Am I my Brothers keeper

When you awake at 6 am in the morning to find 7 missed calls from your brother's partner around the 1 am time, you begin to worry if everything is alright. Sunday the 23rd was a morning just like this. After a few messages and phone calls, I find out that my brother Adam has had a very tough night at it. Alinta his partner tells me a story of a very distraught man wandering lost and destitute that night and now finds himself hospitalised. I talk with Mum and Dad about the events that have taken place and how we are able to help out Adam and his family. I know that my Mum is very concerned but also a bit tunnel vision on how we can help him out. Her love for her children cannot be denied but maybe she needs to stand back a little and calm her emotions so that she can provide some proper guidance.

I earnestly pray to my father in heaven and feel a sense of peace and comfort. I feel massively impressed to make contact with Catherine Payze a Psychologist in our ward. Our family is getting ready for Church and Mesha's parents are also staying with us for a few days before moving back to New Zealand.

As we arrive at church and are pulling into a parking spot out by the road, Sister Catherine Payze walks out in front of us. It's raining and she is rushing back to her car. I wind the window down and ask her if she has a minute to talk. She has a very busy morning ahead of her. She is travelling to one ward to speak and then will travel to another ward to conduct some training. She only had popped into Greenmount for a minute or so and it was at the exact time that we were pulling in.

The Lord has blessed us with a miracle. After only a couple of minutes conversation, I receive a witness that this truly is a direct answer to my earlier prayer. Sister Payze suggests we meet with her later that day and that the meeting includes Mum, Dad, and also Alinta. I know they too need some spiritual healing and this meeting will help us consolidate our efforts to help Adam.

A meeting is held later in the day and all attend including Adam who has been released from the hospital. He is tired and sore. It has been a really rough night for him. I can see Alinta is emotionally drained and a little on edge on how to help Adam.

Bishop Armitage conducts the meeting and there is a wonderful spirit there. Sister Payze is amazing and directs the conversations. As time goes on Adam opens up about where he is at. You can see the burden on Alinta begins to be lifted and her anxiety begins to come down. Mum is hesitant, I can tell she is somewhat sceptical of this approach although her loving concern is for her son's welfare. Dad is able to release some of his emotion and express his desire to help Adam. I too express my love for my brother and a willingness to help lift some of the burdens he has.

The spirit is powerful in the meeting and the counsel and guidance are strong. I know that the Lord loves me and has heard and answers my pleading heart through prayer. I know that he will bless my family and will bless my struggling brother..

Moving on up

This past week or maybe even past two weeks have been absolutely huge. Probably less than a month ago, we decided to rent out our house and move into the house Bishop Armitage rents from his parents. Much of the time since has been boxing our goods, clearing the yard and trying to find a good tenant for our house.

Well, the big day came. I had spent most of the week leading up to this day helping Bishop move his house and also moving the old people out from the house he bought. This was to help speed up the process and make it easier for all of us. Let's just say that it was an adventure.
So on Saturday, the 8th July 2017 everything was a go ahead.

That weekend we were hosting a couple of the Kalgoorlie youth who were attending youth convention with our son. I dropped the boys off and then headed to Bishop's house to help him load up. By the time we had unloaded him, moved the old couple out and had some lunch it was nearing 3pm. Yet we still pushed on with moving our stuff into the late afternoon. Doing this was important in getting our house ready for our tenants.

Push came to shove and there were enormous days and a few little challenges along the way. But by Wednesday the tenants were ready for our place, and our new home was occupied (although it will take us a good month or two to fully unpack and sort out all of our belongings.

For our children, it has been a challenge too. It has happened during the school holidays while they were unwinding from their school semester and hoping for some leisure time.

I love the little house we bought many years ago. It was the home where we brought our new baby Jairom home to. Our older children Cumoram and Kembry spent most of their childhood in this house. Many hours have been spent renovating and fixing up this suburban bush block. I had installed the air conditioner, redone the toilet and plumbing, built the kids a cubby house, laid metres and metres of fresh turf, paved, built limestone walls, sheds and chicken coops. This little house of ours had taken on so many transformations.

It had sheltered us for so many nights. It was our little fortress. We had built our little business around our little home. Mesha and I had some dark and down days here too, with the lowlight being my fall from grace into a spiral of depressing leading to a temporary separation of myself, Mesha and the kids. The resulting reunion in that home was a very special and defining moment in our lives.

For many reasons, it is a little sad to leave this place, potentially never to live in that house again. But as our family has grown and the need for more space, this opportunity to rent out this house comes as an amazing blessing.

The enormous size of the house means each of this kids has their own bedroom. Kembry goes from sharing a bedroom with her little brother to have a huge room with ensuite and balcony to herself. Jairom has all the room in the world to drive his little cars, plus the 3 acres is ample space for his adventurous soul. Cumoram has a nice getaway for him and his mates to hang.
Our room is ginormous complete with a full size walk in robe, beautiful ensuite and walk out balcony. I'd be lying if I said we were all disappointed with moving from our old little house.

The huge kitchen, living space and endless amount for storage cupboards is a true delight for Mesha. We have both been excited about the prospects for our family day to day living. One of the most welcome opportunities is the space to restructure and work our business. I have already begun promoting the outdoor yard area as a garden photography studio. I have a dedicated viewing area for clients to meet me in private plus a functional office space attached. The huge side room allows for me to fully work the picture framing plus we have shed space galore for all the extras.

The move allowed us to bring our chickens. Their new coop is surrounded by a variety of fruit trees. While the kids also have a full-size basketball court to play around on and a huge underground swimming pool for those scorching summer days. The last few days the children and I have been out catching tadpoles.

Believe it or not, all of this has happened in only our first week here. It feels totally amazing. I'm now looking forward to settling into our daily routine and the many more adventures that await us.

Football on a horrible day - Cumoram Desmond

Football on a horrible day.

On Saturday July 1st I had my football game against Coolbinia bombers it was the top two teams playing against each other our team were first and Coolbinia were second on the ladder it was supposed to be a rainy day and we could already tell that it was going to be a wet and rainy day. In the first quarter our team was winning but by the second quarter we were down by just a few points and it was raining really bad, In the third quarter it got a bit worse and we could feel a bit of hail but we still played on when that quarter finished we were so cold we couldn't fell our fingers but we still played on In the forth quarter It was raining so bad and there was a strong and cold wind blowing the umpires were about to call it off but the coachers said It was the top two teams where not going to pull the game off, It was a relief to hear that siren go at the end of the fourth quarter our team won by nine points. THE END.  

My 10th Birthday - Cumoram Desmond

My 10^th birthday

On the 28^th of February 2015 it was my birthday and we went cliff jumping I invited a few of my friends from school but mostly cousins and friends that I knew outside of school. We went cliff jumping at Blackwall reach near the city. Our family got there about half an hour early then all the others, when we were waiting for them to to come our family and a few other family’s that we did not know were jumping off the big cliff, at first I was sceptical and when mum and dad had both jumped twice I finally jumped off, I felt like I was flying for like ten seconds but I was only in the air for about one to two seconds I had closed my eyes and hit the water when I finally came up out of the water I felt this joy in my chest I felt like I could do anything if I really tried. When all of our friends and family finally came we all jumped off, it was the best birthday party ever. After we had gone cliff jumping we went to this beach and it had this really long island that went as far as you could see from the actual beach it took a long time to get all the way out to the end of this really long island, we started walking out to the island just before the meat was put on the BBQ and by the time we got back most of the food had already gone which was really unfortunate because we didn’t have lunch because we were jumping off the cliff, it was an awesome experience that all my family and friends had together it was the best birthday ever.

shooting a gun for the first time - Jairom Desmond

This is Jairom. I am going to tell some stories about travelling to America. I went shooting with my Dad's missionary companion and his family. They own lots of guns. I got to shoot a .22 rifle. I shot the target that was set up at the outdoor range. I got it right in the middle.
After shooting we went to dinner at Pizza Pie Cafe, which is a really cool all you can eat pizza place. I sat with the kids and we had a lot of fun. It was nice meeting American kids.

I felt really good and had lots of fun. I have never shot a gun before and it was pretty cool. I know guns are dangerous and we learned about gun safety before we could shoot them. Guns can be used for safety and for fun. We were just using them for fun. In Australia a lot less people have guns than in America.

The big move - Jairom Desmond

This week we are preparing for a big house move. Our little house is lovely but we are outgrowing it fast. I share a bedroom with Kembry. Although we love each other and have lots of fun together, its time for me to get my own room. Plus Kembry is growing up and needs her own space.

I will really miss my cubby house. It is near our chicken coop and a big climbing tree. After Dad built the cubby house, we painted it with some paint and brushes we got for Christmas. I will also miss the sandpit where I play with my cars and diggers.

Our Bishop lives in our new house but he is moving out so we can move in. The new house is a 2 storey house. It is really big with room for everything we have. I will like the new garage at our new house.

When it rains it pours and thats what keeps the garden growing.

AFL Football is probably my favourite sport. As a kid, I was totally smitten with every aspect of the game. My dream, like many other kids, was to become an AFL player for my favourite team the West Coast Eagles. Although I never reached the lofty heights, I did have a reputation of being a pretty decent player with much potential. Our eldest son Cumoram is developing into a sports star in his own right. Already he has had much success in Basketball and Football, along with wonderful performances in athletics. This year alone he has made it through several phases of the state schoolboy team selections for both Football and Basketball. A few years ago he also made the state cross country squad.

This past week has been huge on his sporting radar. On Monday night he played in a Grand Final for the under 13s div 1 boys competition in Kalamunda District. He went head to head against his cousin Malachi who played on the favoured team to win, who virtually went through the season undefeated. It was an amazing game and the 2 cousins played so hard, yet very respectfully on each other. Cumorams team surprised many with a gritty win against the odds. Cumoram played exceptionally and was named MVP of the game.

Thursday night was the under 15s div grand final in the same district competition. This time, however, he and Malachi were playing together on the same team. This game was an absolute heart-stopper with the game literally going down to the wire. Malachi was named MVP for the game after making an early adjustment to his attitude and was so important to us in claiming the win. Cumoram played another superb game, this time more mature thanMondayy nights effort. He was able to drop 4 big important 3 pointers that kept us in the game when it looked to be slipping away. He made a huge defensive play inside the last 20 seconds of the game and with scores locked up. His hustle forced a turnover and subsequent jump ball. Copping a knee to the head in the process, he had to come off for the final 10 seconds. With a possible overtime looming, one of the boys from our team was able to get away a last second shot, that bounced in after the siren had sounded giving us the win. It was as good as finish as I have been involved in for a junior basketball game.

Saturday was the scene of a huge midseason football game for Cumoram and his team. Playing against a strong West Perth-Coolbinia side with whom they had their only loss to in the first round of the season and after a flat performance last week that ended in a draw, the team responded well to the early pressure. The tussle became real during the second half as the drizzling annoying rain turned into howling winds, freezing temperatures and pelting rain, almost as if it was hailing.

Cumoram is regularly his sides strongest performer and tough in every contest. Today I witnessed something different. As the 3 quarter time siren sounded and after running through the midfield the entire game, Cumoram came to the bench. His body absolutely frozen as if with hyperthermia. His fingers were badly swollen as a result of putting his body fully on the line for a goal-saving smother. Tears ran from his face, the conditions seemingly beating his willpower to continue playing. His bruised and battered body shelling his broken spirit. He was determined that he was done for the day and I almost begged him to find the will power to go back on as his team needed him. We raced for the canteen where I filled up a cup of hot water and had him dip his fingers into thawing them out. As the siren sounded for the start of the last quarter, the coach looked over to see if Cumoram would still be up for one last 15-minute effort. Many of the other kids had pulled the pin on the match and were sheltering in the changerooms. Still, in agony and with tears still streaming from his face, Cumoram bravely took to the field.

The last quarter was by no means a spectacle of pretty football and Cumoram looked nothing like the aggressive ball-winning player that he normally is. It was his bravery and the effort under the extreme conditions to stay on the ground and compete in order to help his team win the game that will forever be etched in my mind. Against the elements and trailing by 2 points, the team clawed their way back into the lead and then held off the final few minutes for the gutsiest win I have seen them play in. As the final siren sounded I ran onto the field to embrace my boy, still severely suffering from the torrential condidtions. It was a super proud Dad moment.