Portarlington
While on our summer holidays my cell gourp and myself minus PP ventured off to the land of Portarlington to take part in a beach mission. i found that this mission was very different to the thailand mission that i went to the previous year and really didn't know what to expect, originally i though that the mission team was going to be full of bogans from the beach oh ws i wrong. Most of them came from CCCV and swan hill as well as other churches around melbourne which i for get their name.
One of the arvos we had worship session which i felt was realli nice where we had a good sessiong of worship. I gonna share with you a poem that was written by one of the team member.
PORTARLINGTON 2005 Mission Trip
poem written by Tim Richards
One lone figure…
Standing upon the beach,
He can see for miles
This sight appears to trouble him, as, with a furrowed brow, he lets his gaze fall to the ground.
Nothing moves for several moments,
Nothing, that is, but the waves and the occasional twitch of the mans lips, the only indicator of his inner turmoil.
His head raises, a decision made, and with purpose in his eyes and passion in his heart, he sets out on a journey.
His journey is a simple one, to share his love with those who have none,
To put a sparkle in the children’s eyes, and to their parents, bring hope.
And as he journeys forward, others take up the charge.
First slowly, and then, as confidence grows…
JOY! With running and jumping and dancing too.
One big mess of joy, bounding forth, bringing joy to many hearts
As the days turn to years, people come and people go… and while the team has changed,
The dream is the same.
Share love, bring hope, give joy.
Even now they stand. This year’s force, marching forth.
Their armour is their joy and their banner, held high-aloft… is the greatest symbol of them all,
Jesus’ cross on which he died,
The ultimate sign of love.
This mighty force takes up its march,
Ungawaring and singing
And with great speed, skill and love they come…
But a hidden evil lies ahead, to which they’re ill-aware
The land ahead is Satan’s, and he wants to keep it that way!
And, as only Satan can, he rallies his forces dark.
Demons with strength, for a frontal assault.
But sneaky, as I’m sure you know Satan is, he plans for a flanking charge
For this he brings his forces subtle.
Whose power is greater still,
Stirring mistrust and contempt among our troops…
Therein their powers lie.
And so, forces gathered, Satan prepares for battle.
And it is Satan’s force that meets out troop as it bound over the crest of the hill.
Their hope, it drains, their smiles fade, and their singing slowly dwindles.
Darkness falls upon the battlefield
Despair comes.
Satan’s forces charge with all the power of darkness behind it
Fear comes
But then one soul,
One brave soul
Shouts above the rest
“Oh Lord, please help us!”
Rumbling in the sky signals the parting of the clouds.
Light, in narrow fingers strike down from on High…
Heavens light, God’s pure radiance smite down into the darkness.
The demons howl in fear, the darkness groans with pain.
But still they come.
Now, with a renewed sense of hope, out troop sets to prayer, and every head is bowed.
And now, here we are… for that troop is us, and the evil indeed is near.
Will we fight the good fight, praying and trusting or in the face of such opposition give up?
Will we, when our brothers or sisters fall, turn to pick them up?
Or instead will we stumble and leave God on the sideline, forgot?
For our God, He is awesome and in Him, we must trust. For His strength alone is enough.
And so, we acknowledge, and with our voices proclaim
That our God is an awesome God!
I do encourage that you guys take part in a mission team of some sort as i found it highly rewarding God truly speaks to you just as he spoke to me thats another story ill blog up later
God Bless ken
UU v New Team Thursday Mxd 3 (02-03-06)
Haven't set up a blog like the netball "Chargers" because I think it'll take too long since I'm organising other stuff. Someone else from Uniting United want to take up that role?
Doesn't matter, we'll just post up match reports here.
First game and I felt a bit nervous, naturally. I had no idea what to expect from our opponents, would they be huge and physical, would they be really quick and skilful? These questions actually took a backseat for a while as I was more worried about our team itself.
Mandy had successfully recruited five girls to play however in the few days leading up to our first foray into indoor soccer, four girls pulled out and one got injured. Luckily we managed to call in Vanessa and Teresa to play. The rules stipulate we need at least two girls on the field at any one time so I was a little edgy when realising we only had two girls who were able to come. This meant they wouldn't have any break since there were no girls to sub with!
Anyhow, we all arrived and then the match finally got underway. I was somewhat relieved because our opponents weren't as fearsome as I had expected. Even so, they managed to get a few lucky shots in the early exchanges. It didn't help when we gave away two penalties but Colin in goals saved the penalty he gave away so kudos to him.
Before we knew it, even though we were on par in terms of skill, we were a few goals down. By half time we were 0-6 down. I think lack of positioning and organisation cost us. A lot of times we were left wanting in defence after a failed attack. Everyone would run up to the forward line, we'd shoot and their goalie would save it. Then he'd piff the ball to a guy who was totally unmarked and alone to basically have the luxury of a one-on-one with our goalie. The majority of their goals were scored from quick counter-attacks, so the lack of defence is something we invariably need to address in future matches.
Second half, and we began to settle. Colin was dazzling with his oversteps and shimmies which were much appreciated in a new team struggling to maintain possession. Liang was strong and decisive at the back just as Andrew was a solid presence in defence. Justin was a workhorse chasing everything down and Peter was a revelation in goals, only letting one past him in the whole second half. I was tiring out really quickly due to a combination of a lack of sleep and food but I managed to put us on the scoreboard after some indecisive defending by the opposition let me slip in and toe bash it home. 1-6.
The girls were holding themselves rather well too. Teresa, Bex and Vanessa were not afraid to get stuck in and give the guys a few kicks. I was really worried the girls would get hurt because I know how rough guys can be, but it was largely unfounded since I still fail to remember the physical differences in mens and mixed indoor soccer. Unfortunately, while one of our opponents was riduculously having a shot from the halfway line, Bex was in the way and the ball hit her. I've been hit many times in the legs from blocking shots and believe me, it stings. Bex got hit in the shoulder/chest area. Nuff said. Later on, she was hit again, this time by one of our own trying to clear the ball from defence. Ouch. In the later stages, Colin added two goals to our score to make it a reasonable 3-7 loss. Not bad for our first go!
Amazingly, our loss somehow translated to a win on the ladder. I presume that the other team forgot to pay their fees or broke the rules in one way or another, therefore giving us a 6-0 win and 6 pts (four for the win, two bonus points). Because of that, we're now sitting high and pretty on top of the ladder, although I expect a tougher match this Thursday. Nonetheless, I give the team a 6-0 for effort. Good first game guys, now all we need is discipline and organisation and we should be alright!
