Cooroy, AUSTRALIA
- Clive & Rachael Barber
- Oct 7, 2020
- 3 min read
Clive and Rachael Barber and family
It's with a sense of unmerited favour that we send this brief report, acknowledging the goodness of God as we continue in His service. 2020 commenced in the same manner that 2019 concluded, preaching nightly in the Gospel tent. We enjoyed back to back gospel series with the Assemblies in Nunawading and South Oakleigh, Melbourne. Bryan Stewart displayed his Bible Exhibition in the tent during the day, and each evening we preached the gospel. There was cause for great encouragement to see souls take an interest in the Word of God. At the beginning of January, we put our family motorhome on a ferry and sailed 12 hours to Tasmania, setting up the tent on the foreshore in the town of Burnie to spread the good seed. We were blessed to have Justin Pratt (Kirkland Lake, ON) partnering with us preaching nightly. It was good to see familiar faces once again, as God gave the opportunity for salvation. Our time ended on the island with the annual conference in the Ridgely Assembly.
February was a long drive back to home base, via Melbourne, Adelaide, outback New South Wales, and into Queensland. We were cheered to visit various assemblies along the way and see God's grace at work in different lives. At one assembly in outback NSW, we stopped for a weekend of ministry, coinciding with two young Christians taking to the waters of baptism in a local dam. A thrill to witness these young ones in public confession - May the Lord preserve.
March, I (Clive) flew to New Zealand for meetings, taking Matthias Timothy, and Thomas. We had been there ten days when the coronavirus lockdown arrived and were forced to return home immediately. Suddenly, our plans were canceled, and service for the Lord re-shaped in the short term. We wrote a tract in the context of coronavirus and began to deliver it to the homes in local areas. Unable to gather as an assembly here in Cooroy for 15 weeks, we used the Zoom platform to keep in contact to pray, glean from the Word of God, and preach the gospel. It's been a joy to reconvene for the Lord's Supper over the last eight weeks.
Gospel Tent
Please pray as we continue our online gospel, now broadcasting across Australia and New Zealand each Sunday afternoon. We have been blessed to have preachers from different parts of the globe.
Barber family motorhome
The display of Gospel Billboards across the main cities of Australia continues, recently organizing four new ones and erecting 15 throughout Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. The response is varied, from 2 AM obnoxious phone calls to genuine conversations with requests for Bibles. In the city of Perth, a once in a decade storm hit the city, causing widespread devastation. Alongside a row of shops which had been ripped apart stood one of the Billboards declaring, "SEEK THE LORD WHILE HE MAY BE FOUND."
In Melbourne, a 37-year-old man phoned to say that he went out to end his life one Sunday morning. With his plan in place, he drove through the city, only to stop at a set of traffic lights and be confronted with these words, "FOR BY GRACE ARE YE SAVED THROUGH FAITH, NOT OF WORKS". It stopped him in his tracks and in his car, he wept, returning home. In Sydney, a Christian lady was so impressed with a billboard that she wanted the same on her garage door for all her neighbours and passers-by to read. Pray for this work.
We are thankful to report that the children are well. Josiah (15), Nathanael (14) Matthias (12), Timothy (11), Thomas (8) all confess Christ. Naomi (6) and Bethany (3) continue to bring much joy and amusement to us, and we pray for their salvation.
Rachael is kept busy as she continues the great privilege and blessing of homeschooling the children along with the duties of a busy home.
As we sign off, truly the Word of God is not bound. We praise the Lord for His marvellous workings all over the globe and implore you to pray that we will be preserved spiritually, morally, emotionally, mentally, and physically as we serve the Lord Christ. There are preparations for next year, but as always, we make our plans in the fear of the Lord and leave them subject to His will.
Autumn 2020
Written by Clive & Rachael Barber - AUSTRALIA
