”The Lord is my  Shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth
my soul.”

The Good Shepherd

Sheep need a shepherd. They are rather naive animals and are prone to wander and land themselves in danger. They walk nonchalantly to the slaughter without fear. Our lives are not to be guided by fear, but there are things we should desperately fear. Never in my life have I wanted the Good Shepherd to “shepherd” us more than now. I am so thankful that He is the “Good” Shepherd. I can trust Him to do all things well for my good and His glory.

No want or lack

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is in me, bless His holy Name.” Our blessings are so many; we try to count them every day. We have scores of praying friends and churches who have lifted us up before the throne for these over 60 years. That support allowed us the blessed privilege to follow our Shepherd to foreign fields where little of the Gospel was known or proclaimed. 

I lost my driver’s license 31 years ago, Kathleen took on the task until 7 years ago. The Shepherd gave us a loving church that established a “Hester Transportation Ministry.” We have a loving daughter next door, grandchildren and a caring daughter overseas to fill the gaps and more. Australia’s Aged Care provides a multitude of services that are unspeakably helpful for a very reasonable subsidised price that facilitate our remaining in our home.We are overwhelmed by His grace and goodness! Pastor Elie inspects our cam. (see image)

The Green Pastures

For many Christians in this world, that doesn’t necessarily mean financial abundance, good health and few problems. Still, these “green pastures (plural),” are indeed many and are very green. When I was a boy out on an Oklahoma ranch, we longed to see the rain bring out the green pastures. Frankly, we do struggle with the lack of memory, sight, hearing and other maladies. But the “other green pastures” bring happiness and serenity. The focus is all-important. Focus on the negative and the “still waters” will be troubled; focus on the positive and your soul will be satisfied and restored with perfect peace.

My Wants at the 89 year Point

We should not “want” or “lack” as we follow the Good Shepherd, but we should “want” or “desire” the things that might please Him. My daughter here kept hinting at what I wanted for my birthday. My answer was always that I didn’t need or want anything. She pressed harder, so I said, “Give me 2 or 3 hours of your precious time for making calls to brethren in Lebanon.” I can understand little on the phone. It was the gift of a lifetime! My soul was blessed and thrilled to talk to these precious friends and spiritual family inspired us as we heard their comments about the depressing situation in Lebanon that has turned their lives upside down. Because of the currency collapse, a retired teacher’s income value fell 80%. Small business lost similarly if not closure. All are suffering financially, fear and uncertainty are on every hand. Yet, I heard so many sweet testimonies of thanksgiving to the love and care of the Good Shepherd. A 66 year-old pastor friend with no issues died with COVID this week. 

Another of my burning “wants” is the completion of the Arabic Bible History book projects.  The New Testament book is frozen in the printers due to the COVID lockdown. The Old   Testament book is translated, formatted and is now being proofed. We have spent considerable time following these projects with monitoring and advice to the development of these projects. An   y reading requires large text, an almost letter-by-letter, word-by-word analysis, all of which is laborious and time-consuming. A dear lady in our church has also made a big contribution to the proofing work. We can hardly wait to see everything completed and see the books being an encouragement and blessing in countries of the Middle East  as well as in other countries with Arabic residents. Finally, Thank you for standing with us. It is a great encouragement!

Other Wants Needing Prayer

*Contradictory advice about having a hernia operation with general anaesthetic. My doctor says no, the specialist yes.

*The resignation of the pastor our Lebanon church just outside of Tripoli. It doesn’t make sense to me. Pray.

*For God’s grace as we face new challenges with Alzheimer’s and our limitations

Email: hrichardhester@gmail.com                                                Website: www.MissionaryOutpost.com

Father’s Day in Australia Today

It was a blessing to have lunch with one of our daughters and her family. I am so blessed o have had a godly father whom I respected and looked up to until this very day. He was firm but so insightful to my needs. By the subtely of his consistent example and his practice of patiently teaching me values and skills I was given an invaluable foundation for my entire life and ministry. Sixty-nine years ago I arrived at a Christian university to prepare for the ministry to which I had surely been called of God. I found myself surrounded by young men who had exceptional talent and ability. I viewed myself as a country boy who could do most anything required on the farm and ranch but I viewed myself very negatively to stand in a pulpit and tell people what to do. One September 1951 night I went to a darkened classroom and cast myself on the Lord. I was desperately battling with a “ugly giant”  of worthlessness and inadequacy to meet this challenge. The Lord graciously came alongside and reminded me of Romans six. In tears I offered the members that God had given me as instruments of righteousness into His almighty hand. The battle was over and to this day I have been enabled to rest in His disposition of the abilities of this unworthy servant.

   Today I thought of you, pastors and churches, who have faithfully stood with us through thick and thin, tragedy and triumph. I remembered special missionary friends whose fellowship and cooperation made big contributions to our ministry. I remembered selfless, praying saints who faithfully held up our faltering hands daily eve to this very moment. I thought of my impassioned pleas to God to fulfil my burden for getting our Bible History books into Arabic to leave behind in the language of our life’s ministry and how that dream is nearing fulfilment. 

   I was reminded today of the people who consider and call me a father to them. One such “daughter” expressed it so vividly on her death bed recently. All of this is almost too much for this “country boy” to handle! Thanks be unto God!

A middle-aged lady who comes to our home recently prayed with us asking the Lord to save her. A young lady we met on our daily walk recently cried out to the Lord for mercy. Her prayer was so beautiful and expressed her gratitude to God for bringing us across her path.

   Yes, we live in a troubled world, a pandemic plague, the breakdown of law and order in America. I can easily feel depressed watching Satan rip apart the country of our birth and I pray passionately for the churches and missionaries that stand in the trenches around the world. I’m praying for another miracle and the humiliating defeat of those who would destroy the foundations. 

   Kathleen and I thank the Lord daily for God’s wonderful grace for our small afflictions. When we think of others with fatal diseases and conditions, of Lebanon with its collapsed  economy and currency, so many who don’t know where the next meal is coming from, the recent explosion that rendered 300,000 people homeless in a few seconds plus the pandemic and hopeless government corruption, we are overwhelmed by God’s goodness and mercy that endureth forever.

   Lastly, our hearts overflow with gratitude to God our Father, Who is the God of all grace                     and mercy, Who delights to call us His sons and daughters. How beautiful heaven must be and so far beyond the scope of our finite imaginations. My thoughts then turned to my earliest “spiritual father,” the Devil who held me in his clutches. What a time of rejoicing it was when I first felt the embrace of my new “Heavenly Father,” the God of our vast universe, the Creator, the God of all grace, comfort and strength, which resources are mine for the asking! It was awesome that I could now call Him “Father,” but even more mysterious how He could delight to call me and us His “sons and daughters!” No human wisdom can fathom this mystery. Only as we view our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross and the empty tomb does the mystery begin to clear. It was now Kathleen’s bedtime, so we prayed and thanked our Heavenly Father for a wonderful “Father’s Day.” “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits.” (Psalms 68:19)

Is it Peace or War

My father was 14 years old when World War I erupted which took around 115,000 American lives. When he was 18 the Spanish flu pandemic killed 675,000 Americans. I was nine in December 1941 sitting at the breakfast table when President F.D. Roosevelt announced on the radio that America was at war with Japan following their sneak attack on Pearl Harbour. A chilling tidal wave of emotion enveloped my young body. That four years of war would cost around 415,000 American lives. Two weeks after I was saved and called to preach, North Korea invaded South Korea which took another 40,000 American Lives. During my second year pastoring Temple Baptist Church in El Dorado, Kansas, around the time I met Kathleen, my future wife, the twenty-year war in Vietnam began which took 47,000. Iraq and Afghanistan lost 6,000 more.. These figures say nothing about the the host of wounded and maimed for life. The Lebanese civil war affected us more personally because it involved a country and people for whom God had given us a passion and love to this very day. Government corruption and the pandemic have brought many of the believers to utter desperation. For the turbulent world add George Floyd’s death which motivated 20,000 peaceful protestors to swell the streets of Sydney. The 2020 coronavirus pandemic just may be God’s special delivery letter to all of us as well as to a godless world including America.

If the foundations be destroyed…

It is not the “if” of whether but the “if” of when. The way of the transgressor is on a downward trajectory. The American institutions of higher learning have been sowing poisonous plants and noxious weeds into the future leaders and now we are reaping the bitter harvest. Hating the American way of life, liberty and opportunity has replaced law and order with nonsensical clichés justifying looting, burning and occupation by radical thugs. It is not unlike the Lebanese civil where we saw its seventy political groups, each with its agenda and militia trying to establish its power and control wherever possible.

What can the righteous do?

They can naturally get tense and worry.
During this three-month lockdown, I have often seriously pondered and prayed, not for myself but for the thousands of churches, pastors, missionaries and potential millions of believers worldwide who are affected and suffering. One Lebanese pastor said that 60% of the church have been reduced to poverty from the lost of jobs, currency collapse and bank instability. Plagues, famine (economy), wars (moral corruption) – what shall the righteous do? The question is complicated, complex and compelling. Thankfully the answer is profoundly simple and direct! “The LORD is in His holy temple, His throne is in heaven: His eyes behold…” Psal 11:4 He is on His throne, ruling in omnipotent sovereignty, lovingly providing our needs and healing our fears and cares. So, that’s it, the righteous can confidently trust God! He is at His post of duty and His eyes are ever paying attention to us.

*Personally, we are greatly blessed and so thankful for your prayers and ongoing partnership in our areas of ministry. Our brethren constantly communicate that we don’t need to do anything, that just our example and presence encourage them, but sometimes I struggle with accepting and coping with an ever-diminishing world of ability and achievement. May God bless you all.

“Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”

Lebanon Suffering

A dear Lebanese pastor with whom we partner in ministry, wrote today: “Life in our land has become inexplicably difficult, hard and stressful since uprisings and riots erupted in October. Many companies had to close down. Tens of thousands found themselves jobless. At least 40% of our people are now recognized under poverty line. For one reason or another, our banking sector turned vulnerable and could not provide cash, as usual, to account holders, except for when it is coming as “fresh money.” This was more than we could handle. The forming of a new cabinet in January could not do much. Then Coronavirus pandemic came and put our towns and villages in a lockdown as probably many of you too are facing. It is so difficult and unbelievable to me to see our church obliged to close down its doors and to stop its services. We never had this happening not even in the dark days of the civil war.” (End quote).     

   How long will this lockdown last? Will the summer camp ministry be cancelled? And if the tottering Lebanese economy crashes, as seems likely,  what then? My preferred options is the Rapture, but the Lord may be reviving His work and warning the lost. 

Sydney 

During the past few months I have spoken in a number of churches in a farewell context. We have been encouraged and the Lord has used the occasion to encourage the pastors and people in some really sweet fellowship. We were also reminded of many incidents during these 43 years that showed us our labours have not been in vain.

   Our Sydney church held three English services and one Arabic service Sunday to comply with the “not more than 100” in any group setting. Now that has been changed to a total lockdown. Please pray for wisdom for our pastor and team as they seek the best format for a robust online ministry. Thank God we are facing this challenge with a unified congregation. 

   Sydney Bible Baptist College will also be looking for online answers to keep classes going in some form. Today’s technology does offer some interesting options. 

Outside Australia

We are praying earnestly for our churches, pastors and missionaries who are impacted by this global tandemic. How comforting to know that our God is in control and will never leave or forsake us! “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”

The above photo shows a recent graduate of our Bible college using our New Testament Bible History survey course in his church. Some USA churches are finding these Old and New Testament courses a real blessing to their churches.I encourage pastors to explore the exciting possibilities of the excitement and benefit they will provide for your people who are keen to learn. We have Australian churches running the courses with great benefit for both young people and old. 

Victory Number One – Big Development

The ministry of the Good Shepherd Conference Center high in the Lebanese mountains is in full motion. Vonherees are watching a night presentation in the camp’s open tent pavilion. Pray for the salvation of souls and a lasting impact on the lives of the believers.

Thankfully, the Lebanese parliament just passed a law that will make possible a solution to a legal land title issue created by the lawlessness of the chaotic civil war. This has long been a burden on my heart, so this is a huge development for which we praise our God! In whose hans are king   s and rulers! Please pray for the Lord’s blessing in the facilitation of the required procedure. There are yet adversaries to face and obstacles to overcome.

Victory Number Two – Ordination

It is always a great victory when God raises up to right man to pastor the church for which the missionary has laboured to establish, especially when that pastor comes from within the church ministry. I had the privilege to sign the ordination ceertificate of the first man from our church ministry who took over from me in the early nineties. And what a privilege to sign for the second pastor also from our ministry. At 87 years my hand was unsure and the new pastor had to guide the pen to where the signature should begin!

Pastor Mansour Youssef and his wife Sharon have three dedicated children who have trained or are training for whatever ministry the Lord has for them. This joyful event was a testimony to God’s power and faithfulness after a difficult but successful transition.The Lord be praised.

Victory Number Four – Arabic Bible History Books

Thanks for praying for this project which is so close to our hearts. One of the things I have asked the Lord to gtive before He takes me to glory is the translation, printing and distribution of the Old and New Testament Bible History books. Thanks be to God Who facilitated the signing of contracts with a Christian publishing house in Lebanon on July 4th which is Kathleen’s birthday. The agreement calls for the completion of the New Testament project in one year’s time and two years for the Old Testament project. We are thrilled beyond measure and our hearts are overflowing with gratitude to God for this victory after long de

Victory Number Five Home At Last With Jesus!

Lod Lody was saved at the age of 15 in the sixties in our Lebanon ministry. She became a Sunday school teacher and a valuable secretary who typed much translated Arabic material for Sunday school, young people and summer camps. She emigrated to Australia before us and has been in our church these 42 years in Australia. Recently she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given only a few weeks to live. We had a private time with Lody not long before the Lord took her. She expressed thanks and affection for all our part in her life over the past 55 years. Truly, as Paul said, “Ye are my crown and joy” to those for whom he had laboured. We felt a joy and reward beyond expression in the presence of this radiant sister who was rejoicing to soon be with Jesus!

Christmas cantata attracts crowd of new visitors in Aaba Baptist Church in North Lebanon, Pastor Eli Wardan. The choir from Lebanon Baptist Church on the outskirts of Beirut, Pastor Edgard Traboulsi presented the cantata.

Fire and Wildfires

We use the expression “on fire for God.” Although it is not literally found in Scripture, we understand that it means to be totally committed to Christ with no limitations or reservations. The new believer illustrates it well..That “first love” just consumes his or her entire being and that believer is ablaze for God.  This is “controlled fire” fuelled by the fruits of the Spirit and attracts people’s attention to the indwelling Christ.

There is another kind of fire that is fuelled by the fruits of the flesh. It is a wild, uncontrolled fire that is very destructive. A church going through a Satanic trial will be plagued with many distractions. One carnal, slick-talking  sower of discord among unsuspecting brethren can light more wildfires in a day than ten  wise people can extinguish in a month. When this happens, the force for evangelism is choked and the spirit is demoralised. Regaining the trust among brethren and the “fire for God” is difficult and generally takes considerable time.

The Lord is encouraging our church these days and the trust and the fire are gradually returning. New people are coming, and a good spirit of fellowship is growing. Eight people finished the discipleship course and were recently baptized. The service (see photo) was followed with lunch in the fellowship hall with a number of unsaved  present. It feels great as we get back to the mission.  God is answering prayer!

Baptismal Day

The Pulpit Committee asked if I would be physically able to baptize  some of the candidates. I was more than happy to do so and would only need help down the steps into the “modern” baptistry that makes baptizing so easy. The hardest experience I ever had was in the Mediterranean Sea at Beirut,   Lebanon,when a big wave nearly swept the candidate out of my hands! .

It was a real thrill for me to baptize three lovely Christian young people and a mother of three. The brethren feared I couldn’t handle the young man who was taller than I was, but the old man proved them wrong!

Believe it or not!

We took Kathleen for her routine check to the neurologist. Since I cannot understand most of what the doctor says due to my hearing problem and Kathleen cannot remember long enough to tell me, our daughter fills the gap. When we came out of the doctor’s office, my daughter said a lady in the waiting room wanted to see me. Around twelve years ago, we had met the lady a number of times in a restaurant she managed where we often went for Sunday lunch. I remember giving her tracts and speaking with her about the Lord, but her life was busy and she didn’t really show spiritual interest. She introduced herself with details how she had known us. Then she said she had terminal cancer with little time to live and would like for me to pray for her. The waiting room was crowded and her turn was due to come at any moment. We prayed surrounded by people and asked God to work in her life and for her need for Christ as Saviour. I told her to read John 1, 3 and 5:24 when she went home and to ask Jesus for forgiveness and eternal life. Then she had to go. I was overwhelmed and amazed how God uses our feeble efforts that seem to fail years later! Keep sowing the Gospel Seed!

Website: www.MissionaryOutpost.com   Email: hrichardhester@gmail.com

Threescore and ten years plus

Labour and Sorrow

“Labour and sorrow” in Psalms 90:10 could probably be explained as “aches and pains” that you haven’t felt before in places you didn’t know existed. Our KJV Bible translates “labour” in other places as “mischief and misery.” “Sorrow” also comes through as downright “wicked.” We “oldies” get the point: this “labour” is often unpredictable and it can be absolutely miserable. This “sorrow” doesn’t play by our rules; it can be wicked and merciless.

Ads catering to seniors seem exciting and almost romantic, but for many of us “oldies” that perception doesn’t always live up to its supposed reputation. For some, serious physical issues and sicknesses may be the menu with few options.

At age 85 I secretly hoped that the remainder of the spiritual pilgrimage  would sort of “coast” down to the awaiting glory. Instead, I am being forced to push the “spiritual vehicles” to even make it “coast.” But in spite of this “miserable labour” and “wicked sorrow,” the Lord continually reminds me to focus on what God has so graciously given us and not on those things He has withheld from us through the labour and sorrow of age.

True, I lost the sight to drive 27 years ago, and I currently struggle with very limited sight and hearing but God provided Kathleen (23 years), our daughter and loving church brethren to take us where we need to go now.

Yes, Kathleen’s Alzheimer’s has crippled her memory and abilities to do many things, but God has kept me by her side and has provided the other helps we need. Truly, He “daily loath us with benefits (Psa. 68:19),” and as we focus on that our hearts overflow with thanksgiving!

Day By Day

The neurologist insists on a daily exercise schedule plus walking in a bush reserve next door to our home. Kathleen feels a big difference in her ability to work word puzzles after exercising and walking. 

Our great grand daughter joined this walk.

Out “swinging bus stop” in front of our daughter’s home where we await the 25-minute drive to church with one of the church brethren.

Hopes and Aspirations

• We long to be a blessing and encouragement to many in our church. Often we invite them to a light Sunday lunch in a small cafe, after which they take us home. The long journey has taught us things we can share with them. The environment has to be conducive to my ability to hear and converse with them. Home visits are best conducted sitting at a table where I can hear best. Being able to preach twice each month in Arabic and English is a blessing from the Lord!
• Our hearts remain burdened for the ministry in the Arabic world. We cannot forget the Lebanon ministries, churches and Beyt Mindere camp. Though we are physically separated from them, our hearts still long to see God working in those lands.
• The book ministry is the BONUS ministry which brings a lot of joy in our sunset years. The colleges, institutes and churches that use the Bible History books and materials thrill our hearts. The Spanish editions are ever expanding in their distribution with Mexico at the top of the list. Soon we plan to have digital editions available online. This will reach some countries where we have not been able to print hard copies. We are praying for an Arabic edition of the New Testament Handbook to finish in 2018. That would be another dream come true!
  Website: http://www.MissionaryOutpost.com  Email: hrichardhester@gmail.com

2017 Lebanon Conference Season Concludes

Children were turned away due to lack of space. There were eight different camps involving six churches. A church from Damascus sent their young people from that war-torn country and were joined by some Lebanese young people for a total of eighty. A short video of a large group of young people shouting, “Thank you, Pastor Hester!” was revived to thank me for building the camp in 1969.

Ecuador

I have never been to Ecuador or South America for that matter. What a blessing it is to see the Lord using our labours in these countries foreign to us. When we wrote the Bible History survey books for the Old and New Testaments, little did we dream where they would go.

A missionary friend of many years recently wrote:
“As you know, I brought in with me several copies of each (book) to give to the preachers in different sectors of the country.  The books were very well received and we are now promoting them within our churches. I think that they will fill a very great need both for the rest of the preachers and for our lay people.” He will be printing both books soon. We’re now preparing for another printing of the OT Spanish books in the USA. 

Prayer Concerns

• Our church is still without an official pastor after thirteen long months.  However, for ten of those months, one of the men of the church has been volunteering fulltime ministry in the church to fill the gap. He grew up in the church and loves the church with a sacrificial commitment. He is an excellent preacher and teacher, and he knows the administration of the church well, having helped our previous pastor up to three days a week the past two to three years before the resignation. Pray for the Lord’s will to be done at the time of God’s choosing.
• We thank God for the good spirit in the church, an air of excitement about the outreach ministries as they take their priority after Satan’s diversion from the church’s mission. New visitors are coming in. Eight candidates are being prepared for baptism.
• Pray for our previous pastor of 22 years, Pastor Nabeel Zaydan and wife Joseline as they take up a new pastorate in Washington, D.C., an Arabic and English congregation.
• Pray for the Sydney Baptist Bible College, its faculty and students, where we taught for many years and where I was principal for thirteen years. Also, Satan is attacking every ministry in Australia it seems. The annual National Baptist Fellowship was held in Sydney last week with good attendance and blessing. 
• Australia is currently holding a mail-in pleibiscite that will determine whether same-sex marriage becomes the law of the land. Churches are praying for the Lord to protect the institution of the family..

Lebanon Camp Season

Begins Soon!

The weather is beautiful in Beit Mendere, high in the Lebanese mountains just down from the ancient cedars of Lebanon. The nights are cool instead of the hot, humid weather on the seacoast, some 40 minute drive away. There will be no rain until October, so there is no need for an umbrella.

The two host churches in Aaba and Ayn Nijim will direct several conferences for their children, young people, adults along with a conference for the seminary staff and students. In addition a couple of other churches will be conducting their camps at the Good Shepherd Conference Center, so it will be a busy summer for those who are responsible.

An Exciting Cuba Project?

A missionary who is burdened for ministry in Cuba goes regularly to the island has approached me about an exciting venture. He is wanting to print our Spanish Bible History books in Cuba and get them out to hundreds of pastors and Bible college students

They do not have much in the way of good resources and the missionary believes that these books would make a significant contribution in that needy country. The Cubans aren’t used to the bold colours and bound books, so the project will be done simply.

Recent Australian Church Statistics

• 12,400 local churches in Australia
• 30% of these have less than 25 attending
• Just over half of these have over 50 parishioners 
• 55% of the 12,400 are in rural and regional areas
• 21% have 25-50 people

Faith Baptist Church in Regents Park, NSW, Australia

Prayer Concerns

• Our church is still without a pastor after eight difficult and sometimes very painful months. Thank God, there have been some great victories coming out of divisive battles for the soul of the church. Satan has viciously attacked on several fronts in a very complicated situation. I’ve been preaching for 66 years and I have never been in a situation like this. There have been many such battles in other churches but I was spared the pain until now. Please continue to pray for the Lord’s leadership and needed miracles to bring our church through this trial stronger by the Lord’s assessment.
• Please pray for the Cuba project to come together.
• Pray for the Lebanon conference season to be fruitful and blessed.
• Pray for the English Bible History materials as they are adopted into use by five Bible college locations in Liberia, Ghana and South Sudan. The missionary friend in charge of this will give me more information later.
  

Good Shepherd Conference Center

• 

  Panoramic view towards distant Tripoli, Mediterranean in summer haze

• “Your work here is bringing eternal results!

Childrens’ camp bonfire

Childrens’ camp

Seminary students study time

Seminary students, faculty and staff with their families

Annual Seminary Lecture Series

So said Dr. Edgard Traboulsi

He is the director of the Lebanon camp facility which I built in 1969. After my 6 years of a camp ministry greatly blessed of God, war came to Lebanon stripping the four two-story buildings and grounds of metal doors and windows, electrical and plumbing, all the fencing around the camp and the theft of all equipment including the large tent auditorium. Pastor Traboulsi and his associate and their churches are doing a great job in restoring the camp facility. This summer they ran camps for their Lebanon Baptist Seminary, camps for children, youth and family. In total 7 groups from several churches ministered to over 400 campers! What a blessing for us to see this camp buzzing with ministry for God’s glory!

Sixty Married Years and Sixty Roses

Faith Baptist Church honors old gray hairs in a memorable, precious evening!

Pastor Zaydan’s wife, Joseline, presents 60 roses to Kathleen.

The ministry is not a bed of roses, but the accumulated experiences of ministry make  up a huge bed of beautiful rose-like blessings beyond price!  I don’t know any special significance of “60 years.” I told the church that I didn’t think they would be burdened with another ten-year celebration for us. Sixty is a blessed milestone in our gracious journey of marriage and privilege of ministry. So many thanked us for an example of loving married life and a ministry that founded Faith Baptist Church. The privilege was ours, the glory to God!

Richard: Never one time in 60 years did Kathleen say by word or deed, “Let’s consider leaving the ministry.” Kathleen: I was so privileged to marry my handsome young man, to go to a new people and strange language, to love and serve them. Tributes from daughters Melody and Shirlene

• Beautiful, harmonious music from our USA daughter and children
• Tributes from church members. These three men were with us in Lebanon since 1965 and were part of the new church in Sydney in 1976
• Tributes from the grand children (the great-grand had her own version!).  They cited our daily walks always holding hands, grandma’s dead insect pranks and a godly life,.
• Food and sweets and decorations by our loving  church family now made up of more than 20 nationalities. Our pastor is a son in the ministry and is one of the most unusual pastors I have ever known.

Faith Baptist Church Fellowship Hall

Sydney Bible Baptist College Graduates Testify

“To a man who has an American accent, an Australian passport and a Lebanese heart, thank you for making a college like SBBC possible. I thoroughly enjoyed your OT and NT Survey courses and refer to the Handbooks all the time for assignments. Your and Mrs. Hester’s testimony is a great encouragement to me.”

“Thank you very very much for developing the Bible History courses. They have been a great blessing to me and I hope to teach them to others. Though I may not remember all the material, I will remember your life testimony and faithfulness to the Lord.”

“Thank you for your labors of love in developing the Old and New Testament Bible History courses. Thank you also for your many years of service at SBBC and among the independent Baptist movement in Australia.” 

“I remember your chapel message challenging us to make God our security and our all which has been a great blessing to my spiritual life.”

This was the off-year for my courses, but Kathleen and I could not go to the college anyway. The graduates kindly made us feel we were not forgotten in the above testimonies  written on a card and given to us at the Thursday night graduation service. Thanks to all of you also for remembering us! We sincerely trust that all of you will have a blessed Christmas and a fruitful 2016 until the coming of our Lord!

A Personal Update

The coming New Year will mark 60 years of happy married life and ministry together for our Lord. Every day we thank the Lord for allowing us to still have each other. We also thank Him for giving us the measure of health so that we can help each other and assist each other’s weaknesses.

I lost a piece of vision last year which impacted my ability to see my notes for preaching. But a laptop computer on the pulpit is pulling me through. I am so thankful to still be able to preach in both English and Arabic every month.

Recently I lost some of the hearing I had gained through the cochlea implant. The doctor and the experts are perplexed and are trying to find a cause for this surprising development.

God has graciously allowed Kathleen to be at my side to help me through these limitations of sight and hearing.

Kathleen was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2012 after a long period of suspected Alzheimer’s. She lost her driver’s license in 2013. Things were very discouraging and any hope of change was hard to find. However, to God be all the glory, the doctor changed her medication and she began to stabilize. She has been stable all of this year and we see areas of improvement. We both are so thankful and rejoicing in the Lord’s goodness and grace! Of course, neither of us knows what the future holds, but our hearts overflow with thanksgiving for God’s blessing upon Kathleen. Our pastor recently told Kathleen she was the best member in the church because she grabs new visitors and brings them to him! I do not know how she can do it, but she is amazing, picking out new visitors in a crowd of several hundred, even though she struggles to know names of people whom she has known for many years. We have no explanation for some of her improvements other than the mercy and grace of a loving God!

Special Note

Please replace my old personal email rkhester@bigpond.net.au, with hrichardhester@gmail.com

Another Story of Grace

Isa. 55:11 “My Word…shall not return unto Me void…”

She was a gentle, serious girl who seemed to have a desire for God. I picked her up with several brothers and sisters and took them to Sunday school and church for a number of years in Lebanon. I hoped that she would grow up and let her light shine for Christ. Events of war overtook all of us and we lost track of her when all of us left Lebanon and eventually came to Australia.  We would not see her again for many years. We did hear that she had married.

Frankly, we lost any hope that anyone from her family would come out on the Lord’s side.  Her life passed through some deep trials, including a serious bout with throat cancer. In recent times a lady from our church invited her to church. When she knew the Hesters were in the church, she exclaimed, “Those are my people!”

Her recent testimony at her baptism told how I led her to Christ as a 12-year-old girl in the big tent at camp. She testified that she had never lost the assurance of her salvation and that she always knew she was the Lord’s. She had always read God’s Word and was not ashamed to confess her faith. She had always found great comfort and help in God’s Word and He had brought her through the darkest hours!  She contacted relatives around the world and asked them to listen to her testimony and view her baptism through our church website which they did! And her husband and children were present and heard the Gospel.

How did I feel about all this? Totally overwhelmed and awed at the miraculous ways of our Lord! 

Moods and Weathers of the Christian Life

I’m not saying that the Word of God changes-it doesn’t. “Forever, O Lord, Thy Word is settled in heaven.”

The tragedy of Lebanon ushered in a new mood in my life and preaching, a broken-ness with tears I had not experienced before. Again, the years of sickness in Australia brought with them a mood of desperate trust in the God Who is all-strength.

I think Kathleen’s Alzhei-mer’s has brought yet another season into my life and preaching, one of praising and thanking the Lord in a way I hadn’t known previously.  The Psalms have come alive.

I spoke at the recent National Baptist Fellowship sharing our comfort and strength derived from this exercise. I was surprised at the large number of young people who responded. The message can be accessed on www.MissionaryOutpost.com

Noteworthy requests and News       

• Sydney Bible Baptist College held its Graduation Fellowship with five students graduating and a number of extension students receiving certificates for various courses completed. I was honored to be the speaker at the Thursday night Graduation Exercises. The college had an excellent year of blessing and teaching.
• Our second website, www.Bible-Survey.net is now finished. It is dedicated to give all information about group classes and online studies available with our Old and New Testament Bible Survey materials. I was able to develop this site and called for a member of the church to fix the bugs and some design changes.
• The doctor adjusted Kathleen’s medications about four months ago. It has resulted in managing her symptoms dramatically better! We really appreciate your prayers for her. Taking coconut oil has also helped her memory in subtle ways. We have so much for which to thank our Lord!