On The Potter's Wheel - Again ! - Complete

ON THE POTTER'S WHEEL AGAIN !!!
By Jeffry David Camm
On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!
LIST OF BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR

The Gifts, Administrations and Offices of the Holy Spirit On the Potters Wheel Out of Darkness In Search of the Truth A Cry in the Wilderness Showers of Blessings The Roots of Our Beliefs Getting Closer to God The Prayer Series Thy Word is Truth The Coastal Pioneers
All these books are available by sending an email request to: nlmcs@live.com.au and I will send you a PDF file free of charge.
2 of 84 Copyright 2006 New Light Ministries and Consulting Services Pty. Ltd.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DESCRIPTION
DEDICATION COPYRIGHT FOREWORD THE FIRST FORTY YEARS THE GROUP OF FORTY THE FINAL YEAR IN THAILAND APPOINTMENT IN PAKISTAN APPOINTMENT IN ZAMBIA [1990] PRIVATISATION IN PAKISTAN [1991] THE QURAN AND JESUS CHRIST PROJECT IN TANZANIA PROJECT IN SRI LANKA PROJECT IN NEPAL BACK TO AUSTRALIA TRIP TO GERMANY & ISRAEL ANGEL ON THE MOUNTAIN PERSECUTION STARTS IN EARNEST CHURCHES SET ON FIRE AND PASTORS BEATEN TO DEATH THE PLIGHT OF BEING A REFUGEE WHERE IS THE HEART OF THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT? A CHANGE IN SURROUNDINGS AND PURPOSE THE MILLENNIUM OLYMPICS SYDNEY 2000 THE LUMP AND DIAGNOSIS THE DAY THE WORLD STOOD STILL - SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 CONFRONTING THE MONSTER TERRORISM THYROID IS NOT JUST A WORD DENGUE FEVER HEART ATTACK A MEDICAL WARNING A NEW DIRECTION CHAPLAINCY WEB-BASED EVANGELISM A NEW MISSION PARENT SUPPORT AUSTRALIA THE GREAT SOUTH LAND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT Appendix 1 Music sheets (samples) Appendix 2 Background information on Pervez Musharraf
PAGE
4 4 4 5 6 24 25 26 26 28 39 42 42 43 43 47 51 52 53 55 56 58 60 61 66 66 67 67 68 68 69 70 76 79
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to my wife Rani, who has served as my helper and co-worker in Gods service for more than thirty years. It has not been easy for her to leave her beloved Pakistan, her culture and her family, to marry a farangi (foreigner) and to go out into the unknown world to serve the Lord, firstly in the Sultanate of Oman, then Australia, Thailand, Tanzania, Pakistan (again) and now here in Australia (again). During the thirty plus years on the mission field, we have travelled to preach in more than 40 countries, and she has been my constant travelling companion, as well as an understanding, loving and caring wife, under all sorts of difficult circumstances.
Some of the countries where the Gospel has been preached by Rani & myself
It is my desire, that in reading this book, you will feel a conviction to serve the Lord more and more in whichever area of the Lords work He has called you to become involved. In serving your employer work as unto the Lord, who by His grace has provided the work for you to do. In all things remember to lift up the name of the Lord Jesus Christ above every other name, whilst remaining a humble person inside yourself, not allowing pride or other worldly desires, to cause you to move away from the divine grace of Jesus Christ and the calling that He has placed upon your own individual lives. In all things, and in all situations, be a living example, worthy of the name of Jesus Christ, as you show His pure "agape" love to all those around you, both believers and unbelievers, friends and enemies alike.
COPYRIGHT
The contents of this publication remains the sole property of Rev. Dr Jeffry Camm and his heirs in succession. Permission is given to reproduce text and diagrams from this publication for evangelistic and/or teaching purposes, provided the said text and/or diagrams are not sold for profit, but are used to glorify God Almighty.
FOREWORD
New Light Ministries & Consulting Services Pty. Ltd. is pleased to release the tenth book in the series by Rev. Dr Jeffry David Camm JP, called: - ON THE POTTER'S WHEEL AGAIN !!!. This is a continuation of the book, published under the title "On the Potter's Wheel" in 1987 and it picks up the life story of Rani & Jeff Camm, as they prepare to leave Thailand in 1988 and move back to Pakistan, where Jeff has been employed as a Consultant for the Pakistan Government, on a German Grant-Aid Project.

The book recounts the trials and tribulations of a practising Christian family, working in an Islamic country, for an Islamic Government - the victories and the heartaches. This is followed by trips into Zambia and Tanzania on consultancy projects for the World Bank, back to Pakistan, the assassinations of leaders in Sri Lanka and Israel, the Desert Storm saga, a return to Australia, a trip to the Philippines and back to Australia again. In reading this book I want you to be challenged - to look at your life - and see what is your position with God, and especially with Jesus Christ. I want you to realise that you are a "Walking Bible" - which other people read, as they watch how you react to people, events and situations, each and everyday of your lives. The challenge is to examine each of our own lives, to see if we are a good Bible - worthy of the Lord's blessings, praises and rewards - or a bad Bible, which does not lift up God's name all the time. Apostle Paul recognised that we sometimes have a bad day and we should be always prepared to say sorry to God" (and the people around us) when we make mistakes. Nobodys perfect, and I dont claim to be. Sometimes I feel I have more bad days than good days, but I know that despite all of this, Jesus loves me and cares for me and my family. I trust that you have the same revelation about yourself. Finally, in all things trust Him and give glory to His name and He will heap many blessings upon you and your family.
THE FIRST FORTY YEARS

In June 1969, some ten years after my first commitment to the Lord I was involved in a very serious car accident, resulting in spinal injuries, which left me totally paralysed from the neck down. The doctors said I would never walk again. Here I was in hospital, I could not move my arms or legs, I could not feed myself - my whole career and my world had just fallen apart. My first wife (Elaine) was there by my side, but she could do nothing. The outlook for us was terrible. I would be a living vegetable for the rest of my life. My wife would have to give up work and look after me, as I needed twenty-four hour care. Why had God let this happen to me? Yes, here I was blaming God for this terrible accident. He was not driving the car that hit me. He was not even driving my car, but I was blaming Him for the accident boy, was I stupid back then!!! I was blaming God for this accident and I did not even know if He was real or not. I certainly did not have a real living, walking, talking, relationship with Him. When the doctors told me that I would never walk again, that I would have to resign myself to the fact that I was going to be a paraplegic for the rest of my life, I started to reach out for answers, I started to reach for straws, I started to cry out to God (if He was there) for help. You see, my knowledge of God was so limited at that time that I did not even know if He was real, or just a nice fairy story we had heard in Sunday school - just like the stories we heard at school about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, when we were kids. These were stories which we later found out to be untrue. So I prayed a simple prayer. "God, if you are really out there and you heal me, I will serve you for the rest of my life". Well I know now that I should not have prayed that sort of "bargaining prayer" - but the Lord is merciful, He meets people where they are at, He meets them at their level of faith, and at that time in my life, my faith level was pretty low. God stepped into the situation and my life was never the same again. Within six weeks from that prayer I was on my feet and out of the hospital walking, with only minimal side effects. Did I praise the Lord? NO! (but I should have) Did I go to serve Him? NO! (but I should have). Did I go about giving testimonies of His miraculous healing powers? NO! (but I should have). It was not until 17th March 1976 that the Lord confronted me with the truth. In a distinct audible voice, I heard the voice of the Lord challenge me with these words. "You were paralysed in hospital and you cried out to
Me to heal you, and you promised that you would serve Me for the rest of your life. I have done My part - when are you going to start doing yours? If you want to get up off the bed this time, and walk again - you must honour your promise to Me. "
From 1969 until 1976 God Almighty, in His mercy, had allowed me to go about my business, without honouring my promise to Him - but now the mercy was to cease and the judgement was to start. I would either serve Him or loose my healing - not a very good choice for me - but a new understanding of the ways of the Lord became clear to me.

I was reminded about Jonah and the people of Nineveh. He said to the Lord: "I knew that if they repented of their sins you would not destroy them, even though you had said previously that you would . God's mercy prevailed for several generations, but ultimately the prophet Nahum gave them the ultimatum, because they had gone back to their wicked ways, God's judgement and God's anger was to fall upon them and they were destroyed. So in 1976, my work for the ministry for the Lord began, but it broke up the relationship between myself and my wife of 16 years. She could not face this commitment to serve the Lord above all else. She left with my two adopted children and I had to start to do battle for the Lord on my own. It started in earnest with the commencement of the physical construction of the Four-Square Church at Moree, NSW (Australia), later the establishment of a Bible Study Group in the Telecom building in Sydney, evangelism in Sydney and finally in 1979 a trip to Saudi Arabia to commence work in that nation, as a consultant for the Government of Saudi Arabia. Here I was without any formal bible college training, in the midst of 5-6 million Muslims, forbidden to hold Christian meetings, not able to publicly read the Bible and all the while they were saying terrible things about Christians - and I was not allowed to quote Scripture to refute their claims.
THE GROUP OF FORTY

A group of forty prayed in secret that God Almighty, in His mighty wisdom and power, would move mountains so that we could hold church services and witness in this country, which needed His truth so badly. We know that God moves in mysterious ways His miracles to perform, so let me tell you how God answered this prayer. In late November 1979 a special Muslim event was to take place - it was to be held on the first day of the new Islamic millennium (1/1/1400 in the Muslim calendar).
Crowds moving around inside the Mecca Mosque around the sacred Kaaba
Another view of the Mosque at Mecca
As per tradition, King Khalid was to go to Mecca and perform a ceremonial washing of the sacred Kaaba - the 1 house that Muslims believe Abraham constructed with Ishmael for Hagar.
Kaaba, the central shrine of Islam, a cube-shaped, one-room stone structure in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It already attracted pilgrimages as the most important sanctuary (haram) in pre-Muslim Arabia, and the traditional belief that it was built by Abraham and Ishmael (to whom the Arabs trace their descent) was confirmed by the Quran. The annual pilgrimage to the Kaaba takes place in the first ten days of Dhu al-Hijja, the last lunar month of the Islamic calendar. The Black Stone set on the outside of one corner of the structure is solemnly kissed by all pilgrims who can gain access to it. Lesser pilgrimages are performed throughout the year. For Muslims, the Kaaba is the "House of God," where the divine touches the mundane. It is washed annually and covered with a dark silk cloth. The Kaaba has been greatly expanded since Muhammad's times, a mosque-court having been built around it; recently a gate of solid gold was added.(Microsoft Encarta)

But The Iranian fundamentalists had other ideas. They planned to kidnap King Khalid when he arrived in Mecca, demand that Saudi Arabia be set up as an ideological Muslim state and then expel all the Saudi Royal Family. But they forgot to read their own Quran, for like the Bible it states that God sets up kingdoms & God pulls kingdoms down. It is His decision who rules and reigns, not man's - hence their plans were doomed to failure -even before they started. Unfortunately, as a result of the attempt to implement their plan, a lot of people were killed in Mecca (nearly 1,000) with many more wounded and a lot of foreign nationals (myself included) rounded up and severely beaten by the Saudi security police, because they did not know who was responsible for this terrible crime. They suspected every foreigner as being part of the plot to overthrow their government. It was not until after they examined our identification cards and found out we were accredited government consultants did they escort us back to our quarters for our own protection". (They never did apologise for the beatings wrongfully given to us.) It was in fact the efforts of Christian volunteer pilots" who flew unarmed mercy missions into Mecca, t aking in troops & bringing out the wounded and the intervention of Ambassador West, (the US Ambassador at the time) which resulted in Christians being officially allowed to worship in Saudi Arabia for the last eighteen months of King Khalid's life. We were allowed to hold church services, but not to evangelise to Saudi nationals. This was OK because at this time (1979) there were approximately one million expatriate employees from all over the Arab speaking world, working in Saudi Arabia - we could evangelise to them. .
Church service in Saudi Arabia 1979
The picture shows one of the English speaking church services held in Saudi Arabia in 1979 after King Khalid gave permission for these services to take place. In one service alone we had people get up and recite John 3:16 in their own language - and 23 different language groups were represented. The services quickly exploded into different language services. English, Arabic, Tamil, Malayalam, Telagu, Urdu, etc. The Scripture about going out to preach the Gospel to all nations was literally happening in this place, which did not believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. "God moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform".
Saudi church picnic service
The church grew from the group of forty to over 10,000 people in a matter of months in 17 different church locations throughout Saudi Arabia - praise the Lord. Because of the fact that many Saudis still did not tolerate Christians worshipping in their nation, innovative means were used to have fellowship together like desert picnics, which resulted in sermons being preached in the desert among the sand dunes, on the hills, or at the mouth of caves which led to underground river systems. Because of my work as a Government consultant I was able to travel all over the country without much interference from the Mattowwah (Islamic Religious Police) and this allowed me to visit these newly formed churches and give encouragement and teaching, set

elders in place, etc. so that each of the churches were on a scriptural footing.
Many expatriate people who were "nominal Christians" in their home countries, were anxious to renew their commitments to Christ and they went back home to their own countries on-fire for the Lord, completely changed in their attitudes to what "being a Christian" really means in this day and age. Many people have an impression that Saudi is all flat and all desert. I thought that also until after I arrived there and started travelling throughout the nation. Some parts of the country between Taif (at 5,000 feet above sea level) and Abha (8,000 feet above sea level) are quite cool and many crops grow in this region, many which are completely unexpected in a desert country.
The Saudi desert is fertile all it needs is water and wheat & rice grow well, as will fruit trees, dates, grapes and many types of vegetables. In Riyadh, the Saudi capital, about 1200 Pakistani Christians had been employed by the Riyadh City Council, to act as garbage collectors and as sewerage workers. [The Saudi management considered that this was the only job worthy of Pakistani Christians in their land.] They were housed out in the desert, about 20 kms from the city, in 40 foot metal containers - converted into houses, with no running water, no proper sewerage facilities. They were living in hell on earth. They withstood these humiliating conditions so that they could earn income to help their families and extended families back home in Pakistan. When people at the Riyadh International Christian Fellowship (RICF) heard about their plight and we sent out bags of rice & wheat, other food, as best we could, and whatever we could spare financially, to make their lives a little more bearable. Despite the terrible treatment by their employers, they held Bible studies every night and sang praises to their God & King. In their little encampments out in the desert, God was really blessing them in His own way. I commenced to attend these camps, undertaking Bible studies with them through an interpreter in 1980 and later that same year I was invited to go to Pakistan and preach in their villages, to tell their families about how Jesus Christ was blessing them in Saudi, by providing them with Christian friends and how they were able to work and earn income for their families back home. I travelled to Pakistan at Easter 1980 and preached in 42 villages in 14 days - sometimes 3 villages in the same day. The Holy Spirit seemed to prompt me with different messages for different villages. It was really strange (but spiritually uplifting) to realise that God cares for these people so much that He wants each village to hear a message which is especially for them. In many villages there was no electricity so the word was preached at night - under lanterns or by candle light. Gods word is just as powerful and His miracles still abound.

You dont need amplifiers, speakers, multi-media and large churches to see the glory and power of His Word work miracles in the lives of hungry people, who have a desire to seek and serve Him.
Speaking under lamplight
Pakistani praise & worship
Sunday services at a Church in the Punjab, Pakistan (1980) They were so hungry for the Word of God. They kept telling me that missionaries came to Pakistan quite often, but that they only went to the major cities. In some villages I was the first white foreigner they had seen since partition of Pakistan from India in 1947, when the British left - over 30 years before. In Saudi we raised money for repairs to church buildings and for churches to be completed in the Punjab areas. I found out that in one area of Pakistan, they did not have any education in the villages no schools for approximately a 30-mile radius. Out of my own pocket (God's pocket really) I pledged to build them a primary school (as a self-help project), if they were able to convince the village elders to allocate a piece of village communal land for the building to be constructed upon. This was done and the building was constructed. The local village people cut down trees for the timber. From this they made the school desks and chairs and even searched around for a teacher to be ready to start teaching when the building was completed. We were able to get help from schools & church groups throughout the USA, providing the necessary school textbooks and the school was opened.
Pakistan village preaching
Pakistani girl cooking roti (unleavened bread) on an outside open fire
Jindiala School Site
Chuck 75B School Site
The Riyadh International Christian Fellowship (RICF) funded the wages of the teacher for one year after the school was opened and then we handed the whole complex over to the Punjabi Education Department. This project, provided education to one complete generation of people (both Muslim & Christian) who would have otherwise grown up being illiterate. The school has since been extended to include high school students and I still receive a warm reception when I visit that area many years later. I went back to Pakistan again twice in 1981 and conducted teaching seminars for Pakistani Pastors, who wanted to learn more about Jesus Christ, but also about how the Holy Spirit was moving in other countries around the world. My testimony about my healing by the Lord, got peoples attention, especially after I played my violin for the worship service preceding the seminars and walked about like any normal person. Miracles, like speaking in tongues, is to get the attention of the unbeliever, or the back-slidden Christians. (Sometimes pastors have to be reminded again of how the Lord can move in the lives of His followers). At this time I also was given songs by the Lord to praise His glory. Copies of some of the songs can be seen in the appendix.
Pastors sleep outdoors at teaching camp
Some of the 200 pastors who came to the teaching sessions
Group photo of some churchgoers after my ordination service in 1981
Pastor Philips, his co-worker and myself, ready to go to preach in villages around Gujranwala, Pakistan in 1982
In Saudi Arabia in 1981, King Khalid died. King Fahd took the throne and immediately changed the Royal decree issued by the previous King Khalid in 1979. He ordered the closure of all the church meetings, expelled all the church leaders and the clamps of persecution went back onto the people. We were given 24 hours notice to leave the country, which is not a lot when you have to hand over your work to someone else, go home & pack, get exist visas, book your flights, finalise your tax, etc. Although the King Fahd issued this order, not all Saudi people agreed with this decision and this was made clear to me in a very positive way. I was called into the Minister of PTTs Office and asked not to hold this decision against all the Arab people. I said that I was disappointed with the order, but that I loved the Arab people and I would not hold it against them. Did I want to work in another Arab Country? I was asked. "Yes", I replied. The Minister picked up the phone, dialled a number, chatted in Arabic for several minutes, then told me to book a flight to Muscat in Oman, as I was to be the new Chief Engineer, working for Sultan Qaboos Bin Said on a Telecom Master Plan for that country. Satan closed a door but God opened another door for me to work amongst the Arabic people for another 4 years. When I arrived in the Sultanate of Oman, there were only 26,000 telephones in the whole country, all old and out of date, and I was to plan to bring digital technology to this nation - in one giant step. In undertaking this plan, collecting data about towns & villages, sizes and needs, I was able to travel all over the country and see some wonderful places, many of them part of early Biblical history. The frankincense which was given to baby Jesus was grown in Oman. The Queen of Sheba had one of her summer residences in Wadi Bani Khalid in Oman. The burial plot of Job is in Oman. This gave me an opportunity to meet many people, at various levels of government and in the community, and to show Gods love in a positive way as I proceeded to do my work.

As is seen from the pictures below the castles built in this nation to protect it from attack have been influenced by many different types of architecture and various materials used to construct them from mud, to granite rocks, to bricks and later, reinforced concrete.
Castle in Muscat protecting the harbour
An early castle in the desert
A castle built into the rocks
Rustaq fort beside the oasis

One of the projects I was assigned as the Chief Engineer, was to design the new National Communications Control Centre (NNCC) in Muscat, Oman, a building completely bomb-proof, to house all the main telecommunications equipment for the nation. This was a challenging task, as I am not an architect, or civil engineer, but a person who loves to design things. The building design was to be checked, to make sure that it was bomb-proof, so a small (a tenth scale) building was constructed out in the desert, using the same technology as to be used in the final building. A SAM-6 missile was fired at it, to see that it was OK. The result a large black patch on the outside but that was all, so permission for construction to commence was given. A new construction technique (for that time) was used and the people were amazed as it seemed the building just rose up out of the ground overnight. Each of the four (4) columns are 180 feet high, whilst the main rooms have no support columns inside them, so that the telecom equipment is able to be installed in a logical manner. The centre tower rises up from the sub-basement (2 floors below ground level) as a lift, continues up three floors above ground to the roof level. The tower above the roof level is over 270 metres high and has balconies to allow the installation of microwave dishes and mobile telephone antennas on the top section. The complete building is over 900 feet high and was placed on an Omani stamp to celebrate the Omani Telecommunications week in 1983.
It is a great honour to know that long after I have died, a piece of Gods creation will still be standing as a witness to Gods creative powers. I say th is because I know that I did not have the knowledge, the wisdom, or the expertise to design this building in my own strength. God Almighty gave me the inspiration and the strength to go out and do something for Him as a sign of His superior knowledge and wisdom. The Completed building - 1983
This is an Omani stamp issued for telecommunications week in 1983, showing the NNCC building, and the route of solar powered microwave & satellite systems across the country, which was part of the development project under my responsibility.
Anyway, back to the story.

Missionaries had already been in "The Trucial States of Muscat and Oman" for more than one hundred years before I arrived there. I did not understand why the Lord would send me here. I am an evangelist, but here the news of the Gospel had already been preached for more than 100 years. Why would the Lord send me here? But you see, the Lord's plan(s) are always perfect. He sent me to Oman to rest, relax and get married (using the Old Testament method) - a wife chosen for me 2 by someone else - an arranged marriage, in this case, chosen by God Himself .
Rani & Jeff at the engagement Rani & Jeff at the Marriage ceremony in Pakistan 1982 Rani & I with the wedding cake, made especially for us by a local baker
Rani (my second wife), the daughter of a Pakistani Pastor, came to Oman to help with the work and to show me (by gentle Eastern prompting) what God really wanted me to do. As a result we were able to help establish the "Hospital Churches," taking the church message into the desert, to many small village health centres, and small town hospitals, because at that time, with complex rosters and bad roads, it was almost impossible to arrange to be in Muscat or Salalah to attend church services on a Sunday. We were able to establish 14 Hospital Churches while we were there and they still continue to function today Many Christian and Muslim people were prayed for in these centres and people saw the power of God in a real and positive way, as people recovered quickly from their illnesses and were re-united with their families, without the pain or suffering.
If you want to see how God moves in answer to prayer please refer to my Book entitled " On the Potter's Wheel" and the Chapter : A Wife Chosen by God, where this will be revealed to you in dramatic detail.
Hospital church service in Rustaq, Oman at the change of staff shifts
Rani praying for the sick in an Omani Hospital
Rani was able to share with groups of Omani women, without any problems from Omani men. This is Ranis womens group in Rustaq, plenty of fun, plenty of good food, sharing womens problems and Gods Word. Rani worked very hard among the Omani women, but also with the expatriate women, who had come to Oman, either to work in the hospitals, or as wives of husbands, who have got employment with the Omani government of private sector organisations. I am sure that there are many women who are in the Kingdom, full-on for Jesus because of her ministry in this country.
There were also new believers from amongst the local Omani population, as well as from among the expatriate workers who had come to Oman, to work in this oil-rich nation, and to provide support for an extended family (in many cases) back home in their own countries. In a country where it had only rained once - in the 4 years we lived there where do you go to baptise new believers? The ocean of course. We did this in Saudi Arabia, so we continued this process here in Oman as well. Early in the morning, before sunrise, we would assemble on the beach to praise & worship the Lord, then take the new believers through the waters of baptism. This was followed by a praise breakfast at somebodys house and then off to work for a normal day.
Christians gathering for a dawn baptism service at the seaside in Oman
Baptising New Believers in the Sea Oman 1981-1984
Church in Muscat, Oman 1981-1984
Teaching at cell group services in Oman in 1984

In late 1984, being under a lot of stress from the job and too little sleep, I lost my temper, decked an employee of the client (because he called me a liar) and was ordered to leave the country. Despite the fact that later the true nature of that employee was revealed - and he was sent back to Bangladesh, I should not have lost my temper, as it was not a good Christian witness - and it did not bring any glory to God Almighty. I came back to Australia in disgrace, without any work and very little money. We prayed to the Lord for forgiveness, a place to live, so that we could once again get back into His submissive will and bring glory to His name. We were able to buy a house in a predominantly Indian-speaking village, with 1000 Indian families in Woolgoolga, New South Wales, just north of Coffs Harbour. This would allow my wife Rani to live amongst her own people and culture, but also to gently witness to these people about Jesus Christ. Things had been happening in Australia while I had been away between 1979 & 1984. The churches had been praying for revival and were pleased to announce that Leighton Ford (Dr. Billy Graham's brother-in-law) was coming to Australia and that we would have a 10-day crusade in Coffs Harbour in early 1985. The churches in Coffs Harbour were all asked to join together in unity to prepare for this crusade. Up until this point in history, to ask for cooperation between the churches was like asking for peace between the Jews and the Palestinians in Israel, or between the Protestants and Catholics in Ireland an almost impossible task!!!. There was utmost suspicion and mistrust between them, with many hurts and emotions to be healed before this could happen. But praise God; Jesus is greater than mistrust and hurt emotions. All the churches were asked to study "the same set of Scriptures", using the same notes entitled "In the Spirit of Love". It did not matter what translation of the Bible you used, or what your previous belief structure had been, the Lord moved in this region in a miraculous way, as people from all the denominations began getting the same answers and revelations about God's word. There was a sense of unity and love between the believers like had never been experienced in these churches before. It was then suggested to have Church/community breakfasts - but with a difference. You were not allowed to go to a church breakfast at your own church - you had to go to someone elses - to be hosted by church members of another congregation.
Leighton Ford Crusade in Coffs Harbour 1984 Leighton Ford & His wife (Billy Grahams sister)
Leighton Ford Crusade Choir in Coffs Harbour 1984 (Rani & I are singing in the front row)
Praise & worship followed with amazing results - spiritual songs were heard in church buildings where the "normal occupants" did not believe in these things for today, people talking in tongues, people being healed of pain and disease. The Lord poured His oil of peace on the whole town and it brought a sense of unity not seen before. When the crusade started everybody was very excited and expecting great things to happen - and they did with more than 1100 people making commitments for Jesus Christ in a 10-Day period.

Nearly twenty years later there is still a sense of something special in the Minister's Fraternal, with pastor's being invited to speak in each other's pulpits and events arranged for all churches to participate in. When there is unity in the Body of Christ, God commands a blessing a nd can shake even the foundations of Satans domain. Two weeks later, I was called to Thailand. We went because we believed God wanted us to go. What we were to do for work, what we were to do for finances, etc.? God would provide. I was asked to work for a consortium who had been trying to contact me for months, but who had lost my address and phone number. I was to work as the System Engineer on a 1 million-line telecom project for the Thai Government. Here was an opportunity to travel throughout this predominantly Buddhist country to spread the Word of God. As the Senior Coordination Engineer, I was required to make sure that all parts of this US$ 1620 million dollar project fitted together in a logical and expeditious manner. I performed this job for 2 years and then was selected as the Project Manager for a job sponsored by the Royal Palace. I was required to conduct a survey of 5,000 villages throughout the country. These villages did not have any telephone communications at all not even one telephone. I was required to select and recommend 2,000 villages for service and then manage the installation of this US$ 48 million project, being Phase 1 of the Rural Telecom Project in Thailand. I found out that the King of Thailand cared greatly for his people and their needs for proper communications. He contributed more than US$ 8 million of his own money to make sure this project was a resounding success. The Rural Telecom Project gave me an opportunity to travel extensively throughout Thailand (to all 76 provinces), meet people at all levels of Government and business and to see first hand, the terrible suffering, that poverty and corruption can cause in a developing country. I had several opportunities to speak to groups of people, to tell them that Jesus loves them, and that AIDS kills people - but CORRUPTION kills nations.
Speaking to the congregation at Jai Samarn church in Bangkok 1985
I prayed for their nation and that the Lord would move in such a way to bring those responsible for the poverty and corruption into judgement. In 1985 The Main group of churches decided to start a yearly series of Holy Spirit Meetings (Rit Diart) where every church in Thailand was urged to send people to attend.
Many of the churches responded to this movement of the Holy Spirit and on the first Holy Spirit Meeting the various churches brought name banners to wave, to show that they were here to be in unity and to worship as part of the greater body of Christ. In the years from 1985 till 1989, these meetings grew in size until it was necessary to hire the Thai-Japanese stadium to house the 5,000 people who came nightly to the meetings. While we were in Thailand the king celebrated th his 60 birthday and the Christians of Thailand held a special Praise & Worship meeting to honour him, with a 1,000 voice choir and more than 60,000 attending in the Thai National Stadium. When the choir sang the Hallelujah Chorus, even the king stood up to witness that there was one greater than himself in that nation.
During the weekends Rani & I travelled with a group of musicians to various provinces to play music & preach in churches, theatres & halls throughout the nation. Many people responded to the Word of God in fulfilment of His promise in His Scriptures. He has promised 3 that His word will not return void. Where there were already established churches in a town or village, we referred these new believers to these churches, so that they could be nurtured. Where no church was established, we had to establish one - so what to call these churches? We did not want to confuse these new converts with a name from English, so we chose a Thai name "Chrisajak pra Yesu Krit" which literally means "the church which belongs to Jesus Christ", which is true. Jesus is the Head of the Church, He owns it, He died for it - and we are the Body of the Church, the living stones which makes up its dynamic existence. Now twenty years later there are 6 churches under this name operating in Thailand. Let us recount one incident, to show you how the Holy Spirit can work in the mission field. In the middle of 1985 I went with Rani and a team of Christians to the north of Thailand to visit an area of Thailand which is on the banks of the Mekong River and where other missionaries had been preaching for some time. There we found a thriving Christian community and a church which had been constructed out of timber logs cut from the forest , with seats made for logs split in half and with the walls woven from the leaves of palm trees and the roof made of thatch. We had been invited to this community, which overlooks Laos (across the Mekong River) to dedicate this church to God and to spend time teaching the elders and the leaders of this community. We asked the leaders of this village when they had made their commitments to Jesus Christ and we found that this was over a period of many years. We then asked them when they had been baptised and found out that they did not know about water baptism, nor had any of them been baptised in water. So the teaching about salvation and baptism in water and then in the Holy Spirit was done over many hours that day, with the Thai translators acting in shifts. At the conclusion of this teaching one of the elders said that he and many others in the village wanted to be baptised in water just like Jesus was baptised. Where was the nearest expanse of water? we asked. Their answer: The Mekong River.
Is. 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

So all the village members piled into Toyota pickups and other vehicles and everybody headed for the river. Then we arranged for three other pastors and myself to go out into the water to receive the people who were to have baptism that day. The people lined up on the shore of the river into four lines and the mass baptisms commenced. That day, the whole village received the baptism in water over 100 people in all. Then we went back to the village to dedicate the church with much worship, praising God Almighty.
Baptising a whole village In the Mekong River
Rani doing riverside evangelism
Dedication of thatched church on the hills above the Mekong River
Before we left this village we were introduced to one young man who had walked about 10 Kms from his village to be at the service. We were told that he did this every Sunday he was so hungry for the word of God. He asked that we pray and ask the Lord to send at team to his village so that his whole village could also hear the word of God first hand. His desire was that there would also be a church in his village very soon. We had been in Thailand for about 2 years and every Monday morning the men from my office would talk about their weekend exploits. They were continually raving about the wonderful times they were having in Pattaya, the bars, the beautiful girls, the sex and the wonderful cheap food and beer. It sounded like another Sodom & Gomorrah story to me I had no inclination or desire to go there. The staff, who knew that I was a Christian, would ask if we had been to Pattaya and I would respond that I had no intention of going to that sinful place. It was just like Sodom & Gomorrah in the Bible and that I was praying that God Almighty would move miraculously to "clean up the place". 4 Every Thursday, the Praise & Worship Group would meet at one of their member's homes and pray to seek the Lord for guidance as to where we should visit within the next few weeks. It was not long after I made this comment that we were praying one Thursday evening and we were led to understand that the Holy Spirit wanted us to go and preach in Pattaya. This was a sinful place - we must have misunderstood, so we all prayed again. Again it was confirmed. Still we did not believe it so we prayed a third time and (you guessed it) the Holy Spirit confirmed Pattaya again. Quite surprised with the outcome we could not deny that we had prayed, God had answered, now we had a choice - ignore or obey. We knew we must obey. We made preparations to go to sin city, we contacted relatives of the group who were living in this region, told them that God had confirmed that we should come and praise the Lord in Pattaya and would they find a suitable place for us to use. The first time we went there it was to preach in an open space, under a tree and people came to hear the word they were so hungry. So we asked that the next time would they please find a more suitable place for us to spread the word, also to sing and praise the Lord we needed a place which had electricity.
4
The Praise & Worship Group referred to above is now known as The Blessings Worship Group and travels all over the world to spread the Good News through ministry in song, testimony & evangelistic meetings.
Thai people listening to the Word of God - many for the first time. When we arrived in Pattaya the second time, we found out that they had hired a hall in a hotel. The hall was adjacent to the main bar - separated by sliding doors. We commenced to bring in all the musical instruments, set up the amplifiers and microphones and then started to practise some of the music we planned to use for the evening praise concert. We were so involved with the music that we did not realise that people were slowly moving into the back of the hall, beer in hand and were sitting down in the back row of seats. They were so interested in the music, that they finished their beers and were holding onto empty glasses and they did not even think about going back into the bar for refills - God was already working in their midst. When we stopped for a break they came up to us and said they loved the music. We informed them that we were going to have a concert that evening. They wanted to know how much for a ticket - we told them it was free, so please bring as many friends as they liked. They thanked us and left. That evening more than 600 people turned up for the free concert. We played Christian music in English and Thai and other Thai songs. Some people gave simple testimonies about their lives, their problems, and how Jesus Christ had changed their lives around. At the end of the concert we asked the people did they enjoy themselves - their answer was loud applause. We said we will have another free concert tomorrow (Sunday) at 10 o'clock in the morning - everybody is welcome. Next morning was the same, we played Christian music, local people gave short, simple testimonies about their lives and the people left. We told them we would be back next weekend and please feel welcome to come and bring their friends.
Pattaya church - Dedication of the land
Temporary dwelling for Pattaya church
Sunday School in Temporary Building
By using this simple method of witnessing, giving testimonies and small messages from the Bible, more than 300 people gave commitments to Jesus Christ in the next eighteen months. The church was given a piece of land, where they built their temporary church and soon a thriving Sunday school was in progress. This church now has many members, with outreach into the community, helping the women and children of the people affected by AIDS and drugs. Even though they are very poor by our western standards, they raised enough money to construct their own temporary church building and used this, until they were able to complete the permanent church some eight years later.
Congregation in the temporary Church building in Pattaya
Rani and myself were invited back to Thailand for the dedication service of the new Church building in 1995 and it was quite an exciting experience, to see these wonderful Christian people, moving forward in God's blessings, with many additions to the church congregation since we left Thailand several years before. The churches within Thailand have progressed to the stage where they have now established their own in-country bible colleges and are sending "missionaries" out to other countries inside Asia and into the western world. God is really good when we listen to His voice and put our trust in Him.
While we were in Thailand, we had the opportunity to fly to Singapore to be part of the leadership team for th the 6 Asian Convention of the Full Gospel Businessmens Fellowship, w ith Joe Poppell from Taiwan, Derek Prince from the USA and David Paulson from the UK. We were blessed to see many miracles take place in the convention, as the lame were able to walk, the blind to see and the deaf to hear and then to speak.
Here is the photo of one of the people who were deaf and mute from birth, who after being prayed for, received a miraculous healing and were taught their first word to speak: Hal-le-lulyah !!! When this man, who through sign language told us he was born deaf, but was able to speak this - his first word, the whole place erupted into spontaneous praise & worship for the Lord. Many more healings took place the next evening as well, and then for the remainder of the convention.
Derek Prince, with his wife Ruth, two of the keynote speakers at this convention. After this convention we came home to Thailand more determined than ever to go ahead for God and to claim that nation for Jesus Christ. We even started to get bold and march around some of the Buddhist temples and claim them for Jesus and that they would crumble to the ground in ruins, just to show Gods sovereignty over that nation.
THE FINAL YEAR IN THAILAND (1989)

In 1988 my Government contract was completed, but my visa still had another one year before it expired, so I prayed should I go, or should I stay? God opened the door for me to become the Technical Advisor to the Vice President of SEATEC, the largest private consulting business in Thailand. In this capacity I was able to establish New Light Ministries & Consulting Services Pty. Ltd., to provide "hands-on expertise" to developing nations, to remain in Thailand for another year, continuing to preach God's Word whenever and wherever the opportunity availed itself. During this time we had an opportunity to arrange a charity concert to raise funds for a new hospital wing. It was agreed that a member of the Royal family would attend this concert and everybody practised and rehearsed, to make sure that everything was as good as possible, because the Thai people greatly respect the Thai Royal Family members. This is quite evident if you have a chance to visit a Thai house. They will have photographs prominently displayed of their graduation (or their children's graduation) with each receiving their graduation diplomas from a member of the Royal Family. People wanted to have their photographs taken with the royal family member at this function also. We said that we would arrange this - for a contribution towards the construction of the new hospital wing. People were queued up with their contributions (ranging from 10,000 Baht - 20,000 Baht) to have their photos taken with the King's auntie. Praise the Lord; in one night we raised more than US $ 1 million for the hospital complex. I was fortunate enough to have my photo taken presenting gifts to the Royal Family (the Kings Auntie) and to receive honours from the Royal family that evening The Order of the White Elephant (third class).
Being presented to a member of the Thai Royal Family and giving gifts It was soon after this function that I was contacted by the German Government to see if I would be interested to go to Pakistan as part of a 3-man specialist team, on a German Grant-aid Project, as the switching expert. Here I was, an Australian citizen, in Thailand, being asked by the German Government, to go to Pakistan and work, as the switching expert, on German equipment and being paid with German funds. (They say there are never coincidences in God's planning - only perfect timing)
APPOINTMENT TO PAKISTAN (1989)

At this time in history, Benazir Bhutto became the first women Prime Minister of an Islamic country, as a result of elections after many years 5 of dictatorship . This was to be a learning curve for many people, whose only life experience had been living under a dictatorship, with martial law, bribery & corruption being the "normal methods of business". As we had purchased quite a lot of clothes and utensils in Thailand, I made enquiries at the Pakistani Embassy in Bangkok about what I was allowed to take with us into Pakistan to undertake this mission. We were given a list and we checked and re-checked our luggage to make sure that nothing was in our boxes, which was not on the list. In addition, the Pakistani Embassy in Thailand had given us a letter to present to the Immigration Officials on our arrival in Karachi, stating that we were coming to Pakistan at the invitation of the Pakistani Government, to work on a German Grant-Aid Project and that we did not have to pay any duties, taxes or charges on our luggage. We thought this was great, so we packed up our belongings, made our arrangements to travel to Karachi, arranged for the boxes to be shipped by air-cargo and set off in November 1989, to have a small holiday with Rani's family over Christmas and then move to Islamabad - the nation's capital, ready to commence work early in January 1990. Our luggage and boxes arrived in Pakistan two (2) days after we did, so we asked our agent to make arrangements for them to be cleared through customs and moved to Islamabad - no problem we thought. Boy, were we wrong!!! The customs officials in Karachi would not release the goods without a fee of Rs 35,000 (over Aud $1,000). Despite our presentation of the letter from the Embassy in Bangkok, the invitation letter from their own Government - Ministry of Finance, nothing would encourage them to release our belongings to us. So we moved to Islamabad to organise a house, get minimum emergency furniture, pots & pans, clothes, etc. until our boxes arrived. When I started work, one of the first things was to start making enquiries about the release of my luggage. In each case they wanted copies of all the documents, the letter from the Embassy in Bangkok, the invitation letter from the Government of Pakistan, etc. - still no favourable response. I was assigned to prepare some "White Papers" for the Government of Pakistan about the introduction of Privatisation into the Telecommunications Sector. This took many months, collecting data about telephone growth, telephone demand, profitability, etc. At the completion of my presentation of this White paper to the Cabinet, I was thanked by the Minister of Communications and informed that they were glad for me to be in their country and if there was anything that the Government could do for my wife and myself, then please feel free to mention it. Here was a golden opportunity to explain our predicament. I thanked the Minister for his kind offer and said that there was a small problem which we were experiencing, with the release of our luggage from Karachi Airport Customs and seeing that it was within his own Ministry would he please look into the matter. We explained that we were invited to come to work for his Government in October 1989 and we had transferred our boxes of luggage to Karachi Airport in early November 1989 so that we could set up our home
In 1988 Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan became the first woman to be elected prime minister of an Islamic country. The daughter of former Pakistani prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Bhutto was dismissed two years later on charges that her administration was corrupt and incompetent. Although she was re-elected in 1993, she was dismissed for a second time on similar charge in 1996. REUTERS/THE BETTMANN ARCHIVE

ready to commence work in early January 1990. Now, eight months later, we were still waiting for the luggage to be released - every letter we have written to the relevant authorities has resulted in additional delays and no satisfaction. I went on to explain that we had been forced to buy extra furniture, clothing and cooking utensils because the officer-in-charge in Karachi refused to release our luggage unless we paid Rs 35,000, even though we had presented the letter from the Pakistani Embassy in Bangkok stating that we did not have to pay any duties or fees. Upon our explanation the Minister asked to see our file (which just happened to be with his secretary outside) and he read through the large bundle of letters from myself and my Consulting firm about this problem. When he saw one letter stating that his signature on a letter was a forgery he exploded. He called in his secretary and dictated a fax to be sent immediately to the Officer-in-charge of Karachi Airport Customs. This officer was informed that he had three (3) days to have my luggage and baggage in Islamabad at my house and for him to personally be in the Minister's office on the morning of the fourth day to confirm that the request had been completed. The distance from Karachi to Islamabad by road is over 1600 Kms, so he was not given any margin for delay. We later learnt that he received a real roasting by the Minister and was transferred to the Pakistan-Chinese border. That meant that he had to undertake customs duties at this border outpost, which is 16,000 feet above sea level, in snow most of the time - righteous punishment for trying to extract a Rs 35,000 bribe from us. During the time I was working in Pakistan, I travelled with my father-in-law, an itinerant Presbyterian pastor, to villages in and around Gujranwala, to play Christian music and to preach the Word whenever the opportunity availed itself. This was a special time, seeing my father-in-law give of his time, preaching God's Word in villages, many kilometres from his house, travelling by bus, tonga (horse-drawn cart) or walking, without any consideration for his own welfare, knowing that on their limited incomes, there was no possible way that these villagers could supply the necessary finances for a pastor, with 3 children and a widowed aunt and child to support. But God is faithful to His servants , He looks after them and for more than 30 years he was able to travel and preach throughout this Islamic country without any fear or physical persecution, or lack of food. Throughout the time I was in his presence I did not hear him speak out an angry word, although I probably deserved some myself. He developed a strong rapport with these communities and was even respected by the moderate Muslims in these villages by the quiet, simple example of love and care he gave tirelessly to these people who lived in an almost subsistence lifestyle. Unfortunately the political situation changed in the late 1990s and he was savagely beaten to death by Muslim extremists a splinter group of the TALIBAN in 1999 but more about that later.
APPOINTMENT TO ZAMBIA (1990)

In 1990 I was asked to go to Zambia to make a presentation to the Ministry of Finance about how to implement privatisation within their government organisation. This was in recognition of the work done in Pakistan in the preparation & presentation of privatisation issues to the Pakistani Government and the successful projects already undertaken and established in Thailand. The project in Zambia never really got off the ground, because not long after we arrived in Zambia and started work, there was a general election and the present government was overturned, resulting in a limited civil war, making it impossible for us to continue this assignment in Zambia at the time, so I returned to Pakistan, ready to take on the next phase of the privatisation and development of that nation.
PRIVATISATION IN PAKISTAN (1991)

The World Bank was anxious to see the concept of privatisation introduced, firstly in the telecommunications sector, then the energy sector, followed by banking and other sectors. After much consultation I prepared the white papers proposing to change a section within the Ministry of Communications, (the present Posts & Telecommunications Department), firstly into a 100% Government owned

corporation and then, commence the change to private sector management & financial policies, followed by a controlled divestiture of the Government owned stock, until it was completely managed and owned by the private sector.
This proposal was met with agreement by the government, but was rejected by the unions, because : Most of their members were not trained up to the latest technologies and there was fear that they would loose their jobs. As was the case in most third-world developing countries, corruption and laziness seem to go hand-inhand, and these staff members did not want their own private little enterprises to go down the tubes. For example : If your phone became faulty and you reported it to the authorities, it would not get repaired for at least 2-3 weeks. However, if you were prepared to pay one of the technicians an attendance fee the phone would be fixed the same day. By this method some of the more enterprising technicians were earning more than 5 times their normal salaries (tax free). With this form of successful backyard businesses in operation, they did not want this situation to change. Also the exchanges in service at that time were old and needed to be replaced with new up to date digital exchanges but the people in charge of the existing exchanges were old, had been in the job for more than 20 years been promoted by seniority, not by performance or qualifications and therefore were not qualified to be in charge of the new digital exchanges. This was the calamity. How to offer the older people early retirement, keep these older people in meaningful jobs, thus happy, whilst promoting the younger, more qualified engineers to take responsibility of the new exchanges. I came up with a scenario which seemed to paint the picture more clearly for them. I told them this story at one of their seminars. Imagine the local airline was using DC 3 aircrafts and these had been giving good & faithful service for many years. The pilots had been flying them in the Second World War, had transferred over to the civil service and had been flying these same aircrafts for more than 30 years. The Airline decided to upgrade to 747 jet aircrafts, the most senior pilots of course were entitled to take over the flying of these jets, but they had never flown in a jet airliner, let alone pilot one. There are other younger pilots who have been trained overseas on jet airliners and are well qualified to fly these planes. You are a passenger in this new jet plane, which of the two pilots mentioned above would you want to be flying the plane? the most senior pilot?, who has flown for more than 20 years, but who has never flown a jet plane before? or the younger pilot who has been trained and who is qualified to fly these new jet airliners. Who do you want to be sitting in the cockpit flying the plane, if you are a passenger? Most of the people at the seminar answered that they wanted the most qualified pilot to fly the plane, the one who was trained on that specific jet, was the most qualified. I told them that this was true, but it was also the same with staff in the telecom industry, the most qualified person to be in charge of a digital exchange was not necessarily the most senior engineer and therefore they had to change their way of thinking about promotion in this industry. Senior personnel would be given the chance to be re-trained, but if they did not qualify, they would not be selected to be in charge of the new exchanges, they could either seek early retirement, or choose another type of job, where their administrative experience was to be useful. This caused some rather heated discussions, but I told them that the advent of digital technology was to the telecoms industry, the same as cars were to the transport industry at the turn of the century, when only horsedrawn vehicles were in previous use. No matter how you looked at it, there was going to be change and you either prepared for the change and therefore was able to continue to succeed in the industry, or put your head in the sand like and ostrich, and have your career put on hold or at worst be put out into the street. So the preparation of the legislation to transform the PT&T into a corporation was completed. In December 1991 the Pakistan Telecommunications Corporation Act (which I had drafted) was passed through both houses of Parliament and became law. This event was followed by the preparation of a corporate restructuring program, detailing how the corporation would function, how it would operate, establish a completely new computer based accountancy system, new work ethics, targets, goals, etc. It was hands on management at its best doing something that had never been done before in that country.

In late 1991 I finalised the Master Plan for the country, indicating the growth projections for the nation up until 2015. The analysis had identified a massive backlog of requests for telephones more than 500,000 were pending at that time, but no money was available to finance this sized project. In early 1992 I prepared the white papers on Build, Lease & Transfer (BLT) concepts and showed how the Government could indeed have the telephones now but pay for them later out of the revenues obtained from the new installations. Tenders were prepared for the supply & installation of telephone exchanges, 500,000 telephones, and all the infrastructure necessary to make this complete network function. It was broken up into 5 packages and the tenderers had the choice which one they were to install, as well as indicate their particular financing methods. The competition was fierce, some backroom manoeuvres were attempted by unscrupulous suppliers and the whole process had to be done again. In the end after much political moving, scheming and weaving : Alcatel was awarded the contract for Karachi Ericsson was awarded the contract for Lahore Siemens was awarded the contract for Islamabad/Rawalpindi Sumitomo was awarded the contract for 17 small cities throughout the country Sumitomo started their contract last, but with good planning, careful supervision and Gods help, they finished first, completing their 100, 000 line units in 16 months. The Sumitomo contract was worth more than US $ 103 million. In a short time less than 24 months, the country was able to have 500,000 lines installed without paying for it. The revenues from these new services was to be used over the next 8 years to repay the installation costs. The resultant benefits of better communications was an increase in exports/imports and a better quality of life for 6 the people in regional Pakistan . Following on from this project, I encouraged the Government to implement a Rural Telephone Project in the villages of Pakistan, similar to that already successfully operating throughout Thailand. This was accepted and I helped a local company secure a contract to manufacture and install 196 towers for this project. But also during this time I was able to make small contributions to the Christian Community in Pakistan, who by now were under increasing persecution by the militant Islamic groups, going about speaking and preaching with my father-in-law and also challenging the Muslims as to why they were not following the message given by God to Mohammad, and were following the messenger instead. This usually got a quick response, denying there was a difference which allowed me then to ask some interesting questions to them. I have inserted an extract from my Book In Search of the Truth here about Jesus in the Quran, which will give the average Christian reader an insight as to what I was asking the Muslims.
THE QURAN AND JESUS CHRIST7

As is known by all seriously minded Muslims, the New Testament of the Bible, or Ingeel as you refer to it in Arabic, was written approximately 600 years before the birth of the so called prophet Mohammed. You may be upset because I say to you only a so called prophet, not a real pr ophet, well read on and examine the facts for yourselves and let the Almighty God, the God that you believe in, the God of Abraham, reveal the whole truth to you. So that we both start this chapter together in the correct attitude to our God, let us pray together. Our God in Heaven, who made the heavens and the earth, who choose Abraham to be the father of many nations, because he was a righteous man, who walked with fear before you. Please open our spiritual eyes as we examine your divine word together. Reveal to us the hidden truths which you have placed there, waiting for those who love you and want to know more about you, open our eyes
6
This same concept can apply to any government enterprise which wants to add much needed infrastructure, but pay for it out of the new increased revenues for this additional/new service. 7 This is an extract from my book entitled: IN SEARCH OF THE TRUTH

so that we may see and accept these truths, not because we have been told them by someone else, but because you yourself has opened our eyes to these truths now as we examine your divine words. Amen. As a Muslim you believe that the Quran was given to Mohammed as the divine revelation from God Almighty himself and that it is your duty to follow its teachings to obtain acceptance by God Almighty so that when the judgement comes you will be able to be accepted into Paradise, which the Christians call Heaven. Therefore as a good Muslim you must try to obey the words of your Quran. Let us examine some of the passages of the Quran and see where it points us, and as a good Muslim, you must therefore obey this leading, or you are saying you believe the words of the Quran did not come from God. All Muslims believe that there will be a time of judgement, a time when Jesus Christ (Jesus the son of Mary) will come back down to earth to make ready for the day of judgement and all Muslims must be ready for it and able to recognize the signs of its happening. The Quran says this about these events :- And He (Jesus son of Mary) shall be a knowing sign for the coming of the hour (the birth and resurrection). Therefore have no doubt about it and follow me (Allah) [be obedient to ALLAH and do what HE orders you to do, oh mankind!] THIS IS THE STRAIGHT PATH. (Sura #43 Zukhruf : 61) And let not Satan hinder you from the right path. Verily he (Satan) is to you a plain enemy. (Sura #43 Zukhruf : 62) And when Jesus came with clear signs He said I have come to you with wisdom and in order to make clear to you some of the (points) in which you DIFFER, therefore, fear ALLAH (God) and OBEY ME (Sura #43 Zukhruf : 63) The Quran says to obey JESUS CHRIST. In Hadith #42 and Hadith #65 Mohammed said these words (as told by Abu Huraira) :- Allahs Apostle said :- By him in whose hand my soul is, (Jesus son of Mary) will shortly descend amongst you Muslims as a just ruler In this statement by Mohammed, he himself said that Jesus would descend among the Muslims as a RULER, not an Apostle, not a Prophet, but as a RULER. You of course know that a ruler is a person in authority and must be obeyed if you are to live a just and peaceful life. How much more must we obey a ruler sent from the Almighty God Himself and prophesied by Isaiah, Jeremiah, King David, and even Mohammed. If Mohammed says that Jesus is a ruler, then you as a Muslim must obey Him as a ruler, sent from ALLAH Himself. If Jesus is a ruler sent down from God then, as a good Muslim, you must try to find out the real truth about Him and what He said for you to do if you are to be accepted into Paradise at the time of Judgement. Many Mufti (Malwi) teachers tell their followers that Jesus did not die on the cross, that someone else died in His place. This is not true. Even the Quran itself does not say this. But let us look at that important point later as we continue in search of the truth. In Shahih al Bakhari, Vol. 3 Hadith #425 and Vol. 4 Hadith #657 it refers to Jesus coming back to earth to be a LEADER and RULER of the Muslims. Now as a serious Muslim student I want you to ask God to answer the next series of questions for you. Why is God going to send JESUS again to be a RULER and LEADER of the Muslim nation??? Why is God not going to send a Prophet who appeared on earth before Jesus, or a person who claims to be a prophet, who appeared after Him? The basic question is ---- Why send JESUS CHRIST??? The Quran says that Jesus is coming back to rule and to Judge. No other person referred to in the Quran can claim or fulfil these two function because no-one else in the Quran is given this authority. The Quran says that Jesus Christ is the WORD OF ALLAH. In Sura #3 A1-i-Imran : 45 it says :- Behold!, the angel said : Oh Mary; Allah giveth glad tidings of a WORD FROM HIM : His name will be CHRIST JESUS. The angel from God told Mary that the child she was to bear, whose name was to be called Christ Jesus was a WORD FROM GOD Himself. Can any other man or prophet claim that he is THE WORD OF

ALLAH??? No; Jesus Christ is the only person in all of the Quran identified as the WORD OF GOD. The Quran also says that Jesus Christ is a SPIRIT from HIM. In Sura # 4 Nisaa : 171 it says these words. Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, was an Apostle (which means a sent one) of ALLAH and HIS WORD which He bestowed on Mary and a SPIRIT proceeding from HIM. The Quran in this text clearly says that Jesus Christ is a Spirit from God Himself. A Spirit from Allah, A Spirit from Jehovah. Can any other man or prophet claim that he is the WORD AND SPIRIT OF GOD HIMSELF ??? No, the only person in all of creation who can TRUTHFULLY claim this title is JESUS CHRIST. There were several other things which were special about Jesus Christ which we should also examine. Firstly, there was the special way in which He was born. The Quran tells of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. In Sura #3 A1-i-Imran 47 it says these special words:- She said :- Oh my Lord; How can I have a son when no man has hath touched me?? I ask you to think upon this mighty revelation from ALLAH. Why did ALLAH select this unique method for the birth of Jesus Christ?? Why did ALLAH choose to interrupt nature and the natural method of childbirth for the birth of His chosen RULER, LEADER and JUDGE??? If I say to you that it was for a very special purpose that the Lord God Almighty, the God of Abraham, yes ALLAH Himself, choose this special way for Jesus Christ to be born. It was so that there would be no inherited sin is his life, passed down to him from an earthly father. Because of his miraculous birth, with God performing the miracle of his conception, Jesus Christ was born without sin. Can any other man or prophet claim to be born by a virgin birth or free from inherited sin?? No, only Jesus Christ can truthfully claim these titles. The Quran also told that Jesus Christ preached to the people from childhood. In Sura #3 A1-i-Imran : 46 it says these words :- He (Jesus) shall speak to the people in CHILDHOOD and in MATURITY. And He (Jesus) shall be of the company of the RIGHTEOUS. Why could Jesus be of the company of the righteous? Because he was born without sin and did not sin during His lifetime. Can any other man or prophet claim that He is righteous?? No, only Jesus Christ can claim that He is the RIGHTEOUS ONE. With all of the statements now laid before you from your OWN holy book the Quran itself, can you still say that Jesus Christ was only a Prophet??? No, I think you now may start to consider that maybe Jesus Christ is something more than a Prophet, but at this stage you are not quite sure what else Jesus Christ is. The Quran tells us that JESUS CHRIST lived on earth to guide the people to the TRUTH and to perform the greatest miracles. It is recorded that as well as making crippled people walk, deaf people to hear, blind people to see, healed people with demons and who had leprosy, He even was to raise people from the dead. Refer to Sura #3 A1-i-Imran : 49. Who among men can claim to be able to TRUTHFULLY perform these miracles? No-one except Jesus Christ Himself. With all of the revelations about Jesus Christ, who is Jesus Christ?? The Quran says : FEAR ALLAH AND OBEY JESUS CHRIST. Who is this Jesus Christ that we must obey??? Sura #3 A1-i-Amran : 45. Says that Jesus Christ is the Word of God. This means that Jesus Christ is God's revelation of Himself to us. The dictionary defines WORD as a manifestation and expression of the mind, and WILL of GOD. The mind of God is what He is, His expression of Himself to us. The will of God is what God desires and requires from us. In order to get a better and fuller understanding of what and who Jesus Christ really is, let us examine some passages from both the Quran and the Ingeel (Bible). The particular edition of the Quran used for these texts is published by Dar A1-Kitab Al Masri and the particular edition of the Ingeel is the New International Version (NIV) published by Zondervan. As you read these two sets of scriptures I pray that the Lord God Himself will start to open your spiritual eyes to the truth of these words and allow you to understand the real purpose of why Jesus Christ came to earth

MARY'S MIRACULOUS PREGNANCY Sura #21 Anbiyaa : 91 And [remember] her who guarded her chastity: We breathed into her of Our Spirit, and We made her and her son as a sign for all peoples. Matthew 1:20b-21 Joseph, Son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.
Both documents confirm that it was Mary that gave birth and that birth was to be special and the son born to her was to be called JESUS CHRIST a name given to her by an angel from God even BEFORE the child was born. Not many people can claim that there name was chosen by God Himself, before their birth and told to their parents before the child is born. VIRGIN BIRTH Sura #19 Maryam :20, 21 She said, How shall I have a son, seeing that no man has touched me, and I am not unchaste? Luke 1:30-32, 34 30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 34 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
Again we see that both books confirm that Mary was a virgin who was especially chosen by God to be the Mother of Jesus Christ. Both books confirm that God performed a miracle in the birth of Jesus Christ. CHRIST BLESSED Sura # 19 Maryam : 30, 31 He said: I am indeed a servant of God: he hath given me Revelation and made me a Prophet: and He hath blessed me wheresoever I be and hath enjoined on me prayer and charity as I live. Matthew 21:9 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest!"
In this series of scriptures we see that God blesses Jesus Christ, that He is given Revelation (visions) about things which existed at that time and visions about things which were to come in the future. For us to obey Jesus Christ we must become aware of what those visions say and what we as individual people, who fear God (ALLAH) must do to be in the perfect will of God. JESUS LED BY HOLY SPIRIT Sura # 2 Bakara : 253 To Jesus, the son of Mary, We give clear [Signs] and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit . Luke 4:1 4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert,

Here we see that God gave to Jesus Christ power by giving Him the Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit gives you the ability to stand firm against Satan (your enemy) and defeat him, when he tempts you to do evil things. The Bible says each individual person can receive the Holy Spirit from God, if they believe also. JESUS' SINLESS NATURE Sura # 19 Maryam : 17, 19 We sent unto her Our Spirit and it assumed for her the likeness of a perfect man. I am the messenger of the Lord that I may bestow on you a faultless son. Hebrews 4:15: 7:28 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin.
28 For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever. As was said earlier Jesus was special in that He was born without sin, a perfect man, faultless before the eyes of God forever. Because Jesus was perfect in the eyes of God, charged with the power of the Holy Spirit, He was able to perform many marvellous miracles, as shown in the following passages of scripture. JESUS MIRACLES Sura # 2 Bakara : 87 We gave Jesus the son of Mary clear [signs] and strengthened Him with the Holy Spirit. John 3:2 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."
Sura # 29 Ankabut : 50 Yet they say: Why are not signs sent down to him from his Lord? Say: The Signs are indeed with God: and I am indeed a clear warner. In this passage we also get an indication of the fact that Jesus Christ KNOWS what will happen in the future. For this reason alone, we need to study His teachings, so that we know what events are to happen in the future and be able to identify them when they do happen and prepare ourselves for your ruler, leader and Judge. So we have to accept that Jesus Christ is the means by which we can be brought closer to God because He can be our mediator, or intercessor, through Him alone can you be granted access to the throne room of God Almighty and be granted the answers to your prayers and petitions. Why, you may ask? Well, remember that Jesus Christ is the WORD OF GOD, made flesh. The word comes out of the mouth of a person. The WORD OF GOD came out the God Himself.

JESUS KNEW THE FUTURE Sura # 43 Zukhruf: 61, 63 And [Jesus] shall be a sign [for the coming of] the Hour of Judgement: therefore have no doubt about the [Hour] but follow ye Me: this is the straight way. When Jesus came with Clear Signs, he said: Now have I come to you with wisdom, and in order to make clear to you some of the [points] on which ye dispute: therefore fear Allah and obey me. Matthew 24:29-32 29 "Immediately after the distress of those days "'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' 30 "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. 32 "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.
MEDIATOR Sura # 39 Zumar: 44 Say: To God belongs exclusively [the right to grant] intercession: to Him belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth: in the end, it is to Him that ye shall be brought back. 1 Timothy 2:5-7 5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all men--the testimony given in its proper time. 7 And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle--I am telling the truth, I am not lying-and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles.
WORD OF GOD Sura # 3 Al-I-Imran :45 Behold! the angels said: O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: His name will be Jesus Christ. John 1:1, 14 John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. As has been stated in the words previously, Jesus Christ is our only means of gaining access to God Himself, and Jesus can act as our intercessor to God Almighty, if we believe in Him and ask Him to do so. But many people today are told this is not the case, but we can see from the word itself what is really true. Many people are told that Jesus Christ did not die, but was raised up to Heaven before death. The QURAN DOES NOT SAY THIS!!! The Quran clearly says that Jesus Christ shall die. The Quran then goes on to say that God will exalt Him and raise Him up to Himself. This means that Jesus Christ first has to die. THEN BE RAISED FROM THE DEAD, and then BE RAISED UP TO HEAVEN, to be exalted above all other Gods.

JESUS' DEATH Sura # 3 Ali-I-Imran: 55 When Allah said: O Jesus I will cause you to die and exalt you in My presence and clear you of those who disbelieve and make those who follow you above those who disbelieve to the day of resurrection . RESURRECTION OF JESUS Sura # 3 Ali-I-Imran : 55 When Allah said: O Jesus, I will cause you to die and to exalt you in My presence .. 1. Corinthians 15:3-5 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. Philippians 2:8-9 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross!
ASCENDED AFTER DEATH Sura # 3 Ali-I-Imran: 55 . O Jesus! I will take you and raise you to Myself .. Ephesians 1:19-21 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
AUTHOR OF CREATION Sura # 5 Maida: 113, 114 Then God will say, O Jesus son of Mary! Recount my favour to thee and to they mother. Behold, I strengthened thee with the Holy Spirit, so thou didst speak to the people in childhood and in maturity. Behold, I taught the Book of Wisdom, the Law and the Gospel. And behold! Thou makes out of clay, as it were the figure of a bird, by My leave, and you breathest into it, and it becometh a bird, by My leave. And thou healest those born blind, and the lepers, by My leave. And behold! Thou bringest forth the dead, by My leave, Colossians 1:16-17 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. John 1:3-4 Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.
We see that to Jesus is given the authority to be the giver of life. I am not telling you something from the bible here that is not also included in the Quran. The Quran clearly says that by the leave of Allah, (God

Himself), Jesus Christ is given power over death. Jesus Christ is given the power to bring people back to spiritual and physical life after they have died. Can any other man or prophet mentioned in the Quran or the Bible make this claim?? No, only Jesus Christ can truthfully claim these things because God Himself has given to Him, and only Him this authority. So we see that Jesus Christ was more than a Prophet. Jesus is greater than the angels Heb. 1:4 says : Jesus became as much superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is superior to theirs. Jesus is looked upon in Heaven with authority that is higher than that of the angels. Why? Because He is greater than the angels. He sits at the right hand of God Himself, continually acting as the intercessor of those people who believe on His name and the sacrifice He made on the cross for us. Jesus was greater than Abraham. John 8:58 says :- I tell you the truth, Jesus answered, before Abraham was born, I am. Jesus was greater than Moses. Heb. 3:3 says :- Jesus has been found worthy of greater honour than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honour than the house itself. Jesus said to God, as recorded in the Gospel of John 8:23, these words : Glorify Me In Your Presence With The Glory I Had With You Before The World Began. Jesus said to his followers, his disciplines :- You are from below; I AM from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. (John 8:23) Jesus was saying I am not from this world, but from another place. Jesus was telling all those who will accept the truth, that he was more then just on ordinary human being, He is the Son of God Himself. So you say, if Jesus is the Son of God, (I am not completely convinced yet, but just say if He is) why did God send Him to earth in the first place and what shall be the signs in the earth or the heavens, so we can be ready for His SECOND COMING, HIS COMING AGAIN. Yes, both the Quran and the Bible both prophecy that Jesus Christ will appear on this earth again. JESUS CHRIST IS COMING AGAIN Sura # 43 Zukhruf: 61 And [Jesus] shall be a sign [for the coming of] the Hour [of judgement]. Therefore have no doubt about the [Hour], but follow ye Me: this is the straight way. Acts 1:10-11 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."
But the important point in this passage is that Jesus says that you follow Him. To follow Him you must know why He came and what was the reason for His coming, so that you can prepare yourself for His second coming. So let us start to examine the scriptures and see if we can determine WHY JESUS CAME..... If we examine some of the early prophets of God you will see that they lived long fruitful lives. For example, we see that Noah lived 950 years (Gen. 9:29), Adam lived 930 years (Gen. 5:5), Abraham lived 175 years (Gen. 25:7) and Ishmael lived 135 years (Gen. 25:17). All of these lives, as recorded in the bible, were long and fruitful and God blessed them.

In today's society however, the average age is about 70 years. It is now considered quite rare for a person to live more than 100 years old. If a person does live to that age nowadays, they are usually questioned by many people as to why they live so long. Why is it that over the generations, man has had his life shortened down to only 70 years?? God says that sin in a mans life will shorten it from its originally planned length. The fear of the Lord adds length to Life. (Proverbs 10:27) The proverbs were written by King Solomon, the wisest man ever to live on the earth. If he says that, then may be we should listen to him. What he was really saying is that to obey the laws of God and His commandments will add effective length to your life. In 1 Peter. 3:10-12 he says these words. For whosoever loves life and sees good days, must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. So what is sin? What does God consider that sin is? (not what does man consider sin is)??? Proverbs 5:21-023 says :- A man's ways are in full view of the Lord and He examines all his paths. The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare (trap, entangle) him; the cords of his sins hold him fast. He will die for lack of discipline. Led astray by his own folly. God defines sin in at least 4 different ways :1. A wilful act of commission: committing an important act, not obeying or conforming to the law.
Everyone who sins breaks the law in fact sin IS lawlessness. (1 John. 3:4) Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (Hebrews 12:1) 2. A wilful improper act of omission : Knowing that you SHOULD DO SOMETHING and not doing it.
Anyone who knows the good he ought to do and does not do it sins. (James 4:17) 3. Rebellious principle or an improper attitude of unbelief or doubt.
Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown gives birth to death (James 1:15). Whatsoever is not of faith is sin. (Romans 14:23) 4. Improper state of being unjust or being unrighteous.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth (of God) is not in us. (1 John 1:8). All unrighteousness is sin. (1 John 5:17). It is clear from the scriptures above that the state of mankind is in very bad shape and needs a Saviour, just like a man who is out in the ocean in difficulties, he raises up his hand hoping that someone on the shore will see him and come out to save him from drowning. The world is like this man, it is drowning in its own sin. Man is in a state of ruin or destruction and under condemnation, under the sentence of death, both physical and spiritual death. There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no-one who understands, no-one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no-one who does good, not even one. (Romans 3:10-12) God's standard of goodness is perfection, so He must judge us as imperfect etc. Man is totally depraved and morally perverted. Since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways to do evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decrees, that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things, but also approve of those who practise them. (Romans 1:28-32).

If as you were reading that last passage of scripture, you recognised a particular item there which at one time or another applies to you then you must also recognise that you are a sinner and that the penalty for unforgiven sin is DEATH. MAN is in a FALLEN state, cast down from the fellowship and favour of God into the pit which is under the control and power of satan. But your iniquities have separated you from God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so He will not hear. (Isaiah 59:2). It says that our sins have become like a curtain between us and God, which prevents God from seeing us and hearing us. You notice God has not gone away, we have put the barrier between God and us. But God in His infinite mercy and compassion provided a means whereby the curtain of our sin which separates us from God can be removed. Romans 3:23 sums up God's analysis of man's condition. MAN IS SPIRITUALLY DEAD !!! For all have sinned and come short of the glory of god. This means ALL men. Because man is a sinner, he needs a saviour, to prevent him from drowning in his sins. He needs a saviour which is more powerful than satan, so that he can be released from the grips of his sin and again be free to approach God's throne of grace and mercy. Only God Himself could provide such a Saviour. We have established that the penalty of sin is DEATH. You (Adam & Eve) must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it, you will surely DIE. (Ezekiel 18:20) For the wages of sin is DEATH. (Romans 6:23) Has God left us to DIE? Has God left us without an answer?? Has God left us without any hope??? No!! God has provided an intelligent answer and the only possible answer to this question of our sin and our salvation. God's Remedy - INNOCENT BLOOD!!! God said : Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. (Hebrews 9:22) Let us examine two examples to show that this is true and I am not trying to tell you something new which cannot be proven. Adam sinned against God, and God provided, through the sacrifice of an animal, a way to have renewed harmony between Holy God and sinful man. Once a year, Muslims throughout the whole world, celebrate the feast of Adha (Kabir). During this feast, every family slays an animal. They recall that God sent a young animal (lamb) to the prophet Abraham, to be killed in place of Abraham's son. Here in this particular act God has presented us with a picture of His remedy or solution for sin. God taught the principle of sacrifice by substitution. In sacrifice we need the shedding of blood. We cannot escape it, the penalty for sin must be paid. The question that we must ask ourselves is whether we will pay that penalty for sin ourselves by our own deaths, or will we accept substitution. Will we allow God to pay the penalty for sin for us through the sacrifice, as the lamb supplied by God in the place of Abraham's son??? The lamb that God supplied as a sacrifice for Abraham's son was a lamb without blemish. We need a sacrifice also from God which is without spot for blemish. God sent Jesus Christ, who had no sin, to be a sacrifice for our sins and the sins of the whole world. Jesus came to earth to save us from the penalty of death for our sins. God made Jesus, who no knew sin, to be a sin offering for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21) Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest (Jesus Christ) had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, because by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. (Hebrew 10:11, 12, 14) So, we have established what God says about sin :1. 2. 3. 4. All have sinned. The wages of sin are death. God has provided a remedy through sacrifice. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is the perfect remedy.
We have the opportunity to have a new life, forgiveness of sins, all as a free gift. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is a gift from God. Not because of works, least any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

So all this time we have been trying to find out WHY JESUS CAME?? Now we know. As was written in the Quran and in the bible, Jesus came to earth through a miraculous birth, with no earthly father, so he could not receive any inherited sin. Jesus was born without sin in His life. It was told in the book of Isaiah how Jesus would be born, at least 14 generations BEFORE His birth. (Isaiah 7;14). The same prophet in Chapter 53 told how He would die and be abused for the sins of mankind. The Quran we have seen also confirmed that God Himself said that Jesus would have to die, and then be raised from the dead, and then be taken up to Heaven, to be exalted to a position higher than the angels. I have not introduced any new theology to you, I have only pointed out to you what God has revealed to me, and to many others, what is written in God's words. So in our search for the truth, I have brought you to a point of decision where you must now decide if you believe the words which are written in your own Quran. Jesus came to be your leader, Jesus came to show you the path to take back to God. Jesus said : Fear Allah and follow me. Are you prepared to follow and be obedient to the words of your Quran, which you believe are the divine words of God? Are you prepared to accept Jesus Christ as the substitute sacrifice for your sins, so that you won't have to pay the penalty of death for them? You say Yes, but I don't know how to accept this wonderful gift that God has given me. This new life you are to receive is a gift from God. If it is a gift, you don't have to work for it, you don't have to pay for it, there is nothing you can do to be good enough to earn it. You just RECEIVE it. Realizing we are not sufficient in ourselves, we receive the gift which God offers of life in Christ. Romans 10:9-14 of God's Word tells us how to receive this gift. IF YOU CONFESS WITH YOUR MOUTH, 'JESUS IS LORD', AND BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART THAT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD, YOU WILL BE SAVED. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the scripture says, 'Everyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame. 'For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. God says that you have to do 4 things in order to be saved. You need someone to tell you about Jesus. You must be willing to hear. It is imperative that you believe that God sent Jesus to take your place, taking the death penalty for your sins. You must act upon this belief by calling upon Jesus to save you. The scripture says in Romans 10:13 :- EVERYONE WHO CALLS UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED. This verse is our guarantee from God that when we call upon Jesus to save us, Jesus will do just that. This is a direct promise from God and we know that GOD IS TRUTH. God cannot lie. Remember, God knows all about you, but He also knows the intentions of you heart. The following prayer is a suggested way to call upon Jesus to save you from you sins and death. Dear God in Heaven, I call upon you to save me. I want Jesus as my life's Saviour and sacrifice for my sins, those sins which so offend you and have caused a separation between us. I choose to believe in you, in your death for me, and your gift of everlasting life, by the same power that raised Jesus from death after the cross. On the basis of what Christ has done for me, I offer this request to you. AMEN So you see, the Muslim had many things to think about after I had finished these questions. One group of Muslims even suggested that I should convert and become a Muslim because I knew and understood the Quran better than they did, but I declined telling them, why should I take the windy path to God, when the Bible showed me the straight and direct path to God. But more importantly the Bible is the only book which has the promise of salvation.
Muslims Like a good debate about their religion. March 1991. Unfortunately there are Muslim Extremists who will not let the real truth interfere with their beliefs, irrespective of how misguided they are. I urge all Christians, that by learning the foundations of the Islamic religion, and knowing what is actually written in their holy book, you can draw them to the truth about Jesus Christ.
. I trust that this will encourage all the readers of this book to become more challenged to reach out to Muslims with the truth about Jesus Christ, to allow the seeds of truth to be planted so that the Holy Spirit can water them and others may reap the harvest in years to come. At last count there were more than 1,000 Saudi nationals, who risk death by beheading, by converting to Christianity from Islam. We pray that in the next 10 years this is multiplied 100 fold.
PROJECT IN TANZANIA [1992]

We came home to Australia in 1992 for a short holiday and was woken up at 3:00 am in the morning by a phone call from the World Bank office in the UK. Would we please catch a plane to the UK as soon as possible. I informed the gentleman that it was 3 am in the morning here in Australia and would he ring back at a more reasonable hour, hung up and promptly went back to sleep. He did contact me later and after some discussions, a rapid series of inoculations for Yellow Fever, Typhoid, Cholera, Tetanus, Hepatitis A and others, armed with visas for the UK and Tanzania we were on a plane to the UK. When we arrived it was straight from an Aussie summer into a UK winter wow what a shock ! As we drove from Manchester to Leeds there was snow falling all around us just to get us ready for the hectic week which was to follow, as we learnt what was expected of me in Tanzania. It turned out that the Tanzanian Government had applied to the World Bank for a loan of about US$ 300 million and before this loan was to be approved by the IMF board they wanted me to go to Tanzania and to investigate the operational efficiency of their telecommunications/postal services within their country. The project was to be for 4 months and would require us to travel throughout the country checking the various telecommunications/postal facilities. After one week of orientation, Rani and I travelled from the UK winter to the tropics of Kenya and then to Tanzania. So in two weeks we had travelled from the middle of a Australian summer, to the winter in UK, then back to summer again our bodies were saying: whats going on here? The Tanzanian Government officials met us at the airport on the Saturday and things went very smoothly through immigrations and customs and we were soon out into the heat of Dar-es-salaam (which means the home of Islam). We were taken to a nice small hotel and told to make ourselves at home as we would be picked up on Monday morning to meet some Government officials and to start our project. After unpacking our bags I went downstairs to the lobby and asked the receptionist if there was a church close by, so I could go to church the next day. She advised me that there was a Lutheran Church right behind the hotel.

You all know how people over the years build up mind pictures of what certain denominations are like well I had done just that. Lutheran they were straight out of the dark ages (I thought). God was about to teach me a BIG BIG lesson about His church and His people. I went around the block to the entrance of this church, all the time thinking it would be a relatively small old style building, the hymns would be in German and I would not be able to understand anything. Wow, was I in for a surprise. The building was large (seats about 1500 people) was modern and was open (on a Saturday). I went inside where I heard some talking, to be met by the blackest man I ever saw, who greeted me in almost perfect English and wanted to know could he help me. I informed him that I have just arrived in Dar-es-salaam today and I was told there was a church nearby, so I had come around to see when the church services were held, so I could attend with my wife tomorrow. He exclaimed: Praise the Lord brother ! it is good to meet you, come inside and let us talk awhile and get to know each other. He went on to explain that the church had only been built about two years, there was a congregation of about 2,500. There were two services in the morning and one at night and I was invited to attend next day. This was not fitting my mind picture of this type of church at all. More surprises were to follow over the next few weeks. The next morning we awoke and went to the church in time for the second morning service. Already there was a crowd outside of at least 1,000 people, waiting for the first service to finish. Then we heard the congregation inside the church start to sing, and this was joined by the people waiting outside, as the congregation inside started to come out in orderly fashion, singing and praising God together. At the completion of the hymn, the priest gave the blessing, the first congregation started to melt away and the next congregation moved into the church building to commence the next service. I had got a taste of the worship, by hearing them from outside, but it was a totally different experience inside the church building.
Discussing the scriptures Tanzanian Lutheran church in 1992 At the beginning of the hymn a lone musician would play a couple of bars on his guitar, so that the singers could get the pitch and then a lone singer would start the first line, the congregation would then joined in. You see, music is in their blood, they could not keep still. Very soon you could see the congregation pick up the rhythm of the music and start to move first to one side then to the other, all in unison and all in time to the music, like blades of grass all moving in time to the wind it was an awesome sight and the singing wow just like angels in heaven, with complex harmonies and tones but all to glorify God. It brought back to my remembrance what the evangelist Reinhardt Bonke had said to me earlier, when we had visited him in Germany. You wont appreciate real singing until you hear the churches in Africa sing, they sing like angels. (And he was right) After a brief introduction to the situation in Dar-es-salaam we started to prepare for our survey of the country, making sure that we arrived in a village or town which had a church, or believers, when we had to spend nights

away from our headquarters in Dar-es-salaam. In this way we were able to share the Gospel and encourage the believers at each place we visited. As we look back over this part of our ministry life, I often marvel at how Gods plans always allowed us to preach His word, as we went about our secular work, in a way which did not cause my employer to get upset, but God gave me the physical and mental strength to do both without major difficulties. There were also some unexpected blessings too.
As we drove north towards Arusha one morning we were told by the Tanzanian engineer who came with us (who just happened to be a Christian) that if we were lucky we might get to see Mount Kilimanjaro if the weather was clear. He explained that this was the highest mountain in Tanzania and the whole of Africa. We came up over the crest of a hill in the road and there in the distance, with snow on its peak stood Mount Kilimanjaro in all its majesty. The mountain was so clearly seen it was breathtaking, even the Tanzanian who was with us was impressed because he says he had never seen it so clearly. When we arrived in Arusha later that day and told the people there about it they were stunned especially the tourists, because they had been trying to get as view of the mountain for several days, but it was always covered in clouds and not clear enough to photograph. On another trip down to the south we arrived after dusk at a small motel and went to our rooms and was told to be up early for a surprise. What we did not realise was that we had arrived to the rear of the motel. The front looked out onto the national park, with elephants walking freely not far away from the buildings as they go down to the dam to get their daily drink of water. Later we went for a short trip to see some of the wildlife and got a couple of other surprises. We were told that if we came across and elephant, to stop the vehicle (but keep the engine running) and allow the elephant to go on his way, because they have the right of way. As you can see in this picture, I was ready to go quickly in reverse if the elephant decided to come my way. You dont realise how big they are in the wild, until you are looking at them face to face and see that they are wider than the car much higher and probably heavier as well. This was another opportunity to realise just how wonderful is Gods creation. However, since the time we were working in Africa, both Zambia and Tanzania are countries which have been devastated by the AIDS epidemic. We pray that in a very short time there will be a way to treat and hopefully cure this terrible disease. In the meantime we pray for workers to go into the harvest fields, to bring people to Christ before they succumb to this terrible disease, without hearing the gospel message, nor have an opportunity for salvation to come to their household. After reading this passage are you ready to volunteer?
PROJECT IN SRI LANKA (1993)[ ]

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Throughout the 1980s and up till today (2005) some twenty five years later, there has been ethnic fighting in Sri Lanka, as the Tamil population strives for recognition of their language and an independent state, where they can live in peace. The decision to make Singhalese the main language of the nation of Sri Lanka in Government departments almost immediately after it became a republic in the British Commonwealth, effectively made the Tamil population second-class citizens in their own country, requiring them to learn a new language before they could progress in their employment beyond a specified salary grade, even though many of them had risked their lives in the Second World War, to protect their nation, or had been working within the Government service for many years. This decision was a clever ploy to ensure that the best promotional opportunities was reserved for the Singhalese population (majority being Buddhist) whilst the Tamil population (majority being Christian) were left to medial tasks in government, or forced out altogether. We arrived in early 1993 to negotiate a communications contract to upgrade telecom facilities in Colombo, but this was cut short when the leader of the Opposition was brutally assassinated and the President was killed by a suicide bomber, after the funeral, one week later. We were housed in a hotel overlooking the Parliamentary Secretariat and we were protected by a ring of soldiers, to prevent the hotel being attacked by rebel forces, who blamed foreigners for the assassinations. We saw helicopters coming and going as the politicians jockeyed for position and the decision as to who should be the next president, or Prime Minister. After one week of this coming and going, all the foreigners were all ferried out to the International Airport, in buses under military guard, so we could leave the country in safety. We saw the turmoil of a country reeling from murder and it still has not fully recovered more than 20 years later, with ethnic fighting and kidnapping still ongoing and both sides suffering heavy losses. My brother, who had been working to Telecom Australia, took early retirement and got married to a Sri Lankan (one of our friends we met in Oman) - (another arranged marriage) and now lives in Sri Lanka. It is ironic, but the tsunami which devastated many countries including parts of Sri Lanka in early 2005, stopped about 100 metres from his front door and he was not harmed in anyway. With a very dry Aussie sense of humour he informed me that now the Tsunami has hit, his property has increased in value because it now has ocean views. The reason being that everything in front of his house towards the sea has been destroyed.
PROJECT IN NEPAL (1993)

After we arrived back in Pakistan I was involved in preparing a tender for the Rehabilitation of the Main highway in the Kingdom of Nepal, which was more than 250 Kms in length. With Gods wisdom and grace the Contractor to whom I was providing consultancy services was awarded the contract and so the focus moved away from Sri Lanka towards Nepal, until the new government was formed in Sri Lanka. Once this did take place we went and commenced our work in Sri Lanka. This meant that I was supervising contracts in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal all at once all totally different, but all requiring expert attention. Without God s insight and strength, I think this would have been impossible. So all the glory goes to Him.
Ranasinghe Premadasa was elected to succeed him that year (1988), defeating Bandaranaike. Premadasas UNP retained its majori ty in the parliamentary elections of February 1989, and the last Indian troops departed in March. The period of relative peace was short-lived. In 1991 and 1992 several major battles were fought between the army and the LTTE, and in early 1993 the government was rocked by two assassinations. On April 23 Lalith Athulathmudali, who had founded the opposition Democratic United Liberation Front in 1991, was shot to death during a political rally. A week later, during the annual May Day parade, President Premadasa was assassinated by a suicide bomber who allegedly was a member of LTTE. Days later the Parliament unanimously elected UNP member Dingiri Banda Wijetunge, who was previously the prime minister, to serve as president until the next national election. In November 1993 LTTE forces managed to seize a government military base in Pooneryn, which is about 32 km (20 mi) southeast of Jaffna. Several days later government forces drove the rebel forces back and recovered the base. The fighting was some of the worst between the Sri Lankan government and rebel Tamil forces; the Sri Lankan government estimated that about 1200 people were missing or killed. Since fighting between the two groups began in 1983, about 40,000 people have been killed.
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BACK TO AUSTRALIA (1993)

In 1993, we decided to leave Pakistan and return home to Australia, firstly for a well earned rest and to recharge the batteries, which had been on low for some time. We had been on the mission field now consistently since 1985 without a break. We had fallen into the trap of many missionaries, by working too hard, both in the secular world and in the spiritual one, without giving enough time to spend quiet time with the Lord. When this happens, it can result in several things happening:

You get physically sick or run down, You drift away from God spiritually Or both
Any of these symptoms are very dangerous and if not detected and corrected, can have a terrible effect on your spiritual relationship with Jesus Christ, you marriage and on the people around you. I became very irritable and short tempered, and I imagine, looking back on this time now as I write about it, I was probably not a very nice person to be around. We stayed with my Mum for a time while we looked for a house to live in and finally bought one and moved in which was a great relief, as we now had time to spend in the garden, making flower beds, with no mental stress, and slowly getting back the peace I had years before, when I was walking a lot closer to the Lord. I started to write again, compose music and get involved in Church work back home but it was like talking to a sponge there seemed to be absolutely no response. I had to agree with a statement made by Dr. Billy Graham many years earlier when he first came to Australia in the late 1940s. He is reported to have said that when you preach to a brick wall at least you get an echo but to the Australian people no response!!!. Such a major spiritual change had happened in Coffs Harbour from the time we left in 1985 to go to Thailand until our return in late 1993. It needed much prayer and supplication before the Lord. Satan was in there waging war with increased violence, unemployment, drug problems and sexual promiscuity. But in the middle of this there came a light of hope. The local university decided to expand and introduce a religious faculty. This was great news because it meant that students would come to our city to study the Word and to be part of the local churches during their time of study. I felt invigorated it was just what the town needed, new blood and new ideas. But it was not to be. The Federal Government used this specific timeframe to announce cuts in university spending and as a result the Southern Cross University was faced with stopping all expansion and to try and keep the faculties operating which were already in place. But the idea would not go away. I was sure that God wanted this to come to fruition. It did not come to pass until 1999 but more about that later.
TRIP TO GERMANY & ISRAEL (1995)

In early 1995 I was invited to travel to Israel and to be part of an international team studying the Torah and visiting the Holy sites in and around Israel. This was quite an honour and it was a double blessing, because as I arrived and settled in I was warmly greeted by people from all over the world. Rani and I had travelled together from Australia as far as Thailand, where we spent some days visiting churches we knew before we left Thailand several years before, me to go on to Jerusalem and Rani to go on the Pakistan to be a helper for her father - preaching in the villages. I had just released the publication of my book 9 entitled :Showers of Blessings which tells of the life of Elijah and Elisha - the prophets and how different it is in the world today, where there is little or no respect for Gods chosen messengers.
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This can be downloaded as a PDF file from www.nlmcs.com.au free of charge although a donation would be appreciated.

At the Centre of Biblical Studies in Jerusalem I had the privilege to study the Torah (the first 5 book of the Bible) alongside Rabbinical Scholars, other Christian Scholars and Muslim Clerics. It was so amazing that in all cases these people, from three distinct different religions, were prepared to acknowledge and agree that this is the Word of God, I had to chuckle at one Rabbi, who asked a Muslim scholar: You believe that this is Gods Word? Yes, he replied. Then why are you not following it, as you agree that it comes from God? This put this man in a no-go area - he was trapped by the words of his mouth just like the scripture says in Proverbs 6:3
Jerusalem (seen from Mt. of Olives) The Dome of the Rock Mosque this is what all the fighting is about between Jews & Muslims We spent the first few days studying the Torah and visiting the local sites in Jerusalem before venturing out to other towns and cities which had Biblical significance all over Israel and into Jordan. During the time I was in Israel I took more than 10 rolls of film of many historic & biblical sites, which made the Scriptures come alive to me and gave me a better understanding of some of the parables told by Jesus to the Jews at the time of His ministry.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
Wadi Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered
The empty Tomb. It makes the scriptures come alive when you look into this tomb and realise that this may have been the exact tomb where Jesus Christ was laid, which is now empty because He is Risen !!!
Pictures of the nativity scene many being copies of very old manuscripts were available to view and also for sale to take home as a remembrance. This is an extract from one such painting, with Arabic writing underneath proclaiming the birth of Jesus and the relevant prophetic verses from Isaiah and Lukes Gospel. You see these pictures every year at Christmas time but it means a lot more when you see this picture in Israel.

After finishing my teaching tour in Israel I was invited to fly to Germany to speak at the International Chapter of the Full Gospel Businessmens meeting on Easter Saturday. I felt God had opened the door for me in Germany, so I planned to be there for a month This was really stepping out in faith, because I had only one invitation to speak inside Germany on Easter SATURDAY one message for one day. What was I going to do for the rest of my time there? I went believing God had things in control and He proved that He did. At that one speaking engagement, among the audience of a large gathering of Christian businessmen were 4 pastors from 4 different churches around Frankfurt. At the end of the service I had 2 speaking engagements on Easter Sunday and more the following week. By the end of the first week in Germany I had speaking engagements all over Germany. I spoke for 29 days out of 31, which was a real blessing going into different denominational churches, being led by the Holy Spirit, to speak out what they needed to hear from the Lord it was exciting in fact awesome. God had opened up my ministry of spiritual bomb dropping. I dropped little spiritual bombs all over the place, and many people came up to me after these services asking how I knew about this or that which was happening in their church. The truth is I didnt but the Holy Spirit did.!!!
Not the type of equipment one expects on the highways but it is moving from one coal face to another across the highway. This machine is so huge it gets the right of way without any questions.
Rani standing before an early German mission church on our first mission trip to Germany in 1983
We had several requests for healing and God was merciful, He heard the prayers, people were healed and God got the glory. It was an amazing month one I was to remember for many years to come. So after that exciting time I flew out of Germany, back to Thailand, then into Pakistan to meet up with the rest of the family and do some more consulting work inside Pakistan. After completing this work it was time to fly back to Australia rejoicing and then to listen to what the Lord was saying to us. Rani standing in front of a typical German church 1983
Church congregation at Wilhiem Germany 1995 This German congregation is special because it has a unique history. The pastor was a person who lived and worked in Coffs Harbour (near us) and who felt called by the Lord to go back to Germany (where he was born) and to spread the Word of God there. In the first couple of years it was hard going, as people were suspicious of his new evangelical church, which he had formed in the area of Germany which is very conservative. But when we got there (after about 4 years) the church was alive and thriving and causing quite a stir in the local community, because people were getting healed and marriages restored, in fact all the promises of Gods word seemed to be being fulfilled, because they trusted Gods Word to be absolutely true. If you claim Gods promises He delivers. But this was not happening in the local conservative churches why? Thats simple because they had lost their first love just like is told in the book of Revelations chapter 2.
ANGEL ON THE MOUNTAIN (1998)

For many years I have been travelling to and from Australia to Pakistan and there are times when I get into discussions with devout Muslims about their beliefs -and the belief of Christians, when it comes to things of God - or about Allah (the Arabic word for God). This occurred on February 7, 1998 with a very devout Muslim lady, who was concerned about my spiritual well being. She had heard that only a few days before I had been in hospital in Australia with a suspected heart attack and she pointed out that none of us (both Christians or Muslims alike) knew the day, nor the hour, when our life here on earth would cease - because that was in Allahs hands - not ours. She prayed that I would soon make a decision and recognise that Allah had sent Mohammad, after Jesus Christ, as the last Prophet, to remind mankind of the Words which Allah had already spoken through His previous messengers - the previous Prophets, to make a decision to turn back from their wicked ways and follow Him and the teachings of the Holy Quran. I indicated that I was studying the Quran very carefully and had already recognised that it was a Holy Book and that Allah would make a revelation to me - at His timing and in a method of His choosing - to convince me if I should follow after him in this way - if it was His will for me. After praying for each other and wishing God s (Allahs) blessing upon each other we parted company. The next day was Sunday - now a public holiday in Pakistan - which is significant thing for an Islamic country - to put aside Friday - the Islamic day for prayer, as a holiday, and accept the Christian day for prayer - Sunday, a day set aside, according to the Holy Books, to seek God and His righteousness, His mercy, His wisdom, His Compassion and His Truth.

I studied my Bible for several hours of the day - and offered up prayers to God for revelation on this important matter. Was it in fact true ? Had God decided to send another Prophet, some 600 years after Jesus Christ when, at that time in history, there was confusion in the churches across many countries ? Had God decided to give mankind one last chance ? - to try and understand His Mercy, His Compassion, His Righteousness and to remind mankind of His Judgements ? It was such an important question - it was something I could not fathom out for myself - only God Himself could intervene and help me in this situation. Although I have been studying the Torah, the Talmud and the Bible for many years, and I believed these were definitely the Holy Words of God, and I had in my own life many experiences, to know that God Almighty truly exists - I was now being challenged by a question which required a definite answer - to allow my spiritual life and level of faith to progress. I was reminded of the Scripture in Hebrews chapter 11 which states : Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at Gods command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. [God spoke forth the Word, and formed the worlds and the universe out of nothing - just by the mighty power of His thoughts and His mind] Here I was, after many years, put into a point of decision. I was reminded about the story of Adam and Eve in the garden. Eve had been tricked by satan - who only told her 99% of the truth about what God Almighty had said to them about the forbidden fruit. She had been tricked into eating the forbidden fruit and as a result she immediately became spiritually dead and commenced to die a physical death - although she felt no different. When Adam came along and found out what she had done, he immediately reminded her that God Almighty Himself had told them they were not to eat of this fruit - he knew it was not allowed - he knew it was wrong. Eve explained that she had already eaten of the forbidden fruit and see I have not died - I am still alive. We know what happened. Adam knowingly ate of the forbidden fruit - by wilful choice, and that is why God Almighty placed the sin upon His head and not upon the head of Eve - although now both of them were spiritually dead - and both of them were now to die a physical death also. Was I now in the garden of Eden ? Was I now being tempted by satan to accept something which was not true ? Was this the same situation for me ? Or was this in fact the most important decision of my life and of the life to come in the hereafter ? I needed to know the answer to this question. I went to the window of the guest-house in which I was staying and looked out the window towards the western sky and there before me was the Margalla Hills - a wonderful example of Gods beauty and His power of creation - reaching up at least 2,000 feet above the city of Islamabad. It was a beautiful site. I was reminded that only a few days before, there had been snow on these mountains - the first time in over 20 years - everybody thought it was a special occasion - a special kind of blessing. For some reason I got the urge to go for a walk. I had been cooped up in the guest-house for too long. It was time to go outside and get some fresh air - to clear my head and allow me to think on this issue more clearly - so off I went - walking along towards the bottom the mountains - singing praises to God - thinking how wonderful it was, to be able to walk along and view Gods mighty handiwork. With the afternoon sun shining on the hills they looked very beautiful. For no apparent reason at all, I decided to climb to the top of the Margalla Hills. For me this was completely out of character. I usually dont waste energy on such an activity. I like to walk - yes, but always along the streets - or on well marked paths - but definitely not climbing mountains. So I set off along the foothills, looking for a path which may allow me to start upwards. I found a car park where many people park there cars and walk along the paths in the foothills. I saw and arrow pointing upwards I choose the path and started to walk. I started to climb - the path was getting steeper. I started to breathe more heavily, as I was definitely not fit enough to tackle such a mountain as this - but pride and stupidity always seem to go hand in hand - so I continued onwards and upwards. After climbing for about 30 minutes I was able to look down over the city and see the wonderful view that God had initially created - with its flowing curves - its changes in colours and forms. I was also able to see how mankind had come in and built the city. How he had laid it out in clear design - with lines and squares, set out in a definite pattern - but in no way as beautiful as the original creation set out by God Almighty.

I continued to climb for another 30 minutes. By now I was really starting to feel my age. This was now about three oclock in the afternoon. I had passed several people along th e path. They were all coming down - I was still going up - yet still I felt I was in no danger. There was still plenty of light - the air was still very clear - no clouds in the sky - everything was OK for a beautiful walk on the side of the mountain - so I continued my upward climb. By three thirty I was about halfway up the side of the mountain. I was starting to get very short of breath and my legs were starting to feel like pieces of lead. I needed to get to the roadway which goes up to the top of the mountain, to the restaurant lookout, because I knew if I got to the road then the walking would be easier - but which path to choose to get to the road ? I did not know where the road was. I could not see any cars on the hillside. I could not even hear any noise of any vehicles - all I could hear was a slight breeze whistling through the leaves of the pine trees, and the noise of the twittering of the birds. Suddenly, I realised that I was all alone. All the other walkers had left and gone on down the mountain. I was here on the mountain all by myself. I did not know which path to take and I was only half way up the mountain - it was a time for making some very serious decisions and I suddenly came to realise that my life may depend on what decision I made. I then realised that I had not made any preparations for this walk at all. I had not prayed to God about this walk before I started. I had not asked for His protection - or His blessing. I had not told anybody where I was going. I had not taken any provisions, no water, no coat or warm clothes in case the weather changed - nothing! This decision to climb the mountain was a very unwise decision on my part - and completely out of character. But at the time when I started to climb up the mountain, none of these things even entered my head. I was just walking along and talking to my God - not really aware of what I was doing. But now the whole situation came into very clear focus. Here I was halfway up the mountain. It is the middle of winter - the sun will set at about 5 pm. If I go back down the mountain the way I came up, will I slip and fall ? I realised that some parts were very steep and I could easily slip and maybe sprain an ankle - or even break a leg. This alternative seemed to be very dangerous. On the other hand, if I continued to go up the mountain, would I be able to have the physical strength to reach the top ? Already I was puffing and breathing very heavily. Here I was - a man in his middle 50s trying to climb up the side of this mountain, in very poor physical condition. I now remembered that less than 2 weeks before I had been in the hospital with a suspected heart attack. These pains in my chest was it another heart attack - or was it just the pain of heavy breathing, due to my poor physical condition ? These questions were going around in my head. What should I do now ? In times of trouble, from whence cometh thine help ? Cast your burdens upon the Lord and He shall sustain thee. These passages of Holy Scripture seemed to jump into my mind. Here I was definitely in trouble. Now was a very good time to put these Scriptures into practise. I cried out to the Lord (even though He already knew my situation). I gave thanks for His creation and that He had raised me up and given me life and that He had protected me through many trials and tribulations in the past. I prayed that He would now give me guidance. I was reminded that the lady had told me, only yesterday, that we do not know the day, nor the hour when our lives were to finish - it was all in Allahs hands and under His control, she said. I prayed that if today was to be my last day on earth - if it was Gods will for me to die on the side of this mountain, then it was OK by me - I was ready. I accepted that God had given me life and it was His choice to decide when to take it back - it was now all in His hands. After I finished praying this prayer I felt a peace in my heart that I had not felt in many years. All the doubts were gone. I felt completely safe - even though the situation on the mountain had not changed at all - but on the inside everything had changed. God had now filled me with His peace. I knew it - I could feel it. I did not try to decide whether it was the God of the Torah, or the God of the Bible, or the God of the Quran, I just knew that the Spiritual force, the Spiritual being I know as God Almighty, had just done something very special in my life. He had come and put His spiritual presence into my life, to re-assure me that everything was going to be OK. The pains in my chest seemed to be less and the heavy breathing was not so bad. I looked up at the mountain and decided to continue to climb to the top - but which path to take? There were three paths in front of me - all going off in different directions - all going upwards - which one to follow? I had to make a choice.

I looked up at the mountain again to these three paths and I saw what appeared to be a man standing on the pathway to the right-hand side of the mountain. His clothes were glistening white in the sunlight. He had a stick in his hand and he was pointing up the path he was on already. He turned and walked on up the path for a few metres and disappeared behind some bushes as the path made a turn. Another person on the mountain - my heart was encouraged. If he was going on that path I would follow the same path. If I walked very quickly, I could catch up with him - he seemed to be only about 300 metres above me on the pathway. I climbed as fast as I could. Again the pains started in my chest -again the huffing and the puffing as I laboured up the side of the mountain until I reached to top of that particular ridge. There in front of me was the ridge cap, which connected this ridge to the next part of the mountain. I could see the path up ahead for at least one half a kilometre stretched out before me. The man was not in sight he had completely disappeared. I was so surprised, I sat down to think and to catch my breath. It was impossible! There was no way that he could have walked up over the top of the ridge and along that pathway, now in clear view before me and disappear out of view. I thought back. I did not see any other pathways going off the one I had followed. Where had the man gone? I did not seem to make any sense? But my mind kept going back to the sight of that man when I first saw him - how bright were his clothes I had never seen any man wearing clothes so bright as this in Pakistan before. Could it be that God had sent down an angel to show me the way? Could it be that God wanted me to live? Could it be that this was the sign I had been praying for ? Suddenly I had new strength. The tiredness seemed to have gone. The pains were all gone - even the breathing was now easier. I stared up towards to top rejoicing in praise to the Lord. Now I was actually speaking out aloud my praise to God - not just thinking thoughts about God in my mind as I walked, as before, but actually saying the words out aloud - giving praises unto God for His mercy, His compassion, is strength, His wisdom. As four Oclock came I reached a high point where I could see the road and cars passing by. It was about 1 kilometre away and I was actually higher up the mountain than the road, so the climb down to the road was easier. When I reached the road, I again gave thanks to God, for His mercy and His strength and for the fact that He hears people, (who love Him) when they are in trouble and need His help. He has promised never to leave them nor forsake them and now I know first hand that this is true. But the journey was not yet over - I still had to walk all the way back down the road to the bottom of the mountain which was to take more than two hours. I reached the guest-house well after dark - with very sore feet and legs, and completely exhausted. I got my key and started upstairs. Oh, to climb those stairs to the second floor was complete agony, but the thought of soaking in a nice hot bath kept me going. Today, four days later, I think back, as I write this down and give glory to God, as I again think of the situation I was in. I think back to the man standing on the path and his picture comes instantly to mind. I can see him very clearly - still shining very brightly in the sun and him pointing up the path with his stick - showing me the way to follow. You may read this account and you may be sceptical - you may think I made it all up - it was just a dream. But let me tell you, I know it was real and you will never convince me otherwise. I have two sore legs to prove it. I have the vivid memories of the beautiful scenery of Gods creation that I saw while I was on the mountainside. I have the memories of the fear, when I realised that I could possibly die on the mountain that night, if I had to stay on the mountain all night in the very flimsy clothes I was wearing - with no protection against the elements - where the temperature at night sometimes does down below freezing. I believe that God Almighty sent down an angel to show me the way back to Himself - and I will be forever grateful for that. May God bless all those people who read this account and may it touch your hearts and reinforce your faith in God and His wonderful world. Amen.
PERSECUTION BEGINS IN EARNEST INSIDE PAKISTAN (1995)

In 1995 The Taliban extremists stepped up their attacks on moderate Muslims and Christians throughout all of Pakistan, with bombing of shops, churches and mosques becoming frequent news in the local Pakistan media. But elsewhere in the world nobody seemed to care what was going on, as a result many people were kidnapped, injured, raped and/or murdered. People were being killed each day, shot, bombed, killed in custody and still the western world was silent. The pictures to the right became common sights in the press, as families were torn apart by the atrocities which were allowed to continue as the western world looked on and did nothing. Back home here in Australia, the only thing which seemed of interest was the Pakistani cricket team. Despite UNHCR Reports about human rights abuses, Amnesty International reports indicating that women from minority groups, especially Christians and lower paid workers were being abused and raped without any recourse to the courts, the Western World including Australia, did nothing to stop the bombings, murders, kidnapping, or rape of innocent Christians. The fact that many women who made reports to police were then taken into custody and raped by the police in custody, barely raised an eyebrow in the Australian Foreign Affairs Department, nor did they react when refugees from Pakistan tried to apply for sanctuary here from these types of crimes. It is sad to remember that the Lord allows us here in Australia to have the government we deserve, not the government we wish for. The apathetic attitude of the masses of Australian people to atrocities overseas is reflected in the lack of action by the government officials and our elected representatives. Unfortunately, it took the bombing of the World Trade Centre, the Bali Bombings, the bombing of Australian Embassy overseas, before we woke up and took some action. Like the Priest and the Levite in the parable of the Good Samaritan we, as a nation, shall be judged for our lack of action and our lack of compassion to those in need around us.
CHURCHES SET ON FIRE AND PASTORS BEATEN TO DEATH

In early 1996, the situation had got so bad in Pakistan that my father-in-law (a Pastor in Pakistan for more than 30 years) sent his youngest son and daughter here to Australia for protection, as the Muslim extremists of the Taliban began to flex their muscles in Pakistan and cause village people, (who had lived side by side in peace for generations), to now start to kill, kidnap and/or rape Christian men and women people who they had known all their lives and who they had lived in peace with since birth. Early in 1996 The Muslims created a riot and 13 churches and many Christian houses were broken into, robbed and then set on fire. This resulted in more than 50,000 Christians being left homeless in Pakistan and it became known as the Khanewal Incident. This incident was widely reported in the International media, as well as in Australian Newspapers but did the Australian Government protest about this abuse of Christians in another Commonwealth country? NO! They remained silent. So the plight of having refugees living with us in Australia came to our own doorstep. Initially the Australian Government recognised the Khanewal Incident and said that both my brother-in-law and my sister-in-law could stay in Australia and they were given bridging visas, minimum access to Medicare facilities and allowed to work. Both Rafiq & Roohi refused to be labelled as Dole Bludgers and started to look for work and very soon they both had jobs, as well as going to TAFE to learn and improve their English but that did not last long - that was all about to change. In 1998 I went to Pakistan to perform some consulting work for one of the biggest Pakistani Construction companies and on the way home from Islamabad to my house 75 Kms north of Lahore, I was stopped at gunpoint on the road, by people dressed to look like Police officers. They demanded money, but I refused and produced Pakistani Government Identification to prove who I was. On seeing this they let me proceed, but told me not to tell anybody about this incident. On the news next evening we learnt that a bus was held up at gunpoint about the same place I had been held up and the passengers were robbed of their jewellery and money. When one of the passengers protested, one of the gunmen opened fire, killing several and wounding many others. I praise God that his angels were protecting me that evening. I left Pakistan shortly afterwards and did not return. 10 In 1999 there was a bloodless coup de tat . The democratically elected parliament in Pakistan was dissolved, all human rights suspended, as martial law once again descended down upon Pakistan, a nation which has spent more time under martial law than under an elected Government. The result was that elements of the Taliban which had laid dormant within the military and the Internal Security Intelligence (ISI ) now emerged to undertake rapid hate projects against minority religions, including Hindus, Sikhs and Christians. More and more reports of Christian women being kidnapped, raped and murdered, or worse (being forced to marry a Muslim man, against their will), began to surface in the local Pakistan and international press, as well as in Christian publications like Voice of the Martyrs.
10
See more details in Appendix 2
THE PLIGHT OF BEING A REFUGEE

In the midst of all this carnage, the Australian Government decided it is now safe for both my relatives to return to Pakistan and issued instructions to that effect. Well, I am not known for sitting back on my heels and accepting that sort of injustice, so the fight to keep my relatives in Australia began. It was to take many years and over $20,000 before it came to some sort of conclusion. Had we known at the beginning of this fight what we were in for, Rani and I would probably not have accepted this challenge. But it goes to show why sometimes the Lord does not reveal His whole plan to us at one single vision. We only get it piece by piece. We have had to complete each piece before the next is revealed. I now understand why God did not tell Apostle Paul what was ahead of him when He called him to be a servant of the Lord on the Damascus road. We were subjected to the full effect of the governments policy of unlawful entry, but luckily not mandatory detention. We went to the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) and told our case, even giving evidence of our last trips to Pakistan, where I was held up at gunpoint, only escaping from the bandits after they saw my Pakistan Government Identification. Later that same night, at the same location, they stopped and robbed the people on a bus and shot a large number of the passengers, as recounted earlier. They (the RRT) rejected our evidence, so we appealed to the Federal Court and won our case. We thought now they will grant permission for them to remain in Australia but no some 18 months later, back to the RRT again. th By this time my father-in-law had been beaten to death by the Taliban (25 February 1999). But when we gave evidence to the RRT the Government member asked: Who is the Taliban??? Now all of you who are reading this book after September 11, 2001 and the Bali bombing definitely know who the Taliban are but back in 1999, very few Australians had heard of them, unless you were involved in international security or military intelligence. Because of my security clearance I knew who they were but I could not tell the member interviewing us. All I could do was advise her to check with the senior members of the Defence or Foreign Affairs departments for an explanation. To this day I dont know whether she did or not but the RRT rejected our appeal again!!! Did we give up? NO! We joined a class action to the High Court of Australia and again we won!!! This was the third time we had won in the Australian courts. Did the Australian Government recognise the High Courts decision and set my relatives free??? NO !!! Did the Government allow the 8,600 people who were part of the Class Action to be granted permission to stay in Australia ?? NO !!! so the fight still goes on. At the time of writing this chapter (January 2006) Roohi my sister-in-law is still here in Australia, (she has now been here fighting for her life for over 9 years) being given a month-to-month visa extension and being told she can work. But may I ask, which employer would give somebody a job if they only had a valid visa for one month??? Does my sister-in-law get upset with the Australian Governments lack of compassion? YES!!!. Does she quit? NO! She has become involved in multicultural activities and works as a volunteer in a child-care centre, because she does not want to be considered a Dole Bludger, even though the government does not provide even $1 for her welfare. Her rent and her food are paid for by people in this country who do have compassion and who do understand the plight of genuine refugees, who are here because their life would be in danger if they returned to their own country.
Scattered Nations Choir performing in Brisbane 2005. All of these people are here in Australia because of persecution in their own countries. Part of the Scattered Nations Choir practicing for their performance before the Premier of Queensland in 2005
The Queensland press give them good reports. They even ask pointed questions to the Federal Government but it is clear they (the Federal Government Minister for Immigration) has a heart of stone.
Out of frustration my sister-in-law wrote an article which is produced below.

Story as told by my Sister-in-Law on the 3 April 2000
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WHERE IS THE HEART OF THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT?

Three years we have been sitting in Australia, hoping that the Immigration Department and the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) would protect us, have pity and compassion on us, and look impartially at what really is happening in my country. But now it looks like their hearts are made of rocks. I really don't know what type of proof they need from us. They should go and look for themselves if they dont believe us. If they send us back and we get killed , then maybe they will believe us - but then it will have been too late for us. International evidence clearly indicates that persecution of Christians is taking place in our country - even Australian reporters & journalists have confirmed this in their published reports - but still the RRT and this Government won't listen, or take any action. What I need to know is this : If they were in my place and were being persecuted like I was, where would they go for help? I know that Australia is a very peaceful country. We are not here for fun, or to enjoy ourselves on holidays. We have been working to support ourselves - we have not taken the Dole like some other cheats, or people who come into Australia by illegal means - who the Government allow to stay. Nobody wants to leave their family unless they are forced into this situation. My family sent me out of my country for my own protection, to stop me being murdered, kidnapped, sexually molested, or even forced into marriage against my will. They sent me to Australia because they had heard that the Australian Government had protected many other women in similar situations like me, giving them shelter and protection. This last 3 years seems like a 100 years to me without seeing my family back home. During those same 3 years my family back home has been destroyed - one by one they are dying and still this Government does nothing: Two of my uncles have died suddenly. My father was beaten up by Muslim extremists and he died of his injuries. Because of my fear of being attacked in this situation I was not able to even attend my own father's funeral. My auntie (foster mother) who is worried sick about our safety is under so much stress that she has now developed Asthma and other sicknesses, resulting in hospitalization several times. Every time she talks to us on the phone she is crying - because she wants to see us - but knows that it is unsafe for us to go back to visit her. Because her worry is so intense, she is getting worse and worse. I hoped and prayed that the RRT would give us good news. They don't seem to understand what we are going through - us being separated from our family. If our bodies are torn with hurt and despair by being separated from our families - the RRT refuses to see any wounds. Because they are here in this peaceful country - in this peaceful environment, they have a system in place whereby they can make complaints, which are acknowledged, investigated and if necessary the culprits are brought to justice and punished. Because they have never been through this situation (or visited my country) they refuse to recognize that this is not the case in my country. As I am a Christian, there is no avenue which I can use, because the police refuse to accept any complaints from Christians and the place is so corrupt that they "put the innocent in goal to protect the guilty". It seems that even "first-hand evidence or accounts" does not matter to this Government. RRT seems to have already made up their minds - whether the evidence is there or not, - or they just don't understand the hurt we have suffered (and are still suffering) because we are afraid to return to our country. Because of your slowness in making decisions here in Australia, my brother has not been able to see his wife, or any of his 3 children for more than 3 years. If they (this Government) forces us to go back to our country where will we go? Our mother and our father are now both dead. Two of my uncles have also died and we cannot impose on the sole surviving auntie, as she is now very ill. We strongly believe that if you send us back to our country we will surely be killed. If that is the case why dont you kill us here, instead of letting somebody else do this work for you . It seems that you are like Pontius Pilate, who wiped his hands - in the case of Jesus Christ - not prepared to accept any responsibility for our safety. Please remember that you are also family people. You have sons and daughters.

What do you think you would feel if you were separated from them in a situation like us? Please let us die here, so our pain will be ended. Please dont send us back to be murdered by others.
A CHANGE IN SURROUNDINGS & PURPOSE

We had been going to the Uniting Church in Coffs Harbour after our return in 1993 and I had been given several opportunities to share about our overseas mission activities, but there seemed to be something missing no life in the church. Rani & I prayed about it and we decided to go look for another church where there was good sound teaching of the word and fellowship among the believers. We settled on the Bethel Church, which ironically was only 400 metres down the road - in our own street. Here I was given opportunities to preach, to get involved in Music Ministry and Rani got involved in the Multicultural side of things, as we saw a need for the church to reach out to the many different cultural groups which lived in and around Coffs Harbour. We started first be inviting groups to our house for meals, discussing different types of food, their cultures, their customs and their belief systems, and if there were any problems which they were facing. After they got to know us and that what they said to us stayed with us, they were more open in discussing their problems, either with government departments, or private companies and/or individuals. The Lord told us to make a renovation on our house for a church. We were obedient, yet even after it was finished the Lord did not tell me to start up a church. Although we had done a large renovation to our house and the study could fit more than 50 people, it soon became too small for the gatherings. The Bethel Church Minister (Mike Fields) invited us to use the church facility, for future meetings. The first one was a major success, with the local paper doing a piece and several photos appeared in the local press. People came from many nationalities, wearing their traditional dress and performed dances or singing from their own culture. Not to be outdone, the Bethel Singers and the Bethel Tambourine Dancers put on a display of Christian music and dance which was a first for many of the people, who had never been inside a church before. Everybody had such a good time they wanted to know when the next one was to take place. So this ministry opened up to us. People came to see and learn about other cultures, but were presented with Christian dancing, Christian music and Christian fellowship as part of the celebrations. From this they learnt that all Christians are not bogey men and we learnt all foreigners are not trying to rip you off or take advantage of you just because your English is not as good as you may want it to be. Some of the Multi-Kulti performers at Bethel Christian Centre --representing many different nationalities.

The Bible College [Bethel Ministry Training College] In 1998, the opportunity came to make the desire into a reality a place to teach the Bible, at an undergraduate level, so that earnest Bible students could come to grips with the truth, be inspired and go out and teach it to others. But before that could happen we must first establish the Bible College, have it registered by the relevant authorities, design the courses and find teachers to teach the subjects. So 1998 was a year of planning, meetings and preparations, as I and other members for the Bible College Formation Committee set about preparing the application for Registration of the Bethel Ministry Training College by VETAB, the registering authority, and to prepare the course structure and course material. We decided to do initially two levels of teaching, first at Certificate II level (500 hours of face-to-face teaching) and this to be followed by Certificate III, another 500 hours of face-to-face teaching. This meant that the two courses could be completed within one calendar year. These two certificates were broken up into 38 individual subjects. In late November 1998 we were given approval to advertise for students to commence the courses in 1999. I was appointed College Administrator, to look after the administration side of the college, but also to teach six (6) subjects to the students. Although this was a hard year, with much preparation, research and study of Gods word, it was one of the best years of my life, as we (the teachers) challenged students to open their minds to the teachings of the Word and not be limited to a denominational belief, or what any one particular pastor said. We had some simple rules at this college. Rule 1 : It does not matter what your denominational church says, or what your pastor says if it not in the Bible, or cannot be backed up by scripture (in more than 1 place) then forget it! Rule 2: Always check what your Bible teachers say. Make sure it lines up with the Word of God. If you dont believe it does, then challenge them to explain it. Rule 3: Worship sessions must be attended by all students before the commencement of classes each morning. They are to be prepared by the students on a rotational basis. Rule 4: Worship is not just singing, or playing music Worship is a lifestyle to bring glory & honour to God. This is an assessable subject. Rule 5: Any fighting between the students was not to be done in class but out in the car park, where everybody could get a grandstand view (just joking) It is funny how Governments make rules. Almost anybody can teach a subject, but only those with certain levels of TAFE or University qualifications are allowed to assess subjects or mark examination papers, so off the teachers went to TAFE, to study and be awarded Certificate IV in Workplace Assessment and Workplace Training. These were fun sessions, as a special TAFE class was established for us, with the relevant subjects for course structure, course delivery, course assessment and setting course examinations. With Gods help we all passed and were ready to start teaching in January 1999. Nine (9) students signed up for the initial Certificate II course and all attended a Special Church Service to pray for the College, the Teachers and the Students. They came from diverse religious background, with differing maturity levels and differing theological viewpoints. What an exciting bunch of students to mould On the Potters Wheel Again !!!. I taught the following Certificate II subjects: Overview of Creation Prayers in the Bible Bible Survey The Call of God At the completion of the six-month course, all the students graduated, some with honours and distinctions. What a blessing. We then proceeded on to Certificate III and all the students wanted to continue their studies. I taught the following Certificate III subjects: Theological Doctrines & Issues
Book of Hebrews.
At the end of the first year all the students graduated and were ready to go out into responsible roles within their own particular church organizations. Some have later gone onto further studies. The Vision What we wanted to see, as a result of this Bible College, is a place where people can come from all denominations, without fear of being ridiculed for their individual beliefs, have their minds opened to the truth of Gods word by the Holy Spirit (who leads us into all truth) and go back to their respective church organizations full of enthusiasm, boldness and knowledge, to lead others to Christ. This vision is coming into its own, as more people learn about Gods Word, Gods purpose for our individual lives and the collective reason why a Christian life is the only life which gives you peace, love and joy in the Holy Ghost.
The First Graduation of Students 1999 (with the teachers in the front row)
THE MILLENNIUM OLYMPICS SYDNEY 2000

When it was announced with much celebration and fanfare that Sydney had won the privilege of hosting the Olympic Games in 2000, it was just another headline for me, it did not seem to have any spiritual significance at all. But over the next seven years of the construction of the Games venues, many Christians around the world th were focussing on the fact that it was now the year 2000, that is Jesus Christ's 2000 birthday. It was to be celebrated and that this was an opportunity to witness to many thousands of people, who would be here in one place in Australia, from many nations. This was an opportunity for the commandment of Jesus Christ to preach to all nations, to be put into practical effect for two weeks in these Olympic venues. I, like sixty thousand other Australians, applied to go to the Olympics, for one of two basic reasons: For the money, as staff of the Olympics organisation, or of the many sponsors, who would be in the venues selling their wares, or As part of a forty thousand strong volunteer group who would be there at the various venues to assist in helping the visitors to Sydney to enjoy and participate in the Olympics. I was interviewed and appointed as a Supervisor in the Spectator Services Section, working for SOCOG and drove from Coffs Harbour the six hundred kilometres each way, every second week, for eight weeks, (at my own expense) down to Sydney to receive training in the type of work I was to undertake - helping spectators. This became very exciting as we neared the day when the Olympics were to nd commence. On Saturday 2 September 2000, about 4,000 of the volunteers from Central Sector gathered to have our last training session and I heard that all the supervisors had received their rosters for when they were to attend the Games - but I had not received mine - what was going on? On enquiry I was told to fill out a form and come back on Monday. When I arrived on Monday, I was greeted by a rather distinguished gentleman, who informed me he was a retired brigadier and to follow him to the Operations Control Centre, to meet some other

people who had been chosen (because of their qualifications) to be responsible for the security of the games and the personnel, both athletes and spectators who would visit the games over the next weeks. We went down some stairs, through a set of steel doors and then, after using his security pass, we went down a second set of stairs and into a large fortified area, with many high-tech facilities. This was to be my home for the duration of the games, as I was given the role of shift supervisor for perimeter security. There is not a lot I can tell you about what happened within this section, except that I was responsible for supervising all transport in and out of the Homebush Olympics Venue, co-ordinating the Police, Fire & Ambulance vehicles which had to enter and exit the venue almost daily. In addition there were VIPs coming and going from the site at irregular intervals, including Princess Anne, The Mayor of Jerusalem, and Chelsey Clinton, who had a 5-car bodyguard and thought that because they were escorting the daughter of the US President, they could do whatever they liked. Well they were in for a shock, as they were disarmed of their weapons, or told they could not enter the site. The person in charge of that particular checkpoint , must have had a bad experience with the US forces in Vietnam, because we heard him say: I loved doing that to the yanks. (EVERYBODY IN THE CENTRE CHEERED.) In addition we had six (6) terrorist scares. Luckily five of these were found to be hoaxes, or suspicious packages, which were later found to be not threatening. Unfortunately one situation was not a hoax and is briefly described below. Specialist vehicles had special places to park within the complex. Their drivers were to remain with the vehicles at all times unless relaying messages to their passengers. A security patrol noticed an unoccupied vehicle displaying specialist plates parked underneath the main stadium, but without the driver present. As was the case, this vehicle was logged and a further check done on the vehicle a few minutes later, where it was found that the driver was still not in attendance. Further checks could not find the driver in the area so we went onto possible terror alert. The dog squad was sent in who are trained to react to explosives and very soon they reacted in a positive way, indicating that there was a possibility of a bomb being present in the vehicle. The priority of this situation put the whole area under extreme pressure. In the stands above sat over 90,000 people watching the events in progress that day. In addition there were people coming an going, collecting their vehicles, completely unaware of the possible risks to life and limb. Supervisors were sent in to stop traffic from entering this building and to direct traffic leaving the building by exists away from the possible disaster scene. The bomb squad were sent in, dressed up in their large protective suits, to examine the car and to determine if their was in fact a bomb and whether it could be defused. All eyes in the control centre were now focussed on the three large TV screens as we surveyed the work at the scene. Unfortunately our worst fears were soon confirmed the car was packed with explosives and it could detonate at any moment. The lead member of the bomb squad indicated that he would try to defuse the device and permission was given, whilst other members of the team and other security personnel put a security perimeter around the site to reduce entry by unsuspecting members of the public and the press. After nearly an hour of checking and searching he was able to defuse the device and then have a truck come in and tow the vehicle away, before loading it onto a tow truck and shipping it to a secure site for further forensic investigation. There was much relief in the control centre as people began considering the consequences if the bomb had exploded. Many people would have been killed in the initial explosion, and many more killed or injured in the stampede, as people tried to get out of the venue through the small exist gates. But our relief turned suddenly to disaster as the senior bomb disposal member collapsed to the ground unconscious. Because of the stress of dismantling the bomb he suffered a heart attack and now efforts were put in place to revive him. The men on the scene started CPR almost immediately whilst a team of ambulance personnel were dispatched to the scene. Within a few minutes they got his heart started and we thought phew that was close, but he was not out of the woods yet. After breathing again for about 5 minutes he suffered another heart attack and despite all the efforts by the CPR teams, ambulance officers using the defribulator paddles and all of us praying, they were not able to resuscitate him the second time.

This man had in fact given his life so that thousands of lives maybe saved. Did the government acknowledge his heroism? NO. The newspapers were given a story that a man died of a heart attack whilst on his way home from the games. To this day I dont know whether his family knows that he died a hero for his country. Were we allowed to tell anybody? NO! The games were considered the most successful ever held. Why? Because the press did not get wind of the fact that an attempt had been made to blow up one of the main stadiums at the games. From this series of events it is clear to see that our Government was more concerned with making money, than the safety of the people who came to the games that day and on future days to the games. Do I know who planted the bomb? No. Because it did not explode, nobody came forward to acknowledge that they had planted it. Do the Federal Police and ASIO know who did this? Maybe but they arent telling, for reasons of national security. Could it happen again? Yes, possibly at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006 but I hope not. How did this event affect me and others? As nobody got any counselling after this incident, we had to deal with the post traumatic stress on our own. I went back to work in Penrith as the CEO of the Penrith Chamber of Commerce and everything seemed OK. Two days later I was told that I would have to make preparations for the annual general meeting and to prepare all the necessary documents and paperwork for this. Next day I came to work and after about an hour I did not feel to good. I was suffering pains in the chest and I went to the hospital, to be told that I did not have a heart condition, but that I had suffered a panic attack. It was recommended that I resign my position and take a rest. As a result of further medical checks I was placed on a disability pension and have been ever since.
THE LUMP & THE DIAGNOSIS

When I was in Thailand in 1988 I noticed a small lump on my back, which did not want to heal. We consulted our local Christian doctor who agreed to try antibiotics and see if it would heal up - but after a month no positive results, so it was decided to have it removed by local anaesthetic at the local hospital - no problem it would only take about twenty minutes. Over four hours later, the doctors removed a growth about the size of a golf ball which had lodged itself next to my spine in the middle of my back. It took quite a few stitches to close up the wound and I returned back to work. A sample was sent of to pathology and I received a phone call at home several nights later telling me that the growth was malignant and it was cancer, but not to worry, as they had got all of it. In 1995, (seven years later) I had a similar growth appear in almost the same spot and this was removed in Australia and everything seemed to be OK, but that was not to be the case. An additional series of spots started to appear on my back and although they did not bother me one of them started to get bigger in size and get a little red around the edges. The local skin specialist said it must come off, but he was all booked up and would I make an appointment to get it removed, but I was getting ready to go to Israel, so it got put off - but alas it kept growing. Rani finally got me to the doctor in Sydney in October 2000 to have it seen to. The doctor took one look at it and said it had to come off tomorrow!! No questions, no discussions - just an ultimatum. Four (4) days later - with seven (7) stitches in my back, the doctor gives me the results of the pathology tests. Yes it is cancer and yes it is malignant, but we think we have got it all. It is now very important for me to have the remaining spots on my back removed and checked, to make sure that they are not part of the same cancer type. Since then I have had other cancers removed from my back and my scalp one which had travelled along the outside of the skull, trying to find a way inside but luckily I have a thick head so it was not possible to enter. Now, in February 2006, as I write this next section, I am to undergo surgery tomorrow to remove another cancer which has appeared quite quickly on my nose. This will require a skin graft so I hope and pray for the best. The operation went well, there is no mark left where the skin was taken from for the skin graft, but the lump was a malignant cancer, so I will have to wait to see if it re-appears. I have been told that another cancer which has appeared on my stomach will have to be surgically removed next week.
THE DAY THE WORLD STOOD STILL (9/11 - 11TH SEPTEMBER 2001)
This is the picture of New York that we will never see again. We woke up that morning here th in Australia, (it was the 12 of September here) to hear break-in news on every TV channel and on every radio station, that the World Trade Centre in New Your had been hit by a plane. At that stage we did not know whether it was an accident or a terrorist attack, but not very long after that we actually saw the second plane fly into the second building and then the whole thing start to burst into flames.

The second plane on its way to the destruction of the second tower.
Already we could see fire in the top most storeys of the buildings and we knew many peoples lives were in danger. But building analysts told us not to worry because these buildings were designed to withstand earthquakes, so they would be OK. But then we saw people jumping and falling to their deaths to escape the inferno it was a terrible sight one I dont think I ever want to witness again

While we contemplated the terrible events which had just happened, TV cameras picked up a second aircraft heading towards the second tower and crashing into it. No longer was there any doubt whether this was an accident or not everybody around the world now knew that terrorists had planned and successfully attacked the USA, right into the heart of their downtown districts. From this moment on, the world would never be the same again. This was a turning point for the USA just like Pearl Harbour was in the Second World War, the USA was now at war again but with a different type of enemy.
Unfortunately, not all analysts are correct and we watched in horror as the buildings started to implode on themselves, crushing any person who may have been still alive inside them at the time. Even as I write this story, all the memories of that morning here are brought back to life, as I remember the hundreds of emergency workers who went to the aid of the people in these buildings and who lost their own lives, in the performance of their duties. The people of the USA must never forget them, nor allow this to happen again.
Look carefully at the smoke and see an image of a person
After the enormity of the destruction was realised, thousands of emergency personnel rallied to help and to try and find survivors. Like in Australia, the people of New York rallied together under intense pressure and many heroes were made that day and in the days to come, some lived to tell their stories, others did not.
Others joined in prayer right across the nation, in prayer for the sick and injured, for the traumatised fire fighters and police and many other emergency services personnel, who lost many of their friends or workmates and families. The nation was in mourning, as the nation came to realise that terrorism had hit them in their own back yard with a mighty force the USA would never be the same again.
CONFRONTING THE MONSTER - TERRORISM

Here in Australia, the government reacted to the terrorist attack, just like many other nations, with an immediate stop-gap approach, not really knowing who the real terrorists were but suspecting everyone. Since that time laws have been strengthened, new laws enacted to give the Federal Police and other authorities better, increased powers to deal with any type of attack. Unlike most Australians, I have been involved in security scenarios since the early 1960s, when some of these issues were examined in the construction and protection of the State System Control Centre in Carlingford, then the Bomb Scare Centre in Sydney, followed by similar National Telecommunications Control Centres in Saudi Arabia, Sultanate of Oman, Thailand, Pakistan, Indonesia and the Philippines. The bombing of innocent civilian sites changed the emphasis of the law enforcement agencies and also the attitudes of the people at large, in the homes and streets. People have come to realise that no-one was safe any longer. You could get killed in a bar, a cinema, on a bus or train, let alone a ship, ferry, or airline. Some saw this as the reason for increased cases of reported depression, or civil unrest, as people become frustrated and the apparent lack of progress in apprehending this new type of criminal. Rewards of US$ 25 million were posted for people like Osama Bin Ladin, but several years later, this reward still has not been claimed and Osama is still at large. Others saw this as Gods punishment to the Western Nations, for their failure to follow Gods laws for their nations. In the 60 years of my life, the following has happened: No longer allowed to pray at assembly before school starts Religious education has been removed from most schools Creation (as per scripture) has been replaced by the Evolution theory even though more and more scientists have found errors in this theoretical teaching model. Students are now taught it is ok for extra-marital sex just as long as you use a condom (which are freely provided in some schools) If you make a mistake dont worry, you can get an abortion and you dont even have to ask your parents for their consent. Work is no longer compulsory you get paid an allowance from the government not to work its called the dole. Many are now into their second and third generation of non-working families. This results in low self esteem, child abuse, increased drug use and other criminal activities. If you want to become an Australian citizen, its OK, you dont have to take the oath on a Holy Bible anymore you can now use the Quran. You dont swear allegiance to the Queen of Australia anymore. We now have a generation who have grown up without being in any war, who have been born here or migrated here from Muslim countries. Most of them came here to escape the trials, tribulations and/or poverty which existed in their own countries, but have brought the hate, corruption and contempt for law and order with them. Australians are now trying to come to grips with this new internal army, which many believe is far more of a threat to our way of life than any overseas terrorist organisation. It remains to be seen in the next few years whether this hatred, which erupted on the Cronulla beach at Christmas 2005, will continue, or whether the Government finally realises there is a real problem in the way they administer the present multi-cultural scenarios.
THYROID IS NOT JUST A WORD

In 2001, Rani was having problems with her throat, so we went to the doctor to have her tonsils removed, but still the problem remained. Consulting the doctor again, and a few more pathology tests resulted in diagnosing a problem with the thyroid, which must be removed. Not a problem we thought, the New South Wales Government has just spent $A 80 million, building a brand new hospital complex in Coffs Harbour. But alas, they could not do this operation there it was either Sydney with a 12 months waiting list, or Brisbane where they could do it 3 weeks later.

We decided on Brisbane and the operation was done quickly in September 2001. We decided to travel back to Coffs Harbour by a different route and travelled up the range to Toowoomba, which had just finished their annual Festival of Flowers. The city was clean, the air was dryer, more like Pakistani weather, the flowers beautiful and the prices for real estate significantly less than Coffs Harbour for a comparable house (about $ 60,000 cheaper). We discussed it, went home, put the house on the market and soon we were living in Toowoomba.
DENGUE FEVER
Rani had to go back to Brisbane soon after to have a post operations check and to make sure that the remaining part of the thyroid was functioning correctly. The result were positive, so we decided to take a walk along the foreshores of the Brisbane River. Unfortunately Rani got bitten by some mosquitoes, who were infected with the Dengue Fever Flavi virus and she became very ill. Dengue Fever attacks the bodys immune system, so Rani had no protection (except prayer) from all the viruses and germs going around, which most people just shrug off with ease. It caused sever pains in the joints and muscles, and a general tiredness and weakness, which made even the smallest task seem almost impossible to achieve. This resulted in many hours of massage of her joints, legs and shoulders to relieve the pain. The one good thing out of this is I now have very strong hands. Every 2 months there were visits to the pathology labs for blood checks, to see if the immune system was improving. Now, in 2006, it is good to report that her immune system is on the increase and we hope and pray that this continues, as she builds up her immune system again to disease.
HEART ATTACK A MEDICAL WARNING

I went to sleep on 24 September 2003 after watching the movie and giving thanks to God for a great relaxing day. I was woken up at about 2:45 a.m. by stabbing pains in my chest, three or four at least, which made me double over, as I clutched my chest just to the right of my left arm. The pain eased, so I went to the toilet, got back into bed and went back to sleep. I was woken up again about 5:00 a.m. and this time the pains were even more severe. I got to the toilet OK, but the journey back to the bed seemed to go on and on, the pains were so sharp and about 11-12 on a score of 1-10 (if you know what I mean). I started to get fuzzy black images before my eyes and I knew I was going to blackout. I yelled out to Rani to call the ambulance and then I crashed down onto the bed, completely exhausted and sweating all over just like I had run about 3 miles flat out. The ambulance did not waste much time and was there in about 10 minutes and had me on an ECG machine, blood pressure, pulse etc. very quickly and then it was off to the hospital emergency ward, where they went through all the drill of repeating what they found when they arrived at the house, what they had done at the scene and what my previous history was. Rani had brought my medication with us in the ambulance and that made it a lot easier for the emergency doctors to get a handle on what was my possible problem. About 8:00 a.m. I had another attack in the emergency ward and the doctors said I was not going anywhere for some time. I was immediately transferred to the Critical Care Unit and hooked up to a lot of machines, so that they could see what was happening with me. It was quite strange really, because I am a volunteer in this hospital and had only been in this same ward the day before but as a volunteer not a patient. Nurses kept coming in and telling the doctors to take good care of me because good volunteers were hard to find. This was a blessing and a confirmation of my witness in that hospital as I went about my daily chores each week. At about 10:00 a.m. I got severe stabbing pains all across my chest and my blood pressure, heart rate and muscles all starting going all over the place. I became unconscious and they had to use CPR to get me back to consciousness again. Once I was able to answer questions the cardiologist asked me : On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the pains you just had? I answered without any thought whatsoever : 15. He agreed saying that before I lost consciousness I was literally bouncing up and down on the bed. For the next 2 days I remained in the hospital, with the pastor and other church people praying for my recovery. My
th

chest felt that I had been run over by a steam roller from the CPR, but I was able to go home but told to come back for stress and echo tests within a couple of weeks. Today (Tuesday, 2 December 2003) I am happy to report that the doctors have given me the all clear. My blood pressure which was over 180 is back to normal (with medication) - there is no permanent damage to my heart and I can start to resume an active life again. I give thanks to the nurses and doctors in the Toowoomba Base Hospital, who gave of their time and energy to make sure I was OK and helped to ensure my recovery. But most of all I give thanks to people all around the world who prayed for me and for my healing for without Christ and His promises that would have all been in vain.
A NEW DIRECTION CHAPLAINCY

After working as a volunteer at the local Christian Community radio station for some time I was asked in 2002 to become their chaplain, to give devotions each week and to be available to pray and counsel the staff and volunteers, as well as be available for listeners who may ring in with problems. This has been an exciting 4 years, as the Lord has placed many challenges in the life of the station and of the employees and volunteers, as well and trusting the Lord for provision of funds and equipment to keep the station on air 24 hours per day, seven days per week. It has also given me an opportunity to prepare scriptural message to be recorded for broadcast to the 200,000 people in our broadcast area.
WEB-BASED EVANGELISM
With millions of people surfing the Internet each day, people have realised there is a golden opportunity to put the message of Christ on the Internet. I have now developed my own website, so that teaching material and books can be freely downloaded, giving people the opportunity to learn and to encourage others to seek and find Jesus Christ. If you have found this book interesting, then maybe you might want to checkout the web pages and peruse the teaching material, or the Christian books available for downloading as PDF files FREE OF CHARGE. You can view the website at: www.nlmcs.com.au In addition there are now many Christian Group sites, where people can put prayer requests, give praise reports, ask theological questions and learn more about Christian life, Christian purpose and Christian living. Many churches are now using this facility to promote their sermons and programs, as well as being available to counsel people in their homes. As a result of these new innovations a new form of Evangelism is now spreading across the world, as people from any nation who has access to the Internet can access these sites and learn about Christ and His salvation and promises for a better life. Here are some of the groups I am involved in. They are given as examples. Look them up and register to become an active member of Web Evangelism.

My Groups (on www.msnusers.com)
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A NEW MISSION PARENT SUPPORT

In 2004, a local Child Care Centre recognised that there was an increasing number of cases being reported of child abuse in the local region. The fact unfortunately is that the Toowoomba region is the Child Abuse Capital of Australia, with more reported child abuse cases here per head of population than anywhere else in Australia. Not a title many towns would want to claim (and I am sure that Toowoomba also does not want to claim it either) but facts are facts. In 2004 a pilot Parent Support Program was established to train volunteers to go out to peoples homes, who have been identified by agencies, or the courts as having family problems on one sort or another. This program has proved so successful that a second training program (which I attended) was initiated in 2005. At the end of 2005 over 30 families were being helped each week with this program but with many more on the waiting list. At the end of 2005, the National Bank awarded this program the State Finalist for Volunteers programs in Queensland, and a nice cheque of $ 7,000 towards future training programs which are on-going in 2006. It is important that people recognise that in the dis-functional society we have today, many young families do not have the benefit off growing up in a well adjusted, loving home life. This has resulted in violence, drug use, low self esteem and child abuse, by either parent, or other family members. By using the skills have been taught to us, we have seen significant improvements in family relationships children have been allowed to return home from foster care, and the family moves on to better things with love and caring, instead of hate and violence.
AUSTRALIA THE GREAT SOUTH LAND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Many people have been taught in schools that Captain Cook discovered Australia. Well thats not true. What is true, is that Captain Cook claimed NSW for the crown of England and mapped some 2000 Kms of its coastline. There is plenty of evidence that other expeditions came to Terra Australis before Captain Cook. Also many people have heard the term: Australia the Great South Land of the Holy Spirit. But do they really know where that term came from and why it is so special for Christians of this nation? Well, two special events took place four hundred years ago in 1606. These event are related below. In particular I want to draw the readers attention to two in particular. Below is an extract from the book entitled: The Coastal Pioneers.
THE DUTCH COME TO NEW HOLLAND (TERRA AUSTRALIS)

Many people in Europe believed that there existed a mighty land in the south, to counterbalance the weight of the land masses in the northern hemisphere. However there was no proof of this being made public by the year 1500. Whatever proof existed was kept well hidden, or it was destroyed in the great fire of London. as it contradicted many theories of the time, It is believed that the coast of Western Australia was probably visited by Spanish, French and Portuguese th ships in the early 16 century, 11 In March 1606, the small Dutch ship Duyfken sailed from the Indonesian island of Banda (Java) in search of gold and trade opportunities on the fabled island of Nova Guinea. Under the command of Willem Janszoon, Duyfken and her crew ventured south-east. They sailed beyond Os Papuas (Papua New Guinea) and explored and chartered part of the coast of Nova Guinea. They did not find gold - but they did find the northern coast of a huge continent - Australia. Captain Janszoon was the first European to map and record Australia in history so Duyfkens voyage marks the beginning of Australias recorded history. Captain Janszooon mapped more than 300 miles of what is now the Queensland coastline. (The pictures shows a replica of the Original Duyfken and a bad copy of the original map) In March 2006 (400 years later) it is planned to re-enact this voyage, so that part of the true history of this nation is made known to more people.
11
The Original Duyfken http://www.duyfken.com/original/index.html

In 1616, the Dutch navigator Dirk Hartog landed on an offshore islet (Rottnest island) and became the first known European to set foot on Australian soil. 12 It is thought that these sailors would have sighted the west coast of Australia having been blown too far east in the trade winds, after rounding the Cape at Cape town, on the way up to India to collect spices, silks, to trade with the Chinese. Dirk Hartog, when he landed, considered the west coast of Australia a barren wasteland, not worthy of claiming for his King, but to prove he had been there, he nailed an enamel plate with his name and the name of his ship, together with the date of their visit on it and hoisted it up on a piece of timber fixed into the sand some distance inland from the beach and there it stood for more than 150 years without further recorded discovery. Today, of course there is a thriving iron ore industry in West Australian, very close to the discovery of Dirk Hartogs plate. What a pity Australia could have been a Dutch colony not British, if Hartog had realised that the barren hills he was looking at were in fact iron ore mountains, not just barren desert. This is a copy of Joan Blaeus map, dated 1659. The 64 dollar question is : who else sailed down the Gulf of Carpentaria and the West Coast of New Holland before Captain Cook and mapped this coastline?
12"Western Australia," Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99. 1993-1998 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
LA AUSTRIALIA DEL ESPRITU SANTO13

[AUSTRALIA THE GREAT SOUTH LAND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT]
On the 21 December 1605, The Quiros Expedition set sail from Callao in Peru, South America to discover and map the land of Terra Australis (which is Latin for the south land). This was to be the last of three expeditions into the Pacific. The first being the Mendaa Expedition from 1567-69, the second called the Mendaa Quiros Expedition of 1595, on which Pedro Fernandez de Quiros was the chief navigator and finally the Quiros expedition of 1605-1606, where Captain Pedro Fernandez de Quiros was in charge of a fleet of vessels. It appears that Pedro was a very religious man and this is what has been written about him in the Word for 14 th Today , daily devotional magazine. This year marks the 400 anniversary of the declaration of Australia as the GREAT SOUTH LAND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT . The following is adapted from the Christian History Research website: www.vision.org.au/400years.htm It may seem somewhat strange to include a Portuguese navigator amongst notable Australian Christ ians. However, this remarkable man should not go unnoticed, and his life and deeds are worthy of tribute. For it is to this man that we owe the very name of our country, and it is to this mans vision splendid that many look with longing fro a hope and a future a land dedicated to the Holy Spirit. This man was Pedro Fernandez de Quiros. He came to believe that he was divinely chosen to bring the inhabitants of the southern land into the true fold of the Catholic Church. With great festivity and excitement, th De Quiros took possession of this land on the 14 May 1606. His proclamation stated: Let the heavens, the earth, the waters with all their creatures and all those here present witness that I, Captain Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, in these hitherto unknown parts, in the name of Jesus Christ, Son of the Eternal Father and of the Virgin Mary, God and true man, hoist this emblem of the Holy Cross on which His person was crucified and whereon He gave His life for the th ransom and remedy of all the human race on this Day of Pentecost 14 May 1606. I, Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, in the name of the Most Holy Trinity take possession of all the islands and lands that I have newly discovered and shall discover as far as the pole (South Pole) . In the name of Je sus . Which from this time shall be called Australia del Espiritu Santo, with all its dependencies and belongings; and this for ever, and so long as right exists . At a certain signal that was given to the ships, they fired off all their guns with full charges,; the soldiers discharged their muskets and arquebuses, and the gunner sent off rockets and fire-wheels. In the middle of all this noise, all shouted with almost infinite joy, and many times : Long live the Faith of Christ. What a dream this man had! Had he sailed further south, Aussies might all have been Spanish speaking Catholics! De Quiros came within an ace of discovering mainland Australia, and not for want of determination or faith. But Gods will was otherwise disposed, and it was lef t to other Europeans of another denomination, to found and colonise Australia. However, for many people of faith, the dream of Australia del Espiritu Santo remains. For most Christians today, we recognise the term, or phrase, The Great South Land of the Holy Spirit and there are songs which we sing in churches today professing this claim: This is the great South Land of the Holy Spirit, a land of red dust plains and summer rains but I believe there would be very few who would know from where this phrase originated as explained above. th As we move into this year (2006) and approach Pentecost Sunday (and the 400 anniversary of the naming of this nation), let us all come and give thanks for the wondrous bounty and heritage we have had bestowed upon us. Let us never forget the prophetic words which have been spoken over this nation, by great men of God in different centuries in the past (and present). Let us not grieve or quench the Holy Spirit, to whom this country has been dedicated 400 years ago.
st
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Please refer to La Austrialia Del Espiritu Santo volumes I & II for more detailed information The Word for Today, written by Bob & Debby Gass, Feb, Mar, Apr 06 edition
Map of Australia, with De Quiros Prayer for the Great South Land of the Holy Spirit shown on the right hand side of the map

As we can see from the maps indicated here, and on the previous page, there is a lot of information which are presented in schools today.
Map of dated Map ofthe thethree three voyages expeditions by the1606. Portuguese
Quiros Table showing the list of islands discovered with the geographic locations indicated.

This is some of the Australian History which has somehow been left out of the history books which the Education Systems of Australia dish up to school students. This information is available in our libraries even the library right here in Toowoomba. However, it appears that if it is not British it doesnt get a mention. Isnt this a form of censorship??? Maybe it should be taken up at the highest level and corrected, or shall we go the way of other countries who just pretend what the truth is. But the scripture tells us that: That the truth shall set you free. Where the spirit of the Lord is there is liberty (Freedom) th As I close this novel, let us be excited that this year (2006), in March and May, we will celebrate the 400 anniversary of the discovery & mapping of part of the Queensland (Australian coast) and the prayer prayed over this nation declaring the land as Australia the great South Land of the Holy Spirit. We give thanks that people 400 years ago had the vision to claim this country for Jesus Christ, and that they claimed the Holy Spirits presence to be over this nation. It remains to be seen whether the prophecies issued by a member of Parliament, stating that we are having more than 100,000 abortions each year and if allowed to continue, then in 50 years time more than 5 million would-be Australians will have been murdered. The prediction went to say that if this happens, there is a good possibility that persecution shall come upon this lucky country and upon the Christian community - and it will become a Muslim state. I am sure that no-one who fought in the World Wars, or the Vietnam War, putting their lives at risk, for freedom in this nation will want to see it become a Muslim state. This could quite easily happen if the typical Aussie attitude of shell be right mate is allowed to go on unabated. It is time for all Australians to stand up and be counted for what they believe otherwise that freedom my disappear.
APPENDIX 1
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APPENDIX 2 Background information on Pervez Musharraf

In an article (the "International Herald Tribune" of June 16) on Pakistan's proxy invasion of Indian territory in the Kargil sector of Jammu & Kashmir, Mr. Selig Harrison, the well-known American analyst, says:" Recent information makes clear that the newly-installed Army Chief of Staff (COAS), Gen. Pervez Musharraf, has long-standing links with several Islamic fundamentalist groups." Bin Laden initially made his reputation in Afghanistan not as a mujahideen or terrorist, but as a civil engineer who could construct bunkers in any terrain. He also developed the technique of constructing long tunnels to isolated Soviet and Afghan military posts. The Mujahideen used to suddenly emerge from these tunnels and surprise the Soviet and Afghan troops. The links, which Gen. Musharraf developed with Bin Laden in those days, have subsequently remained strong. The late Gen. Asif Nawaz Janjua, the then COAS, recalled him to Rawalpindi and wanted to dismiss him for launching the attack without his orders, but Lt. Gen. Nasir saved him from any punishment.
APPENDIX 3 MORE WEDDING PICTURES
Rani & Mum after the wedding ceremony
Rani & Jeff After the wedding ceremony
Here is the family & guests for the wedding feast. If you want a wedding just block off a street & hold the wedding in the street no problems! Wedding cake with relatives

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On The Potter's Wheel - Again ! - Complete

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ON THE POTTER'S WHEEL AGAIN !!!

By Jeffry David Camm

On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!

LIST OF BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR

On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!

On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!

On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!

THE FIRST FORTY YEARS

On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!

THE GROUP OF FORTY

Another view of the Mosque at Mecca

On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!

Church service in Saudi Arabia 1979

Saudi church picnic service

On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!

On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!

On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!

Speaking under lamplight

Pakistani praise & worship

On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!

Pakistan village preaching

Pakistani girl cooking roti (unleavened bread) on an outside open fire

Jindiala School Site

Chuck 75B School Site

On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!

Pastors sleep outdoors at teaching camp

Some of the 200 pastors who came to the teaching sessions

Group photo of some churchgoers after my ordination service in 1981

On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!

Castle in Muscat protecting the harbour

An early castle in the desert

A castle built into the rocks

Rustaq fort beside the oasis

On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!

Anyway, back to the story.

On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!

On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!

Hospital church service in Rustaq, Oman at the change of staff shifts

Rani praying for the sick in an Omani Hospital

On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!

Christians gathering for a dawn baptism service at the seaside in Oman

Baptising New Believers in the Sea Oman 1981-1984

Church in Muscat, Oman 1981-1984

Teaching at cell group services in Oman in 1984

On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!

On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!

Speaking to the congregation at Jai Samarn church in Bangkok 1985

On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!

On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!

Baptising a whole village In the Mekong River

Rani doing riverside evangelism

Dedication of thatched church on the hills above the Mekong River

On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!

Pattaya church - Dedication of the land

On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!

Temporary dwelling for Pattaya church

Sunday School in Temporary Building

Congregation in the temporary Church building in Pattaya

On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!

On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!

THE FINAL YEAR IN THAILAND (1989)

On the Potters Wheel - Again !!!

APPOINTMENT TO PAKISTAN (1989)