David Walter grew up as 1 of 5 kids, with Christian parents and became a Christian when he was 6 years old. He is married to Cathy, who became a Christian when she was in first year of university. They both studied science at the University of Melbourne, when they were involved in Christian Union. They both also studied theology at Ridley College.

These days David is back at the University of Melbourne, working as the Campus Director of the Christian Union there. His job is to give Bible talks and outreach talks, run Bible studies, talk to non-Christians, mentor Christians for Gospel ministry and encourage them to reach out. David first involved in the Christian Union about 16 years ago. He has been the campus director for 8 years. David also preaches regularly at Lygon St Christian Chapel.

Christian Union

We are a group of Christians on campus, from lots of different types of churches, dedicated to knowing and obeying Jesus and making him known.

Christian Union exists for Christians who want to understand and live out their faith in Jesus in a more mature way and for people who aren't Christians who want to check out Jesus' claims without being hassled or pressured.

We believe that by trusting Jesus we are given a relationship with God, forgiveness for our sins, and a new life with which to serve Jesus

Letters

Nov-Dec08

Dear Friends,

November & December have been busy months for us. Alongside our regular ministry with Cross Cultures, David has written more essays towards his MA, Cathy has been bridesmaid for Jane Pr-ntice (nee Green), and we have had our dear friend Naomi staying with us for a time while here on furlough from missionary work in South Africa. We reach the end of this year exhausted but very thankful to God for the many blessings of 2008. It has been a very full and rewarding year for us. It's hard to believe that 2008 was only David's 2nd year working with Cross Cultures and Cathy's 1st!! We are still so new to international student ministry, but can barely remember our life before Cross Cultures! We are blessed to be able to spend our lives in God's service like this.

SPRTE

At the end of November we headed up to Canberra for the IFES South Pacific Regional Training Event (SPRTE). This conference included students from across Australia as well as from the South Pacific region. The first part of the Event was held in Canberra with around 1200 University students gathering to hear Bible teachers from around the world. Students are also trained in how to interpret and teach the Bible in special workshops called "strand groups". In the second part, students formed teams from their campus and joined with different churches to run outreach events. Cross Cultures hosted a team of Melbourne Uni Christian Union students to give them a taste of sharing the Gospel with international students.

LIFE Week

Our outreach week following SPRTE was called "LIFE Week". We ran 2 events each day, such as a multicultural banquet, beach day, bushdance and an amazing race. The CU team also spent two sessions "spruiking" around the city, to invite international students to our program. This is a wonderful exercise because it reaches new people and networks, and teaches you about boldness for the Gospel. The climax of the week was an internationals-friendly version of St Judes UniChurch. We told people to "come and try church". The CU team took part in the service and did a great job.

• Thank God for what the CU team learned & did
• Thanks God for the Gospel conversations they had
• Thank God for the new people we contacted
• Pray for the new people we contacted
• Pray for ongoing Gospel opportunities

Time to say Goodbye

Things change quickly with international students. The core of our group shifts every two or three months as students continue to arrive and depart. We have been able to welcome so many students this year to join Cross Cultures, to "Make friends and meet Jesus". This is one of the most exciting parts of the job. Yet, at the end of each year we say goodbye to many students, who have become friends, and some who have become brothers and sisters as well. It is one of the saddest and hardest parts of the job. The task of learning how to follow Jesus, study the Bible, pray, evangelise and encourage has only just begun and yet we say goodbye. Thank God for the people He sent us this year. Pray that He would continue His work in non-believers. Pray that He would continue His work in believers.

Cathy's Work Highlights for 2008 include

• Leading a the Bible study group on Thursday nights with Jordan and

seeing young Christians grow so much in their faith and knowledge of Jesus.

• Mentoring ''pple' and attempting to answer her never ending questions! Praying with her as she thanked God for giving her faith in Jesus, and asked God to help her continue in that faith. (A very emotional prayer time. We both had tears running down our cheeks!).
• Visiting St Judes UniChurch on the 2nd Sunday of each month (CC staff have a roster so that one of us visits each Sunday). Fortunately my Sundays coincided with Communion each month so I had the privilege of witnessing a number of our students throughout the year as they joined in celebrating the Lord's Supper for their first time!
• Being part of an incredibly gifted Staff team! Working alongside such humble & loving servants of Jesus.
• Going on some great conferences (yes, it's a love/hate relationship!).
• While being away from home and living with different people is exhausting for an introvert, listening to Bible talks of high quality and mixing with others who are striving to glorify God in their lives is always encouraging.
• Just being part of the amazing work that God is doing amongst international students in Melbourne - what a privilege!

Another Grampians Trip

We continue to utilize our family home near the Grampians for ministry to international students. Even though we were tired (and Cathy said it was the last thing she felt like doing!), in December we took a group of six guys (4 Chinese, 1 Hong Kong, 1 Sri Lankan) for a night away and the opportunity to experience hiking in the Australian bush. As always it was useful time spent sharing our lives, our faith and our (limited) knowledge of the English language. At least half the group were not Christian, although God willing this will not be the case for much longer. Jesus was talked of a lot, and what it means to be a Christian and how to become one. What a privilege to share in students lives!!

• Thank God for the beauty & attraction of His creation.
• Pray that these times away would yield good fruit.

David's Highlights of 2008 - at work

Many times this year I found myself saying "Now that's pretty cool!". Standing with a non-Christian Chinese student on either side of me and one directly behind me, looking over to see Cathy standing beside three other non-Christian students, and watching one of the students I mentor bring in another four non-believing friends, as we sang carols on Christmas eve about Jesus the King who saves us from our sins, was pretty cool! Trying to think of a natural way to move a conversion toward Jesus, only for a student to interject with a question about the nature of Jesus' sacrificial death was pretty cool! Hearing international students talk about events where the Gospel was proclaimed as highlights of their year or life, was pretty cool! Seeing people study the Bible, learn about Jesus, become believers, grow in faith, get baptised, and tell friends & family was pretty cool! Having significant Gospel contact with 400+ people (80% non-Christian) this year was pretty cool!

Cathy's personal Highlights for 2008 include

• Being there to watch our god-daughter, Lw-ndyl, confess her faith in Jesus and get baptised.
• Learning patience from our 10 year old niece who waited two years (with sustained excitement!) to take Aunty Caf to see 'High School Musical: The Ice Tour'.
• Feeling productive and capable again in an enjoyable work environment in my part time Pathology job (now given away to have more time for CCs).
• Rejoining the prayer group I was in last year when I finished the Pathology job and having more time to spend with these exceptional Christian women again.
• Being a bridesmaid again (for Jane Pr-ntice as she married Luke).
• Enjoying time at the beach & boogie-boarding with Dave & Mum, from Mum's new home in Ocean Grove.
• Celebrating Dad's 70th birthday with family at Sovereign Hill.
• Meals shared with friends & time spent with family, especially our nieces & nephews and Poppy.

David's Highlights of 2008 - at home

A constant feature of this year has been bunnies, baby bunnies, and lots of them. We had three different litters this year, 21 babies in total. They feature in photos with staff, students, family, friends, and even relative strangers. They're great pets with a very small carbon-paw-print, and have been a source of joy. It's been a privilege to be part of a new service at church. Our 2pm service gave us many excellent opportunities to serve, and a gentler start to Sundays. I'm very thankful to have had the opportunity for significant learning blocks this year. I felt my horizons greatly expanded by time at conferences (and briefly being a tourist) in the USA in May-June. My brain was significantly stretched by two MA subjects on Deuteronomy and social ethics. It's so beneficial to put petrol back into the tank, with stimulating subjects and scholarly teachers. It was a great year too for discovering how to combine three of the things I most love to do; spend time with Cathy, be in the great outdoors (especially in western Victoria) and talk to people about Jesus. Our (increasingly frequent) trips to the Grampians have been excellent. Watching Chinese students marvel at the beauty of the Australian night sky, having rolling conversations while climbing mountains together, and cooking toast on a woodstove are just brilliant.

Looking to the Future

Over the last 6 months or so we have been thinking and praying a lot about our options for the future. We are convinced that the Gospel of Jesus is for all people, and are very aware of the privileges we enjoy in Australia and the huge need there is in many other parts of the world. Combined with a long time interest in overseas mission, we feel that as a childless couple, we have significant flexibility and opportunities for serving God beyond Melbourne. The SPRTE conference, while an exhausting, was also a time of confirmation that our time in Melbourne is likely coming to an end. The conference gave us the opportunity to talk to many people from around the world about our future and possible avenues for service. While we do not yet have any firm plans, we are looking at some possible options for moving beyond Melbourne in 2010.

• Please pray with us for our future, that we would work for God's glory in the years to come.
• Pray God would help us to explore possible opportunities for serving Him in 2010 and beyond.
• Pray for Cross Cultures as we plan to pass this ministry on to the next generation in the coming year.

Thank you

Dear friends, we cannot thank you enough for the part you play in our lives and in this vital ministry amongst international students that we have the privilege of being partners in. Thank you for praying for us and giving so generously to support us. We thank God for each of you! We wish you a happy Christmas and blessed 2009!

Yours in Christ,

David & Cathy Walter

Sep-Oct08

Dear Friends,

September & October were full but enjoyable months for us. On top of our usual busyness with CCs, David was writing essays for his MA (Theology), while Cathy happily finished up her part time job in the Pathology Department at Melbourne Uni (and has been loving having more time to give to CCs!). We enjoyed a week long holiday in Adelaide with Cathy's dad which was refreshing, but as always, too short! In addition, we welcomed the arrival of 14 baby bunnies - congratulations to mothers 'Milk' & 'Hoover', and father 'Honey' - unexpected but very much loved!

September Conference

In September Cross Cultures held another camp, this time in conjunction with St Judes UniChurch. Rob M!ller (UniChurch minister) gave talks on 'Sex & Relationships', presenting a Biblical perspective on this important topic, especially relevant for University students. We had about 30 Cross Cultures people attend, and our Saturday program included an excursion to the Werribee Open Range Zoo. As always, camps provide a great opportunity for more personal conversations on topics ranging from relationships to the Gospel and everything in between! In many ways it was a difficult camp for our Cross Cultures people, but they all coped really well, and a great weekend was had by all!

• Thank God for September Conference, for the beneficial conversations that were had and for the Biblical teaching presented about 'Sex & Relationships'.
• Pray for our students, that they would strive to build relationships that honour God.

Grampians Trip

The highlight of these months has been a weekend trip to the Grampians with 2 Malaysian, 2 Singaporean, & 2 Korean students. We had a very special time with this group of students who have become good friends over the last few months. We had quite a lot of driving time, and with a girl's car and a boy's car, had many opportunities for deep conversations. It was especially good to talk with the (as yet) non-Christian Korean girls (who left the country the next week) about what they had learnt during their time in CCs and what continuing contact they might have with Christians back home. They were quick to say they've learnt that God is powerful, and that Jesus died to bring salvation. It was also good to continue discussions about how non-Christian parents might respond if their child converted to Christianity!

• Thank God for a really great weekend away!
• Pray for the Korean girls who have now returned home, that they would readjust to home life and not forget what they learnt about God in Australia. Pray God would use the Christians in their lives to bring them to faith in Jesus

Coming up - SPRTE

At the time of writing we are in the midst of preparing for our next conference: the IFES South Pacific Regional Training Event (SPRTE). This conference includes students from across Australia as well as from the South Pacific region. The first part of the Event is held in Canberra with around 1200 University students gathering to hear Bible teachers from around the world. In the second part, students form teams from their campus and join with different churches to run outreach events. Cross Cultures will be hosting a team of Melbourne Uni Christian Union students to give them a taste of sharing the Gospel with international students.

• Please pray for SPRTE. Pray for students to grow in their faith.
• Pray for us, for safe travel and extra energy for this Event which comes at the end of a busy year.
• Please pray for the outreach week CU students will have with CCs. Pray for opportunities for CUers to share the Gospel with international students and for many to come to faith in Je

Money Matters

We are very thankful to report that October was a good financial month for us, receiving enough money to cover our costs! Thank you to those who gave!! Unfortunately, Melbourne Uni generally seems to be slowly increasing in debt which puts more pressure on us to meet our financial target. Basically, we need to ensure we have more months like October

• Thank God for a financially viable October!
• Please continue to pray that we will be able to raise enough money to cover the cost of employing us.
• Pray that we will trust God to provide for our needs.

If you would like to donate, go to www.afes.org.au/_donate/ (then choose David or Cathy Walter from the drop down menu)

Thank you

Once again we want to thank you for your support, both prayerful and financial. We feel privileged to be able to play a part in the great things God is doing amongst international students in Melbourne and this would not be possible without you! We thank God for you and pray he will continue to use both us and you for His glory.

Yours in Christ, David & Cathy