

Sarah continued working for the City of South Perth. Sarah is still our main breadwinner, but Steve has launched counselling and funeral celebrant businesses this year and continues to work 0.4 FTE for Regent College as their chaplain. He helped supervise students at the Year 4 and Year 6 camps, and once again spoke at Regent’s ANZAC and Year 6 Graduation services. We thank God for His provision in the area of our work. Steve also preached 35 Sundays and is grateful to continue to improve in this area. Steve was also invited to become part of the national training team for PeaceWise (biblical conflict resolution) and took part in a train-the-trainer in NSW in March and helped deliver 2 one-day programs in September. He also continued as Secretary for the Board of the Pallister-Killian Syndrome Foundation of Australia (PKSFA) (Nathanael had PKS) this year. Steve conducted four funerals and one wedding and has had significant counselling journeys with several (nearly 10) couples and individuals this year.

Ethan won the Pre-primary Respect Award at Middle Swan Primary School where there were three Pre-primary classes. He was in a great class with such a fabulous teacher in Ms. Bird.  Steve volunteered in Ethan’s class each week and in Term 4 became a mentor for two boys—one in Year 3 and one in Year 1.  Ethan had Malachi, Braxton, Iya, Lewis and William to his birthday party at Woodbridge Park.  Ethan did well academically and socially.  Steve was also active on the P&C committee this year. Oh, and Ethan won the Christmas cake raffle AND had a On Ground Experience (with Steve) at the Australia vs India Test at Perth Stadium! They loved every second of it.

Steve was gifted tickets by Coral and Ron (Mum and Dad) to visit Amy and Dan in Sydney in November before they returned to WA and moved to Baldivis. Zoe and Lewis moved into their own home in Seville Grove this year. Rhiannon is pregnant and her and Blake are expecting their baby on May 8, 2019, and they moved to a new home in December.

Steve graduated with a Master of Divinity from Vose Seminary in March 2018. In October, Steve and Sarah launched their Shining Gift of God: A Memoir of the Life of Nathanael Marcus at the 2018 Silent Grief conference they spoke at, and Steve was interviewed on 98five FM. Steve and Sarah also started a life group on Friday nights with three other church families. Steve, Sarah and Ethan are spending Christmas in Esperance with the Brown family.

The highlight of the year was moving to Stratton in February, from which we haven’t looked back. We have found our spiritual home at Bellevue Baptist Church, where Steve is now an elder. We love the people at Bellevue, they love us, and we love serving there. Steve and Sarah are both now integrally involved in several of Bellevue’s ministries.

What are our hopes for 2019? Really, that we would continue to build relationships in Midland. We continue to pray that Amy’s, Zoe’s and Rhiannon’s and their partners’ lives will further blossom. We’re so proud of them all.

We sincerely wish you a very joyous Christmas and pray that your hopes for 2019 are realistic and can be achieved.