“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16
God’s grace and mercy are new every morning, great is His faithfulness!
In summing up the year, we would like to thank God for His grace for each day. It has been a good year because of His grace, provision and guidance.
This year was the first year that we have been serving with Growing Families Australia Missions. It has enabled us to pour our lives into what is on our hearts for the Kimberley and the unique and beautiful Aboriginal people whose homelands we live in. For us, this has been through first and foremost, building relationships over and above the Bible study groups and parenting classes we have run. The Aboriginal people on the whole are a very relational people, with soft, open hearts that are spiritually oriented. We have been (and are still) learning about the amazing and strong network of family relationships that criss-cross all across this vast area that is 3 times the size of England. When you start talking with an Aboriginal person, usually the first topics of conversation are about where you are from, who you are related to and which relationships you have in common.
God has blessed us with a large home in a central part of town. This block of land was the only one we could afford when we came here. We feel it is no accident that it is right next to a walkway and close by to the major supermarket, service station and local park. It has been great to use this home to host individuals, small & large groups for prayer, counselling, hospitality, Christian movie nights, fellowship groups, Bible studies, discipleship and parenting classes. We hope to see more of that in the year to come.
Apart from our ministry in Derby, we have regularly (weekly) visited the communities of Mowanjum (15 kms from Derby) and Looma (100 kms from Derby) for visitation, Bible study and parenting classes. Sometimes it has felt like slow progress, with fluctuating numbers at classes, but overall it has been encouraging to get to know people and have them be receptive to God’s Word, ask questions, take notes and share their lives.
Something new for us this year has been the opportunity for Greg to do some computer training at the Mowanjum Community Resource Centre and Linda to help out at the local Derby playgroup, both once/week. This has given us both a chance to have a regular point of contact with people in the two communities, apart from our weekly visits to Looma. Through these regular times we have been able to build trust with people which we hope will lead to further opportunities to minister. And this is already starting to bear fruit, with two of the playgroup mums coming along to our house for a parenting class and inviting some of their relatives also.
We praise God for the freedom to be able to do all this and the flexibility to be able to educate our two youngest boys at home, taking turns with their supervision.
All glory to God for His faithfulness in providing all we need for life and ministry here in the West Kimberley and thank you to all those who pray and give so that we can continue to be here.