Long Time No See

WE ARE BACK!!!!

Hi Everyone!
It's been a while. Lazy I guess. Was too depressed with India's dismal performance (non-performance) at the World Cup, but then things like the Virginia Tech Shootings make you feel small to crib about petty things like an Indian Cricket team loss at the WC...

Amazing what a depraved mind is capable of. It could be anyone... In the midst of all this we are happy to be alive and as Psalm 91 says "I will say of Jehovah, He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in whom I trust... Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night.." What a comfort we have in Jesus. Nothing can separate us form the love of God. Nor death, torture.... nothing. We are more than conquerors!

LYNDA's LETTER

It is indeed a very long time since I sat down to write
We have probably had about a maximum of 7 visitor free days only since Keren and family came in Dec!! It has been a full on time for us as a family and the kids have experienced all sorts of displacements from their 'cozy corners'. But it has also been a time of praying for grace and strength that we might be Christlike in all our dealings with people ---the kids are learning too. We do thank God for them and their willingness to be inconvenienced, but they also seem unfazed by it!
This is a big year for Nia with grade 12 exams lurking around the corner and to think a quarter of a year has sped us by is scary .. Her heart is in missions, but the recent change to want to do medicine has been from within her own heart. It is always a source of wonder and amazement what God has in store for her --- we wait patiently for God to unfold His Masterplan for her life. It is a big call --even to want to do medicine in this country, but we know God knows what is best for her [our heart feels we would have her far from medicine] and so we continue to support her in all her ventures. Do pray that she would be able to work undisturbed and undistracted over the next few months and God would endow her with the wisdom and discernment she requires to make the right decisions. We cannot believe we are already there --as parents of a grade 12 kid, we now know what our parents and some of you guys must have gone through, at this stage.
Anisha has grown taller than Nia and is maturing in the Lord in a quieter way -- less articulate about her faith, but growing. Some of our conversations on a drive [my favourite times with the kids] reveal a heart that is growing and beginning to apply more of what she is learning to daily living. She is very different from Nia - Sammy/ Stephen come to my mind. She is still going through the ‘read the Bible' in a year and sometimes has to play catch-up, but she is doing it. Her interest in sports and cars and music still remain very strong and she believes that she will make a future of it --haha; she is very passionate about all of it! We just heard she has received another award for her tennis in the club. . She has a couple of good Christian friends in youth and we pray that these friendships would develop even at this young age and go on through life to keep her encouraged in the Lord.
Shefan is fast catching up to Nia --she is the one they want to beat in height at the moment which is not very difficult. He is growing and developing a wider perspective to life and has changed a lot over the last 8 months-- he has been the most displaced person over the last 4 months , but has done it ungrudgingly and without complaining . He will join Anisha in the winter tennis tournaments from May - he is a true sportsman. We trust he will have more opportunity to develop his skills over the coming year, esp with his cricket. He loves school and is learning to research and getting more computer savvy in a different system of education. We trust and pray that all the input into his life spiritually will bear fruit over the years. The kids get along famously and there is never a quiet moment at home ---if they are not ribbing each other, they are sharing their interests in music [very different from ours] or watching sport together ---they keep busy.
We have started with JAMES in our homegroups --our homegroup has got larger and is now bursting at the seams with a great mix of adults in their 60s to about 10 kids and as we discussed the recent trials we have experienced, Shefan says "Bob Woolmer ". We were in splits as he is so one-track about cricket, so passionate like Benj!! Church is fresh and vibrant, as it is a young growing church and we have the struggles of a growing church, but it is 'family'! We are starting with a small break from MATHEW on family before we step into another book from the NT. I am involved with the youth group and it is a good bunch of kids who are closeknit and esp the bunch of 16yr olds we have, are a solid bunch with a passion for the Lord --it reminds of our group back home, smaller but solid ! Benj is leading the Young Adults, a great bunch of committed people and we are studying through the "pursuit of Holiness' with this group. We pray that this group would become a more integral part of the church.
I am enjoying work --- I have enough of challenges and openings in my areas of interest professionally at hospital. But I have enough time with the kids and I enjoy just being a part of their lives esp with another two standing at the brink of their teenage years.

Benj is between two hospitals and that can get tiring, though the whole night duty days in hospital are over. He is enjoying his consultant role with a new set of challenges and his mind is active as usual, but he does find the handling of adults 'not so exciting'.
Dev is in Oman and very soon we will lose another close set of friends to a shift.-the family will move out by June, we will miss them. Well, that is all about us - we trust things are fine with you. With the wedding preparation, it must be very exciting and a lot of action and emotion in the 'family. We do miss being a part of it. Yes, Deva, you are a teenager now --wow! that is special! Leena, thanks for all the mails and keeping us updated.
We praise God for His plan of redemption that runs through from Genesis of which we have been made a part of ---when we look at the many around us who are blissful in their ignorance of the One, True God and the others who willfully shun the knowledge of the Almighty, we realise it is His grace that found us and brought us back into the fold. We also thank God that we can find our refuge in the Fortress, and know He hides our soul in the cleft of the Rock where rivers of pleasure we see. What a joy it is to be able to know Him as an earthly family and be bound in His love's strong cord to one another.
Until the next mail ---in prayers.
With love
Lynda and Benjy

Life is Uncertain and Brief

I am sure you all heard of Steve Irvin's sudden death. We all know he took risks but to get stabbed in the heart by a stingray!!!! Thats something.
It has caused a lot of speculations and talk all over the world. Many think it is cruel, it's not fair, why did the stingray attack?????
I guess we all need to understand that death is the only certainty in life and it is a consequence of sin entering the world......
Check this link. It's good.
http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/4627

On a lighter note, I heard that TATA is bringing out a 1 Lakh car. Wonder what it is like.....


Actually the image is suppose to move... I hope you can get it to do so. It looks like soemone running.
1 LAKH MEIN AUR KITNA MILEGA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SOME MORE PHOTOS

Here are some more photos. Will send you more soon. Keep coming back to look for more.
I am sure you heard the news that Steve Irwin died tragically yesterday. Imagine getting pierced in the heart by a sting ray!!! Freak!!!
What a way to go.
Anyways enjoy!
This is Niyanta's painting (Self-portrait Picasso-pencil sketch) done last year! Some gift.

MUCH AWAITED UPDATE

Almost 3 mths are coming to an end since our family got complete---we praise God alone for all that He has wrought for us. It is good to have Shefan finally join us and add to the already existing decibel levels of the D'souza khandaan..in our home, there is never a dull moment. At the moment, there is a small lull as the oldest brat is spending a week away from home in ? quiet/ wild contemplation in the Flinders Ranges along with her grade 11 classmates and their teachers, This is a great opportunity for these kids --it is a boot camp, in tents , no electricity or very little I think , cooking by themselves and sessions designed to make them think through life issues and prepare them towards grade 12 ---and what they would aim towards at the end of grade 12. It is a privilege to have Christian teachers who encourage them to add a Christian perspective to their thinking and do so at every point of the way. We are certain this would be an enriching experience for the kids. Niya's heart is in missions and we pray that God would sustain the desire He has planted in her heart and that the distractions of life would not quench her passion for Christ. She has also in the last 3 mths developed a desire to do medicine much to our human dismay...but we believe that if the seed has been planted by God in her heart, He will bring it to completion. My exams remain the most recent piece of compelling evidence of the same that nothing is impossible for God and He will bring the good work that He starts in us to completion. She has also been doing well on the extra-curricular front, with the Best Witness award -2006 for the Mock Trials competition 2006 after having been solicitor for their team until the last 48 hrs., has bagged the senior school poetry competition 1st prize and is actually furiously trying to learn all the chemistry which she has missed for over almost 2/3rds the year in the last 4 mths--God help her. She sometimes seems to feel the strain, but we believe God will enable her and
she remains a source of encouragement to me --it is good to watch kids grow up to be our friends .
Anisha is doing well in class--quite different from Nia . She is of a much calmer disposition and less emotional and volatile in her display of emotions. She enjoys her tennis and sports , She has Benjy's keen ear for music ...and is slowly beginning to participate more actively in our Bible studies. We pray that God will fill her with a passion for Christ and she would obey Christ in all aspects of life and living . She is very vivacious and tomboyish-- has a crazy streak too . Interesting what a bit of encouragement can do to people--I always felt sorry for her where art was concerned as I was convinced that she had inherited my drawing skills [which keeps people far away from me in Pictionary], but this teacher has encouraged her artistic angle and she is churning up some pieces of art and enjoying it too !!
Shefan loves school---enjoys doing homework and has his eyes filling up at the imaginary thought of 'failing in year 6'--it is good to see the three of them together, fighting , arguing and yet enjoying themselves. Anisha and he fight and yet like before, are partners in crime. They go out and play tennis, basketball together and have even started travelling by bus by themselves without Niya. Ofcourse my nagging skills are stretched to it's capacity, and it also makes me depend on God to control it....Shefan's age group ie-the 11 yr olds have also been inducted into youth group and so, he has also started sitting through church sermons. Shefan--well, you will have a treat when you meet him next -he is already rolling his r--s and talking Aussie--basically, blossoming and wanting to do well. We pray that God will help him mature into a man after God's own heart .
Well, I received my specialist registration with the medical board of South australia today as a specialist. It was in a miraculous way that the College of Anaesthetists called me even before I made my appeal to them for considering my first year in Adelaide hospital, and told me they deemed my period of supervised training complete-ie 8 mths before the set date , they granted me my Fellowship . This is nothing but the hand of God at work ...talking of little details of our life--God gave me this new job which has turned out perfect after the last many months of hard work..I have 1 1/2 days other than the weekend off--I drop the kids to school on my way to work and have a much lighter schedule here. This job has innumerable advantages--plenty of time for the family and now, involvement in church ministries, though we have been stepping cautiously .
Benj is on a crazy schedule in the ICU, and our countdown is on for the next 5 mths ---after which Godwilling the registrar days will be a thing of the past. Our Bible studies are going strong and our homegroup is a good mix ranging from 9 yr olds to 16 yr olds and then adults upto 50yr olds,,,We have also revived the young adults group that had stopped meeting--pray for Benj as he leads this ministry . God has helped break down the ice and we pray that God will use us to help bridge the distance we feel exists amidst the young adults and older adults--youth in church. Most of all , we view this time as God-given to invest in our children and we pray that this will yield rich dividends for the kingdom.
Thank you for reading my long epistle----this is an update for the last 3 mths.

RANDOM

Hi Again! These are just random pictures that we've taken over the last two years. Parliament house Canberra.Great place, Canberra, all circles (like Kasbah Peth!) The War memorial is spectacular.

Sunsets in Australia have a different beauty about them. Spectacular shades, changing hues. Total trip!!!

On our way back from Sydney, it was spitting (drizzling as we would say), this was taken from inside the car.

This one is by Niyanta at one of her school camps.

This is with Johhny (Johnson Matthews) kids in Sydney.
At the river on the way to Stamwell Tops.

One of those "classics". LYN on the way to Opera House Sydney. I couldn't decide which looked better. That sounds so cheesy, sorry! Next to her is yours truly with the "Coat Hanger" (Sydney Bridge) in the background.

This is Niya at B0ndi Beach. Great place.






WITH OTHERS AT DARLING HARBOUR







WE'VE HAD A FEW VISITORS, MY IN-LAWS ARE REGULARS NOW. LAST YEAR WE TOOK THEM TO APPOLLO BAY, GREAT OCEAN ROAD ETC. THEN WE WENT TO MELBOURNE AND THIS IS JUST OUTSIDE MELBOURNE AT DONNABUANG.

THAT'S ME AT THE 12 APOSLTES




WE ALSO HAD THE WILLIAMS'OVER. THIS IS WITH SAMMY AT REMARKABLE ROCKS ON KANGAROO ISLAND.

THATS US WITH THEM OUTSIDE THE CAVES AT KI



THE CRAZY TRIO AT BALARAT. CAN'T WAIT FOR SHEFAN TO JOIN US!!!!

HELLO, IT'S AUTUMN HERE IN ADELAIDE

WE ARE THE D'SOUZA CLAN FROM ADELAIDE, PART OF THE BIGGER D'SOUZA CLAN FROM PUNE, BOMBAY AND MANGALORE. A NOMADIC TRIBE YOU MIGHT SAY.
WE AS A FAMILY LOVE JESUS CHRIST FIRST AND TRY TO LOVE EACH OTHER THE WAY HE HAS TAUGHT US TO AND EXPECTS US TO.IT IS HARD! WE ARE NOT PERFECT.
HEY! WE ARE JUST SINNERS LIKE ALL THE PEOPLE IN THE WORLD BUT WITH A DIFFERENCE. WE ARE AMONG THOSE WHO CAN STAND IN GOD'S PRESENCE WITHOUT SHAME,IN SPITE OF OUR SINFUL NATURE! YOU MIGHT WONDER HOW THAT'S POSSIBLE. IT'S BECAUSE JESUS CHRIST DIED AND PAID THE PRICE FOR OUR SINS ONCE AND FOR ALL. HE WIPED THE SLATE CLEAN AND WASHED US WHITER THAN SNOW!!! AND NOT ONLY THAT, HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD AND THAT MEANS HE HAS CONQUERED DEATH AND SIN AND HAS DECLARED US (THOSE WHO BELIEVE) CLEAN!ISN'T THAT EXCITING! THAT'S NOT ALL, HE HAS PROMISED US ETERNITY WITH HIM. HEY YOU MAY THINK WE ARE CRAZY. WELL IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN KNOWING WHY WE BELEIVE WHAT WE BELEIVE, THEN POST A MESSAGE, WE CAN ANSWER TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITY. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT JESUS OFFERS THE SAME TO ALL WHO REPENT (TURN THEIR BACK ON SIN) AND BELEIVE IN HIM AS LORD AND SAVIOUR.IN THE MEANWHILE LET US SHARE OUR LIVES WITH YOU.

Greetings and a big hello to all our near and dear ones.
We're about a month into out Autumn and the weather is getting BEAUTIFUL!!! It's wet, cold, sunny at times and the colours are pleasing to the eye.

We are busy with work but the kids are on vacation for another week.






Lyn's parents are with us till June and we are enjoying their company and their presence here is great.

We took them with our other friends from Poona who are here with us, Dev and Sheena, to Maclaren Vale for a picnic on the Easter Saturday.

It was great!

We had great weather, good food and we played "puddox"after lunch for about an hour. That was exhausting to say the least.