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!

Piano!! :)

We made a surprise trip to Katherine this past Sunday, because there wasn't church in Barunga. We visited the Baptist church in Katherine, and saw some friends there as well.
I haven't played the piano for months now, and my fingers were longing to play! When we visited the church, I was allowed to play their electric piano! YAY!!! :) After church we were invited to a couple's house for lunch, AND THEY HAD A PIANO TOO! So, I got to play the piano twice this past Sunday. What a blessing. :)

How Many Sons Do I Have? (up in that tree)

I'm learning more and more about the kinship system every day. Without this system, the community wouldn't run properly. It is so deeply ingrained in the people that society is run through the relationships they have to everyone else.
We have a trampoline in our backyard, and it has become a favorite hangout for many of the kids in Barunga. One of the rules in using the trampoline is when it is getting dark, it's time for everyone to get off and go home. We have placed the trampoline under the shade of a mango tree so it's not as hot.
One evening as it was getting dark I went out to the tree and said, "Okay, it's getting dark! Everyone needs to go home." There were several boys up in the tree sitting and jumping on to the trampoline, but they didn' t move. Then I asked, "How many sons do I have up in that tree?" I heard, "Me, Dedi!" and a few other affirmations, then one boy said, "Four sons, Dedi!" So I said, "I need you to go home, it's dark now." They then went home with no fuss, right away.
This made me wonder if it was just a random happening, or if that was a consistent part of culture that we were now entering in to. As time has passed, more and more of the kids here are calling me "dedi"-daddy, and I call them son, or daughter. Just another opportunity to learn more about the depth of this system, the kinship system among the people here. We'll be keeping our ears open and keep track of all our "relatives" as time goes on.

Just for Fun, an "old" video from Alice's 5th Birthday!

This video is from Alice's 5th Birthday when we were up in Darwin. I call it, "Northern Territory Sledding." Who needs snow, right?


So, there ya go. God bless--and enjoy the snow!

"Brabli Strongwan Pramis!"

"I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts..."
"Brabli strongwan pramis!" 'John' told me as he pointed out each word to the passage in Jeremiah 31:33-34. There were tears in his eyes as he read the passage in the Kriol Baibul over again, and another time. I asked him, "What does it mean?" and he rapped on his chest, and said,(in Kriol) "He will write His laws on our hearts. We won't need to go to the surrounding communities and tell people about Jesus, because they will know!"
He then pointed to verse 34, one word at a time, "Nomo enibodi garra titjimbat im ronwan kantrimen hau blanga sabi YAWEI, dumaji ebribodi garra sabi mi, nomeda olabat lobala o powan o boswan..." As he read it, it was as if his heart was longing for the day when EVERYONE would know God. "Whether low, or poor, or rich..."
And then he continued to read, "Ai garra larramgo olabat fri brom olabat nogudbalawei, en ai kaan jinggabat ol detlot nogudwan ting weya olabat bin oldei dumbat. Mi na YAWEI bin tok dijan."
BIG smile.
"For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

Praise the Lord, He continues to speak through His Word to the hearts of His people! And praise the Lord that we get to be a part of this work. :) Thank you for your continued prayers and support for us, John, and all the Kriol believers who long to see the day when ALL believers are gathered together to praise God as a single Body!

Please pray for continued growth, and understanding of Scripture for the believers we are working alongside, and for our ability to share with them clearly in Kriol. Also, please pray they would continue to study God's Word even after the workshop is finished on the 12th, so they can continue to grow and learn.

Bigmob Biginini

We had between 6-9 biginini (children) join us for lasagne tonight. It wasn't what we were expecting, but we knew someone was coming for dinner! At about 4 o'clock they started to arrive to play with our kids. They were in and out of the house, jumping on the trampoline, playing with the puppies, playing guitar(though we didn't get too far before it was time to eat!)...
We were expecting a man I had met just a couple of days ago to come over to our house for dinner. God had prepared us for this kind of thing before, so, we talked about it and decided we would make a large meal, "just in case" he came with his family! He ended up not coming, but we had a bigmob biginini eating with us tonight. God is good. :) AND WE GOT TO PRAY IN KRIOL WITH THEM!

Anwers to prayer!

Yesterday was an encouraging day. We found out that the school here in Barunga stores AN ABUNDANCE of KRIOL BOOKS/ little study things for children! PLUS we have attended a "Kriol time" at the school on Thursdays before. Really neat, but only once a week. HOWEVER we found out that they Kriol learning time is actually Monday through Thursday EVERY WEEK!!! We only knew about Thursdays, because that is the day Alice has it. We were invited by the principal to come to any of them, or ALL of them! WHAT AN AWESOME DISCOVERY FOR LANGUAGE LEARNERS!!! :)
Plus, we will hopefully be having a man over for "Tea"(dinner, supper, evening meal) tomorrow! Thanks for praying and PRAISE THE LORD WITH US! :) Keep praying.

God bless y'all!

-Jared

Sori Dei :(

This past week, the kids at school had a "Sori Dei"(Sorry Day). Here in community this is the second Sori Dei we have been a part of. Sori Dei takes place whenever someone dies who lives (or lived) in the community. Because there are so many relations within the community, on a Sori Dei, school is cancelled for everyone so the family can mourn their loss.
The Sori Dei can happen in each of the communities where the deceased had family. So, this past week school was cancelled in Barunga as well as in our neighboring community, Beswick. As we learn more about it, I'll share with you more!

Prayer Update! :)

Dear Prayer Partners,
Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and support of the ministry God has called our family to join in Australia. Without your prayers, I know things would not be happening as well as they are right now. There is much to praise God for, as well as much to pray about! It is a blessing to have so many people regularly praying for our family, and very humbling as well. Thank you for serving with our family.

Praise God!!

1. We have been praying for a language helper to aid us in our Kriol learning, and a woman in a neighboring community has volunteered to help us one day a week!

2. Last Tuesday we had “smoke-o”(coffee break) at our house with the wekinmen(workers) of the community. We were expecting 3-4 people, but God brought the men! We ended up with 11 dirty cups! :) Praise God! We were also able to have a Kriol Baibul Study with the two ladies who came.

3. God has blessed us to live in this community. Our family is adjusting well here, and have really felt at home here. That is a HUGE praise.

Please Pray with Us:

1. From November 3rd-12th the Kriol Team is having a workshop called, “Sabi Mowa Blanga Godwei” or “Know More About God’s Way”. It’s adapted from the YWAM “SALT/BELT” course. Jared will be observing it for a couple of days during the second week. Please pray for the leaders of this course to teach clearly(in Kriol).
a. The non-indigenous leaders from our team are: John, Rachel, Margaret, and Lisa.
b. Pray for the indigenous folks to step into leadership positions, grow in their leadership abilities and in their walks with God.

2. Though we had a wonderful group last Tuesday, please pray for the same to happen each week. It is a great way to build relationships with the men in the community for Jared, and as they get to know us more, pray they would be interested in talking about God. Pray for Jared as he considers how best to use this “cuppateatime” for language learning and relationship building. Pray for us each Tuesday…(or Monday evening your time!)

3. Please pray for God to raise up men to lead in the church. The ladies of the church are wonderful, but God has called men to step up and take leadership! Pray for men to be drawn to Himself and begin following him with all their hearts.

4. Pray for Cheri and me as we continue to learn Kriol. Pray we would be diligent in our study and reading of the Kriol Baibul. Specifically, please pray for a good male friend for Jared to build a relationship with to learn Kriol. Living life with them and experiencing their traditional ways is a great way to learn the language, pray for those opportunities to present themselves to our family.

5. Please pray Bethany. She has not slept through the night for a long time. She comes into our bedroom every night at least once. This is wearing on us, and I’m sure it wears on Bethy too. Pray for good, deep sleep for Bethany.
Thank you so much for battling with our family through prayer.

Serving Together,

Jared, Cheri, Alice, Bethany and Cameron

Two for Tea -- How about ELEVEN?

Today we were expecting a group of three wekinmen(workers) to come for their morning break at our house. I (Jared) had invited them to come for a cup of tea at the morning break last week. The time came for the break, but no one was showing up. Cheri went to visit a friend of ours in community and invited her over for Kriol Bible Study. She said she'd be over in ten minutes.

Cheri ended up going to pick her up, along with a friend of hers while I waited for the men I had invited last week to show up. I had my doubts, but I prayed, "Well, Lord, someone has got to come, so I will set up cups and tea and cordial(Kool-Aid)." I brought down six cups, knowing there was only going to be 4 people coming, but hoping and praying for more.

Cheri showed up with the two ladies she went to pick up, and I told them I was hoping for the other men to come whom I had invited a week earlier. She picked up her cell phone, and called the boss. She said, "Yumob kaman bla cupatea taim? Jared imbin waiting la yumob. Ma." She said, "Are you guys coming? Jared is waiting for you to have tea with him. Okay." Within a few minutes, they came. They came en masse. We ended up needing to run upstairs to grab almost all of our tea cups/mugs in order for all the men to have a cuppa! PRAISE THE LORD!

Instead of "tea for two" we ended up with "Tea for ELEVEN"! Praise the Lord! The wekinmen (working men) left after they finished their cuppa tea/coffee, to get back to work, but we got to meet them, and perhaps they will come each Tuesday for the cuppatea time. I asked the boss, and he seemed favorable to that idea. PRAISE THE LORD! Thank you to all who have prayed for us, especially for today. God brought the men, and women! It was a good time to begin building relationships/"getting out there to be known".

Please pray for opportunities to share Christ with these men as they continue to come for "cuppa", that they would come to the Lord, and eventually become leaders in the church. Thanks a ton! Praise the Lord!

After the wekinmen left, the two ladies stayed with us, and we had a Kriol Baibul Study, in John 1:1-18. It went really well, and was a good time of language learning, as well as digging into God's Word with our sisters in Christ! We are praising the Lord for answered prayer. Keep going with us! :)

Bogi bogi!!!

Today was a day for a break in the river! :)Here's the group that swam with us today! (Sheri, Samantha, Bethany, Alice, Cameron and me!)


Cameron was absolutely a little frog! He LOVES the water!
Today the kids and I were able to take a good break in the "riba". I hope you enjoy the pics!

Some Pictures of Life in Barunga!

Bethany and her friend Samantha!

Alice and a tree frog we found crawling/hopping across our porch.

Most of the kids from Bethy's b-day party, but no Bethy!!

And 2 views from our front porch during a downpour -which is strange for this time of year .

I'll post some more pics in another post! :) God bless y'all, and thanks for joining us in ministry.

Bethany's Birthday!

Here's a pic of Bethany and her friend Samantha!
Lots of kids were there... open invitations bring many friends!! :)






The Slip and Slide was a lot of fun on a hot October day.... Hot in October? Welcome to the new hemisphere.

This past week has been a blessing. Bethany had her 4th birthday, we were able to "chat" with family on Skype(Greg and Jean, Heidi and BABY MADDIE!!) and we found a language helper! Plus, an extra blessing for us: we now have A/C in our bedrooms for the hot nights!! Praise the Lord!
We have been looking for a language helper to aid us in learning Kriol, and envying friends who have "regular language lessons" daily. Well, God has blessed us with a language teacher starting this Thursday! She is able to meet with us each Thursday to speak with us in Kriol and teach us. PRAISE THE LORD!! :) Next Tuesday, I (Jared) have invited a group of three men to our house for lunch. They are the men who drive around in a pick-up truck all day and take care of the community(i.e. pick up trash etc.). They stopped by our house today to pick up the old A/C units, and so I offered to have them over for lunch or tea if they ever had need of a break. Then Darren (one of the three) suggested, "How about next Tuesday? We could eat lunch with you." I found out their skin names, and they are my brother-in-law, my nephew, and (I think) my uncle. I did my best to use Kriol when talking to them, but it's still limited. Next week when they come to eat lunch I'll talk with them, and have a short Bible Study planned. Please pray for God's Word to dig deep into their hearts, and for me to share it well. Perhaps one of these men will turn to God as a result of this encounter? Pray for a good lunch and time in God's Word with them.
It was really cool to "see" Greg and Jean and talk with them. It's been awhile. We are amazed at what a big girl Maddie (our neice) is getting to be! :) Praise the Lord for the opportunity to see them all and stay in touch with them.
It can get REALLY hot here. We have already experienced some days where it reaches the mid-nineties, and this is "spring". It's going to get hotter, but God has blessed us. Up to this point we were blessed with fans. Today, we were given A/C! PRAISE THE LORD! A non-indigenous man from the church has been working with me on the house we are living in. He replaced all the screens which had tears in them, and also installed new air conditioners in each bedroom! A/C is not a necessity, but it sure is nice! What a blessing. Praise the Lord with us for Alan, and all of his hard work. He was even nice enough to let me help! :)
Our Kriol team, which is spread out over the NT(Northern Territory) is currently preparing for a BELT/SALT course. This is going to be excellent for discipling young indigenous believers and helping them grow in Christ! Please pray for the people(indigenous folk) who are currently translating all of the materials/lessons into Kriol. Also, pray for the men and women who will be taking the course.
That's a lot for now! Thanks for your prayers! God is anwering them one by one. :)

Bring on the Rain!!

As I write this new entry, I'm sitting on our porch while it downpours! :) But, at the same time I can see clear skies in the distance, cloud's highlighted in red, dark blue and orange. I can hear my kids playing with the puppies, and smell the fresh newness that only rain brings.
The rain reminds me of the Holy Spirit: strong, driving, and yet renewing and revitalizing. I'm thankful Jesus left us this Counselor. I'm thankful He left us His Word and that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth, so we are never without Jesus' thoughts, or His heart. There's just something about rain that makes me think more and relax in His goodness. Praise the Lord for the rain!

A day in Katherine, and Deibid en Galaiyath

Today was a busy day. This morning we drove the 80 km to Katherine to do our shopping and errands while Alice was at school. This afternoon we had a great visit from a friend of ours from another mission.
This evening was BUSY as well. We weren't expecting it, but a "big mob biginini" came to our house this evening! Kids were running everywhere! So, I was able to talk with a couple of them (just short things..."What are you doing?" "You like the puppies?") and then I saw a Kriol story book we have at the house of David and Goliath! So, I sat at the kitchen table and read that story to a little kid! :) They listened and understood! AND WE EVEN TALKED A little bit! Praise the Lord. Thank you for your prayers for us!!

Goodnight! -Jared

Visiting!

Cheri and I were given the opportunity to visit an indigenous Christian lady in the hospital today to encourage her and we learned Kriol at the same time! J We were able to sit down with this lady in her hospital room and read through some of Luke as well as Psalm 127. When we were talking about it, we found out that this lady was one of two ladies who translated the Psalms into Kriol! We knew she had been involved with the translation, but we weren’t sure how involved! Cool deal! She was very patient with us as we read through the Kriol Baibul with her, and helpful as well.

It was a blessing to be able to sit down with her, as well as to pray for her. I’m sure we’ll be staying in touch in the future.

Kevin

At the men's retreat, I was able to spend time talking with one indigenous man I'll call Kevin. I told him that I was interested in learning Kriol and asked if he would help me and only speak Kriol to me. Most of the time, he complied! :)
One afternoon I was able to sit down with Kevin under one of the trees (OUT OF THE SUN) and talk with him. We started to read Genesis in the Kriol Baibul(by his choice) and I would ask him about the meanings of certain words. Then he started talking about his life, family, and about the Kriol speakers.
He told me, "When we hear the Bible in English, our heads get it, and we understand. But sometimes there is a word we don't understand, and so we sit and think about that word. We think about that word so much that we don't get the message God is trying to teach us. BUT when we hear the Kriol Baibul, there is no question what God is telling us to do. We don't have to wonder what a word means, because it's clear. It speaks to our hearts."
PRAISE THE LORD!! Please pray with me for Kevin; he seems to be a man who I could possibly come alongside and disciple.

The Men's Retreat!

Last weekend, I (Jared) was blessed with the opportunity to be a part of a men's retreat "out bush" at Beswick Falls. I didn't know what to expect, and I was hoping to get to know some of the Christian aboriginal men in our area. God really blessed me while I was there. The things that stood out most will be what I include here.
First, I didn't know exactly what to expect from the weekend. I have discovered "Aboriginal time" which is very much like "Native American Time" and similar too to "Mexico time". Just in case you're not sure what those are, it means, "It will start eventually. When everyone is here, it will start." If there is a starting time of 5:30, it could get started by about 7 or so. :) As far as the retreat structure went, ... Structure?
Even with less structure, it was a good time to get to know men who had just recently come to the Lord, and to hear their testimonies! I spoke with one man, and he told me how God had rescued him from alcohol and completely changed his life around. Praise God, He is working in the hearts and lives of aboriginal men!! This excites me because I have noticed the women taking leadership roles in the church, simply because men aren't there.
I had brought my Kriol Baibul with me to the camp, because it was a group of indigenous men, all Kriol speakers. However, the devotion times where all in English, with English Scripture readings and teaching from the non-indigenous men. I noticed that when the Scripture was being read, a certain man just zoned out and didn't seem to be listening. That bummed me out a bit.
Then it dawned on me: I brought the Kriol Baibul! Why don't I read it? So, after the English was read, I asked if I could read the Kriol Baibul as well. Praise the Lord, the men suddenly started listening more intently! Why? Because it was their heart language!!!
As the camp went on, I was wondering how things would pan out, and if their would be indigenous leadership. There was definitely indigenous leadership during the praise time, which was great, but the lessons, not so much. On the final day of the retreat, we had the English devotions and the Kriol Scriptures read. The non-indigenous men were working on packing things up into the trailer and such, but I noticed something rather encouraging!
The indigenous men were all sitting together on the ground, and they were praising God, and then praying! It was cool to see them taking the leadership.

On a different note, I was able to go fishing with one of the men and he started teaching me some Kriol things. He also taught me how to "Tjakumbat dijan line langa riba" toss my line into the river! We caught my first Barramundi, and a couple of the young men took it back to the camp and cooked it up over the fire. YUM!

There were so many opportunities and so many things happening, that I didn't even think about picking up my camera! But the experiences will not be forgotten(and next time I'll remember my camera!) :)

"Are you my mother?"

There's a big difference between the Western culture we are used to, and the aboriginal culture we are living in now.
There is a very complex way of relating to people, and it's all in something called a "Kinship system". Within the aboriginal society, everyone knows exactly how they should relate with each other because of the kinship system. There are different "skin names" and according to what my skin name is, that will dictate how I can interact with the people around me. For example, traditionally, a son-in-law is not to talk to his mother-in-law. It's completely taboo. (Sorry, Jean!)
The way it is set up, I also found out I have a 60 year-old nephew! Simply put, everyone has a skin name that will dictate how they will relate to everyone else. In my case, I am "Balang" or "brother" to anyone who is called "balang". Cheri is "Ngarrijan" which is my perfect match for a wife!(there is also a possible second choice, but people try to marry the right skin name.) Depending on their skin name, a child could end up being an older person's grandparent, aunt or uncle (As is my case with "Barry" our neighbor). Our kids skin names are Gamman(for Alice and Bethany both) and Gamarrang (Cameron--that was easy for me to remember!!)
I don't understand all of the intricacies of the kinship system yet, but as we learn more, we'll share more! Very complex and very interesting. :)

What does language learning look like for us?

We are currently in Barunga, NT, Australia. God brought us all the way! PRAISE THE LORD!
Our current work is simply building relationships and learning Kriol, which has been a challenge and a bit different than I expected. As I read the newsletters of friends overseas, they have units and language helpers and times to do "class". We are able to learn Kriol when we go visit someone, or if they drop by for tea. There is no set "class time". Sometimes that gets a little tough.
That's the way life is! Pray for continued opportunities to learn Kriol and to get to know folks. Thanks!