For the first year, the Keefe family served in the church that sponsored them into the country, Bible Baptist Church in Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia.  They arrived January 5th, 2002 and have been very busy ever since.  Bible Baptist Church began as a mission project in 1991 under the leadership of Pastor Diego Tabaquero from the Philippines.  Average attendance on Sunday mornings is now around fifty people, comprised mostly of Filipinos and some Australians from the Liverpool area.  In April 2003, Bible Baptist Church supports thirteen missionary families ministering in Australia, Cambodia, East Timor and the Philippines.  Pastor Keefe assisted Pastor Tabaquero by preaching several times a week, teaching Sunday School classes, organizing the Sunday School department, and developing a stronger outreach program to the community.  Valerie taught the young ladies Sunday morning Bible study and organizing the children's ministry.  She also played the flute in every service and taught a Saturday morning teachers' training workshop.  Since their arrival, the Keefe's have seen God's hand on this ministry.  In March 2003, four people received Jesus Christ during the missions conference.  At the youth's annual Sportsfest event, a young man got saved.  In April 2003, Pastor Keefe had the wonderful privilege of baptizing a young lady in her backyard swimming pool.  It was such a delight to see a young person who was very excited about following the Lord in believer's baptism.  Please pray for Bible Baptist Church as they reach the lost community for Jesus Christ.  Also pray that the Lord will give them guidance and wisdom as they look for a permanent building site.

 

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YEPPOON BAPTIST CHURCH 2003-2004

We spent a very busy and exciting year from July 2003 until August 2004 serving at Yeppoon Baptist Church in Yeppoon Queensland Australia.  Just one month into our new ministry, Dwayne baptised Naohiko and Sharon Shimizu, a lovely couple who had been saved several years earlier.  One week later Sharon began her battle with breast cancer.  We are happy to inform you that after major surgery and six months of chemotherapy Sharon is doing very well.  Valerie started a new Sunday morning Bible study for the teenage girls of the church.  Just a few months ago she led one of these young women to Christ.  Valerie also began taking the teens on some exciting excursions like canoeing in the rainforest.  She also started a small orchestra made up of several of the teens.  Dwayne stayed very busy preaching three times a week and organizing all the administrative details for the church.  We also had several folks in and out of the hospital that kept us both very busy.  Out of some of those visits, Dwayne had the wonderful opportunity to lead several people to Christ.

Christmas was much different as we celebrated the birth of our Lord and Saviour in very hot and humid conditions.  We sure missed the cold weather from home.  The first of the year came with some bad news as Valerie found out she had precancerous cells in her uterus and would have to have a full hysterectomy.  After she recovered she taught a Thursday evening Bible study for ladies, the teenage Sunday class, and Sunday morning children’s church. Dwayne led a men’s discipleship group that went through the Bible study, “Experiencing God.”  In June Dwayne baptised two ladies who were ready to follow the Lord in Believer’s baptism.

One of the highlights of 2004 also occurred in June.  We had a huge youth event “Survivor.”  We spent many hours organizing an event that would be an outreach for our local youth.  We teamed up with a Baptist church in Rockhampton.  We organized an entire day on the beach full of physical and mental challenges.  At the end of the day a missionary from Papua New Guinea spoke to the youth about being a true survivor in Christ.  We were thrilled with 37 young people in attendance, 12 from our own youth group.  Eighteen businesses in our town donated gift vouchers and supplies for the event. The local paper even printed a nice article and picture about the event.  It was great publicity for the church and the youth ministry.

In August of 2004 Dwayne resigned the church and started a new ministry on the south side of town.  We made many friends and cherish the memories we made. We pray that this ministry will continue to grow and that God’s blessings on it.

NEW BEGINNINGS BAPTIST FELLOWSHIP (2005)

Almost a year ago, we organized a small group of believers in the Taranganba area of Yeppoon and became New Beginnings Baptist Fellowship. The past year brought many highs and lows. We saw two young adults receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, taught several Bible studies for adults and teenagers, had weekly worship services, and sadly, had to say a final goodbye to a fine young man in our ministry, Ben, who lost his life Christmas week in a tragic motorcycle accident.

After eleven months we felt that we no longer had a viable ministry here and decided to close the ministry. We decided that we should take our furlough at this time and return to Australia to begin a ministry in a new area.

We are looking to plant a church in a more populated and multicultural area where we feel that God will show us. Please pray for the people that were saved and touched by this ministry. It is our heartfelt desire that they will seek the truth and grow in the Lord. Also, pray the Lord will direct us to the place where we can best lead others to a saving knowledge of Him. Thank you!

Web Editor - Don Tarvin
Updated 20 Jan 2008