doing life
together
Sydney siders and teenage
sweethearts Paul and Naomi are in
the thick of preparations to serve in
cross-cultural mission. They take
some time to share with us their
love of God, each other and those
who don’t know Jesus.
Paul
Naomi and I met at church just after I hit high school and
rocked up as the new PK (pastor’s kid) in a country town. It
was all the way back in the mid nineties. Forget playlists on
iTunes and Spotify, making mix-tapes with subtle “I really like
you” messages was how it was done back then. It was the
classic story of the older brother falling for his little sister’s
bestie.
In many ways Naomi and I are very different. I’m extroverted,
she’s introverted. She loves times of complete peace and
quiet, I think life should have an endless soundtrack. She’s
level headed in a crisis, I tend to panic. The list could go on.
But we have so much in common too. We both enjoy camping
and exploring new places, we both appreciate having a good
chat with people over a meal and we both love Jesus and
want to follow Him wherever He calls us.
Our journey into long-term cross-cultural work has been
more than ten years in the making. Our hearts were opened
to this possibility during an overseas trip, before we were
engaged. We stood on a rooftop in China and as we looked
out over the city we said to God, “if you call, we are willing”.
Naomi and I have enjoyed working in childcare, software
engineering and pastoral ministry, we’ve had two wonderfully
energetic and cheeky kids and we’re currently completing
studies at Morling College.
Throughout all of this, God has been constantly prompting,
shaping and guiding us. While we’re not sure which country
we’ll be living in yet, we are convinced that He is calling
Naomi and I to step out together into the unknown. I’m glad
to have her by my side.
resonate · issue 27 · page 14
Naomi
Paul and I met when his Dad became the pastor of my church.
Despite being only 12 (and his terrible 90’s bowl haircut!), I
had a crush on him and four years later we started dating. I
remember receiving his mix-tapes: one was all lovey-dovey
songs and another was a hard rock compilation, just so that I
knew he was cool.
Paul has the amazing ability to connect with and relate to a
wide range of people, putting them at ease and developing
friendships fast. I’m not all that comfortable in large groups ق