I was raised in a Christian home in Sydney and was aware of God and Jesus but did not really believe. I joined the Army in 1974 and whilst there I encountered the Everyman’s Rep at the Range, which was a treat in a long day, but I never attended the Everyman’s Centre. My first 4 years was as a Gun Number and Signaller in Artillery before I corps transferred to RAEME as a Mechanic. I then served in Sydney at Moorebank, Randwick and Woolwich, during which time I started to attend church again.

In 1983 I was posted to Kapooka and came in contact with several fellow Christians in the Transport yard and the Band who were members of the Kapooka Christian Fellowship (KCF) which involved other camp Christians including the Chaplains and the Everyman’s Rep. KCF met every day at lunch time for fellowship and prayer in the Chaplains counselling room, and as a result of this I became more aware of the service Everyman’s provided (and still provide).

After visiting the Everyman’s centre with my wife Bronwyn, we decided to start working there at night so that the Rep could take a break. We worked with, Shane Lavell, Gary Rodham, Tom Entwhistle, and on occasions met up with Bob Rodgers, and CCOM Stacey Kruck. Four years later we posted to Brisbane and from there to Puckapunyal, Bandiana and finally back to Kapooka. We arrived just as a young Ken Matthews started with Everyman’s.

I left the Army after 21 years and started work as a self-employed courier in Wagga Wagga which I ran for 21 years. During this time, I still kept in contact with EWS. As I drew closer to age 60 I thought about retiring to part time work and was wondering what I would do in my spare time, so I asked the Lord. I had thought about Everyman’s but wasn’t sure. I’d had a bit of conflict at my church so I decided to attend other churches in Wagga so that I could be fed (from God’s Word) and seek God’s will for my future.

As I was travelling to a Church down town I had to pass the Church of Christ and I believe the Holy Spirit got me to stop and attend. As I walked in the door who should greet me but Ken Matthews, (now Chief Commissioner of Everyman’s). During the course of conversation he asked if I would consider becoming a Rep with Everyman’s again, as he had been praying for 2 new Rep’s at Kapooka. After the initial shock, silent prayer in the service and after listening to Ken’s sermon, I was totally convinced that the Lord had answered my prayer.

I commenced as a part time Representative for EWS at Kapooka in late June 2016, and in July 2017 I went onto full time service and have served on an overseas deployment, for 4 months, to the Middle East Region. At Kapooka we operate a fully equipped Land Cruiser which allows us to serve the recruits with a hot or cold brew, biscuits and lollies, in the field. We also run the Recruits Recreation centre at night where they can play pool, table tennis, and X-Box and generally relax. All these activities provide a great opportunity to share Christian Fellowship.

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