Support update for Dave and Cathy

After two months of this blog operating, 22 stories of Dave and Cathy's ministry and 3500+ pageviews, we're pleased to say that Dave and Cathy no longer have a deficit with AFES! Please thank God for the generosity he's shown through you all.

This means that Dave and Cathy are now in a much stronger financial position, however they will still not be paid for the full amount of work they are doing. Their monthly combined support target is $10,700, most of which goes towards paying Dave for 5 days and Cathy for 3 days (although they usually work more than these official amounts). Their regular support is currently around $2,667 below the target, and so they won't be fully paid until they have pledges or ongoing support to reach this amount. Please pray for Dave and Cathy as they turn their attention from the crisis of the deficit, to the ongoing work of inviting people to be invested in this ministry to students.

This blog will remain active, and shift towards more occasional stories arising from Dave and Cathy's recent ministry. In the near future, this will provide space for stories from Dave and Cathy's ministry to international students, and we anticipate presenting stories from their new Brisbane ministry before too long.

Thanks so much for caring for Dave and Cathy, and for the students that they minister to - by visiting this blog, reading stories, receiving their newsletters, praying and giving financially. Dave and Cathy have felt quite overwhelmed by the support that has flooded in, and the encouragement they've received in their work. They feel in a much stronger position to be heading to Queensland for the next phase of their strategic student ministry.

Would you like to partner with them ongoingly in their Queensland ministry? You can partner in prayer by signing up to receive their prayer letters and you can give financial support through AFES.

Bryn's reflections

I studied BSci (Hons) from 1999 - 2002 at Melbourne University and at the end of my third year I became a Christian. Although I was committed to following Jesus I still had a lot of questions to explore during my Honours year (2002). I found that reading the bible often generated even more questions, especially as I encountered passages that either contradicted my world view, or my picture of what I thought Christians believed about God.

What a privilege it was, then, to meet with Dave on a weekly basis in the Union Building to go through my list of questions. Each week I had a new list based on what I had read from the bible and on previous conversations, and whenever we met I was amazed at the way he could answer every one of my questions in a logical and methodical fashion. I am convinced that having a weekly mentoring session with Dave is one of the reasons that I was able to grow as a Christian and 12 years later continue to trust that the bible reveals to us a true picture of God.

My wife and I got to know Cathy later on and have been blessed with the wisdom of both of them as they have helped us think about what a good marriage looks like. We look to them as role models of how we can live our lives as a blessing to all those around us.

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Would you help Dave and Cathy to continue in student ministry with AFES?

Please consider:

• Giving a one-off gift to help send Dave and Cathy to Queensland debt-free*
• Signing up for their regular newsletters so that you can pray and keep in touch with them
• Sharing this with others who might help Dave and Cathy go to Queensland debt-free

* Or even better, become a regular supporter!

Jon and Kara Thorne's reflections

Humidity. Crazy motorbikes. Amazing smells. Children playing in the streets. A scene far removed from the quiet hallways of Melbourne University and attending Christian Union (CU) main meetings. Yet amazingly these scenes are linked. How? In both places, we needed Jesus and were challenged to deepen our Christian faith. What we learnt 18 years earlier in CU, has continued to sustain, anchor and protect us in the streaming, and steaming, streets of South East Asia, living amongst a people group whose faith disagrees with our core beliefs.

We both, Jon & Kara, studied at Melbourne University from 1995 to 2000 and met at Christian Union. Together we were involved in leading Science Faculty Bible study groups. At that time David was a senior staff worker and teacher and Cathy a mentor for Kara.

So 14 years later we find ourselves serving in South East Asia with our four children in a country that is predominantly of a different faith. We have now lived here 2.5 years. Kara is a fulltime mother, part-time homeschooler of four children (ages between 9yrs to 16yrs) and a ‘taxi’ driver. Jon has started a business as a way to connect and support local people as well as to support the local church.

Dave and Cathy Walter were a key part, 18 years earlier, of us being in South East Asia. How you may ask? Cathy and Dave built us up in understanding so many truths about Jesus, on how to apply these truths into our daily life and were patient with us as we asked many questions. We were not treated with scorn or seen as doubters but were given room to mature and be shown how to study and digest the scriptures. Cathy & David walked through so many of our life transitions with us at University (ie marriage, children). BUT it did not stop there. Over the next 15 years they continued to input into our lives as our family grew in number, studying at theological college, through Jon’s cancer, when wrestling through the decision of ministering overseas as a family and then visiting us in our new home in South-East Asia.

Living in South East- Asia has bought many hardships, and even evil, into our lives. Our abilities, our good works, our knowledge, our feelings, our relationships, familiar cultural cues did not sustain us. But our Christian faith has! We knew that truth comes from the Word of God alone and the dependence on this truth was even more real when we moved to another country. We had to trust in Jesus & not in ourselves.

In each (and more) of these places & situations, they were willing to talk of spiritual things, share of themselves and speak the truth in love to us. We knew of their prayerfulness for, and over, our family when apart (even by state boundaries) and it moulded the way they conversed with us when we were together.

Our prayer is that they can continue to be mentors and friends to many other people like us, from many nations. Dave and Cathy have been an invaluable influence on our lives and many others like us. We pray that they are able to bless many more lives in the future through their work with university students from all around the world.

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Would you help Dave and Cathy to continue in student ministry with AFES?

Please consider:

• Giving a one-off gift to help send Dave and Cathy to Queensland debt-free*
• Signing up for their regular newsletters so that you can pray and keep in touch with them
• Sharing this with others who might help Dave and Cathy go to Queensland debt-free

* Or even better, become a regular supporter!

Michael and Christine Cheung's reflections

Back when we first joined the Christian Union in the mid 90’s Dave and Cathy were already carrying out leadership responsibilities for God’s ministry on campus. They were to us big brother and sister who always welcomed and provided encouragement to those of us who were still young in our faith. Towards the later years of our lives at the Uni, we had the pleasure of being part of Dave’s leadership team as well as the weekly 5M training sessions.  Meeting one on one with Dave towards the end of my (Michael) degree was tremendously valuable because I was taught on a personal level how to nut out the bible for myself, a skill that I was able to take away from CU and apply to the local church groups we’ve served. After several years of joining the workforce, through the Melb Uni Regional Action Group (MURAG), we were able to reconnect with the ministry on Campus and see in detail how the ministry has continued to thrive with the hundreds of young believers growing in their faith.

Partnering with Dave and Cathy through the years, we could see God’s great work constantly spreading and evolving through ages, cultures and demographics. And so we look forward to journeying with the Walters as they head up north to take on a big slice of Australia. May God’s faithfulness continue to empower Dave and Cathy and the work of AFES in years to come!

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Would you help Dave and Cathy to continue in student ministry with AFES?

Please consider:

• Giving a one-off gift to help send Dave and Cathy to Queensland debt-free*
• Signing up for their regular newsletters so that you can pray and keep in touch with them
• Sharing this with others who might help Dave and Cathy go to Queensland debt-free

* Or even better, become a regular supporter!

Vaughan Crawford's reflections

Hi, I’m Vaughan Crawford.  You may remember me from gatherings such as MUCU Small Groups, or Cross Cultures Kitchen Kapers!

Growing up attending a small church in Melbourne’s north, my faith grew in fits and spurts depending on the preaching roster of pastors & lay preachers, or annual beach missions.  More consistent & substantial growth commenced when youth group & bible studies were shaped by leaders who had been trained & mentored by AFES groups at La Trobe & Melbourne Universities.

So when I began studying at Melbourne Uni, I headed straight for the campus Christian Union group, hungry for more.  God was very kind, and as well as providing great biblical teaching through the public meetings and small group syllabus (Mark/Romans, Genesis/Acts, letters/prophets, …), I also learned a great deal about applying what I learned in how I served others, worked and studied.

During this time, I met Cathy and David Walter and was part of many small groups with and led by them.  David & I met regularly, working through questions and key concepts from the public meetings and small group studies.  It was often important to remember two things for the following week, although there were probably more and David was just being patient with me!  In my final year I led a group with Cathy, learning a great deal from her wise leadership, patience and group development.  I was profoundly influenced by the ways that Cathy and David integrated their faith in daily lives and service.

By the time I graduated, my faith and understanding of God’s love and sacrifice had drastically deepened, and I had been challenged and trained to apply this in all areas of my life and circumstances.  Thanks to God’s work through people like David and Cathy at CU, I was one of many leaving uni better equipped to live out my faith in my workplace, relationships and my local church.  It wasn’t a hard decision to continue to support the work of AFES in prayer and financial contributions.

It’s been a delight to observe up close and from a distance how Cathy and David have continued to serve Christ as they moved into work with international students in Melbourne, Adelaide and (soon!) Queensland.  Similar to the great work I enjoyed at uni, students from many countries are encountering Jesus through the bible and are growing in their knowledge and love of him.

As the years have progressed there have been moments of laughter, understanding, challenge, disappointment, struggle and perseverance.  What endures most is the joy of seeing so many people who grew under God’s care through the work of David and Cathy at Christian Union, Cross Cultures and Focus, now working in a huge variety of industries, families, organisations and church communities, across many cities, states and countries.  Under God’s grace, we continue to work out our faith in these situations, building on the foundations laid at such a critical time in our lives.

Individuals, families and churches equipped for many ministries and good works, growing mature in Christ and working for his glory.  That’s a great thing. 

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Would you help Dave and Cathy to continue in student ministry with AFES?

Please consider:

• Giving a one-off gift to help send Dave and Cathy to Queensland debt-free*
• Signing up for their regular newsletters so that you can pray and keep in touch with them
• Sharing this with others who might help Dave and Cathy go to Queensland debt-free

* Or even better, become a regular supporter!

Daniel Gebert's reflections

Some people are reluctant to get involved in their campus’ Christian group, but hang around on the fringes – you can tell they’re just there for the free sausage. I wasn’t one of those people. Despite the fact that I’d never heard of ‘Christian Union’, ‘evangelicals’, or ‘expository preaching’, I jumped in head first. After realising in my final year at school that I had hardly any Christian friends, I hoped there would be some Christian group I could get involved with when I started Uni in 2003. There was something about the culture, the welcoming attitude, the warm acceptance as a brother, which made it clear that this was the group for me. 

God had more planned for me than just making friends. I would say that God used my 6 years at Christian Union to turn me from a believer in Jesus, into a disciple of Christ. Before this time, I believed the gospel, I read my Bible, but I didn’t know what difference this made day-to-day. The Bible teaching at CU was more in-depth, but also more accessible, than anything I had experienced before. I remember a particularly lucid series Dave preached on the book of Revelation, which opened it up to me for the first time. When I was disoriented by new ideas, there was support. I recall sending Dave quite a melodramatic email after questions were raised in my mind about the persistence of the more dramatic gifts of the Spirit. He patiently invited me to his house to talk it over. 

As my comprehension of God’s word grew, so did my realisation of its implications. If Jesus had bought me at the price of his own life, if I was freed from sin and raised with him; if this was a free gift of God’s grace, how could I but be willing to give my whole life to his service in thanks? I was able, by the support of my CU leaders and peers, to grow towards this goal. The initiatives organised by CU provided practical experience in Christian ministry and local mission. I am now an ordinand with the Anglican Church – a path in which Christian Union played a significant role. I thank God for how he used my time there. I pray that he will use Dave and Cathy’s work in Queensland, the Northern Territory, and overseas, to turn many more young believers into disciples of Christ.

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Would you help Dave and Cathy to continue in student ministry with AFES?

Please consider:

• Giving a one-off gift to help send Dave and Cathy to Queensland debt-free*
• Signing up for their regular newsletters so that you can pray and keep in touch with them
• Sharing this with others who might help Dave and Cathy go to Queensland debt-free

* Or even better, become a regular supporter!

Charlie Fletcher's reflections

Dave and Cathy have been faithful Christians for as long as I've known them (we were students together at the University of Melbourne in the early nineties). They have a track record of fruitful gospel ministry among Australian and international students in Melbourne and Adelaide. I'm excited that they are going to continue in student ministry as they head to Queensland. I commend them to you enthusiastically and encourage you to consider being in gospel partnership with Dave and Cathy by prayer, giving and encouragement.

I've watched Dave in action as a student, a leader, a staffworker, and a team leader in various student ministry settings over more than twenty years. In that time, I've been encouraged by Dave's care in handling God's word, by his growth in godliness, by his hard work for the sake of the gospel, and by his giftedness in growing student ministry and Australian and international students. I spent a year as a volunteer member of the staff when Dave was the Campus Director of the Melbourne University Christian Union, and it left me thinking how good it would be to do a ministry apprenticeship under Dave's leadership. Your support could help make that possible for others as Dave and Cathy head to Queensland and continue in student ministry.

Charlie Fletcher.
Melbourne University Christian Union student 1991-1996
volunteer staff at MUCU 2000
sent by CMS to work with IFES in Mexico 2001-2011
chair of MUCU support committee 2011-2013
currently Dean of Global Mission at Ridley College and Senior Missiologist with CMS Australia.

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Would you help Dave and Cathy to continue in student ministry with AFES?

Please consider:

• Giving a one-off gift to help send Dave and Cathy to Queensland debt-free*
• Signing up for their regular newsletters so that you can pray and keep in touch with them
• Sharing this with others who might help Dave and Cathy go to Queensland debt-free

* Or even better, become a regular supporter!

Tim Allen's reflections

Dave and Cathy helped me to think through the relevance of the bible, God's word to us, for all areas of life - where I'm at with God, relationships of all kinds, work and ministry.  Their godly example of living out a life following Christ really helped to encourage me to persevere in doing so and their teaching encouragement helped to give me the tools.

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Would you help Dave and Cathy to continue in student ministry with AFES?

Please consider:

• Giving a one-off gift to help send Dave and Cathy to Queensland debt-free*
• Signing up for their regular newsletters so that you can pray and keep in touch with them
• Sharing this with others who might help Dave and Cathy go to Queensland debt-free

* Or even better, become a regular supporter!

Rick and Miranda Starkey's reflections

Rick says:

I first met Dave Walter in 1993, as a Commerce student who had been invited to his CU Bible study group.  Dave seemed to emanate godly wisdom and a firm trust in the Bible.  He was one of the first people I met who treated the Bible as a text to be wrestled with and understood as opposed to a ‘magic’ artefact to be quoted in times of trouble.  He was one of a few people in the CU who passed on this revelation to me, and over the years of church ministry in some small way I hope to have passed it on to others.

Miranda says:

I remember meeting one-on-one with Cathy (at Melbourne Uni in 1998) & her really challenging me in being serious about ministry. She convinced me to give it a go as a job! That experience is beneficial in my ongoing ministry today, serving at church around all the other things I do.

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Would you help Dave and Cathy to continue in student ministry with AFES?

Please consider:

• Giving a one-off gift to help send Dave and Cathy to Queensland debt-free*
• Signing up for their regular newsletters so that you can pray and keep in touch with them
• Sharing this with others who might help Dave and Cathy go to Queensland debt-free

* Or even better, become a regular supporter!

Aileen Humphrey's reflections

Dave is an awesome guy to work alongside, and as a boss. He takes the time to chat and to listen to people. His approach to life is profoundly shaped by God's Word and that comes through in my interactions with Dave. His approach to ministry encourages me to think outside the box and to be bold in my own ministry context. It has been a pleasure to minister with Dave and to learn from his godly example and visionary outlook.

Dave and Cathy truly operate as a team and are single-minded in their focus to see people come into God's kingdom. Their example and dedication to ministry inspire me to have that same focus.

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Would you help Dave and Cathy to continue in student ministry with AFES?

Please consider:

• Giving a one-off gift to help send Dave and Cathy to Queensland debt-free*
• Signing up for their regular newsletters so that you can pray and keep in touch with them
• Sharing this with others who might help Dave and Cathy go to Queensland debt-free

* Or even better, become a regular supporter!

Edward Whiting's reflections

I met Dave and Cathy at the Summit Camp of Melbourne University Christian Union in 2008, which was my final year of undergraduate study.  I was attracted and inspired by their humble, gentle, warm personalities and impressed by their enthusiasm for international students and the Bible.  I was drawn to participate in their Cross Cultures ministry because of this and I was inspired to learn from their approach to their work.  I was happy to support them financially when they left Melbourne for Adelaide, to continue their ministry there, because I am confident that they are doing the work of the Kingdom of God.

There are a great many international students passing through Australian universities, many of whom are interested to learn about Christianity and the Bible, especially when it may not be so easy to do in the countries from which they have come.  Dave and Cathy are very effective at helping these students make friends, learn about Australia, and meet Jesus.  They work very hard to put on a weekly dinner and Bible study for them as well as organising camping trips, not knowing who will return the following week or who will hold fast to the Gospel of Jesus when they graduate and return home, but persisting with the work in faith.  Dave and Cathy train leaders how to lead Bible studies, how to engage people from other cultures, and how to be godly people.  I commend their cause as very worthy of continued support.

I live in Sydney with my wife Kelly, whom I met in Melbourne at Cross Cultures when Dave and Cathy were leading it.  We are both active in our church and still enjoy eating dinner with our friends and studying the Bible.

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Would you help Dave and Cathy to continue in student ministry with AFES?

Please consider:

• Giving a one-off gift to help send Dave and Cathy to Queensland debt-free*
• Signing up for their regular newsletters so that you can pray and keep in touch with them
• Sharing this with others who might help Dave and Cathy go to Queensland debt-free

* Or even better, become a regular supporter!

Paul Humphrey's reflections

In my Honours year, Dave and I planned to exercise at the gym to ‘put some muscle’ on my decidedly ‘ectomorph’ physique. Regretfully, this physical training didn’t happen (nor did the physical transformation). But far more importantly, Dave’s faithful Bible teaching - characterised by insightful application and lived out in discerning obedience - has ‘bulked up’ my life’s response to the Lord Jesus. 

I first met Dave and Cathy at a Christian Union O(rientation)-Camp. Dave was a force to be reckoned with at the table tennis table and on the cricket pitch (soccer, not so much). But more than his sporting prowess, I admired Dave’s gentle devotion to his wife Cathy, and intentional friendship building with students - including a shy, long-haired first year bloke called Paul.

In the early ‘noughties’, Dave and I met regularly to chat, chew over Bible talks and passages, pray and weigh life priorities - including career options and the perennial topic of ‘CU match-making’ (both mine and others’). With humility, sincerity and succinctness, Dave repeatedly pointed me to the God Who graciously sent His Son Jesus to live, die and rise again so we could know God as loving Father (not punishing Judge), share that most excellent news, and live forever with Him.

Catching some of this Gospel zeal, I stayed on at Melbourne Uni with Christian Union as an AFES ministry apprentice, coupled with part-time theological studies at Ridley College. Two years turned into four. In 2005 Dave surprised me with an invitation to shift ministry focus from Aussie medical students to overseas students, with the freshly launched “Cross Cultures”. The year or so I spent serving with Cross Cultures was the most daunting, thrilling, draining, humbling and Christ-exalting of my decade at Melbourne Uni! Dave’s contagious Gospel bravado helped persuade me to join Cross Cultures, and his faithful prior example and coaching equipped me to love international students by introducing them to Jesus and His family.

I now serve Jesus as a husband, father, church elder and public servant. In each of these, I see elements of the Spirit’s work, through Dave, in me. Striving (despite regular setbacks) to cherish Shell and her eternal welfare more than my selfish short-term ‘needs’. Learning to be a humble, patient, forgiven and forgiving dad who shows and shares a contagious trust in King Jesus, our Big Brother. Labouring with seasoned brothers to care for a local part of Christ’s flock, guarding the purity of the Gospel and unity of our witness. Diligently working to provide for family, and helping steward Victoria’s financial resources for the community’s welfare, under God. Watching my life and doctrine closely. Persevering for my and others’ welfare. Loving, honouring, obeying Jesus.

Dave and Cathy, thank you! Know that your words seasoned with grace, loving example and prayerful dedication to honouring Christ continue to bring our Lord Jesus praise and glory! We’re looking forward to celebrating with you - amongst the many the Spirit is calling from every corner of the planet - when Jesus returns…

-Paul Humphreys (Melb Uni, 1996-2006)

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Would you help Dave and Cathy to continue in student ministry with AFES?

Please consider:

• Giving a one-off gift to help send Dave and Cathy to Queensland debt-free*
• Signing up for their regular newsletters so that you can pray and keep in touch with them
• Sharing this with others who might help Dave and Cathy go to Queensland debt-free

* Or even better, become a regular supporter!

Andy Prideaux's reflections

I first met Dave and Cathy in my first year at Uni and CU-it was also Cathy’s first year at CU. Dave was 2 years ahead (I think); an elder in CU terms. Of course since I was an Arts student and they were both science students it was forbidden that we be friends. All that ended at SUMMIT that year where I got the chance especially to get to know Dave and begin a friendship with him and later Cathy, which has been an amazing blessing in so many ways that I can’t count them. My wife Ness wants to say Amen to that too! It could have had something to do with driving quite fast in Dave’s 1960’s Valiant, coupled with sitting under the teaching of Leon Morris from 1 John.

But the main thing I wanted to say for this blog, was that first as a student, and then returning to work as part of the staff team later with Dave and Cathy, I saw first hand their deep trust in the Lord Jesus, their knowledge that His power is at work in their weakness, and that He is working all things together for good-including the difficult heart breaking things,  and their desire to serve Him and sacrificially love and serve others for Christ’s sake.

Over the last 25 years (almost) I have been encouraged, trained, spurred on, rebuked and blessed by God through their ministry to me-and as we have worked together and apart-in the lives of others (Also once when we went book shopping together Dave let me have Driver & Gray on Job even though, technically, he saw it on the shelf first. If you’ve only ever ‘found’ books on the internet it will be hard for you to appreciate the nobility of this act)

I think one clear way in which God has gifted Dave and Cathy is in their ability to perceive what’s going on in a ministry, and with wisdom suggest ways forward-‘the plan’- that enables a healthy gospel ministry to flourish long after they have gone. This was certainly the case at Melbourne Uni which I experienced first-hand when I succeeded Dave in his role there. They built on the foundation of Christ, with precious and costly stones. I have no doubt that this will be the case in SA. Dave and Cathy also recognise the variety amongst God’s people and never try to make people exactly like them in ministry-their desire is that they and others grow to be more like Jesus. This meant that although Dave and I are quite different to each other, we could work together really well. I saw this in his working dynamic with many other members of the team over the years. This quality is also clearly evident in Cathy’s ministry.

Because Dave & Cathy have accepted the challenge to move to new areas of work interstate, while the ministry they have left behind remains well supported, they don’t always get to benefit directly from this in terms of their own financial support. As a long term supporter of Dave and Cathy , can I encourage those of you who know them to consider coming on board as a partner with them in ministry, and/or by making a one of donation to help with this deficit so that they can make a fresh debt-free start in QLD.

Thank God for His faithfulness to us all in the Lord Jesus, not least through the fellowship of His people, not least through our brother Dave and sister Cathy.

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Would you help Dave and Cathy to continue in student ministry with AFES?

Please consider:

• Giving a one-off gift to help send Dave and Cathy to Queensland debt-free*
• Signing up for their regular newsletters so that you can pray and keep in touch with them
• Sharing this with others who might help Dave and Cathy go to Queensland debt-free

* Or even better, become a regular supporter!

Sandy Clarke's reflections

When I came to the University of Melbourne as a first year in 2001, I was bursting with questions and a desire to deepen my faith.  While God had long been working in my heart, Dave and Cathy were some of the key people He used to seize this opportunity, through the Melbourne Uni Christian Union.  They seemed undaunted by my questions but never made me feel silly for asking them.  As campus director, Dave showed leadership and vision but was also willing to entrust students like me with responsibility, particularly with things I would have been too timid to volunteer myself for.  As a result, this was the period of my life during which I received more ministry training than any other, always with the reminder that my confidence and security come from the hope held out by the gospel.  I am still blessed by this training and this reminder in my present work and ministry at university.

God has generously gifted Dave and Cathy with great capacity for ministry.  I pray that He will bridge the gap between their current financial support and this capacity.

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Would you help Dave and Cathy to continue in student ministry with AFES?

Please consider:

• Giving a one-off gift to help send Dave and Cathy to Queensland debt-free*
• Signing up for their regular newsletters so that you can pray and keep in touch with them
• Sharing this with others who might help Dave and Cathy go to Queensland debt-free

* Or even better, become a regular supporter!

David Carbine's reflections

I started catching up with Dave as a mentor when I was halfway through my degree. A friend pointed out I was halfway through my degree and hadn't really thought about how my Christian faith could or should influence who I was after university. I'd taken my high-school faith into a tertiary setting and it hadn't really grown or developed like it should.

Dave connected me to CU programs - bible studies, camps and various groups - and also agreed to mentor me with regular, intentional catchups and prayer about my life, the world and Jesus. Dave was patient and gracious we discussed ( and I over-thought and under-prayed) about jobs, career, romance and everything else. Although I left uni several years ago, I recently had dinner with Dave and Cathy and experienced the same grace and love we talked about how life was headed. I'm really thankful for not only their Godly counsel, but also their genuine concern for me and all the (present and former) students in their ministry.

I am passionate about supporting the ministry of AFES in general, and Dave and Cathy Walter in particular, so more students would be able to meet Jesus. Through the real, daily, sustained and graciously-close ministry of people like them sharing their lives, I reckon more people will come to faith and stick with Jesus when the going gets confusing or tough.

Thank you Dave & Cathy, and keep serving faithfully :)

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Would you help Dave and Cathy to continue in student ministry with AFES?

Please consider:

• Giving a one-off gift to help send Dave and Cathy to Queensland debt-free*
• Signing up for their regular newsletters so that you can pray and keep in touch with them
• Sharing this with others who might help Dave and Cathy go to Queensland debt-free

* Or even better, become a regular supporter!

Rob Day's reflections

In my experience of student ministry while at university, it is often exhausting and hard work, especially with the continual turnover of students each year.  The turnover means training and equipping of new leaders to take the place of the previous years students. It means building new and deep relationships each year and sometimes lacking longer term confidants and stability.

Dave and Cathy patiently endured through each transition and embraced the eager newcomers both as spiritual children and friends. Daily and weekly they challenged us as students to commit our lives to Christ and sought to thoroughly equip and train us to live for Jesus.

I'm actively serving in my local church, trying my best to be a loving husband and father to my family and am seeking to witness for Jesus in my engineering consulting firm and in all these things I can thank God for the spiritual nurture I received during my university days through the ministry of Dave and Cathy.

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Would you help Dave and Cathy to continue in student ministry with AFES?

Please consider:

• Giving a one-off gift to help send Dave and Cathy to Queensland debt-free*
• Signing up for their regular newsletters so that you can pray and keep in touch with them
• Sharing this with others who might help Dave and Cathy go to Queensland debt-free

* Or even better, become a regular supporter!

Dave Huynh's reflections

I was already a Christian when I started studying at Melbourne Uni over 15 years ago. However, I was an immature Christian at best. My life’s goal and passion was to become a multimillionaire and to retire by the age of 35. After spending some time at Christian Union and sitting under the teaching of Dave Walter, I was challenged to live my life not for my own comfort and pleasure, but for God’s glory and delight. Dave’s life and faithful teaching of God’s word not only challenged my assumptions about Christian discipleship but also equipped me to know God personally through his word.

Fast forward to the present day, I now have the joy and privilege to serve as the Senior Minister of Camberwell South Anglican Church. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that I am in full-time gospel ministry largely because of the ministry of Dave & Cathy during my most formative years. God has used them to literally change my life. I therefore do not hesitate to say that your support of their ministry is an excellent way to invest in the kingdom to come. I wholeheartedly commend Dave & Cathy to you.

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Would you help Dave and Cathy to continue in student ministry with AFES?
Please consider:

• Giving a one-off gift to help send Dave and Cathy to Queensland debt-free*
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Alex Pierce's reflections

As a first year student at Melbourne Uni in 1997, I had been a Christian for less than a year and I was homesick. My first memory of Cathy is of her welcoming me to a pizza (I think; probably) lunch. Probably as a direct consequence of this warm welcome, from Cathy and others, I maintained a strong connection with the CU over 7 or so years of intermittent university attendance. Cathy and Dave were both important parts of that: teaching, encouraging, and becoming friends. The encouragement included being asked to join the student committee, and after leaving university to join the 'regional action group' - a group that helps oversee the work of the CU. So I blame Dave, largely, for my being involved at that early stage in various committees, especially as secretary, which is an infliction I continue to bear. Both Cathy and Dave taught me important lessons about growing in Christ. Meeting someone as generous and gentle as Cathy when I was so young as a Christian was massively important; I'd never before seen that as an important part of living for Christ. It continues to be a challenge, since it's not my natural state of being. Leading a Bible study with Dave helped me in understanding Bible stories themselves but also how to convey those truths to others - and these days I'm a teacher, so it's had an impact even more broadly. And their friendship to me - young, naive, etc - is a great example in how patient, kind and generous I should be in loving my younger Christian sisters and brothers. 

Alex was at Melbourne University between 1997 and 2000. And then in 2003. And also 2009-10. These days, she teaches History and English. 

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Would you help Dave and Cathy to continue in student ministry with AFES?

Please consider:

• Giving a one-off gift to help send Dave and Cathy to Queensland debt-free*
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Mardi Easton's reflections

Although it was over 13 years ago, I can still remember my very first Public Bible Talk with the Christian Union at Melbourne Uni.  I can picture Dave standing with a halo behind him (one that he had drawn on the board himself), and talking about what Christians are like.  The challenge that he gave to students who had grown up in a Christian family (of which I was one) was that childlike faith was fine if you were a child, but it just wont cut it when you're an adult.

That week 1 meeting in my first year of uni was a big challenge for me and the challenges didn't stop there.  Over my 3 years at Melbourne Uni, the Christian Union had a huge impact on me.  It helped me get to know God through Christ, it helped me understand what it meant to live for Him, it helped me grow in a desire and ability to serve His people, and it helped me set a trajectory of a life of ministry.

Both Dave (on campus) and Cathy (at Monday Night Training) pointed me to Christ and modelled what a life of humble service to Christ looked like.  I'm excited for them in their new role as regional directors in Queensland and can't wait to see what God will do through them.

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Would you help Dave and Cathy to continue in student ministry with AFES?
Please consider:

• Giving a one-off gift to help send Dave and Cathy to Queensland debt-free*
• Signing up for their regular newsletters so that you can pray and keep in touch with them
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* Or even better, become a regular supporter!

Andy May's reflections

Last month I was reading Romans 5:1-11 at the workplace of a man from the church that I pastor. He was very encouraged by the great hope that Christians have in Christ. I came across this verse that means a great deal to me: "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Twenty years ago it was Dave who opened this text with me and helped me to understand it for the first time. And for this I am forever grateful to Dave and to God. I am also grateful to the model of ministry that Dave and Cathy have been to many people including my wife Emma and I. Since graduating and working, it has been a great privilege every year to be able to pray and financially support Dave and Cathy's gospel work wherever God has taken them.

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Would you help Dave and Cathy to continue in student ministry with AFES?
Please consider:

• Giving a one-off gift to help send Dave and Cathy to Queensland debt-free*
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Zoe Hardy's reflections

Cathy is one of the first people I remember meeting in my first week on uni campus, her gentleness and genuine care was proof of the work a loving God was doing in her life. It was 1998 and I graduated in 2001. Throughout those four years and for several years afterwards, Cathy took many opportunities to encourage me to feel, think and know my faith, and more importantly, to know God. When we met, I was confused about trusting God's revelation of Himself in His Word. Cathy encouraged me to open my Bible and open my heart to the loving, just, merciful and holy God I met there. Knowing that Jesus loved me, I became intrinsically aware of the power of His Father and God's commitment to bringing sinful people to Himself and loving us generously. Questions were welcomed, doubts were tabled and judgement was left to God. Such tenderness shown then has helped me in many following years to seek to love with God's love, as He offers it, not to make it other than it is.

Whilst studying and latter doing a ministry traineeship, I was challenged by Dave's willingness to put everything on the line for Jesus' sake. To be careful that I trusted God, not people's opinion of Him, and to be sure that I "watched my life and doctrine closely". At the time, it was something a young Christian needed to hear, and now, it is something that someone who calls herself a Christian needs to remember. To know that God sees my thoughts and that my actions and words are a reflection of the God I claim to know. I am so grateful to God for His work through the Walters, to show me what selflessness looks like, and to encourage me to trust God with all I have and all that I am.

- Zoe Hardy (nee Cuthbertson), 1998-2001+

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Would you help Dave and Cathy to continue in student ministry with AFES?
Please consider:

• Giving a one-off gift to help send Dave and Cathy to Queensland debt-free*
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* Or even better, become a regular supporter!

Wayne Schuller's reflections

At a critical stage in my life as a young adult I was in a Bible study group on campus at Melbourne Uni for the first two years of my degree. In my third year Dave trained me as an assistant leader and I began from that point to understand the joy of teaching God's Word to as many people as possible.

Also during my undergraduate years I was privileged to meet regularly with Dave 1-1 to read the Bible and talk about the gospel and its impact on my life. I received an enormous blessing and encouragement from this time. From Dave I received a hunger to teach the entire Scriptures to help everyone become wise for salvation through Christ Jesus.

I also had the opportunity to work part time with Dave on his staff team in 2000-2001. I learnt so much from Dave's faithful expositions on campus and his leadership modelling at this time. 

God, through Dave, was able to plant a passion for the gospel of grace in my heart. I am now a full-time pastor-teacher in a local church. I pray that God would continue to use Dave and Cathy to win not only new believers for Christ from among the nations, but to raise up many ministers of the Word and prayer.

Wayne Schuller (1992-1996, 2000-2001)

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Would you help Dave and Cathy to continue in student ministry with AFES?
Please consider:

• Giving a one-off gift to help send Dave and Cathy to Queensland debt-free*
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Cat's reflections

In 2000, when I first met Dave and Cathy at Summit, I wasn't a Christian. I'd opened the Bible once or twice (but closed it again quickly), had very little idea of who Jesus was and had never set foot inside a church. The community that Dave oversaw at MUCU was the most loving and welcoming group I'd ever encountered. Within 3 weeks I was a Christian, and I immersed myself in CU - joining every Bible study, training course and camp that I could find.

Fourteen years later, I've worked in IT, done a ministry traineeship at St Jude's, married Tim (an Anglican minister and now Principal of Bible College SA), have two kids and have done some theological education at Ridley. More importantly than any of that, I'm still a Christian and wanting to serve Jesus with my life, through more twists and turns than I'd ever anticipated back at uni.

The years I spent at CU were invaluable discipleship years. I can't think where else I could have had such intense exposure to opportunities to learn, grow, practice and see godly life modelled. Dave's teaching has been some of the most formation in my life - I've been struck in recent years (often in conversation with Dave and Cathy) how often Dave's words come to mind. I went from being biblically illiterate to having a solid working knowledge of the Bible in a couple of years. Even more than that, I came away from those years with a deep love of the Bible and of the God who is revealed in its pages. I was encouraged again and again to submit all of life to Jesus, my Lord. I learnt to appreciate some of the complexities of the Bible, and to be able to hold it's tensions together ("two things are true"). I saw sacrificial giving and service modelled repeated by Dave and Cathy.

One of the striking things that I recall from those years was the call to persevere in radical, passionate faith in Jesus, and to continue giving my whole life to him even when life throws up challenges or becomes too comfortable. Dave and Cathy often taught about how we'd encounter suffering and that it's hard to persevere as a Christian, but they modelled faithful service back then and continue to do so now.

I cannot thank God enough for those years, and the way they have set me up for a life of being God-centred, of using my gifts for him, of seeking joy, forgiveness, and above all, seeking Christ.

Cat Patrick (nee Harris), 2000-2003

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Would you help Dave and Cathy to continue in student ministry with AFES?
Please consider:

• Giving a one-off gift to help send Dave and Cathy to Queensland debt-free*
• Signing up for their regular newsletters so that you can pray and keep in touch with them
• Sharing this with others who might help Dave and Cathy go to Queensland debt-free

* Or even better, become a regular supporter!