Darwin Pics and Litchfield National Park pics!! :)

This is the Kriol Team, except for one(Margaret), who was sick. :( From L to R: John Armstrong, Jared, Cheri, Rachel Borneman

This is the crew that went to Litchfield National Park! The other family is the Simmonds family. While Cheri and I were in meetings at the office, they volunteered to watch the kids for us. They are SUCH A BLESSING! Alice and Bethany were looking forward to our Darwin trip because then they would get to play with Jessica and Hannah Rose. Alice started counting down the days seriously 2 full weeks before we left for Darwin!

This is one of three waterfalls we saw at Litchfield, this was my favorite, because we could see a rainbow at the bottom of it! Beautiful.

This was the rock pool we all swam in! The kids were really enjoying it. Cameron usually hung on to me like a little monkey on my back while I swam around. It was a lot of fun.

Darwin and a quick "catch up"!

Much has happened since I last wrote. The second week of December was a week spent in Darwin, planning for the next year of ministry here in Australia, and what an exciting year it will be! We'll be involved in dubbing the "Luke" film, which is like the new Jesus video. We will also be having various workshops including a few SMBG(Sabi Mowa Blanga Godwei--Know More About God's Way) and a Sunday School workshop to train indigenous believers how to lead a Sunday School class, helping people to study God's Word in Kriol! We will also be working alongside indigenous believers to create some new Bible materials in Kriol.
We have a lot ahead of us. Please pray for God's will to be done, and for the Baibul to speak to the hearts of the people we are working with. We have continued to have our Monday Kriol Baibul study with the ladies here in Barunga. Please pray for men to come to them as well.
It's officially "The Wet" here. That means, it rains EVERY DAY. Sometimes it's just in the evenings, sometimes it's all day, but it is quite wet. Instead of a "White Christmas", we had a "Wet Christmas"! The day after Christmas it was raining so hard it looked white outside!
I'll be posting pics of our time in Darwin and of Christmas time for y'all in the next post. Thank you so much for your prayers and continued support of our family and the Kriol Speakers in Northern Australia!

Living Water...in Maturanka?

Yesterday was the last day of school for the kids. They are now on SUMMER HOLIDAY. This has been the longest summer of our lives.
To celebrate and have some good time as a family, we had homemade pizza for lunch(instead of dinner) and then drove 101 km to Maturanka Thermal Pool where the kids are fast becoming little fishes! As long as they have their arm floaties on, Alice and Bethany are getting more capable and brave in the water. Perhaps in a few months time they won't need them? We'll see. Cameron has a big floatie donut(you know the type--many of us grew up with them). It was an excellent time as a family, PLUS for a good amount of time we were the ONLY people in the whole pool! Awesome.
Aside from having a great time swimming, we also had a picnic. As we walked to the sitting area, Alice noticed an indigenous couple sitting at one of the tables, and she just walked over to them and stood by them(I guess considering whether or not to speak to them in Kriol). I thought, "Hey this would be a neat opportunity to try our Kriol out!" So, I greeted them and said(in Kriol), "Alice is learning Kriol, and she wanted to say hi." After I said that, the man asked me if I had a light, or cigarettes. When I told him no, I didn't, he asked me what my skin name was. It turned out that he and his wife are my "Dedi" and "Mami". So, as we were eating lunch, they talked to me. We talked about the funerals that were happening; he was from a community called Bulman, not too far from us (relatively speaking!).
Since he found out I was his "son" he asked if we had any food to give to him. We were able to share an orange, a sandwich, and some chips with him and "Mami". It was a neat opportunity, however, my favorite part was after we had finished and were getting ready to leave.
They knew we were Christians, and we had a Kriol gospel of Jon in the Cruiser, so we grabbed it. I went back up to the picnic area, and "Mami" was still sitting at the table. I told her I had a gift to give her, and asked if she knew how to read. She said, "Is it in English?" and I told her it was Kriol. She told me she knew how to read, and I think she was a little surprised it was in Kriol. :) I told her it was a book with a lot of stories about Jisas Krais, and said, "Maybe, if you want you can read it." She told me she would, and said, "Thank you, my baby." Please pray for that couple, that they would sit down and truly read that Kriol Gospel of John. Don't know if we'll ever see them again, but God knows them both by name, and now they have a portion of His Word. I wonder how God will use this opportunity? Perhaps we won't find out until heaven.
Thanks for your prayers for our family as we continue to learn Kriol and build relationships with the folks here. You are each a blessing to our family.

Kriol Baibul Study time! :) (Part 3 of 3)

To finish off a very eventful Monday, we were priveleged to have a Kriol Baibul Study at our house. This time, instead of three women coming, it turned out to be five. It is such an amazing blessing to be able to sit and listen as these women read God's Word in Kriol. We continued in 1 John 2 last night. Something I will not forget is the comment one of the olgamen(older ladies). "Isn't it wonderful to have the Bible in Kriol? Everything is so clear, and we can hear God speak to us." When they read the Kriol Baibul, it is "brabli gudbinji"--a very good feeling in their stomach. That's a phrase I won't forget. It's a deep down contentment/happiness.

Something that truly encouraged me about last night, was the simple fact that we did very little of the leading. One of the women lead the praise music, and another lead the Baibul Study time. It was nearly ALL in Kriol. (except for a King James Version English Bible one of the ladies brought...)

A couple of the ladies commented about the fact that the Bible seems to speak directly to them.

"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

"Wal wi garra bilib langa God wed brabliwei, dumaji det wed im trubala, en im wek langa wi laif. Det wed im jis laiga bigwan naif garram dubala shapwan said, en im gowin rait insaid langa wi weya det filing blanga we jidan, en im meigim wi sabi weya wi rong, dumaji im jadjim wi blanga ebrijing weya wi oldei jinggabat en wandim." Hibrus 4:12

Out Bush Collecting Colors!! (Part 2 of 3)

We've been praying for the opportunities to spend more time with folks here learning Kriol and building relationships with them. I was given such an opportunity just yesterday. I was invited to go "out bush" with a man and woman to collect roots that would be boiled down to make dyes for making the pandanas different colors to make baskets. I'll explain more about what each of these are as you go out bush with me! :) Please keep your hands and legs inside the Cruiser at all times....until we get out! Let's go!

It's a bit of a drive to find the right trees and plants. Look out for green/yellow leaves.

Watch out for the Bullogi!

He seems to be interested in us, shall we get closer?

Okay, so maybe he's not that interested... We've got to watch out for Bullogi when we're collecting the roots for different colors. They can be dangerous(but only if you're foolish). Now, keep your eyes open for those trees... I think I see one!

This is the type of tree with yellow color roots.

Now we've got to dig around the base of the tree to get to the roots.

This is Alan (l) and Dinah (r). They're the ones with all the wisdom about where to go and where to find the different colors! :) Here they are digging up the yellow root.

Here's a bit of the yellow root. Dinah will boil many of these roots together to make the yellow dye used to color pandanas for baskets.

Now that we've found the yellow and collected enough to make the dye, we're off in search of the red root, pandanas and perhaps we'll find some other things on the way!

Look! Bush plums. When they're in season, they're really sweet and good to eat. We found a couple that were "cooked"(ripe) and ate them. YUM!

Dinah knows about a lot of the different bush plants, and their uses. This one she's pointing to is used to keep mosquitos away. When it's burned it gives off a smell they don't like.

I think I see something ahead. Dinah and Alan both know where the red is, and we're about to find out!Alan started digging under these plants, and then he humored me and let me have a turn too!Here's what the red root looks like! Isn't it cool how God made these different plants with such amazing color? Our God is AWESOME!
For the final part of our tour, we're going to collect pandanas. "What are pandanas?" Let's find out!Driving toward the pandanas, Alan pointed this out to me. It's the kind of trunk they use to make Digeridoos! I think it's been hollowed out by termites, and they chop it down and fix it up!The Pandanas!!!

Alan pulled them down from the tree using a hooked stick they cut off another tree. They are VERY sharp (thorns on three sides). Watching him work was neat!

After all of this excitement, I'm sure you're a bit tired, as were we! But it was a lot of fun, and a great opportunity to speak some Kriol, learn about culture, and build relationships!! Until next time... Bo bo! (Bye!)

Santa Daddy! (Part 1of 3)

Much has happened, so I'm putting it in 3 different posts! :) Enjoy!



Santa Jared (Or Jared Claus?)! :) The Santa suit didn't come with a beard for Santa, and we found this out an hour and a half before I was to be Santa! This gave us an opportunity to be creative. The beard I'm wearing is made out of an old sandbox pail handle, a sock that has been strategically cut and superglued to the bucket handle, and cotton balls that were unrolled and glued to the sock! The pants were for a fat man, which I am not... So I stuffed 2 pillows in it to make it fit!

I got to be Santa for Bethany and Alice's class at school!!

Alice told me, "Daddy, I was excited to see Santa until you walked through the gate. Then I knew it was you; so when all the other kids ran up to you, I just sat at the table and waited."

On any given night we can have "surprise" dinner guests (usually kids from town). We had an idea. What if after dinner we read the Christmas story in Kriol to the kids who come to dinner? We've had a chance to try it out, and it worked! The two girls we had for dinner sat and listened to the Christmas story, and even told Bethany to be quiet at one point so they could hear! Pray for more opportunities to read about the TRUE meaning of Christmas with kids who may not know it otherwise, in the language they understand best. Praise the Lord!

Party Creche-ers!

"Bigmob Biginini!" Lots of Cameron's friends(and their families!).

Today was the end of the school year party in the creche(nursery). It was a good time to see all the little kids running around and eat good food. However, we were met with some sad news today as well. The main teacher in the creche and her family are moving down south, near Sydney. Her daughter, Lillian, is one of Alice's best friends here in Barunga. We know Alice will really miss them, as will we. Please pray for them as they move back "home". They've lived here for the past 4 years, so leaving is difficult for them as well.
The Creche is where Cameron spends his mornings while Alice is in school and Bethany is in pre-school. Everyone there LOVES him, and it seems everyone in the school knows Cameron. :) As we walked to school this morning a group of about 4 older girls saw him and said, "HI CAMERON!!" With big smiles. He just looked down and turned away, acting bashful.
Here are some pics of the Creche Party this morning, so you can get an idea of where he hangs out from Monday-Friday from 8:30-10:30! (And Bethany, sometimes, too!)

This is Anita! She's the Barunga School Principal, and a leader in the church.

Jocelyn(on the Left) is the Creche teacher. She'll be moving down south and won't be back next year! :( Margaret is our neighbor across the street! She's great!