AUSTRALIA—Throughout February and March, the Sydney congregation held a series of work parties at the new regional office location to prepare for its opening. About 50 members responded to the Sabbath announcement and signed up to assist in the cleaning, setup and installation at the office building.

The work parties had a “pretty systematic approach,” said organizer Ross Macdonald, and each one had a different objective.

At the first work party on February 27, a handful of volunteers cleaned, ripped up old carpet, helped move furniture from the previous owner to the warehouse in preparation for painting and installed the warehouse’s new racking.

Member Andy Klusenberg, a professional painter, spent the rest of the week at the new office, painting most of the rooms and hallways in advance of moving in the new furniture. Meanwhile, member Jerry Murtin began his work on the pigeonholes for the mail room and the stone-top reception counter. Volunteers took measurements and moved in materials to prepare for the busy weeks ahead for the professional carpenter.

At the next work party on March 6, a handful of members performed specialized maintenance and renovation. Deacon Ben Klusenberg and member Dale Abblitt built a warehouse restroom and piped air conditioning into a back room. Matthew Klusenberg set up wiring for two security cameras. Other volunteers helped out with odds and ends and general cleaning. Member Steve Wiggins picked up a marble table near his workplace and carefully transported the heavy load to Wollongong, where several men unloaded it and carried it to Regional Director John Macdonald’s office for use as a boardroom table.

March 9 was the day of the big move, and most of the local members were involved. One objective for the day was to empty the old office and storage facility at Narellan and move it to the new office location. The second objective was to move employees Sherry Pfotenhauer and Kirsten Davison to their new homes in Albion Park. The small army of members achieved both goals, and spirits were high as the last truckload arrived at the Wollongong office at 9 p.m.

Members gathered for the final two work parties on March 13 and 15. A small crew went to the office to clean and tidy up the office. All the painting was complete; mostly carpentry work remained. Last-minute touches were added, including light fixtures, clocks and drawer handles. A donated water feature was set up in the reception area.

“The work parties created an atmosphere of excitement and unity. There was much discussion and anticipation of what was to come,” Mr. Macdonald said.

While the office officially opened for viewing on March 16, work continued during the week. Headquarters network administrator Benjamin Tauer and Philippines office staff member Reniel Padua arrived on March 19 to set up the office’s server and network. They both departed on March 24 to do similar setup work for the Philippines office.