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Newsletter of the Ongs serving in Malawi Africa Issue 33 Sept/Oct 2015 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” – 2 Corinthi- ans 9:10-11 Paul reminds us that God is not only the ‘supplier’ of our needs, but that He is also the ‘enlarger’ and ‘enricher’ of our capacity for righteousness and generosity; resulting in thanksgiving to God. We are so thankful for you who partner with us in ministry! We have met many who have been generous with their prayers, time, and resources. We have learnt from our own experience that giving is more a joy than a sacrifice. So let’s keep ‘sowing generously’ so that we may ‘reap generously’ abounding in much thanksgiving to God! Sydney Harbour Bridge OCTOBER 6 Caya starts preschool 9 Morling ‘Global Exchange’ Conference 17 EFCA Mission Committee 18 GCCC (Service) NOVEMBER 3 CBC growth group 8 EFCA cell group 15 Waitara Anglican 22 Dural Baptist 29 Grace Anglican 31 SIM Prayer Group DECEMBER 12 ABC Mandarin Group JANUARY 2016 5 Move to SIM guesthouse FEBRUARY 2 Move to Jo’s Mum’s 9 Leave Sydney (TBC) 29 Onglets back to school SIM Australia PO Box 42 Penshurst 2222 www.sim.org.au (02) 9580 1422 SIM Malawi PO Box 136 Blantyre, Malawi malawi.sim.org *AEC - Africa Evangelical Church, SIM Malawi’s partner church with whom we work. Tiyamike in Oz! The Tiyamike products are selling like hot cakes here in Australia! We have sold a lot of what we brought back through sharing at churches as well as the Fairtrade Markets we were recently involved in. Aussies love the Tiyamike products! Tiyamike Sewing also made their ‘international debut’ recently at the University of NSW School of Built Environment (where Jo studied industrial design) alumni exhibition in which Jo was invited to take part. It was so awesome to see the Tiyamike dolly displayed alongside trendy appliances designed by other ex-students. Is it sacrifice? As we visit different churches and speak with many of our supporters, we have been challenged by a reoccurring question “Is the mission life a sacrifice?” So...what is a sacrifice? Something that you give up for the sake of others. We have had to let go of many things in the mission process. Looking back over the past three years, what we consider sacrifices have changed. When we first left our idea of ‘sacrifice’ were mainly the material things we had to leave behind. Now having completed our first term on the field, we see more clearly that the real sacrifices are less tangible - financial security, home friendships, Onglets’ face-to-face time with grandparents, choice of schools...just to name a few. In light of these, the material things no longer seem like sacrifices. Yet, if we were to weigh up the sacrifices against the joys that we have experienced thru the ups and downs of mission life, the joys definitely win hands-down. We have tremendous joy in ways we never expected through ministering to our friends in Malawi. The sacrifices definitely pale in comparison. If we were to do the last three years all over again, we wouldn’t change a thing.
