Battle Log
Wellington Point Team (QLD)
Meets fortnightly 1:30-3pm on Sunday afternoons at Wellington Point Reserve.
Contact Ryan Hemelaar for more information.
Sunday 2 October 2016
Posted 7 October 2016, 9:45 AM by Glenda Barnard. Permalink
It was such a beautiful day at Wellington Point with so many people out and about for the last weekend of school holidays. We asked the Lord to use us and bring those who He has been preparing to hear the Gospel, and wow does God answer our prayers! It is such such a joy to share the gospel with open and ready hearts! Thank You Lord!
A highlight for us ladies on the team today was to see how God would have us work together as a team. Today was a day in which the Lord did this from start to finish. The first encounter we had was: Lee-Anne handed a tract to two girls that said they were lesbians.
At first they thought she wouldn't want to talk with them, but Lee-Anne straight up acknowledged they were two girls and in a relationship but she bypassed that sin and went to the conscience with sharing the commandments. As Lee-Anne was sharing, we were praying. These two girls were not too interested but they have now heard the message and God is in control of the conviction of sin and their souls, so He is Glorified always.
Next two older men walked towards us, and one of them said, "Well what have you girls got for us here?" We told him we have the message of eternal life and asked him the question, "When you die will you be going to heaven?" One said he didn't know but really hoped so. WE then said that you need to know the answer and be sure about it. He said he just went to church today. He could see our excitement and love to share about the way to heaven & asked me if I had been brought up in a Christian family. I told him I only heard about this message 16 years ago. I didn't know anything of the Bible, but now I am a Christian because Jesus showed me my sin and He rescued me.
He told us he had been a chaplain many years ago and involved in church, but as we went through the comic tract pointing out sin, justice, and the punishment we all deserve, he began to be convicted by the Lord as he shared that all his life he wanted to be passionate like us but for some reason he has never had it. I asked him if he knows the Gospel and he plainly said no. We explained that faith in what Jesus has done for us on the cross (to pay for our sins) and that He has risen, defeated sin and death, this is what saves us.
As he was hearing this, he seemed to understand and was very interested. We pointed out that he needs to ask God to do the work in his heart to save him. Our prayer is that God will give him the seeking heart he needs to come to repentance and faith to be saved.
As Railee and I were with this man, Lee-Anne was with his friend who was disabled and was sharing with him and praying for us too. Then we got to encourage a mum of 4 who is feeling discouraged about church. As Railee talked with this mum, I got to talk with two of her children while Lee-Anne shared with the husband. Please pray that this family may find a good teaching church and for all their needs.
When we arrived back to the rest of the team on the other side of the point, they were engaged in one on ones and Paul was handing out tracts. It was a busy day with many tracts handed out and great conversations. All praise be to our wonderful Saviour, Jesus Christ!
Sunday 21 August 2016
Posted 28 August 2016, 11:50 AM by Rick Barnard. Permalink
Yet again another busy arvo with people running around everywhere with mobile phones in hand looking for invisible characters called Pokemon. It’s a great time of the year to be out in the sun enjoying the end of winter and handing out a few gospel tracts.
Paul handed a comic tract to a man named Brad and as he walked passed looking at it I asked him the question, "Are you a good person? Good enough to make it to heaven?" He answered that he thinks he will because he attended a youth group a few years ago and was told that Jesus came and died for everyone and all will make it to heaven.
This is a common answer we get from a lot of young people who go to youth groups and play games and eat Pizza and they tag a few bible verses in there somewhere and the kids think they are ok to go on living the way they want because Jesus died for everyone!!(very sad). I must add that there are some very good youth groups out there but are very rare to find unfortunately.
Anyway, I got to take him through the law to show him his sin and reveal that our Lord hates sin but has shown His mercy towards us by humbling himself and coming down from the thrown of grace in heaven to die in the place of undeserved sinners. This He did for all who would repent of their sin and place their trust fully and only in Him for their salvation.
I then challenged him, asking him when he was going to do this. For none of us know if we will have tomorrow. He agreed with me and I asked him if he had a bible. "Yes", he said. So I pointed him to the gospel of John, for it was written that the readers would understand Jesus is the Christ and the only way to the Father who is in heaven. He thanked me for sharing this good news with him and he shook my hand.
Praise our Lord for His appointed time to share the gospel with the people he brings across our path, please pray for Brad and all the folks who received tracts and heard the gospel maybe for the first time.
Sunday 7 August 2016
Posted 9 August 2016, 11:51 PM by Rick & Glenda Barnard. Permalink
It was another busy arvo at Wellington point with the sun shining and plenty of people to share the gospel with again because of the Pokemon craze continuing the same as the previous fortnight. A good sized team of us met and prayed together before we got the outreach underway.
Paul was with us and decided to check out the other side of the park with the ladies and discovered it was very busy around the Jetty area as well and started handing out tracts, most people were taking them and it wasn't long before one on ones were happening.
Glenda saw a lady sitting on the bench seat with a couple of little ones, she could see us handing out tracts and having conversations, when she was approached and offered a tract she said she had received one a few weeks ago and she did not like what she read and wasn't interested in talking.
On asking her that we would like to hear from her so we can have feedback as we talk to a lot of people and it would be helpful for us if she could let us know what she disagreed with, she then said she was a Christian but her Church doesn’t use the language that we have used in our tracts. Glenda asked her what it was and explained that everything that is on the tracts comes from God's Word; it is not what we have made up from our thinking, it is found in the Bible. Then this lady said that at her church they don't use the word 'judgement', they use the word 'acceptance'. She then said that it was not good for her children to have read the words we use.
So as they chatted the lady was more open to listening as Glenda reasoned with her about how we can explain to the children in a way they can understand. When Glenda quoted John 3:16 the kids were saying the verse along with her. She encouraged the mum to read to the end of the passage and see what God’s Word is saying in context.
Then Glenda gave the analogy of going to the doctor and him giving you medication and not telling you what it is for. You would not want to take the medication because you don’t think you need it, and you wouldn't appreciate the doctor offering you it either! But if he explains about the disease and all the symptoms you have and how this medication will cure you, that’s when you will take the medication and be thankful that you know about it and have a cure. That is how it is when we share about God’s Judgement, which is the bad news, then the good news is understood and appreciated.
Glenda then went on to explain how we have all broken God’s law and every time we do the wrong thing there is a consequence. For example, if we grow up and we drive a car and get caught for speeding we are breaking the law of the land. The police write us a ticket and we have to pay the fine and if we don’t pay the fine we would be brought before a Judge and there are consequences because we broke the Law. Similarly when we break God’s Holy Law, but so very much more serious is the consequence there must be a perfect life and perfect blood shed for the payment of sin. The Bible says the only way for our fine to be paid is through the perfect work of Jesus! We broke God’s Law and deserve punishment but God is so kind He sent us Jesus to save us! This is the good news!
At this stage there was so much interest in one of the young boys he was nodding his head and hearing the good news and his mum was allowing Glenda to engage with him she was hearing everything too, praise God. Then the little boy asked her where did God come from and she was able to explain to him that God is not like us He does not have a beginning or end. We are born and we die. God is Spirit and He has always been there and always will, He is Eternal! God offers Eternal life!
Glenda asked him if he has heard that we must be born again. He said no. So she encouraged him that Jesus said we need a new heart so His Spirit can be with us and help us to know God and to love Him and be ready for heaven. This little boy was so eager, Glenda then asked if he has a bible. His sister said no, but he quickly said, "Yes we have". This was an amazing result and also because later when Lee-Anne approached the mother and children, they all took tracts from her. Wow praise our wonderful Lord for changing this whole encounter around like that!
While this was happening Railee got to encourage the work of evangelism to a believer all the way from Germany. He is travelling around Australia with his wife. And Lee-Anne was talking with a young couple and challenged them of the Bible message and that Jesus is the only way to Heaven, and not of works, but it is through the work of Jesus - His life, death and resurrection.
All Glory to God for He prepares the hearts, we are privileged in being able to share in the joy of His work!
Sunday 24 July 2016
Posted 5 August 2016, 10:36 AM by Rick Barnard. Permalink
We were excited as we approached Wellington point Sunday arvo to see so many car’s parked for about a kilometer from where we meet for prayer before sharing the gospel with all these people enjoying another beautiful day our Lord has given us. After we prayed for our Lord to use us and give us boldness to speak the truth seasoned with grace, we started handing out our gospel tracts.
We shortly realised why so many people were down here for very one had their faces practically glued to their mobile phones chasing Pokemon!! Oh boy!! But we praised God for the opportunity for more tracts to go out and more conversations. I handed Steve a tract and started talking with him and found out that he grew up in a Christian home but has his own view of who God is.
I reasoned with him from scripture to give him a clearer and more fuller picture of God, not only His loving kindness, mercy, grace and patience but His perfect holiness and wrath upon sinful mankind who reject Him and one day will face His judgement if they die in their sin. I had to labour on sin for a while so hopefully Steve could understand God’s grace in a fuller way.The rest of the team had great chats with various people. Had a good day as usual.
May our God receive all the Glory.
Sunday 10 July 2016
Posted 19 July 2016, 11:10 PM by Rick Barnard. Permalink
Sunday afternoon at Wellington point is always a good time for fellowship and of course sharing the good news, the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who came into the world to save us sinners. Praise be His glorious name for His grace and mercy upon us.Sunday 29 May 2016
Posted 6 June 2016, 10:53 AM by Rick Barnard. Permalink
It’s starting to get a touch cooler at Wello on a Sunday arvo, but it was very pleasant none the less as we prepared for another adventure at one of our favourite witnessing places. The tide was almost high and yes you may have guessed, there were more people to hand out tracts to and chat with.
We are so privileged to be able to have such a great opportunity to reach out in our local area, as all of the Wello team live here in the Redlands. We welcome any more workers, the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. We experience so many open hearts, there are many that reject the message too but God is always glorified because it is His work.
Today we handed out a good number of tracts and had some short conversations, Gordon talked with an Indian guy (Mandi) who asked what the card he received (tract) was all about. Gordon told him that it was info about going to Heaven, he said "Oh" and started to walk off but Gordon followed with a few more questions which kept the conversation going, and Gordon took him through the law of God. Mandi didn’t seam too concerned about the message but took a comic tract that explains the gospel a little more in-depth and a Gospel of John booklet. We pray the Holy Spirit convicts him of his sin and leads him to salvation.
Also one lady that Lee- Anne talked with was very happy and was smiling and thanking her as she walked off.
The ladies on the team each got to chat with members of a family from India and encouraged them to believe in Jesus as He is the only way to heaven. We explained about God's law and how its the perfect standard we cannot keep. They took the cartoon tract and the way to heaven tract, the children also wanted to take one too. There was a group that the girls tried to chat with but one of the elderly men was really offended as we tried to reason with him. He told us he was turning his back on us, so we just pray that something we may have been said that God will use to convict him.
As the ladies returned back to the rest of the team, a man and an older lady went to take a tract from Gordon. As he did this, he reached into his pocket and gave Gordon one of his tracts that he hands out .This man’s name is Arthur and he looks after a lady that is in a home where he works. Both of them professed to believe and they were very excited to chat with us, Gordon and I checked Arthur and he seemed to be a true believer, based on his knowledge of the gospel. However, his gospel message seemed to be a bit soft and lacked sharing with people the bad news about God’s judgement for our sin and their need to repent. So I helped him to see this is a loving thing to do to warn people of hell and point them to our saviour to rescue them from the punishment that we all deserve and how Jesus paid our fine for our law breaking (sin).
Arthur and Margaret were needing someone to listen to them as they shared some hardships they have had in life so we spent a good amount of time with them. I stayed with them as the others had to leave and Glenda handed out some more tracts.
Two young men were open and ready to hear the message. One was from a Catholic school, and the other, Andrew, had no real influences but he had some really good questions that lead to a great conversation about God’s law, heaven, and our responsibilities to respond to Jesus. Andrew said he would investigate what Glenda told him about the Catholic Church - how they are works based (Jesus plus working to earn your way to heaven), which is the same as all the other religions. Christianity is not works but by grace we are saved through faith. It is the gift of God, it is Jesus alone and His finished work on the cross.
After explaining sin’s penalty and God's justice, and also how Jesus paid our fine and took the punishment we deserve, Andrew then said "And then you have to follow Jesus" and Glenda said "When you truly believe this good news you will want to follow Jesus" and she told him about repentance and being born again.Andrew said he has a friend who is born again so that led to speaking about how we are dead in our sin and Jesus brings us alive when we truly repent, then we will want to get to know Him through reading the Bible. They said they may come and see us again as they often are at Wello on a Sunday. :) Praise God He blesses us so much He has people already prepared to hear the Gospel.
Sunday 15 May 2016
Posted 22 May 2016, 10:43 AM by Rick Barnard. Permalink
Oh boy we have had great weather of late, great temperature (28 degrees) for this time of year, that it meant we had to park a mile away and walk to our usual witnessing spot with lots of people to pass out tracts to! Praise our Lord!
Ryan, Gordon and I had not been there to long when a lady walked up and received a Gospel tract from Ryan. He asked her if she was to die today, would God would let her into Heaven? We found out rather quickly that she was Jewish and that she said she knew a lot about the subject. I was with Ryan so I listened as he tried to find out what she believed. Well, this lady had some very strange beliefs, to say the least! She believed that heaven was here on earth and that the name of Jesus (Yeshua) in her language meant “twin” and that Thomas was Jesus’s twin.
She had a lot more strange beliefs and we could understand a little bit more when she said that her mother was a Catholic and her father was a Muslim. It was hard to get a word in while trying to talk about sin and her need to trust in Jesus alone for her salvation, but we tried and hopefully planted a few seeds. As always, it is the Lord who works on a person's heart to draw them to himself.
Lee-Anne and Glenda had a chat with a couple of young teenagers while Railee prayed for a ready heart to receive this good news.The girl (Grace) said she was attending a church and that she was going to heaven because God forgives. They talked about the civil law and the courtroom analogy if you break the law and get caught, there is a consequence, you will need to pay a fine. And if the fine is not paid, you will be taken to a judge where a penalty for the crime will be enforced which will be mean you'll find yourself in jail. But if you said to the judge, "I’m sorry please forgive me" - do you think you will be allowed to go free? No the judge would rightly say justice demands you pay the penalty.
Then Lee-Anne and Glenda said to Grace, God is the judge of sin and we have broken His laws. The commandments show us that we have, as they are a mirror that reveals sin and shows our guilt. The judgement on sinners is eternal punishment in hell. Here is what God has done, while we were sinners, guilty and with no way to pay the fine, God gave us His Son who lived a perfect life and paid our fine by dying on the cross and taking the hell punishment we deserve upon Himself. Jesus paid our fine so we can be set free of all sin past, present and future.
Think of what He has done to save us, if you were in the courtroom and were being sentenced to life imprisonment and someone you don't even know came in and paid your fine, how would you feel? And the young guy said - happy. Then they said shouldn't we be very thankful for what Jesus has done. The Bible teaches us that it is what Jesus has done that saves us, sets us free from the bondage of sin and to trust in Him alone, like you would trust a parachute to bring you to safety. Jesus is our Saviour from Eternal punishment in hell because of our sin and instead offers us Eternal Life!!! (what an incredible offer).
That is why we read the Bible, to get to know the Amazing God who showed us so much kindness. It should make us want to read and get to know Him more and follow His ways. Grace was visually excited and said thank you so much and as she was walking off she was still saying thank you. The ladies were praising the Lord because He used the three of them to get this vital message to this young couple.
Sunday 3 April 2016
Posted 6 April 2016, 10:13 AM by Rick Barnard. Permalink
....And so we return to our Sunday arvo fishing hole “Wellington point” to join together for a time of fellowship and sharing the glorious gospel. It’s such a wonderful blessing to share in the lives of fellow believers knowing that this message given to us by our Lord is His means to bring the lost to salvation.
We give thanks also for blessing us with answered prayer for more labourers for the harvest as Tai met with us for prayer. The team has grown from 5 to 7 who meet regularly in this vital work!!
The afternoon began slowly with only a few people coming past every few minutes so we took advantage of the time to encourage one another with stories of people we shared the gospel with at other outreaches during the week when two guys and some of their family approached, one elderly and one middle aged who received a tract said “What’s this?” I told them that it talks about what happens when you die. The younger one said that he was going into the ground. “Worm food?” I asked, and they agreed.
The older guy said he used to be an Anglican, but now he was an Atheist. He said that God has done nothing for him, and "Why can’t God stop all the wicked things happening around the world?" They said this while walking away, so I quickly added, "First of all God is doing something. He is giving you the air that you are breathing and that no one was getting away with anything, as God will bring everyone to give an account of their lives when they stand before Him in judgement, even you sir." I tried to explain but they just walked off. Hopefully a planted seed!
Ryan chatted to a young guy Nathan as he stopped to get a drink at the water fountain. While Ryan was talking, Nathan’s sister or girlfriend walked past, heard what they were talking about and laughed as she went passed Gordon and he said to her that he (Nathan) would tell her all about it, she agreed and continued on her way still chuckling with her hand over her mouth. About 5 minutes later his mum walked passed and said "Come on Nathan, we’re going." That ended the chat but Ryan said that Nathan seemed to grasp the whole massage, a fruitful conversation indeed.
Please keep all the people who received tracts and who we shared with that our Lord would convict them of sin and draw them unto salvation.
All Glory to our God!
Sunday 20 March 2016
Posted 26 March 2016, 2:43 PM by Rick Barnard. Permalink
We arrived at about the same time as Ryan did so we got to chat on the way down the hill to meet the others at our usual spot to pray. On our way Ryan told us about Barry who contacted him during the week and said that he had come over from Perth and was with us till the 31st of March to get some training out on the streets with us!!!
Praise our God for answered prayer, He sure is sending labourers our way so that the Gospel can be proclaimed around this beautiful country we have the privilege to live in!!! Thank you LORD. We met up with the team and introduced ourselves to Barry. We prayed together and split up into three groups and started to hand out tracts.
Barry and I went to the shady tree spot and chatted as we handed out Easter tracts which are so easy to hand out by saying ‘Happy Easter’.
I handed Paul a tract as he approached with his wife and two small children. His wife and kids walked on as I engaged him with the Easter message, he was very open as I took him through the law to bring about the knowledge of sin, then the Gospel. I encouraged him to think seriously about what we had discussed for his sake and for that of his family. He said he would, thanked me, and joined his family.
Tai arrived shortly after and we handed him some Easter tracts which he handed out gladly. As we chatted I was able to encourage both of them in their willingness to join in witnessing with us.
It is really amazing as both these guys have a similar story in that around 2 years ago they both received a Gospel tract from our team at the Gold Coast and although Barry was already a Christian, Tai was not at that time but both of them were impacted by God to do something about the message. Tai was challenged to get right with God and Barry was stirred in his heart to the point of coming all the way to Brisbane to meet up with Ryan so he can be trained to do the work of evangelism back in Perth. Please pray that our Lord would stir up some saints in Perth to join with Barry to share the Gospel there.
Then the girls came and joined us after they had a good number of one on ones and some names to pray for, praise God!!! He always has someone to pass this great news to.
Ryan and Gordon joined back with us and told us about some of their conversations as they walked around the park area and we all shared in the joy of just being able to come together for this work. Another great day at Wellington Point. All praise be to our God!
Sunday 6 March 2016
Posted 11 March 2016, 12:02 PM by Rick Barnard. Permalink
It was a rather hot day at Wellington Point on Sunday arvo so it was good to be under the shade of a tree. It’s always good to pray and fellowship with the team members as we hand out tracts and share the good news of the gospel with the people of the area out and about enjoying the day.
I had a talk with Ian, a middle aged aussie bloke and his asian partner and upon going through a few of the ten commandments I asked if they have ever told a lie. They agreed and the lady said that she lied to her mother and then pointed to Ian and said that he lied to her. Not wanting them to start an argument with each other, I quickly went on to another commandment to show them that they and all of us are guilty of breaking God’s laws.
I explained that we will have to stand before the judgement seat of God one day and give an account of the way we lived while on our journey in this short thing called life! This couple had someone waiting for them but before they went I shared the Gospel and challenged them to investigate this message for they do not know if they will have tomorrow!!
When I had finished the chat with that couple, Ryan told us that a young man had contacted him during the week and said that he lived in Wellington Point and asked if it would it be alright if he could come and meet us and join us in sharing the gospel. Well of course we said no (only joking).
Ryan told us that he was coming that arvo. He (Tai) arrived and we got acquainted with him, gave him some tracts and showed him tips on handing the tracts out. He also got to listen to Ryan witness to a couple of teenage boys. These two boys were cousins of two other teenagers Ryan had shared the gospel with only ten minutes before. They were of the Indian Sikh religion and had never heard this message before and told their two cousins to check out what Ryan was sharing!!! Wow praise God. Please pray for the young boys that our Lord would bring them to saving faith in Him.
The ladies joined us shortly after they had witnessed to a number of people at the jetty. We introduced them to Tai and they got to encouraged Tai in his decision to come out and share the gospel with us. We prayed and thanked our Lord for His abundant mercy and grace poured out upon us daily and that His word will not return void but will accomplish what He sent it to do.
Bless His Holy name.
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