Charles and Rachel Stockley

Bush Fires

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 10:43:00 +0000

Now that we are in the middle of the build up and things are beginning to heat up, we thought that it might be nice to share some of the final images we have taken of controlled bush fires.

Actually things have already heated up, our office temperature gauge read 100f outside before 9am a few days ago!

From the air the vast swathes of bush alight does look very impressive. But when the fires start to come close to built up areas it can become quite alarming!

Fortunately the fire and rescue service in the area are brilliant.

The controlled burning of the tinder dry scrub and trees is ongoing through- out the dry season and into the beginning of the build up.

We hope you enjoy the images below!

Blessings

The Stockleys.

What will they deliver next!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:49:00 +0000

Christmas arrived early in the Stockley household a few weeks ago when Georgie received a pair of much prayed for pets.

Ever since we arrived in Nhulunbuy, Georgie has longed for a couple of Guinea pigs.

We have asked around town, placed notices on various boards in the community and even placed an order for two Guinea Pigs to be brought back from Darwin.

We have tried to buy them from pets shops in Cairns and then fly them home with us, but none of the shops we visited had any left.

It was a sad tale and we had a very sad daughter!

Things changed a few months ago when we were fortunate enough to be hosts for a couple from MAF in the Ritz (the flat next door).

They suggested that they put an"ask" around the MAF office in Cairns on our behalf.

Two weeks latter, via an aircraft ferry trip from Mareeba, the package arrived under instructions that no one should know what the box contained, apart from the pilot.

Charley collected the box from work and brought it home. He asked Georgie if she could help him bring in some items from his van, unaware that their was anything for her.

The photograph below shows her reaction when she guessed what was in the box having seen the water bottle carefully secured to the edge of the box.

Carefully and with a little help from Alexandra the pair of guinea pigs where carried safely to their new home.

They are in here somewhere.

Playing with her new pets. An activity that happens regularly now before and after school.

Never have a pair of guinea pigs been so indulged and loved.

Welcome to our family, Pip & Ginger.

Whose exploits will be continued later...

All our love

Charley, Rachel, William, Alexandra, Georgie & Freddie.

Just in time...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 11:38:00 +0000

With humidity climbing and the onset of the wet season, a water tight roof is essential.

Today we had our first real downpour of rain, so one of our MAF families was pleased to know that just a few weeks ago their old rust ridden roof had been replaced with a nice shiny new corrugated, water tight iron roof.

Off with the old.

27 x 12 metres long roofing panels and about 2000 tek screws later and we're nearly there.

On with the new.

A quick coat of paint around the frames, job done!

Just one of the many projects that Charley has completed over the past few months.

More projects to follow in future additions.

All our Love & prayers

Charley, Rachel,

William, Alexandra, Georgie & Freddie.

Such a perfect day...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 10:52:00 +0000

What a lovely day today has been.

My first trip out to one of the homelands MAF serves began by being weighed, every girls nightmare!

We were then escorted to our plane by Andy, our handsome pilot for the journey.

It was so nice to be able to spend some time catching up as last year we completed our orientation training with him, his wife and muffin, now known by the name of Theo and nine months old.

Safely off the ground the views were breath taking, flat plains of bush, scrub and eucalyptus trees.

Our first destination, Baniyala in sight.

One of the larger Homelands in Arnhem land. Baniyala is perched on the edge of a beautiful cove.

A welcome sight!

The local, relatively new store at Baniyala is stocked with a viriety of items including; fish hooks, flour, clothing, two man tents, family favourites such as tins of baked beans. The list goes on.

Homes around the community of Baniyala.

Following a brief trip to the community school, it was a quick hop, skip and jump into a "troopie" for a 50 minute journey to Rurranala, our final designation.

Rurranala is a small remote inland community with a few houses, a one room health clinic, office and a school. At the School about ten children are taught by a wonderful Yolngu woman.

Just a ten minute walk away from the community runs a river, a vital life sustaining source of food and water for the locals.

Walking back from the river one of the children pointed out a buffalo horn fixed to a tree.

His comment was "Cheeky Buffalo, came into our community"

All that is left of that cheeky roaming buffalo I think!

After a truly special day it was back into the plane, take in the views...

and then back on tarmac again, and the MAF hanger.

Thank you Andy!

Thank you to all those Yolngu people I met and their warm welcome.

More at www.maf-arnhemland.org

Charley, Rachel

William, Alexandra, Georgie & Freddie.

With a little help from my friends...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 09:12:00 +0000

Some of you may remember that back in February of this year, our family and some friends spent the day dismantling an old MAF Donga in Yirrkala.

Unless we destroyed it before the cyclone season began, it may be uprooted and it could end up anywhere in the bush!

Now nearly four months later, the site has been cleared, cleaned up and landscaped.

The pictures that follow show just some of the stages of transformation this small plot of land has gone through over the months.

Also you will see two volunteers (Tom and Pete) who came up to Arnhem Land to spend two weeks helping out. As a result of their hard work and some extra help when needed, Charley has been able to complete the finishing touches on the new MAF houses in Yirrkala.

Praise the Lord for his perfect timing in providing this help.

We hope you enjoy the following pictures...

It became a race against time to pull apart and burn the Donga before nightfall.

Let's get this fire going!

Nearly gone!

With the site nearly complete attention turned to concreting a drive and path for the new house next to the site of the old Donga.

The side area of one of the house in Yirrkala being prepared for the

concrete path to be laid.

No sign left of there ever being a Donga on the site.

Our two volunteers get to work.

What a difference four months can make. The site where the old Donga originally stood, now along with the adjoining two MAF homes is fenced in and secured. All of the homes have also had their metal work painted in a lovely shade of, "cottage green".

Not a cottage in sight however!

In their spare time Tom and Pete also showed a flare for building as they helped construct a brilliant cubbie, as Georgie called it.

I think we may be able to fit more in, don't you Freddie?

Can I join you both?

Great we can all fit in .

Do you think the window is going to let any rain in?

We hope you enjoyed this look at just one of the projects Charley has been involved in planning and implementing.

As always we hope that you enjoyed our blog.

All our love and prayers.

Charley, Rachel, William, Alexandra,

Georgie & Freddie.

Reflections

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 10:04:00 +0000

What a year!

We thought that as we begin the new year we would take this opportunity to recap some of the more significant events for our new supporters. Many of you have also asked to see some photographs of our house, so we have included these.

Last year we were enjoying the cold spell and a Christmas of snow and sledging in Cumbria.

William & Georgie- Cumbria December 2009

Not much has changed as far as the weather is concerned, back in the UK.

Possibly the snow was heavier in some parts of the country!

Here in Oz, we have been getting used to high humidity and temperatures in the mid 80's-90's!

Cairns June 2010

As a family we have seen quite a few changes over the last year, as well as facing several challenges.

Our belongings arriving at the beginning of December.

Moving half way around the world to Australia probably rates fairly highly after marriage, as one of the most significant and life changing decisions we have ever made. But hearing and then answering the call we felt to be part of the work of MAF in Arnhem Land we have been really rewarded so far. We really feel blessed to have so many individuals and couples supporting us and have already experienced answers to prayer. Especially when Charley became very ill and with regard to the children settling in here.

After spending six months support raising, we finally arrived in Australia in June and begun six weeks of orientation training. Then in August we arrived in Nhulunbuy and saw for the first time our new home.

Our kitchen

The sitting room

Our bedroom

The boys room

The girls room

We have now been in our house for nearly six months and it is slowly beginning to feel like home. William and Freddie have managed to make their room into a typical boys room. It seems to be becoming a fisherman's haven. William has managed to pick up a couple of fishing lines from garage sales for him and Freddie as well as some sinkers.The two of them are starting to really enjoy fishing. William put up a sign on the main town notice board for a glass fish tank, which someone answered and gave him one for free!. It is now full of guppies.

The girls room looks very "girly". They were given a lovely duvet each for Christmas and a supporter gave us some pretty flower lights which they have used to brighten up an old mirror.

We have also gained another family member. Some of you may already have met her.

Milo is our cat. We rescued her when her previous owners left town. She has helped to make our house feel more like home. In England we have a Border collie called Molly, and three cats, all now in good homes, so we love having Milo around.

This past year has been great. Charley has now settled into his role as ,"property maintenance manager" and is never short of work. I have lost count of the number of windows he has replaced in various MAF houses. He has built a security wall in a terminal building out on one of the homelands, even managing a bit of piloting on his way out. He has replaced a whole kitchen in one house and has completed a number of other jobs in and around Nhulunbuy and Yirrkala. We look forward to showing you and telling you more about his work though out this year.

In November Charley suffered septicemia. He was bitten or knelt on something and then bumped his knee. This caused a chain reaction and an infection to occur. It was a frightening time for us all as he was airlifted to Darwin for treatment. He is now fully recovered and praise God for this and all of you who prayed for us as a family during this period.

We are reminded daily about Gods goodness to us while we are here. My contract as a teacher aid has been renewed for a further six months which is a real answer to prayer. I was reading about ,"all consuming desire" in my bible note the other day and was really challenged.

The Psalmist cried :"The zeal for (my father;s) house has consumed me..." (Psalm 69:9 NAS)

What's your all-consuming desire/ What are you passionate about? What has God called and gifted you to do? Paul's burning desire was to reach the world for Christ. and he succeeded. When his enemies imprisoned him, instead of giving in to defeat he turned his cell into a writer's retreat and penned the epistles that would change more lives after he had left the world than he could ever hope to touch while he was in it. what are you willing to give your life to, and for?

From Word for the day.(UCB)

If your vision is truly of God, you will feel it.

I just pray that during the coming year we never loose sight of our calling and that God will continue to open doors and reveal the vision that he has for us individually as we share Christ to those around us.

All our Love and Prayers

Charley, Rachel,

William, Alexandra, Georgie & Freddie. Oh! & Milo.

Worst cyclone season in years to come...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 10:56:00 +0000

Where did October go!

Things have been really busy in the Stockley household during the last few weeks.

Freddie celebrated his seventh birthday with a "boy's only" off -roading experience, followed by a party at the local park.

Alexandra having fun at the park.

Georgie with one of Freddie's best friends, Bianca.

Bianca is one of the other MAF families children.

Other news; a few weeks ago, I began working temporarily at "The Homeland School" in Yirrkala as a teacher aid . A job which I am thoroughly enjoying. The children are beginning to get used to me working and we are establishing new routines to help with everyday jobs.
They are now; clearing up, washing up, drying up and putting everything away after each meal,without too much protesting!

Our next job is to prepare for the cyclone season. Recent reports in the local newspaper and on the local news channel are predicting the worst cyclone season in almost 15 years.

Stronger cyclones than average and more than normal are forecast.

Warmer sea surface temperatures around the Northern Territory coast are providing"favourable conditions" for tropical cyclones, as early as mid November.

As town inhabitants, we are being encouraged to tidy up our gardens and make sure anything outside is secure. We also need to find out the cyclone capacity of our house. All very exciting!

Christmas preparations are under way here in Nhulunbuy.

Every month the main town hall hosts a craft market. This Saturday we were treated to a visit from Father Christmas, festive music, a tree and a hall decked out with tinsel. All rather strange for October. I am only just beginning to get used to the idea of a warm Christmas!

As always thank you all for your prayers and support, without which we would not be

able to serve here, in Arnhem Land.

All our love and prayers

Charley, Rachel, William, Alexandra, Georgie & Freddie.

What a great day...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 10:21:00 +0000

What a brilliant morning, the culmination of 75 years of a Church presence in Yirrkala.

A laid back, three hour service which included, Bible readings and skits from the five ethnic groups represented. The morning was followed by a super "pot luck" lunch.

It was a packed church with about 130 children and adults from a number of nationalities, all squashed into the Yirrkala Uniting Church for their 75 year celebration.

The Yirrkala children performed a dance to a Christian song and then read the first New Testament reading in English.

A special message from a Tongan Missionary who gave us all a history lesson into why the early Methodist missionaries included Tongans.
We were then treated to a Bible reading in his native language.

Further bible readings in Yolnu Matha and a couple of other regional languages and skits followed.

It was such a lovely day, where God truly was at the centre of the service.

The whole morning was a celebration of God's faithfulness in providing the workers 75 years ago to bring the Gospel to Yirrkala, and His contining provision and calling of new workers. One of the oldest missionaries still in the village came 45 years ago.

It was also a really positive representation of Christian unity and a great witness within Yirrkala.

With nearly forty indigenous people at the Celebrations, the event also acted as a reminder of our personal calling to share the gospel.

Rev. Hala Tupou, the support Minister for the Yirrkala congregation, ended the celebrations by leading Communion.

What a great day, shame we won't be around for the next celebration in 75 years time!

All our love

Rachel, Charley, William, Alexandra,

Georgie & Freddie.

XXXXXX

If you go out in the bush today...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 03:39:00 +0000

or just clean out your shed you never know what you might find!

In this blog we would like to share with you some photos of the wildlife we have come across so far. For those of you wishing to see snakes, buffalo or crocodiles you will be disappointed,we have not been looking!

A 12 foot crocodile has just been caught at the town beach this week and one has just been seen near Yirrkala. They are around!

We have seen some unusual and sometimes very beautiful creatures which we have tried to capture on our camera. Sometimes we have not been fast enough, especially when it comes to catching the white cockatoos, or the many other birds that are around.

May be next time.

This rather large and not particularly happy spider was found making a nest for herself amongst an old tent that had been left in the tin shed at the end of our house.

Those of you who know me well will know just how much I love my waterproof apron and I would have had it on, had it been here. As it was I had to make do with rubber gloves, a long broom handle and flip flops for protection, as I bravely tackled clearing out our shed.

Not that my rubber gloves or flip flops would have saved me from a very cross snake or red back!

I must have looked comical.

Anyway, I managed to take a photograph of the not so happy spider just outside our shed before she hurried off to find a new home.

She was huge and very effectively camouflaged against the dried grass on our sandy lawn.

This lovely delicate spider below had made her web on our washing line. I nearly hung Freddie's undies on her, which would have given Freddie a tickle on his behind has she decided to hide in them. With the help of my trusty broom handle I moved her onto a near by Pineapple plant.

She spent the rest of the day lazing around and waiting for food to be blown in the afternoon breeze, into her web.

She was a bit larger than a serving spoon and quite pretty. She could however have been extremely venomous and highly toxic.

Perhaps I should have taken a course in " The worlds most toxic and venomous creatures of all time" before we came.

This one was found outside next to our door. I'm told it may be a "Huntsman".

Although this spider was rather quiet in comparison to, "Mrs happy" found in our shed, he was extremely furry and I didn't fancy having him in the house crawling all over me at night...ahhhh!

Either way my broom handle was a very useful tool that day!

I think it should be made a compulsory for all missionaries, world wide, to carry a broom handle as part of their necessary tool kit.

Onto things of a less creepy nature.

Unlike the spiders, house geckos, the pale nocturnal lizards we often see running along the walls, work surfaces and in between the windows guards, are catching moths and mozzies, and are really quite sweet.

They are however a challenge to photograph.

This is a gecko that William found out in the bush. He thinks that it is a Leopard gecko and not as common as the house ones that we hear every night calling, "chuck-chuck-chuck".

For such tiny creatures they do make a lot of noise!

William found this one while exploring some undergrowth.

One Grandma in particular would be horrified if she knew what he got up to.

This little chap below was found in our shed while I was clearing it out along with;

"Mrs Happy", a runner and a skink.

All far too fast for me to catch on camera.

Cane toads are among the biggest frog species in the world. Although most female adults only grow to 12cm long, lots of records show larger ones.

For example, one was caught in the Northern Territories recently. it was reported to be 20 cm long.

Although we didn't find these turtles in the wild they are native to the area, as are water pythons.

This turtle was extremely wriggly and wanted to wriggle his way back into his tank.

I just loved these photographs and wanted to include them for no other reason than sharing them with you all.

Water pythons live in the swamp lands surrounding the town and can become very large. They have a very flat, thin tail, which you may be able to make out in the photograph.

Many of the children here have Childrens Pythons as pets. William has asked if he can have one, Mummy is thinking l..o..n..g... and hard about any snake in the house.

Many of you will know just how I feel about these slithery, slimy, slinky reptiles.

Found in the town swimming pool, this delightful creature doesn't quite live up to his name, "The Water Scorpion".

About the size of two 50p pieces joined end to end, they like to be in and around water, many live permanently in swimming pools.This one was found fastened to the steps of our local pool. They are similar to cockroaches with barbs on their legs for defence, as long as you leave them alone you're fine.

Many children have these tree frogs as pets because of their docile nature and the fact that they are non-venomous. One morning while we were in Cairns, we saw this one clinging to a table leg.

If you go out in the bush today your sure of a big surprise.

Or if you go into the back garden you never know what you'll find!

If you look around the tree's today you might even find a Sun bird or a Tawny Owl...

...for where ever you look,

your never sure what you might find.

Who knows I may one day even be quick enough to take some nice pictures of the amazing bird life we have in the Northern Territories. Sea Eagles, Cockatoos, Ibis, Kingfishers and more.

Hope that you are continuing to enjoy our blogs.

All our love & prayers

Charley, Rachel, William, Alexandra, Georgie

and Freddie

The end of a fun week...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 04:25:00 +0000

Hi everyone...

Well the children have reached the end of their first full week at their new school and seem to have settled in really well.

Georgie's comment was, "It was weird that we didn't know anyone, but we made lots of friends. I didn't know that there are so many unusual names for people, like Jerusalem"

Freddie came out of school on the first day with the telephone number and an invitation to play from a girl in his class. Proof that it's hard to resist his cheeky smile and cuddly personality!

Alexandra said that she found it, "a bit scary at first, but made lots of friends."

We know that lots of you have been praying for the children and their transition into school life. Alexandra did have one wobbly moment, but we as parents have really felt the powers of your prayers for the children. We know that these have helped to make this potentially challenging time for them smooth.

William has enjoyed himself, any spare time he seems to have at the moment, during break times (recess here!) is spent looking under or behind trees and bushes, or in and around the schools surrounding scrub land. With his new friends he has managed to find several different types of gecko, spiders, lizards and bugs.

As parents we take comfort in knowing that the hospital here is equipped for every eventuality!

Before we go we thought that you might like to see some pictures of our smart little troupe ready for their first day at Nhulunbuy Christian School.

Hope that you have enjoyed the photo's ?

A really big thank you to those of you who took that time to write a letter or send a card to us through the post so that it was here when we arrived. We spent a wonderful first evening reading through your words of encouragement and news.

We are still having problems with our internet connection, so we are writing this from the MAF office at the airport. We will let you know as soon as we have an internet connection.

All our love

Rachel, Charley, William, Alexandra, Georgie and Freddie :-)

Hard work, but fun time in Cairns...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 01:52:00 +0000

Cairns was a hectic time for us all.

While we were busy with our orientation subjects; language learning, cross culture learning, spiritual warfare lectures to name a few, the children were also kept fully entertained with their own child friendly schedule.

With illness behind them, they all enjoyed days filled with fun activities set up by the child carers. Early evenings were then spent cooling down in the motel's pool having fun with their new found Australian friends.

We also met some really nice people, several of which are just completing their further training in Cairns before joining us in Nhulunbuy in early October this year.

We hope that you all enjoy the pictures below of the children enjoying themselves in Tree Tops pool and the courses fun farewell evening, where we all enjoyed yummy puddings, party games and presentations.

After all the fun activities of our last evening in Cairns everyone was ready for a good nights sleep, even Georgie's toys; Onion, Trotter, Bobin and Mrs Tiggywinkle! (left to right.)

We have now safely arrived in Arnhem Land and are looking forward to keeping you all up to date with things going on here.

All our love

The Stockley's

Goodbye

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 17:08:00 +0000

We wrote this blog just before we left for Australia. Unfortunately we ran out of publishing time before we left, so it has sat as a draft in our editing tray until now.

A kind friend has just given us some internet time, so we are trying to catch up with you all now.

We still wanted to publish it as it shows you all how we spent one fun day in the Lake District on a treasure hunt just, before we left.

It was a great half term week away that we had as a family. A mix of fun and sadness as we said our goodbyes to Charley's parents.

Our week began with a rather long car journey to the heart of The Lake District, where Charley's Mum & Dad live. A trip to the Lakes is good preparation for the vast journey distances that seem to separate most of the settlements in Australia.

One of the days we spent with them was particularly memorable as David had set a treasure hunt up through the bluebell woods behind their house and up onto the open fells and the quarry.

We would like to take you on a picture journey of that day.

First clue...

Charley's Mum, Alex and brother Jonathan.

Brilliant reading Alexandra, onto the next clue this way...

What an improvement!
Mummy & Uncle Jonathan.

Don't fall down through the hole Will, you'll get wet ...

Come back William...

Mummy couldn't watch!

Last clue.

It's got to be here somewhere!

Treasure at last!

Just as few extra pictures we thought that you might like to enjoy...

Hope you enjoyed the hunt. We hope to be able to get internet access again in Cairns, so will give you an update then.

All our love & prayers

Rachel, Charley & Children.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 04:54:00 +0000

A Great Day Out

Dear supporters

Some friends of ours who own a sailing boat, asked if we would like to spend the day sailing along the Devon coast with them, as a family. Something we have never done before.

How blessed are we ?

My immediate thought was, what if Freddie falls overboard! He can swim, but isn't the worlds most confident child in the water.

My next thought was, what if they get really wet, dirty and cold, they might spend the next week at home with colds and coughs!

Fortunately, I came to my senses very quickly and said that we would love to go sailing for the day.

When the day arrived, the children were so excited they were up, particularly early that day and ready to leave before we had come down to breakfast!

As you can see, Freddie took to the helm and was even feeling confident enough to sail the boat after half an hour!

Georgie was in her element taking care of "Corrie" and loved looking after her !

William managed to fit a quick game of cricket in after lunch, so he was very happy!

...and Alexandra and Daddy enjoyed the whole day, particularly the B-B-Q as you can see!

We leaped in the dingy and just made it back to the boat without too much trouble.

At one point it did look as if the dingy was going to sink and everyone was going to be fish food! However it made it and we had a really great, day spent with friends.

As we have been raising our prayer and financial support in order to go to Arnhem Land http://www.maf-uk.org/ we have realised just how great it has been to meet new people and begin to develop new friendships . So a big thank you to all of you who are praying for us.

By the end of the day I had had a great time too, but I felt just like Freddie...exhausted!

Don't forget to look out for the invitations to our valedictory service, they will be in the post soon.

Love from The Stockleys

Aboriginal Bible praise party.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 29 May 2010 14:34:00 +0000

Several people have shown an interest in the bible translation work that has been happening on Elcho Island. Below are just a few photographs that were taken during the weekend celebrations that occurred around the dedication service for the new Aboriginal New Testament bible translation.

What a brilliant work the translation team do. Praise God for their dedication and passion for seeing His word reach the lost. Pray for their continued dedication and wisdom as they persist in this great work.

Love from The Stockleys.

I wish I could have been there it looks like it was great fun!

Waiting

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 21:16:00 +0000

I found this prayer in a book I was reading. It seems to sum up really well how frustrating "waiting" can sometimes be, but just how important it can be for our personal growth and faith!

We recently gave a presentation to a church whose focus was on preparing ourselves as individuals and as a Church for mission work. It could mean; a "calling" abroad, to another part of the country or as individuals within your local community.

This simple pray could be used as prayer of dedication, towards hearing God's direction for your life. We found it really good. Hope you enjoy it!

Love Rachel & Charley

Waiting

Lord, I seem to spend my whole life waiting...

Waiting for the bus or train

Waiting in the queue at the supermarket

Waiting for the traffic lights to change

Waiting for the exam results to come

Waiting for the computer to start

Waiting to see the children's teacher

Waiting to see the doctor

Waiting for the results of hospital tests.

Help me to use my time wisely, to pray for those around me- the supermarket staff, the other passengers on the bus or train,

the local council who try to manage the traffic as best they can;

for teachers, doctors, nurses, all hospital staff... and others in the community who keep things moving.

I want to wait on you, Lord, too, for direction.

Guide my life - in its major directions as well as in the nitty-gritty details.

I put myself at your disposal again, Lord.

I do want to serve you and others with my life, Lord, I pray.

Amen.

Great news...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 13:14:00 +0000

A lot has happened since our last blog. We have had a weeks holiday at home celebrating Easter, Alexandra's birthday and spending time with Charley's parents who visited us from The Lake District.

I have had a milestone birthday-the big '40' and spent it outdoors at Longleat, in the pouring rain! It was a great day out and everyone had fun, despite the weather.

It was also great preparation for getting used to some of the creepy crawlies we may come across in Arnhem Land.

Alexandra surprised me by wishing to hold, and handle, every kind of creepy crawly she could find. I just hope that we don't see too many snakes and spiders in Australia!

The great news is that we are almost fully supported.

We now have almost 200 on our prayer support list, and if all the financial help that has been promised is given, we will have reached the minimum that we need before we can go.

Praise the Lord!

We are trying to raise a further 10% before we depart as our support level decreases in December, but this isn't going to stop us.

We are off...

We hope to be leaving this country sometime in late June to begin our training in Melbourne. After that, we are to continue our training in Cairns for a week before finally arriving in Gove in August. Our anxiety over school places and start dates have been resolved. All of the children now have places guaranteed for their start dates in August. This is a real answer to pray.
A BIG thank you to ALL of you who we know have been praying for an answer to our children's schooling issues.

It is so humbling to know that you are all praying for us.

More updates soon.

All our Love

Rachel, Charley, William, Alexandra, Georgie & Freddie.

Stop worrying about it!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 15:21:00 +0000

This was our bible reading for yesterday.(UCB notes)
I found it very encouraging so I thought that it would be nice to share it with you all.
Stop Worrying About It!
Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you... Psalm 55:22
When worry comes knocking on your door, stop it on the doorstep or it will move in and take up residence. 'Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you' (1 Peter 5:7 NIV). God cares about the things that worry you and prey upon your thoughts. He cares about them more than you do. Not one nagging, aching, worrisome, gut-wrenching, blood-pressure-raising thought escapes His notice. Because 'you are his personal concern', He watches over you day and night. What qualifies as a worry? Anything that robs you of joy, anything you can't change, anything you're not responsible for, anything you're unable to control, anything that torments you, anything that keeps you awake when you should be asleep. All of that 'stuff' needs to be transferred from your worry list to your prayer list. The Bible says, 'Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace...' (Philippians 4:6-7 NLT). Give each worry, one by one, to God. The more you practise doing this, the more exciting your walk with Him will become. You'll be amazed at how easily He handles things that overwhelm you. Remind yourself that He's able to handle it, willing to handle it, and waiting for you to give it to Him. 'Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you.' Those who live worry free are those who keep casting their burdens on the Lord until it becomes as natural to them as breathing!

They notice!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:25:00 +0000

A friend of mine sent this poem to me today as a word of encouragement. I thought that it was so good I would share it with you.

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T LOOKING

A message every adult should read because children
are watching you and doing as you do, not as you say.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you hang my
first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately
wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you feed a
stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals.
When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make my
favorite cake for me, and I learned that the little
things can be the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn't looking I heard you say a
prayer, and I knew that there is a God I could always
talk to, and I learned to trust in Him.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make a
meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I
learned that we all have to help take care of each other..
When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you take care
of our house and everyone in it, and I learned we have
to take care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw how you
handled your responsibilities, even when you didn't
feel good, and I learned that I would have to be
responsible when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw tears come
from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things
hurt, but it's all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw that you
cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking I learned most of
life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and
productive person when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking I looked at you and
wanted to say,'Thanks for all the things I saw when
you thought I wasn't looking..'

LITTLE EYES SEE A LOT .

Each of us (parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, teacher, friend)
influences the life of a child.

How will you touch the life of someone today?
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply.
Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to God.

What a week!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 18:55:00 +0000

Our Visa's are here.

Praise the Lord!

After a few challenges it is such a relief to have them.

Before they came it had been a funny old few weeks...
A mix of highs and lows!

They have included visiting old friends and catching up with their news. Making new friends while sharing with them the calling that we have to work with M.A.F. All rounded off by fitting in a trip up to Cumbria to visit Charley's parents.

At the end of half term there was the inevitable mad rush to pack and get ready to go away while still trying to fit in swimming clubs , music lessons and of course we needed to wash the dog "Molly " before an eight hour car journey on the M5 /6 with her. At least she smelt nice!

Fortunately it was not too bad travelling up, but the return journey was not so good. Rain, sleet and snow for most of the way. I'm so glad I wasn't driving!
It was lovely to meet some new people while away from a church in Broughton-In-Furness who were very interested to hear about the work we will be involved with in Arnhem Land. It was also a week filled with long, cold wet walks (See photographs) but was contrasted with good food and drink, fun and laughter, which more than made up for the total drenching we all received on one of our walks.

Visa challenges and a broken laptop screen are all things sent to try us! We must be on the right path. Praise the Lord...

Now we have our Visa's all these hiccups seem insignificant.

We have a few more talks to give at various churches and home groups and are spending most of our time catching up with supporters and updating newsletters and face book.

We are now excited about moving forward in God's will, keep praying!

All our love Rachel, Charley and the children.

Another week...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:23:00 +0000

Dear Praying & Supporting friends

It's hard to believe that another week has gone by so quickly.

It has been quite a busy week with a number of individuals who wished to hear about the work we will be involved in with M.A.F. in Arnhem Land, Australia.

It has been fun going to different places and meeting new people, I am just glad that Charley has been doing the driving as some of the lanes we have travelled along have been very narrow.

Sunday was a great day.

We were invited to give a talk about our calling to mission work in a Church in Exeter.

Some of the members we already knew but we hadn't seen them for some years.

Following our presentation we were invited for lunch with the Pastor his wife and lovely family.

It was a great day, full of catching up with old friends and making new ones. The children played their part well and behaved themselves. I think they enjoyed the space to run around and making new friends.

Our support level is steadily increasing which is great and we have had several people who have returned their support forms pledging to pray for us. Still no word from the Australian Government about our visa application. Those of you who are part of our journey will receive news via email as soon as we have it.

Praise the Lord for a brilliant week full of fun, variety, provision, interest and friendship.

Please put your email address in the
box opposite to receive news every time we post!

Keep Praying!

Rachel, Charley, William, Alexandra, Georgina and Freddie.

A busy week!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:09:00 +0000

I(Rachel) can't believe another week has come and gone so quickly.

My weeks seem to go by in a blur of the mundane and the exciting.

Caught up in the everyday grind of washing,
(as well as dealing with a broken washing machine,

not funny in house hold of six!)

ironing, ferrying children to clubs, shopping and cleaning, every woman's joy!

In contrast it has been really wonderful to get away from it all and meet some truly great people as part of our support raising for M.A.F. We have met individuals that we would never have met had it not been for our involvement with M.A.F. Individuals and groups who have said they will commit to pray for the work we will be part of in Arnhem Land and others who have promised to support us financially.

This coming Sunday we have a support raising talk coming up in a Church in Exeter so we would value your prayers.

I hope the weather is a bit warmer by the weekend too. I'm really looking forward to the Spring and warmer weather, one thing apart from crocodiles and buffalo's, Arnhem Land has plenty of.

It will be great to be able to walk in the Bluebell field's on Dartmoor like last year when warmer weather eventually appears. Roll on Spring!

It would be great to get some feedback from anyone reading our Blog.

We will update you soon.

Rachel, Charley and family.

IT'S REALLY COLD...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 11:39:00 +0000

Hello and welcome

It's been a cold, snowy, chilly week where all we've wanted to do is stay inside and keep warm.

We were due to do a presentation in a Church on Dartmoor this week but were unable to get there because of the snow. It has been rescheduled for a later date.

The children have however enjoyed the snow. We have been sledging ,walking and had fun making snowmen. They are really disappointed that the snow has nearly gone and the rain has started. As has school.

Support raising is coming on with a presentation booked in Exeter at the end of the month and a visit and a talk in Cumbria during half term.

Please contact us by Email (cstockley@maf.org) if you would like to hear more about us.

Charley,Rachel & Family.

Happy Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:17:00 +0000

Happy Christmas
Great news!

We have now raised 12% of our fundraising which is brilliant.

So a BIG thank you to all those who have returned their staff support leaflet.

Other brilliant news...
Six young men from the remote Bremer Island Charley visited on our recent trip, have become Christians. Bravely they were baptised in the sea, at a time of year when jelly fish and crocodiles are present. This is an encouraging development for all those in the Northern Territories who are involved in sharing the word of God with people in remote places.

As we look forward to next year and changes ahead let's hope for a great year of fun, friendship and fulfilment.

Wishing you all every blessing for the year ahead.

C ,R & family.

Nhulunbuy-have you heard of it?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:06:00 +0000

Welcome to the first Stockley family blog.

It's the end of October 2009 and we have been staying with Mission Aviation Fellowship (www.maf.org.au) in Nhulunbuy, Arnhem Land, a mining town in one of the most beautiful and remote parts of Australia's Northern Territory.

Mission Aviation Fellowship is a world wide Christian charity that we will be working with in this area, serving Aboriginal people by providing a vital link between Nhulunbuy facilities and their Homeland outstations. This means that the indigenous people of Arnhem Land are able to remain out in the "bush" and live in their small family clans which is so important to them and part of their culture.

The process of gaining a work permit is taking it's time but it's going to be well worth it. As a family it is such an honour for us to be part of this programme within MAF International.

Our Internet time is about to expire so please view our blog again soon as we will update regularly!

God bless from us all.