YMAC Holiday Bible Club*
23 January 2008
As I mentioned below I've doing this mission to aboriginal kids for as long as I've been a Christian. The mission is held in Yamba and Maclean two small country towns on the New South Wales coast about an eight hour drive north of Sydney. Kids attending Holiday Bible Club (HBC) are all aboriginal and come from the local nearby communities. The leaders on team are drawn from a number of churches around Sydney.
While our whole team is accommodated in Maclean (at the show grounds) half of us travel to Yamba to an aboriginal community there each day. I again led the Yamba team. There were about 30 of us (another 30 running Maclean). We hold the mission in a huge stadium/hall in the community and the kids wander in from the surrounding homes. The kids attending ranged from toddlers to adults. The focus was as always on teaching the children the gospel. This was done using songs, plays skits, interactive crafts and games.
How was this year you ask? It was a tough year for myself and Christine with many frustrations. Some of these were more serious than others. Very sadly I may not be back on the team next year due to problems on team that I feel must be addressed.
Most encouragingly I met a new Christian aboriginal bloke called Nick. He lives in the area but for one reason or another hasn't been to the mission the last few years. He has an infectious enthusiasm and real love for God and Bible. I and some of the other men on team spent time praying and reading together which was great. I also briefly caught up with Chris another aboriginal Christian who I've regularly written to for the last 7 or 8 years. He is also going well and still attending a local church (although it's not a good one).
Please keep the Mission and work we did in explaining the gospel to the kids in your prayers. Please also keep Christine and I in your prayers as we think about our future in this ministry.
*Oh I chucked in some pictures from last year... to make this post a little less boring
tags christian, ministry, travel, update
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What do you mean when you write that the local church is "not a good one"? More information is required.
Also, how about giving indigenous Australians genuine respect by using "Aboriginal" with a capital "A" rather than a lower case "a".
Regards, Richie
No disrespect is intended in using a small "a".
Without knowing who you are or where you are from I'm not prepared to enter into further discussion on the local church matter.
Richie, it's a blog, not a sociology essay. And Mike's grammar has never been particularly good. ;)
Seriously, I know the respect he has for the Aboriginal communities he has worked with and the respect that is returned, and it seems a little trite to be picking him up on a point like that.
Benny
Moik, I'm glad that you were encouraged by some Aboriginal Christians there and I will definitely be praying for your and Christine's decision. I understand the sadness of thinking about parting with a ministry you've served so long. Blessings.
Richie, if you've read Mikes other comments about working with indigenous aboriginals people i think you'll see he has put a cap A there...get a life!!
Mike, what gives you the right to say that the local church isnt a good one?? How do you know? Do you go there ever Sunday? Have you been there at all or you just listening to others?? In regards to the team stuff are you there for the team or you there for the aboriginals...in your ministry not all people are going to get along or agree with you...so if you pull out now whats stopping you from pulling out when things get hard...if you don'tvas agree with something voice it then get over it...
It's sad that you have passed judgment on me and circumstances in which I am with limited information. This is naive and silly.
How about you send me and email and we can chat further.