Simon and Julie

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Vital Statistics

• Preparing to go to Indonesia with OMF.

• To teach Chemical Engineering in a university and help within the local church.

• Attending Mayfield Baptist Church for the past 4 years.

• Simon is currently a research fellow and part-time lecturer in Chemical Engineering at the University of Newcastle.

• Julie is a nurse/midwife working one day a week at Maitland hospital.

• Simon & Julie have one child - Samuel (25/08/00).
        

• I would like to partner with Simon and Julie in their mission.

More detail on the Simon and Julie

Simon’s Call

I became a Christian after attending a Scripture Union (SU) Schoolies Week camp in 1988 and subsequently served as a leader and director on various SU camps. During my university years I was heavily involved in the Evangelical Students (ES) group at the University of Queensland. It was here that I was first challenged about global missions by various speakers from different missions organisations who came and shared about their work. I was particularly challenged by the fact that as a university-trained professional, I had the opportunity to enter many “creative access” nations that were closed to traditional forms of missionary work. The parable of the talents (Mt 25:14-30) has been a passage that God has used to challenge me to consider how I might best use the academic abilities he has given me to serve in his kingdom.

I went on the OMF Indonesia study tour in 1992. On this tour I was challenged to “plan to go” overseas to serve God, but be “willing to stay” if he did not open these doors to me. Indonesia is a country closed to missionaries. Furthermore, I had learned the Indonesia language at school for five years. Therefore it seemed to me most strategic to seek to serve God in Indonesia.

Since then, I have been “planning to go” to Indonesia as a lecturer in Chemical Engineering. I have completed a PhD and will have worked four years as a post-doctorial research fellow and part-time lecturer. I have also been able to complete part-time a Graduate Diploma in Christian Studies. We attend Mayfield Baptist church in Newcastle. Here I have been a leader in the Sunday-school program and Julie and I have been helping coordinate the small groups program and train bible study leaders.

Once in Indonesia I hope to be able to share my faith with non-Christian students, encourage and disciple Christian students and take whatever other opportunities to serve in the church that God may open up.  

Julie’s Call

I think I started to seriously hear God’s call on my life when I commenced nursing in Maryborough. I had stuffed around at school and miraculously got into nursing - I figured that maybe God wanted to use me somehow with my nursing experience to serve him in the future. This was reconfirmed twice: first in 1994 when I went to India on a six week short term mission with India Evangelical Mission and second in 1996 when, after seeking God's guidance I got accepted into midwifery at uni even though I hadn't met all the selection criteria.. 

Even though initially I will be concentrating on language learning and being a mother, I would love in the future to build relationships with women in urban poor areas sharing the holistic gospel through primary health care.

We believe that God calls us all to serve him faithfully no matter where. When I was in India one of the main things I learned was that even though the place may be very different and far from home it was the people that you grew to love. So, even though I am not thrilled at the thought of going to Indonesia where I know the hot weather will affect my concentration and shorten my patience, I believe that this is part of an obedience thing and that God will help me to learn to love those we meet and serve. He has showed himself faithful when we moved to America and then again when we moved to Newcastle. Therefore we again will trust in him.

OMF International: PO Box 849 Epping NSW 2121