Ben Armacost's blog

Tasmania is home to refugees from many nations, among which are the Nepalese of Bhutan.  Launceston is Tasmania's second largest city and has over 500 Nepalese refugees--more than twice as many as in Hobart.  But among those 500 were very few Christian believers; most come from Hindu or Buddhist backgrounds.  God has laid on the hearts of Nepalese AIM trainers Paul and Isaac to target their own people in that city.  Paul discovered that many of them are "long lost relatives," many of whom were uncles, aunts, and cousins that he had not seen in years (or in some cases, never met) due to circ

Greetings once again!  Much has happened since I last wrote 2 months ago, and now that I am back from my trip to the USA, I will bring you up to date with what God has been doing in our midst. 

I had mentioned before that 10 people give their lives to Jesus at a camp which Aris organized in early July.  In the wake of this camp, we learned that a lady named K. opened her home to host a new outreach group which has been meeting weekly. 

We just returned from a great weekend in Sydney where I was the speaker at a combined church camp.  The camp was held at a conference center near Fitzroy Falls about 2 hours from Sydney.  This was an exciting time for us to train and motivate about 80 people in sharing their faith, forming new groups, and making disciples that reproduce.  We rejoice that 10 people received Jesus as Saviour during the weekend and of course that generated a lot of excitement!  Aris, the pastor and camp organizer, will forming several new groups to train these new believers and sees great potential in these gr

Today marks a very special day in our history.  Five years ago, we conducted our very first Reboot disciple training group.

This morning I returned from my trip to the USA to visit my father, whose health was failing rapidly. Unfortunately I did not get there in time to see him, as he passed away the evening before I arrived. But it truly was a blessing to reconnect with my family, particularly my siblings and my mother who appreciated my presence during those difficult days. Dad’s funeral, while sad, was a celebration as he knew the Lord and is with Him now! My deepest thanks to all of you who have encouraged us and prayed for us throughout these past weeks.

I wanted to let you all know that I will be traveling to the USA today to see my father.  He is suffering the later stages of cancer and has taken a turn for the worse over the weekend.  We expect that he could pass away very soon, and I am taking this opportunity to see him for the last time and give support to my family back home.  This has been a difficult decision and has happened very quickly, but I feel that it is the right thing to do.  Please pray for me as I travel.

It’s been a long time since I have written an “AIM Trainers Update” and I apologise for the long silence.  My ambition this year was to write on a regular basis but to date this has not happened.  Having set up this blog site nearly a year ago, I am finally getting around to using it.

I'm typing quite slowly as I cut my hand while spearfishing yesterday.  I made 4 cm incision when my brand new knife slipped and struck the back of my left hand.  Fortunately not tendons, nerves, or vessels were severed, but it is a full thickness incision which required stitches.  Please pray it won't get infected, and that it will heal quickly. 

Last year around this time, I sent a notice suggesting that we raise some money for Fred Buhendwa to assist him with a trip back to Africa.  Several people gave contributions, and we put these funds aside for him.  In October Fred received Australian citizenship, and the following week he made plans to return to Africa to take our training to the people of his country and to help his sister escape from a dangerous situation.  With money in hand from those of you who contributed, Fred took that long journey during the month of November.

Next Saturday 26th November we will gather for an Iron-on-Iron Strategy Forum at Hobart Baptist Church, Jack Soundy Memorial Hall.  This is open to all leaders and workers as well as people who are interested in what we are doing to reach people for Christ.  We will begin with breakfast at 8am and conclude by noon. Please bring something to share for breakfast.