What is going on?

I've been back from Australia for nearly two weeks, so I thought it was time to write something.

For two weeks now I have been sick. I feel nauseous, I have had a headache since I got back and I have body aches. With all that all I can think of is Cherbourg.

That's right Cherbourg. Why are my thoughts on Cherbourg? Why is it I have been sick for two weeks? Why aren't my thoughts about Arizona? Why do I feel drawn to Cherbourg? Cherbourg, Cherbourg, Cherbourg. Why does Cherbourg keep running in my head? AAAGGGGHHH!

I think I know. God wants me to remember that everyone needs Jesus, not just the Apache people. There are people all over this world who are desperate for "something" they just don't know what it is. Can I move to Australia and Arizona? No. But I can pray for the people in Australia while I live in Arizona. I can remember there are people in the whole world who need Jesus.
Acts 1:8 "and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

This trip only made my desire to follow where God is telling me to go even stronger. As I said to many people, I will go wherever He tells me to go. Even to the "ends of the earth".

In Him,
Robert

Just in case...

Check out our Arizona Crews Family video to the right, this is what we showed the congregation in Australia in case you missed it!

Dinner - Full Circle

One of the moments I was really looking forward to was the "Community BBQ" Ann Street hosts once a month on the steps of the church. Can you see it? A picturesque, skyscraper filled, bustling downtown scene. In the midst of the high rise buildings and shops, is a small 100 year old, steeple topped, white church. The entrance of the church steps down on to the busy downtown streets. Here is where this church is having a "sausage sizzle" or BBQ once every month. Completely free, donated and hosted by the church and it's members. Here is where they are feeding Jesus! We saw homeless people, regulars, international students, people who had just flown into Brisbane that day from other parts of the world. People staying at the hostel down the street and could not understand why they were giving away free food. We know why, and were able to share that with them. We stood on the sidewalk and beckoned people to come, we served food and drink, we sat and talked and shared, we prayed with them, we hugged and loved them, we had an amazing evening! That full circle moment? About 8 years ago when Mike Carman, our cross-cultural pastor started at our church, he started a food pantry. Something we had never had before. We collected food and handed it out regularly. I was looking to get involved in something and Robert suggested the pantry. After a few months we had a surplus of food due to our congregations generosity. What if we cooked up some of that food and served a warm meal and conversation to our friends in need? Not a "soup kitchen" of getting them in and out, but we grab a plate and sit down with them and talk and listen. Our first night saw food for 100 people and 12 show up. One of the 12 who showed as we were cleaning up was contemplating suicide that night. He spoke with one of our volunteers for a long time. He left that night with a full stomach but more importantly a sense of how much God loves him! Worthwhile? Since that time, we have continued to have these dinners once a month and they have grown into 100's of people being fed, not just with food but with the love of Christ. What started here in Knott Ave Christian Church Anaheim, CA has stretched across the world! Ann Street thought "we can do this too!" Isn't God amazing? My heart was leaping that night, thank you Lord!

Nan Tapau

So much is on our minds and hearts that this may be jumbled at times, but isn't that what a blog is about?

Upon our return to Brisbane from Eidsvold we spent one of our evenings doing "home visits." Ann Street Church of Christ schedules visits at home from the leadership of the church, just to get to know the members better-what an awesome idea! Several of us went to Nan's house. She (pictured here with Robert) is an amazing Christian Aboriginal woman who has raised 10 kids, some she took in and adopted, I believe the grand kids numbered in the 50's and many great grand kids. She is 72, which is quite old for an aboriginal woman. Since the couch was full I sat on the floor at her feet and listened to her talk of family and the pride she has in them. She showed pictures of her kids, her husband (who was killed in a car accident), her parents, grandparents. She talked of her life in Cherbourg where she was born and some of her experiences there including seeing her sister be sent to Palm Island with Annie in my previous write up. We were honored by having one of her grandsons, Jon joined us on our journey to Cherbourg and Eidsvold. We were blessed by his testimony and his desire to serve our Lord. He also really wants to come to America on a trip the Church is planning to take here to work with Knott Ave and ARM. Sitting at her feet was such a blessing for me. I understand how important it is to really know about the people you share Christ with. Everyone will hear the gospel but it is more than the "turn or burn" or beating them over the head with the Bible, it is about relationships. It is about earning the right to be heard for some, that is where I feel drawn. The next night we went to Nan's son Daniel's church and Mike spoke. He spoke of getting right with God and laying our hidden sins and struggles at the feet of Jesus. He asked if anyone wanted to come forward for prayer and Mike and Robert prayed with two men that night. One young man sobbed at his seat and Robert spoke with him and prayed with him later that evening. We were treated to some awesome worship and an amazing dinner. I was told that Nan asked to see me that night at Church, so I went and sat next to her and hugged her. She said she had something for me and took my hand and put in it a small pin. It has the Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Islanders flag on it, representing 2 of the indigenous people groups. She is aboriginal and her husband Torres Strait Islander. I started to cry and hugged her and thanked her for her generosity. She said it was small but it was so I would not forget, how could I? How can you forget any experience in your life such as this? This picture is a turtle shell that hangs on her wall. It was painted for her with half the shell in blues and greens representing her husbands side and the orange and red side represents her family. Every symbol, animal, etc. represent something of their family or heritage. It was amazing! Liz

My brain hurts!

We returned from Australia this morning, afternoon or evening. It depends on your location, I guess.
Two weeks in Australia. It's hard to believe it's over.
During the past two weeks I have "preached" in Brisbane, played sports with kids in Brisbane and Eidsvold and been on the radio in Cherbourg to name just a few things.
I was moved to tears as we sat and watched a documentary about a woman, Annie, forced to leave her home in Cherbourg and move to Palm Island without her family (it was punishment). We got to see and hear her story of sadness at being ripped from her family. I have a copy of it and would be happy to let you see it.
I know I have kind of breezed over things but I am still processing.
I will be posting in the next few days.
I promise,

Robert

From Cherbourg to Eidsvold

Well we just returned from an amazing week and I am struggling to know where to begin. Sunday Robert preached to the congregation at Ann Street in downtown Brisbane. He talked about our desire to move to AZ and the similarities to the Native Americans and the Aboriginal people here in Australia. He spoke from his heart and from the word of God and you could see the faces in the crowd nodding in agreement with him and crying with him. I was hugged by several people afterward saying I want to go with you. It was amazing how he is able to open his heart the way he does and share God's love and call for us, I have never been so proud of him and how blessed I am to be called his wife.
We then jumped on a bus and headed for Cherbourg It was one of the places people were "dumped" when the government wanted to move them from their land. We were served an incredible meal, not just the food, but the company and able to participate in their church service that evening. Robert and Matt (our worship pastor) were invited to share on their local radio station, needless to say they were very excited. The next morning, we attended a "kick off" for NAIDOC (National Aboriginal Islander Day of Celebration), including the unveiling of a film from one of their residents Annie (in the picture with me and Daun, KACC's missionary here), speaking about her time in the dormitories as a child of the stolen generation. Children who were half-castes (half white/half aboriginal) were taken from their families and placed in dorms in the hopes of breeding the Aboriginal out of them. This was going in the early seventies still, during my lifetime. The stories of abuse and betrayal and anger and hurt are overwhelming, but necessary to hear and try and understand where they are coming from. The common thread is the hope, the hope we have in Christ who forgave us our sins, and enables us to forgive others. I will never understand what they have gone through, but I know that Jesus does and heals those wounds and leads us into a brighter future with Him.
We then drove into Eidsvold. A small community in the "outback" where we played with kids, did crafts, sports, and attended their "disco" Wednesday night! We were given a tour of the town by one of the first Aboriginal residents, Elizabeth, who was the first Aboriginal able to live in a house in town and not have to live in the bush outside of town. Incredible stories and an amazing education, too much to write here but I wanted to give you a taste of what I have experienced here. Thank you for your prayers and comments!

Well,

We are in Brisbane. What a great time we are having. 

Doesn't this sound like something you will stop reading soon?

The truth is we have had a full two days here and I am already exhausted. We played "sport" with the kids from Ann street, cricket is really fun, we went on a "bush walk", I fell down and hurt my knee, we all went to a combined life group (small groups) meeting. They had all their life groups meet on Thursday so we could meet them. Liz gave her testimony and I have never been so proud of her. As I said Friday on the Bush walk I fell down a set of wet slippery wooden steps as we were walking to a waterfall. I was videotaping at the time. Everyone who has seen it says it's pretty funny, I disagree. Not funny at all really! And no you can't see it. 

It's been a great two days so far. We'll keep you posted. See how I did that? In the middle of all this I threw in a pun. I'm good like that. 

That's all for now. 

Wait, I have to tell you this story real quick. I know I'm supposed to keep these posts short but this is worth it.

We were playing this game called "Skittles". You have 2 teams. There is a small pyramid of soda cans and one team knocks down the cans with a ball. Then they have to rebuild the pyramid before the other team can hit them with the ball (ball tag). Trust me it's fun.

It was Australians vs USA. Matt Whelchel (KACC's Worship Pastor) was next to the cans when we rebuilt the pyramid, yelled "Skittles" and we got a point. The littlest Aussie named Marcus said in his cute little Aussie accent "You didn't build it proper". Matt said to him "You're not built proper". I laughed so hard I almost cried.

Talk to you soon,

Robert