Kangaroo For Dinner

Yes, we had our first kangaroo meal with the boys this week. Kangaroo meat is very good. We were both impressed. It’s a little hard to eat when one thinks about those cute little animals that hop around but very tasty indeed! We also had traditional Damper Bread with our meal. Damper bread is a traditional bread eaten by Australian Aboriginal people. We also enjoyed a time around the fire as we enjoyed this traditional feast.
The past couple of weeks have been very busy for us. Our weeks have started out with me (Bill) driving to a community called Milikapiti to pick up students for the week. Milikapiti is about a one hour very dusty drive from the College here at Pickertaramoor. Once in Milikapiti, I go to the local shop and find a couple of students. At that point we drive around and pick up more students making sure everyone has their bags for the week. This process can last an hour and I’m always glad to be on our way back to Pickertaramoor. They then go home at 1:00 pm for the weekend on Friday. Tiwi College is definitely on the front lines here as we work to bring hope for the future to the Tiwi people. The challenges are numerous but we are slowly seeing the work develop.
The past two weeks with the boys have been challenging at times but we are seeing substantial progress. We are seeing the boys fall into more of a routine in the house with very little acting out.
Early this week we had the media with us from an Australian news show called “4 Corners”. 4 Corners is very similar to 20/20 or 60 minutes and is a well regarded show that has been airing in Australia for around 50 years! It was definitely a stressful day for Linda and me as they spent a good part of the day filming activities in the house including dinner time and lights out as we tucked the boys into bed. They also did quite a bit of interviewing with some of the students. The reporters told us it’s going to be a positive report on what Tiwi College is doing. It should air in 3 or 4 weeks. I think it will be streaming on the Internet also so we will pass on the link when it becomes available.
Next Tuesday we are in for another media circus when a government minister visits. We understand that this lady visiting (along with a group of dignitaries) is number three in charge in the Australian government. They are actually coming to our house to dedicate the school using our house as “dedication central” with a gathering in our living room. Our house here is the “show house” per say being it’s the newest and probably the nicest. We will be glad when the show is over!!!
We miss everybody back home but we are truly glad to be here during the pioneering stage of the school. It is difficult, often stressful work but the joys along the way are irreplaceable! We don’t have TV here yet but we are supposed to get a phone and Internet connection in the house by the end of May. TV is coming sometime in the future. We rely mostly on radio to get our news and we trade DVD’s around the campus for free-time entertainment. All the staff and their families live here on Campus as of last week. Before, most of the families lived in Darwin while their fathers worked the weekdays and flew back for the weekend. There are children everywhere and it feels like a community now. We have a great swimming hole on campus that helps to relieve the heat of the day. There are a couple small waterfalls and a rope to swing off into the water. Linda and I have been doing a lot of walking in our free time. It is beautiful Australian bush with varieties of beautiful parrots and other birds. We often see wild horses and wallabies and hope we don’t run into a water buffalo or a Dingo which are plentiful as well.
Please keep us in your prayers as we continue as a team to advance the front lines. Thanks!