God is so good! Laura and I can barely believe that we have been here for eleven years now. I want to start off by thanking every one of you for the letters and congratulations for us being here for over a decade. Please pray for Truth Baptist Church in Brisbane, as they are being hit with a cyclone/hurricane this week. A cyclone goes clockwise here in the Southern Hemisphere—fun fact. Brisbane and its surrounding cities are getting hit by Alfred.
I recently had a discouraging talk with a Salvation Army chaplain in Fulham Prison in Sale, Victoria. I understand that liberal churches like the Salvation Army are off on doctrine and the Bible, but what truly troubled me was the fact that this man works for a church, and he told me directly that his job is not to evangelize in the prisons but to counsel people as they are going through hardships in life. He explained that he felt that the prison fellowship is important because our number-one goal is to evangelize prisoners. I would ask you to pray for the salvation of not just the inmates I go in and see every week but also for the salvation of the chaplains. The prison decides what chaplains are allowed in by how many people inside the prison are of that denomination. Fulham has 800 prisoners and only 6 chaplains, and none of them, I believe, are trusting in Jesus Christ. There are chaplains from the Salvation Army, the Catholic church, the Uniting church, the Muslims, the Buddhists, and the Aboriginal. I believe it truly is Satan’s plan to keep the Gospel out of the prisons here in Australia as much as possible.
January was a wonderful experience for Laura and me. We got to take a young man from the prison in Sale to a rehabilitation center in Bairnsdale, Victoria, an hour from the prison. Laura and I got to spend our time wisely with Adam. We tried to be very pointed with giving him the Gospel. I believe it was the first and the last time I will ever see this young man; and, praise the Lord, he decided that he would love to trust Jesus Christ as his Saviour but did not know how to pray. I was able to pull to the side of the road and lead him through the sinner’s prayer. It seems so long since I have seen a face that was so glad to receive God’s free gift of salvation.
In February, Rose, a lady in her 70s who has been coming to Faith Baptist Church in Sale for almost a year, plainly stated that she had no assurance that she had ever trusted Jesus as her Saviour. She asked Laura and me if we could stay over and talk with her about salvation. I gave her the same verses that I preach on every time I preach, but this time Rose decided to trust Christ as her Saviour. It was one of the sweetest things we have seen here in Australia. Please pray for Rose’s continued growth in the Lord. Please also continue to pray that we are able to see more souls saved.
Thank you for praying for our health and safety, and thank you so much for faithfully supporting us here in Australia.
Sincerely,
Ron Back
Missionary in Australia
