Dear Family and Friends,

The last month has ushered in the sick season for the Fong House of love. Zoe and Jeremiah have both had a high fever with ulcers in their throats. They both passed it onto me, which I guess is part and parcel of having two little ones doing pass the parcel with germs from day care and preschool. Thankfully we are all on the mend now. Janet and I are also grateful that in the last three nights Jeremiah has finally stopped waking us up at obscene hours of the night in order to settle him from his Wiggles monster torture. A few weeks ago, the process of Jeremiah settling down by himself at night corresponded with me taking a mop outside the house, smacking the wall outside Jeremiah's room, to simulate smacking the Wiggles monster's bottom. To Jeremiah's satisfaction, I sufficiently scared the imaginary monster down the street while simultaneously causing my neighbours to think that I have a severe psychosis. 

The outworking of having broken sleep over  the last two months has contributed to fatigue and depressive thoughts for both Janet and myself (though expressed in different ways). I have been trying to focus on the benefits that depression brings, and have come up with a short list of things I remind myself with.

Depression gives me the opportunity to:

1) Trust and depend on God alone to lift me from darkness at His appropriate time. Self sufficiency is much easier with emotional stability. The blessing of helplessness drives me to my knees to depend on God for help more often. I believe whether we are emotionally stable or not, coming before God in utter dependance should be the posture we all should hold anyway. If depression is the fertile ground that can help us grow in humility, then it is not a bad thing.

2) Empathise and broaden my emotional spectrum with those that have similar self destructive thoughts so that I can encourage those in the pit of despair that they are not alone in darkness.

3) Be motivated to look forward to heaven, where there will  no longer be sadness, pain or tears. It is like being on a hard bushwalk in the cold pouring rain spurred on to continue while looking forward to the cup of hot chocolate and finally being at home in front of a wood fire heater with family.

4) Desire to share the good news of eternal life so that people may not go to hell. Depression is a small taste of what hell is like, and I can't think of anything more tragic than someone living their life of hell, and only having hell to look forward to in a Christ-less eternity. Having the regular experience of darkness drives me to encourage others to avoid the eternal darkness of hell.

Hope these points also encourage you, to see the brighter side of darkness.

As for work at Anglican Youthworks, we had 40 people attend the St Mary's Dunheved school launch at the beginning of May. All were enthusiastic to see that more school ministry will occur in their backyard. In terms of my health at work, the fatigue and depression has caused me to question seriously the viability of me continuing to work in my current capacity. I have honestly told my manager where I am at, and my concerns for ripping off the organisation, when I can't achieve as much as I hope to. They seem to be happy with what I am doing in light of my health limitations, but time will tell if it is sustainable for me to continue.Would value prayer for wisdom in this regard. The spirit is willing, but the body and mind are weak.

Although it has been tiring working, picking up and dropping the kids at daycare/ preschool, shopping, cooking, cleaning the house etc, it has been a joy and great amusement watching the children grow. Zoe mostly can walk on her own now, and enjoys mimicking being on the phone. The other day, she put a pork bone to her ear as a pretend phone!!! A few days ago, Jeremiah was watching the video "Joseph and the technicolour dreamcoat"  and he asked Janet why Joseph's brothers were so mean to him, throwing him down a well. Janet explained to Jeremiah that the brothers didn't like their dad only giving Joseph a special coat, while the others missed out. Jeremiah was very sweet and said that he wished he could have given all Joseph's brothers a coat, so that they wouldn't have been so mean to Joseph. It is amazing what children come up with, especially when it may never occur to us to think this way. 

It is hard to believe that Jeremiah turned 3 years old today. Janet and I are grateful for his life and hope and pray that we will be a good example to him, to grow in the knowledge and love of our Lord. One day after preschool, I was having difficulty getting Jeremiah in the car because he was hovering around a girl. Later I found out that he liked this girl named Melina. Unfortunately, I found a bruise on Jeremiah's cheek the next afternoon when I picked him up. When I asked him what happened, he told me that Melina punched him in the face and her friend kicked him in the leg. The poor little fella was broken hearted that the love of his life had expressed her rejection in such a strong way. Nevertheless, I encouraged Jeremiah to forgive her and be tough by not fighting back, because God wants us to love even when people hurt us. Mind you, I reported the incident to the teacher to keep a look out for Jeremiah not being gang attacked by girls. I must say, that the concept of turning the other cheek and loving our enemies are some of the hardest teachings of Jesus to accept and apply in life, especially when we feel hard done by.

I hope you are all doing well and appreciate your ongoing concern for our lives.

Love,

James,Janet, Jeremiah and Zoe

Dear Family and Friends,

Thanks for those of you that passed on comments, emails and phone calls of encouragement. The last month and a bit since resuming work has been a challenge. I am surprised that I get tired so quickly after short car trips visiting school ministry workers. Maybe subconsciously I thought that I would automatically readjust to 2 days per week of work over four days. However, I have had to re-evaluate how I go about working in my job. I'm slowly learning to accept what I can and can't do. Reading through Deuteronomy 3:23-29, I reflected on Moses' disappointment at being unable to cross the Jordan into the promised land. The Lord responds to Moses' disappointment in 3:26ff, by telling him that the case is closed and that he still had a role to commission, encourage and strengthen Joshua to lead God's people into the promised land. Although, this was a specific command to Moses as part of God's salvation plan, I have found application that even though I also am limited in serving God, I too have a role to commission, encourage and strengthen God's people to lead and motivate others into the kingdom of God.

Having said this, I have been encouraged by those I have reconnected with in ministry. For example, I went to meet some ministers out at St Mary's and it was decided at the meeting that they would help fund a new schools worker at Dunheved High starting Term 3 working 2 days per week. A few days ago, I went to Doonside High to do a classroom observation and had the opportunity to talk to some Year 10 students after the lesson. They asked some great questions like "Is there a limit to God's forgiveness? ", "Why did Jesus die on the cross?", "What is heaven like?" and "How do we know what heaven is like if we haven't been there?". Seeing the spiritual thirst in the student's questions reminded me of the importance of equipping our teachers to respond to these important eternal questions.

On a different note, I would appreciate prayer for my mother. On April 1st my sister called for an ambulance for my mother (when her health began to deteriorate again) and she was again admitted to hospital. It was found that my mother had a very low salt count ( any lower, and she could have gone into a coma). Doctors have been investigating and suspect that her medication for her lungs have contributed to her low salt count. Mum has found it very hard to breath and therefore difficult to sleep at night time. Please pray for mum's recovery and wisdom by the doctors and nurses to best know how to attend to my mother's needs. It is surreal, that over a year ago, mum was visiting me in hospital and now we are in the reverse situation. It is true that when we are sick, it is easier to deal with, than when we are watching someone we love dearly, deteriorate before our eyes. The impact of illness and death is offensive and tragic for all of us. Since Adam and Eve tasted from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we all have to taste death one day. I have to keep reminding myself that the joy of following and trustng Jesus (the second Adam cf Romans 5:12-21) is knowing that we will not only taste death but also Christ's resurrection power individually and corporately.

Just an update on the family, Janet is working 3 and a half days and will be doing  4days per week as of this month. Janet has been quite tired, and is preparing to give two talks for Year 10-12 girls at a camp mid April. Please pray for her preparation. Also, I will be giving 3 short talks at a Year3-6 camp over the school holidays- would also value prayers for strength and wisdom in preparation. Over the last month, Jeremiah has been scared at night, by the "Wiggles monster". Consequently, it has been difficult getting him to sleep at night and staying in his bed. As a result, Janet and I have taken in turns to look after him and we have both struggled with sleep deprivation. There have been nights when he has stood next to me (like a "Chucky" doll from a horror movie) while I was sleeping, just because he was too frightened to go to sleep alone. We have tried everything from praying with him, keeping his door closed, swapping his room with Zoe etc. Janet and I have been involved in Jeremiah treasure hunts, when he was nowhere to be found in his room, only to be found sleeping in different rooms throughout the house at 2am. We would appreciate any suggestions you may have, as we steer our little boy through this little sleeping drama phase he is going through. Zoe unlike her mobile brother can walk onlly two steps. However, she has a passion for three things in life- going straight for the phone and unhooking it, squirting sorbelene cream all over the floor and ripping out all the nappy wipes and sniffing it. Her three top teeth and two bottom teeth have come out and she is babbling alot like her father.

I'm going off to hospital to visit mum now. Thanks for journeying with us.

Love,

James,Janet, Jeremiah and Zoe