|
 I
baptized Neville Hayes in 1971; and soon afterwards he and his
wife began worshipping in their home.Max Burgin moved near by,
and the Boronia church began to move. There is an aggressive
spirit here that is missing in some other Australian churches.
It shows in newspaper ads, special lectures, etc.; and in their
growth. In my judgment, they need to obtain a permanent meeting
place of their own (we met on Sundays in a CWA hall, and had the
"mission" in a school room); but if they will continue
to probe, teach, and follow up, this group will accomplish much
for the Lord's cause. Boronia is a suburb of Melbourne.
Traveling
Saturday arrived, and I caught a Train for Bairnsdale (150 mi.
east) and Bell left for Albury with Rolly McDowell (who had come
down to assist in the work). Bairnsdale is an old town, with
old-world atmosphere. Bob Wickham and family, and the David
Hanley family, make up the church in that place, meeting in a
community hall at the Library. We had a few visitors, and I
presented informal studies on Bible interpretation and the
church, hoping to strengthen saints as well as reach out for
others. One night during the sermon the Salvation Army Band came
down our street, playing full blast. I had to stop until they
passed, whereupon our one visitor remarked aloud, "They
sound like the Devil to me." No comment!
After
one week in Bairnsdale, I came back to Melbourne and caught a
plane to Launceston, on the island of Tasmania, 200 miles south
of main-land Bob arrived there on the same day), and we made
ready for
| |
our last two weeks of work in
Australia. Tassy is a beautiful island, with wonderful people. I
baptized a lady here in '71 and have since seen her husband and
children grow into fine Christians. In ‘73 I had a one-night
debate here (on church organization, although my opponent never
did grasp the issue); and I feel almost a part of the fine
Newnham church. Bob taught his series on Revelation and The
Cults during the first week — giving me opportunity to visit
Hobart and Port Arthur — and I taught Romans in a series of
sermons during the second week. (Bob returned to Warner's Bay,
north of Sydney, to try and finish a good work he had begun
several weeks earlier.)
The
Launceston (Newnham) church has a neat little building, and some
members who are truly growing. Several young men are actively
training as teachers, and some wish to devote full time to this
work. I stayed in a trailer at the home of Max Hillier, but felt
equally at home with the Grimditch family, Barry and Jackie
Hume, and the others.
Then
came the l-o-n-g Saturday. I flew to Melbourne, then to Sydney
(where Bob joined me), then to Auckland, New Zealand, then
through the night, to arrive in Honolulu — and it was still
Saturday morning. We got a hotel room and tried to catch up with
"jet lag" that afternoon and night.
Sunday
we worshiped with the Leeward church, Waipahu. I taught class,
but Bob preached that morning. I was in the pulpit that night,
almost too tired to know if I preached. And on Monday — we
came home!!
[Previous
Article] [Next
Article]
|
