It’s no secret that I love blogging. It’s one of my many creative passions, along with cupcakes (of course), beauty, fashion and food! These are all things that are centred on ME though. I mean, I’m okay with that, as I’m all for self-care, self-preservation and healthy self-esteem! However, I’m always totally blown away by people who do things in life that are completely selfless.
The most amazing part about the people who perform many selfless acts, is that although they are blessing other people with whatever they’re doing, they actually get a real buzz from it too. From my perspective, that’s a win-win situation. The one is blessed, and the other is blessed to be a blessing! Does that make sense?
Let me share two amazing examples of selflessness I have come across in the last couple of weeks, which I think are totally cool and have caused me to realise it is selfless acts that make the world go round!
My first example is the story of my friend Nat, who I introduced to you a couple of weeks ago…
Besides being beautiful on the outside, Nat is also beautiful on the inside! She is married with two small children. With her precious family, she is about to embark on an amazing (and very selfless) adventure to become missionaries. This is Nat’s story as shared with me in a recent email…
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| Photo courtesy of Nat |
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Thank you for your prayers and support as we seek God’s leading in overseas mission work. You might be wondering what stage we are up to in the process or even thinking “how did they get here?”Over the past 12 months we have been looking quite seriously in to the organisation New Tribes Mission (NTM) who are working with unreached tribal peoples across the globe. The term ‘unreached’ refers to people groups who have not heard of Jesus and who do not have the scriptures in their own language. NTM has been working amongst tribal groups in some of the most remote places in the world. Those who seek to work with NTM must be well trained. Upon contacting NTM Australia it became clear that we would need to train with one of the overseas NTM campuses as the one in Australia was not in a position to run the course at this time. God has lead us to NTM Canada and since November last year we have been in contact with them. We applied for the training in December after the birth of Daniel and received a formal acceptance in March.
So what does this mean? We are moving to Canada! The course begins on August 29 and we will need to be there for about a week before. We will be in Canada for 2 years living and studying on Campus in Durham. The course looks amazing; studying culture, language acquisition, church planting, relationships and field ministry, communication and more. The course also includes many practical subjects such as health and wellness, technology training, maintenance etc.
Whilst this is an exciting new stage in our lives, it is also very challenging and comes with a touch of sadness at the idea of being so far from family and friends. This is not going to be easy! But, we know that God is with us and you, no matter where we are and we are so thankful for His peace in this decision.
We are trying to spend quality time with family and friends in these last months. We are also trying to sort through our possessions and decide on what to keep, take and sell. It is a bit overwhelming as it takes time and thought – with a toddler and a baby this will take some time! We will be selling most of our furniture and our ‘stuff’ but it has been hard and challenging as we face the reality that our things are not actually all that valuable compared to the value of sharing Jesus with unreached peoples. This does not come naturally!
New Tribes Missionaries seek to teach the Bible in a chronological and culturally sensitive format. They go to great lengths to avoid changing culture, instead allowing the word of God to guide Tribal Churches.
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A selfless act, leaving the comforts of home, family and friends, don’t you think?
(Will be praying for you and your family Nat! Love you xo)
Now to another gorgeous girl – Michelle…
I’ve known Michelle for many years, but obviously didn’t know her well enough, after recently discovering that she is an amazingly talented cupcake decorator! This photo is just a glimpse of some of her impressive creations…
Here is Michelle’s story:
Cooking for Ministry
In 2005 I began assisting Wesley Mission in the Media Department with the production of their television program which was called Rise & Shine. When I first started working on the film days we used the old Global television studio and were able to have catering provided by a local café.
When Global closed their Glebe studio and moved to new premises Wesley Mission needed to find another television studio – they found Foxtel Television Centre in North Ryde. Due to the location we were unable to continue using our previous caterers so we had no food for guests or crew available. A gap in our ability to care for our guests and singers became very apparent. For many people sharing their story with Rev Keith Garner, the Superintendent of Wesley Mission and the Host of the television program is their first exposure to TV and it is often a very daunting event. I baked a small batch of chocolate chip cookies for our first recording day – they were very well received and gave a nice comforting touch in the green room.
It then became apparent that as we filmed on a Saturday and the onsite cafeteria only operated during the week that our crew were also becoming hungry. This led to me baking a few extra cookies to share with our crew as well as all our green room visitors. From there it just seemed to grow and evolve into what it is today – a full scale cookie and slice fest!
I bake approximately 500 cookies per shoot and about 200 pieces of slice. We have 6 varieties of cookies and two varieties of slice. It seems a lot of food when we first arrive but after two days with around 40 – 50 people each day being cared for it quickly goes down. We also love to send our guests, singers and crew back to their families with take home bags chock full of their favourite variety. Any leftovers are then packed up and given to families who are on a tight budget as lunchbox treats. There’s nothing better than blessing someone with a little something special like a chocolate chip cookie.
Everything associated with the cookies is a donation towards the ministry and work of Wesley Mission. It may not have a visible dollar value, but I believe that it touches the lives of our guests and singers by showing them that they are valued and appreciated. It also touches the lives of our crew – the offer of cookies and slice has presented many opportunities to answer the question of “Why do you do this for us?” To put it simply “I do this to show you how much Jesus loves you.” Each time I bake a batch of cookies I pray that they will bless those who eat them – I am endeavouring to be the hands of Jesus extended in love.
Early in 2011 my mum started making cupcakes for her church to sell each Sunday as a fund raiser for their Connect Lunch, which is a free lunch they do each month as an outreach. They bring unsaved people in and give them a free meal in an accepting atmosphere. I see this lunch as a great example of a church being the hands, feet and heart of Jesus. I have been told by some at the church that the lunch has been a major contributing factor to the growth of the church – apparently the church has nearly doubled in size since the lunches began!
I asked my mum if I could help out and then started thinking of different things we could do to the cupcakes to make them a pretty, exciting and just downright delicious. I researched different icings, I learnt how to work with buttercream (a totally new and daunting task at the outset). Slowly I began to increase my proficiency and also the range of designs. The joy I get from creating the cupcakes for her church seems to me to be almost a guilty pleasure. I often wonder if I should be having so much fun. Then one of my spiritual mentors looked at the work I had been doing on the cupcakes and the development of my skills and said, “This is your gifting from God, enjoy being used by Him in the way He intended and created you to be”. Hallelujah!! What freedom we can enjoy when we are working in God’s calling, no matter that it may not seem very spiritual. If we are doing what God created us for, no matter what the task, the joy is unexplainable in its quantity and intensity.
Whether I’m baking cookies or icing a cupcake, the joy of the Lord flows out of my spirit, through my fingers and hands and into the work that I am doing. I believe that very same joy makes the cookies and cupcakes all the sweeter because they are dedicated to the work of Jesus and the furtherance of His kingdom.
I’m looking forward to many more joy-filled hours in the kitchen and hope that with each cookie and each cupcake I am giving God an opening to reach someone with His love.
I love Michelle’s story and I love her cupcakes! I asked if she could send more photos to show you how clever she is, so following is a selection of them. You’ll notice army-themed cupcakes which were for a farewell of an army section who were leaving for an overseas posting. Michelle said it was an honour to be asked to make something to show how much their dedication and service is appreciated. Even though the hats and tents were khaki and Michelle thought they didn’t look as pretty as cupcakes should, they still tasted great apparently!
Michelle has kindly offered to run a Cupcake Decorating Workshop at Church in a few weeks, so I can’t wait for it – I’m always up for a new cupcake caper!
I’ll be sure to take lots of photos to share with you.
