NorthPoint - November, 2009

i am NOT... but i know I AM

indignation, as I awkwardly pulled the cruel note from the back of my shirt. The sticky !"#$%&'"(()%*"+$%,")-%.$+$"(/'*% in childish scrawl the words: “I’ am stupid”. My cheeks coloured with embarrassment as my classmates laughed around me.

The memory of that schoolyard prank conjures up the insecurities

of those precarious teenage years — insecurities that for many of us still linger into adulthood. Feelings such as: I am NOT smart enough. I am NOT pretty enough. I am NOT good

Feelings of NOT-ness go back a long way. It’s the devil’s oldest trick. After all, it worked so well on Adam and Eve — “You guys don’t know enough, you are NOT good enough the way you are, but if you eat this fruit you will be like God” (author’s paraphrase of Genesis 3:5). And this deception is played out over and over again throughout history. Fast-forward a bit to Moses. Now here’s a man who knew what it was to have a case of the NOTs:

NOT worthy (after killing an Egyptian and hiding out in the desert for 40 years)

NOT capable (being an 80 year old shepherd no longer in his prime)

NOT equipped (having a speech impediment doesn’t make for an effective public speaker making demands of world leaders).

So when God spoke out of a burning bush (don’t you love how God gets his attention here?),

sending him on assignment back to Pharaoh in Egypt, no wonder stuttering, stammering, stumbling Moses says the words “Who am I, that I should go before Pharaoh?”.

In other words, I am NOT the one you need, I am NOT good enough to do something like that. But the question was never about what MOSES could do, but rather what GOD could do.

When you check out Exodus 3:5-15 you’ll notice that there is no time spent convincing Moses about what Moses can do, but much time is spent explaining to Moses what God can do.

You and I tend to do the opposite don’t we? We would probably have explained to Moses how he was ideally suited to return to Egypt since he grew up there and knew the language, and reminding him how perfect he’d be for wilderness travel given his current occupation. We’d have spent time reviewing with Moses his resume and strengths.

But God didn’t. The abilities of Moses were never considered. Not one word was spoken to recruit Moses. But many words were used to reveal God. Words such as “I AM”. In our insecurities, weakness and self-doubt, isn’t it encouraging (and exciting) to know that our God is the “I AM” — not the “I can” or “I will” or something in future tense — but the “I AM” in present

tense. The right here, right now God. The all-powerful, all-sufficient God. The “you can’t do it on your own but that’s why I died for you” God. The never changing “this is my name forever” God. That means He will never be past tense. He’ll never get old or tired or outdated or inadequate.

And God chooses to partner with us (as He did with Moses) for His glory. It’s not about us. It’s about Him and what he can do in and through us, if we let Him.

Sure, there’ll be times when we forget and think we can do it all by ourselves. Check out the incident with the rock in Numbers 20 when Moses started to think he had something to do with God’s miracles.

But I thank God that He keeps reminding me to focus on His strength and not mine; to depend on Him and not on my own understanding; and teaching me that it’s not about me or what I can do but that it’s all about Him and what He’s already done.

“And then He told me: My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into it’s own in your weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

I am NOT capable. I am NOT worthy. But I do know the one who is worthy — the I AM.

Sharlene Guest, Director of Communications, Marketing & Public Relations

Big Camp 2009

23$.$%,$.$%47%5"')%5$57./$4%67.%!3$%E/;4<<<97,87)%3"!4-%&.$F/$4-%G3"."73-%1,"'!$;=%#74!$.4-%,"!$.%4(/;$4-%8$"93% games, new songs, “Crocodile Dock”, craft, and heaps more. Then there were the usual Big Camp pastimes... catching up with old friends and making new ones, water skiing, go‐karting, bush walks and of course the beach.

And Big Camp is about listening to great speakers too. Talks on relationships by Rowland Crowcher, the wonders 76%!3$%8."/'%8)%H.%I.($'$%2")(7.-%"';%'/*3!%5$$!/'*4%,/!3%J$7%K93.$+$'-%K"5%J$7'7.%L,37%9"'%67.*$!%!3$% 15"'*7$4=M-%N"!!3$,%O"58($%L18775-%8775-%#7,=M%"';%P78%N73.<%

Q@!%!3$%8$4!%#".!R%23$%8$4!%#".!%,"4%!3$%8"#!/454<%S7!3/'*%T@/!$%975#".$4%!7%4$$/'*%#$7#($%*/+$%!3$/.%(/+$4%7+$.% !7%U$4@4%"';%*$!%8"#!/4$;<%23/4%)$".-%AV%#$7#($%,$.$%8"#!/4$;%"!%+"./7@4%!/5$4%!3.7@*37@!%7@.%Q/*%W"5#%$+$'!<% J/+$4%93"'*$;-%!."'467.5$;%"';%;$+7!$;%!7%W3./4!%/4%,3"!%Q/*%W"5#%/4%"((%"87@!<%

0%123/4%/4%5)%'"5$%67.$+$.-%!3$%'"5$%8)%,3/93%:%"5%!7%8$%.$5$58$.$;%6.75%*$'$."!/7'%!7%*$'$."!/7'<=%>?7;@4%ABCD%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

BIG CAMP STORMCO

Our goal was to visit every home in Stuarts Point with a small team of High School kids and ask if there was any way we could help. We called it Big Camp StormCo. During the week we made some very special contacts and each team had some pretty amazing experiences. The impact on the community was huge. Leoni, the manager of the Takeaway/Service Station at Stuart’s Point said she had so many locals coming through raving about the StormCo kids — what a polite group of young people they were and how much they appreciated being helped. The community knew that we were from the Big Camp up the road and lots of bridges were built.

The week before, some local young

people (they think) went through and robbed several elderly people of cash and jewellery. So the timing for our kids to turn up to serve was perfect. While there was reticence at first to let a group of kids in to help, word quickly spread and by the end of the week, residents who had said no were coming to us asking if it was too late for them to get help.

We also had a number of referrals from locals to others in town who they knew would appreciate help. One was a single mum with six kids that one of our teams visited and spent the morning with. They played with the kids, took them down the park, and cleaned the mum’s house.

Our teams also got to meet and help three of the residents who had been robbed. One of them, Elsie, had her funeral fund stolen (around $500). One of our teams came across her as they were working their way down Marine Parade. They weeded her garden, cut her hedges and cleaned her house. She was overwhelmed. She gave them

A WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT

cookies and cold drinks. When I came to check in on the kids she said: “Last week I felt so discouraged when I was robbed. This is a small town and we never lock our doors. That sort of thing has never happened before. I’m 90, and this is a lovely town. The robbery left me shattered. Your young people have restored my faith in humanity. They are wonderful. Thank you so much. “

Mark Craig, who was helping with the morning worships in the 18+ tent, told them about it. Over two mornings, the youth collected $680.80 for Elsie. One of our morning leaders, Chris Starret and myself delivered this to Elsie on Friday afternoon in an envelope. We visited with her, wished her well, and left the envelope with her. I can only imagine the surprise she had when she opened it. She was given back more than she lost. I reckon she’ll be smiling for the rest of the year. When we visited Elsie she had three others with her having an afternoon tea. When we walked in the door, Don, her carer, told the other two visitors (as he

At Big Camp on Thursday, October 15, 153 people with mattresses lined up in the midday sun to break the “mattress dominoes” world record. Participants with mattresses came running from every direction to be a part of our world record attempt and help raise money for Samoa in the wake of the recent tsunami.

“The point of the event was to bring the campground together and to do something in the theme of service, which was a real focus for the High School Tent this year,” said Leighton Heise, event organiser.

Before too long, mattresses had run out and campers eager to join in the fun were scouring the grounds to find any mattresses they could use, no matter how “loved” they were. The atmosphere around the large circle of multi-coloured mattresses

introduced us) that if they ever wanted to know about Seventh-day Adventists we were the people to talk to, and they (we) were fantastic people. We just smiled. And that was before we gave Elsie the envelope!

Stuarts Point’s response to Big Camp StormCo demonstrates again the power of serving others and how easy it is to make a difference and put joy into people’s lives. The impact on both those who serve and those being served is profound. Who can know what the harvest will be from these seeds of love planted in this community?

Dr Mel Lemke Chaplain, Avondale School

was electric, everyone had a plan of action and there was no way this world record was not going to be broken. The countdown began and the mattresses started to fall one after the other in perfect order (with lots of muffled giggles). A perfect attempt. The decision was made that it should be done one more time “just in case”. Everyone was excited to have another go. Another count down and the mattresses once again began to fall, resulting in another perfect attempt. Shouts, claps, laughter and smiles were everywhere.

The mattress event is yet to be confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records, however even if there is no world record, the enjoyment had by participants and on lookers, as well as the money raised for charity, made the event a total success.

OUR CHURCHES

Power Up at Inverell

A dedicated group of teens spent their school holidays spreading the ‘Good News’ to children from their community. The teens are members of the Inverell Youth Group and even though they are small in number, they are big on enthusiasm.

Sonya Findlay, who is a Youth Leader as well as the coordinator for the Kid’s Club, was amazed at the overwhelming support from the church and all those who contributed to the success of this outreach program.

Over 21 people assisted throughout the week, from the set and prop designers, crew leaders, registration personnel, audio visual technicians and operators, as well as song-leaders and activity organisers, making this program not only a successful

witness, but a powerful team effort.

The theme for Kid’s Club was POWER LAB and the kids were taken on an exciting, interactive journey to discover Jesus’ miraculous power. Many friendships and memories were created through amazing Bible Blast stories, games, snacks, experiments, crafts, songs and power verses.

There was an average of 30 children attending each day and many happy, positive memories were created. The local paper, ‘The Inverell Times’ ran a story with photos and there was a lot of positive feedback and interest from community members.

Spring at Dora Creek Cake Bakeoff

Dora Creek Church held a Spring program with a difference on September 5.

The morning service and the afternoon program were based on the significance of the names of flowers that commonly bloom in Spring. In the morning, the daisy (innocence), apple blossom (promise) and azalea (abundance) were featured and the three presenters outlined the story of salvation from Eden to the New Earth. Two vocal solos added emphasis to the spoken word.

The afternoon program featured the carnation (gratitude/ thankfulness) with each item being based on that

topic. There were 15 items in all, presented by 21 artists, some of whom had come especially for the occasion.

The rostrum had been decorated extensively as a garden setting with the centrepiece being a rural housefront. The painting and construction of the housefront was done by one of the members, with support from her husband, and took 40 hours to complete.

As well as collecting doorto-door for ADRA, Toronto Church hosted a cake competition and auction to raise additional money for ADRA. The super fun event was led by Katie and Phil Cooper who planned an evening of games and competitions for young and old. Cakes included the Taj Mahal, Dolly Varden, teddy bear, puppy dog and rich chocolate and strawberry sponge cakes, as well as 10 cupcakes by one of our younger members, Jai Langman, who is only three years old.

All cakes were auctioned off at the end of the evening and went like — well, went like hot cakes! Other items for auction included donated goods such as handmade quilts, a facial and a Knight’s jersey, personally signed by all the members of the Newcastle Knights, which sold for $125. The total for the evening was $1,000.

Baptism at Dora Creek

Kara Fisher was baptised at Dora Creek on August 29, by veteran missionary Pastor Len Barnard. Kara had earlier completed a series of Bible studies presented by Christine Geelan, Robyne Butler and Pastor Wilf Pascoe. She was later involved in the Kids in Discipleship Program learning the practical aspects of Adventist beliefs.

Dora Creek Church is delighted to have several other young people preparing for baptism in the near future.

Baptism at Erina

September 5 was a very special day for the members of Erina Church as two young people were baptised and welcomed into fellowship.

Baptism at Taree

Baptism at KAS

The baptism took place during the divine service with Pastor Russel Stanley baptising Ashlee and Josh Bennetts. An invitation was given after the baptism for people to testify to the goodness of the Lord in their lives, should they wish to do so. A significant number responded and testified to the leading of the Lord in their lives.

June 13 was a highlight for Taree Church, as we witnessed four of our young people baptised: Giselle Bridger, Ariki Sharp, Melanie Pannekoek, and Alex Weekes. Last year Pastor David Kosmeier organised a group Bible Study at the local Adventist school complex, which has been well attended from the start. Through these meetings we have had these four youth baptised, with more of the study participants indicating that they wish to be baptised in the future. After the baptism, a call was made with a good result, most of which came from our younger generation again. The first to answer the call were two little boys, and what a witness that was to see them bravely walk to the front all on their own.

The chapel program at Kempsey Adventist School (KAS) on Friday, October 30 was an extra special occasion for student Melita

Mcmeekin, who was baptised in front of her classmates. Melita studied with Pastor Esava Koro for more than a year before she eventually gave her life to the Lord. Members of her family travelled from Sydney and Coffs Harbour to witness and support Melita’s baptism. The church was packed with students, staff and parents from KAS and members from the Kempsey South Church. Thanks to the Lord for His blessings and the KAS Pastoral team for their spiritual support and encouragement.

Walking with God | November 20 | Moree Church

Are you often wandering and troubled on how to have an intimate relationship with God but not sure how to begin? The Bible states clearly in John 14:1 “Do not let not your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me.”

We are surely living in the end times. Questions are being asked and people from all walks of life are searching for answers on how to escape from this troubling world. Some people even ask if God is real and if He is real, why are these calamities happening?

WALKING WITH GOD is a series that will introduce to you how God through His Word can answer most of your questions. God can still be trusted despite the trials and tribulations. He loves us all and He hungers to give you peace, joy, grace and hope. He is longing to be your friend for life. His heart is bleeding as He sees us struggling to understand life. Please do not let this opportunity go past to enhance or reconnect with God, or maybe to begin that relationship for the very first time.

I assure you that your life will never be the same once you are introduced to Jesus. Your fears of the unknown will be overcome as you come to know and learn about God and His promises for your life.

Pastor Eti Feau

WALKING WITH GOD begins on Friday, November 20 at 6:30pm at the Moree Adventist Church

OUR ABC

Before the request was made, a group of people from Norfolk Island had a pie fundraising program that was held on the Saturday night before the request, but they had not yet decided on a project to donate to. A lady in Australia received the email and faxed a copy to her mother on Norfolk Island and that helped the small group to make the decision. They donated $500 towards Bibles. What a blessing! Churches had Board Meetings and decisions were made to donate Bibles in amounts of 20, 30, 90 and even 125.

gave as well as those who received. I am forever amazed at how God works and it just strengthens your faith to see God in action.

What a busy time we have had this year. We started out with the Grey Nomads Camp in May, which was a big learning experience! So different to Big Camp. We actually had time to have a chat with people. We were set-up in the Camp Store and we also sold a few essentials such as bread and milk, as well as our own stock, of course.

During the June long weekend, we were up at Coffs Harbour for a book display. Coffs Plant Church joined us for the evening too and we had a very enjoyable time with good sales.

God really blessed us all and we had many satisfied customers. One lady even asked when we were coming again.

Centre about making money? Is it about sales and profits? Yes it is, but most of all it’s about serving God and helping people — people of all religions and people who do not know anything about God. Our mission is to serve. For this article I could go into how many Bibles we sell, or how many Spirit of Prophecy publications and Satellite Kits that we sell. But I am not going to. This information from the Adventist Book Centre at Cooranbong is about people.

To all the people who donated Bibles for Tonga a big “THANK YOU”. Back in April we received a request for Bibles for the Mizpah School in Tonga, as they were using 250 Jehovah Witness Bibles to teach the children as they had no other Bibles. Our ABC instigated a request to help them out. On April 21 the request was emailed to our friends on our “News Email List” and other church contacts. Well, that was on a Wednesday. By Thursday morning the orders started pouring in and by Thursday afternoon we had orders for 150 Bibles. By late Saturday night we had paid orders for 350 Bibles. The results were just overwhelming.Wonderful people saw a need and were moved to donate.

It was amazing to see how people responded. As the response was so great and the Mizpah School’s need was met very early, I emailed Tony Hay to see if there were any other needs in Tonga. Tony came back with desperate need in other schools, (Beulah and Hilliard) that needed 400 Bibles. It’s amazing how God works. On the Thursday I was wondering how many Bibles to order for the project and moved out in faith and ordered 300 Bibles even though we only had orders for 150. As mentioned before, we had orders for 350 by Saturday night. We then needed more Bibles. How many do we order? The following week I was down at Warburton attending meetings and decided to make an order. The order form was all ready to complete and I tried to write 300. The pen would not work properly. I prayed and phoned Julie back at Cooranbong and told her about the pen not working. We decided to write 400 — the pen worked fine, so 400 extra Bibles were ordered.

In May 2009, just before the Grey Nomads Camp, I delivered 288 Bibles for Mizaph. The last week in May I delivered 400 Bibles for the other schools. God worked through many people to meet the needs of Tonga and as a result many people will receive a blessing — those who

When we are packing for a display we ask God to help us choose what people want and invariably it works out that way. We had almost finished packing on the Wednesday evening at 9.00pm and all the boxes were full but Julie had an impression to take a certain set of kid’s books. A young family in Coffs Harbour bought them and were extremely happy. The other set sold at Wauchope the following weekend.

The next day we were going to another book display at Dorrigo, however it had been raining rather heavily and we were unsure whether we would get through. We prayed again of course and after asking several people, we were able to get through with no trouble at all.

“Dorrigo?” you say! They only have six or seven members! Going all the way and doing all that work in the rain and cold for a few people? Aha, but Graham Chesher had advertised in the local paper and sent notices out to the other churches in the area. We still had no idea if any of them would come or not, but once we were all set up they started “dribbling” in. They may only have seven church members but thirteen people from the community came as well.

After our Dorrigo trip, we left all the stock in the trailer as we had ‘another’ display at Wauchope the following Sunday. We met at the Seniors Citizens Hall in Wauchope and other churches had been invited as well. More than 50 people turned up, mostly from Wauchope, Port Macquarie, Camden Haven and a few from the community. Looking for friendly people? Try Wauchope. Several young people were there selling food to raise money to go to the Solomon Islands for a mission trip. We were most impressed as they put so much effort into it and raised about $260. The hall was booked till 6:00pm and people stayed right until the last. And again, thank you to all the willing helpers, you were all wonderful. Many people went away very happy with their purchases and hopefully with a song in their hearts.

The ABC is not just about sales. More importantly, it’s about people. Happy people! Loving people! People with Jesus in their hearts. People who are buying tracts to give away or to leave at doctor’s surgeries or on public transport. We never know what such a small gesture can do. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to get to heaven and see that someone was there because of a tract we had distributed?

We have many, many stories of God’s blessing and these have been some. The ABC needs your prayers and support and as a team working together, God’s Good News can be spread throughout the world. Check out our website at www.nnswabc.com

Julie and Alan Hill ABC, Cooranbong

OUR YARRA

Yarra’s been ‘courted’ & the beach access ‘retired’

After three major storm events earlier this year resulting in high seas and tides, Yarrahapinni Adventist Youth Centre’s concrete-filled tyres, which formed the steps leading down onto the beach, were undermined. With each storm, more tyres were ending up on the beach. In the final “wash up” over 75 percent of the tyres were in a pile on the beach approximately 7 metres below the top of the sand dune.

After much consultation with the Department of Lands it was decided to make a new beach access approximately 150 metres

up the beach, over a much lower frontal dune. This means no more steps, just a board and chain walkway. A new track was pushed through the bush which has made the new access about 50 metres closer than the old steps.

Our major capital works project this year was the completion of the asphalting to the tracks, car park and roads around the complex, along with the new Multi Purpose Court consisting of Basketball, Volleyball and Handball courts. The old dirt volleyball area has been sealed with asphalt, painted with an

OUR CAMPGROUND

Camp BIG at Stuarts Point Conventions Centre, 250 Grassy Head Road, Stuarts Point. Big Camp is not the only big thing about our campground and convention centre. Visit at anytime throughout the year to enjoy:

acrylic sports surface and line marked. New garden beds were also created. This has given Yarra a new dimension its overall appeal.

In August, repairs to the new front office were finally completed after a tree decided to “redesign” the newly built office in February. The roof had to be completely rebuilt and with delays due to continued wet weather, it turned into quite a long process. With a new sign installed on the feature wall, we once again have a new, more useable reception area to work in and to welcome guests.

Street-style lighting was also installed to the carpark, so those who arrive after dark will now be able to see while they unload their vehicles

The usage of Yarra is continuing to increase, and with all the improvements & others planned the future looks promising.

Richard and Debbie Ludlow Yarrahapinni Caretakers

Contact Yarrahapinni on: T 02 6569 0730

E yarra@nnswyouth.com

http://yarrahapinni.adventist.org.au

Contact

Neil and Karen Radford on (02) 6569 0576 to ask about the range of accommodation options available or to book your next holiday, family reunion or overnight stay.

A S I N G L E

A D V E N T U R E

Middle East-Turkey-Greece Tour 17 August - 14 September 2010

An experience like no other with singles from Australia, NZ, UK, South Africa, seasoned guide Pr Harold Harker and tour organizer Pr Peter Cousins.

Petra-Jerusalem-Galilee-Istanbul-CappadociaGallipoli-Laodicea-Ephesus-Patmos-Delphi-BereaThessaloniki and more.

For an itinerary or application form email petercousins@adventist.org.au, phone Libby on 02 4951 8088 or visit nnsw.adventist.org.au/singles-network

Cost: $8600-$9,700 (depending on numbers)

All travel, accommodation, tips, entrance fees, travel insurance, morning and evening meals and many lunches included. Enjoy Sabbath worship on Petra’s sacred heights and the Island of Patmos. Challenging worships and rich commentary on each place of signi cance. Good health and tness is recommended for all travellers.

To book send a deposit of $1000 with application form to: ASN Tour, PO Box 7, Wallsend NSW 2287 by Monday 2 November. Two further payments are due on 5 April and 1 June.

GREAT EVENT – GREAT FUN – GREAT FELLOWSHIP –GREAT SECURITY – GREAT PRICE

BIG CAMP TENDERS

Tenders invited for Big Camp Services

Tenders are being invited for the supply of the following services at Big Camp 2010.

1. Amenity Cleaning

2. Camp Store

Each contract is for the three year period 2010–2012.

Tenders close January 31, 2010. Specifications for each contract can be obtained from the General Secretary, North NSW Conference, PO Box 7 Wallsend 2287. Email bobdale@adventist.org.au

POSITION VACANT

Position Vacant: Primary Coordinator, Tweed Valley College

Tweed Valley College in Murwillumbah offers Pre-Kindy to Year 12. The successful applicant will teach in the primary school and coordinate the functioning of the primary program. We are looking for an experienced Primary teacher, with creativity and a commitment to the growth of Christian influence within our community.

For more information or expressions of interest, contact Ralph Luchow. Email ralphluchow@adventist.org.au or (02) 49443225.