Well-Being Australia’s Dr Mark and Delma Tronson visited South Australia for the three days prior to Christmas and on the agenda was the Aldinga Beach Respite house and a young writers dinner in Adelaide.
The Aldinga Beach Respite project was initiated when Mr Basil Sellers AM visited the Basil Sellers Laguna Quays Respite house on the Whitsundays in 2014 and 2015. The Laguna Quays Respite project was opened by Dr Mark and Delma Tronson in 2011 for missionary respite and home ministries such as school chaplains.
The model was based upon Dr Mark Tronson’s 14 year ministry of respite for Australian Institute of Sport elite athletes at Basil Sellers House (Timeout in Moruya). With that experience their heart was set upon providing a cottage for missionaries and home missioners.
Basil Sellers asked on his July 2015 visit to the Laguna Quays Respite cottage (and coinciding a local art prize he sponsored) what was there for missionaries requiring triage – more than the relaxation and recuperation such as the Whitsunday Islands which Laguna Quays Respite offered.
He asked Mark Tronson to send to his house in Sydney four mission executives – this occurred on 23 September 2015 - CMS, SIM, Global InterAction and Pastor Care. As a result MissionsInterlink took on responsibility of the triage mission respite.
Basil Sellers purchased a house at Aldinga Beach and this opened in November 2016 - after the purchase of the house, the legal lease processes, and preparations from within the local Christian community. One of these was developing a business model to meet the expenses, whereas Mark and Delma’s faith financed supporters of 42 years through Well-Being Australia meets the expenses at Laguna Quays Respite in order that mission people have ‘free gifted’ respite accommodation.
guests have all enjoyed the art. Above – ‘Confusion’
Aldinga Beach Respite
Basil Sellers, his PA (Deb), Mark and Delma Tronson met with Robyn in January 2016 and their support team in Aldinga Beach to establish core protocols with MissionsInterlink’s engagement. The project was then functioning in November that year after Basil Sellers purchased the house.
This was therefore the first time Mark and Delma Tronson had visited the Aldinga Beach Respite house with a warm welcome by Robyn who asked Delma Tronson many questions about the functioning of Laguna Quays Respite. They both discovered that things go missing – accidentally thrown out or items put in a ‘hiding’ place no one can find.
The Aldinga Beach house It is a beautiful home with an outdoors pergola and well kept gardens. Like Laguna Quays Respite there are volunteers who help - and they both pay for the lawns to be done. The same dramas occur with sudden cancellations due to missionary demands …..
This was a beautiful visit. Mark and Delma were able to fill in the detail of how CMS missionaries are visiting regularly. Adelaide young writer Amy Manners was very interested in how we established Laguna Quays Respite - and becoming aware of the Aldinga Beach Respite - not one hour south of Adelaide. Amy’s CMS missionary friend Susan was returning from Africa and arranged for Susan to spend recuperative time there.
After Susan’s visit she bought to the attention of CMS how splendid it was and thus CMS appointed Susan as the Aldinga Beach Respite coordinator for returning missionaries. That has worked brilliantly.
Word of mouth and networking - functions very effectively in both respite projects - Laguna Quays and Aldinga Beach. Now a third respite house has opened on Bass Straight an hour’s drive from Launceston (Steve and Debbie Suba) and a now fourth - a MissionsIntrelink project for Cairns at MAF’s Hilltops is in process.
Basil Sellers sent to Mark Tronson - “Looks like WE have started something”.
Adelaide young writers
Monday evening 23 December a number of Adelaide young writers came to the Watermark in Glenelg. This was the third such Adelaide young writer gathering with Mark and Delma Tronson over these past years.
They discussed with each other how articles are created, the Christian Today ‘Most Popular’ list and the changing nature of how the young writer ministry is developing after 10 years. In September in Christchurch the Australasian Religious Press Association (ARPA) presented their premier award The Gutenberg to the young writers – Press Service International.
This heightened attention to the young writer ministry has seen Christian Today Editor David Chang wanting the young writers to stay-on into the Over 31s and then become ‘senior writers’ rather than bringing in writers of more mature years.
To this effect Adelaide’s Justin and Liana Monaghan, rather than moving on as older Over 31s, are staying on and sharing a ‘senior writer’ spot – each of them writing every 10 weeks rather than once every 5 weeks.
The primary focus of the young writers is the 18-30 age group and we welcome enquiries of young people to an international column with Christian Today.
Press Service International - timeout@bushorchestra.com or chin wag with Mark Tronson on 0419 917 713
Dr Mark Tronson is a Baptist minister (retired) who served as the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years (2000 ret) and established Life After Cricket in 2001. He was recognised by the Olympic Ministry Medal in 2009 presented by Carl Lewis Olympian of the Century. He mentors young writers and has written 24 books, and enjoys writing. He is married to Delma, with four adult children and grand-children. Dr Tronson writes a daily article for Christian Today Australia (since 2008) and in November 2016 established Christian Today New Zealand. Dr Mark Tronson’s Press Service International in 2019 was awarded the Australasian Religious Press Association’s premier award, The Gutenberg.
Mark Tronson's archive of articles can be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/mark-tronson.html