This story is from Jackie Blue, a high school math teacher in a school in south-western Sydney. Jackie has been on a temporary placement there for the year, but has been a channel of God’s Spirit moving mightily in that place, including the establishment of a dynamic Inter-School Christian Fellowship (ISCF) group. Please pray for Jackie as she wraps up her ministry there in the next few weeks, that God will raise up leadership from within the student body, faculty, and elsewhere, to work with the Spirit in His transformation of individual lives, as well as the community as a whole. I’m sure Jackie would appreciate your prayer, as well as your encouragement. Let’s also pray for others across the District and Field also involved in school chaplaincy ministries: Glen Wilson, Shane Faataape, Troy Wilson, Glenn Stanley, Trevor Thomas, and, I’m sure, others, as they invest in the lives and spiritual growth of young Australians.

- David Harris

On Saturday 11th November 2006 at 11:00pm a Year 9 student from Ingleburn High School was hit by a train at Macquarie Fields Station. David Toleafoa was taken to hospital but passed away at approximately 7:00am on Sunday morning.

On Monday morning, members of staff were called into an emergency meeting at 8:35am where several teachers heard about the tragedy for the first time. I didn’t know David personally but the news hit everyone, including myself, very hard… Ingleburn High School was a mess…

I spent much of Monday trying to offer some sort of comfort to students who were close to David - some of whom were actually with him at the time of his accident… It was an incredibly helpless time… My first period of the day was free, I spent it in the Passive Area of the school with Year 9 and several teachers, walking around to different groups, listening to their hearts, comforting them, some of the girls just crying on my shoulder…

My second period is a shared class with another teacher so he took the class and I remained with Year 9 outside. I didn’t really need to say anything to anyone, I just sat and listened mostly… and in the midst of all this, His still, soft voice asked me to run a time of prayer…

I spoke with the Year 9 Adviser and asked if she would let some of the students know that I’d run a prayer time under the trees at recess - to pray for David’s family and friends and our students and teachers who needed comfort. She said that she thought that would be a wonderful idea. We started to walk around and let the some of the groups know - probably about 100 students all up.

When the bell rang at recess, it started to rain. I walked over to the area I had told the students, and a few people followed. There were about 20 of us. The Year Adviser and about 6 other teachers walked over too. The Year Adviser suggested I wait a moment to see if anyone else was going to come. And then they came… well over 200 students gathered together in prayer, in the pouring rain…

I had to stand on a table and yell so everyone could hear me… it was one of the most phenomenal experiences I have ever been involved in… used in…

So… we prayed… then I climbed down from the table and without a word, I walked back to the staffroom.

Since Monday, several people have been talking about that prayer time - God is moving at Ingleburn and I just wanted to share a couple of other things that have happened since that day.

* Yesterday… a student came to the staffroom door and asked if her friend could borrow my bible…

* Yesterday… a girl named Kimberly in Year 9 came to ISCF for the first time. Kimberly, three boys from Year 8 and I spent lunch time singing worship songs that we will be sharing at the school Variety Night in a few weeks and also at the local Carols by Candlelight.

* Today… a boy in Year 7 came to the staffroom door and asked if I could pray with him and ‘his boys’ at lunch time - as it was David’s funeral today and they hadn’t been able to attend. Approximately 30 Year 7 boys and girls attended that prayer meeting…

God is moving. Please pray for Ingleburn High School. Pray for the Christian teachers, counselors and youth workers - and of course the Christian students at the school - He is using us. Pray that we would all continue to make ourselves available to be used as He leads us.

And please… pray for me… I only have another 5 weeks or so at this school. It’s going to be hard to leave this place… I need prayer… Jenny, Craig and I will be putting together an outreach concert here before school is over for the year - please pray for that. But mostly, please pray that God will somehow use the relationships I’ve been able to build with these young people to lead them to Jesus - even if it’s just planting the seed. Please partner with me in that prayer…

Much love and peace to you all,
Jackie