Phil Eagling Newsletter July 2001

Volume 2, Issue 4 July 2001

Greetings in the name of Jesus. We pray that you are all well, and that you have been a blessing to those who don’t know Christ.

Sharon and I are better now. In the first two weeks of July I had pneumonia, and I am still trying to recover from it. Sharon was also sick with the flu, so Savannah had to put up with her parents being whingers (complainers) about their sickness ha ha. In our last newsletter I asked you to pray for us as we needed it. Thank you for praying! We know that you have prayed for us as we have seen the results.

Recently I read a book by Bill Hybels on prayer and it has certainly challenged me with my prayer life. I know that I need to communicate with the Father. I also know that when others pray for us, like you all, God answers, so thank you!

On the subject of prayer could you please pray for the church here that God would bring a piano player and a youth worker to take on specific ministry needs.

I also recently read the book titled "The Prayer of Jabez," and it was a good read. I was not aware of this prayer and how it has made such a profound mark in the life of people. I have heard that it is making a big impact in the life of the church over with you all. I have begun to pray that God would bless me and increase the ministry. I know that it is God who gives the increase.

This coming weekend we are having a outreach dinner. We are calling it Christmas in July and it is also a celebration for two families in the church who have enjoyed fifty years of marriage.

We hope that this outreach could bring more contacts to the church. Sharon and I invited the next door neighbors Ted and Ethel, and they accepted. Please pray for them, as we have asked them many times to come to different events but they have not said yes, but now they have, so please pray for us as we continue to try and reach them.

On Sunday the 22nd of July we had a good crowd at church and there was an excitement in the church that I had not experienced before, so praise God! There were a number of visitors, please pray that they would return and become a part of the ministry here.

Please pray for the church outreach, that the people who are attending will recognize that there is so much to be accomplished for the Lord. So many lost souls in limbo here waiting for just someone to invite them to church.

Pray that God would break away the chains of complacency and ignite a fire of revival in the hearts of all people. Sharon and I again want to thank you all for your prayers and support. We pray for you all the time. We would like to hear from you.

Please read Ephesians 6:18-20

Thank you all again,
God bless,

Philip.

Hi again, hope this letter finds you all well. Well since our last newsletter our lives have had their challenges, and good points. Savannah was sick and gave it to Philip and I. I was trying to take care of two sick people as well as myself, not much fun I can tell you. Philip had already picked up a cough from his trip to the ministers refresher. Due to the cough and the added bug he got from Savannah he developed pneumonia in the first two weeks of July and is still recovering from that. The day he came home from hospital I felt like climbing into his empty bed and staying there. We are on the road to recovery now thankfully. Savannah has had another cold, but Praise the Lord that was all it was and she is feeling much better now.

The women’s fellowship recently put on a outreach night called Christmas in July. One of the aims for this night was to be able to get the people of the church to bring their friends and also to bring a gift for the women’s refuge, that we are supporting. These gifts will help with the Christmas gifts we are planning to give this year. Also the plan is to be able to invite the women to a function that is geared for them. We need your prayers as to how we can reach these women, as they have had hard lives.

While Philip was in hospital the lady from across the street was also in there to dry out from drugs. She has a 10 year old daughter who has had to live in that environment. It just breaks your heart that kids have to go through the things they do. She sought counselling from Philip [while he was sick] and we just pray that she is serious about wanting to change. She said that she needs to get back to church, so we pray that she will seek God for strength to fight the habit. Her daughter has been coming to Sunday school so we pray that perhaps she has learnt something that will help her mother want to come to be right with God. I recently read in the paper that this Northern Rivers area, where we live, is one of the highest injectable drug areas in the country. It is really tough here.

Savannah has just celebrated her second birthday, and has now hit the "terrible two’s" where do they learn some of the things they do from? Is it inbuilt? Life with her is challenging at the moment to say the least. Don’t get me wrong she is still a joy, but definitely a challenge! We had to put off her party [well family gathering] a few days to get over the bug and pneumonia. We had two nieces up from near Sydney for their holidays and to be with Savannah for her birthday. So she got to have two "happy days" as she called it, one on the day and the other the day the family came. Thank you for your prayers, and we would appreciate continued prayers.

Thank you.
God Bless.

Sharon

Gday from down under. Have you had a hot summer so far? Daddy told me that you were feeling the heat while we were cold, it just does not seem right. Oh well I guess that is why you are "up over" and we are "down under." My Mummy said that we would be over there next year in the summer, with all of you, so I will understand it better then.

My daddy told me that there is a fella (guy) who is called the crocodile hunter, Steve Erwin, who is well known over there. My dad said that he is a bit of a wombat (silly) man for what he does. My dad said that he would not pick up snakes and get into fights with crocodiles. The other day we went driving in the car around the country to have a squiz (to have a look) at the kangaroos and animals on the farm.

My dad said that Australia is one of the largest wool and beef cattle producers in the world. I told him that I had heard a joke about a sheep and a kangaroo.

It goes like this: What do you get when you cross a kangaroo with a sheep? A wooley jumper! Ha Ha. Well anyway, dad thought that joke was pretty funny.

He also told me this joke, what happens when you cross a elephant with a kangaroo? You get whopping great big holes all over Australia! Ha Ha.

I wanted to ask the kids if they could pray for the other kids here in this place. My Mummy told me that there were a lot of kids in Murwillumbah without a Daddy, and that these kids needed help. So could you please pray for them, that my Daddy and Mummy could help them as well as their mummies. My Mummy told me that you could pray for Kylie that her husband would seek counseling and come back to her. I pray that Christ is your reason to live in joy, love Savannah.

May Jesus be the heart of your mind and soul,

love
Savannah

• Franklin Christian Church
• Franklin Christian Church Missions
• Philip Eagling in Australia Missions
• The Mission field: Murwillumbah, New South Wales, Australia

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