God is so good! So far, this year has been very interesting. The first Prison Ministry meeting went well; thank you for praying. I was informed that it is going to take quite some time to actually get all my paperwork completed and get inducted into the prison system. We are positive and proceeding as quickly as possible. I have two more meetings coming up in March and April. Pray for the Lord’s hand to move men’s hearts in this endeavor. Missionary Kevin Robb from the USA is coming over this year to get a foothold in the Military Ministry, with PTSD as our inroad. Please pray for him as we pray for the Lord to open a door through him in the Australian military bases.
In the meantime, I am spending much time out on the street trying to evangelize, both in Moe and in Morwell, the next large town over. Recently while knocking doors, a lady named Marty, around 80, saw me out, and I was able to speak with her about the Lord. As I was trying to witness to her, she kept changing the subject to her yard and her special needs son. I kept bringing the conversation back to whether or not she was trusting Christ as her Saviour. Finally, after about 35 minutes, I got that she was brought up Methodist in Ireland but got away from church and was living her life the way she thought was right. I invited her to come to church, and she explained to me that she would feel like a hypocrite because she doesn’t believe like we do. I asked her what she didn’t believe, and it finally came out that she believed in reincarnation and rejected salvation. My heart broke because I know this lady is way closer to eternity than she thinks she is. I stopped back by her house a few days later. She had a large pile of brush in her front yard. I tried to remove the pile secretly, but she caught me. She asked me why I would help her, and I explained to her that good neighbors help each other out. She replied, “But you live on the other side of town.” I laughed and explained to her that I could still help her out. She replied, “I’m still not coming to church.” Please pray for Marty’s salvation; pray that the Lord would work on her heart and help me reach her for Christ.
We still need your prayers about a newer vehicle. Laura and I had to spend over $2,000.00 on the van. The bearings on the air-conditioning compressor went out, and a door handle broke and needed to be replaced. This may sound trivial, but the van wasn’t able to run with the bearings out. Praise the Lord, though, that the van has lasted almost nine years come September—not bad for a 2006. Please also pray for souls to be saved and for the church to grow here in Australia.
Sincerely,
Ron Back
Missionary in Australia