Wow, again two weeks have gone by in a flash. Christmas season has begun and it is getting warmer in Perth. I love it. I spent my FIRST day at the beach yesterday, had fish and chips and ice cream with a friend and enjoyed a day off in the heat !

Many greetings to Europe where you have snow and enjoy cold nights next to hot stoves or a sparkling fire ...

The last weeks have been incredible and there were a lot of amazing things happening. As I have mentioned before, our finances as a base for outreach, airfares and groundfees were due on Dec. 3rd. Many of the students were trusting for finances which came in through friends, family and supporters or even unknown sources. As a whole base we have seen over 400.000 Australian Dollars come in within a few weeks. It seems a miracle to me every time it happens and once again we can say that God is indeed a wonderful provider for all that we need. Thank you everyone who provided for me or the school, it's been a blessing and I have all my finances for Asia and Vanuatu now ! However, there are more students who come from poor countries and who don't have supporters or churches who stand behind them. So there is still a need of finance on the base and we are trusting God for the rest we need to see everybody hop on the planes at the end of December. If you feel led to give, feel free to contact me and I will let you know the easiest way for you to do it.

The topic of the week was Paediatrics and we had a wonderful man with us who serves as a doctor in the nations and spoke about Paediatrics and Paediatric Surgery for both developed and non-developed nations. He has a wide range of experience in this area and we enjoyed having him with us. We not only discussed medical topics but also had a closer look at the person of Jesus and how he treated children, gave them value and teaches us "grown-ups" to become like children again, because "they inherit the kingdom of heaven". Look at the children around you and adopt their unshakable faith and trust - that's what Jesus wants us to be like: children full of faith and trust in our heavenly Father who cares and provides. ..no doubt about it.

This week we learned that it's all about worldview. As a Health Care Team we can go into developing nations with the right heart and attitude, good intentions and love for the people..but not change anything... After we leave everything goes back to the old ways...people get sick again because of the same diseases we had treated just a week ago. Why is that ? And do we want to change that? Or do we just want to go into nations where we can take pictures of us with dark babies on our arms, show them around and tell about the wonderful things we did... I am writing this with a bit of a provocative note on purpose. Do we want to see change and transformation ? That's where worldview comes in. It plays a crucial role in why nations develop or not, why villages are transformed, principles of sanitation and hygiene, nutrition is put into practice. The most important point in a biblical worldview perpective is the value of the individual ! In nations where children, esp. girls are not given any value in their first year of life - and very little up to the age of five - they will not be taken care of the way they should. The men and workers are fed first, the boys over the age of five next, whatever is left over goes to the women and female children. Children die of malnutrition where there are chicken, banana trees and beans around. Why ? Maybe fatalistic beliefs... "If God wants them to live they will live..if they die they die, there is nothing we can do". In some nations cultural beliefs and practices teach that chicken needs to be sacrificed to the gods for protection, eggs is adult food, animal meats are sacrificed to the water god in the river (which pollutes the water the people drink, wash and use for cooking), water given to a person with a fever harms the body, wounds are treated with cow dung and sacrifices to ancesters that are angry with the sick person.... the list goes on and on. Now picture a Health Care Team come into the village offering medical treatment and teachings. Yes, the people might be open, but where will they go after we have left ? The witchdoctor ? They will sacrifice to Gods that don't exist, abandon outhouses and latrines because they don't understand the meaning of them. Why do things they have never done before ? Sickness comes from evil spirits alone... Malaria, parasites, the use of clean water doesn't have meaning to them.

What we need to change to really make a change is the worldview. God doesn't intend sickness, he wants health and wellness for every person. So take His book and read it and apply it to your life. The bible is full of Health Care tips, the way we ought to live - physically well, spiritually healthy and having a clear mindset with the knowledge of a loving God who cares about the individual.

When does life begin ? Does God care about the newborn ? Read Psalm 39, read the first chapter of the gospel of Luke. Oh yes, he does. He knows us well from the day of conception. Is that only a blob of jelly to you ? God Himself came to earth as a baby and once was that blob of jelly. This blob turned into a baby, was born, grew up, brought healing and restoration to many and died on the cross for the salvation of all people.

Life is valuable and we need to tell the world. I love being a doctor and I want to go out there and heal, restore and teach about Jesus. But I can't go as a doctor alone because nothing would change longterm. I want to bring Jesus into the nations so that they can be changed through him, to tell them that they are loved and valuable, that they can do nothing to earn love and value, but that somebody has given them exactly that on the day of conception in their mother's womb.

Ponder Jesus in these next weeks before we celebrate his birthday ! Have a wonderful, joyful Christmas season, be blessed by your loved ones and know that you are precious. With much love from Perth, Sina