CHURCH PLANTING IN AUSTRALIA
DECEMBER, 2000
Dear Prayer Partners,
Luke 2:11 "For unto
you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the
Lord."
As of this writing Israel and the "Palestinians" are still
in the news with violence and death occurring almost daily. The Anglican
Communion News Service 20 November 2000 told of a "joint meeting of Muslim
Imams and Bishops and Clergy of the different denominations of the churches in
Egypt." Anglicans and Roman Catholics were two of the "different"
denominations present. This group declared "the Christian Churches in Egypt
reject the aggression of Israel on the Palestinians and their properties and the
unjust and murders of the innocent." They went on to say "We plead to
all Nations and Governments of the world and all International Organizations to
intervene immediately to stop the Israeli wild attacks on Palestinians and to
withdraw from the occupied territories allowing the Palestinians to have their
rights in resisting Israeli occupation and establishing their independent
country with Jerusalem as its capital." These statements do not surprise us
as we read in Esther 3:6 "ΓÇ0wherefore Haman sought to destroy all
the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom." We need to "Pray for
the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee." Psalm 122:6.
When we were children Christmas seemed to take forever to arrive but now it is
another story! Our prayer is all who receives this letter will have a good
Christmas and a blessing filled 2001. Living south of the Equator means we
celebrate Christmas in the summer. You would think that after living here almost
twenty-two years we would be used to a summer Christmas by now. Perhaps growing
up in Iowa makes it hard to accept Christmas with the air-conditioner rather
than a fire, flies and not snow. We have already had several days of 100-degree
weather. November brought some heavy rains that destroyed the wheat crop and
some of the cotton. Many farmers will have a slim Christmas.
Recently
we have become acquainted with Bob and Elizabeth Lloyd. She is a schoolteacher
and he a school principal. We invited them and their son, David, to our house
for Thanksgiving dinner along with Jonathan and Lynne. Bob is Uniting church and
she and David are Roman Catholic. All three are unsaved. Please pray for their
salvation. The BIG NEWS as a family is twofold. (1) Becky (our youngest
daughter) who lives in Atlanta is expecting her third child (our sixth
grandchild) in June 2001! We will keep you informed. (2) Jonathan (our third
child and only one still in Australia) is engaged to get married September 2001
to Lynne Mercer. Lynne has been attending our fellowship faithfully for a couple
of years now and professes to know the Lord Jesus Christ as her Saviour. She is a very nice girl and we
could not ask for Jonathan a better wife. At this time our children and their
families in the United States plan to be here for the wedding. This will be a
real blessing as none of the grandchildren have ever been to Grandpa and Grandma
B's house. In our November prayer letter we mentioned Malcolm (Jim and
Margaret's youngest son) who was using heroin. Jim telephoned after their trip
to Sydney and said Malcolm had gotten off the heroin cold turkey. By the time
you receive this letter Malcolm will have moved to Dubbo seeking employment.
This is an encouragement to Jim and Margaret to say the least. Pray for Malcolm
that he will continue to stay off the heroin and for God to save him. January 15
from 9am to 5pm we will be holding a one-day kids club in the Country Women's
Association hall in Gilgandra. Phyllis Morgan, Jim and Margaret Ogden will be
helping. We will be distributing flyers to the local schools for their
newsletters and bulletin boards plus put signs in shop windows. Pray the Lord
will send children and do a work of grace in their hearts. We trust this will
also open some homes to us. As we conclude another letter and another year we
want to thank you for your faithful prayers and financial gifts. Your generous
giving makes it possible for us to live and serve the Lord Jesus in this great
but spiritually needy land. Romans 15:33 Now the God of peace be with you all.
Amen."
Your
Missionaries to Australia,
David and Pam Bennett 
