G’Day Praying Partners:
“Be careful for nothing;
but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your
requests be made known unto God.” Phil 4:6 Worry and anxiety – our world is
plagued with it! If we’re not careful, we can fall into the same trap! What a
hope we have in a world without hope – the peace of God that passes ALL
understanding! Our church family is dealing with a couple of heartaches. One
family, Con and Michelle, are dealing with her mother slowly slipping away with
a brain tumor. She is in her final stages of life and Michelle is unsure of her
spiritual condition. We are praying for wisdom as Michelle shares the gospel
message with her and daily points her to the Saviour. Then there’s Susanna, or
as she’s known to every person who walks through the doors of our church,
Nanna. Susanna has been a tremendous blessing to our family and became a
surrogate “grandmother” to our girls. She is from Hungary originally and has a
tremendous tale of God’s provision as they escaped from Hungary when she was
about 10 years old. Just
this past week she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. This has deeply
affected our church family and we’ve been blessed to watch them rally around
Susanna and her family. She has 2 daughters and one son and many grandchildren
– but we all claim her as our own. Words like “be anxious for nothing” are easy to read but
much harder to put into practice when the harshness of this world intrudes. May
we all, like Susanna, demonstrate to a lost world that God’s peace truly does
pass all understanding and that it’s available to all of us who name His name!
It was a busy April for
us that ended with some much needed R&R. We had lots of people in our home
including a missionary family from Australia returning to Kazakhstan – what a
challenge to us! We both met several people for a cuppa and time of fellowship
and encouragement along with a couple of discipleship opportunities. We had our
AGM for Baptist Mid-Mission of Australia and a farewell lunch to one of our
missionary couples retiring after 30+ years on the field! Also, we continued
with our weekly ministries of chaplaincy, grandparenting program and Bible
study. One of our church members rented a house for us down in San Remo on
Philip Island for 3 nights for us to get away. It was beautiful – very peaceful.
We were able to take some walks, a one hour cruise around the island, watch
pelicans being fed and even managed some reading and a nap or two! It was
wonderful for the 2 of us to get away for a bit.
On a personal note,
Stefanie has a job! Thank you for your prayers for ALL these months! It’s a
“casual” position (sort of like part time) but she is just happy to be working.
Also, Tori has found work over the summer so will not be returning to
Australia. This has made us happy for her but sad for us. It’s very hard for us
having her so far away, but know that God is watching over her. Anxious for
nothing, right? Rob’s step-father just had triple by-pass surgery and a valve
replacement all while his mum is going through chemo and radiation for a cancerous
spot found on her lung. It’s times like this when it’s particularly hard to be
this far away. Please pray for healing for his family and wisdom for us to know
if a trip back to the States is needed.
Please pray for Milos,
the young man who was saved on Easter. Rob has begun discipleship with him but
it’s difficult because he lives about an hour away! He’s taken his first step
of faith after salvation – asking for Sundays off work so he can be in church!
We are so excited to see God at work in his life.
May we all display God’s
peace this month – the kind that passes all understanding – no matter what
comes our way. What a blessing to know that we can trust God to work it all for
our good.
Shining the Light Down
Under,
Rob, Jackie, Stefanie and
Tori
