God is so good! We get to have our nine-month anniversary on Christmas! There is no better gift the Back-Pack could even ask for. The temperature here has bounced between 50°F and 85°F. They say that the temperatures here in January should be between 80°F and 100°F.
Just last Sunday we had 7 visitors at Anchor Baptist Church. Laura and I have been working with Sarah, a young mother of three, and her brother Timmy. Timmy came two weeks ago and brought their other brother David and his family. We have been talking with this family for several months, and they have sound testimonies of salvation and attended Anchor Baptist when they were little children. We were also blessed to have our neighbor Cloe come to church for the first time in her life. We have given her the Gospel three times in the last few months, and we are praying that the Lord would work on her and her partner Chris to be saved. Please pray for them, as they are moving away soon and may lose touch. We are their only Christian contacts.
Laura and the girls recently had to become certified in first aid to work in the crèche (nursery). They passed courses in CPR, Basic Emergency Life Support—Level 1, and Epi-Pen/Ani-Pen Training. This training took several days of online study and five hours of classroom certification. Laura and I also had to get a “Working With Children” federal ID and background check. Basically they linked us to the federal pedophile list for quick recognition, and we had to be cleared of any possible criminal background to be able to work with children. In order to work with children in the nursery or as a church worker here, you have to have this ID. For everyone who does not have it or allows it to expire, they can fine the church $35,000.00 per infraction.
Even with these stringent laws, we feel it is an extreme honor to be able to meet all the criteria placed on us and serve God here in Australia. Thank you all again for all the support these last few years. We thank God for each of the sacrifices that you have made this year alone, along with all the prayers. We can honestly say we love each and every one of you very much.
Please join us in prayer for Brother Abrell as he continues to recover, for baby Violet Miller with lung and chest infections, for more souls to be saved and baptized, for Anchor Baptist Church to grow, for young men to train and start churches with, and for new ministries we hope to start in January.
Sincerely,
Ron Back
Missionary to Australia