CHURCH PLANTING IN AUSTRALIA
MARCH, 2001
Dear Prayer Partners,
Psalm 100:5 "For the
LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all
generations."
Nahum 1:7
"The LORD is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them
that trust in him."
Greetings once again from continuing to be hot and too
dry Australia. The first of March is the first day of autumn and hopefully some
relief from the heat will come in the form of some much needed rain. However, as
this letter is being written it has started to rain but for how long? As the
land needs refreshing physical rain so the parched souls of our people need the
Water of Life found in the Word of God. Isaiah 55: 10, 11 "For as the rain
cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth
the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower,
and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it
shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and
it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Thank you for sending us
to preach the unsearchable claims of Christ!
The
Lord IS good and we rejoice in His salvation by grace through faith in the
person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Sunday 18
February the Rob Davis family from Cunnamulla, Queensland visited the service.
Rob is manager of a one hundred and ninety thousand-acre station just across the
New South Wales border in Queensland. To get an idea of how far out they live
they receive their mail twice per week. Their house is the last house on the
mail route and the nearest neighbour is sixty-four miles away. To say the least
they make each trip to town count. They came to Dubbo for dental and doctor
appointments. They have seven children (of whom five were with them) so our
attendance more than doubled that Sunday. Brother Davis was the pastor of the
almost if not the first independent Baptist church in Australia, Gladstone,
Queensland. This church was started in the early 60's. He was pastor there six
years before going into property management. The Davis' were in Dubbo until
Tuesday so Monday evening we had them out for dinner and enjoyed their
fellowship immensely. It is always a joy to get acquainted with other believers.
Andy
Thompson is home
but did not receive the heart operation as planned due to his diabetic
condition. The doctor changed his heart medication so his body is slowly
readjusting. He has mood swings along with other side affects with the new
medication. We have re-continued the weekly Bible study with him and his wife
but have had to cancel frequently due to doctor appointments and Andy's not
feeling well. We ask you to pray the medicine will help him feel better so he
and Ellen can begin attending the Sunday service. Abel Morgan fell in late
February and was in hospital several days for observation. He is now home and
his speech is better but the doctor didn't find anything physical causing his
inability to walk properly. We are praying he will recover enough so he can
travel with Phyllis to Perth in April for their son's wedding. Phyllis is
adjusting well to her mother's death. She took a bus to Brisbane the last week
of February to be with her sister Kathy Bird. Kathy's husband, Ben, went into
hospital 1 March for a triple bypass. Ben is an aboriginal pastor who was
considering coming to Dubbo but now believes the Lord would have him minister in
Tamworth. He will be making a decision sometime after he recovers from surgery.
Becky,
our second child and youngest daughter, is due 10
June with her third child. She emailed last month saying she will be having a
boy. This will give us four grandsons. She and her family live in Acworth, GA a
suburb of Atlanta.
The
15 September wedding of Jonathan and Lynne Mercer is drawing closer.
Jonathan has signed to build a house in a housing estate of Dubbo called
Eastridge. It is only about ten minutes from us which is nice. It takes
approximately three weeks for council to approve the building application so
hopefully it will be in lock up stage before 1 June which is the first day of
winter. Winter is also the rainy season and this means building is sometimes
delayed. He is hoping it will be done by late July.
We
received an email from some friends in Wyoming the last
day of February saying their 18 year old grandson was very ill with ulcerative
colitis. The doctor recommended he be taken to Rochester, MN so he and his
parents left for Rochester the 28 February. Pray for Nathan.
As
we mentioned last month
we have submitted the forms for the reapplication of Ross and Carolyn Trumble's
2-year visa to government immigration. There shouldn't be any problem for
renewal but as yet no answer. They will finish their first two years here in
April. They are also anxiously awaiting the birth of their fifth child in May.
Pray for them and the work in Parkes, NSW. Pastor Van Kleeck emailed saying he
and his wife will be visiting Australia 19 October - 1 November this year.
Pastor Keep visited twice and this will be Pastor Van Kleeck's first visit. We
do thank the Lord for giving us a home sending church such as Evangel Baptist.
Again
we remind you to note our mini-furlough schedule for 2002.
We ask you to be praying for the Lord's provision of funds for (1) round trip
airline tickets (2) rental car while we are in the states and (3) God's blessing
on the churches and meetings.
FURLOUGH 2002
February
Sunday 24 - Crossroad
Baptist, Pensacola, FL 850-944-3544
March
Sunday 3 - Evangel
Baptist, Dale City, VA 703-670-5152 (Our home sending church)
Thursday 7 - Bible For
Today Baptist, Collingswood, NJ 856-854-4747
Sunday 10 - Columbus Road
Baptist, Quincy, IL 217-222-5891
Wednesday 13 - Bethany
Baptist, Galesburg, IL 309-342-3132
Sunday 17 - Stony Point
Baptist, Kansas City, KS 913-299-4774
Wednesday 20 - First
Baptist, Grafton, IL 618-786-3379
Sunday 24 - Ottumwa
Baptist Temple, Ottumwa, IA 641-682-4836
Wednesday 27 - Bible
Baptist, Ottumwa, IA 641-682-9609
Thursday 28 - Grace
Baptist, Cherokee, IA 712-225-4533
Sunday 31 - Tomah Baptist,
Tomah, WI 608-372-2071
April
Wednesday 3 - Woodcrest
Baptist, Fridley, MN 763-571-6409
Sunday 7 - Galilee
Baptist, Kent, WA 253-854-5828
Wednesday 10 - First
Baptist, Windsor, CA 707-838-6694
So
far three churches have confirmed their meeting date. We
do appreciate each church and individual for their support in finances and
prayers. Hebrews 6:10 "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and
labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered
to the saints, and do minister."
Your
Servants,
David and Pam Bennett 
