With all Russ has going on right now, he offered me the opportunity to do the update this time and I jumped at the chance.  Life and ministry don’t slow down here in Australia so here’s an update from my perspective….
On the ministry front, Russ works hard and puts in many hours planting the seeds of the Gospel message here in Australia.  Whether its through filling the pulpit both at our church, Cornerstone Baptist on Sunday nights, or at other churches where the Pastors have had little time off to the incredible ministry in the heart of Sydney.  Russ recently put helped in coordinating an evangelistic talk at Telstra and Ernst and Young, the biggest telecommunications company and accounting firms in Australia, at their head offices.  Preparations were already going well, but then the Chief Operating Officer of the corporation for Telstra decided to attend and then the class size doubled (89 attendees)!  Praise the Lord! Also, there is a follow up Investigating Christianity courses that will follow; the current sign up for the courses are 20 (Telstra) and 5 (E&Y). Please be praying for the non-Christians attending.
 We also hosting a team from one of our supporting churches and has the team going in all different directions to help with everything from ministry in the city, a Holiday Bible Club at one of our sister churches to construction work at a nearby Christian school. They have been a huge blessing to our ministry in the city and at the HBC. Jay Mcfarling, Richard Karnes, Brent and Kim Knoll have been such an encouragement to us and the local churches. There were nine decisions for Christ at the HBC. Thank you for sending this team, they fit in great down here.

 In his spare time (when’s that?) he has been praying, planning and preparing for the future church God would have us plant.  Russ calls it his “Nehemiah days”.  He’s waiting from the green light from the Lord on the area of the city and the men to partner with in the ministry.  Its exciting to see the ideas God is giving him and we know He will show us just where our future church should be planted.
Our older girls have stayed busy this school holiday working at 2 different Holiday Bible Clubs.  They have really honed their skills with working with little ones and are growing bolder in their desire to share Christ with others.  They also have really begun to enjoy cooking/baking and are trying new dishes out on a regular basis, especially to take to the different youth group functions they attend. 
Joshua and Caroline are the best of friends and can usually be found playing together.  Joshua stays busy with his neighborhood buddies, Scouts and Legos.  Caroline stays busy with just about everything.  She has a real knack for music and pick up a tune after hearing it just a few times. 
I stay busy at home….homeschooling, preparing for Sunday school, assisting in the Holiday Bible Clubs, opening our home in hospitality and reaching out to ladies I have befriended in the neighborhood. Please be praying for the kids gowth in school. Also, pray for two ladies who I have become close friends with that do not know the Lord.

Jason and Amalie Parmerlee contiue thier hard work through the ministry at HBC, Scripture Classes in the public schools and the Youth program at Cornerstone Baptsit. Keep praying for the long term benefits of all the work they have done here in Sydney. We praise the Lord for them and the blessing they have been to us this year. It will be hard to let them go back to Iowa.
Prayer requests:

• Clear direction on upcoming church plant
• Fruit from three Investigating Christianity Courses
• Growth of Youth after school club at Glorious Hope Baptist
• All of our support needs being met by the end of 2007, currently need $300 per month, 7% of total support.

Thanks for all of your support and prayers. We continue to be amzed at what the Lord is doing here in Australia and we count it a priviledge to be apart of it.
The adventure continues…
Cathy Matthews

We have secretly taken over the website of www.matthewsdownunder.com. We just wanted you all to know what the Matthews kids are doing in Australia. All the things Dad talks about are cool and all that, but we thought it was time for you to hear from us! 

Hope and Becca-  While Dad has been preaching at Inner West Baptist, we have been working hard. We have been teaching the Sunday school that goes on while the service is on. It has been fun and hard work. It would be better if Dad did not preach so long, but he said it is a message that has to shared. We will be patient with him, but an hour!  

team australia-
 Winter is coming to an end in Australia; there is a change in the air. The weather is changing; people are looking forward to cricket and the beach. There are things happening in the churches and we are looking forward to the spring and what God has to bring for us. We would like to ask you to be praising the Lord with us and praying for these specific events coming up.
 

Winter is coming to an end in Australia; there is a change in the air. The weather is changing; people are looking forward to cricket and the beach. There are things happening in the churches and we are looking forward to the spring and what God has to bring for us. We would like to ask you to be praising the Lord with us and praying for these specific events coming up.Praise
 Many of you have been praying for our Homebuilders group that has been meeting on Friday nights. It is a specific group for young families in the church. We have a good combination of Christian and non-Christian people coming along to the group. One of the ladies who have been coming to the group came to know Jesus as her personal Lord and Saviour a few weeks ago.  What an exciting time in her life and would ask for your prayers for her husband. We are praying that he would also accept Christ. The work that this group is doing in the community is exciting. We hope to be able to be an outreach in the community and pray for more salvations and growth of the Christians that are coming along.

Many of you have been praying for our Homebuilders group that has been meeting on Friday nights. It is a specific group for young families in the church. We have a good combination of Christian and non-Christian people coming along to the group. One of the ladies who have been coming to the group came to know Jesus as her personal Lord and Saviour a few weeks ago.  What an exciting time in her life and would ask for your prayers for her husband. We are praying that he would also accept Christ. The work that this group is doing in the community is exciting. We hope to be able to be an outreach in the community and pray for more salvations and growth of the Christians that are coming along.
Prayer
 

The Ecom team is doing another Introducing God outreach in the city this Thursday. We will be having Dominic Steele do the talk. We are inviting more people to come along and inviting many back that have attended the course in the past few months. The talk will be based on the Good Samaritan and how we can relate with being the man beaten on the road. A powerful message and we are praying for building on the relationships with many of the non-Christians that will be coming along and that the message penetrates through to the hearts of those coming.
  Planting
 As our transition period (First 2 years on the field) is coming to a close, we are looking ahead to the time to plant a church in Sydney. We are praying for people to partner with us in the ministry, the place where we will be working to plant the church (we have been studying specific communities in the Sydney area) and provision from the Lord for direction on this journey. As the reality of this coming, we are overwhelmed with His desire to us, but we are encouraged by His continual supplying of our needs. Please pray for our God centered direction.

As our transition period (First 2 years on the field) is coming to a close, we are looking ahead to the time to plant a church in Sydney. We are praying for people to partner with us in the ministry, the place where we will be working to plant the church (we have been studying specific communities in the Sydney area) and provision from the Lord for direction on this journey. As the reality of this coming, we are overwhelmed with His desire to us, but we are encouraged by His continual supplying of our needs. Please pray for our God centered direction.
Spring is almost here and we are thankful for the opportunities that await us in this new season. Thanks for being apart of this journey.
The adventure continues…
Russ and Cathy Matthews

team australia-

Sorry for the recent Christmas update. Not sure why it was sent out, but we hope you had or will have a Merry Christmas and that you are doing well. It is coming to the end of winter here in Australia. So, we wanted to celebrate the spirit of the season.

 Thanks for your continued support and prayers. We will send out another “current” update soon.

The adventure continues…

The Matthews Family

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ… Colossians 4.2-3
 

Visiting team and ministry
We want to say thank you to Matt Borst and Lisa Behrends for leading an incredible team to Australia to assist in the ministry. Thank you to the churches (AFC and FCC) for sending this incredible team to work with us in Sydney. The youth group was a blessing to all of the churches and ABWE team that they came in touch with during their visit. Their ministries while they were in Australia, Holiday Bible Club at Madang Primary School, serving at Cornerstone Baptist and Glorious Hope Baptist and participating in the Ecom ministry in the city. Their servants’ hearts and willingness to be involved in various ministries opened the door for sharing the Gospel and being a light in the “dark places” of Sydney. The ministries were fruitful and exciting to see the doors God opened for us. All of the churches and people say, “Goodonya, mates.” And “Come back soon!”
 

Housing
We have been encouraged by support that continues to come into assist with the ministry needs in Australia. The housing market has been exceptionally difficult and our rent has been increased for our home. We had been looking for the Lord’s guidance in moving from our home. The family has been encouraging in their willingness to move. On 13 Friday, we received a check from a supporter. It was marked specifically to be used to pay for the difference on our rent for one year. This check, along with other support, we will be staying in our home for one more year. With this support and other financial support, we ask for your prayers on how we can continue and do more to impact our community for Christ. We still are in need of monthly support, but it has been improving monthly. Thank you.
 

Prayer requests:

• Continued opportunities to share the Gospel with the people of Sydney.
  
• Direction with potential church plant opportunities
  
• Support needs