Where has the month gone? It's been busy here with the kids on summer holidays (in Australia kids finish late december and start the school year - 3rd Feb) and it's been a challenge for the ministry.
It's summer and it's hot! Last week it was a continuos 110 for 6 days - too hot for door to door especially with Axel and Mikayla but on the cooler days they have been doing really well, even if it's just for an hour or two and Mikayla is now my nominated scribe to take NAH's.
A couple of other things have popped up including organising assistance for my mum who has early stages of Alzeheimers. I live 45 minutes away and I am the only one of my sibblings in the truth hence there is an added dimesion to her care. We are trying to get her to stay as long as we can in her home, which she is still quite capable of doing but we know that the disease gets worse, hence are starting to prepare ourselves and mum. So she will have some one pop in a couple of days a week, and help run errands and be in the garden with her, and if I know mum it will give her an opportunity to witness informally!
This month was also very special as my best friends daughter (15yrs) was baptized, I watched how her mum sobbed with joy - certainly there is no greater joy than seeing your child make a dedication to Jehovah and I am so proud of my two older sons.
My highlight this month was our pioneer meeting with the elders today... I've kind of been a little down because I'm behind in my hours and actually had a melt down this morning. Thanks to my ever patient husband he reassured me that Jehovah was not concerned with how many hours I had but the difference I was making to the lives of people I was meeting that otherwise would not have met if I had not pioneered. This point was reiterated at the meeting this afternoon when the elder said he'd was given all our hours for review. I had to fight back the tears when he said that he did not feel it encouraging or of any benefit to discuss hours as we all had issues we are all dealing with and that he was personally encouraged by each of our efforts and Jehovah knows all our circumstances and what we have been facing.
So as much as I loved taking the kids out in the ministry with me, I am looking forward to getting back into a routine when they start school on the 3rd!!
