Our tickets are now fully booked. We will leave Cleveland, Tennessee on Sunday evening via Atlanta. We will then spend 5 days with our children and have a chance to catch up with some friends in Colorado. We will fly out of Denver on Saturday the 8th in route to Australia. We will arrive in Darwin on the 10th and spend a couple of nights in Darwin before flying out to Pickertaramoor on Melville Island.
I don't think it's really sunken in yet concerning this adventure. All we know is there is a joy and excitement as we go and can't wait to dig in there at Tiwi College. One thing we do know is we will terribly miss the children and staff at Crossnore School! Many we will never see again which is a hard thought.
We have been getting some interesting reports out of Tiwi college the past couple of days. It's been a very tough start-up there. They have had the worst monsoonal rains this season than they have had in 25 years. Construction has slowed and halted in some cases because everything is mud. The school building is still under construction and most of the housing is incomplete. Classes are being held under a roof with no walls. At times there has not been any running water. Looking at that situation and looking at our past experiences in Papua New Guinea, we see how Gods hand has been there as he has prepared us for this awesome work with the Tiwi people! The wet season should end around April and the dry season will be around till late in the year.
We have also heard stores about the students. It sounds like their ages range from 12 years old and up. We have heard an estimate that 70 % of the students have only a first grade reading ability. There are also a lot of disciplinary issues already as they begin to settle in there at the school. Along with that, various social issues are evident among the students. We also see how Gods hand has been there to prepare us for this work during our time at Crossnore School over the last 3 years!
We understand the Internet is not functional at the school yet although the installation is in progress. We are not sure if we will have Internet access right away when we first arrive. If you don't hear from us at first know that we are waiting for the service to be functional.
Please keep the students and the staff at Tiwi College in your prayers. Please also keep us in your prayers as we go. Thanks Love ...Bill & Linda
Thursday, February 28, 2008
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2 comments:
Thanks for keeping the Blog current. I really look forward to hearing your first impressions on the mission field. Please keep it journaled so it will be ready to post when you have internet. Lynda
Hay Bill
It's so wonderfull to know that things are coming together for you and linda, to come to Australia.
God's timing is always right.
Tony
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