Dear Friends,

Greetings from a very brisk Darwin. We had a mere 16.8C overnight and with a bit of a breeze it feels quite cool. As you can see from the change of address above we are now securely ensconced in the new Darwin Manse. Please note the new address and phone number in your contact details. I will send more info on the manse in a separate document.

We are very much enjoying our new home, and it is very convenient being just around the corner from the Hospital, Casuarina Shopping Centre (where we meet on Sundays) and even from the beach.

The boys have been especially enjoying the beach, and from time to time we cook dinner and then pop through to sit on the beach and eat while we watch the sun sink into the ocean. Because the sun sinks almost vertically in the tropics the sunsets change by the second and over the sea they are usually very spectacular.

On the church front we have again been enjoying a large number of visitors during this Dry Season. It has been a particular pleasure to meet some folk who have prayed for us from before we began to meet. Some others make an annual pilgrimage to Darwin to visit family or friends or just to escape to the beautiful Dry Season weather of the Tropics (which is second only to the magnificent Wet Season with it’s storms and beautiful rain). These visitors are a welcomed and treasured by us locals as a part of the DPC family.

In our worship services we are nearing the end of a series on Philippians, and will shortly move onto the book of Habakkuk. We are also going to have a busy month with visitors in August with Peter Sparrow and the Creation Bus visiting on Sunday 3^rd August, Graham Bradbeer (Moderator of the PCV) on 10^th August, and Robert Benn (Moderator Gen Assembly of Aus) on 31^st August. These latter two visits are of particular importance to us as they speak of the fellowship we enjoy within the Presbyterian Church of Australia, and express the care and partnership shown to us throughout the denomination.

Our numbers at worship stabilised for a while and then took another step upwards with a record of 79 (including 23 visitors) at worship a couple of weeks ago. We have also been having close to 20 to the mid-week Bible Studies most weeks recently. While this is very encouraging, we are also very aware that about 17 of our folk are planning to move to other parts of the country within the next 6 months or so and 8 others have already departed in the last couple of months.

A couple of weeks ago, we had our last Sunday with our very talented key-board player, Ralph Scholma. Ralph is planning to spend a few months travelling around Australia and will be studying elsewhere next year. We are very appreciative of his music ministry to us over the last year. Thankfully we have Jo Carey and Jeanette who will accompany us on the key-board as we teach one another with Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.

We are looking forward to the wedding of two of our people – Jean Smith and Ricard Meiring – on August 9th. Their wedding service will be in Orange (NSW), but as a part of our church family we will certainly be with them in spirit and rejoicing in the Lord’s provision for them on that day.

We also look forward to the arrival of a baby for Scott and Kim Dobson within the next few days.

Our congregation has a number of military personnel. One member of our church family, Alex Block, will be deployed to Afghanistan some time in September. You might like to join with us in special prayer, that the Lord would bless and keep Alex as he will largely be away from face to face Christian fellowship for about 8 months.

A special and heart-felt thankyou to those of you who pray for us regularly, and to those who also regularly send financial help, including those who have given towards the Manse purchase. May the Lord Himself bless you for your kindness to us and for your partnership in taking the gospel to this part of the world.

With warmest Christian greetings. Your fellow pilgrim,

Rob Duncanson

P.S. If you receive this letter indirectly, and would like to go on our emailing list, please let me know. rob@darwinpresbyterian.org.au

Points for prayer

• Thanks for the ongoing growth in the congregation.
• That the congregation would be encouraged in their service for the Lord.
• Darwin is a very transient population and sadly some of our regular folk will be moving on to new places over the next six months. Please pray that they will be as great a blessing in their new places as they have been to us, and that there will be others who will come in to carry on where they have left off.
• For Christians serving in our Defence Force, Especially for Alex who will soon be deployed to Afghanistan.
• For Jean and Ricard as they start their married lives together.
• Thanks for the new Manse, and pray for the resources to pay off our large debt.
• For a suitable meeting place to come available for us.