Sugarloaf Mountain and Lake Mountain

Last Sunday we went for a really nice hike or should I say climb up the sugarloaf mountain. Was absolutely gorgeous!

some courageous ones!

climbing is heaps fun!

was a beautiful rock!! I loved it! You can see two courageous climbers up high :)

Ray and Emmanuel ;)

group picture :)

beautiful view, but as you can see the bush has all been burned! Supposed to be green!

Chris!

view along the ridge

Up at Lake Mountain. What a contrast between the burned trees and the white snow!

We made it up to the top ;) I haven't thought I would see snow some day in Australia! We had a wonderful day together!

Marysville and surroundings 4 months after

"Late in the afternoon of 7 February, residents had anticipated that the fire front would bypass Marysville. At about 5:00pm, power was lost to the town. Around 6:35pm, the wind died away; minutes later it returned from a different direction, bringing the fire up the valley with it."

As the fire storm approached towards Highwood the wind suddenly changed at it was not burned at all. The guest of Highwood had been up to Lake Mountain that afternoon (temperatures exeeded 46 °C down in Melbourne!)to flee the hot weather, as they received a call to come back home. They drove back and their way led as well through Marysville. Who would have expected that just a few hours the worst fire storm would totally devastate this town! The fire approached which such a speed and force which literaly wiped out a town. Only 14 of 400 buildings survived there and 39 people died in the Marysville area!

I had the chance to visit the place and it is pretty much cleaned up but the lifes of so many people are not "cleaned up" yet. These fires had a big impact on many lifes. Many lost loved ones and all they had!

on the way to Marysville, amazing to see the regrowth

destroyed house in Narbethong, you can also see a burned out car

this is where once the police station was situated!

this was once the center of the town!!

destruction!

nature seems to cope the best!

amazing to watch how there is new life growing out of a burned tree!

Volunteering at Highwood Health Center

I have been here at Highwood for over three weeks and have really enjoyed my time here. We are located about 2 hours north-east from Melbourne about 3 km from Narbethong, a town which was wiped out by the devastating bushfire in February. It is obvious how only God in his power protected the Highwood property which is like a green patch in alot burned bush!

I had the privilege to help out in the Health Center and to experience a full 3 week program here. I helped in theraphies as massages, steam bath and fomentation, in the kitchen, which I really enjoyed, in the garden and as well in the Health Center with various little jobs.

rays of sunlight through the bush

walking to the college for worship

the Health Center

Robert Pannekoek, one of the bible teachers. We had a blessed time studiying the book of Daniel together

lunch time

friday evening worship. One of the highlights at Highwood. The staff and the guests come together for a special time together.

Music playes a really important part at Highwood. That makes it really beautiful and encouraged me to keep up with my violin playing!

Wade our dedicated gardener

Learning the ABC of education!!

the garden has heaps of beautiful herbs and fresh greens!

A box of fresh organinc vegetables from the garden which was used for special juices for our cancer patients

Is God still working miracles today?

About two weeks ago I had the privilege to visit "Cannot Be Hidden" a  faith based organisation which was founded by a group of people impressed by the Spirit of God to step out and do the impossible in Christ. Trusting, that our God can supply all our needs. 

The Lord has provided opportunities for them in  four key areas, which they believe are relevant to reaching the people of today.

1. School of Evangelism & Bible Training

2. School of Medical Aviation  

3. Health, Wellness and Education Center

4. Reaching the Community through Broadcast & Media

It was my privilige to spend some time at the mission school and to see for myself how the Lord is working today. What makes this school different from many other schools is that they offer, over all a deeply spiritual training that will lead students to develop a practical walk with Jesus. They are thought how to know and how to walk with the Lord. The school is also absolute free for the students. It is a faith project and students learn to live by faith when they can experience first hand how God provides for food, fuel for their cars, etc. We believe that the time is coming when everyone will have to fully depend on God and they train students to start doing it now. 

To find out more information please  visit http://cannotbehidden.mdz.com.au/main/page_silver_bar_cbhi_college_welcome.html

The school building

Spending time with God on a morning walk in the bush. 

The class with Dr. Allan Lindsay who was teaching us about advent church history. He was also the speaker of "Keepers of the Flames" and a great teacher.

Sam Braga teaching us about John chapter 15; how to abide in Jesus and fully depend on Him.

It was such a blessing for me to spend some time at this place and it also deepend my walk with God.

Three times I had the privilige to drive up to Bilpin Health Center in some beautiful mountains. This health center had just started two days before I visited them. And also there they apply the principle, "freely you have received, freely give."  Matthew 10:8 

Health Guests are welcome free of charge. When I came there they had 5 guests, many with more serious cases as cancer, and some where Doctors gave up all hope. 

"God's remedies are the simple agencies of nature, that will not tax or debilitate the system through their powerful properties.

Pure air and water, cleanliness, a proper diet, purity of life, and a firm trust in God, are remedies for the want of which thousands are dying; yet these remedies are going out of date because their skillful use requires work that the people do not appreciate.

Fresh air, exercise, pure water, and clean, sweet premises, are within the reach of all, with but little expense; but drugs are expensive, both in the outlay of means, and the effect produced upon the system. "    (E.WHITE Counsels on Diet & Food p451)

the health center seen from the back

Beautiful view from the health center.

the lecture room

A Health lecture with Oscar. "Disease is an effort of nature to free the system from conditions that result from the violation of the laws of health."

It was such a blessing to talk with some of the gusts there and to hear how the Spirit of God works on hearts. I had the oppotunity to meet Leon. He is the most positive person that you can meet. He struggles with Parkinson's, but is smiling all the way through. On that day I was sitting with him and Oscar at the table when Leon said to Oscar, that he wants to tell him something: Oscar, I called my son today, he is a Christian. When I was about to say good bye to him I said: God bless you!" In that moment he started to crying with emotion. "It is for the first time in all my 75 years Oscar. I made my son happy, but I didn't do it for that, I meant it, really, I meant it"

God plays the most important role at that place. He is the restorer, the great physician and the provider of all our needs may they be of physical, mental or spiritual nature!

Janette is another guest there. She made it clear right before she came.  "I am not religious and have nothing to do with religion".  She came with some challanges that affect her body.  Two days after she came she asked Oscar: "Oscar, would you teach me how to pray?"  Tears came down Oscar's face.  A day later she knealed down in her room with them and talked to her heavenly daddy for the first time since she was a small child! Early next morning, looking through the window she prayed: "Lord, if you are the creator, show me a sign please."  The Lord then painted the whole sky red as fire and then He placed a rainbow over the wellness center.  (And it wasn't raining!)  

Another story which really hit me was this. One of the guests said, that her sister was usually visiting her, especially in times when she felt discouraged. This sister would then comfort her. But since she has been at the Health Center, this sister was not coming any more. Her sister was in reality already dead. Who was now the sister which was visiting her? Could it have been that this is what we call Spiritualism. That loved ones can appear, even when they already died! The bible tells us: "For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten." Ecclesiastes 9:5. God's angel protect that place!

Sydney and Taronga Zoo

Sydney by night

"Life in the cities is false and artificial. The intense passion for money getting, the whirl of excitement and pleasure seeking, the thirst for display, the luxury and extravagance, all are forces that, with the great masses of mankind, are turning the mind from life's true purpose. They are opening the door to a thousand evils." -The Ministry of Healing p. 364

After walking through Sydney at night and seeing what is going on there I can definitely confirm the truth of these words! City life is distracting in many ways our mind from God and heavenly things!

The Sydney Opera House by night

sunrise over Sydney: view from the house we stayed in

Waratah flower which is the floral emblem of NSW

“The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire.”

I am posting here an article of how someone experienced the devastating bush fire in Victoria this Feburary and God's miracleous intervention in protecting his people.


Sabbath 7th Feb 2009 began warm as forecast by the Bureau and temperatures rose to the predicted high 40's.
Fire Warning

At about 3.30 PM Brother Denis Stanley rang me to advise a fire was burning in our vicinity. We went outside to take a look and noticed a smoke cloud had formed over the new dormitory about an acre in size out of which warm to hot ash was falling down upon us. About four kilometres to the south west the nearby range showed a red glow along its ridge line and it was obvious that a substantial fire was burning somewhere off to the south west of Highwood. No other warnings had been received. As we surveyed the surrounding ranges other fires were seen burning as well. One particularity large billowing smoke cloud developing to the north west about five kilometers away increased our concern. Instantly we prepared for the possibility of a major fire. I checked the fire reserve water tanks, advised everyone I could find nearby, and drove to the health centre. Earlier Dr Bird had taken the health guests to Lake Mountain outside Marysville to escape the heat. This area was already in danger and Dr Bird and party rushed back to Highwood narrowly escaping the blaze. (Sunday revealed that that very blaze had burnt Dr Bird's house to the ground. All they had left was their Bibles, a few other items and the Sabbath clothes in which they stood. Fortunately they still had both their cars.)

Speedy Escape

Knowing that time is especially critical in fire situations I jumped into the van to check the only two avenues of escape, the Black Spur road to Healsville, and the highway to Narbethong. Firstly I drove toward Narbethong three kilometers away. By the time I had traveled twelve hundred metres pieces of flaming bark up to sixty centimeters long and much other debris was flying over the van crossing the road diagonally from left to right. I quickly u-turned and headed back to Highwood, also ruling out the Black Spur road to Healsville as a possibility of escape. Cars were going in both directions not knowing which way to go. It seemed that we would have to stay and prepare for the fire.

Preparing for the Fire-Storm

We were in a strong position in any case with generator power, fire hoses, abundant bore water, plenty of cleared land to provide a buffer and twenty people to assist in the emergency preparation. We hosed down the Health Centre filling the gutters with water and wet about a dozen blankets. We knew that God was watching over us as we all had prayed for deliverance.

God’s Deliverance

The main power went off at around 5pm and the generator came on line. About 8pm we lost all communications. Watching the progress of the fire, time and again the wind shifted to our advantage. As the big smoke cloud originally off to the north west rapidly spread and accelerated we could hear the eerie, echoing roar of the fire around Narbethong quickly blowing towards us from the north. At the same time as the fire hungrily sucked in large quantities of oxygen it lifted the dust on the drive way in front of the health centre ten metres into the air with the wind reaching about sixty kilometres from the south. Then suddenly the predominant northerly wind took up this southerly direction, blew back upon itself and the fire coming towards us subsided.

“The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire.” -Psalms 29:7

Later our faith was lifted by God's word as Sister Hannah Higgins reminded us of Psalms 29:7 "The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire." The flames had come to within three hundred metres of the forest to the north east of Highwood and burned to the edge of the bitumen highway. It did not cross the road. Unfortunately it was this northerly fire which had already destroyed Narbethong with nine precious souls lost. As always in disasters some houses were untouched while others just metres away were inexplicably destroyed.

The Devastation

The next day when we drove through Narbethong, Buxton and Marysville we were shocked at the extent of the devastation. At Marysville, less than fifteen minutes from Highwood, there was heavy loss of life. We have nothing to bring to God except our praise and thanksgiving for His deliverance from the flames. Not a single thing had burned on the one hundred and two acres at Highwood.

Bro Gerry Romano (guest editor)