Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

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Greetings from Mareeba! Sorry I’ve yet to update you on our ministry here. We’ve been hard at work since we landed. We flew in from Brisbane to Cairns the morning of the 1st at 6:30 am and arrived in Mareeba, around noon. Mareeba is a small town north of Cairns through the rainforest. It’s very HOT and humid here. It is one of only two places in the world where the rainforest meets the reef, the other is the Amazon.

Upon arrival, we spent the afternoon at the IMLA (Indigenous Ministry Links Australia) base where we were briefed, fed, and given free internet. IMLA has a HUGE heart for the aboriginal people in Australia and has a passion to raise up leaders and disciples amongst them. They briefed us on all the crazy wildlife we’d see here and taught us some of the basic info we’d need to know about the Aboriginal culture here.
 

The Australian environment is probably one of the most extreme found on earth. It’s the world’s driest continent. It’s full of deserts, jungles and swamps. It’s snakes and spiders are some of the most poisonous in the world and has crocs in the rivers as well as sharks and deadly stingers in the sea. (They were quick to mention Steve Irwin and firmly stated we are to try or do NONE of his crazy antics!) It’s cultural and technological isolation are unlike most others. Such an extreme environment, I can see, has shaped tough people and an extremely unique culture and worldview. I quickly learned cross culture ministry would look very different here than any other place;. The aboriginal culture is far different from anything of the western world.

We’ve come to a community in great need of love , hope and restoration. Mareeba is a town ravaged by drugs, alcohol, and abuse. The children , especially the aboriginal, are often neglected and not cared for. As I lay in bed at night my stomach aches and heart cries for little kids next door who’s screams and cries from their front yard keep me from sleep. Many kids don’t go to school and instead spend their afternoons walk-about (wandering) or at the creek doing destructive things to themselves.
The Church and the house we’ll be serving at.

I get to spend the next three weeks working through IMLA with a local church. We are going to help fix up a house the church owns and working with the youth that come to the church each day for their community service hours. These are kids who have been kicked out of school, gotten in trouble with the law and are headed towards jail if something doesn’t change. I’m excited to get to know some of them and pray for the opportunity to speak life into their hearts and share the love of Jesus.

Given I don’t get eaten alive by the million bugs or die from the heat, I look forward to writing again soon about our progress on the house and the relationships developed amongst the youth!

Blessings to you and yours.

Love you all HEAPS!

Acts 20:24