The Laguna Quays Respite on the Whitsundays and the Myrtle Grove Respite in Tasmania have both received visitors and they report back consistently that they are appreciative and overwhelmingly delighted that such facilities are available.
Steve Suba, who co-ordinates Well-Being Australia in Tasmania, said that Paul and Muriel, who own and run the Myrtle Grove facility, have been so very pleased that what the Lord laid upon their hearts has come to fruition.
The surroundings play some part in this but not all. Mark Tronson is aware of a respite facility in Melbourne, where everything surrounding it is bricks and mortar, yet it is a place of solitude where those who visit can read and chill out within ear shot of the busyness of city life.
Yet, for most people, the very idea of respite is getting away from rush and bustle of city living, and enjoying the quietness and the still air of rural experience. It is here that both Laguna Quays Respite and Myrtle Grove Respite come into their own. The philosophy of respite for missions and those in ministry has been long endorsed by Christian leaders, and this can be evidenced in the middle ages where Abbeys were set aside for pilgrims.
The industrial revolution and the Protestant work ethic took its toll on the idea of respite, where on the one hand there was industrial work to be done and on the other hand idle hands led to mischief and un-welcomed play time away from industrious activity. It is only in recent decades where such thinking has taken its toll on both the human body and the human soul. Respite been revived from the doldrums of inactivity.
In Australia, John Mark Ministries was established in the 1980s by the Reverend Dr Rowland Croucher who was instrumental in the 'respite' revival and his book "Still Waters, Deep Waters" was unleashed on a busy clergy.
This was further developed when Mark Tronson opened Basil Sellers House in Moruya on the NSW south coast for Australian Institute of Sport athlete respite in 1992 and then developed again with another facility in Tweed Heads and then Laguna Quays Respite for Missionaries and Ministers.
"One of the great joys of Christian mission," says Mark Tronson, "is that the faith, prayer and connected effort start something that grows from a ministry vision and gradually makes its way through the processes of time, commitment and the usual Council red tape to finally be up and running. Then, on top of that, one gets to see the joy of its effectiveness."
Mark Tronson says that the Laguna Quays Respite facility caters for "missionaries" and "church leaders" where they fly into Proserpine and a driver collects them and leaves them a vehicle for local shopping. Their next mission visitors in September are from SIM.
Laguna Quays Respite - Whitsundays
bushorchestra.com/TourismMinistry_files/LagunaQuays_respite.htm
Myrtle Grove Respite - Tasmania
web.me.com/rjm5/retreat/Psalm_23.html