I didn't think Ally was going to get anything at first. She invited me inside and heard about Eastward's youth camps, and why we were canvassing. Ally had started a hobby farm in NSW linked up with youth work. We talked about the Eastward farm and she wanted contact details to ask a few questions.

Ally was right into health and natural healing - also a vegetarian. I showed Health and Peace which she really liked because it covered natural remedies.

"I'm contradicting myself here but I work in a fertiliser factory, even though I'm against using fertilisers." she said, adding that she sprayed her plants with a special mix of garlic and other ingredients.

Not being religious as such, she wasn't into the other books. Someone had Bible bashed her eight year old son at school and she didn't like that.

Ally would've taken Wholesome Homemade but didn't have enough money. Because I didn't know how much she had, I told her that the reading books were purely on a donation basis. Ally gave me $13 for Health and Peace.

- Michael

Awesome experience: This lady came to the door and I asked how she was going.

"Not the best," she said.

"Do you have a cold or something?" I asked.

She'd been sick for 6 weeks, unsure about what was wrong - and in about an hour was driving into Adelaide to visit a throat and nose specialist. The lady explained how she was on a Paleo diet and didn't normally get so sick.

I felt impressed to show Health and Peace straight away. She told me again how she was normally really healthy so I expanded on the book's principles of health. She thought they were great!

The lady loved reading, too, and I showed her The Great Controversy. When I asked about her spiritual background, she was happy to share that meditating - being still - gave her amazing peace.

"I believe in a higher power," she said. "I feel so much peace when I'm connecting with that higher power."

Totally loving the books, this lady went to her purse and came back with a $50 donation. "Can I have those reading books?" she asked.

I gave her Health and Peace and the Great Controversy. Then, I showed Peace Above the Storm and explained how it brought me peace. She was holding all three books close to her. Last night the lady was having trouble sleeping and had rung the specialist just this morning. An early appointment was available because of a cancelled booking. She recognised that God, or a higher power, had brought us to meet at the right time.

She was super keen to read the three books: The Great Controversy, Health and Peace, and Peace Above the Storm.

- Shanna

I had heatstroke this morning and started late. Halfway through, just before lunch, I came to an open door and could hear a TV. Oh no, I thought, they're probably not going to hear my knock. I knocked kinda loudly. Eventually, the lady inside came out. She thought my knocking was her dog wagging its tail.

I canvassed all the books and she was so into them. Wholesome Homemade, the reading books. This lady only had 70c in the whole house because she gets paid next week. Sci-fi novels were her favourite books to read. I'd never heard of them.

The front cover of The Great Controversy really appealed to her: "Global war on freedom." The lady had a Bible and liked reading it too, though she puts it down for years at a time. We chatted about her beliefs on God and who He is. She reckoned there's a God, one God, and that all religions worship the same person. Muslims, etc. Then, she took The Great Controversy and was so happy about it. The lady gave me her 70c.

"It really counts when people give all that they can," I told her.

She was so thankful. The really funny thing is that her dog was petrified of men. It was shivering just because I was there.

---

Canvassing this afternoon I met a guy at his door. He was walking around inside with a limp. I canvassed Wholesome Homemade.

"I love cooking so much but have no money," the guy said.

Then, I showed him the other books. He wasn't too interested so I had to help his interest. I was saying a lot of things to explain The Great Controversy. He eventually came back with $3.

I remembered to survey him and he signed up for prophecy seminars, depression recovery and cooking demonstrations!

He ended up taking The Great Controversy and Path to Peace. He was going to read them that night.

"It might take me all night but I'll probably read them," he told me.

- Matthew

Nobody came after two knocks on the door, so I left a door card and walked off. I heard people over the fence next to the house, then saw a baby as well. The baby looked at me. You're no help, I thought. I decided to call out over the fence. The wife walked out from beside the house and her husband came over from the garage.

I showed Wholesome Homemade to both of them, then started on Health and Peace. The lady came around to her front door holding the cookbook and I kept showing Health and Peace, then the other books. Responding to my question about any spiritual background, she explained that her mum was an atheist and her dad Catholic. Her partner's mother was a Jehovah's Witness. She herself had gone to a Catholic school.

The lady strongly believed that there had to be a God - a Creator, but she hadn't made up her mind about following any particular church.

Knowing she had kids, I showed Real Heroes and Storytime as well.

"Which ones were you interested in?" I asked.

"Can I take these four for $40?" she asked in reply. The four were Wholesome Homemade, Health and Peace, Peace Above the Storm, and Storytime.

"Thanks for calling over the fence," she said. "Most people would just knock and leave." This lady spoke to a lot of door knockers and believed in being friendly to people who knock.

Two weeks ago she'd moved down from Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. I had a good chat with her; she liked my smile and we were wearing exactly the same tops. Good experience!

---

I walked around the corner and saw a guy in his garage, next to the house I was heading towards. As I walked up I called out.

"What are you flogging?" he asked.

I showed him the books and he asked me who I was with.

"Eastward Missions," I replied.

He kinda asked me again and I told him that I was a Seventh-day Adventist Christian.

"There's the driveway," the man said.

I asked about his spiritual background.

"My wife is a staunch Lutheran," he said, and added that she might be interested in having a look.

He called out to his wife.

"There's a SDA lady here with books!"

She came out. I showed her the books and explained what we were doing. This lady used to know some Adventists who lived in Kadina 10 years ago, but couldn't remember their names. What she did remember was how nice they were.

The wife looked through all my books and DVDs. She ended up taking the Revelation and Music DVDs - plus The Great Controversy. $19 for all 3.

Off I went again, back up the drive where I was meant to go in the beginning. It was confusing. I don't even know how it happened...

- Julie

He quickly rejected everything I showed, was busy, and had kids crying in the background that he needed to help. I went straight for Path to Peace.

"Are you from the church just down the road?" the man asked, as he took the book.

"I'm a Seventh-day Adventist Christian from Victoria," I told him.

He explained how he believed but his partner didn't. He needed to be very careful because she didn't like religion.

"I keep everything on the backburner," he added, explaining how he was attacked at work after voting no in the same-sex marriage survey. Now, he keeps quiet. "In the 80's, nobody cared if you believed in God. Saying it now gets you persecuted. I'm basically a Christian in the closet."

The man wanted to protect his family and kids. The entire time I was thinking that he needed The Great Controversy; needed to know why he couldn't hide.

He was very thankful for Path to Peace and said he'd definitely read it, so I went back to The Great Controversy. Over this entire time his kids were screaming in the background and I felt really bad.

As I showed The Great Controversy he seemed really interested - right up until his partner came to check what was going on. Then the man went back to saying that he couldn't take it.

"Is it something you'd read if I left it with you?" I asked.

This man loved reading and loved history... Finally, I convinced him to take The Great Controversy. He couldn't stop thanking me for the book!

- Kayla

This afternoon we moved into Moonta. I knocked on this man's door and his dog scared me! It was big and started barking. The guy, Eric, had a bottle of beer in his hand.

I showed him Wholesome Homemade.

"This is a really good cookbook," he said. "I have to look out for my daughter's health."

Eric liked reading about health because he worked in that field. When I showed Health and Peace, he reckoned it was a really interesting book.

"What other books do you have?" he asked.

I showed Peace Above the Storm.

"This is a really encouraging one," he said. He was pulling faces.

The Great Controversy was next.

"My wife's into history," he said. "How much for the lot?"

"You can have them all for $50," I replied.

That was okay with Eric. He came back with $50 and took Wholesome Homemade, Health and Peace, Peace Above the Storm and The Great Controversy. This was my first handset and I was super excited! Eric was excited about the work we were doing as well.

---

Today was very character building. I was constantly praying throughout the day, asking God to help me get message books out. People were only buying cookbooks. Either nobody was home, or they weren't listening to the rest of the canvass past Wholesome Homemade.

"Lord, I really want to get at least one message book out - it'd make my day," I prayed.

Two hours before pick up time and still no message books... Kids were starting to go out trick or treating. Then came one of those moments - the penny dropped. It was Halloween! Satan was going to be more on my case as I worked for God. There was a spiritual battle going on. I changed my prayer straight away.

Then I met a very happy lady at her door.

"What do you like reading?" I asked.

The lady told me she usually went to the library but liked reading anything. Mysteries were a favourite. I showed her The Great Controversy and Health and Peace.

"They're really beautiful books," she said, flicking through them. "How much are these?"

I explained how they were all on a donation basis. She went inside to get some money.

The lady came back with $30. "I'll take the cookbook and Health and Peace," she said.

At that point, a little boy walked up to us for a trick or treat.

"What do I do?" said the lady. "I don't know the concept of this." With that, she rejected the little boy.

Then she came back to me. "I'm so sorry - keep going."

Incredible how everything changed after my prayer changed! I was praying for everyone else on the team too.

- Grace

John was an old man - 84 years old. He didn't look it! He said that he used to be an Adventist and still went to church sometimes.

He reckoned that people over-emphasised Jesus and that Paul actually started the Christian church. John talked really quietly and was a bit hard to understand. He was brought up Catholic and stayed Catholic for most of his life. When Catholicism stopped making sense, he became a Jehovah's Witness - then afterwards, a Christadelphian.

15 years ago he became an Adventist. After 5 years, he kinda stopped going to church.

I sold John three books: The Great Controversy, Health and Peace, and Peace Above the Storm. He'd read books by Ellen White a long time ago. He gave me a $100 note and I gave $50 change.

- Silas

Just before lunch I met a guy called Weston walking out of the Billabong store. He was probably in his 60s.

"Hey mate," I said, while coming up to him.

I gave Weston the biggest fright! He turned out to be a Christian too, and we got chatting about what the team was doing. He was so impressed and amazed about the work.

"Mate, you've got a good start," he began. "I started when I was old and grumpy. God really must have done something good for you to be able to do this."

I told Weston we were Adventists.

His wife came walking along - she seemed really cold to me and went straight to her car to drop off a few bags.

"Come on," he said. "This young chap, Andy, is working with the Seventh-day Adventist Church."

The lady came over and started warming up because she knew she had to, but Wholesome Homemade didn't interest her. Weston grabbed the reading books; the whole stack. His wife said no to The Great Controversy so he tried Health and Peace.

"Oh, I need some health and peace," he said. "Grab some money from the car please."

She was so reluctant to get that money - but he was very keen on the books. Ended up taking Health and Peace. Weston was so cool with what we were doing and really encouraged me. Just amazing...

- Andy