elishacare seeks to help restore hope, value and purpose to broken men and women in the community

Our 'home' page is a community blog, where we share the latest happenings of our community. Use the tabs above to find out more about us, and navigate your way through the community blog by using the 'blog archive' and the 'subject index' on the right.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Grateful Hearts

I just wanted to write a thankyou to everyone that has been so generous over the past week, helping us replace all the things lost in our container fire. We have had donations come from a variety of different sources, Rotary helped out after hearing what happened, individuals dug deep, and I even got a special email from a friend at our very first church, saying they would love to help out. Another inspiring gift came from our wonderful friends "Betel" , who themselves went through the Marysville fires in 09, losing everything.

It has also been wonderful to watch our community get closer, support one another more and have eyes and ears open to see and hear what our Father has for us through this time.

Thanks you Guys for all your love and support.

From the elishacare community

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Burnt Out


A couple of weekends ago, our container full of BBQ gear for Fridays was broken into and set alight.  It was a bit of a shock, but none of us were really freaked out about it or worried that Friday BBQs might not happen anymore just because our gear was torched. 

It's sad that someone would go to so much trouble in order to keep us from gathering in Croydon, but I feel that the quality of our relationships and what God is doing amongst us is so much stronger than the destruction of one angry person. 

Some of the guys in our group simply said, "It won't stop us."

Last week we cleaned out the container together and worked on the lawns and gardens to keep the property maintained.

Amazingly and beautifully, supportive people in our community have rallied around us with support and encouragement.  We've had people donate BBQs, chairs, and funds, and we're well on our way to continuing our BBQ-ing in Croydon!

 
 The burnt out container.


Some charred remains: pages of a Bible; an onion; an urn (back); a mug with some melted plastic on it; and a 4L tomato sauce bottle.

Emma.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Camp Photos

Vashti & Kylie
Dougy and the kids,
check this out Dougy getting salad to eat, you really are a changed man DougThe Boys on the bank of the Howqua river


And yes, the one that didn't get away, well done Damo




Camp Howqua


We have had some amazing camps over the past few years, this one was no exception. A really good mix of people (nearly as many girls as guys), and a real openness to share the weekend with each other. Emma and the team excelled with the meals, there were some amazing conversations happening around the fire and other places, playing sport together, or for most of the time just soaking up the views and incredible mountains around us.


And of course I mustn't forget Damo's trout he caught.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Camp Howqua!

 This is the amazing view from our campsite at Camp Howqua, just south of Mansfield.


And this is the view from the other side, showing the Lodge where we stayed.

 Here's the girls, piled into the van... Vashti, Esther, Kylie and Cecelia.


 Having a hit on the tennis court, and a few guys shooting hoops down the other end.



 There's me in the kitchen... being attacked by Cecelia!


Geoff, Damian, James and Doug...



We had a great, relaxing weekend together.... sitting around the fire, sharing and being together, but we also took advantage of the facilities and played some tennis, basketball, volleyball, had fun on the low ropes, and enjoyed the river as well.

It was so nice to be in such a beautiful, peaceful place together.

Emma.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

prayer

thanks for coming together for prayer last night guys, it was very encouraging. I was going to cancel because of overwhelming feelings of inadequacy and despair but my mum-in-law put her foot down and wouldnt let me. It is pretty lame reasons when you think about it; God is so much bigger than me and all my feelings.

There are times in your life when you just need to hang on to the post you stuck in to your bit of land (or to the work or promise that God gave you) and wait for the storm and the crap to settle down. At least at the end of it you can say... "I'm still here, I did not bail"...........it will surely count for something, I know it will......