Katherine Christian Convention Time! :)

Two of the Aboriginal leaders, praying in their native language. (very cool!)

The new "Flying Bible Man" is commissioned with his family.

Some of the crowd at the convention.(there were a bunch of people in the back of me, sitting under trees, or on blankets. Not everyone was sitting in the front!)


This past weekend was the Katherine Christian Convention. It was neat to see so many believers getting together to fellowship, and be taught from God's Word. They also had activities for the kids so Cheri and I could listen to the speaker.

One evening Bethany came to me after the teaching and said, "Daddy, Satan is evil. He steals, kills, eats before paying..." She's still learning. :) Something I really love about Bethany is her sweet personality. She loves to share, and she is very sensitive. She can be a handful, but she's very sweet.

It was really neat to see so many indigenous believers come for the convention, and to hear them pray in thier native languages was GREAT! There were several indigenous communities represented, and in the evening sessions, they had the opportunity to present a song or a dance to praise God. Very neat and very edifying to the Church as a whole.

The Flying Bible Man is a worker who flies into isolated/hard-to-reach-by-road communities all over Australia! The man who was in this role before him has been doing it for over 30 years. It was neat to see the baton passed, and to remember our commissioning services. It made me thankful for all the folks who are praying and giving to our ministry! We are blessed!!

And for those of you who have read to the very end of this post, here's a special pic for you! :)

Our kids crack me up. :D We love them so much!!

Good Friday, and an egg hunt!

The Good Friday Service here in Barunga went well. It started out slow, with just the church ladies. However, about half-way through the movie, a "bigmob pipul bin kaman!"(A bunch of folks came!) :) They finished watching the film of Jesus crucifixion, and then one of the church ladies (Anita) read from the Kriol Baibul the crucifixion, as well as Jesus resurrection stories! Then we prayed.

Twenty three people were present; including our family it's 28. On a regular Sunday, there's usually no more than 10. Praise the Lord for the new folks! Pray for each of them to be drawn to the Lord.

Today, though it's Saturday, we had our Easter egg hunt early. We'll be going on a family camping trip tomorrow for a couple of days(no school!). Here's some pics of what happened at our house today! Enjoy.Check out the ears. :)

The kids showing off their baskets.

Alice is learning to blow up her own balloon!

The size of the eggs the kids found! :) (Cam the Man!)

Classic Bethany! (She is such a character!)

Visitors! :)

Whitney and Clint! :) (The visitors!)

A week ago today, we were spending time with my cousin and her husband! They were the first family visitors we have had yet! (Hopefully the first in a long line of visitors... :) ) It was fun to show them where we have been living and what we've been doing here in Barunga and in Australia. They were able to go hiking with us in Nitmiluk Nat'l Park, play Settlers of Catan, and eat kangaroo steak(which, in my opinion, is pretty good). It was really encouraging to have visitors come from "home".
The church ladies liked them as well. In fact, within the kinship system, Whitney(my cousin) is actually my sister, because she's my mother's sister's daughter. So, that makes her my sister. PLUS she's also my father's brother's daughter, so she's my sister on that side as well. The ladies had no trouble calling her my sister. I'm not sure how Clint(her husband) fit in...
Unfortunately, it was a very short visit, because Whit and Clint were heading to PNG to visit his parents, and we were a "quick stop" in between. Really glad we got to see them.

Thank you to all of you who have been praying for us while we're here. In a couple of weeks, recording begins for the Luk(Luke) DVD. Our team is currently working on translating/editing from English to Kriol. This is the final stretch, and there is still a lot of work to do before recording. Please pray with us for everything to be set in time for the recording slot we have been given.
Please pray for me(Jared) as I edit, and get the timing down for the script. Thank you!!

We'll be sending out a new (perhaps overdue) update very soon. Thank you for your prayers and love, we wouldn't be here without y'all. God is using you!

Serving Him Together, Jared for all

PS Here are some pics from our time with Whit and Clint! :)
Cam hanging from a Baobob (sp?) tree.

Bethy and Whit share some icecream.

Alice and Whit!

Alice and Clint "out bush". (I love this pic!)Whit and the Kids!

Update on Alice!

Dear Friends and Family,
Alice is home now. They released her on Thursday! Thank you so much for all your prayers and love for her and our family in the past week. We know it was through those prayers and God's mercy that we came home so quickly. We're all glad to be a family again! Alice is taking oral antibiotics four times a day, and is acting just like she did before this whole trial. Very encouraging. :)
Both Cheri and I were blessed and humbled to know how many people are praying for Alice and our family. Your comments and well wishes where an encouragement to us, helping us to remember we're not alone in trials! Thank you so much for loving her and us! You are a blessing.


Serving Him Together, Jared, Cheri, Alice, Bethany and Cameron

Update on Alice.

We found out that Alice will be in the hospital for the entire week (5 days) to take antibiotics through the IV. Fortunately, she is not "high risk", so that is encouraging. :)
Visiting her today she was a bit cranky (who wouldn't be after being stuck and not able to use her dominant LEFT hand?). She did overall well. I think she might be ambidexterous. She was writing notes to Mommy with her right hand!
Her infected leg looks bad, but it's getting better. The doctor used a permanent marker to "give her a tattoo" and see how the healing is coming along with the antibiotics.
I know you've all been praying for her and for us through this time, and we really, REALLY appreciate it. It nearly brought me to tears thinking about how many people on different continents and in different states/ churches are praying for our family, and at this time especially little Alice. Thank you SO much, it means a lot to us. You are a blessing, and God hears your prayers. :)
Love from a grateful dad, Jared

PS for the more medical minded folks, I'll add some closer pics. I put them at the bottom, just in case someone didn't want to see. :)
Using her RIGHT HAND to write...and she's a leftie! :)

The bubbles in the middle are the blisters.

URGENT PRAYER NEED!

Please pray for Alice. She will be spending the next 48 hours in the hospital. She has celulitis(sp?) from an infected sore on her legs. She will be recieving IV antibiotics four times a day. Thank you for all your prayers. Alice is a real trooper and is being very brave. Cheri will be staying with her while she's in the hospital and I'll be home with Bethany and Cameron. Thanks for praying! We'll keep you updated. -Jared

Prayer Update! :)

Hi folks!
Thanks for your prayers and interest in our family and in this ministry. We have a lot of stuff coming up VERY soon! Here's a prayer update I just sent out. :) God bless! Jared for all

Dear Prayer Partners,

Thank you so much for your prayers and support of our family as we serve here in Australia. We couldn’t do this without you! A lot has been happening with us lately, and there is much to be thankful for and pray about!

Praises:

1. Cheri’s job is going well.

a. Prayer: Please pray for Cheri and her co-teacher, Sheila(indigenous lady), to do a good job with the kids and to teach them well in Kriol as well as English. Please also pray the kids would respect them and obey them during class time. Pre-schoolers are a challenge sometimes! J

2. Working on “Luk” (Luke) DVD.

a. Prayer: In a few short weeks, we will be recording what has been completed for the Luk DVD. We are still in the thick of editing/timing to make sure everything fits in the spot it’s been allotted. There are three of us currently working on this project: Jared, our team member Rachel Borneman, and Margaret Mickan(team leader). Please pray for us as we work together and separately to finish this task before the recording time, so no time is wasted! I (Jared), am working with a group of Kriol speaking ladies as I edit the script. They are a blessing, and I’m so glad they were willing to help me with this, because I couldn’t do it without them. J

3. My cousin and her husband are coming to visit for a couple of days! This is extra exciting because this is the first time we’ve had family visiting our home here! We are very excited to have them and are looking forward to showing them a little piece of what life is like here. J

4. Religious Instruction(R.I.) at the school has been going well.

a. Prayer: Please continue to pray for the ladies as they lead these classes in Kriol, using the Kriol Baibul to teach from. Please pray for the students to take the stories to heart, and realize that this is not just a story, but history. Pray God would work in their hearts and draw them to himself.

b. Prayer: Please pray for the ladies’ health. Several of the ladies are getting older, and want to be part of teaching R.I. but health conditions get in the way.(Asthma)

5. Kids are adjusting well.

a. Prayer: Pray they would be a light to the other kids.

b. Praise!: They are all learning bits and pieces of Kriol, with Cameron using it often! He cracks me up sometimes. He’ll say, “Ai laigum yu, dedi!” (“I love you, Daddy!”)

6. There’s a SS workshop coming up from April 2-7!

a. Prayer: This is the first workshop we’ve had an active role ins. In the past we were observers. Jared is in charge of drama. Cheri has been assigned to organize meals/preparation for the group.

b. Prayer: Pray for effective teaching that will help and encourage the participants. Also, pray the dramas would be reproducible when the folks go back to their communities.

Thank you SO MUCH for standing with us in prayer. You are a huge blessing, and it is a privilege to have you on our team.

Serving Him Together, Jared, Cheri, A, B, and C