March 16, 2015 (Australia)

Greetings,
For this week's newsletter click on;www.nursinghomemusicministry.com/3-16-2015.html

   Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!Isaiah 6:8

          Monday March 9 th ~

     Went for an early morning walk on the property of my host Ron & Kay. They have a hundred acres out in the Bush. Enjoyed a sweet visit & breakfast, then followed Kay into town to the "Vincent Court" nursing home. Sang for a bit in a noisy area during a coffee making activity, then to a quieter Dementia Unit.

     One of the church members (Kathleen) had joined us and offered a room for the night at her place in town.

     After lunch I got over to the "Bupa Aged Care" facility which we had arranged earlier. Staff had a large crowd assembled. We had an awesome time together.

     Spent the afternoon at Kathleen's house publishing the newsletter. This dear retired Sister spent ten years as a missionary in China teaching English.

          Tuesday March 10 th ~

     Spent the morning doing the newsletter recording for the Christian Radio Station in Oregon. Then followed Kathleen to an auto repair shop (She had a leaking radiator). Then dropped her off at a school where she spends an hour a week with a little boy doing one-on-one tutoring.

     Back to the house for lunch, then to the "Cedar Place" aged care facility which Kay & I had arranged yesterday.

     A wonderful crowd. Great participation. Afterwards, as I was shaking hands with folks, I noticed the activity director (Gail) hand a lady an envelope. This lady (the Resident Council President), made a little speech thanking me for coming and presented me with that envelope. Later in the day when I opened it; low and behold, it contained an Australian 50 dollar bill. Sweet!

     Returned Kathleen to her house. Finished loading up the car. Said my goodbyes. And headed south to Port Melaleauca where I got a cabin at a Caravan Park for the night.

          Wednesday March 11 th ~

     Hump Day! In more ways than one. Been in-country for two weeks, got two weeks to go. Been working my way down the coast on the "Pacific Way" highway. Today I drove on into Newcastle which is just above Sydney. And turned around heading north on an inland route, the "New England Way".

     Drove to Maitland and got a motel room, then over to a nursing home nearby where I was able to arrange for tomorrow morning.

          Thursday March 12 th ~

     Sang at the "Maitland Nursing Home" for a large group of residents. Went fairly well, although there were a lot of distractions. People coming and going and the young (In-experienced?) activity director passed out refreshments causing more disturbance. Still, quite a few were singing along.

     Drove to the next town north (Singleton) and arranged a nursing home for tomorrow. Got a motel room. One of the last available. Turns out, this is a mining town and lodging is scarce. No vacancy sign lit-up soon as I paid.

     Went for a walk to a park where there were literally thousands of bats in the trees. Warning signs referred to them as Flying Foxes. They were almost that big!

          Friday March 13 th ~

     Ministered at the "Uniting Care" facility here in Singleton. A Pastoral Care volunteer met me at the entrance and escorted me to one of their sections where a wonderful couple (Sharon & John) helped manage our time together. Great crowd. Lovely spirit. Sharon even presented me with an envelope, similar to the Blessing I'd received earlier in the week. Sweet!

     Drove north to Scone where I pulled into a caravan park and found out that sometimes I could save a bit by providing my own bed linen. So, I went down the street to a Red Cross thrift store and spent $3.50 on bed sheets. The Park owner very graciously gifted me a towel so that I was able to get a very nice en-suite room with frig, ac, TV, microwave, toilet & shower for $65.

          Saturday March 14 th ~

     By the way, at one of the rest stops this past week, I got a picture of a 3 foot lizard (Iguana).

     Today I drove north stopping at a nature walk in one spot, and a lookout pull-off in another.

     The town I'd thought of stopping in, had a big sporting event going on leaving no vacancy signs everywhere. So I drove another hundred kilometers to the town of Uralla where I got a cabin for the night.

          Sunday March 15 th ~

     Drove a short way to Armidale and attended a small Baptist church which today was rather crowded. They had the "Boy's Brigade" leading their service. Which meant there were many family members present who were not normally there.

     Boy's Brigade is evidently similar to Boy Scouts. Although with a more fundamentally Christian based purpose.      

And so begins another week.

May The Lord Our God
Guard, Guide And Direct You.
In The Name Of Jesus. Amen!

Your Brother in Christ, Larry Eugene Stevens

P.S.    To God be the Glory!