Ministry in Darwin has come to a close.
It’s been a good month with God teaching me many different things.
This past week, God really showed me the importance of encouraging
other Christians. My team went through the book of Acts this month,
and we noticed how Paul continually went back to encourage Christians
and churches. His missions weren’t just for the lost but also for
those who knew Christ but needed to be strengthened in their faith.
He also encouraged them with letters, letting them know he was
praying for them and by providing words of comfort and of challenge.
It’s been a good month with God teaching me many different things.
This past week, God really showed me the importance of encouraging
other Christians. My team went through the book of Acts this month,
and we noticed how Paul continually went back to encourage Christians
and churches. His missions weren’t just for the lost but also for
those who knew Christ but needed to be strengthened in their faith.
He also encouraged them with letters, letting them know he was
praying for them and by providing words of comfort and of challenge.
God has allowed us to be an
encouragement to the people here at the Darwin Christian Outreach
Center, and they have been a huge blessing to us. Even though the
church has many people coming and going from this place, they really
took an interest in us and wanted to know us. Many would have us over
for tea (dinner). Some would just have a few of us at a time while
others would host our whole group at once. Between cooking for us,
taking us out to eat, taking time off to show us the sites and just
genuinely wanting to know us was such a blessing to me.
encouragement to the people here at the Darwin Christian Outreach
Center, and they have been a huge blessing to us. Even though the
church has many people coming and going from this place, they really
took an interest in us and wanted to know us. Many would have us over
for tea (dinner). Some would just have a few of us at a time while
others would host our whole group at once. Between cooking for us,
taking us out to eat, taking time off to show us the sites and just
genuinely wanting to know us was such a blessing to me.
I truly enjoyed getting to know
everyone here and hearing many of their testimonies. So many of them
really touched my heart. It’s amazing to see how God works in
different ways. There are so many stories, but I’ll share a few with
you now:
everyone here and hearing many of their testimonies. So many of them
really touched my heart. It’s amazing to see how God works in
different ways. There are so many stories, but I’ll share a few with
you now:
Jaria – an Indonesian and friend of
Pastor Lavu from the COC. She is in hospice care and could be called
home to be with Jesus any day. She is an amazing Christian woman who
has peace about her situation and trusts God. She said she is ready
to go because she knows she’ll be going to heaven; however, she feels
God still has some things for her to do on earth. She wants to
minister to the nurses and others at the hospital. She is in a lot of
pain, and the day we visited, she was having problems with her
vision. Nate, Charity and I each prayed for her. She definitely
blessed us more than we could have blessed her. She was so full of
joy and peace – truly a woman of God.
Pastor Lavu from the COC. She is in hospice care and could be called
home to be with Jesus any day. She is an amazing Christian woman who
has peace about her situation and trusts God. She said she is ready
to go because she knows she’ll be going to heaven; however, she feels
God still has some things for her to do on earth. She wants to
minister to the nurses and others at the hospital. She is in a lot of
pain, and the day we visited, she was having problems with her
vision. Nate, Charity and I each prayed for her. She definitely
blessed us more than we could have blessed her. She was so full of
joy and peace – truly a woman of God.
Sue – a woman from church who talked
to me after I shared my testimony. I shared how I loved horses and
she told me about her son Joshua who has Down Syndrome and has really
benefited from therapeutic riding. That really got me excited! I’ve
heard so many things about the benefits of therapeutic riding, and it
was neat that she wanted to share that with me. She said the first
word her son said was “Red” because the horse he rode was named
Mr. Red. She also shared some struggles she had with raising a child
with a disability. I heard God telling me to pray for her (yea! a
word from God), and I obeyed. I prayed for her, and hopefully
provided some encouragement for her that day.
to me after I shared my testimony. I shared how I loved horses and
she told me about her son Joshua who has Down Syndrome and has really
benefited from therapeutic riding. That really got me excited! I’ve
heard so many things about the benefits of therapeutic riding, and it
was neat that she wanted to share that with me. She said the first
word her son said was “Red” because the horse he rode was named
Mr. Red. She also shared some struggles she had with raising a child
with a disability. I heard God telling me to pray for her (yea! a
word from God), and I obeyed. I prayed for her, and hopefully
provided some encouragement for her that day.
Sandra – I didn’t get to know Sandra
until later during our time at Darwin. One night while at another
couples’ house for the evening, she shared some of her story with me.
She was going to a very strict church. I can’t remember the religion
right now, but it was very controlling. She began home-schooling her
kids and wanted to teach them about creation rather than evolution.
This made a huge impact on her because apparently her church didn’t
teach about God creating the world. She voiced her opinion on the
matter and eventually was kicked out of the church. This was only a
year or two ago. Since then, God has been working on revealing who He
truly is, and she began attending the Christian Outreach Center. Now,
she is beginning a home church and really has a heart for reaching
out to lost people. She had us over for tea one evening and shared
how much she was blessed by us coming. Well, we were blessed by her
too!
until later during our time at Darwin. One night while at another
couples’ house for the evening, she shared some of her story with me.
She was going to a very strict church. I can’t remember the religion
right now, but it was very controlling. She began home-schooling her
kids and wanted to teach them about creation rather than evolution.
This made a huge impact on her because apparently her church didn’t
teach about God creating the world. She voiced her opinion on the
matter and eventually was kicked out of the church. This was only a
year or two ago. Since then, God has been working on revealing who He
truly is, and she began attending the Christian Outreach Center. Now,
she is beginning a home church and really has a heart for reaching
out to lost people. She had us over for tea one evening and shared
how much she was blessed by us coming. Well, we were blessed by her
too!
Albert 
– a man of God who does the
accounting work at the COC. He’s funny but genuine. We had a great
time joking around with him, but you could also tell he has a great
love for the Lord. When he talks to you, you feel like the most
important person to him. He’s interested in your thoughts but also
loves sharing things the Lord has laid on his heart. He also has an
amazing testimony of how he became a Christian later in life then
served as a missionary in Papa New Guinea for several years. Albert
truly made our time in Darwin memorable!
– a man of God who does theaccounting work at the COC. He’s funny but genuine. We had a great
time joking around with him, but you could also tell he has a great
love for the Lord. When he talks to you, you feel like the most
important person to him. He’s interested in your thoughts but also
loves sharing things the Lord has laid on his heart. He also has an
amazing testimony of how he became a Christian later in life then
served as a missionary in Papa New Guinea for several years. Albert
truly made our time in Darwin memorable!
Drew, Erin, Amy and I with Albert at the Darwin wharf. He also took time to take us all out to dinner.
Again, these are just a few of the many
stories and testimonies I have had the privilege to hear this month.
God has really shown me the value in encouraging other believers, and
also how important it is to be encouraged. Just being at the COC,
seeing what they do and how they have a heart for missions, has been a blessing to me. We leave
with many new friends in Christ as well as others we are continuing
to pray will accept Christ. We’ve had the opportunity to develop
relationships with several non-Christians. Although, we didn’t see
any of them accept Christ yet, we know He is working on their hearts
and that seeds have been planted through some meaningful
conversations.
stories and testimonies I have had the privilege to hear this month.
God has really shown me the value in encouraging other believers, and
also how important it is to be encouraged. Just being at the COC,
seeing what they do and how they have a heart for missions, has been a blessing to me. We leave
with many new friends in Christ as well as others we are continuing
to pray will accept Christ. We’ve had the opportunity to develop
relationships with several non-Christians. Although, we didn’t see
any of them accept Christ yet, we know He is working on their hearts
and that seeds have been planted through some meaningful
conversations.
