DECEMBER 2018 - quarter update

Here's our final 2017 update - it's hard to believe that the year is soon coming to a close!

A lot has changed this year for us - at least on the venue front - still in Adelaide, but God has provided an exciting new location for our ministry base in Happy Valley.

You can read more about this and other exciting 2017 happenings by clicking on the links below:

CLICK HERE FOR OUR MOST RECENT UPDATE

"INVEST" 

Here's some info on a supporter event on the 18th of February :)

Thanks again for journeying with us - may you know the peaceful presence of Jesus in the midst of a typically busy season.

Blessings,

Trav & Pix

OCTOBER 2018 (mini update)

You know the moment - when you've jumped off the roundabout in the local playground.  You stumble to your feet, and everything around you is still spinning.

That's a little bit like how we're feeling at the moment - we'll do our best to give an update, but after the blur of August-October, we need to admit that it feels like we've just stepped off the roundabout!

LOOKING BACK

19th AUGUST - 1st SEPTEMBER - we're so thankful for the opportunity Trav had to be the guest of Sekolah Pelita Harapan in Jakarta.  It was a brilliant opportunity to serve staff, students and parents through speaking on the theme "All Things New".  There is much for us to learn from this school community as we think on how we do mission in our own country. 

8th-11th SEPTEMBER - Trav, Pix, Jack and Fred enjoyed a quick trip to Melbourne so Jack could attend 'vidcon'. A nice little family getaway.

15th-20th SEPTEMBER - Trav helped Mike & Rayleen Smith serve 22 staff and students from Youth With A Mission in Toowoomba through running VERGE for the first time in Queensland

23rd SEPTEMBER - JUNKTION opened at our new venue!

23rd-26th SEPTEMBER - Trav & Pix spent some time in Perth to help Jess Bracegirdle and Matt Fricker finish well.  Both of these guys have been amazing team members with AccessTheStory since the beginning, and are now shifting from part-time to take on more of a volunteer status with us.

7th-12th OCTOBER - Trav & Tom spent some time on the Gold Coast to attend (and present at) the National Youth Ministry Convention.

We didn't intend for things to be this hectic over the last few weeks, but it just has been!  We are grateful for the opportunities given to us to provide EXPERIENCES, EQUIPPING and RESOURCING for Christian communities through these opportunities, and we hope to unpack these things some more in our next newsletter!

Thanks for your prayers - God has truly sustained us through this patch of such a full schedule.

LOOKING AHEAD

JUNKTION - This week we begin term 4, and so we head into our first full term of operation of Junktion in the new venue.  We have earmarked Saturday the 25th of November as our "Grand Opening" date.  We'd love to see you there.

25 YEARS!!! - We're pretty excited to be able to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary this weekend - the six of us are going to be spending some quality time together in an apartment down at Glenelg!

ARROW INTENSIVE - Next week Trav will be on the Sunshine Coast for his third and final intensive for "ARROW" leadership course - the thrust of the content will be "leading an organisation"

CONTENT DEVELOPMENT - in November, Trav is planning to develop material for some AccessTheStory inspiration and equipping to roll out in 2018 - please pray for effective use of this time as we think it will provide some great resourcing for people as a new season for AccessTheStory opens up.

AUGUST 2017 (mini update)

A garage sale, an international visit, and a black Subaru Outback - these are some things you can put on your prayer radar through this update. Thanks again for journeying with us - we are increasingly mindful of how much we need to be bathing all we do in prayer. 

JUNKTION 2.0

There are some specific things to be praying for in the coming weeks for our relocation into 72 Candy Rd, Happy Valley.

• GARAGE SALE / FETE - this coming Saturday (12th August), Pixi will run a 'junktion pop-up' to introduce her customers to the new premises.

• RE-FIT - over the coming 4 weeks things like plumbing, some internal construction, organisation of signage, furniture removal and stock gathering all need to happen in readiness for re-opening junktion.

• OPENING - At this stage we are looking to re-open junktion on Saturday the 23rd of September

JAKARTA

On the 19th of August, Trav will depart for Jakarta to speak at the "theme launch" for the new school year for 'Sekolah Pelita Harapan'.

There are two main things we're requesting prayer for:

1. For Trav to be physically and spiritually sustained with the workload of speaking 39 times over 11 days.

2. For Pix and the boys as they do life without Trav home - we're not sure why, but often things go wrong on the home front while one of us is away :).

A "NEW" CAR

Last month we reported that our car had died - we are glad to report that we have been able to purchase a new vehicle (well, new to us!)
We give thanks to God for giving us the patience in decision-making and the finance required to be able make this purchase.

Some more details of this update can be found here

JULY 2017 (mini-update)

We hope you're keeping well mid-way through 2017.  The one constant for us over the last couple of months has been CHANGE!!  

We have three things for you to pray for as we head into the next half of this year ...

A NEW JUNKTION

As of the the 25th of June, the good people at Happy Valley Baptist Church said "yes" to Junktion renting out their unused chapel.  We are currently finalising the details of a 12 month agreement for AccessTheStory to rent this space for the purposes of Junktion and our office facilities.
Join us in giving thanks to God for the provision of this space, and keep your ear to the ground for an official re-opening of Junktion in the next couple of months!

VERGE 2017

"It is like I have been put into a time machine." - Neil, Cebu, Philippines. We have just concluded our first ever 4 day VERGE story experience, and the way in which participants experienced the story of God has been nothing short of inspiring.
Neil (who's comment is above) is an ex-drug addict, now team member at the drug rehab centre, "House of Hope" in Cebu - Philippines.  He and 10 other visitors from Cebu have just returned home after having visited Adelaide for two weeks.  Both of the ministries represented at VERGE are now exploring how they can see VERGE happen in their home context.

THE CAR IS DEAD

Back in 2011, we were very grateful for the provision of a reliable car for the size of our family at the time - and we are also grateful to have been able to afford to maintain the vehicle over that time.
The Kia has since been a great workhorse for some of our interstate travel, and for numerous loads of goods for Junktion over those years.  
On returning home from VERGE camp this week, the oil light unexpectedly reared it's ugly face, and a visit to the mechanic revealed the problem was terminal.
Please pray with us for discernment as to whether we invest $5000-$6000 in fitting a second-hand engine, or we look at other options.

JUNE 2017 (quarterly update)

We hope our quarterly newsletter finds you well!

Trav's just returned from Perth after a great weekend at Woodvale Baptist Church's missionary weekend; Junktion and the ATS office are being packed up for a move to - well, we don't know where yet; and preparations are being made for our VERGE event in SA early next month ...

You can find out all of these things and more by clicking on the links below:


CLICK HERE FOR OUR MOST RECENT UPDATE


Find out the latest news on our move of Junktion and the AccessTheStory office



June-September prayer card

Thanks again for journeying with us - in the midst of our unknowns, our hope is that you might know the residing presence of God in the midst of your unknowns.


Blessings,
Trav & Pix

MAY 2017 (mini-update)

The last few weeks have been a flurry of activity - and there are some changes afoot - check out the latest, and keep us in your prayers!

STORY PACKS - On the 13th of April, Trav led 270 students and teachers from Portside Christian School through AccessTheStory's StoryPack on the death to life story of Jesus. The next evening (Good Friday), Trav, Pix, Tom, Aleisha and Fred headed down to Goolwa and served the SA Baptist Church Easter Camp with 309 StoryPacks.

      

It was a full couple of days, but the response from those who participated was overwhelmingly positive as they were provided the space to reflect on the Easter story in a fresh way.


"NCOH" Camp - Trav took Nicole with him as they joined the team from "Northern Communities of Hope" at their youth camp on the Murray River - 18-21 April.  This was a rewarding opportunity to walk through God's story with a group of young people from one of the most disadvantaged areas in Adelaide.  You can read more of Trav's thoughts on this camp from his blog.

SEQUEL RETREAT - Last weekend, Trav and Pix enjoyed a little getaway (with 6 other people!)  Trav facilitated some teaching and Pix catered for three young people and their coaches as they rounded off a 3 month journey through God's story.   You can read more of Trav's thoughts on the ATS website.

JUNKTION

So, this is the big prayer point.  We have been formally notified that the landlord is planning to turn the main part of Junktion into a food outlet, and we have been offered a smaller tenancy in the same group of shops.  Currently we are awaiting paperwork, then we have 10 days to decide what to do.

The floorspace being offered will present a significant challenge to continue operating in the same manner, so we need to respond decisively as to whether we stay or find an alternative venue for our future base of operation.  We are having some conversations that could present an exciting alternative, but at this stage it is too early to say.

Please pray specifically for a smooth transition - the next few weeks are going to be significant for the future location for Junktion and the ATS office.  We have some specific dates in mind that will serve us well for whatever change needs to happen - we can't share those yet, but if you could remember to pray for those dates to be met, that would be amazing!

APRIL 2017 (mini-update)

Last week Fred turned 12 - we can hardly believe it!  Here's a snap from his party on Saturday
- Trav possibly enjoyed the bowling more than 9 young guys, but birthday celebrations were the real winner for the day.

Here's a few things to be praying for over the next few weeks :)

AccessTheStory Retreat 

On the 24-26 March, we hosted a gathering of 16 people at our first ever Team Retreat.   Board members, workers, and volunteers gathered for personal refreshment, story sharing, and dreaming for the future of AccessTheStory.  Please pray that as Trav gather the notes from our conversations, we can distill a clear longer term vision for AccessTheStory.
  

STORY PACKS

Trav will be facilitating sessions at two seperate events over Easter.  This coming Thursday, 250 senior high students will experience our "satisfied" story pack as part of their chapel session, then over 300 campers at the Baptist Churches Easter Camp in SA will be journeying engaging in God's story through the same pack.

"NCOH" Camp

Trav will be joining the team from "Northern Communities of Hope" at their youth camp on the Murray River - 18-21 April.  This will be an exciting opportunity to walk through God's story with a group who will predominantly be hearing it for the first time.

JUNKTION

Settlement for the commercial property where Junktion and the ATS office reside falls on the 12th of April.  We are still unclear of the ramifications for our tenancy, but we get the sense that change in the wind - please pray for clarity on this matter, and for a manageable turn around if we need to change location.

MARCH 2017 - (quarterly update)

We hope you're keeping well!

Hit the link below to catch what our boys are up to, read some AccessTheStory ministry stories and find out why Trav is in Sydney this week!

There is also an important finance update to be found in the second link.

Thanks for your prayers!

Trav & Pix 

CLICK HERE FOR OUR MOST RECENT UPDATE

This info will provide you an opportunity to participate financially in our personal support, or at least inform your prayers more specifically :)

FEBRUARY 2017 (mini-update)

Last week Adelaide was melting!!!  42C, 42C, 39C, 35C ... we're grateful for a cool change on Sunday!

Here's a few things to be praying for this month :)

SEQUEL

Our follow-up course opened again on the 6th of Feb, and we are excited to be facilitating this journey for four Christian Endeavour campers and their leaders - please pray for them as they engage with God's story through to the end of April.

CE Kids Camp

Trav was privileged to facilitate learning for 120 nine-twelve year olds and their leaders in the first week of Jan - one leader said: "The best part has been watching a coherent biblical theology condense well into crystal clear moments, accessible to children."

Teen Challenge

Last week, one of our team members - Mike - began a 7 week series with a group of young women as they rehabilitate from substance abuse.  Mike was super-encouraged as he heard one of the girls say: “I never realised that God made me on purpose, I always thought I was a mistake.”

AccessTheStory Retreat

We have just opened rego for our first ever team retreat (24-26 March).  We've invited our Board, workers, and anyone who has completed ThePath over the last three years.  Please pray that God gathers a great group of people for us to consider the longer term vision that God is giving ATS.   

JANUARY 2017 (mini-update)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!  May you know the leadership of God's heart as you start a New Year.

Here's a couple of things to be praying for this month :)


Obviously after selling the old house we could never move back to it legally, but this large orange beast has now made it physically impossible as well.  

Sure it's a bit sad to see, but how exciting to consider all the possibilities and future memories to be created in our new home!

FAMILY

After a quiet Christmas and New Year, and a busy couple of weeks of involvement with Christian Endeavour Camps in SA, we are looking forward to 3 weeks of family time from the 10th of January.

MINISTRY UPDATE

SEQUEL - pray for campers and leaders from Senior CE camp who are currently discerning if they register for SEQUEL as the next step in their faith formation.

CE Kids Camp - Trav is currently facilitating story content at a kids camp (4-8 Jan) in partnership with the leadership team.  There are already some exciting stories of kids engaging with God through His story. 

ENJOY

Trav's word for this year is "ENJOY"
Please pray for us to:

ENJOY the possibilities of experiencing community in our new suburb 

ENJOY the value of AccessTheStory initiatives and influence

ENJOY the investment of personal and professional development


ENJOY the distribution of that which has been created in 2016