G'day from very warm Australia!
Kim and I trust each of you had a wonderful Christ-filled Christmas and that you are looking ahead with great expectation to the year ahead! Because of the faithfulness of the many of you that support us in prayers and fiances, this past year has been very encouraging as we've prayerfully sought to serve our wonderful Savior and Lord according to His direction and will.
Upcoming Furlough
Please note that Kim and I will be traveling back to the states in June, 2009 and visiting churches, family, and friends. We plan to return to Australia later in January of 2010. If any churches are having "Mission Conferences" or any other events let us know of these occasions as soon as possible! This is the first time in over 20 years we've had to make "raising more support" one of our primary objectives due to that fact that overall support levels have dwindled greatly over the last couple of years. We would very much appreciate your prayers in this regard. We remain very aware of the worldwide financial climate that is affecting everyone, yet we are greatly encouraged that the One who is the true "source" of meeting our every need will ensure His faithful promises of provision are fulfilled! How great is our God!
Church and Ministry Life
We are able to end the year on a very positive note as the church witnessed two very significant events. One event was the special occasion where we voted in a national as a second pastor to help shepherd and lead the church. Please pray for Albert, who has been in our church for several years and comes with a great deal of experience including a strong desire to serve the Lord. The other event was when we gathered around a church member's backyard pool and witnessed two baptisms. Dave, a policeman and the husband of one of the ladies in our church, who became a believer in early 2007, has been continuously growing in the Lord and is serving faithfully in the church. He has a strong "reformed" background, so we had to take some time to instruct him on the Biblical view that baptism is an act of obedience that follows salvation and involves total immersion in water (he had been "sprinkled" as a child). Also, Stephanie, his 14 year-old daughter, who had been greatly struggling with a number of emotional issues, became a believer last year (this was clearly a result of her dad's changed life). We immediately began to see a true change in her life, and she has become a mature witness for the Lord in her school as well as an effective teacher in our Sunday School.
She too submitted to the Lord in baptism on this beautiful day! I wish each of you could have heard her dynamic testimony of God's goodness and grace in her and her family's life!
On a more sombre note, we experienced the recent loss of a faithful family in our church. The husband is struggling to accept responsibility for some personal needs in his own life and much to the disappointment of his wife and 4 lovely children, he believes running off to another (sister) church will solve his problems. Please pray for this husband and dad that he will, even at this other church, face up to his personal responsibilities and get the type of spiritual and professional help he needs.
We are still seeking to instill in the hearts and minds of the our people the need to be reaching out into our local community. We have recently discovered that there are a couple of suitable rooms in a local Council building where we'll be able to sponsor a ladies Bible study and "play group" for local young mothers who often look for places to take their children to play and to socialize with other mothers from the community. We can use these well-equipped rooms for up to 3 hours at a time costing only $10 per session. On another note, we've had preliminary talks with a group that owns a 2.5 acre vacant lot in the middle of a very large community. We are praying for the possibilities of using this for future ministry opportunities. Please pray with us in regards to being effective in our community and beyond.
On the Home Front
Kim is remaining busy with helping in the Sunday School and ladies meetings, and she is often hosting events where we meet and minister to the folk in our church. She continues to be a real blessing to me as a Godly, supporting wife! We are both becoming more excited as our daughter, Meagan, continues to "look swell" in her pregnancy of our first grandchild which is due the first week of April! Please pray concerning a condition she possible may have called "gestational diabetes."
Our daughter, Linsey, is about to enter her first month of training in the Police Force! Before she even had the opportunity to face the real dangers of this new vocation, while recently driving home from her current job as a child-care worker, she experienced "micro-sleep" and crossed over in the the path of an oncoming car. According to the witnesses that were traveling directly behind her, she barely avoided a head-on collision with an oncoming car by just centimetres (inches). She woke in a daze just as she reached the rough part of the other side of the road; steered away from a fence; ran down a small tree; and crossed back over the road before she could gain full control of both herself and the car! We are so very thankful to our great God for protecting her from physical harm and the possibility of something far worse. She was actually able to drive the car home afterwards. Ben, our youngest, has recently been engaged to a beautiful young lady we have known for all of her and Ben's life. Her name is Sarah, and we are very thankful to the Lord for their lives together and look forward to celebrating their union on the 16th of May, 2009.
Again, we appreciate each of you and look forward to, hopefully, catching up face to face later this year!
Your Servants for the Glory of God!
Dan and Kim Proctor - Sydney
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