Our final ministry week here in Australia has been spent at Woolaning Christian College, a boarding school in Litchfield National Park devoted to the education and empowerment of the indigenous children who attend.
As a team we wish we had another few weeks to spend here! The campus is composed of beautiful people who love the Lord and love the children they are serving…despite the many struggles involved in raising teenagers from challenging backgrounds.
Every morning the staff meets to pray for the children and their mission as a school, and then it’s off to work. Because of our short allotment of time here, we decided to spend our hours blessing and serving the staff and house parents by performing much needed chores around the grounds. We have pressure-washed, scrubbed crusted bugs of windowsills, and cleaned windows during the daytime hours. In the late afternoon we wash up and split up among the different houses to eat dinner and spend time with the children. There are 7 houses in all ( 4 boys 3 girls), each with around 6-10 kids living there with the house parents. We eat a delicious dinner at 6pm, play with the kids or talk with the parents until 8pm, and everyone comes together again for dessert…that’s right…after about 3 months away from home, eating a bowl of vanilla ice cream has become a highlight:)
God has really blessed Woolaning. It is situated in some of the most beautiful creation possible…the middle of a National Park with gorgeous waterfalls and wildlife. The toughest challenges they face are in transforming the mindset of the children. There are cultural habits that work against finishing school, finding work, and pushing oneself to succeed. This term in particular there have been many instances of children acting out by destroying property or engaging in risky behavior on and off campus. It is difficult to find the balance of grace and discipline when there are other people in the kids lives that aren’t encouraging them toward a positive lifestyle.
Please pray that God will continue to break strongholds in the childrens lives and free them from self-destructive habits. Pray also for renewed strength and increasing love and wisdom for the staff and houseparents at the school. Woolaning is a light shining in the darkness!
