SLIM DUSTY SONGS UPDATE

Pictured: Steve with guitar at the old Morella CWA Hall north of Longreach, Queensland

I’m road testing most of the songs on the new Slim Dusty Songs album at the moment. One of the songs called ‘Slim’s been here before’ mentions the iconic Morella CWA Hall out in the middle of nowhere in western Queensland. We are hoping and praying this new album will not only reach a lot of people but also generate finances to enable us to reach more remote regions of Australia with the Gospel. Progress has been slow with the completion of the project but we are excited to see things coming together. Thanks to all those who have supported the vision in a practical way. This album will open doors in every town across Australia!!!

CARAVAN PARKS AND PEOPLE

Pictured: Trentan and Steve with the outdoor stage set up in the Clermont Caravan Park last Friday night.

People came from everywhere around town and around the busy caravan park last Friday night for our impromptu concert. You never really know how many people you are communicating with in this situation as there could be hundreds listening from a distance. We presented a 90 minute concert and were amazed at the response from people at the end of the event… even the park management loved the show. We shared a simple Gospel message and sang songs of encouragement and hope and a few patriotic Aussie songs as well.

The new Slim Dusty tribute album songs are a huge hit and we are very excited about the potential this project has as we prepare for its release next month. A huge thanks to Sonrise Church in Clermont / Capella for their support and organisation of our events in town. We know there will be many more Caravan Park concerts in the years to come.

HOPE IN THE HARD TIMES

Pictured: Steven Elliot training a 'working dog' in the skills of mustering sheep and cattle from his home in Winton, Queensland.

Every now and then I meet a real Australian legend, a hard working hero who has overcome all kinds of setbacks and humbly gotten on with life. On New Years Eve 2003 at Black River, North QLD, Steven Elliot’s life changed forever while competing in a rodeo event. His spinal cord was partly severed and he was destined to be a quadriplegic. From 10 years as a champion saddle bronc rider to being completely bed ridden. But with the love and support of many and a deep determination Steven managed to recover the use of his upper body. The locals in Winton passed the hat around and bought him a motorised wheelchair that could handle a bit of outback work. Summertime sees him in his shed making branding irons for clients all over Australia and training his dogs… In the winter he sets off on the working dog competition circuit with his truck and modified horse float he uses for accommodation.

Steven Elliot never let his accident slow him down. He chose to keep going and build something from his tragic circumstances. This humble man in a wheelchair is inspiring to hang around with as he speaks quietly to his ever attentive dogs doing the work that he cannot do. Thank you Steven for the time this week.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

We can focus on the stuff that cripples our dreams and give up, or we can choose to keep believing that there is hope in the hard times. 

Thanks mate..

Godspeed

Steve Grace

THE ART OF SERVING

Pictured: Trentan Kruger laying down some classic Fender Telecaster guitar tracks for a new album project for Brian in Ben Hakalitz’s studio, Cairns

 

When he heard there was an Indigenous Gospel Artist in town recording a new album and some lead guitar parts were needed, Trentan Kruger enthusiastically gave up some hours of a day off from touring to help out. Ben Hakalitz, the original drummer for iconic Australian band Yothu Yindi now operates a recording studio at Living Light Church in Cairns and has a constant flow of artists wanting to record their songs.

Ben is also about to launch ‘Hakalitz Drums’ internationally which is an exciting venture for the boy who grew up in a village in the Bouganville Islands east of PNG. For Trentan it was simply another opportunity to serve and encourage Brian, an Indigenous songwriter with a wonderful testimony of God’s grace and redemption. That’s what it’s all about.

OLD TIME COUNTRY HALLS

Pictured: Good old fashioned country Gospel music and evangelism in the Tablelands country of North Queensland. Millaa Millaa RSL Hall.

 

“Let me sing where the rafters ring in an old time country hall”… The lyrics of a song from the new Slim Dusty Songs album that fit so perfectly with this classic photograph from our Millaa Millaa concert last week. It was cold and raining and very foggy and yet people drove from towns like Mareeba, Yungaburra, Malanda, Innisfail, Cairns, Atherton and Mungalli to be part of a special community gathering. Thanks to the local LIons Club members for organising an incredible Burger BBQ. Thanks to the Millaa Millaa Christian Fellowship for sponsoring the event. We raised $2,500 towards helping families still struggling to get their lives back after Cyclone Debbie devastated the Whitsunday Coast back in late March. Thank you to the generous people who turned up to support a great cause!!!  To Lyndon and Dell Hockey and to Paul and Jen Musetti… Thanks so much for your heart and vision.

HOPE IN UNCERTAIN TIMES

Pictured: The misty mornings of the Atherton Tablelands in far north Queensland.

 

"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar roads I will guide you. I will turn the darkness into light before you and make your crooked paths straight.. These are the things I will do.. I will not forsake you says the Lord." Isaiah 42:16

I have to keep telling myself.. “This world is not my home… I’m just a passing through”. I’ve come to a place where I’m convinced the world news media networks and political systems are all about everything Adolf Hitler believed in back in 1942…. Destroying Israel and dominating the rich and poor nations of the world. Nothing much makes sense and as the writer of Ecclesiastes wrote ‘ everything is meaningless’. It seems the superpowers of planet earth are determined to destroy each other any way they can. We are forced to live under the curse of Ishmael from the book of Genesis in the Bible, which is a curse of self destruction. But….

We are called to live under the promises of God, given to Abraham in Genesis and handed down from generation to generation. The promises that graft us into the family of Jesus Christ and the hope we have because of Calvary and the miracle of the resurrection. 

There are times when I cannot see the way ahead… the horizon seems foggy and distant… Yet I know this one truth that I choose to live by… 

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. Hebrews 13:8

I cannot give up on the wonderful truth of what I have been taught by my parents from an early age. And when the road ahead is foggy I claim those promises and resolve myself to believe. God does not change. He never will change. So I keep believing and know this is the only hope in uncertain times.

Godspeed.

Steve 

CROSSING AUSTRALIA NEWS

Pictured: The offload route for the 2016 Crossing Australia venture

We are finally getting to work on all the video and GoPro footage from the Crossing Australia expedition last year. Many have asked us for a documentary on the mission and it has taken months to finally get the project rolling. Thanks so much to John Ross for making some time available to edit the TV program and YouTube Channel episodes that will be compiled from hundreds of hours of footage. From Shark Bay to Byron Bay via the great deserts of inland Australia on an XR1200 Harley Davidson, with a crew of good friends and 4X4 vehicles and a dog called Kelly!! 

The mission was all about combatting depression and suicide in remote regions of Australia and we know there is so much more that has to be done to bring hope to hurting towns and communities. Thanks so much to everyone who supported this venture last August / September. We hope to bring the adventure to life on your computer and smart phone screens real soon!!!! 

TENTERFIELD MINISTRY BASE

Pictured:  The new entrance to the World Missions property near Tenterfield NSW. With new road under construction

The miracle of this 16.5 acre property still amazes us. We feel extremely humbled to see the progress taking place for a future work and ministry base in the high country of northern NSW. A local earthmoving contractor has begun the work of constructing a road into both the WM property and our new neighbours place. The first phase of a long term vision to establish a ministry base within walking distance of Tenterfield’s main street, which is also the New England highway.

Thank you all for your interest in what we believe will be an exciting new era in the story of Steve Grace Ministries and World Missions. Yes there will be some big faith challenges ahead and we are so excited to see God’s provision as we begin building what we’ve dreamed of for 30 years. Thanks to those who are partnering with us in the vision.

WHITSUNDAY WORSHIP

Pictured:  Sunday morning combined Churches service in Airlie Beach, North Queensland

It may not sound all that impressive compared to some of the megachurches there are around the world… but last Sunday was the largest gathering of folks (about 200) from the combined churches of Proserpine and Airlie Beach in the regions history. The Whitsunday coast was devastated by Cyclone Debbie in late March and the region is still working hard to recover economically and mentally from the ordeal. As we drove into town last Saturday to set up for the concert the evidence of destruction was still so visible. Trees are only just becoming green again with new foliage. Some houses stand condemned and repairs are underway in many streets. Long after the news media and headline hunters are gone there are normal people trying to rebuild their lives. 

Saturday night’s concert was a full house and Sunday morning was the biggest gathering of churches ever!! 8 people committed their lives to the Lord and there was a real sense of expectation and enthusiasm there. We loved being part of seeing local churches gathering together in a spirit of agreement. Thanks to all the churches who cancelled their morning services to be involved.