There was nothing like a generous serving of Melbourne’s rare rainfall to welcome our guests, Mrs Gayl Fong and her daughters Charissa and Marleta from Sydney, as they arrived on Friday afternoon of December 12, 2008. With this sort of weather, one would find it hard to convince any visitors that the state of Victoria was indeed in the middle of a drought. Whenever it rains, it almost certainly reminds me of the much loved hymn, “There shall be showers of blessings.” If this weekend was anything to go by, “When it rains, it pours.” We were not only witnesses to “showers” but the willing recipients of refreshing streams that flowed through us to spiritually revive our parched lives.

Charissa Fong: Final revival message at the Dandenong Polish Church

Our keynote speaker, the young and vibrant Charissa from Waitara SDA Church in Sydney presented a 4-part series on how simple it is to share the gospel. The meetings were well attended with a large gathering of close to 400 people on Sabbath morning to hear part 2 & 3 of the series. Youth from all across the south eastern region attended, even as far out as Moe. Casey Youth formed a special alliance with the youth of the Dandenong Latin church which was a remarkable blessing and an opportunity for both youth groups to sing together and meet new people.

Corine Paul led a wonderful team of ladies who graciously looked after the catering and preparation while the youth’s spiritual needs were being met. Considering that we currently don’t have a church and the school auditorium in which we worship doesn’t have a kitchen, the task at hand for these ladies was challenging; yet without complaint, the hungry hundreds were fed in an orderly and impressive fashion.

 

Dandenong Latin youth leaders enjoying lunch

While our guest speaker and her family went off to rest for the afternoon, a smaller group of volunteers got together with ADRA’s RECON team and delivered 20 food hampers to a caravan park on South Gippsland Hwy, Dandenong where at-risk, mentally ill and struggling individuals resided. The rain did not deter this inspired group to go out and knock on doors, bringing some much needed cheer. An abundance of candy canes provided a substitute for when the hampers ran out.

Miss Fong challenged the youth and adults in attendance to get back to Scripture and helping us to understand that the Gospel really is “that simple” and sharing it with others does not need to be complicated. Practical examples were often given from Miss Fong’s own personal experience.

The youth and members of Casey SDA Church were very blest by the series, were revived and encouraged. As a church, it was encouraging to see so many people working together to make the series all work out. It is hoped that Casey Youth will plan an annual revival series, that will then lead on to evangelism opportunities.

A special thank you to EVERYONE who got involved. To the Dandenong Polish Church for letting us use your church on this occassion, to add to the many others. 

Keep it simple!!

L-R: Jerome, Lorraine, Gilbert, Patricia (front)Joe with his Recon team

During this process, the ladies were hard at work hand crafting 300 small cards, rolling up prayers and placing them with a candle to form a “care” package. Special mention to Mrs Shirley Garley and Mrs Lorraine Robinson who helped to inspire the creative genius inside those who otherwise would not have discovered it. A few men (Alain, Fabian and Travis) brushed aside their masculinity and sat down with the ladies to extend the production line. Constant laughter from this group could only mean that they were having plenty of fun. Young helpers, Shanice and Hayley were eager to put their little hands to work on the delicate task at hand of making more cards.

Randy (another male) joined Lolo, Claudia in rolling up the small prayers then to be tied up with ribbon and placing 1 of 600 candles into packages. This production line seemed to be a determined bunch who got the job done, until of course we ran out of ribbon. Priscilla was a lone worker working on attaching small cards to candy canes – around 300 in total. A broken candy cane meant that it would soon be finding it’s way into someones mouth, most likely her 2 year old son, Ethans (who is also my adorable nephew).
Tables lined with gift bags began filling up as the completed “care” packages were placed in their temporary homes awaiting Sabbath Dec 13 when they would be distributed to the community.

These care packages include a prayer, a candle (symbolic of sharing the Light) and a card.

A break down: 300 care packages for Casey youth/members, 300 care packages for other youth groups, 300 candy canes for distribution in train stations, busy streets or shopping malls, 20 food hampers, 1000 leaflets for letter boxing.

A HUGE thank you to everyone who helped on Sabbath with getting this project working.

December 13 is a chance for us to serve the Lord by sharing His love through “simple service”.

“Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven.”

Casey Blogger – Caroline

Youth Revival Poster

Hopefully with the promise of a new morning, I will be able to entertain you with the happenings at Casey SDA Church in Melbourne, Australia.

Until then, do take care and God bless

Casey Blogger – Caroline