December 2002

Dear Friends and Loved Ones,

Christmas:  It is a word that has so many different meanings, some good and some bad:  Christ's birthday, time with family, great food, presents, rushing around, loneliness, and heartache.  Our hearts go out to those of you spending this Christmas without that special someone for the first time.  There are no words that can soften that ache; we know that this year more than ever. (Brad Rogers' father passed away recently).  Please know you are not alone and that we are praying for the joys of Christmas past to be in the present again.  We have found the best thing to do is to busy ourselves helping others; nothing seems to heal the heart like that.

Church News:  We are praising God for the miracle of a building.  Some miracles do not seem miraculous until you see them from someone else's view.  After five and a half months of searching and calling every school and hall in the yellow pages, after inquiring about stores and every possible location, we got a positive answer from the very last contact I had left.  I went to see the building, knowing we would take it regardless since there was nothing else available.  And what I found was a long lovely street lined with a park.  I could see a church steeple from the road, so imagine my surprise when I found that they had hollowed it out and put a road right through the center of it.  It is the entrance to the graveyard.  A drive-through church, how convenient!  Come on preachers, there is a sermon here.  I must say this drive-through church is probably just as helpful as some of the so-called churches today.  Well, the Scout Hall is placed between the graveyard and the playground.  It has everything we want:  duel restrooms, a kitchen, an office, room for a nursery, a large room with more than enough chairs.  There is plenty enough parking and it is easy to find.  When the man told me they only wanted $50 ($28 US) a week, it was all I could do not to shout.  That is much better than I had ever dreamed.  We still needed a five million dollar liability coverage plan, but God prompted some of you to give extra, and we are in the building.  There were signs to be made, a pulpit to be built, and a newspaper ad too.  How we praise God for faithful supporters and for the skills and strength to make some of these things ourselves.

We had a visitor tonight.  He plans to return.  We have been passing out tracts and witnessing, and we want to start letter boxing.

I was checking into buying another scooter when I consulted council about regulations.  The steep hills and ridges here would call for a bike with more grunt than my old 49 cc. scooter I had in Hervey Bay.  What I found out was, it is illegal for anyone but the Australian post to use motorized bikes on the nature strips here in Tasmania.  They admitted they would have turned a blind eye to it, but since I asked, they had to tell me the law.  Dawn says I must give up the life of luxury and join my family on foot.  I know she says this in good fun, because that scooter saved all of our feet a lot of wear.

Home News:  The vegetable garden kicked in a couple of weeks ago and we had lettuce, radishes, broccoli, and cabbage a plenty.  The worms moved in last week and took what was left, but the summer crops are looking promising.

There were more delays in finishing the furniture.  Poor Barbara is still living out of boxes, but she does not complain.  I do hope to finish it someday, but things just keep popping up.

Editor's Note:  I put this on the back page hoping most of you would not read it.  I have been forced to print that I have eaten Brussel sprouts and liked them.  There, I have done my duty; I hope this makes everyone happy.

Wishing you the Best Christmas and the Happiest of New Years,

The Rogers family
Psalm 22:30-31