The rainbow never sets

their choice, the child may get caught up in some of those queer sects, which may lead them away from the parents and from the true faith. I always stressed God's love for them, as shown in giving them a child, and challenged them to respond accordingly. I hoped that our talks gave them enough material to take their vows seriously.

With most evenings gone, visiting our members other than for emergencies, was practically impossible. I considered visiting very important and most of it was done in the late mornings or afternoons. To meet people on their own ground gave me a much better insight of who my parishioners were and what their needs were.

An alternative of meeting people in their own homes were our dinner groups in Melba. They were a wonderful way of getting closer to people. They were arranged in such a way that four couples would meet four times a year at each other's places. The rotating groups would change each time, giving participants the opportunity to meet a larger number of people over dinner. There was plenty of time to talk leisurely with the dinner guests and I was able to meet them on a deeper level than any casual meeting at church would allow. It created many friendships and provided a good atmosphere among the members of the congregation. In a town where the extended family was generally missing, it also gave people a good night out.

We had a refugee committee in Melba which sponsored refugees from Cambodia. The first to come was Nay Sin, a widow with her two daughters. A third daughter was sponsored with her husband Leng Diep and their two children. It was wonderful to see how our members went out of their way to help them settle into the Baringa Gardens flats, taking them to government and health authorities, furnishing their flats, and helping them financially. They would attend church services regularly, although initially they would not understand much English. Later I found a Cambodian who had been in Australia for much longer and who was able to interpret for them, especially at bible studies. But their English improved quickly.

Soon more members of the family were sponsored. They were stranded for a time at a refugee camp in Thailand. Thai authorities would not give them refugee status, and we made several unsuccessful attempts to get them to Australia. Our own government was also slow to respond. The Thai government considered them 'illegal refugees', as they had arrived in the camp after a certain date. One of Leng's aunt was there with her two children. The daughter hid during a raid by the Thai border police in an empty drum, where she died of suffocation due to the extreme heat. This story was published in the Canberra Times and eventually the whole large family, including the aunt with her surviving son, arrived in Canberra. Our church helped them all to settle in their new homes.

It was very rewarding to see most of them establish themselves fairly quickly, moving out of the government flats into their own homes, and

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