Its Official

Today we were installed as the Assistant Officers at Warrnambool Corps, the installation was conducted by the Divisional Commander Major Peter Walker. It was a lovely ceremony and you could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit as we were installed and then Lindsay and Karyn Stow sang an absolutely beautiful blessing over us. It was also lovely that the people who had travelled down from Rowville and our families were each given a special mention and thanked for the parts they have played in us reaching this point today.
We were welcomed to the corps by Chris Philpot and the children were welcomed by Tiah Drake, this was a lovely touch and the children each received a welcoming gift from the corps. Warrnambool has really gone out of its way to welcome our children and make them feel at home.We truly believe that this is where God has placed us and we look forward to starting the job and seeing what God can achieve through us.
As today marks the start of our "official Ministry" I would like to acknowledge the contributions that both sets of parents have made to our lives, and I just pray that we would do justice to the reputation and respect that both families have due to the ministries that they have served in. If I can be half the officer that our parents have been I will be very happy and the Kingdom of God will be better for our service.
As we start the work that God has called us to I once again commit my life to Him and say 'Here am I My Lord send me and use me as you see fit'. May God continue to bless you each.

A New Beginning

Well we have survived our first few days in Warrnambool, it is a great place and we are really enjoying the sunshine and clean fresh air. Susan is still getting used to looking out the Kitchen window at cows and horses. It is hard not to stand and look in awe at Gods creation.
Unfortunately the trip here didn't go according to plans, we left Melbourne at 9.10 am after saying goodbye to Susan's Mum and Dad and my Mum. We coasted along and had just come out of Geelong at about 11.00 when a huge puff of white smoke appeared from our new car. A number of phone calls and about two hours later we were sitting in a tow truck heading back to Geelong.
As much as I love Geelong (especially the football club !) this wasn't what we were hoping for.
We sat at the Holden dealer in Geelong for a couple of hours and then they dropped us into the heart of Geelong so we could walk around the shops to entertain the kids. Finally about 5.00 pm we received the call to say the car was ready to go again and so we headed back on our trip to Warrnambool finally arriving well after 7.00 pm. As much as this was frustrating and especially hard on the children it reminded me that this journey we are starting on will not always go according to plan, and definitely wont be easy, but if we keep focused we will reach the goal.

Part 2

I'm Back. I think I have heard that phrase somewhere before.... anyway getting back to where I was, we feel very blessed to have the people around us that support us, and we are very aware that there are a lot of people that will be upholding us in prayer as we begin our lifelong journey in Officership. How Awesome is that, that people will be speaking to God for Me!
Our three year old son Ethan at church the other Sunday was asked as part of the primary lesson where you would go to find out more about God (the teacher was expecting him to say the Bible of course) he shot his hand straight up and without any hesitation proclaimed that you would go to Warrnambool !! We pray that this will ring true for him and also for the other children that we encounter in our ministry there, may they see the light of God shining through this town and may it be an example to other places around of what it is like to live according to the Bible. ( We don't set ourselves easy challenges do we)
Lets get started and see what God can achieve through the very little we have to offer. Bring it on !!

Look out Warrnambool

Look out Warrnambool here comes the Lamottes. I apologise it has been so long since I last posted but it has been a crazy last month. If you hadn't already realised by the heading Susan and myself have been accepted as Lieutenants and have been appointed as Assistant Corps Officers at Warrnambool Corps commencing on the 23rd September. This has obviously brought a great sense of excitement to us and we cant wait to start our ministry in this great town.
However as with any move it comes at a cost and the last couple of weeks have been full of last times we do things. There has been the kids last day at school, their last netball game, our last Sunday at Rowville, lots of goodbyes to family and friends, packing up the house and arranging disconnection of all the utilities etc etc the list could go on and on. Each of these events have been tinged with sadness but at the same time everyone has been excited for us and the steps we are taking. We have been truly blessed by the reaction of people to the news and it is at times like this that you realise how many people take an interest in you and how many friends you actually have.
I will continue this post later on as my daughter is not well and my wife is telling me off so I had better get back to work. Thanks again to you all for your love and support and we look forward to seeing you at Warrnambool if not before. God Bless !

Others

To start off with today here is just a bit of an update for you all on the Lamotte family and the road we are currently on. We are currently working towards and waiting on boards for approval to go as Lieutenants to Warrnambool working under Captains Gordon & Dianne Main. We have done most of the necessary paperwork and now need to pass both the Divisional Board & Territorial Board before we can head down there. This is a very nervous time for us but having said that we have a real sense of peace that things will work out according to Gods plan and we just have to stay strong to His calling.
We had an amazing weekend this past one as we travelled to Geelong AGAIN for a Growing Healthy Corps Cluster training with four corps from the Western Victoria Division. This was a great opportunity for us to catch a glimpse of this and also to meet eight of Warrnambool's senior leaders and catch some of their passion and commitment. We are very excited about the opportunities that are available to us there in the future, and believe that Gods fingerprints are all over what is happening there.
Then I had the incredible privilege of sharing the word of God at Rowville on Sunday morning. As much as I was very nervous before hand I believe that God spoke to peoples hearts through me, How awesome is that !
On the Friday night Major Kelvin Merrett gave us some of the Salvation Army's history and one of the things he said has really stuck in my head these last couple of days it was a telegram that William Booth sent out to some of his key leaders with nothing more than one word "OTHERS!" I think some times we lose focus on the fact that we are called to spread the message of God to everyone and our main focus still has to be saving souls, and to do that our focus must be on others not on making ourselves comfortable or looking at how great we are doing.
To be saved, it costs NOTHING To be a disciple, it costs EVERYTHING. This is not about me it is about GOD!

God's Call

WOW ! How awesome is it that God has called Me ! Me, this very weak,failed attempt at a man, me the one who has let Him down so many times, ME! There are times I am blown away by the fact that Christ sees me as worthy of His call. There is just no way that I can do the things that He is asking me to do; by myself ! but that is what is so amazing about God, He doesn't ask us to do anything by ourselves, it is through His power.
This past weekend we have shared a great time at the Territorial Candidates Weekend. I never knew you could develop such great friendships in two days, we have had the privilege of attending these weekends before and I continue to be challenged and uplifted by the willingness of people to give their lives over to God, and say hear am I my Lord send me! It was a great weekend at times we laughed, at times we cried (thanks Cadet Darren!), at times we just sat and listened to the voice of God, at times we sang loud praises to God and through the whole weekend we were privileged to have great teaching. Despite all of these great times it was the chance to sit and talk with these new made friends that stood out to me over the weekend, to hear the call that God has placed on their lives, and the courage they have shown in being open to that Call, I thank them each for the way they touched our hearts and encouraged us to keep striving for what God desires of us.(Susan is standing behind me making me change everything from singular to plural, where would we be without the J's in this world! I think she is making a list of things I should change)
We are privileged to be on this journey and thank God for the fact that He chose us to be the Salt and the light for him, even if we don't believe we can do it. To quote the Territorial Candidates department " Give up your small ambitions and come,change the world!" Mark 8:34-35.
For those of you that I just met this past weekend or those that I had the chance to share with again I say thank you and would encourage you to stay strong to your call! For the rest of my friends reading this I hope this might challenge you to think of what God might be asking you to do, He is calling people are you listening. God Bless you each I promise I will try and post a new blog in the next couple of days.

1 Thessalonians 5:24
"The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it."

Weekend Travellers

It is going to be an amazing few weekends for the Lamotte family as we head towards full time ministry. This coming weekend we get to go to Geelong and participate in the Candidates Weekend, we are really looking forward to this opportunity of sharing with like minded people and just reflecting on Gods call on our lives, and what exactly He has planned for our immediate future. We are so lucky to be able to enjoy this time under the leadership of Majors Len and Marney Turner, and we are excited to get the chance to Worship with and learn from Commissioner Knaggs on the Sunday morning. The Salvation Army is truly lucky to have the Knaggs as the TC's, and we are looking forward to the opportunity of meeting them face to face and sharing some of our dreams with them and picking their brains.(If they will let us)
The following weekend we are going back to the Geelong Conference Centre to participate in lay leadership training as part of the growing healthy corps program(Paul Borden) with some of the leaders from the Western Vic. Cluster and a number of the leaders from Warrnambool. This will be a great time for us to learn, and also to meet some of the key leaders we hope to be working with shortly. This goes from Friday night until Saturday afternoon and then I am preaching at Rowville on that Sunday morning.
The next weekend the final weekend in July we are travelling to Warrnambool with the family to have a look at the facilities, meet the corps folk, and generally get a feel for the community that we could be living in shortly.This is such an exciting time and we pray that through this period God with have His hand firmly on us, and will guide the decisions that are being made.
As I have started doing my preparation for my sermon on the 22nd I have been reminded again that although we may fail many times God is a God of Love and forgiveness, and He has always got time to listen to us and support us even if we have turned our back on Him many times before.
My prayer for you all over these coming weeks is that you would experience the Love of God, and would have the courage to listen to His call on your lives; we have and I can assure you that I have never felt such an absolute peace in my heart as I do now. God Bless you each and I hope to catch up with you soon.