australia's aboriginality

As we round the final turn and begin our run toward the finish, our Australia team has been blessed and sometimes overwhelmed with all God has shown us here in Queensland. A good portion of our last two days has been spent with the indigenous (aboriginal) community- observing, interacting with and learning from them as they live out lives straining toward a greater recognition and equality in this setting.

"Deadly" is a good term here!

  We spent the better part of Friday at NAIDOC(National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee) which celebrates the indigenous cultures of the aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.  It is a festive, carnival-like atmosphere with much joy and thankfulness for the heritages presented.  We watched dances, heard singers and speakers, and interacted with organizations and vendors providing social services information for those in attendance.  

This afternoon we learned to throw boomerangs (some learned better than others) with Goma Conlon, an indigenous pastor and good friend.  He also demonstrated the playing of the didgeridoo (way cool) and talked about what it mans to be a follower of Christ in the aboriginal setting.  Following this, we hopped over to the church at which he and another indigenous pastor are working an shared evening service with them.  It was a great blessing to gather and worship with them.  Josh drummed for their worship team, Don and Alexis shared testimonies and Alexis sang.  What a rich history of stories and struggle were present  among those members!

I thought you might like to share one more collection of photos of this great team:

NAIDOC festivities in downtown Brisbane

Josh and Luke made a new friend

Papa Fresh in da house!

Time for chocolate fondue at Max Brenners

Don sharing testimony at Saturday night service

Remember these guys?! They were the bomb!

Josh and Alexis with Saturday night worship team

Please pray for our last hours here.  I'll preach Sunday morning at Ann Street, and Josh will speak for their Youth Church in the evening.  We want more chances to share the hope that's within us before we leave these shores.  Will you ask God to provide them, and for us to boldly speak of what He's done with our lives and what He wants to do for all who come to Him?  Thanks!  

We'll see youse soon- good on ya!

eidsvold doesn't sound australian

Our 2011 Australia GO! Team has had an incredible experience so far!  We just returned from 4 days in Eidsvold, a small community about six hours from Brisbane.  Our goal was to serve the Christian Center there, along with its new pastor, Mark, and his wife, Alex.  We had such a great time with kids and adults alike, playing sports, working through Bible lessons and crafts, singing, eating and running around together.  We also got better acquainted with different adults in town, learning much about the issues and circumstances surrounding this small community of both white and aboriginal residents.

It's tough to quantify our take-aways from this experience, or the impact we were able to have.  One local businessman did tell me that he appreciated our group being there, even for a few days each year, because he saw positive influence in kids' lives from our interaction with them.  He told me that our presence is a reminder of normality (imagine someone referring to us as normal!), that the world is bigger and more functional than what is seen only through the local lens of the town.  He thanked us for coming again, and offered his encouragement for our return next year.

The following are some more snaps of our last couple of days.  I'll write more about Eidsvold and other good stuff a bit later:

Pastor Mark and his wife, Alex

Prayer circle before leaving Eidsvold

Captain Luke, superhero of the crafts debris!

Lianna mixing it with kids during crafts

Craft Woman Leslee and her monkey

Beautiful Eidsvold kids

Josh and Clinton

Which way back to Brisbane?!

Alexis singing to an appreciative audience

Don (aka Papa Fresh) and the girls, Leslee and Daun

Please keep us in prayers as we head into our final weekend here.  Pray that we'll finish well and will take every opportunity to share the most important message on our hearts.  Pray that we will remain focused on the task at hand and not too distracted by thoughts of getting back to our "regular" way of life.  And pray that God will speak to us, even as He speaks through us, concerning lessons He's been showing us while serving here.  We just can't afford to be the same people when we return as we were before we left.


And those around us can't afford that either.

GO! Australia in Fine Fashion

GO! Australia in Fine Fashion

Wow! it's been a whirlwind first week here in Brisbane for our team. We've tried to update our activities via Facebook, but our long days/evening schedule has hindered blogging up to this point.

Ann Street Church

We made it here with no worries, surprising our missionary (Daun) with her father (Don)!  It was great to see her stunned expression at the airport as he came out the ramp! More than anything throughout this week, we've been impressed with the need and opportunity for relationships.  The young people of the Ann Street Church are so open for friendships, and those connections matter to them.  People with whom we've come into contact are also open to finding more about us and connecting with us on some level.  These opportunities are abundant and fairly easy to negotiate- something all of us are able to do!

Community BBQ

We've been to an island off Brisbane's shore with the church, visited a zoo, cleaned and begun repainting Ann Street's Fellowship Hall, eaten kangaroo, served a Community BBQ (like our Community Supper), dined at the Pancake House in the city at midnite, attended a farewell service for Ron Tatum (visiting for a month from Southside Christian Church in Inglewood), and prayer walked in the city...just to mention a few things. Tomorrow (Sunday), Mike will preach a combined service (Ann St. regulars and their Korean church), then we'll pack up and head to Eidsvold, a small, predominantly aboriginal community 6 hours from here.  Chances are there'll be no way to blog there, so we'll catch you up on our return next Thursday.  Meanwhile, thank you for your prayers and love (keep 'em coming!), and enjoy a few recent snaps:

Daddy Don

Luke the artist

Josh and St. John

Alexis and the Ann St. mob

Work crew gettin' it done

In 'N' Out training pays off 

Beach bunnies!

Mike keeping an eye out

We've experienced a lot in a short time, and there's more to come!  Pray for opportunity and boldness as we represent our God here.  We love you all
!

the brisbane floods- aftermath

 I wanted to provide one more update about the situation in Brisbane following the torrential floods of last week (for some amazing photos, click on http://www.abc.net.au/news/infographics/qld-floods/beforeafter.htm ).  The rains have subsided for the moment and the waters have receded, but they've cut a defining swath of calamity and disaster for thousands of people.  The following is a post we received Sunday from Daun Slauson, our missionary there:

...the water is going down...the river is pretty well back to its normal level, though certainly not its normal colour. It is brown and ugly. But what remains is a path of destruction. It is just so sad. The Premiere, Anna Bleigh, referred to Brisbane (what it looks like) as a war zone...and now I understand what she means.

     On Saturday, a group of us Ann Streeters set out to help with the clean up. We went into to Goodna, an area hit very hard- the Bremmer River that runs through there peaked at 19 meters- so you can imagine the destruction. We went there because that is, of course, where we have families living as well (though they were all untouched by the waters). It was absolutely amazing to see so many people out helping with the clean-up. (Lena told me that she rang Volunteer Queensland yesterday and they said that they have had 60,000 people register in the last week.- Now that is what I call Community Spirit). So on Sat. we drove around Goodna just looking for the right place..we had prayed that God would lead us to a house that there weren't too many people helping. 

     After driving around for some time- seeing the sad, sad result of the flood, we finally ended up at a house of an older (not elderly) woman...she had her son and daughter there helping her, and a few friends, but there was so much work that needed to be done...they excitedly welcomed our help...so into the house we came- 5 guys and 2 girls...with clean rags (which made a huge difference, as all they had were brooms to clean the walls/ceiling- and one high pressure hose running on a generator). Within about 3 hours we had the entire inside of the house clean and mostly mud free. They will still have to do major drying out and disinfecting, but her son told us that earlier in the morning, as he looked around at all that needed to be done, he was sure that he would be there well into this week...but, with our help, it was complete that day, along with some other jobs. It may have only been one house, but the impact that it had on that family was worth the time. Before we left, I asked if we could pray with them, and they willingly took us up on that offer...

     I am heading out again today with Lena and her sisters to help more with the clean up... it will be an ongoing process for some time... and I hope to do all that I can. Please pray that as we are out there, meeting people and hearing their stories, that we will have and take the opportunities to share Christ in any way that we can. There is so much talk of the 'Aussie Spirit" and it is true- there is a great Aussie Spirit..but I want people to see more than just that in me...I want them to see Christ's Spirit... 

Please continue to pray for Daun and the crew at Ann Street as they seek normalcy even while ministering to the needs of others.  Pray that people recognize their need for the Lord, especially at a time like this. Pray that the spirit of Christ would shine through the selflessness of those who serve in his name to so many who need to know him. And that rains of destruction will become rains of mercy and grace as his love floods the lives of those who have been in spiritual drought for far too long.  Keep praying.

high tide in brisbane (the floods, part 2)

I wrote a couple of days ago, asking you to pray about the massive flooding in Queensland, Australia, and especially as the focus was turning to the city of Brisbane.  The Brisbane River was supposed to crest yesterday morning at 10:00 (Anaheim time) at more than 5 meters (that's over 15 feet).  It had already breached its banks and was threatening to turn the heart of Brisbane into a complete waterway.


We received the following update yesterday from Daun Slauson, one of our church members working there with the Ann Street Church of Christ:


well, today we have better news.... the river peaked about 1 metre lower than expected. That may seem like a small amount, but it means that many, many homes were spared. They have now estimated that 'only' 7,500 properties were affected by flooding (others may still have water damage, but not complete flooding). This is a huge answer to prayer!! The waters have already begun to recede, ever so slowly... they say it will be mid week next week before we see the river back to its normal size. As far as I know, no one from Ann St. or the church itself have been hit. But as you can imagine, there is a major clean up that now must begin. 

At this point, the Brisbane drinking water supply is still ok, so we pray that it stays that way. As for getting food and other supplies in, it may take some time, as many of the roads are cut out...

Thanks to those of you who have been praying about this matter.  Please keep praying for safety, for encouragement in the long rebuilding process, for the Church to be a positive force, and for people to turn their hearts to the Lord.

Here are some pictures that tell a grim story:

Pray on!

and the rains came down...(brisbane floods)

"He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."  And oh, the rain is falling. And falling. And falling.


The Brisbane area of northeast Australia is currently facing torrential rains and flooding at an unprecedented level. Areas throughout the northeast have been inundated by monsoonal rains that have continued for weeks, and have sent water levels to new highs.  Many cities and communities have been ravaged by raging floodwaters, with much loss of life and property.  As I write, the waters are now bearing down on the city of Brisbane  (http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8194723/instant-inland-tsunami-kills-four).  The water catchment dam built outside the city in 1974 (following massive flooding then) is at 140% of capacity, and if rains don't subside quickly, disaster will continue to escalate.

This is the part of Australia with which we have a partnership, both through our missionary (Daun Slauson) and our Global Outreach (GO!) Teams that have been going there since 2003.  The Ann Street Church of Christ with whom we work is in the downtown area and may be in the path of the floodwaters, should they come.  Many our friends are being directly impacted by these events, and need our prayers.  Will you pray for their safety, and for the rains to abate?  But will you also pray for a spirit of brokenness to sweep over the Australian people, and that they will turn their hearts to God?  This is a country that has been spiritually dry for many years and needs to understand its need for the Lord.  Ask God to reveal his mercy and grace in the midst of great suffering and sorrow.  And that the rain of his love will fall upon a wonderful people in a fresh way.  


Note: here is part of our latest update from Daun, received 01/11: I have spoken to Tim (Ann Street Church elder)...they evacuated everyone out of Brisbane City at about midday today...and told people not to come back unless they absolutely need to. He spoke with his dad re: Ann St (his parents have been around Ann St. for many years) and he feels that we will be safe from the flooding. Though the church is not too far from the river, it is higher up. Let's hope he is right. 

     So, the reason for the higher amount of flooding tomorrow is because they have had to open the gates to the Wivenho Dam, and now that water, along with the rain and flood waters from other areas is coming down river... and tomorrow at 3pm there will be a King Tide... so water rising from the sea and coming in mixed with all the water coming down... all suburbs near the river have been warned to evacuate. They are estimating that a minimum of 7,000 properties will be wiped out.. with another 16,000 affected. 

but do you really understand?

Communication is always interesting in another culture. In some countries it's obvious that we don't speak the same language at all and we have to work at basic concepts. In others, we share a common language and it's much easier (or so we think!).

I saw this sign on the streets of Brisbane (double-click pic to enlarge), and my sideways humor couldn't resist thinking, "I wonder how they actually know that they should cross at that intersection?!" Now I recognize the sign is really for the benefit of drivers, and not pedestrians, but for just a moment I saw that what was undoubtedly clear in the mind of the signmaker might not necessarily be understood as clearly in the mind of the reader. Ahhh, communication- it takes two, doesn't it?

Since Australia is an English-speaking nation, communication here is relatively simple and straightforward...or so you would think. There are, however, words and phrases unique to the culture. Some examples of unique/modified words include: fair dinkum (someone or something genuine); chook (chicken); billy (metal can used to boil tea over a fire); my shout (I'll pay this time); icy pole (popsicle); off with the fairies (daydreaming); sticky beak (nosy person); tuck shop (cafeteria); snag (sausage); whinge (complain); fairy floss (cotton candy); woop woop (far away); lollies (candy); yobbo (redneck); car park (parking lot); letter box (mailbox); arvo (afternoon); brekky (breakfast); rellies (relatives); and a host of others. Not everyone uses all such words, but some are commonplace and take some getting used to, especially if we want to understand and be understood clearly.

Which makes me think again about the way we communicate the Gospel, whether in our own culture or in another. There are words, terms and phrases that are common to us but may not make sense to those around us with little or no spiritual background. Of course, "church terminology" seems pretty much out (words like justification, sanctification, washed in the blood of the Lamb, redeemed, ransomed, etc). But there are other terms that we may think people do understand which may no longer be so clear. Think about words/ideas such as repent, commit, lord, savior, faith, hope, invite Jesus into your heart, saved, and even love. The definitions and concepts of what we might consider basic terms have shifted for many. And the great mistake we make is to assume everyone understands our words without making sure we're talking about the same things. Remember, communication isn't just about what you say, but what's received by your listener as well. It really does take two.

All this to say that you need to think about what you say AND how you say it. That just as we have to think through our words when in another culture, so you and I- even in our own surroundings- must realize that we're really speaking to another culture. An unchurched and often unaware culture. Choose your words in such a way that people will really get what you're trying to tell them, because in order to receive good news, they've got to understand it first.

And when you do, the person you're talking to might even think, "Good on 'im! He's a fair dinkum and a good mate, and I think I'll have 'im over for a cuppa and bikkies this arv to chase up this talk about Jesus!" (Good job on his part! He's a genuine guy and a friend, and I'll invite him for a cup of coffee [or tea] and cookies this afternoon and follow up on what he says about Jesus!)

the land of oohs and oz

Tonight's the night! Sunday, the 28th, our KACC GO! Team Australia boards a Quantas 747 and heads for 2 weeks in Brisbane. There are 16 total team members (some shown in this pic) and they'll have a group in the state of Queensland eagerly waiting their arrival. Since I'm already in country, I'll be able (for once) to actually meet my own team coming into their field of service- at 6:00 am on the 3oth!

Australia's a secular county that has seen declining interest and participation in Christianity for several years. And yet there's a spiritual hunger in the lives of many that is opening their hearts again to the words and path of Jesus. Our team will once again partner with Ann Street Church of Christ in the heart of Brisbane (where our own Daun Slauson serves as a missionary!), joining them in sports and evangelistic outreaches to local youth, as well as in service projects. We'll serve alongside Ann Street as they host their monthly version of our Community Supper, will spend several days in an outback community building relationships with locals there as we share our message of life with them, and will even take in an Aussie Rules football game (seen on left)!

Our goal is to serve the Australian Church in every way possible as we learn about God's work (and our part in it) in another culture. We'll continue to build on relationships begun by prior teams and leave a good base on which future teams may continue to add. Please pray for our effectiveness as servants and witnesses, opportunities and boldness, safety and new life perspectives. And for lives to be touched for eternity- theirs and ours.

And check back here for info and thoughts about this experience. Good on ya!