Ministry & Family Update

Since my visit to the US for my brother's wedding a lot has happened, and I'd love to share with you all about it.

As you know, God has blessed us with a house in Katherine.  Only about a week after returning from my trip to the States, we were given the opportunity to host our first guests!  I(Jared) recieved a call from my indigenous dad, and he was looking for a place to stay during the Katherine Show.  When I asked him how many people would need to stay with us, he began listing more than just him and his wife...I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised at all, as that's the way it usually works.  We ended up hosting 7 people at our house, on couches, beds and on the floor.  You know, that's one of the reasons we asked for this larger house in the first place, and God answered our prayer.  It was an encouraging visit with my dedi and his wife, and we're getting to know their family better each time.  One of the people who came with them introduced himself and said, "Remember me?  You came and visited me in the hospital."  That made my heart glad because we had a chance to serve, and God used us!

When I first started to work at Mission Australia, I was told I would be stationed as a teacher out in Beswick (Wugularr), an indigenous community about 100km from Katherine.  Well, I've been working for MA for a year now, officially, and this week I will be heading out to Beswick to begin the process of starting the SEE Program(Skills for Education and Employment) out there!  FINALLY!! :)  And the most exciting part for me is the exciting news I recieved from my boss: "I want you to teach it in Kriol."  YES!!!  I was SO EXCITED!  I can't wait to start out there, and I started to translate our materials into Kriol last week.  I will use my notes to teach from, but also use the English "road rules" book so my students will be learning English reading/writing/numeracy as they study road rules to get their drivers' licences.  

On the church front, our family was involved this year in doing a VBS (Vacation Bible School) with our church.  It's the first one our church has ever done, and it went pretty well.  I was the emcee and the teacher for the 5-8 year old class.  It was a lot of fun, and I'm praying the Scriptures we looked at with the kids will stay with them, especially the ones concerning salvation.

Another exciting note:  the pastor and his family we have been waiting for has finally arrived!  We're really excited to have them after 2 years of waiting(on our half... the church has actually been waiting for about 4).  You can pray for them as they begin the ministry the Lord has called them to in our church.  Their names are Justin, Jessica, Colin, Elijah, and Aiden.  Cam has already made friends with Colin who is the same age as him.  Please pray for our church as we continue to minister in Katherine and share the gospel.

After much prayer and consideration, Cheri has decided to put her studies aside in order to focus more on our family and our home.  Perhaps she will return at a later date, but that hasn't been decided as of yet.  As a family we are seriously looking into becoming foster parents, and Cheri will be going to their office tomorrow morning to get more information.    There will be a special training over my birthday weekend(beginning of August) to learn more and prepare.  You can pray for us in this area as well, as it may be that we take on long-term care of some children.

On that note, please also pray for the Lord's provision of a 7-seater vehicle we can use both in town and community. Our landcruiser has seen it's last days, and our only other small car fits the 5 of us, with no room for extra children. 

Thank you to all who have been praying for our family and who have asked for an update on what we're doing.  We are so thankful for your prayers and I'm personally encouraged when I think of each of you.  God bless, yumob!