Just a quick note to say thank you to all who have enquired about mine and my families safety in the recent fires in Melbourne. The short version is that we are all safe.

The longer version is that I was speaking at a conference in Queensland, two hours outside of Brisbane and effectively incommunicado.

I called Lisa at 6:00pm Melbourne time, only to find out that she was in our car with both the kids, driving around Greensborough (a suburb that is about 10 minutes drive from our house, towards the city and away from the fires). She then proceeded to tell me about the 47 degree Celsius day, the hot northerly winds and the fact that our suburb/town (Hurstbridge) had officially been placed on alert.

It all seemed very surreal.

She informed me that she would be heading back to our home if it was still possible that night and that she had packed bags, placed them by the door, and was waiting with some anxiety, how the night would unfold. The anxiety of course, being due to the fact that some of the residents in our street had already evacuated for the next few days whilst the rest of the residents were making preparations, hosing down roofs and the like. Things that Lisa would obviously find very difficult to do, being on her own with two kids.

I am so indebted to our wonderful neighbors, who knowing that Lisa was on her own, checked in on her every few hours all day and into the night, just to make sure she was up to date and ok.

I then discovered the next day the extend of loss of life and destruction of property. My wonderful partner Lisa then informs me that she is packing some stuff and money together to help a colleague of hers whose house was destroyed in Kinglake. She, her partner and her 18 month old son headed off to the city to visit some friends and when they tried to return home, discovered that the whole area had been cordoned off. They are now living in a friends basement.

I am sure that they are simply one of many who are now facing a pretty bleak next few months. I really hope insurance companies don't forget the reason they exist in the next few weeks and months.

Then there are those who have lost their lives. I am dreading the identification process. I suspect there will be at least one or two who we know from the area.

Then of course, there are some of the most wonderful people in the world, the CFA volunteers. As I read stories of these men and women who *voluntarily* place themselves between people and danger, I just think the world of them all. They are simply remarkable and I continue to esteem them as wonderful servants who help their neighbors in need. I think about how heartbroken many of them are, after having to watch as a power beyond their best attempts to control destroys the properties of those they have sworn to defend, and in some instances, their lives. Having spent some time with the Hurstbridge CFA, I think about those incredible men and women who are putting themselves in harms way in an attempt to help others, and my heart swells with both admiration and fear. Can I ask you to join with me in prayer for these guys? And keep reading the newspapers and listening to the media and respond to any requests for aid that may come out from time to time?

I might actually turn the computer off for a while because it is pretty overwhleming to think about everything that is going on and how it effects people close to me.

Let me conclude simply by saying I appreciate all your concerns, but for now, Lisa and the boys are safe, and I am obviously quite safe also, being in Queensland.

Grace.

After about one and a half hours, we had over 80 simple ideas that we could implement with our kids as families and households, and as a church community. ALL of the ideas came from people in the community.

The brilliance was that Kate was able to draw out what many of us already knew.

This is *good facilitation*.