On Saturday 31 July, 22 students, six teachers and two Bible Society staff flew to North Queensland for the annual Covenant Mission Trip. Once again we stayed at Tropicana Motel Lodge in Cairns which also houses the Wontulp Bi Buya Indigenous Bible College. Here we spent mornings praying and preparing our program which we would use later in the day when we arrived at the Aboriginal Community of Yarrabah. Yarrabah is about 30km south of Cairns and took about an hour to get to each day.
Our first experience of Yarrabah was on the Sunday night when we visited for church. It was at this stage that we were made to feel very welcome and the community really took us to heart. This was due to the wonderful work of last year's team and the relationship that had been established. In church we sang songs together, did 'action choruses' and got involved in dance and worship. It was wonderful to be so accepted by people that we had never even met before! Soon after we had a chance to play with the Aboriginal children and it didn’t take long for them to warm to us - jumping all over us and playing games, etc.
From Monday to Thursday, we travelled to Yarrabah each day where we: played games, did balloon modelling, face painting, acted out Bible stories, sang action songs, led small group discussions, taught memory verses, gave testimonies and prayed with the children in small groups. Most days we had 50-60 children and over the week we shared the gospel with them. On the last day we asked the children in small groups if they wanted to become Christians and many said yes! It was very exciting! At one point in the week we went shopping in Cairns and bought $400 worth of art and craft materials, from money which had been raised by Year 9 at Covie, which we gave to the Sunday school. Pam, the Sunday school teacher, was so moved by the gift that she hugged us and sobbed in gratitude (it was beautiful!). The people of Yarrabah overwhelmed us with their generosity, giving us lunch one day which consisted of Barramundi that they had caught the night before and fresh fruit that they had picked themselves! On Thursday night they held a special church service for us to say goodbye, involving some aboriginal dance and followed by a traditional meal called a “cutmurray” (meat and vegetables cooked in a large pit underground for many hours). It was very hard to leave and there were many tears …very, very sad.
On Friday, our last day in Cairns, we went on a boat trip to Green Island for the morning, which was great fun, before debriefing and flying home to Sydney.
The Mission Trip was a great success once again and the team this year really solidified the partnership that has formed between our two communities. We are so proud of each of the students - their faithfulness in doing what was required of them, what they learnt and what they achieved. They are: Marco Setiadi, Emily Fraser, Rochelle Layland, Grace Sheehan, Elise Nolan, Hannah Mottram, Tim Whitehead, Ananda Damanik, Hayley Bennett, Alex Cole, Rebekah Osborne, Brittany Auckett, Toby Hutton, David Lucas, Vanessa Simmonds, Malisa Szeremeta, Brooke Hocking, Dimity Christian, Lauren Bothma, Jessica Irwin, Georgina Bell and Kim Baker.
We would like to thank everyone who supported us – in prayer, by donations and in so many other ways. A special thank you to the parents of the team members, to Mark Brown and Millie (Bible Society) and Mr Monin, Mr Smithies, Mrs Holmes, Miss Hammond and Mrs Bootes. Please keep praying for the Wontulp Bi Buya Bible College and the people of Yarrabah, especially the children … that they may grow in their faith and make a difference in their community. Praise God for another successful and memorable mission trip! Until next year.
Mr Max Monin
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