Dear Beloved,
Greetings in the Lord, I trust you are well. Our December outreaches presented many opportunities to shine the light, to be the light, as commissioned by Jesus. We were able to travel to Goondiwindi, Chinchilla, Morvan and Charleville for various forms of evangelism and outreach.
Goondiwindi is a beautiful town situated QLD/NSW boarder. Home to some 10,000 residents, Goondiwindi presents scope for further prayer, outreach and evangelistic activity. During the outreach we set up our stage and, despite the rain, were able to bless the community, praying for the sick, preaching the gospel and sharing in the message of the kingdom of heaven. It's always good, I find, to remember the 'one'. I met a dear gentlemen who had been mixed up in drugs, relationship breakdown and a torrent of struggles. He encountered the love of Jesus and surrendered his life. A day later I met his grandmother in the main street who said she'd praying for him for years - this is Kingdom! Still, this dear man needs prayer and further healing, please pray for him individually and as a representative for so many Jesus wants to encounter. I also had the pleasure of meeting with pastors Ivan and Ros Waldock of Goondiwindi AOG, sharing vision for mission and fellowship. Bless you, Goondiwindi.
After returning home for a brief few days, catching up with some of our crew and other fellow ministers of the gospel, we had the privilege of embarking on a short trip to Charleville via Chinchilla and Morvan. As an aside, (by no means less significant) I am encouraged by what the Lord is doing in our home town amongst the body of believers, growing character and gifting daily - from glory to glory.
Chinchilla saw opportunity for encouragement of the brethren, thanks to an intimate outreach event hosted by our dear friends, Mark and Annie Johnson and Mark's folks, John and Karen. We had a wonderful time sharing in the goodness of the Lord, music, preaching of the Gospel and praying for the movement of the Holy Spirit amongst the believers. Earlier that morning we prayer walked the streets sharing the gospel, leading one young man to Jesus, praying for the sick and sharing the love of Jesus - praise the Lord.
Our Morvan run, included a day of property visits, checking in with farmers battling ever so resiliently in the most absurd climate conditions. We shared the Lord and led one specifically to the to the arms of Christ. I'll take a moment here to honour our farmers and all primary producers in this country - thank you. These guys are indeed the backbone of our country apart from the Lord Himself. Battling, what appears as endless drought, they continue to put food on our tables. We pray blessing on our land, and those who work is so diligently, we pray for their healing and salvation in Jesus' name.
Charleville, situated some 800km west of the Sunshine Coast, QLD, holds a special place in my heart and heart's of many of our team. Home to some of our dearest friends, it is a community in hardship yet endurance. I've had the privilege of ministering there multiple times over the last three years. We love you guys and pray for continued blessing on each home and family. Thank you, all those in Charleville, hosting us.
As a closing note, I personally, thank you for your faithfulness, partnering in prayer and financial support this year. This work is indeed a team/family effort. We have counted over 30 decisions for Christ this year and have blessed many more. It is all because of Jesus. Jesus' love gives us hope and life to offer and His power gives us something with which to heal. I invite you to please pray continue to pray for us, I can stress how much I am grateful for your prayer.
I also thank our crew those who have worked on this ministry together. Those who've been on trips those who've worked on admin and media - thank you.
Most of all, I honour our King, Jesus. Jesus you are worthy, we love you, we exalt you and we thank you that you first loved us.
Bless you all, we look forward to what God has for us all next year. Thank you again for your ongoing prayer and financial support. Please stay up to date via the website and Facebook for trips and other opportunities; be sure to email through prayer requests.
I pray that you know His goodness and blessing, His guidance, counsel and comfort each day.
In the harvest,
J-L Rathbone