Introducing Colin

Let's meet our first team member, Colin. Colin is a teacher, loves mountain bike riding and is a big fan of Jesus. 

Photos shot on the diagonal are so much cooler

Name: Colin Luke Stoker

Age: 31 (don't feel it though!)

Occupation: School teacher (Primary)

You are a closet... South Sydney Rabbitohs fan.

How do you feel about public speaking?
Pretty good once I have done it once. I tend to be more nervous in front of people I know rather than those I don't.

If you could have only 3 electrical appliances in your house, what would they be and why?
TV - I'm Gen Y so would find it hard to go without sports coverage and watching movies for any great length of time
Blu-ray player - what's DVD?
Water-heater - not sure if this counts... anyway... I had to endure cold showers in the morning for several months a few years back. No hot water drove me crazy. I dare anyone to try it for an extended period of time and say otherwise!

I have a phobia of... globophobia.
This is the fear of balloons. While I have no fear of balloons themselves (or touching them, blowing them up etc.) I am uncomfortable around popping balloons. Popping balloons don't freak me out, but I nearly always flinch massively when they go pop. Strange but true!

You'd never find Colin on this Japanese game show

Why are you going on a short-term mission?
Because I want to tell people about how incredible Jesus Christ is! Having a a relationship with my Saviour is the most precious, valuable and joyful gift I have ever received. Living without Jesus isn't even worth thinking about. But this is how millions of people live every day; without hope, without joy and without what we were created for - an intimate relationship with God our creator. And so I will tell anyone who will listen what I have come to discover and know to be true!

What do you know about the country of Nepal, and its people?
Very little, sadly. I know the country is famous for being the home of the world's tallest mountain. I also know Buddhism is strong there and that's enough reason to go...

How do you feel about mountainous hiking and camping?
Climbing mountains = awesome fun! Camping = I like feeling clean in the morning/evening so as long as I can do this while camping I'll be OK.

What’s the farthest you have been from home?
Tasmania. I am planning on going to Vietnam before we go to Nepal though...

How will you cope without internet access?
Easy! I'm actually looking forward to having no access whatsoever to the internet. We live in such a tech-saturated world I'll enjoy the break!

Colin was loving explaining things about himself so he added a few more questions.

What is your most embarrassing moment?
I once lost my balance when ten-pin bowling. I overstepped my mark, slipped, pirouetted and landed on my back in the next lane. The lady about to bowl probably thought I was nuts. All of my friends and the entire youth group thought it was hilarious (which, of course, it was!).

Complete this sentence from your childhood. When I grow up I want to... play cricket for Australia.

If you could meet any person from history (outside of the Bible) who would it be and why?
William Wilberforce - he campaigned for over 25 years for the abolition of the slave trade across the entire British Empire - and was successful. Evidence than one man can indeed make a difference!

What is the most boring book you have ever read? Why?
War and Peace. Nothing happens! I didn't actually finish it...


Stay tuned to meet the rest of the team!

We're also fundraising for our trip to Nepal so we're doing a car wash on September 7th.

That's not how you do it

It will be held at St James Anglican Church, Minto on election day. It'll only be $20 so you can drop off your car and vote across the street! We'll be there from around 8:30am to midday.
It'll be a wash outside and a vacuum on the inside. 
Come to get a squeaky clean car!

Also, we're doing a trivia night on the 14th of September. It will also be held at St James Anglican Church, Minto. It will be from 7:30-9:30pm and will cost $10. 
Hone your trivia knowledge and come and blow us away!

Siri is banned

In the Beginning...

Here we go! This is the blog detailing Kimghech, Tim, Colin and Kimjeng's preparation and travels on a short term mission trip to Nepal with Global Recordings Network.

Join us as we go on Trekabout!

A little bit about Nepal:

Map of Nepal: How do I pronounce that city again?

Nepal is a small landlocked country in SouthEast Asia famous for being the home of the tallest mountain in the world, Mount Everest. It is bordered by China and India and its capital, Kathmandu has a population of just under 1 000 000 people.
For such a small country, it experiences dramatic changes in climate depending on its topography. The mountainous north experiences a cold alpine climate, the middle region is hilly with a mild climate and the south consists of flat plains with a humid tropical climate.
The main religion is Hinduism, practised by roughly 80% of the population. Buddhism however, is also practised widely in Nepal.

Who is Global Recordings Network?

GRN is an organisation whose Vision is 'That people might hear and understand God's Word in their heart language, especially those who are oral communicators and those who do not have Scriptures in a form they can access'. 
GRN is a leading provider of Christian evangelistic materials to the least reached language groups of the world. It is a global alliance of about 50 centres/bases around the world, including in Nepal.
Its Mission is to 'In Partnership with the church, to effectively communicate the Good news Of Jesus Christ by means of culturally appropriate audio and audio-visual materials in every language'.

That's where we come in...

We are working with GRN to fulfil the mission that God has called us to; that we are to 'Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you' (Matt: 28:19-20a).
Jesus gives us the incredible promise that 'if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved' (Rom 10:9). 
But... 'How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?  And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written,“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”' (Rom 10:14-15).

They've got pretty beautiful feet

Now we wouldn't call our feet particularly beautiful, nor our short term mission particularly noteworthy, however we are doing this in partnership with GRN to serve Jesus Christ in distributing the Bible in Nepali dialects to those who may have never have heard about Jesus before.
We'll be going to Nepal in their wintertime, from the 27th of December 2013, to the 20-24th of January 2014.

Here's a bit more about what we'll be doing:

There are still a few places available so if you'd like to join us in serving God in Nepal, get in contact with GRN or one of us as soon as possible.
Please join us as we prepare, fundraise, attempt to raise our level of fitness, pray and travel to Nepal.