Fifty years ago today, Beth Beath-Filby and Shirley Harris donned white robes for their ordination ceremony as deaconesses at St Andrew's Cathedral. Today they reflect on their years of service in Pakistan as missionaries, and in Sydney.
Strong in his strength
Beth started out in nursing, at the Children's Hospital, in Sydney, before going to Deaconess House to do her two years of study.
After she became a deaconess, she ventured to Pakistan and served as a sister-in-charge of a women's hospital in Sukkur, in the Sindh Desert.
Beth worked among women and children in a CMS hospital, looking after babies that were near death due to malnutrition.
"It was a great joy to see babies that were nigh unto death come home healthy," she says.
When Beth was forced to return home due to a bad back, her nursing ministry took a new turn. She resumed nursing in Sydney, working in Carramarr and Chesalon homes in Sydney, and then with disabled women for the Holy Cross in Queensland.
Beth has been at Mowll Village for the past 20 years, and has served as a warden at St Michael's chapel, as well as visiting other residents.
"Once you have a friendship with them, they give you the opportunity to speak freely about our Lord and Saviour," she says.
Over the years, she says seen God undeniably at work.
"It was really hard work out there in Pakistan, but without the Lord's strength, none of us would have been able to cope."
Guided by God
Shirley arrived in Karachi in 1958 and served there for 34 years, working with women and children.
"After a year or so of learning Urdu and adjusting to the local milieu, the Lord began to show me what He had for me to do," she says.
"I saw the need for young girls from outlying areas in Karachi, to be able to live-in while attending school, because it wasn't safe for them to travel alone on local buses to get to school."
Shirley recalls that this was a significant project, requiring dormitories, bathrooms, laundries, an administration office, and of course, financial sponsors.
"It didn't happen all at once, but bit by bit, the Lord sent in the funds as and when needed," she says.
While her missionary service was hard work, she says it has left her with fond memories of God at work.
"I praise God for the time I spent in Pakistan " for all the Lord's bountiful provisions, and his many blessings."
Beth, Shirley and their fellow deaconesses will be celebrated at the Annual General Meeting of the Sydney Diaconal Fellowship in July.
