Mallacoota

Monday 12th April - Wednesday 21st April

Monday: Today we left for Mallacoota. We left with the friends we are currently staying with to their holiday house in Mallacoota. We wouldn’t need the camper as there was a spare room. We left in two cars both packed to the brink, it was a good drive. We arrived in the afternoon, put our feet up and rested.

Tuesday: This morning we went and had morning tea with the pastor out here and his wife. They were great people, very warm and welcoming. We chatted for a while and we got to know them a bit better as they got to know us. Once again Sarah got to explain what on earth Medical Transcription is. We came to understand that the pastor’s wife had taken on the role of worship leader. This was an amazing effort as she had had no formal training on an instrument and had mostly taught herself. She was desperate to learn more about playing and leading worship so I agreed to give her a lesson whilst we were there. We also discussed other things we might be able to do whilst we were there. Whilst we were discussing this one of the locals popped in to ask the pastor if he knew of anyone who could help her with her garden, she was fairly ill and her yard had become a mess. She explained that she was happy to pay for the work. What an amazing blessing, both myself and the friends we were staying with needed work and this woman desperately needed the help. We set a date for the following week. All in all it had been a very productive morning.

Wednesday: This morning I came around to teach the pastors wife keyboard. Sarah came also and did her work in another room. I don’t think I have ever met someone who was so desperate and hungry to learn. I taught her for six hours, we covered everything from rhythm, to worship leading and appropriate technique for playing on your own in a small church. She listened intently the whole time and did everything I said. She assured me that she would practice everything I taught her as much as she could. I was blown away by her determination and her willingness to listen and learn. If all that wasn’t humbling enough she went on to explain that she had been praying desperately for guidance in her playing, she said that she believed God had used us as the answer to that prayer. The very thought that we could be the answer to someone’s prayed is possibly the most humbling thing I have ever experienced.

That night we came along to the prayer meeting. It was a wonderful night, there weren’t heaps of people there but all of the prayer was heartfelt and genuine. After we had all finished praying I felt led to share one of my songs with everyone, Fall into God. It was well received.

Thursday: Today was just one of those days. I got up in the morning and was just in a stink. I was feeling really down and I wasn’t even really sure why. We were wrestling with our various issues, as does everyone, but this morning I was just particularly struggling for no particular reason. I realized that I had a decision to make, I could spend the rest of the day in a bad mood or I could try to rise above and not let my feelings get the better of me. I went with the latter and decided that if I was going to feel like an emotional retard I may as well use it to my advantage and write a song. The end result is a new song called “My Bad Day”. It was written to encourage people to rise above when they are struggling.

Friday: I went up to Eden today for the radio interview. It went well; I was warned however by the presenter that he was technologically challenged. This proved to be true and it ended up taking us about four hours to record a two hour program. The interview went really well though and we talked about a variety of things from the trip and the album to social justice issues. I really enjoyed the opportunity to go on the radio again.

Sunday: I was given the invitation to lead worship on the Sunday morning. It went really well and was really well received. After the service we spent some time fellowshipping and got to know a number of the people in the church a lot better. Mallacoota is a small town and the church is also very small. I have the upmost respect for these churches, they battle on in a small town where the resources are extremely limited. In many of these situations the pastor of the church is unable to be paid for their work and they often have to get a second job working up to six sometimes even seven days a week. If you would like to give in support to the work these churches do please feel free to email me (matt.charlesworth@hotmail.com) and I would be pleased to arrange it.

Tuesday: Today one of the people we are staying with and I went to work for the lady I mentioned earlier. We weren’t sure what to expect however we knew there would be some heavy lifting involved. Not much, only about 100 concrete bricks, several concrete slabs, some old futon couches, some fencing and a bunch of other stuff. We had our work cut out for us but I have to say it was a real blessing to be doing the work. We needed the work and she needed the work done, everyone was happy. We both worked hard and by the end of the day the yard looked significantly better, it was not finished but the hardest parts were done. There is a rewarding feeling that you get at the end of a day where you know you have worked hard and the people you have worked for are pleased with the job you have done.

That night we all went around to the pastor’s house for dinner. I spent some more time teaching the pastors wife and then we all sat down together fellowshipped and ate. There was lots of conversation, laughter and noise; it was a very pleasant atmosphere. In the middle of it all I was taught how to circular breathe. It took a little while but I got there in the end.

Wednesday: It had been a big couple of weeks and both Sarah and I were very tired. We were going to go to the prayer meeting but in the end we decided to stay at home and rest. We called the pastor and he didn’t mind and told us to rest well. Sometimes in this ministry there is a time for sacrifice where we should do the things we know we should even though we don’t feel like it and there are times to be responsible and rest so that we can be effective for another day. The important thing is to demonstrate the discernment to realise and acknowledge what the current situation actually is.

All in all we had a wonderful time in Mallacoota. It was wonderful to be blessed and to be a blessing. We look forward to returning sometime in the future.