Chairman of Well-Being Australia Mark Tronson says it has been his privilege to have been a receiptent of wisdom from numerous such people leading up to and during his 18 years of founding the Sports and Leisure Ministry, 17 years as the Australian cricket team chaplain, and now 29 years in faith financed mission.
One of these people was Sylvia Hall.
Mark Tronson picks up the story - I transferred to Port Kembla Locomotive Depot in 1969 as an acting fireman & while sorting out accommodation in the Port Kembla area I lived with my widowed Auntie Grace in Corrimal (one of my mother's Central Baptist girl friends).
I laid down my spiritual roots at Port Kembla Baptist Church which had a great youth group and band. The Ministers in my years were the late Rev Bill Whelan, Rev Bill Bartlett and Rev David Kerr (who conducted Delma's and my wedding), all of whom had enormous input of Christian devotion into my life.
I learned to play my saxophones (alto & tenor). A widow, Mrs Wilson the church organist helped me greatly, her son-in-law Robert Heaton was a superb saxophonist who also helped. I'd mow Mrs Wilson's lawn, in exchange she taught me to transpose from bf & ef, we'd jam for hours on hymns & choruses. Back then I was "cool" and played in the band!
I made contact with Dr Bob Wheway St Matthews Anglican Hockey Club, a coach at the Scripture Union Sports Camp at Moss Vale I attended as a 14 year old. Through St Matthews hockey I established life long friendships with Eric Smith (son Andrew played for the Kookaburras) and Gordon Newton.
As publicity officer for Illawarra Hockey I initiated my hockey writing with the help of Bill Simpson (Salvation Army) then Sports Editor of the Illawarra Mercury.
Port Kembla Locomotive Depot had several Christians, one was Toby Priestly, a man of unusual insight. When we were rostered as Driver and Fireman on train barracks trips we'd spend endless hours in the Scriptures. I boarded with them for a year until I purchased a home unit (beside the railway line)! Peter Scotland became a mate through my parents, became my groomsman and I his, and Kerry Bartlett who was school teaching became a mate, who also attended our wedding.
A godly elderly lady at Port Kembla Baptist was Nana Kirby, the Sunday School Superintendent. I established five junior hockey teams from the Sunday School and had a bus collect the lads each Saturday morning. The colour strip of the hockey shirts were the same as the Canberra Baptist Hockey Club as I had played-in as a kid, red and yellow!
On one occasion in the early 1970s, I drove Nana Kirby to Maclean where she had friends where my parents were living. This was Delma's home town.
Nana Kirby's daughter, also a widow, Mrs Sylvia Hall became a contact as twin son Phillip was in the youth group. Sylvia and her late husband Dick Hall had been home missionaries with Open Air Campaigners for over 20 years. They were remarkable evangelists and had witnessed many come to Jesus in repentance to Salvation.
Once every month or so in these Port Kembla years I'd visit Mrs Sylvia Hall at her home for a cuppa and listen to her remarkable stories of the Salvation of men and women, boys and girls through their home missionary activities, outreaches and many endeavours.
What was imparted to me was a spiritual thirst to see others come to Salvation in Christ, greater than a thirst for material wealth or fame. The impact directly affected my life's goals and aims. Mrs Sylvia Hall is now very elderly and in failing health, and remains as one of our elderly praying ladies.