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| I was in the Botanical garden in Melbourne |
My name is Xiaojie Yang, and I was called Jesse when I was in
Melbourne. Now I have finished my PhD course from The University of Western
Australia, under the help and guidance kindly offered by David & Cathy in
my life in Australia.
I met Dave and Cathy in Aug, 2007, when I had just arrived in
Australia for the first time to do my Master course in The University of
Melbourne. One of my roommates introduced me Cross Cultures, which is a
Christian group led by Dave & Cathy in Melbourne and running for students,
especially international students in Melbourne. At that time, I did not know
Jesus or Christian very well. I just would like to play indoor soccer with Dave
and other people since I am such a soccer fan. It is Dave & Cathy that
introduced me to join the Cross Cultures and participate in the Bible study
there. From then on, I would say I became to know Jesus and Christian little by
little.
I would never forget about those Thursday nights, in St. Jude's church, when I was talking and enjoying the food, reading and studying the Bible
with other friends from Cross Cultures. As a foreigner and international
student living alone in Melbourne at that moment, I understand that this is a
very precious opportunity for me to get closer to God and think about life from
Christians' perspective. Moreover, this activity also helped me to get relaxation
from the extremely stressful study. Therefore, Dave & Cathy are the first
people that I should appreciate for leading this activity.
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| Dave & Cathy in the farm of Dave's grand parents |
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| David showed me the bread cooked in a traditional way |
In the winter of 2008, as a guest invited by Dave & Cathy, I
visited Dave's grandparents' house and farm in the western part of Victoria. This
is my very first time to visit some village in Australia with local people and
thus one of my best memories in Melbourne. Dave & Cathy showed me the farm
and cows, as well as the house. They were friendly enough to treat me the
meals, with the self-cooked (in the traditional way) bread and the famous
Vegemite. That was the first time for me to know this strong-taste food. Due to
this tour, I became a person who has "visited" Victoria or Australia;
I became a person who has been "living" in Victoria or Australia for
a while. Without this tour, my life in Melbourne must be limited within the
range just including the university, my accommodation in Brunswick, and St.
Jude's church. I remembered that at the end of 2008, more friends from Cross
Cultures were invited to that house and farm by Dave & Cathy. I am sure
that they experienced a joyful and friendly trip.
In early 2009, I was trying to apply for PhD candidature after I
finished my Master. That was a frustrating period in my life. I was rejected by
numerous universities. Simultaneously, one of my close friends cheated me by
keeping a PhD candidature opportunity from me for himself. During this
difficult period, Dave & Cathy kept comforting and encouraging me. I have
never thought Dave, as a person originally from western countries, could
understand the meaning of friendship, loyalty, sorrow, and hate between Chinese
people. Amazingly, Dave understood my feeling and my thinking considerably
well. Dave & Cathy told me that even negative experience was arranged by
God with some positive purpose, because God love us as His children. After
that, my application for PhD candidature was accepted by The University of
Western Australia and, more than my expectation, with full scholarship. I
understood that this was also arranged by God and, if without Dave &
Cathy's comfort and encouragement, I would never see this arrangement. Dave
& Cathy saved my life from the dark night and helped me to see the sunshine
of the dawn.
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| I was in The University of Melbourne |
When I said goodbye to Cross Cultures and Melbourne in 2009, Dave
gave me a farewell interview in St. Jude's church in front of all the Cross
Cultures friends. I felt warm when I heard Dave & Cathy sharing their
memory about me in Cross Cultures and Melbourne. As one of thousands
international students in Cross Cultures, I am fortunately enough to become
Dave & Cathy's friend and memorized by them. Also, I would definitely
remember Cross Cultures, as well as Dave & Cathy and their help, as a key
element of my life in Melbourne.
After I started my PhD candidature in Perth from the end of 2009,
I heard that Dave & Cathy moved to Adelaide to run FOCUS in The University
of Flinders. Since living in different cities, the communication between Dave
& Cathy and me became less and less. I have not seen them again since the
farewell interview in 2009. But we do care about each other by leaving messages
on Facebook. Thanks to Dave & Cathy again, I joined the activity of
Unichurch International in Perth to keep my step following Jesus.
Last year, I finished my PhD course in The University of Western
Australia. At the same time, I heard that Dave & Cathy moved to Brisbane to
run new groups and activities for Jesus. I admire Dave & Cathy so because they
are brave enough to pass their achievement, such as Cross Cultures in Melbourne
and the FOCUS group in Adelaide, to others and then create a new one from the
very beginning. They take all the difficulties by themselves and leave the
easier tasks to others. Therefore, I would say Dave & Cathy are the
greatest Christians doing the greatest ministry in Australia. I am so sorry to
hear that the financial support for them is not enough at this stage. Dave
& Cathy's help and encouragement to students, especially international
students, are more than vital in terms of not only following Jesus but also
daily life!
Jesse Xiaojie Yang
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Please consider:
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