Frank

One of the huge privileges of living out here is the remarkable new people that we get to make friends with. Frank is high on the 'remarkables' list - an outstanding fella who would be most upset at me if he ever read my commendations of him.

Frank comes from Perth (too!) - supported out of Riverview Church there. He heads up 'Hagar Catering' - the catering arm of Hagar (Hagar is also involved with a soya-milk business, abused wife rescue/support, sexually exploited children rescue/support and other areas). In the four years since he arrived here, this man has become a legend.

Frank is firstly a heck of a nice bloke. He's a gentleman and a godly man. He's such a softy, that when a moto guy pulled a knife on him and 'requested' the contents of his wallet, Frank's first reaction was to quickly lift his arm. Moto man and moto go splat to the ground. Feeling terrible, Frank leans over, picks the guy up, brushes him off, picks the moto up and apologises! Still feeling bad, he goes and confesses his random violence to his pastor!

Four years ago, Hagar had a dishevelled training program for hospitality. They had no expertise, no manager and no way of achieving their desire of job creation for the poor. A guy talked to Frank about the woes of Hagar's hospitality training. Within 15 minutes, in a Perth restaurant, Frank said 'OK, I'll go over'.

Since then, Frank pruned everything back to ground zero, set in training procedures and started tendering for cleaning and catering contracts. Today, Hagar Catering has an annual turnover of $1million - a phenomenal amount in this country. Frank operates from his knees (4am riser 'I'm coming, dad!') and is hugely wise, professional and funny!! He has got contracts for catering and cleaning, from clothing factories to the American embassy; from fancy hotels to schools. Further, a couple of years back he set up a restaurant - two levels and outdoor garden area. Hagar Restaurant does a great lunch buffet; sets high standards wherever you look and has the happiest staff in town.

In all of this, the poor are trained, employed, professionally developed and given a future. One of his problems is the amount of head-hunting of his staff he is experiencing. Businesses want to get his people - they are so good. In every challenge and difficulty (often multiple per day) Frank is an example of a man who knows where his help comes from.

I love this guy. He is the business mentor in the weekly small-group I am in (I'm the 'pastoral mentor'). Few people in life have so inspired and blessed me as young Frank.

For stories, Frank is without peer. Take his stint in Papua New Guinea for example. 'You have to be very careful with your instructions to the folk over there' he says. Like the time he carefully explained - 'see the rubbish on the ground there. Pick the rubbish up. Put it all on the truck. When all the rubbish is on the truck, take it to the dump and burn it'. Instructions were followed to the letter. By the time he got wind that all was not well, he turned up at the dump to find the fire just about burned out - rubbish, truck, the lot ...