Posted in: Personal Bios
.. I first found a booklet which told the story of a narrow and wide road from the Gospel of Matthew. I later got a Hindi New Testament Bible from my friend with the interesting title: ‘Message of Love’. It was a message of the love of Jesus Christ for me.
.. As soon as the Canadian man finished speaking, people started throwing the same questions that I wanted to ask. Our gatherings went on for about a month, and we found ourselves confessing our sins and, with tears in our eyes, accepting Christ as our Lord and Saviour. There were less than twenty young people like me, and this was the beginning of the birth of the Mongolian church.
.. However, on February 15, 1990, my life changed completely when Jesus Christ appeared to me in a dream. I had suffered from severe and chronic headaches and in the dream, this man touched my forehead. When I woke up, the headache was gone – I was completely healed.
Meeting Jesus has been a wonderful time for me, from my childhood till now. I have met rich people and poor people and at every time and in every condition, I have met Jesus.
In 2003, I was converted in a refugee camp in Laine, in the south of Guinea, by the message of a preacher there. The message was from Acts 4:12: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” It is only by having faith in Jesus Christ as the true Son of God that we can be saved.
When the worship music began, I fell onto the floor shaking and crying continuously while all my sins against our God were racing through my memory; my wretched life flashing before my eyes – all the sins I had committed made me feel like a dirty rag that no one would even want to touch. But I met Jesus there. He held me and spoke to me in an audible voice while I humbly asked for His forgiveness.
My passion has always been for overseas travel – but not the usual touristy stuff. I’d rather get off
the beaten track. I want to see the world through the eyes of real people. There’s no better way to do that than through Asia Focus Australia.
In 2016 I participated in my first overseas mission trip with AFA to Bhutan and Nepal. This was a life changing journey where God spoke to me and said, “You can do more”. To see first-hand the
poverty and need, but then to witness the amazing work of AFA – I was certainly challenged.
Fear and sorrow always grips my heart whenever I think of the story of my life. Really, my life has been a painful journey full of incredible happenings – until God connected me to AFA.
They shouted ‘Heil Hitler’ in derision as I began to address an anti-gun rally in Gympie some years ago – a rally I had organised for the deputy Prime Minister of Australia at the time, Mr Tim Fischer. Many obviously hated me while others said, ‘Pastor Fricke is going into politics for sure.’ They knew that that I had just received an invitation to a private audience with the then Prime Minister Mr John Howard.
They were all wrong. My heart is with the Gospel and the Mission of Christ on earth, a mission directed to all but especially to the poor, despised and needy. My best buddy is a dispossessed, peasant rickshaw driver in Indonesia who had nothing, no future and who learnt English by reading the Bible. But this much for sure: I have always been controversial and rarely the flavour of the month, even in ‘the church’.
How does someone get caught up in the amazing growth of the Christian Church particularly in parts of S.E. Asia? It is not something that you aim to do but it easy to see in retrospect that there was a plan all along – it was God’s plan not mine.
As happens so often, my involvement in Asia Focus began with the telling of a story.
The story tellers were Pastor Noel and Meg Noack, who have a real heart for overseas mission. They had returned recently from a trip to the Plas Prei Training Centre in Northern Cambodia. They told their story of a visit to this outreach centre which aims to educate bright young Cambodian girls who come from backgrounds of extreme poverty at a church mission festival. As the story unfolded, they inspired me to join the next group of visitors to northern Cambodia.
Why not see for yourself? I had to see it with my own eyes… I had to know –Just what exactly was it about Asia Focus Australia that so many people were so passionate about supporting? What better way to find out than to walk in their shoes? So in 2012, bags packed, I set off for Myanmar and Thailand on my first mission trip. As it turns out I have now just returned from my FOURTH mission trip!
Amidst the heart and soul of Asia Focus in action, I got to see and feel first hand, not only the work that was being done, but how appreciative the people who are assisted by Asia Focus are. I witnessed how together ordinary people achieve the extraordinary, and as a result I became more actively involved, mainly organising fundraising activities and promoting the work of Asia Focus here in Bundaberg. Then in 2014 I proudly accepted the position of Secretary.
My name is Nolene Stark and I am the Administration Assistant for Asia Focus Australia, which means that I am the Assistant Secretary, Assistant Treasurer and Assistant to the President when he is away.
I became involved with Asia Focus when I travelled with a tour group to Myanmar,Thailand and Laos with Pastor August. We left Australia on the 21st January 2011 amidst the turmoil of devastating floods and loss of life here in Queensland. However, in Australia, everyone stands behind the victims; the whole nation pitches in to help. The stark contrast for me was landing in Myanmar where I found myself in a totally different world of unbelievable poverty.