Merry Christmas 2013
from the Attwood 5!
Dear Family and Friends,
Well, I can still call it our
Christmas letter, as I sit here writing it on Christmas dayJ For those in Canada and the US, it is only
Christmas Eve, so we have scraped in under the wire! What a busy year it has been and it has flow
by so quickly. The blog I had planned to
keep up regularly hasn’t been updated in almost two years!
The highlight
for us as a family this year was our trip back to Canada in July. For the boys and Nelson it was the first trip
back in almost 3 years and it had been long enough to feel that Australia is now
home, but it was also so good for them to be reunited with lots of our family
and friends. The 16 days flew by in a
non-stop run, but it was a joy to spend time with each of our families and to
be able to visit Parkcrest and Westview Chapels, with Nelson having the
opportunity to share the ministry that the Lord has given us here in
Australia. For me it was an amazing
blessing to have all five of us Chandler siblings together for a few days at
Carol’s on the Island. It’s a rare
opportunity for us all to be together with Mom and Dad and we enjoyed the time
and were able to make some precious memories and get lots of photos! We were also able to spend time with Nelson’s
family in Abbotsford and Surrey and for the cousins to get reacquainted! There is never enough time to see everyone
and there were those we just couldn’t catch up, but maybe next time!
In September
we celebrated one year of Casey Bible Church here in Berwick. It has been an amazing year, seeing God bless
and provide for this little work. We
have now grown to over 60 people and
For the kids it has also been a busy
year. Early in February we realised that
for Jono going into Year 12 at his public high school was not going to be a
healthy choice, as he had been experiencing some very hurtful bullying by a group
of his “friends”. We decided to allow
him to do distance education here at home and ultimately he ended up doing half
of his Year 12 courses last year. This
February he will return to the school to finish his final two Year 12 courses
and the second half of his pre-college course in residential drafting. He got a job in March at Woolworths, one of
our major grocery stores, and works every Tuesday and Saturday there. He also had an opportunity at Easter to be a
part of the Melbourne Passion Play, playing a Roman soldier. It was neat to see the whole life of Christ
presented in a park, with several hundred people watching for two
performances! Please pray that Jono will
have a sense of God’s direction for his future as he finishes Year 12 in
2014. As a side note, about a month ago
he received a call one Sunday morning from the ringleader of the bullies, who
had called to apologise for how he had treated Jono. It was a very humbling and growing experience
for Jono and a blessing for him to be able to forgive him and close the chapter
on a very painful experience. Our
nearly-18-year-old (next week) has grown to be taller than Nelson, with a love
and passion for singing, and we can hardly believe how fast time has gone!
Cameron started the year at the
public high school in Year 9, however in July we visited a Christian school,
Chairo, here in Pakenham, and began to prayerfully consider sending him
there. A small, country school that is
completely focused on Christ in all areas of education was exactly what we
wanted for him, but we were unsure how it would fit into the budget. As it turned out, the staff were also praying
for a way for him to attend and we were offered an amazing price to be able to
enroll him for the rest of the year, so he started there after mid-year break
in July and has loved the school and is thriving. In February he will go back to start Year 10 and is looking forward
to doing a Year 11 music class as one of his electives. He continues in piano lessons and has
self-taught himself guitar in the last year.
He is a very disciplined boy and works really hard to achieve at school
and in music. Turning 15 this week, his
sense of humour keeps us laughing every day and it is a joy to see him growing
in his walk with the Lord.
Braeden just last week finished
his primary school years at Berwick Fields.
He has had a great three years there, with amazing aides working with
him, helping him to completely integrate with the mainstream kids. As he heads to Year 7 we face another
change. Because of his autism, it has
become apparent that mainstream high school is not a good option for him. A new specialty K-12 school is set to open in
February near where we are now living and we have enrolled him there for Year
7. We have met with the principal of the
school, who is a wonderful woman, with many years’ experience in special needs
schools. Unfortunately there are a lot
of unknowns as the school is brand new and nothing is yet established, but we
are going ahead, trusting that the Lord will give us wisdom and will continue
to provide for Braeden, as He always has.
Please pray for us and for Braeden, as this will be a big adjustment for
him and for us. He usually adjusts
better and faster than we do!, but it is still going to be a big change. He is a character, who loves his computer and
his inventions. It’s amazing what he
creates out of boxes, Lego or PowerPoint!
He loves to help Nelson set up the church on a Sunday morning and he has
a special place in the hearts of all the aides and teachers who have taught him
over the years. He is very loving and we
are so thankful for that!
For me, Heather, it has been a
busy year too! I have continued to work
at home doing medical transcription on a full-time basis. I have also had the joy of leading a ladies
Bible study fortnightly, going through a study in the book of Hebrews. At church I am usually behind the scenes
organizing our many lunches, either at church our in our home. I have just received confirmation this week
that I have been hired by Casey Hospital (our local hospital) in the Medical
Records Department as a casual employee.
After many job applications and several interviews, it was awesome to
finally get a job and I am really looking forward to having set hours. The work I do at home can often take me well
into the evening and sometimes even Saturdays to complete, and that has been a
struggle. I am looking forward to going
to work, then coming home to be a mom and wife!
Please pray for me as there will be a lot to learn. The Southern Health hospitals are all across
Melbourne and it is a huge organization to work for. I will have a month of training before they
“let me loose” and then will be on call, but it sounds as if there is a huge
demand at this point, so I should have pretty steady work.
As most of you know, in September
we were also able to move into our own house, after almost 3 years in a rental
home. We are loving living here and keep
pinching ourselves to make sure we aren’t dreaming! It is such a blessing from the Lord and such
a joy to be able to use it for Him, often having the church over for BBQs and
for other events. It is nice to feel a
bit more settled and not to have a rental inspection every 6 months!
Well, what I had planned to be a
short letter, has turned out to be very long indeed, but hopefully will give
you an idea of the highlights of our year.
The Lord is so faithful and has blessed us abundantly in 2013, and we
are looking forward to what He has for us to do in 2014! Please continue to pray for us, as we do for
you. We may be far apart in distance,
but you each hold a special place in our hearts!
With our love,
Nelson, Heather, Jono, Cam and
Brady xox
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| Christmas 2013 |
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| Casey Bible Church - July 2013 |
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| Happy 1st Anniversary, CBC! |
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| Abbotsford, BC - August 2013 |
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| The Attwood/Calderwood Cousins |
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| The Chandler Family |
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| Jono in the Passion Play |
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| 4 Streeton Court, Pakenham |
