The Copper Triangle

A busy day. Today Bruce Frost and his wife Margaret, picked me up at 9 am for my official “orientation”. Between 9 am and 5 pm I recieved an official tour of Wallaroo, Kadina, and Moonta, opened a bank account, applied for health insurance, and recieved a short history on the country of Australia.

Wallaroo, Kadina, and Moonta are known as the “Copper Triangle”, so named because of the rich copper deposits that were discovered here in the 1860’s. Kadina and Moonta were the home of the two large mines, and Wallaroo functioned as the smelter (still trying to fiture out what a smelter is). Each of the three communities are separated by only a couple miles, and grew as a result of the copper explosion. In 1923 cooper mining came to a close, and many of the inhabitants left the area for other work. Much of the architecture resembles this former era. Today the area is supported by agriculture and fishing industries.

The Copper Triangle is full of small churches, most of which do not preach the gospel. According to Bruce, there aren’t really any biblical ministries to speak of. It’s a sad situation. That’s why the ministry that we are engaging here is so critical.

I anticipate that I will be in this “oreintation” phase for the next couple of days, perhaps for the next few weeks. Eventually, I will get my first opportunity to drive. I still need to warm up to the idea of driving on the left side of the road. I’ll keep you posted on that one. As for ministry, Daniel wants me to begin preparing to teach a 6-8 week baptism class. Many of the people here are unclear on the meaning of baptism, so that is an immediate need. I won’t start preaching on Sundays until July. This will give me a chance to become familiar with the ministry, as well as with the spiritual state of the people. I’ll decide what to preach after I have “the lay of the land”

Please pray that God will enable me to fully get over jet lag. I am still struggling a bit with weariness. Also, pray that I will be able to make a smooth transition to life here in Wallaroo. Finally, pray for Wallaroo Bible Fellowship. Ask God that God will give to this congregation a very clear understanding of the gospel so that they will be a shining light in this needy community.