A few days ago, I was Skyping with my parents and my mom mentioned that my Uncle Danny has been checking my blog site a lot, and that he is excited for an update. This was a polite way of saying, “Hey! You haven’t blogged in a month! Get on it!” So, I am sorry Uncle Danny, and everyone else. I love you all lots, its just that I’ve been so busy gallivanting around the world that I haven’t had much time to sit down and write about it!
Since my last update, I have set foot in four countries
(Cambodia, Australia, Singapore, and Malaysia), and seen two Wonders of the
World (Angkor Wat and the Great Barrier Reef).
Most of this time, though, was
spent with the Musch Family in Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. Carl and Gail Musch run Indigenous Ministry
Links Australia (IMLA), a Christian ministry to Australia’s aboriginal
people. They plant churches, raise up pastors, and disciple aboriginal believers all across Australia!
(Cambodia, Australia, Singapore, and Malaysia), and seen two Wonders of the
World (Angkor Wat and the Great Barrier Reef).
Most of this time, though, was
spent with the Musch Family in Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. Carl and Gail Musch run Indigenous Ministry
Links Australia (IMLA), a Christian ministry to Australia’s aboriginal
people. They plant churches, raise up pastors, and disciple aboriginal believers all across Australia!
My team spent three weeks supporting
IMLA by doing manual labor at the IMLA base.
We mowed lawns, moved trees, cleaned caravans, repaired roofs, killed
snakes, and prepared the base for more short-term mission teams. The Musch family was awesome, and I
thoroughly enjoyed being able to get my hands dirty and do some work. I know that the family and ministry felt
incredibly blessed by everything we accomplished!
IMLA by doing manual labor at the IMLA base.
We mowed lawns, moved trees, cleaned caravans, repaired roofs, killed
snakes, and prepared the base for more short-term mission teams. The Musch family was awesome, and I
thoroughly enjoyed being able to get my hands dirty and do some work. I know that the family and ministry felt
incredibly blessed by everything we accomplished!
Jake and Steve Lawncare Inc.
My team also spent one week in Mt.
Garnet, a small aboriginal community up in the mountains off the coast of north
Queensland. IMLA sent us to Mt. Garnet
hoping that we would be able to start a youth ministry. We stayed at a small Assemblies of God church,
and worked with a jovial, white-haired aboriginal man named Pastor Snow. Snow’s church, like many in aboriginal
communities, was populated by adults and children, but almost no one between
the ages of 15 and 30. The aboriginal
people, descending from times of oppression and racism by their British
colonizers, have lost much of their culture.
Like Native American reservations, alcoholism and drug use is rampant
throughout aboriginal communities. Many
of the youth are drawn into this lifestyle and away from the church, making
youth ministry a difficult undertaking!
Garnet, a small aboriginal community up in the mountains off the coast of north
Queensland. IMLA sent us to Mt. Garnet
hoping that we would be able to start a youth ministry. We stayed at a small Assemblies of God church,
and worked with a jovial, white-haired aboriginal man named Pastor Snow. Snow’s church, like many in aboriginal
communities, was populated by adults and children, but almost no one between
the ages of 15 and 30. The aboriginal
people, descending from times of oppression and racism by their British
colonizers, have lost much of their culture.
Like Native American reservations, alcoholism and drug use is rampant
throughout aboriginal communities. Many
of the youth are drawn into this lifestyle and away from the church, making
youth ministry a difficult undertaking!
Mt. Garnet community church!
Out fishin’ for dinner with Pastor Snow!
Despite the difficulty of aboriginal youth ministry, God moved during our
week in Mt. Garnet. We preached in
church, shared the gospel door to door, prayed for families, had youth
gatherings and revival meetings, and equipped Snow’s daughter, Lindell, to lead
a youth ministry once we left. It was an
incredible week full of divine encounters! Many people were brought to repentance and faith, and the Kingdom was surely spread throughout this small community! Since we’ve left, the church has continued to have weekly
youth meetings, and our contact, Carl, will continue to equip and support their
ministry now that we are gone! Never underestimate what God can do
in even one short week!
week in Mt. Garnet. We preached in
church, shared the gospel door to door, prayed for families, had youth
gatherings and revival meetings, and equipped Snow’s daughter, Lindell, to lead
a youth ministry once we left. It was an
incredible week full of divine encounters! Many people were brought to repentance and faith, and the Kingdom was surely spread throughout this small community! Since we’ve left, the church has continued to have weekly
youth meetings, and our contact, Carl, will continue to equip and support their
ministry now that we are gone! Never underestimate what God can do
in even one short week!
Playing “Soy Ninja” with some of the kids!
Elijah and Teegan jamming out on the church drums!
My time in Australia flew by! Though I never spent quality time with a Platypus, I tried Vegimite (yuck!), saw kangaroos, flirted with freshwater crocs, swam the Great Barrier Reef, and learned how to say, “Good on ya!” with inflection to make any Australian proud. For those of you who have not been to Australia, it is B-E-A-utiful! Picture coastal mountains nestled into thick white clouds, piercing blue skies, and, of course, koalas.
A waterfall near our home… they were everywhere!
And another one!
Yep.
Sure beats sitting in class!
Scuba Jake… at the REEF!
Pictures from the Reef from our underwater camera! I have never seen so many colors! It was amazing! (Thanks Kasey Brinson for taking the pictures!)
Found him.
Apparently people drown every year from getting their hands stuck inside giant clambs. Who knew? It was fun to poke them and watch them slam shut!
In other news, I am now in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and I am no longer with my team, Johnny Gospelseed. At the end of this past month, we went through squad wide team changes. Our squad of 43 is now composed of six teams instead of seven, and I will definitely miss Steve, Kasey, Bri, Misty, and Berdien so much! It has been such an amazing 3 months with them and I love them all to death!
Also at the end of this past month, I was asked to become one of our three squad leaders. For the last three months, we have had two squad leaders traveling with us who have gone on the World Race in the past. These amazing women, Kelsey Sage and Julie Lortz, are leaving at the end of April and have asked three of us to take over their role. This means that I will no longer be part of a team, or work with one particular ministry. Instead, I will be traveling around to a couple teams each month and encouraging them and their team leaders. I am excited for this new role, because I know that it will challenge me, and give me the opportunity to call people on this squad into their God-given gifts and identities. I will also get to be exposed to many more different kinds of ministry each month! One of the biggest perks of this role is that I get to hang out with two awesome co-squad leaders, Chelsea Hughes, and Courtney Buckner. They are SUCH great women, and I could not be more honored to take this on with them!
Well, I think that’s all. I hereby commit to blogging more in the future so that I can tell stories instead of “updates”. To the people who read this blog, “Thank you!!!” Friends, family, I miss you guys and hope you are walking with the Lord. Remember that Jesus gives us the bread and water of life… His glory satisfies our every need!
Much love!
The Squad Leaders “Squeaders”. From the left…. Julie Lortz, Chelsea Hughes, me, Courtney Buckner, and Kelsey Sage. Julie and Kelsey have been on the Race before, and are leaving after this month! Our squad will miss them!
