My dear Federation Friends,

How positive are you?

Did you greet the New Year with excitement and anticipation?

Have you high hopes for what you will achieve in 2012?

Are you a maker of resolutions that you work hard to keep?

Whatever your answers, we can all acknowledge that God has given us another beginning in our life’s journey. And I guess God hopes we’ll do much with it for God’s Kingdom.

Although I’m officially on my summer break (from teaching), I’ve already achieved some things I planned for this year.

• spent time with family including a precious week minding 2 grand-daughters (aged 3 and 5),
• had a refreshing swim at the beach late each hot afternoon,
• tackled some often put-off household jobs,
• relaxed reading several books.

All these have restored body and soul. But what were my hopes for Kingdom work this year? Could I do much as one women in the big scheme of things?

After the Federation Assembly in Korea in 2006, I prayed about how I could do something for the Millennium Development Goals. My background is teaching; my experience is the Pacific Islands; my passion is children. So I dreamt of a BackPack Project that would equip primary school children in the countries where my church has partnerships. In the past 5 years the Uniting Church Adult Fellowships in my small state of Victoria have sent over 5000 filled schoolbags to Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. The backpacks contain exercise books, writing and colouring tools, health equipment such as lunch box, drink bottle, handkerchiefs, soap, towel and ball or skipping rope. You can see photos on Facebook. One woman, one dream, one hope to make a difference – and I know I have because I’ve seen the children’s faces as they’ve received their backpacks.

And we’ll continue for another 5 years. If each of us has responded to God’s grace and God’s subsequent call to service, then we know God does indeed equip us in big ways and small.

One of the books I’ve been reading is “When Invisible Children Sing” by Dr Chi Huang. Taking a year off medical school Chi went to La Paz, Bolivia, to help abandoned children. The refrain, “they are not worth anything; they’re drug addicts and thieves” pounded in their minds daily as they lived in sewers and back alleys – forgotten and unwanted. Yet hope did survive, even on those dark and dangerous streets where sometimes God seemed so far away. Dr Chi worked to change their lives and found his own life and faith transformed forever.

Keep your hopes alive this New Year and your resolutions positive, for our God is a God of miracles.

My best wishes and blessings on you all.

Shalom,

Ann Connan