December Update

G’day Praying Partners:

Is anyone else thinking “Where has this year gone”? I know that if I looked back at all our December updates through the years, it would say the same thing but somehow each year it seems like it’s moving faster and faster. We are so thankful for another year that God has given us to serve Him in this beautiful country. In February we will celebrate 16 years in Australia – it doesn’t seem possible! In some ways we still feel like “newbies”. We’re not sure how many of you are aware, but we are the last BMM missionaries left in Australia. The couple that was serving alongside us had to return to the States (praying temporarily) for cancer treatments. They’ll be gone at least a year – if not more. It’s a strange feeling to realise that there were 6 families here when we arrived 16 years ago, then we gained another family and a single, and now it’s down to just us. We’re thankful for God’s continued provision as we continue with the ministry.

We would covet your prayers for our Carols by Candlelight service that will be held THIS Sunday (around 7:00 pm your Saturday night). Our folks have been faithfully inviting friends and family and we are praying for a full house. This is the one service during the year that some “non church” people will attend. Just pray for God to be glorified, the Gospel message to go forth and seeds to be planted and watered. God gives the increase.

Merry Christmas to each of you! We pray that your holiday is filled with friends, family and fun. But, mostly, we pray that it is filled with Jesus! I know it’s easy to get caught up in all the holiday trappings, but I am thankful for a holiday that can’t help but bring to our mind and heart just what God has done to redeem us! Rejoice! Emanuel has come! And some day, He’s coming again. What a glorious day that will be!

Shining the Light Down Under,

Rob and Jackie

September Update

G’day Praying Partners:

Thank you for your prayers recently on Jackie’s behalf. She was all clear at her cancer check-up – for which we are praising the Lord. However, she has been diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis, which is an auto immune disease. After much prayer and research, she has decided to take a natural approach to this – including major diet change and herbal supplements. We would ask your continued prayers for her as she learns to deal with this on a daily basis.

We are asking for prayer for our big outreach coming up on Sunday, 22 September (our time)! That will be your Saturday night😊 This is the 2^nd of our big outreaches that we do every year. Please pray that God would be glorified, kids would come, the gospel would be presented clearly, a great harvest would come (in God’s timing), safety and the hearts of our volunteers to be uplifted as they see God work. This year is a space theme and we have had a great time planning it out. An “astronaut” will be helping in the gospel presentation – showing the kids parts of God’s wonderful creation in the universe. We’ll let you know how it goes and when we have pictures up on our blog page!

It is officially Spring in Australia. I have to say that there is something uplifting about this particular time of year. As we see flowers begin to bloom and God’s creation come to life, you just get the feeling that God is bringing something beautiful to fruition. I’m so thankful for winter, though, as it makes me appreciate spring all the more. So true of our own lives as well, isn’t it? A verse that God recently impressed upon me is Romans 12:12 “Rejoice in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.” This year prayer has been a focus for us personally and the church. Be in constant prayer. It’s a challenge – but nothing compares to seeing God at work answering those very prayers! Don’t give up! God is working – if we don’t see it now, we will see it soon!

Shining the Light Down Under,

Rob and Jackie

July Update

G’day Praying Friends:

We pray that you are enjoying your summer holidays! It is the middle of winter for us😊 Today is a high of 54 with a low of 47 and rain. Not complaining, though, as it will get colder! Yesterday we had a big wind storm come through, which is always interesting. It’s always funny for us to see pics of our friends and family in the States at the beach or enjoying other summer activities. It warms the heart – if not the hands😊

Thank you for your continued prayers for us, personally, and our work here, Cornerstone Baptist Church. We are excited about what God is doing amongst us. The ladies just finished their Bible study last night on the book of 2 Timothy. It has really changed our hearts, I do believe. I see God touching the hearts and lives of our ladies and it just encourages me so much. The men have 2 more lessons. Continue to lift up these godly men as they study God’s word so they can be fantastic leaders in their homes and church.

In May we had a first ever Mother/Daughter afternoon tea. It was one of those “ideas” that popped into my head very last minute – and I recruited ladies from our church and our sister church to put the creative touches to it! I’ll put some pics on our blog: ernstfamilydownunder.blogspot.com. For our first effort, it was pretty good. We had 50 ladies attend from both churches and everyone had a great time. I shared some encouragement from God’s word, we played games, had a “photo booth” and LOTS of lovely afternoon tea foods! There were calls to make it an annual event between the 2 churches, so that was good feedback.

We’ve begun preparations for our outreach – Malcolm Creek Mini Show – coming in September. Our theme is going to be space, so we’re enjoying coming up with ideas for the games, activities and food! The kids will be “astronauts” and enjoy (prayerfully) themselves. Jackie and one of the young adults will be giving the gospel presentation (he will be dressed as an astronaut). The thought is to show the kids (and their parents!) the beauties of God’s creation in space, then focus on His best creation yet – them! Please be in prayer for all the preparations – our church family is super excited about all of it and have already done so much! Pray for the kids to come, along with their parents. We have so many that come to this outreach (and also the Easter one) that this is the ONLY time they hear the gospel. So many seeds have been planted through the years. Join us in praying for fruit for eternity! The date is Sunday, 22 September.

On a personal note, we would ask prayer for Jackie. She’s had some issues and will be seeing a rheumatologist today, actually. Also, she has her 3^rd year visit with the oncologist on Tuesday, 16 July. We are so thankful for God’s watch care over us!

Does anybody else have the feeling that our time is short? More and more we feel like there is not a moment to waste. Maybe this is a reflection of our study in 2 Timothy, seeing Paul’s heart knowing that his end on this earth was near. I would encourage you to take another look at 2 Tim. 4:1-5. Oh, friends, before we know it we will see His wonderful face! Fulfill YOUR ministry!

Shining the Light Down Under,

Rob and Jackie Ernst

April Update

G’day Praying Friends:

We pray that you had a wonderful time this Easter season celebrating our risen Saviour! Your prayers were answered in abundance and we are so excited to share with you all God has been doing in our ministry here in Australia.

Easter came early for us as we did our Easter Outreach on 7 April. This was the first weekend before school holidays began and we find that if we do it any later, the kids forget. Our church devoted the entire week before the outreach to prayer – we made up a checklist of all the daylight hours for people to tick off times they would be praying. This event was literally bathed in prayer. We were praying for 50 kids (based on our supplies!) but God decided we could handle 60😊 There were also 25+ parents that stayed for the outreach. One of the ladies from our church gave the gospel presentation in story form. She spoke on the children’s level and it was so impactful. How thankful we are for people to hear the gospel so clearly! We had several inquiries on the day about church and other children’s programs. Our people had good conversations with parents as well. What an opportunity to continue to sow seeds of the gospel in the lives of our community!

This year we decided to do a Good Friday service – something we’ve never done before. Here in Melbourne, all shops and business are closed on Good Friday and open on Easter. There are exceptions, of course, but that seems to be the norm. We decided to have a morning service – not expecting a huge turnout. There were more than we anticipated would come – and a couple of visitors as well. It wasn’t a “normal” service. We actually took a walk with Jesus on that Friday. We read Scripture, sang songs that were appropriate with the Scripture, and did other readings as well. It was SO moving – and put a completely different perspective on the weekend. It truly set the tone for our Sunday celebration! It’s something we will definitely be doing in the future.

As we’ve told you in the past, Easter is always one of our lowest attended services (along with Christmas, to be honest). They both take place during school holidays and families are gone for most of the time. Definitely not like in America! We were thankful for those who came along and celebrated our Risen Saviour with us!

This Saturday, 4 May, we will be hosting a Mother and Daughter Afternoon Tea. Please pray that we can be a blessing to those that come along.

Also, please be in prayer for our men’s and ladies Bible studies beginning in May. We’ve had a great response to those wanting to come along.

Our prayer during this season is that we take the resurrection with us through the whole year. We want to say, as the disciples did after meeting Jesus on the road to Emmaus, “did our hearts not burn within us”? It’s easy to celebrate the death and resurrection and then go on with life. But it is the very thing that has changed our life forever! May we live with that resurrection power everywhere we go!

Shining the Light Down Under,

Rob and Jackie