God is so good! It was so nice to preach/fill the pulpit for Missionary Rijn Abrell while he was in the States for a short furlough. The people responded well to my preaching, and we even had a visitor from Malaysia come to church. She is originally from Iran and found us on the Internet. Her name is Sarai. Her job has her working in Malaysia for six months and the rest of the time in Australia. When talking with her, I found out she is saved but is finding it hard to be in a church in Malaysia because they have her working Sundays. Please pray for her, as she needs a church home and solid Bible teaching.
I was privileged to lead my neighbor Joel to Christ. He has been struggling for years with drug and alcohol addiction and has been a menace in the neighborhood. I was trying to get him to come to church at Calvary Baptist here in Moe when his pit bull bit me, so I decided to witness to him. Pastor Carns has joked about how dogs are of the Devil, but this is one time I think the Devil was trying to discourage me and stop me from witnessing. Praise the Lord, we were able to see Joel get saved! Then we went to my house, and he told my wife how he had trusted Christ as his Saviour. Unfortunately, I can honestly say that I believe the Devil has snatched him away from us because it has been several weeks since I have been able to speak with him, and it looks like he is no longer living here. It seems like every time I win one of my neighbors to Christ, they end up moving shortly after. Please pray that we are able to get back in touch with him and see him grounded in church. I am also starting to see a trend here in Australia—the best way to get rid of problems with neighbors is to win them to Christ. God is so good to give me opportunities like this.
We were able to go to a preaching conference in July in Adelaide, South Australia. An older preacher, Pastor Trevor Ringwaldt, enjoys my wife and me staying with him and his wife for the week, so we have made their preaching conference our annual pilgrimage to Adelaide, the “City of Churches.” They have been through quite a few trials in the past few years with family and health. We are so blessed to be used in the ministry as an encouragement to people like Bro. & Mrs. Ringwaldt and the Abrells.
Thank you so much for helping us continue to serve and strengthen churches here in Australia. Laura and I are truly humbled and appreciative. I also would like to say that Laura and I are touched by how many birthday cards and anniversary cards we receive from you in America. I just want to praise the Lord for you. We want to shout and praise the Lord that we were able to get a reliable car for traveling. Thank you for praying and giving.
Sincerely,
Ron Back
Missionary in Australia