Learning More About the Kinship System!

This past Wednesday was Australia Day. As part of the celebration for Australia Day, Barunga had a pancake breakfast at the community center. It was a lot of fun. I started the morning with pancakes, and a game of pool with a man about my age. He was really nice and let me win(I STINK at pool!). The kids got to jump on a big trampoline(bigger than ours, so obviously better... :D )

Cheri and I sat down with Queenie and Mari to learn more Kriol and learn about the kinship system. I met another one of my daughters. I hadn't asked the man I played pool with what his name was, so I decided to ask my "daughter" what his name was. She said she didn't know, and couldn't ask him, becuase he was her brother. Then Queenie explained, "Within the kinship system, a brother cannot talk to his sister, and a sister cannot talk to her brother. That is the way it is. However, we have ways around that! For example, if a man needs to talk to his sister, he can 'talk' to his neices and nephews instead-her children. He might say, "Hey nephew, I need to get a ride into town today." The sister will know he is talking to her, and things work that way. She can do the same with her brother's children. That is how they can communicate with each other."
This kinship system is so amazing! I grateful to learn more about how things work within an indigenous community, so we can learn how to best relate with people here in Barunga. Thank you for all your prayers and support as we continue in this ministry. You are a blessing to us.

Jumping in the Rain! (and Kindness from a Neighbor)

After fixing up the car, afternoon/evening arrived, and with the evening came THE RAIN! As they would say here, "Bigges mob rain!" It absolutely bucketed rain for many hours, and the kids loved it! Here's a video of the kids jumping on the trampoline in the rain with their friend, Kiko!




As much fun as the kids had, there was so much rain in the evening! A big lightning storm was also part of the excitement. Unfortunately, it struck a powerline here in Barunga, and we went without power all night until about 9:30 this morning. Praise the Lord it was cool, and also that our food didn't go bad in that amount of time! :)

Though I was concerned in the evening, Cheri was a blessing to me. She said, "Jared, will you play guitar?" Our neighbors' across the street power came on before ours last night, because they must have had a different powerline connected to their house. I was a bit bummed that ours wasn't on and was thinking about the food in the fridge going bad. We ended up simply singing some old hymns together, and then went to bed. We were very thankful for our flashlights, and the kindness of our neighbors.

One of the ladies across the street, Queenie, noticed that their power was on, and ours wasn't. Queenie is one of the church ladies here in Barunga. She said, "Perhaps your meter ran out of credit? I felt the Lord leading me to give you a power card." So she gave us her spare power card in hopes that it would give us power. One act of kindness was a big blessing to us, especially in the rain and frustration of the moment. When we looked at our credit and saw that it was still good, we told her it was fine, but she insisted we keep the power card. What a blessing!

Power Steering Victory!

Yesterday was a very eventful day for me. First, I went in to Katherine to pick up a small part to finish installing a new power steering reservoir. The bus leaves from Barunga at eight. I almost missed it and had to run to catch it before it was gone--but caught it! Once in Katherine, I bought the part I needed for $3.50, went to the store and picked up some stuff, and then caught a ride back to Barunga with a friend.

I was glad to catch the bus, and get the part I needed to fix the Cruiser and install the new power steering reservoir! This is the first car repair I've done other than changing the oil. :) Luckily the power steering reservoir is not a difficult repair to do, and so it was accomplished quickly after getting the right part! :) YAY! Here's some pics for the mechanically minded, and those who aren't as well! :)

Here's the part:

The power steering reservoir is the part with the two blue/white dots on it!
Here's the part in context! :) ^

Just so you know, I didn't discover the problem, a mechanic up in Darwin did, and said it wasn't an "urgent" fix, so he wasn't too worried, but it needed to be fixed. He dianosed it, and I got to "be a man" and fix it! :) I was also coached from a distance by a friend in Darwin. He was a great help.

Thanks for your prayers! :)

First Wednesday Night Service!

Last night we had the first Wednesday night service here in Barunga! It went rather well. It was suggested by a couple of the ladies that the service was held at the basketball courts, rather than their home, because that was a larger area, and more public so more people might hear and come.

It started off with some singing,(a lot, actually!) then there was a devotion taught by one of the ladies, followed by more singing. There was also a special music surprise, as some girls from community had a choreographed dance to the song, "Open the Eyes of My Heart". VERY COOL! There were many kids present, so the ladies did action songs with them as well.

At one point, I counted the folks at the meeting, and there was over 20 people. Half of them kids, and half adults! That is HUGE because usually when we have the meetings at the church, it is only kids who come, and the ladies that attend the church(4 adults). Praise the Lord!
Something that really encouraged me was the "lack" of involvement I had in the entire service... I was just there to move the equipment and keep the dogs off the tea! :)

Thank you for your continued prayers for these ladies, their families, the church, and us. You are a blessing!

"How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news."

A Few of the Kriol Baibul Study ladies! From L to R: Jocelyn, Dinah, Mari, and Anita!

Today’s Kriol Baibul Study went REALLY WELL! What a blessing. We asked the ladies what they wanted to study, and Anita(one of the church leaders) suggested Romans 10, to surprise Allan (a fellow from Katherine that comes each Sunday to lead a Bible Study). What transpired was so encouraging!! The ladies talked and talked about various things. Specifically about being saved by grace, not by all our good works. We could see how God was speaking to their hearts through this chapter.

As a result of reading through verses 14&15 they have decided to reach out to the community through regular Tuesday night (4 o’clock) “Kemp services”, as well as holding a Sunday evening service and possibly every Saturday(or at least one Saturday) going to Beswick to sing! Beswick is the community "next door", about 29 km(approx. 18 miles) from Barunga. They are also going to have Sunday night services where the ladies take turns leading it!

Our part will be to help them study the Word and understand it better. Perhaps if we study it early enough, they will have time to let Scripture work in their lives and they can come up with examples from their own life. At the same time, I'm sure they have many life experiences already! Mari is the one doing it for this Sunday. AWESOME! I feel like we are reaping where another has sown.

There have been years of work in Barunga, since Mari (pronounced "Ma ree")was a high school student, and she’s in her 60’s now. Australia Indigenous Ministries (AIM) Missionaries started coming to Barunga in the 50's. There have been many different missionaries living in our spot, ministering here, building relationships and sharing God's Word(in English) and we are seeing the fruits of their labor!

Anita was organized and volunteered to make a roster, so they know whose turn it is to lead the Sunday evening lesson. It’s humbling to be included in this work... and totally awesome! But at the same time, that’s a LOT of stuff. We’ll see what comes of it all, and if anything, there will be outreach this next week. There was so much discussed this meeting, it blew me away! Something else that may have tipped off all of this was going to the AIM Church in Katherine, that is completely run by indigenous people, with very little help from a “white” pastor or anything! They only have an older non-indigenous man to oversee them this year, and then he’s leaving, and they are completely on their own. They are self-governing, and don’t rely on anything from the “outside”. So, I’m thinking that might have tipped off Anita coming to the Kriol Baibul Study for the first time, and then reading the passage in Romans about sharing God’s Word with people which in turn made them all want to take action! Praise the Lord!

At the same time, though this is all very exciting and encouraging, it is A LOT of work, responsibility, and commitment. Anita pointed out that they needed to be consistent if they started this ministry of Kemp(Camp--another word for someone's home) Services, going from house to house, asking if they can have a service at the people’s houses each Tuesday evening, AND having a Sunday night service… However, something that really encouraged me about the whole study was it was lead by Anita and Jocelyn, from the songs we sang, to the Scripture passage we read, Please be in prayer with us for:
1. Strength for these women, wisdom and discernment in what to teach.
2. Consistent outreach to the community and their families, and
3. For God's Word to take root in the hearts of all the people here in Barunga.
4. Please pray for Cheri and me as we seek to enable these women and help them to reach their community! Pray we would be wise in what to do... and what NOT to do! :)

Thank you so much for your prayers and support. It is a blessing to serve with you, and we are excited to see what God has in store for us and this church in Barunga!
In Him, Jared for all

Cameron is a monster on his bike!!

Cameron got his bike for Christmas, because of kind gifts from many different people. He rides it every day, and every day he asks, "Can we take a walk?" because then he can ride his bike ahead of us! Praise the Lord. :)

Love Your Brother...

Here's what a typical Sunday looks like at our church in Barunga:
1. Talk for a little bit and "fellowship".
2. Open in prayer.
3. Sometimes we sing, other times not.
4. Bible Study prepared by a man from Katherine who travels out to Barunga each Sunday.
5. Close in prayer.

It's a typical order of service, and we usually have a couple of women come, Anita and Jocelyn. However, two Sundays ago was different! We just finished having some friends visiting us from Darwin on their way to Townsville, Queensland. We received a call from the man who usually leads the Bible Study part, and he was sick with the flu, so we weren't sure if we would have church or not, but we planned on going over anyway becuase Anita would most definitely be coming. My thoughts were, "Well, it will probably just be us, our friends the Simmonds, and Anita this week." But God had a different plan.

Aside from Anita and our crew, there were 5 other ladies! Since Alan wasn't there to lead the Bible Study part, Cheri and I suggested we read in 1 John, which is the book we've been going through with the Kriol Baibul Study on Mondays. Two of the ladies were from another community about an hour from Barunga. We started reading chapter 4, and when we read through verses 19-21, the discussion started. :)

Within Indigenous culture family is extremely important. Each week when we open with prayer, the ladies pray for their families, and the families of those in the church. When we close with prayer, family is again the main ones prayed for. Since within the kinship system everyone is connected and "related" to one another, there is A LOT of family. Just yesterday I was talking with one of the kids from town and he said his "dedi"(daddy) was sick. I said which one, and he gave me the specific name of the man. He also calls me "dedi", and I call him son.

Therefore, when we reached verses 19-21 of chapter 4, it hit very close to "home" for the ladies, and one in particular.

"We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother."

Within indigenous society, there are very few Christian men. So in our case, these women are the only believers in their families. This can be quite difficult for them at times, specifically if their family doesn't agree with Christianity and are outspoken about it to the ladies. One woman does have a difficult family situation where this is the case. Loving her "brother" is a tough thing.

Please pray with us for these ladies to stand strong in their faith, and to be encouraged during the Monday Baibul Study.

Please also pray with us for more men to come to Christ, and begin to take their leadership positions in the church, as the Lord has intended. Pray that the lives of these women would draw their husbands to Christ.

Please pray indigenous men and women alike would grasp how wide and high and long and deep is the love of God, in Jesus Christ. Often they struggle because they fall, and then don't feel worthy to come to church, or other Christian activities. (Maybe not so different from back home?) The Christian men I have met and talked with are struggling with their sin, and seem to be going through a cycle of sin and shame, sin and shame, sin and shame, then maybe church? But then the shame comes and they feel like hypocrites. Pray for them to understand God's forgiveness, and for them to daily trust the Lord when the temptations come. When opportunities are laid in front of them to sin, pray with us that they would turn and escape from it!

Pray for us in our interactions with them that we would communicate God's love to them, men and women both. They don't need to be condemned for their sin, they already know it's wrong. We simply need to remind them of God's forgiveness through Jesus Christ, and God's grace freely given to them, new every morning.

Thank you all so much for your prayers for our family and the indigenous people of Northern Australia. I am convinced that without your faithful prayers we would not be seeing as much encouragement, hunger for the Word of God, and desire to apply it to lives. You are fighting this battle with us, and we are SO GRATEFUL! Thank you again, and please continue! It's a privelege to serve with you.