Miraculous intervention in country Queensland
Divisional Envoy Neville Radecker in his rural chaplaincy role, talking with a farmer. (Photo courtesy of Neville Radecker)
Divisional Envoy Neville Radecker has spent six years bringing hope to struggling farmers in his role as rural chaplain for Queensland's Kingaroy area.
The hardworking envoy has spent much of this time in crisis relief, from floods to droughts to suicide prevention, and on call as the chaplain for the area's emergency services.
“I haven't stopped doing disaster relief since the 2011 floods,” says Neville. “Rural people who depend on the land for an income often find it’s two years before they can produce an income again.”
The natural disasters in southern Queensland, from floods to the current drought, are greatly affecting the area's farmers. Many have had their crops destroyed, losing their income. Soils have been impacted by the floods, and cattle are in desperate need of water and fodder. Many animals are perishing as they wait for replenishing rains.
“I've been to smaller-scale farms during the last few years. Like all rural people, the farmers would never have accepted any assistance before, and never dreamt they would ever need to. Many have tears running down their face when I give them some basic luxuries like toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, shampoo or laundry detergent - luxuries they can no longer afford,” Neville says.
“It’s a terrible situation in the rural sector. It doesn't matter what part of Australia you’re looking at.”
Neville is no stranger to hardship. He spent eight years bedridden with a disease and the doctors told him he would not survive. In the midst of this hardship, his wife passed away. But in 1999, Neville miraculously healed and became active again.
“Medical science and human logic can’t explain what happened. I'm alive and I shouldn't be alive, and I can walk and I shouldn't be able to walk,” Neville says.
Neville later remarried and together he and his wife bring encouragement to struggling farmers, with the understanding that comes from their own hardships and the belief that God can do the impossible.
“Everyone is trying to survive and as chaplains who work for The Salvation Army, we try to encourage people to hang on that little bit longer,” says Neville. “The main thing is just having someone who cares. A large part of my role is supporting people emotionally.”
“As rural chaplains, we call in and visit people on their properties and remind them that God cares for them. After I leave, even those people who have no Christian faith often speak of a great sense of peace and hope as a result of my visits and support.
Never turning back a donation, Neville believes even the smallest support can encourage struggling farmers.
“I had a donation of rubber boots one time. They came in only two sizes”, Neville says. “Yet every single person who tried these rubber boots on said they were the best fitting boots they ever had regardless of what size their foot was.”
“God does the extraordinary through ordinary people”.
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