The imminent danger to residents at Camp Ashraf has been postponed for 6 months. How this happened can be considered a miracle. However, things are nowhere near satisfactory for the residents still. Living conditions are very difficult, and the threats are still being issued by Iraqi soldiers surrounding the camp assailing their ears 24/7 with insults and demeaning statements.

Keep praying for their situate please, and go to the website to keep updated:

http://www.campashraf.org/un-relenting-to-bullying-by-iraq-on-camp-ashraf/




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A couple of days ago I attended a rally in support of the refugees at CAMP ASHRAF in Iraq. Our church has had a relationship with these guys for years. They are now facing genocide.

Basically you can get the background reading from Wikipedia - its pretty fair.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Ashraf

These folks (3,400 men, women and children, refugees from the Iranian Mullahs) are officially recognized by the authorities as refugees, but there is no political and UN will to step in and save them from the Iraqi government, who is on record as determined to kill them before the end of 2011.

What can you do? Easy.

Make this item go viral on the internet. Forward it to anybody and everybody who has a heart for justice and compassion. That way some journalists and pollies might at last give it the attention and traction it deserves before we see another tragedy.

Don't care? See the Wikipedia link, and think again.

Tags: Refugees Genocide Ashraf Iraq UN

Had a great meeting tonight with a bunch of like minded revolutionaries. Well not really revolutionaries; just guys who want to express Jesus to the world and one another in the manner closest how we understand Jesus did and still wants to do.

What do I mean? Well, as a teaser, look at the Gospels in this light: Jesus came proclaiming the Kingdom of God. He never sought to initiate a structure or an organisation. The only thing that Jesus offered, and on which we all depend is this: relationship with Him. Think this through. So much of what we seek to do is centred around structure and form - which unless is as dynamic as the living relationship with Jesus, can be as antithetical to the Gospel as a help!

This requires that we stop thinking of Church as anything other than as being. We no more go to church than we "do" church. Church is not about anything else than a bunch of people getting together to supportively love one another, and to honour their Saviour. As soon as we start focusing on all the stuff that we have become accustomed to doing, we fall into the trap of forgetting our relationship and Christ's centrality to that, and start getting task orientated - even on "worthy" matters.

This runs entirely contrary to how we think and act normally. But we should not be surprised. Jesus and the prophets before Him came to us from "out of the wilderness", not from the centre of religion and establishment (Jerusalem). He came saying: "repent, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand". "Repent" means "Change your thinking". But we don't! That is the challenge. Change your thinking! Stop building petty kingdoms, and start seeking the Kingdom! And doesn't look like anything you have seen before, because if it does, it probably is not authentically God's.

6 Months after the Discovery died, we have bought a used Nissan X-Trail (Nov 2007 T31 Model). It has all the luxuries we used to live without, but are quite happy to accept. Mick used to disparagingly call these oversized puddle-jumpers "N-Trails", but now has a new respect for them.

Try getting 6.8 Litre/100klm from Sydney to Wollongong in a Landrover (also a 2.5 L engine)! Add to that a healthy 2 Tonne load on the tow-bar, and 125 kW power, 226Nm of torque, and overall we are not complaining, especially for a humble $20,000. It has great road manners also. OK, it ain't a big-time 4WD, but its 4WD system is remarkably clever. It even has the descent control its big cousins have! It just doesn't have quite the clearance of some, nor a low-range (probably Mick's one slight regret).

Mick has already "blooded" the car as a workhorse this weekend by hitching up the trailer and moving 1 Sq Metre of dirt. In 3 weeks He takes it and a bunch of students to the Snow country for a mission retreat; and in 6 weeks we go to Parkes for a week of camping at Mamre Farm with Jeff Evans and the Vision Ministries crew.

Tags: New Car

Its gone!

After 13 years of comfortable cruising and 1/4 million kilometres, the Land Rover Discovery has gone to a new home - and the possibility of new life!

We had grown quite attached to the old dear, though she had become, in some respects, a little cantankerous with age - and certainly rather costly to keep her in the manner to which we had become accustomed!

Well, that last statement may not have told the whole story. After all this was an "off-road" vehicle. The issue now was that it was spending about 50% of its time off-road, and in the service bay getting fixed!

Sadly it all came to a head - almost literally - on new year's eve, when on a 42 degree day near Kilmore in Victoria she ruptured a hose and cooked spectacularly, cracking the block. Interestingly the head did not warp, as so often happens in these vehicles.

So we had a 4WD worth $6,500 in the market, with an insurance value of $4,000 needing repair amounting to $10,000.

One good car with a bad engine, needed one good engine needing a car! It was a long chance, but eBay did it!

The advertisement was placed to sell the wreck for $1,700, and it was snapped up by the best new owner it could have asked for! Someone who knew Land Rovers inside out, and could fix anything! He had a motor looking for a car, and we could bless him with a car.

The new life Discovery will be the first car for his daughter to drive. We wish her well, and many happy travelling days - just as we had.

The picture above is the last thing we saw of the Discovery. For me it is poignant, and evocative as it moves away on its new journey to be loved into life. There were feelings of grief as 13 years of travelling together have ended. However, we will get over it.

In the meantime we still have our even older Mazda 121 'Bubble', and my scooter.

We are presently unable to afford a new car until our debtors settle up and/or we sell a house near the beach north of Coffs Harbour.

Tags: Requiem family member