Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

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…continued from Back out in the outback – Part I

On the third day (God seemingly loves this third day theme), the river had come down to the point where we thought we could cross. We weren’t 100% positive, though, so as we continued to pray for God’s guidance in this situation, we suddenly heard a voice calling at the front door the shop. This was odd since the shop was technically closed as it is still the rainy season here. It turns ot that two electricians were passing through who happened to have a truck with a snorkel and a hitch. We didn’t want to assume they would tow us across the river, but when they offered, we knew we had to jump on it. So, we packed up camp and they towed us accross the Mighty Mainoru.

 

We continued for an hour and a half down the potholy dirt road until alas, we arrived in the village of Bulman, population 100.
 
 

We wandered up the main road, avoiding stepping in piles of horse poo in the middle of the road. There are crazy amounts of wild brumbies here and they wreak havok to the roads. We met up with some of the village folk and sang songs with the kids and prayed over the sick. It’s kind of funny that when the villagers hear that missionaries are coming, they seem bring out the sick people for us to pray over. So, we lay hands and pray like any good world racer would do.

The next day was a Sunday. For some reason, they didn’t want to have a church service in the morning (maybe because of the heat?), but they asked us to host an evening fellowship. Trey, our newfound traveling testimony teammate, tore it up once again. We shared a few songs and Trey spoke of how God saved him from a life of spiritual nothingness. Two women rededicated their lives to Christ that evening. PTL! What an awesome God we serve that no matter how far we’ve strayed, He welcomes us back with open arms.

The following evening we’d been asked us to host a fellowship in the next “town” over called Weemol, population 30. A lot of the folks from Bulman wanted to join us and it was only a few kilometers away, so we packed about 15 villagers into the troopie and our team rode on top. I discovered something called “troopie surfing.” It’s quite fun! They don’t have a basketball court church in Weemol, so we gathered on the street under one of the three streetlights in town and spread out our giant blue tarp. My team had asked me to preach that night. Of course I freaked out when they asked me to do this and I tried to pawn off the preacher role to another teammate, but they wouldn’t give in to my retaliation, so I had to accept. God willing, I ended up having a lot more to say than what I thought I did. Every time I thought I was about to run the message into a dead end, God gave me a path to go down and I followed. I surprised myself! I have to give the credit to God, though, because the Lord knows I’m not a preacher 🙂

A few of the villagers had asked us to help them with two baptisms the next morning at the Weemol spring. We gladly accepted the opportunity. The spring was absolutely amazing. I think this is the sort of place where Adam and Eve might have hung out. The crisp, clear water trickled downstream. Palm trees and violet lily pad flowers bordered the spring. It was a little paradise. My teammate, Ben, explained to the aboriginals how to perform a baptism and then he baptized away. A few spectators stood by and he asked if anyone else wanted to be baptized. It was silent for a few moments and then Trey spoke up…”I’ll go!” So right then and there, Ben baptized our buddy Trey. It was a really touching moment. I know it was a memorable moment for both Trey and Ben.

It’s been really neat seeing God work in these communities on the other side of the world. This month’s Aussie adventure has been so amazing and I hope you will check in with me for month 4 in Malaysia!