Psalm 103:1, “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” We are praising God for how He has enabled this new year to begin with a “bang”! New visitors and souls who have come to know Christ have been an encouragement to our church.
Phil has been conducting a service once a month at a hall an hour away from our church since December 2019. He had his first visitor in December 2020. On Sunday, he had a high day of seven people! He has personally distributed thousands of tracts, and we have helped him as we can. The lady who visited in December returned, and a young couple from our church who recently moved to that area brought three visitors. We have bathed this outreach in prayer, asking God to turn this into a church plant. Launceston, the nearby city, is the second largest in Tasmania. We are the only soul-winning, independent, fundamental Baptist church we know of in our state.
Coastline Baptist Church has been blessed with visitors as well. A family with four children and the man’s brother have attended faithfully for several weeks now and have gotten involved in the soul winning. They work on a dairy farm over a 45-minute drive away. Two weeks ago, the Lord allowed me the privilege of leading a nine-year-old boy, Jacob, to Christ. He was visiting with a member of the church. This past Sunday, Jacob’s mom came to church with him. Laura was able to go through the Gospel with her after the morning services. She is not quite ready for salvation but accepted a Bible and some helpful reading material. Please pray for her salvation.
Last week, Laura was able to give a tract to a lady who has the same cancer she does. The lady said she was told only two people in Tasmania have triple-negative breast cancer, and she exclaimed, “You must be the other one!” The nurse came before Laura could talk with her any further, but the lady was already reading the tract. Yesterday, we spent a bit of time with Tracey, a lady who is battling cancer for the third time. A man in the church met her and her husband last week, and he asked us to visit them. Laura was able to go through the Gospel with her, but she, too, wants to think about the decision a bit. Her chemo is scheduled for an hour before Laura’s today, so Laura is hoping to see her there. Perhaps because of COVID restrictions, oncology patients have little opportunity to speak with each other, but Laura hopes to use the cancer for God’s glory!
Last weekend, we were able to sit down with Anne in her home. She was the caregiver for a man I visited regularly for a couple of years. She graciously allowed Laura to witness to her but is not saved yet. She is planning to come to church with us on Sunday. We are thankful for the privilege of sharing the Gospel with the ladies this past week, and we are praying for the Holy Spirit to work in their lives.
In our last letter, we were rejoicing the cancer growth had slowed. Just a couple of days after that news, Laura noticed the cancer was growing rapidly. The oncologist noted that the tumor had doubled in size in two weeks. He had her start on a pill form of chemo that afternoon. After about three weeks, she was struggling with shortness of breath. She saw the oncologist again, who said the chemo was not working, the tumor was growing, and her lung had partially collapsed. She starts another regimen of chemo treatment today. She had more side effects than most with the first chemo, according to the oncologist. Please pray that the treatments shrink the cancer with minimal side effects.
Your ongoing support is contributing to changed lives. Thank you!
In the service of our King, and all for His glory,
Bro. Andrew Steers
