Nov 27
We have arrived back in Australia after a quick trip back to Sacramento for a funeral. There is a lot to do in these closing days of the term. Please pray with us for strenght, wisdom, endurance and our emotional well being as we have many goodbyes to say.

The funeral was good. The gospel was clearly presented from the word, the family united, and William Knox's life was celebrated. We needed to be there.

Note that our contacts page now has cell phone numbers that will be effective again as of Dec 4 2008. You can reach us throughout the year on these new numbers.

As we start furlough 1 week from today we would ask you to place special emphasis in your prayers for God to provide housing and a minivan. We are not worried,yet, but it would be nice to have some answers.

In His service,

Matt, Barb, Amy, Luke Douglas

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19 Nov

15 November 08

Matt, Barb, Amy, Luke Douglas

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15 October 08

Praise The Lord!
Glorious Hope Baptist Church has graduated! Praise the Lord for He has done great things!

We want to report to you in a way that you understand how much we are praising God for a good weekend. The problem with that is that we are having difficulty putting reality into words! People ask us what is running through our minds and hearts and we have to reply that it is a very mixed bag. We are excited beyond words and at the same time deeply saddened that we are leaving our friends to move on to the next ministry. If it were not for the calling of God on our lives it could be overwhelming.

We are moving closer to furlough. We had a garage sale to reduce the things we need to pack away. We have begun acquiring boxes and filling them. We are thinking about the video presentation we need to create and much more. All up, the list of things to do in the next 7 weeks is about 5 pages long. We hope to move through much of it quickly, but in the end there will be a lot of hurry-up-and-wait.

As you come to prayer this week please remember that it should be " in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgivings let your requests be made known to God. " Phil 4.6 Praise God with us on the completion of GHBC. We prayed so hard for this time, now let" s thank Him for it!

In His service,

Matt, Barb, Amy, Luke Douglas

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24 Sept 08

G'day,

God has to bless. The ladies retreat that just finished was not only a good time for our ladies to be renewed in the Lord, but it was also a time of rejoicing in heaven as a lost sinner accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Saviour! She has been radically changed inside and out. It has been a thrill to see her hunger for all things pertaining to God in each service since.

The church plant is getting closer to it s graduation day (Oct 12). We have a business meeting this weekend, next weekend I preach for the last time, and the final weekend we have a party and a graduation message brought by the man who is staying on in the church plant as Sr. Pastor. It will be exciting. We are thrilled to see the good culmination of just under 7 years of hard work and the ministry of the Lord in our midst. Pray for us. Pray that all goes well, and that Satan can not get a wedge in to divide or cause problems at this important time.

Our family has been suffering with colds and flue, but that is what happens in spring. We are grateful for the warmer weather and the longer daylight. It is amazing how even those of us who live in a good climate can long for a change of season.

Furlough plans are moving forward. We are getting many meetings booked. We hope to see most all our prayer supporters in 2009. Email and make sure we get you on the schedule.

In His service,

Matt, Barb, Amy, Luke Douglas

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4 September 08 AD

Thank you for your continued prayer and support! It is really impossible to describe how God uses YOU in our ministry. Please know that we value each of you, and every single prayer.

Glorious Hope Baptist Church is going well as it nears graduation from missionary input. We are striving to finish well in all we do. This is not without its challenges. Satan would love to drive wedges at this time, and it is easy to see how he wants to scatter the flock. God s good grace prevails and the church of Christ moves forward. Our attendance continues to bounce between 80 something and 100 ish. God has even blessed us with a few services lately that had more men than women in attendance. If you have been following our ministry for some time you will recall how burdened we have been to reach the men. Praise God with us that the men are reaching men!

Our family has been hurting a good bit. The lack of financial support has bit hard. We have had to cancel many things we planned and are now looking at returning for an early furlough in  09. We have NO desire for this, but we humbly submit to a Sovereign God who not only knows best, but also has our best at heart. Part of the reason for the less frequent updates is the fact that we have been struggling with this. It will be very hard on the kid s schooling to travel for a year right now. We also know that the USA economy is not doing well, and wonder how this could be a good time to have to return. In the end we throw ourselves on a merciful God.

Since we are looking to furlough next year, we have many things that we need to do in short order. Please pray for us as we work out the 5 pages of lists, questions and details. It takes a lot to pack up and travel nonstop for a year. Pray for finishing ministries here well; ie. ESL, Scripture in the public schools, mentoring/discipleship, and more. Pray that God will work out the best for our housing, packing, and dog. Pray that we will not only get good meetings in our supporting churches, but that God would also direct us to just the right churches for new support. Pray that God would supply a place to stay in the US, a good minivan, and all the other details of life on the road. Lastly, pray that God would even lead us to be comfortable in a new sending church as ours closed in June/July of this year.

Today s sermon was from 1 Chronicles 28. We need to  be careful now because the Lord has chosen us. We need to  be strong,  courageous and  do it!

In His service,

Matt, Barb, Amy, Luke Douglas

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23 July 08

G'day

Just a quick email update. We want you to be able to praise God with us and uphold us in prayer for the current issues.

You may have heard of the spiritually enriching time we had here in Sydney last week. It was a blessing to see the crowds out. The messages from the word were very good and everyone involved had a uplifting blessing from the Lord. I am Talking about the Australian Fellowship of Bible-believing Churches Annual Bible Conference of course. Each year our churches get together to encourage one another, worship together, and have a deep study of the Word of God. This years topic was "What Is Right With The Church". We all hear the other side far to often. It was good to be challenged from the Scripture with contending for the faith and holding on to what we have as we march forward.

With all the Catholic pilgrims here in Sydney for World Youth Day last week we had more opportunities than normal for evangelism. Matt and Amy made the most of the opportunities. Pray that the seed would grow in the hearts of all the people we had the opportunity to talk with.

Then on Sunday we had a former ABWE missionary return to the field and preach at the church he worked in many years ago. They left the field not long after we arrived here. It was good to see them again, and we were blessed to have the opportunity to catch up with dozens of long lost friends. John Koster, the former missionary, was of great encouragement to our family. God knows just what encouragement we need, and when it is essential.

Our children are on their last week of winter school holidays. We have a family afternoon and evening out planned for Thursday of this week. We acquired special tickets to "My Fair Lady" at the Sydney opera house. We have never done this in our 14 years here. We are grateful for God s provision this time.

As a family we will be facing some tough issues by the end of this year. We start to learn some answers in the next few days with even more coming over the next two weeks. Pray for us for wisdom, God s strong guidance, and strong stomachs to live through the turmoil till we have answers. We so appreciate your prayers!

In His service,

Matt, Barb, Amy, Luke Douglas

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14 July 2008

Your prayers for the ministry here have been powerfully effective! We cannot thank you enough for upholding us in prayer. There have been several spiritual battles lately that would have caused great damage if it were not for all your prayers.

Glorious Hope Baptist church is going good. We have been averaging around 100 these days. There is an excitement in the church, and a great expectation of what God will do in the days and months ahead. Many see our departure and the church s graduation as a natural next step for the church. We wholeheartedly agree. October 5th should be a great day. Know also that Satan is trying to divide the church over NON-issues. We have had the full range of silly things. Recently 5 different people "heard" Pastor Sam preach something that the recording proves he did not preach. It would have been a major breach of our doctrinal statement, so of course I was concerned. In the end, God s truth won out. All is fine now, but we remain on our guard to the "wiles of the devil."

The family is going fine. The children are in the middle of their 3-week winter school break. They like that of course. Mum and Dad are happy to have extra time with them. We are blessed as a family. Amy is also taking some extra schooling this week. It should help her in her drama skills and give her time in front of a TV camera. We are excited for her.

Our support remains a very big concern. The Australian dollar continues to climb to almost even with the US dollar. Our pay was set for about a 20% difference. We have also lost a longstanding church as of this month. Our hearts are greatly grieved when we see supporting churches close. The amount of the support is a small consideration compared to the loss of another candle shining the way to the Lord. We are bringing each of our supporters before the Lord regularly. If any of you have specific requests, please let us know. We do understand that things are hard in the USA right now. We hear in the news all the financial troubles. We get reports of how slow and hard the ministry has become there.

We ask that you would pray with us about our next ministry here. We do believe God would have us continue church planting in the greater Sydney area. We have begun research on the "where", but the "who" is a much larger issue. We have a few ideas of who we would have in our next church planting team, however at this stage ideas are all we have. If we are doing the work of God, with the people God wants us to work with, then He will lead us to the right place. GHBC was and is so effective because we were led by God firstly to the "who" and then together God showed us the "where."

Thanks again for all your prayers and support!

In His service,
Matt & Barb

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21 June 2008 AD

We so appreciate your prayers.  They mean so much to us.

Our support is hurting!  We had another church close this month.  They were supporting us for $145 ish per month.  So we now have that to add on to our shortfall.

ESL, Scripture Classes in the Public Schools, and Kids Club take a 3 week break after this Friday.  It is the winter school break here.  Pray for us this Wednesday night as we will likely be giving the Gospel one last time for a while at the exact time you are meeting for prayer.

Pray for the transition of the church to self supporting.  "Graduation Day" is October 5 2008.  We are excited in so many ways.  We are also aware of Satan's desires to disrupt the church at this critical time.  We are continuing to see great growth (really hurting for chairs) and yet at times it is like Satan twists the words between the mouth and the ear so as to be totally miss understood.

The kids would also love your prayers.  They are standing for Christ at school and getting flack for it. (Mum and Dad sure are proud though!)

Thanks again!
In His service,
Matt & Barb

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6 May 2008AD

G day,

 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to His own glory and excellence. 1 Peter 1.3

God gives us everything we  need for life and godliness and blesses us with great and precious promises through our knowledge of Him who called us. Not only have we been memorizing these verses together as a family, but we are seeing God work them out before our very eyes. While we are over $1900 short of our support every month, God has supplied our needs and we continue on for now. Pray with us that God would intervene and supply. No amount is too big for Him.

The ministry is going very well. New people are turning to Christ and attending church faithfully. For a long time we asked that you pray with us that God would bring us men. Well, on the 24th we will have a men s event with 19 pre-booked. Most of these men are active in our church. On Sunday night May 5th GHBC had a young adults event and Bible study with 15 present. We are praising God for this group. They are exciting to be around and are the near future of our church. On Saturday we will be having our biggest outreach to women. It is our Ladies Pampering Day. While it is a massive amount of work, we can not ever fully explain the blessings and ministry this day is.

Also coming up at Glorious Hope is an important business meeting on Sunday evening May 25th. The church is making decisions that will set it up for graduation to self supporting on the first week of October. We are thrilled that the church is growing so well and making one wise decision after another.

Our family is doing well. We are grateful to God for our children and their growth in the Lord. Both are doing well in school and aside from the occasional cold and virus are healthy. We recently spent a couple of days together during their April school break and had a great time. We spent a couple nights on the coast relaxing, fishing, and having good family chats. While it might not sound like much, it was the most precious to me in a very long time. God is so good.

We thank you for your prayers and support. It is a real privilege to serve God in this place. We love this ministry.

In His service,

Matt, Barb, Amy, Luke Douglas

Prayer

• Support needs
• Ladies Pampering Day 10 May
• Men's outing 24 May
• Buisiness meeting 25 May

Praise

• People being saved
• Great attendance at GHBC
• Good young adults group
• Growing mens group
• Good family vacation
  
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13 April 08

We broke a record attendance at GHBC today, 85! We need more chairs, praise God! We are so excited that the church is growing so well. One of our recent converts attended church for the first time this morning.

We are also excited about the stats from our first quarter of 2008. We gave 285 gospel presentations with 20 saved! Praise God with us for a great start to the year! We also saw 5 baptised. God is doing a great work here in Australia.

In His service,

Matt & Barb Douglas


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7 April 2008

G"day,

 Do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. 22 For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name s sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you a people for Himself. 1 Samuel 12.21-22

What GREAT verses! God is so good, and yet it is so easy to turn aside after empty pursuits that do nothing in view of eternity. We see this in our churches, our friends, and even in our own lives at times. We are so thankful for God s great mercy that is always there ready to woo us back to Himself.

We have had some great progress on the church planting front. 5 people have been baptized this year, several saved (though not attending church yet), growth in the Sunday morning services (tied our record high again for the 3rd time this morning) and an excellent attitude about going independent of missionary involvement by October. We are so excited!

A small prayer just came in via SMS message. One child, Franky, we have reached through our  Kids Klub came to church this morning and broke his arm. He is in surgery as I type this. Pray that he will heal well, and that the church will have not ill affects from this.

Our Web page is under a major update and review, so we have not been getting the latest postings there. Hopefully that will be finished by the end of the month. If you have ideas for us, or comments, please be kind and pass them along. This web site is for our supporters (prayer and financial). We want to give you the info you want to know most.

The family life is going good. It was great to have Matt's parents here for a month to help us recover from the hail storm damage. We were able to get most things done, and the house looks better than it did before the storm. We were also able to get a bit of extra money from doing the work ourselves that will enable us to "survive" on about $1300 per month UNDER supported. We can use the money we made to make up that difference between now and the end of the year when we come home for another short support raising trip (Oct - Feb 09).

Amy has had a lot of health issues. She could use your prayers. She is also finding the pressures at school are a challenge to deal with. While she has lots of opportunities, she is learning that she can not do everything she would like to. The stress and the commitments begin to be too much. We, as parents, want her to learn how to say  no even to good things when it will hinder her from doing better things. These are hard lessons to learn for all of us!

Luke is doing well. He is in the advanced class as well and handling things fine so far. Of course he does not have half the opportunities his sister does yet. He seems to be bored far too often, and then he has to rush to get things done that he has put off too long. He will learn the skills of time management yet. (We hope and pray! HA!)

Matt has a new Iranian in his ESL class. She definitely is not a Christian, but she is warming to all the Bible reading we do in class. Pray that she will visit our church soon. We have others there who can speak Persian, and she would be warmly welcome. (This is the main reason I teach adults ESL.)

In His service,

Matt & Barb Douglas

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19 March 08

Thanks to all the prayers we are seeing the Lord do great things!

We have finished most of the work from the hail storm. We could not have done it without the team coming down from Hastings Michigan. We appreciate them more than we could ever tell. Now pray that the insurance will pay us quickly. All the expenses were out of pocket and it has run us back to a VERY tight budget. The house looks good. In some ways it is better than before. We have also increased our outreach to the neighbours, and we have been able to help several. Pray for an ongoing spiritual opportunity.

The church is growing both spiritually and numerically. We have voted in some new members and some regular attenders are reading through the constitution and asking questions. Pray with us that they too come one board soon. We even have another Baptism scheduled for the end of the month. Praise God!

We hope you are all enjoying a good Resurrection focus at this time of the year. God has been doing good things in our hearts as we again teach the necessity of the death and resurection of our Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that I never again become complacent with this. Pray for us as we have just a few more opportunities to teach in the schools and at ESL on Thursday. Our Church does a Good Friday service that has been very impactful in the past. Pray with us for God s blessing.

Pay also for a man Matt has been mentoring. PR is suffering from VERY low blood pressure. That causes all kinds of other problems. He needs god s intervention.

In His service,

Matt & Barb Douglas

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17 February 2008

G day,

After working very hard for about a week we now have a solid roof over our head again! Ya!!! We have had a lot of rain since the initial damage was done to our roof on Dec. 9. We have destroyed 3 more walls, 1 ceiling, most of our insulation, and carpet in one room. Again, insurance will cover the costs, but it is inconvenient to say the least. To see a few pictures go to  family news page of our website. http://www.abwedouglas.net/page9.html

We have a work crew from Hastings Michigan that came to help. At present we have Matt s parents and another retired couple. Within a day or two we will have one more arrive, and we have another coming a week after that. We are so grateful for the help. It is also good to see Matt s parents again.

Next Sunday should be a great day. CoCo, Ray and Teddy are getting baptized in the harbour. We are excited about their willingness to obey the Lord in baptism and to get more involved in the church.

Another exciting development is that we have Brian back. He attended GHBC for a time while attending our missions Bible institute. He left to work in another church but found that they never gave him the job, so he is back. He looks quite committed and speaks of his desire to make GHBC his permanent church. He will be good deacon potential.

ESL and Scripture in the public school are starting back up for the year. We have a good size load for this, but are grateful to God for the ministry opportunities these give us. Already Matt has had the opportunity to talk openly about his faith, his church plant, my views on the Bible, and also to teach on creation.

Pray with us for:
" Safety for all who are working on the house
" Our car to be repaired well and returned soon
" Good weather for our outside Baptism on the 24th
" GHBC to continue to grow towards independence in October this year
" Boldness in our ministries that we serve in to build the church by making contacts in the community (ESL & Scripture)

In His service,

Matt & Barb Douglas

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22 January 2008

G day,

Proverbs 16.22 says,  Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it... We are so grateful that God has given us good sense. He has also enabled us to use what He has so freely given. We serve such a good God!

We are starting to get answers so it is time to reply to the many questions about the hail storm.

We had one car totalled and one will get fixed late Feb. We will try to live with just 1 car for awhile. We need to make sure other expenses do not run away from us. In the end we will probably have to trade in the car that we still have for a bigger one. It was great when we bought it, but the kids were MUCH shorter then. Also, a bigger car would be necessary to start a new church plant.

The house still leaks. It is a pain, but what can you do? We heard today that we will get to fix it ourselves with a decent insurance payout. We will not get rich, but we can cover the costs, rental equipment needed and even pay for a airline ticket for Matt's Mum and Dad to come help. We are satisfied. Dad is bringing a friend or two from Hastings, MI to help. They are contractors or retired and desire to pay their own way. They just want to serve. People like that are special! They cannot come till after the 5th of Feb, but we will hold down the fort till then.

We will be replacing the house roof, garage roof, 3 ceilings, a couple of walls, the vinyl siding on the front of the house, and then paint everything. It should be plenty to work on, so I am glad they are staying a month.

Did your church ever get a hold of last year s video report? Hope so. If not, and you are interested in the ministry report, or the special kids report on  life as a missionary kid in Australia, please email and we can put you in touch with the person in CA who is duplicating and shipping them.

In His service,
Matt


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14 Jan 2008

Matt counceled with 18 kids for salvation, around 28 dedicated their lives to the Lord's service, and many others made desisions with their individual leaders. PRAISE God with us! What an exciting, blessed, and spiritually profitable week.

In His service,

Matt & Barb Douglas

8 January 2008

G day,

Camp is going well! Continue to pray.
We have heard that since the damage estimate to the house alone is over $50,000 that the insurance company is requiring more quotes. Pray that we can get the work done soon!
In His service,

Matt & Barb Douglas

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1 January 2008

G day,

We went into the city to see the fireworks last night. Sydney does such a good job. Our family really enjoyed it. We spent the change of the year with Pastor Sam and most of his family (and thousands of others in the park).
We begin Camp Toukley kids camp in 5 days. Matt is teaching and Barb is Camp Mum. Pray for us. We will have over 100 kids and many "wards of the state." We want an effective ministry; kids to be saved, and Christian kids to grow in Christ.

In His service,

Matt & Barb Douglas

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25 December 2007
G day,

We pray you will have, are having, or have had a GREAT Christmas! It is our prayer that you are closer to our God for celebrating it. It rained yesterday and today, so our family will go to the beach just after Christmas. We love having fun together.
In His service,

Matt & Barb Douglas


23 December 2007
G' day,

We thank you for your prayers regarding our response to the big storm. While we know of many people who had damage, it seems our area was one of the hardest hit. To make matters more complicated we have had rain almost every day since. Yesterday (Saturday the 22nd) because of high winds and rain during the night the roof coverings came off, and we again had water pouring out of our ceiling and all over everything (including the Christmas presents under the tree.) We had called for help from the government department that is supposed to help in cases like this, but they did not come till after the rain was coming down hard.

We have had one contractor out to get a quote for the insurance company. We are considering offering to do the work ourselves if we could get a big enough payout. That would mean the use of all our vacation time to replace 2 roofs, windows, and vinyl siding, and repair the ceilings damaged inside the house.

In any case we would ask that you pray for a speedy resolution to the matter. With Christmas upon us, most contractors are off till mid to late January. We are not excited about going that long without a roof.

Our neighbourhood has pulled together a bit more. People are talking with one another and offering help to one another. Please continue to pray for our witness. It is different witnessing at the peak of your roof.

Our cars will be assessed Jan. 14 & 16. We are asked to come prepared to have them written off and be taxied home. This possibility both excites and depresses us. Pray for God s will to be done.

We know we will be up for about $4600 in deductibles from our insurances. We have set up a "storm fund" at ABWE for those who would like to help and still get a tax deduction. Others have asked to send money directly to us.

In His service,

Matt & Barb Douglas



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9 December 2007
G day,

We now know what it is like to live through a hail storm of biblical proportions. The largest on our street was 5 1/2 inches across. Most were between tennis ball and softball size. The storm lasted about ½ hour and really messed up our house. Our roof was shattered with over 150 holes on the south side and 14 on the north. Add to that the 42 holes in the garage and I had to do some work on the roof instead of rest on my Sunday afternoon. I was blessed to find some rolls of plastic at the local hardware store, but only enough to cover 1 side of the house. The other side we tried to patch the holes as good as possible. I pulled a good number of chunks of ice out of the attic as Amy and I tried to cover the whole south side. With all that ice up there, and the hard rain that followed we also had a good bit of water inside the house. Yes, we also had it break our front windows, and destroy the vinyl siding in several spots on the south side. Then there are the cars. Both will have to have the front windows replaced and will have thousands of dollars in other damage. They do not look too pretty right now!
Everyone on the street was hit hard. Our roof seems to have the most holes, but everyone had a lot of damage to cars and houses. Now comes the hassles figuring out what the insurance companies will do and making the appropriate adjustments. Pray for us through this.
" pray that we will be a witness in the neighbourhood
" pray that we ll be able to keep the rain out (it s supposed to rain all week!)
" pray that we will be able to pay for the deductibles on our insurances
" pray that we will be able to get repairs done in a timely manner (hundreds of homes/cars are affected we will be only one in a long line)

Thanks for your prayers as we finish off the school year this week, have final programs in Scripture classes and ESL, and Christmas carol at the Children s Hospital and in the neighbourhood surrounding the church.

In His service,

Matt & Barb Douglas



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17 Sept. 2007AD

Thank you once again for your prayers!

It is a great truth that when the people watched Jesus s ministry they, " were astonished beyond measure, and said,  He has done all things well... " It is so important to do things well. Sometimes "good enough" seems to be the rule of the day, but as we serve God we should strive to be Christ-like and do all ministry well. Think about that for a minute, then think about the things you are doing for the Lord, and ask yourself if you have let things slip, or are you still striving to "do all things well."

You may have noticed the new picture on our home page. We often are asked for a current picture of the family. That request is not as easy as it sounds, but occasionally we take the opportunity to give you a new view of the family. (There are also new pictures in the photo album page.) You can see that the children are about to overtake their Mum in height! As you can imagine, the bigger appetite also comes with the growth.

We are continually grateful to the Lord that He has given us this ministry in Australia. Once again on the weekend we were able to see some good numbers attend church. We were thrilled to see some people return who have not come for a long time. Joe, an unsaved man, even made the comment to me that he needs to make it a bigger priority in his life to get to church because he learns so much when he comes. Please pray with us for Joe. We would really like to see him give his life to Christ.

In Matt s ESL classes last week he had the opportunity to talk more specifically about church with several of his students. He learned that 4 of his students are now going to the Korean church we helped start a few years ago. That was a big encouragement. Not only have we seen some saved, but now we are seeing church fruit! One of the ladies will soon be baptized with her daughter. Praise the Lord!

Some have heard that we are returning to the States in October. That is only partly true as it is only Matt that will be travelling to the USA. You can check out the itinerary on our web site (see the furlough page). It is not time for a full furlough. However since we are very short on finances, Matt is taking this opportunity to speak in several churches to see if he can raise more support and get a few debts covered. Please pray for this trip. Yes, pray for safety, but more than that pray for responsive hearts and churches.

If Matt is going to be in your area, and you would like to get together, please email and we will schedule something in.

In His service,
Matt, Barb, Amy, Luke Douglas



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3 Sept. 2007AD
,
Psalm 37.7, "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; fret not yourself ..." These verses always sound so easy and yet can be hard to live. While we desire the best, what we think is the best timing is often not God s best timing. Sure we know this. We all live there, yet we can so easily ask God to get things moving a bit faster. We desire to be people who can " be still before the Lord and wait..." Life and ministry would be so much better if our clock was God s "clock."

Ministry has been good. God is still building his church. This last week we again had a young man in his early 20's that committed to our church and asked for membership. We have a baptism later this month as well for another young person who wants to join our church. God is so good.

Last weekend our ladies had a mini retreat. Everyone who went had a great time. The challenges from the word were bullseyes. This should once again be a good step up for our ladies.

Last Sunday was also Fathers Day in Australia (first Sunday of September). We only had 4 fathers present. Many of our men took it as a chance to get away. We long for the day when our church has men that will stand up as do the ladies.

The deacon training has also taken a step or two back. One of the young men is having some marriage problems, and the other is struggling spiritually. Pray for me as I strive to spend the extra time needed to see these men grow.

Matt s ESL class attendance has gone way down. The positive side is that they have moved up to the next higher level, the sad part is that I no longer have that chance to impact their lives. Some ask if ESL is worth it., Well, on Sunday night I had a great conversation after the service with a Chinese immigrant couple who were in church as a direct result of one of my co worker s ESL classes. While they are not yet saved, they are so close. I will try to spend some time with them over the next month as well. (I will be using the excuse of learning a few words of Chinese [Mandarin] for when I go to the Olympic games next year. We hope with a team approach we can see them make that decision to follow Christ.

Thank you again for your prayers. They mean so much to us.

In His service,
Matt, Barb, Amy, Luke Douglas



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14 July 2007AD

Just a quick update between things.

God has been very good. Our week at Camp Toukley was very fruitful. All up we had 87 kids from disadvantaged homes or wards of the state. We were very busy and received far to little sleep, but it was worth it! In the end 37 children committed to Christ. WOW. We also enjoyed a ministry among the camp leaders and councillors. God allowed a major tragedy in the family of one of our core leaders, and it through most of the group for a loop. In the end we can see the goodness of God allowing us to be at a place of need.

The AFBC winter ski trip also went well. Due to illness and a few extras backing out we only had 9 attend. We had 8 that are the more committed in their respective churches and one unsaved teen girl from our church - Glorious Hope. The snow was deep for Australia. The skiing was good, and the fellowship was great. Our devotions were the things that should be "@ your core" from 1 John. God blessed me as I studied and delivered the devotionals as much as anything.

After the ski retreat we returned to the fellowship of churches annual Bible conference. We had an Australian speaker this year who spoke on " how to help a broken world."

Now we need a holiday - vacation! Our children have one more week off school for there winter break, so we are going to drive North and try to warm up a bit. We need the rest. We need to be refreshed.

Thanks for your prayers!

In His service,
Matt, Barb, Amy, Luke Douglas




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25 June 2007AD

"Those who call upon the name of the Lord, will be saved!" It has been a wonderful time to be ministering here in Australia. The Lord has called 3, a former Hindu lady, a man in his 20's, and a child! All three are the results of many visits to our church. I, Matt, have asked the young man to enter into discipleship with me. Pray that the followup will firmly anchor these new believers in the Word of God and our church.

We often use these email updates to ask for prayer ahead of ministries. We need to do that once again.

This week we have a major administration week. We have things that have to be done, organised and followed through. A lot of time will be spent on the phone, emails, and in mini meetings laying out the ministries of the following weeks.

Saturday 30th, we head off to a week of kids camp. This is a special kids camp made up of mostly welfare children who are "wards of the state." These kids are more than a handful individually, but we expect up to 100 of them with only 20 church kids. It is a special camp aimed at evangelism. Each year there are problems, heartaches, an great ministry opportunities. Over recent years this camp has had an average of 30+ kids get saved and placed in a local church upon their return home. Yes, we expect problems, and Yes we expect the Lord will be working. We ask you to pray with us. Pray that we will handle the challenges well. Pray that we will be up to the grunge work (washing wetted bed sheets every day, doing massive lice clean outs, helping kids learn how to brush teeth, and more) and show the children the love of God as they have never seen it before. Pray also that we would be protected from the ramifications of "storming the gates of hell." Every year there are accusations from the kids about misconduct by the camp staff. (They know the system, and how to "push hot buttons.") Lastly, I would ask you to pray for health. As I write this Barb is in bed with the flue, I, Matt, have had a relapse of intestinal problems over the last few days, and the camp director is in bed recovering from emergency surgery. Pray for our health, and the health of the whole leadership staff. We return from the kids camp on Saturday the 7th.

Sunday the 8th we leave for the fellowship of churches youth and young adult ski retreat. Matt is leading this and Barb is the cook. We will have 2 days on the slopes and 5 different devotional segments. Again, we need prayer for safety, health, and wisdom as we finish planning the devotionals.

We return from the ski retreat on the 11th just in time for the AFBC Bible conference to start that evening. This is always a great time as we join together as a fellowship of churches and study the Word.

After all that, our family plans on a week of vacation before school starts back up again and the normal pattern of ministry starts all over again.

Matt is also planning a mini furlough on October/November. He will speak in a couple of missions conferences and seek more support (we are short about $500 USD per month and it is hindering our ministry!). Pray that God would open all the right doors, and all meetings would soon be set.

In His service,
Matt, Barb, Amy, Luke Douglas



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10 June 2007AD

It s the Queen s Birthday! Well, not really, but it is the day we celebrate for her. While in the States you get the Presidents Day holiday, we celebrate the Queen. Over our years here we have grown in our respect for the monarchy. For most Sydney-Siders it is paid day off work. That alone is a reason to celebrate.

I promised more details about the family this week, so I will hold to that.

Matt is trying to get better. His energy level is up to better levels, but still falling well short of norm. The doctors put him on 3 drugs that may actually be doing some good. Though they have their side affects, life seems to be getting better. The task of training the first deacons for GHBC should resume uninterupted. (This was the only ministry that he was unable to pass on to someone else to fulfill during the hard times of the illness.) God used the illness to prompt many others to take a more active role in their church. For example: Matt has not set up or put away the chairs for the worship service in over 3 months; We have someone else burning the sermons on to CD s now; Our men s Saturday morning Bible study and prayer time is flying without any organizational help from him at all.

Barb is going good. She has coped well with all the diet changes they have forced on Matt. Her scripture classes are having an impact, and she even had a student ask if she could help him get a Bible. That we a request she couldn t refuse. Barb has been playing a good bit of Scrabble in her spare time. It keeps the mind active. She has also been doing well at Curves. The difference Curves makes is obvious in more ways than one. Barb and the wife of the Pastor we are working with attend the same Curves and see it as a team effort to evangelize the people who work there.

Amy is enjoying highschool. She is in the top level of her class in both academics and spiritual leadership. Her leadership skills have been recognized by the school and they are actively trying to develop them. She will probably be writing soon to give you some other exciting news about life and ministry, But we will let her do that. Of course today being a holiday, she is sleeping in as any normal teen would. Amy is making a difference in her youth group as well. Her discernment and depth of insight helps the youth pastor bring others along. She was even asked to serve as a camp councilor for a  church camp that has 80% of the kids who are wards of the state. Mum and Dad are plenty proud of our girl!

Luke is enjoying 6th grade. He was chosen from his class to do some extra work in the social studies unit. He is enjoying leading the group as they study deeper in history, wars, and their effects throughout the world. He is involved in the school choir, and a drama group that the school has for competing against other schools around the state. He has been a big help in setup around the church also. He is not doing a winter sport this year, so Saturdays are free for a while. He has grown considerably. He is over 5 feet tall and still growing quickly. He went from on of the shortest in his grade to one of the tallest in half a year. The trick is keeping him in clothes. We loveour boy!

Just a note on the church as well. One year ago we had 45 total in the service. Yesterday 10 June we had 47 Adults in the preaching service with all the kids out for jr church with their leaders. We are excited about the growth, and the growing commitment of people to the ministry there. Continue to pray for Coco and Em. It is hard to leave Islam. They face trials that draw them to tears, and all we can do is love them in the Lord.

In His service,
Matt, Barb, Amy, Luke Douglas


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5 June 2007AD

G day

We want to thank you for your faithful prayers. God is always good! Life might be hard from time to time, but God is always good.

It has been about a month since we last communicated with you. I, Matt, have been undergoing a few tests to see why I have been having such painful health problems. We do not have all the answers, but we do know that they have found bad bacteria that the doctors say we need to kill off. During scope tests they found evidence of infection. The present course of meds, and a couple more tests may get me on the road to health again. We are praying that this is the case. I have been in so much pain, and so weak that I have had to take a lot of time off from ministry responsibilities just to try to get better.

Now the ministry responsibilities are piling up. We have kept things  afloat by doing the bare minimums, but some things have deadlines that cannot be shifted. If you will allow us we would like to give you a report on what we have been able to see go forward, and what needs major attention, and your prayers, over the next few weeks.

The church plant is going forward. In fact, Matt s sickness has caused more people to step up and take responsibilities. The church bought a sound system - needed because with larger attendance people could not hear well anymore. Matt was even able to designate a future deacon to work out the delivery and set up on its first morning in use.

The men of the church have begun a Saturday morning Bible study and prayer time once a month. We had tried to get one of these going for years. Praise God, all Matt does is attend - the men of the church are organizing and leading it.

The ladies of the church put on a pampering day for the welfare community around the church. This was a great day! They ministered extensively to 20 something ladies. Lunch had 54 women there. Our ladies of the church gave the ladies of the community (98% unsaved) a right royal treatment: foot and hand massage, back massage, hair cuts, facials, and more. The best part was that they did not do this in silence. The conversations were some of the best evangelism our church has had in a long time!

As mentioned above, attendance is up. Every week we are in the 60's and 70's. We have 40+ adults in the preaching service, with more out caring for the children. We have had 2 weddings recently (done by Pastor Sam) and 2 more recently engaged couples. We hope they will  nest with us during this life changing time. Offerings have been up. Youth attendance has been up. Ministry at the church has been good!

We have seen more opposition to the church. A couple of weeks ago some young teens went through the cars in the parking lot during church. If the car was locked the windows were smashed. A number of things were stolen; some was recovered on the day. When the kids were confronted by the police, their response was,  So what. They come into our community and we will do what we want. We don t care. Pray with us as we continue to reach out to those who  don t care.

Barb and I were able to attend another Seminary class. We did one on Biblical Archeology together, and Matt picked up the opportunity to brush up on his homiletics - preaching skills. We were greatly encouraged and re-armed for the spiritual warfare that we fight.

In a couple of weeks we have 2 evangelists coming to the church for special meetings. One is an Aborigine and the other is an American. They will be working in tandem to try to reach the community. Our church has chosen to focus on prayer and fasting for the effectiveness of this outreach. Pray with us. The dates are the 20-23 June. Pray that people would come out and hear what these men have to say. Pray also for the hearts of our people to be compassionate to the unsaved they know, and so moved as to do what it takes to give their unsaved friends an opportunity to hear the gospel.

On the 8-11 July Matt is leading the snow ski trip for the AFBC group of churches. Matt is the main organizer and devotional planner. Pray with us that we would have a good group of teens, and that the days in study together, as well as time in the snow, would have a deep impact on the young people of our fellowshipping churches. Pray that Mat would have wisdom in the details, as well as impact in the delivery of the Word of God.

Well, this is getting long. We will be in touch again real soon. Next time we will concentrate a bit more on what is happening with the family. Until then... God bless you, and thank you so much for your prayers!

In His service,
Matt, Barb, Amy, Luke Douglas



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11 April 2007AD

Bless the Lord, oh my soul; and all that is within me bless His holy name. Psalm 103.1

We are grateful to our God for who He is and what He has done. He is a God of steadfast love, mercy, and compassion. He is a God who directs the events of mankind for His good purpose. He is a God who continues to bring about His plans for the end of times. People around us might be crying out that we are going to destroy the planet, but we know that God has plans that can t be thwarted. Yes, we can make the world a miserable place to live - BUT we can not destroy mankind. God has His plans to judge the earth.

The ministry here has been SOOOOO good. God continues to draw people to Himself. Just two weeks ago the mother of 3 adults in our congregation came to Christ and asked Him to save her. After a life in Catholicism she has many questions and a lot of re-learning to do, but there is no doubt in her mind as to her hope/certainty of salvation in Jesus Christ alone! Her son is one of the men I have been training to be a deacon. We recently developed a study for brand new Christians together. It takes a distinctive Aussie view of things and assumes no knowledge of Christian things. Rob is looking forward to studying this through with his own mother.

Easter services were very worshipful. We had good attendance to both Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday services. Matt used a  reverse invitation on Good Friday to make people think. The ones to respond and make a move were those who knew beyond a doubt they are saved. Many who could not make that move talked with us after and said that it  shook them. Continue to pray that we would see the gospel bear more fruit!

We continue to run in the mid 60's in attendance. God is building His church, and we are grateful to be a part! In our last business meeting several members stepped up to take on new tasks. This is what is needed to have the church grow to independence. We also agreed to spend some money on things like a sound system and a bit of remodelling.

In the past I wrote to you about Em. She is a former Muslim who accepted Christ in January. As you know, converts from the Muslim way of life can face harsh persecution. She has been battered to the point of having to leave the house and go into hiding. Sunday was her first day back with us. It was so good to see her! Please continue to pray with us for Em.

We are thankful to one of our Alaskan supporting churches for recently increasing our support! This is a big help. We have struggled with support over the last 6 months or so as many supporters have failed to give, have stopped giving all together, or in the case of individual supporters even died. Right now we are $500 under supported every month. That means that in practical terms we have NO money to spend on any ministry things. Our ministries have had to be trimmed to the bare bone to cope. We are only doing things we can afford to do from our own pocket, or are paid for by the church, or worst case the things that must ride on our credit card. Pray with us that God would work with our support team to supply the work of the ministry.

On the personal side the family has been dealing with the typical autumn  bugs that are floating around. The children are on a two week school break over Easter and enjoyed the state fair - Royal Easter Show - yesterday. Barb is enjoying her ministry in Public School Scripture classes, the church, and attending Curves. Matt has had some very bad health problems for several months now, and is finally working with a doctor who looks to be taking him seriously and aggressively seeking answers. The problems have meant that Matt is working on an energy level of 50% or less most all the time. This is part of the reason these emails have been fewer.

We do covet your prayers!

In His service,
Matt, Barb, Amy, Luke Douglas



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19 March 2007AD

G day

Isaiah 26.3  You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
Matt had the opportunity to preach in this passage on March 11th. It was a good passage to preach on considering what we face in this world. It was as good for the preacher as the congregation. Many things in this world will seek to rob us of our peace. Not only are there things like world events that could spill over into an all out world war, stock market upheavals, and elections on the way in major countries of the world, but even on the personal level many people struggle with peace. Yet God wants to give us peace. Simply lifting our focus off present conditions, off the world situations, and placing our thoughts on God will bring to our lives a deeper level of wholeness, well-being, security and more. In other words, looking to God brings PEACE. It is our prayer that you will know a deeper level of  the peace of God that surpasses all understanding today.
The ministry is going very well. GHBC recently had a record high of 79. Our last business meeting had 25 (up from the old norm of 8). People are asking to become members, and members and visitors are asking their friends to come and visit our church. This is the exciting part of the church planting when all that has been taught begins to be practised and people begin to really own not only the ministries that are going, but they also own the responsibility for the growth of the church.
Em, the lady who recently converted from Islam to Christianity, has been growing in great ways. I met her husband for the first time yesterday (pray for his conversion). Em has changed so much that her husband now says she is a much better wife, more pleasant to be with, a happier person, and he is so glad she has become part of our church. WOW! God is working.
Our youth group is growing under the direction of our new youth pastor Sean. He is excited, and that has carried over to the teens as well. He has some great plans. Pray with us that he will continue to be a team player in this church plant.
Financially we continue to struggle personally. We are done cutting back. There is no place we are willing or can cut any more at this point in time. Every month we are over $500 short of our budget. We were sent here to serve, and we will continue to do so as best as possible. However, we are massively hindered by having NO money for the work of the ministry. We make such a small salary that it can cover only a few extras. Pray for us that we would be wise. Pray for our supporting churches, that they would seriously consider how they may be part of the solution. Pray also that new churches would join our support team.
The family is doing well. Luke finished the regular cricket season last weekend. His high score for a game was 6 runs and in several games he bowled a batter out. We find out in the next couple of days if his team will make the semi finals. Amy is going good. She is enjoying school and spending time with friends. Her grades are good and we often see her do two hours homework a night. She is really enjoying youth group more now that Dad is not running it. Barb has had a lot of cold and flu problems, but seems to be coming good. She is enjoying her Scripture classes in the public school once again.
Matt has had some unsolved health issues that are causing him to lose a lot more weight than is healthy. So far it has only made him miss one Wednesday evening service, but he would love to get past it all. He is enjoying his ESL class and students even more this year than last. With the financial crunch he has missed out on all golf now for three months. He misses it as a distraction from ministry pressures, exercise, and enjoyment.
Thanks again for your prayers! We would love to hear from you!

In His service,
Matt, Barb, Amy, Luke Douglas

We had massive computer problems that left us without the ability to upload new info for several months. Sorry about that. We hope we have things working better again.


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12 December 2006AD

Two years ago we asked our prayer supporters to pray with us that the Lord would move in the heart of the principal of the school we meet in. We asked to be allowed to teach Scripture classes in the school, and for an extra room for Sunday school and storage space at the school. Well, this week we did receive the answer to half that prayer. We how have access to an additional room that is about 10 feet wide and 35 feet long. We plan to use this as an answer to both the storage and class room needs. We are praising God for the use of this new tool! Do continue to pray with us for the scripture opportunity to be available come February.

Tuesday, 12/12/06, we have our annual carolling in the very large local children s hospital. We enjoy this event. It brings cheer to the staff and the kids. It also gives the community the opportunity to see we care. Saturday, 12/16/06, we have our carolling in the community. The last two years have given us good spiritual fruit from these events.

We will be taking some very much needed vacation time next week. Our family will be off to a small town on the coast for a week of R&R. I was reading for our last seminary class this week. One chapter was on burnout. It is scarey when you have 19 of 20 signs of something like that. Sadly the book was giving mostly the positive thinking - self help kind of answers. We know better. While it is good to see how the world thinks, it is great to know that we have a God who is "greater than all!" On holiday we plan to have some good relaxing time on the beach, do some hiking in the national forest, a bit of boating, and a lot of nothing. I also look forward to taking a lot of pictures of nature. When I see the beauty that my God has created I really get my batteries charged.

Thanks again for your prayers and we will be back in touch just after Christmas!

Have a wonderful Christmas, and a blessed time remembering why our Saviour came!

In His service,
Matt, Barb, Amy, Luke Douglas



4 December 2006AD

A good weekend here. The Lord s blessings are new every morning and His faithfulness truly is great!

My sermon on Sunday was focussed on the closing attributes of love as found in 1 Corinthians 13.7-8a. Wow, the love God has is beyond us all, but it is so good to know that He desires to pour His love in and through us.

GHBC had a business meeting on Sunday afternoon. We voted in 2 new members, voted to bring a Bible college student on as youth worker with the aim of him being a youth pastor after graduation in 6 months, AND we moved closer to the church becoming independent with Matt sliding back to a head deacon role. (This is not seen as a demotion, but a shift to the last remaining area of need for the church to go independent. Independence is possibly only a year or two away.) It was a good meeting with a spirit of unity among us all. We consider all this the blessing of God!

The Christmas season is in full swing. We enjoy the added extra focus on all things "Christian." We have many things that come to an end, like Scripture teaching in the public school, ESL classes, and the like, but in each we give a strong gospel message and invitation to end the year. Pray what we would see some encouraging fruit.

We have had some rather depressing news from our supporting churches around the western USA as of late. Yes, we have lost support because of changes in churches back there. However, it is almost depressing when we hear of all the problems and struggles our supporting churches are facing. Know that we pray for each one of our supporting churches, and we desire to see God do a wonderful work in your churches this Christmas season.

In His service,
Matt, Barb, Amy, Luke Douglas


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13 November 2006AD

A good Sunday

GHBC is going so well. People are responding and wanting to bring friends to church. The call for more discipleship is growing by the week. Pray with us as we seek to minister up to the challenge.

One unsaved regular attender had friends over one night. They stayed up late talking about the New Age Movement. He invited the visitors to church the next morning. He told them that our church was unique in that the people there " acted like they had a relationship with God." We are excited to hear that from a man heavily caught up in the New Age Movement. The friends didn t come, but keep praying for quot& J.quot&

We have a couple of our teenagers going to a youth camp this weekend. Several churches are combining to provide this camp for their youth groups.

Continue to pray with us as we have approached a young man to join our church to work with the youth. He will be meeting with the congregation on December 3.

Through a gracious gift we re able to enroll in one of the seminary classes offered through ABTS (Organizational Leadership). Our first session of the two-week seminar was held today. The reading we have done ahead of time has already helped us in our church plant. Pray that God will continue to supply the finances for these seminary classes and they would help us to be more effective in the ministry.

Continue to pray for Barb as she is dealing with some minor health concerns. Amy has completed her year-end exams, and the kids are looking forward to only 5 more weeks of school this year.

This evening we enjoyed our first-ever home-grown pineapple from our own backyard. Living here in Sydney has many fun benefits Yum, yum!

In His service,
Matt, Barb, Amy, Luke Douglas



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7 November 2006AD

G day

We had a "friend day" at church last week. It is a special Sunday when everyone tries extra hard to bring a friend to church. (I, Matt, was actively pursuing 13 people to visit.) We had many visitors. My children even had a friend each come with them.

Now it is important that we as a church, and us as missionaries especially, make the people who came eager to come back. We had a mix of unsaved and unchurched all the way to saved and not attending church anywhere visit us on our special day. The people did respond well. There were many conversations around the room after the service. A few people even paused to pray that God would give them direction in where He may want them.

I preached a clear Gospel message on James 2.23 and how  Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness and he was called the friend of God. While I was unsatisfied in the giving of the message, God used it to speak to hearts. I never ask for compliments after a sermon, and yet several said that they had to tell me how much they appreciated the sermon.

We pray that those who visited will get saved if they are not already. And if they are saved, that they would consider making our church their church.

We appreciate you prayers for our health as well. Barb has some infection in her throat and ear. It is causing a lot of pain and really slowing her down. Matt has not been doing all that well himself. Our health has really left us feeling flat. While spring and the coming Christmas season are suppose to be a time of cheer, we are feeling rather down. We appreciate your prayers in this little matter as well.

In His service,
Matt, Barb, Amy, Luke Douglas


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16 Oct 2006AD

G day

Progress is a wonderful thing! So often in ministry progress comes slow. We know that; we understand that ministry is about what God is doing in peoples lives and not how we can manipulate them. So it is such a joy when you see big breakthroughs.

On the personal side, we have watched as God has used our new contacts with Luke s cricket team. Relationships are building, and trust has been fully given. Pray with us that God would allow us to also see fruit that would last! The team has not won a game yet, but the season is still young. Luke is a strong contender for most improved player at this point. His skills are really coming along.

Glorious Hope BC has also seen marked spiritual growth. We had a church camp last weekend. Those are common here. It is a great time to think through the purpose of the church again, to plan for the coming year, and to build relationships. All three of these goals were accomplished at our church camp this year. We are really praising God for a good few days together.

One of the real blessings is that the lady who has given us the most problem in the church (because she is forever pushing us to become a charismatic) had her theology and commitment really challenged. This has been our desire all along. We are not afraid of those who believe differently than us, BUT we want a chance to lay out what we believe and why we believe it. We want them to be teachable. Last weekend, she was. Pray with us for ongoing fruit in her life!

Another blessing is the churches interest in missions. Pastor Sam and the congregation are really eager to see the Lord use the church in reaching out to others beyond our location. While this is a great thing, we have not yet spent time in teaching who we should be supporting, and what makes a good missionary to support. Pray with us as we seek to guide the church in this important area.

Family news should include the accident in the car we bought a month ago. It was not our fault. No one was hurt. We will have to replace the passanger door and repaint that side. We are not looking forward to the extra time consumption this will be, But God must have His reasons. We continue to trust Him.

Thanks so much for your prayers!

In His service,
Matt, Barb, Amy, Luke Douglas



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27 Sept 2006AD

G day

The angels rejoice over one sinner who comes home (Luke 15.10); so at Glorious Hope Baptist Church we have been keeping them in a good mood. A week ago we had 3 preteens accept Christ as saviour, and last Sunday we had 3 adults accept Christ! Wow! Half of these new converts have been coming for some time now. They have been watching, listening, and asking questions. We praise God for drawing them to Himself. Now the ministry of discipleship kicks into high gear.

On another front, Matt has been asked to help with Luke s cricket team. Though the level of cricket knowledge is low, the desire to spend time with our son, and the experience working with kids in sport will all help. Cricket gives us a few hours each week with the parents, and already we have begun to develop some good relationships.

This week Matt preaches from 1 Corinthians 13.5  Love thinks no evil NKJV or  Love keeps no record of wrongs NIV. Please pray with us that God would use this passage in a mighty way. This is a problem in most everyone life, and the Bible clearly teaches us to live differently. We covet your prayers as we minister the Word faithfully and accurately.

Lastly, you may remember that a long time ago we asked you to pray with us that the school GHBC meets in would grant a few small requests. We are still praying, and would ask that you continue to pray with us. We are asking for a storage room that we can lock. It is a problem hauling things back and forth, and leaving expensive things at the school where others have access to them is a dangerous option. A second request is for permission for a new sign. The original one is looking very sad. Finally, we have continually asked to be allowed our constitutional right to teach Scripture, and have so far not been given that opportunity.

Thanks so much for your prayers!

In His service,
Matt, Barb, Amy, Luke Douglas


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11 Sept 2006AD
We are remembering all those affected 5 years ago today!

G day

We have a few blessings to share with you this week. We are grateful that God allows us to enjoy the growth we see in the lives as others as a blessing to ourselves.

For about a long time now the Star family has been coming to our church. They are migrants from India. While we have had little doubt about the salvation of the mother and 2 girls, the father s faith has always left a question mark in our mind. Within this last week, the father made a comment that now that they are all saved, they would like to get baptized as a family. Wow! We have been praying for him as one of the 4 main men our church wanted to reach this year. He said that he knew what to do, and just prayed on his own as he was thinking through his problems one day recently. We are excited! We also want to have some followup time with him. Pray with us please! We want to see God continue to do a good work in the lives of the Star family.

On Saturday night we went to a Word Of Life multi church Gym Jam. The teens had a great time. We only with more of our teens would have come. All up, 7 teens were saved from the other various churches. Praise God, again!

Amy had a wonderful birthday last week. She was totally surprised by her gifts. Barb and I gave her a cell phone - she is getting out a lot more on her own these days, and I relented and let her get her holes in her ears. She also had Shelby Mayo spend the night and whole next day with her. When you include the meals out into the price, this birthday stuff is getting expensive as the kids get older. She is worth it though. She is a good girl/young lady.

Sydney is getting some MUCH needed rain. We have been so dry. We know full well that this too is a blessing from the Lord!

That is all for this week! God bless!

PS. We would love to hear how your churches and individual lives are growing. We pray for your too!

In His service,
Matt, Barb, Amy, Luke Douglas



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31 Aug 2006AD

Just a quick note to let you know how we are praising God this week.

First, Barb and I were blessed with a gift from an individual for a short holiday. Since it was the givers wish that we get away as a couple and relax, we were happy to meet their expectations. We slipped away to the coast for almost all of 2 days (one night). We agreed to stop talking about work when we hit the freeway going North. Though we had to bight our tongues a few times, we succeeded. We also made the rule of nothing negative. This too was more challenging than it should be, but a great blessing. We came back, encouraged, refreshed, relaxed, and with a few new places to get away and enjoy God s creation. Praise God!

We also want to tell you of another reason we are praising God this week. Charles was a  good Catholic. He was trying desperately to live by the rules. He continually found himself frustrated that he could not please God. He worked harder, and became more religious, only to see his failures more clearly. But God was working! At a funeral Charles was talking with a friend, Helen, who was saying that our church focussed not on the do s and don ts of religion, but on a relationship with God. As Charles spent a bit more time pouring our his life and frustrations to another member of our church, God began to change his heart, and draw Charles to Himself as never before. Charles accepted Christ as Saviour right there at the funeral. Praise God! Pray with us that he will come to church this week, and get involved in some basic discipleship and grow in his new faith. Pray also for Helen who has not been to church in months. That we would see here consistently again throughout the weeks ahead.

In His service,
Matt, Barb, Amy, Luke Douglas



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21 Aug 2006AD

G'day

Thanks for your continued prayers. We have needed them.

While in many ways not much new has happened in the ministry, that too can be a good thing. We have solidified and completed many outstanding tasks and ministry details. It was getting to the point that we had so many  loose ends that needed to be tied off that we were unable to take on new things or even give adequate attention to the  untied ends. I am sure that you have been there and understand. There are several more things that are coming to an end in the next 2 weeks, but for now the pressure is back to a more manageable level.

As spring looks to be just around the corner (I planted beans in my garden yesterday and mowed my lawn for the first time in a month and a half) we are looking to see the Lord to use us on many different fronts. While winter is very busy, spring is more relaxed and relational ministry flourishes. We enjoy this time of year and the abundant opportunities to make new friends.

Luke will again be playing cricket. He had tryouts today. While his bowling (pitching) needs work, he hit the ball all over the park. Right now he wants to be known as a bowler, but a batsman is developing in daddy s eyes.

Pray that as we spend a lot of time on Saturday mornings with other families that God would use even this time for some great ministry. Cricket is a slower game than baseball, so parents have a lot of time to talk and get to know one another.

GHBC has been doing well. Our numbers have been consistently in the 50's. We still have our challenging people, but God is using them for His good as well. The youth group is undergoing another transformation. Some are losing interest with the better weather, and others are coming through the winter with a much stronger faith and a desire to grow. We continue to have a few visitors come each month. Most only visit, but some are really questioning what the Christian faith is all about. Pray with us that we will reach these visitors first with the Gospel and then with discipleship.

In His service,
Matt, Barb, Amy, Luke Douglas



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1 Aug 2006AD

G'day
Once again we are eager to thank you for your prayers. The ministry here has mirrored the Word of God in that it has been powerful and effective.

Sunday mornings have had decent attendance for the past several months. However, people have been showing up to services later and later. One recent Sunday we started with just 9 and by the last song we had over 50. This corresponds with a total lack of attendance at prayer services, and even a sharp fall off in discipleship. Apathy and disinterest have been stronger than we have had to face with this congregation. Now we know that every congregation has times like this. We know that some of this will always be present in the church, but ...

Sunday mornings message was  Choose you this day whom you will serve. The congregation present seemed to really respond well, and during the closing prayer many got down on their knees and prayed. Of course you always with that the ones not present to those services would hear the message, and yet God knows this too. We are considering visiting each family that was not in Church Sunday morning and giving them a copy of the message on CD. This would help them know that we are recording each message, and also give them an opportunity to hear the message.

Sunday night was the youth service. GHBC is like most churches in that - as the adults go, so go the teens. Because it looked like we had no visitors coming and the group was only going to be 4 or 5 we moved the teen service to Pastor Sam s house. The message God directed me to deliver was on the failure to enter into God s promise land from Numbers 13-14. Again, the teens opened up a good bit, and began to understand the seriousness on their Christian lives. (I get so tired of hearing,  if it is no fun we are just going to switch you off. ) We shall see how things go from here.

Barb and I are working hard to complete the papers for that Seminary class we took back in May. The papers have to be in Singapore by the 19th of this month. We have not been putting this off, We have been doing the reading, studies, and research, but now is the time to get the papers typed. Pray for us as we organize all our thoughts on paper. Pray for more than us just getting it done, though we need that, pray that we would be strengthened in our service of the Lord for having taken this class.

In His service,
Matt, Barb, Amy and Luke Douglas



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