Dear Friends and Family,
Greetings
from Australia! We have been serving
here with AuSIL, the local branch of Wycliffe for 2 ½ years. Many of the goals
we had before coming to Australia have been accomplished. We have built relationships here, we have
learned (and continue to learn) Kriol.
We have been part of dubbing the Luke DVD into Kriol. We have also been part of many different
Bible study workshops and one song writing workshop. We have been blessed with an excellent team
to work with, and have built lasting friendships with our team members.
Though we
have been able by the Lord’s grace to accomplish much, we feel the Lord leading
us in a new direction. We would like to
serve through our local church in Katherine, and be able to teach more than is
possible within Wycliffe. We feel led to
begin a youth ministry at our church in Katherine. The church we have been attending is a new
Baptist church plant, and there are many opportunities to serve through the
church.
Through our
time serving with Wycliffe I have noticed something significant. Older people don’t seem to care as much about
coming to church or serving God if they haven’t grown up with it. The women who have been coming have
consistently remembered with smiles the Bible clubs or weekly Bible meetings at
their church when they were children.
As I have
observed the children in this area, I can see that they are lost. The methods being used to reach out to them
aren’t overly successful. There are good
beginnings, but there is a lack of consistent outreach for various reasons,
with little or no follow-up. Follow-up
is also known as the first step to discipleship.
The ladies
in the church have all agreed; there needs to be more outreach to the youth,
and they have suggested a weekly meeting
for the kids. While serving with
Wycliffe, I would not be able to take the lead in this ministry, though the
ladies are all grandmothers and either working or too old/sick/busy to carry
out this type of ministry on their own.
Wycliffe’s stance is for the indigenous church to take the lead in
ministry, not the non-indigenous person to come and take over. My intent isn’t to take over, but to serve
until the time comes when the churches here are able to reach out on their own,
training people up who are passionate about reaching the youth.
Living
costs in the Northern Territory are rather high. As a result of our move and a quadrupled rent
price, I looked for a job to help meet the costs we will have. I have been offered a job working at a motel
here in Katherine. It is a full-time
position as a receptionist/manager. This
was an answer to prayer for us. However,
it will also limit our time in ministry.
Our hope
and tentative plan is to have a sort of youth group meeting fortnightly. One week in Katherine for the kids there, and
the other week in Barunga. We will do one
group in English, and the other group in Kriol.
This would include games, singing with guitar, and then the Bible lesson
and prayer.
Since we
will be leaving Wycliffe, our new accountability is our church here, the pastor
and elders. This also means we will no
longer be supported through Wycliffe. We
wanted to thank each and every one of you for your faithful prayers and support
over the past 5 years we’ve been with Wycliffe.
Each of you have been a blessing to us, and we will not forget your love
and sacrifice for our family and the Kingdom.
We will be
heading back to the States for a brief visit during the school holidays over
here, to debrief from our time with Wycliffe as well as see family &
friends. Our tentative schedule is as
follows:
Dec 11-14 Dallas TX, for debriefing
from Wycliffe
Dec
15-18 Austin TX
Dec
19-24 Phoenix/Tucson AZ
Dec
24-31 Longmont CO
Dec 31-Jan 5 Bemidji MN
Jan 5
–Jared flies back to Australia to begin work at the motel; Cheri and the kids
will remain through Jan 21 in MN/IL to visit friends and family.
Please let
us know if you’d like to get together with us while we’re in your area. We would love the opportunity to reconnect
with as many folks as possible.
Again, for
those who have served alongside us through prayer and financial support, thank
you so much for joining us in the ministry God gave us, and may the Lord bless
you as you continue to serve Him, whether it’s with us or in some other
way. You have been a blessing and we’re
grateful for you.
If God is
leading you to continue with us, please pray for us during this time of
transition. If you would like to give
financially, we are currently working out how that can happen. We will keep you updated through our blog and
e-mail, and if you’ve got Facebook… J
Serving
Him Together,
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