Good day, Mates! Welcome to Month 10 of the World Race!
T-squad landed in DARWIN, AUSTRALIA early Wednesday morning and headed off to ministry for the month. The unusual part of Month 10 is that Team Tandem is no longer Team Tandem – at least for a little while. You see, this month is A”Man Month,” for the guys, also known as “Man-istry.” It’s a time for men to be men, to walk around without shirts and not shower and grunt and eat bratwursts. (Although I do recall a certain “man adventure day” earlier this year in Romania in which a large portion of our guys ended up at the spa. . . .hmmm.)
So that leaves us girls to have our own “Woman-instry” month as well. The girls of Team Tandem have joined up with ladies of Team Waka for the whole month. You may remember Team Waka from Swaziland. Both teams are pictured here (in Swazi).
So what’s up in the Outback? Well, as I mentioned, we are in Darwin, a multi-cultural and very lively city in Australia’s Northern Territory, the lesser population region of Australia. The majority of the nation’s people live in cities along the eastern and southern coasts. Darwin, while not quite the “outback,” is certainly less populated than other parts of the continent.
We are working at the Christian Outreach Center (COC), which actually serves a number of functions. For one, it’s a place for aboriginal people to come and stay while they or a family member receives medical care at the nearby hospital. There is housing, meals and other services for these families, many of whom live on government assistance.
In addition to the housing, COC is also a fundraising center for other missions organizations around the world. They raise funds in several ways, including a pig and cattle farm, a furniture store, and a used clothing store. These funds go to help pastors plant churches all across the globe!
Our job here is, well, less than glamorous, but nonetheless needed. Daily tasks include yard work, assisting in cleaning the guest rooms, mopping, sweeping, office work, assisting in the laundry room, and helping serve food and clean the dining area. I was just lamenting the fact that I will be missing fall back home, so when I had the chance to spend a whole day raking leaves yesterday, it was a little like being home for fall. Except the fact that we’re practically living in the center of the sun here. Same same, right?
That’s all for an update for now. More to come soon!
