Flood stories acknowledge Adventist spirit

A book collecting stories from the last-January flooding in the Toowoomba region (Qld) has included a tribute to participants in the Australian Pathfinder camporee held amid the rain and flooding at the Toowoomba Showgrounds from January 4 to 9, 2011. One of the opening stories in Battered But Not Beaten, published by the Toowoomba “Writers at Work” group, is the testimony of Damon Phillips, manager of the showgrounds.

“Considering the conditions, all could have been forgiven for saying they had a terrible time: a disastrous week,” he reflects. “Yet in some extraordinary way, because of what they try to achieve in the camps—tolerance and working together—they left six days later, saying it was the best camp ever.”
 

The book also features the story of Adventist church members, Tim and Sonia Fittkau, whose home was destroyed by floodwaters on January 10, including an excerpt from their story as published in the March, 2011, issue of Signs of the Times, written by Nathan Brown. Their story included acknowledgement of the role their church played in helping their family get back on their feet in the wake of their losses.