After spending a couple of days in the Gin Gin schools, we made our way to Woorabinda. We actually camped a couple of nights outside of Yeppoon and spent a day at Great Keppel Island, but I'll cover our "vacation days" in another blog. Here, I'll show pics and talk about what we did in the aboriginal community of Woorabinda.
Paul Johnson, our AMOS guide, spent some time educating us about the culture we were walking into. He shared some things as warnings, and some things just to help us be more sensitive to their needs. Here are some pics:
When we had our evening program, we had a lot of fun! The funniest thing to me was that Nikolas entertained all of the Woorabinda children with his singing and dancing. It was hilarious! They all watched him dance to whatever music was playing! Viktoria caught on and had to have her place in the spotlight. It was the best way to have the kids sit still while we were getting ready to start the program! He also entertained Sunday morning before the church service!
The pictures don't really tell the story. The people in Woorabinda are in need of a lot of things. They don't have much in terms of material possessions, but most of all they need JESUS. The missionaries there, Martin and Rose, have been there for 9 1/2 years. In that time, only a few have come to Christ. At one point, they shared with us that only 5 Christians are active in the community. WOW. A real eye-opener. Please pray for the people of Woorabinda, and for Martin and Rose. We were able to share the Gospel and connect with the people (mostly children), but they need people consistently reminding them of the love of Christ. Many of our students were touched so much that they are trying to arrange a return to Woorabinda for longer term ministry. God truly worked in the hearts of people while we were there. It's amazing how a few puppet shows, dramas, and tricks can so effectively impact for the Kingdom of God!
