We arrived here in Darwin late on the evening of the 1st only after flying to Brisbane and then through Sydney. The next morning about 8 of our teams that are working here in the Northern Territory of Australia gathered together for an orientation on the Aboriginal people and then were sent off to our ministry locations. Some took 5 hour bus ride, other teams were flown in and dropped off in the middle of the bush, while we happened to be located right in the heart of Darwin requiring just a 15 minute drop off to the YWAM base that we are being boarded at. 
kes and spiders, and strange enough the kangaroos can tear a person up if messed with. But on the bright side, let me just say that the sunsets are like no where’s else in the world! I wish you could be with me on the two story porch of the YWAM base sitting in a lounge chair drinking a cup of tea drenched in sweat enjoying it with me. 
We are also learning that entering a whole new ministry, a whole new environment, a whole new battle field every new month is quite the adjustment.
This month my team is working along side a missionary couple reaching out to the indigenous Aboriginals of the Bagot Community. Upon entering this community it takes you back a bit. On the outskirts is a well-thriving city, but when entering into this community you feel as though you are walking right in to a 3rd world country. There is a mass abundance of wild dogs running everywhere, trash thrown carelessly around anywhere you look, and homes that appear to be unlivable that house about 25 to 30 people each.
You can feel the heaviness in the air due to the spiritual warfare going on in the midst of this place. We were informed of the high rate of drunkenness and violence of the area, and after seeing the place they weren’t kidding. Most of the Aboriginals come to Darwin to feed their addiction to alcohol and drugs because it is cheaper in the city. They live with no purpose or hope. We asked this one little girl what she wanted to be when she grew up and she said she never thought about it before. Eventually she said she guesses she wants to be a person at her school that hands out the food (comparable to a cafeteria person). Not something you would hear from a typical child in the US.
You rarely find an adult that is sober also. Most are driven to mental insanity due to all the drugs put in their body. It’s sad knowing that this is a person’s father, mother, brother, etc. Violence is also highly prevalent due to all the drunkenness. The
other day I saw this man literally deck this elderly lady right in the face!
The kids are a big focus of our ministry here. They are the future of this community and their people and you sense the battle that is going on over their hearts already. They have little supervision and are usually found roaming the streets on their own at all hours even through the night. There is a high suicide rate amongst the younger generation. A lot of people claim its through “voices” they here in their head to kill themselves. A practiced ritual with the young boys is when they are about to become a man that are taken into the desert and they are assigned a demon that is to be with them the rest of their lives. They are told that they will see visions of a Great Rainbow Snake that will declare the strength of the force living within them. Demonic influences are quite real here. If someone is angry at another person, they go to witch doctors who can place curses on specific people. The seriousness of it all is that these people who are cursed usually end up dying near after.
But despite the addictions, the strongholds, and the fear in this Aboriginal community God is bigger. The Aboriginal people are also known as the “forgotten people” and yet I know in my heart that God hasn’t forgotten them. So if they think they have no hope, I know that a hope resides amidst them and that is Jesus Christ! Please pray that God empowers us to bring life, hope, and truth into their lives.
