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