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. :)