The last two months have been busy! In July, we were invited to an engagement party for two young people who were among the young adults we worked with in Sydney. Alan and Rebekah plan to marry as soon as Rebekah’s visa gets approved. The party coincided with the True North Summit, a conference for young adults hosted by two churches in Sydney. Our pastor and a young adult from our church also attended. We were challenged by the great sermons, and we were encouraged to see the next generation of Australian young people determining to serve the Lord. It was a blessing to see so many of the young adults we worked with who are still serving the Lord; many of them are married with children now!
When we returned from Sydney, we were able to help host Samantha, a Bible college student from Texas, who spent a month at our church in Tasmania. She is seeking the Lord’s will for her life and is praying about returning after graduation to serve in the church here. My wife was able to go soul winning with her several times during her stay. We are following up on several contacts they made. Tasmania had an election recently, and there were a lot of politicians and news crews around. Samantha and Laura were handing out tracts in the mall and were able to give tracts to the news crews. On our flight to Melbourne, we were seated behind the Foreign Affairs Minister. Laura was able to give her a tract and let her know our church prays for our country’s leadership.
Yesterday we heard a young man preach on his last Sunday here before he leaves for Bible college in America. His message was filled with Scripture after Scripture—it was obvious he had spent much time in study and prayer. We have had the privilege of watching Tim mature into a godly young man. He is a servant, and we believe God has great things in store for him. He will be greatly missed at Coastline Baptist Church!
We are excited about what the Lord is doing here. Our church will be moving into a new facility by December—the Lord just hasn’t shown us where yet! The Norman family returned from the mainland and moved into a new home this week that is just 20 minutes from the church. Mrs. Norman and two other ladies from the church are expecting. Another couple is planning to relocate here from New South Wales in the next few months. Some people who have attended occasionally in the past are becoming more faithful. More people are stepping up to witness for the Lord. At the pastor’s request, Laura is doing a discipleship course with a lady in the church.
We continue to go soul winning and to follow up on contacts who are willing for us to return. There are some people we have been visiting for a few years now. They aren’t saved yet, but we continue to pray for their salvation and are thankful that they are still open to our visits.
We would greatly appreciate your prayers for:
1. The Lord’s leading in our search for a new building.
2. Tim as he steps out in faith to start Bible college. Pray especially for his finances since, as a foreign student, he can only work on campus.
3. Continued spiritual growth for our church.
4. Fruit from the many tracts Laura and Samantha were able to give out during her stay.
5. Phillip, Nicole, Rex, Lois, Colleen, and Rob to be saved.
Bro. Andrew Steers