The Adventure Continues...

A PDF version of this document is available here.

It is with great joy that we are finally able to write this letter and let you know that we are setting the date of our departure for our migration to Hong Kong! We will be moving from Australia mid December 2007. Even before we got married, the MD had been impressing upon both of us that our life in Australia was to be transitory. We both have hearts to serve in Asia and have both been called to the work we will be doing.

We can assure you that our time in Australia has had purpose, Tom will be finishing University mid year, and Christy will be receiving her permanent residency in October. We have also been blessed to have been involved in a Club which has continually pursued the MD's heart for Hornsby. This has been a great experience for us and we are so thankful for them.

Where we are going...

For the cave dwellers amongst us, we have been working with a charity located in Hong Kong called Crossroads International (www.crossroads.org.hk) for many years, both in person and remotely through the internet. Crossroads International has a number of different focuses. Crossroads itself takes donated quality new and used goods which are surplus to requirements and redistributes these to those in need; both locally in Hong Kong, and internationally.

Goods are generally sent in 20 or 40 foot long shipping containers. Since 1995, we have shipped to 50 countries and currently have 150 different countries requesting goods for the future. All shipments are paid for through donations or through generous shipping companies offering a free space on their ship.

As Hong Kong has a very minimal second hand market due to various cultural influences, beautiful furniture & household goods are often thrown out after only a few years of use. Actually, a large number of what is received is brand new as Hong Kong is one of the main shipping ports in Asia. Because of this many manufacturing companies review samples of all items before sending overseas which have in the past been thrown away but are now being given to Crossroads to be passed on to those in need.

A number of other organisations fall under the Crossroads banner, including Global Hand and P3 International. Global Hand (www.globalhand.org) is an online matching service helping corporate and community groups partner with non-government organisations whilst P³ International is an attempt to alleviate poverty through the responsible application of technology.

What we will be doing...

We are very aware that as people who have been blessed with university educations as well as many “benefits” of western society that we are considered very wealthy on the world scale. We are also aware that with this blessing comes greater responsibility, and our Father has great expectations of those whom he has blessed. As a result, we feel jointly called to use our skills and education to serve the MD's children.

Tom will be using his IT skills in support of a number of Crossroads activities, including taking a position as the network engineer for both the P³ and Global Hand projects.

Christy will most likely be involved in the financial aspects of the organisations, possibly back into the accounts department. Christy has been involved in the financial operations of Crossroads since 2000. She also hopes to help out in the marketplace coffee shop. The marketplace is a fair trade market which was introduced to support microenterprises through trade undertaken in a fair manner: purchasing items at a just price that conveys respect for their labour and helps develop their communities.

The marketplace has been set up to honour the cultures we serve, by presenting their wares in a way that showcases their wealth of tradition, despite their poverty of circumstance (www.globalhandicrafts.org).

At this point we feel this is a long term call to Asia. We will be packing and shipping our belongings with the view that we are moving to Hong Kong and staying unless the MD calls us somewhere else. Thus there is not a time limit or plan to return to Australia or America to live.

What support we need...

We would really appreciate your chats and thoughts as we prepare to move and as we settle into our new life in Hong Kong. We have a few specific chat points:

• That we would be continuing to seek the MD's guiding and direction. We are very aware that unless we are walking in the direction that the MD is wanting us to go our efforts will be in vain.
• We have found our past moves to involve stress, cost and sad goodbyes which we have found quite challenging. If we could ask you to chat that we would have peace with what we leave behind.
• For our wonderful club that we leave behind, especially for new leaders to rise up to fill the gaps.

As no member of Crossroads family is paid, we will be relying entirely on donations. We need to raise $25,000AUD ($19,678USD) per annum to support both of us. This works out as $2,083AUD ($1,640USD) per month or $521AUD ($410USD) per week. This amount will cover our entire living expenses; housing, food, travel and a small amount of spending money. We have prepared a budget which is available upon request.

Your support is definitely viewed as a partnership with us. As our partners in doing the MD's work we will commit to regularly keeping you up to date with our work and how your support is enabling us to continue to serve the poor. With this newsletter we have included an envelope and a form to let us know whether you are interested in continuing to receive our newsletters as well as options to support us. We would also love to keep in contact with each of you, not just to inform you of what we are up to, but also to see how we may be chatting for you.

Our timeline...

March – December 2007: Fund raising and preparation for the move. We intend to raise all of our support for our life in Hong Kong. We would also like to spend this time catching up with you before our departure.

December 2007: We have been blessed with an around the world ticket which will allow us to travel to the US, first to California, then Colorado to visit Christy's family and on to Europe.

January 2008: Travel to Global Hand office in Geneva, Switzerland for a weeks rest. We will then travel on to Hong Kong.

And finally...

We would love to speak and share more with you in person or over the phone. Please let us know if you are interested or if you need any further information from us.

We would also appreciate the opportunity to speak to others about the work of Crossroads and how people can be involved with helping the worlds poor, both through Crossroads and many other organisations. Please contact us if you would like us to speak at your club, school, social group etc.

We again thank you for walking with us throughout the past few years and as we prepare to move again. Your encouragement & support is a great help to us.