Wednesday, July 23, 2008

A beach along the coast near Cairns A friendly Kookaburra who joined us for a picnic lunch
Barbecue Australian style... snags (sausages) & onions... good stuff!!!!
One needs to practice a bit more caution than most beaches when going to Cairns area beaches. If you look on the left side of the sign it warns one must be cautious of Crocodiles, Jelly Fish and sharks. The beaches are very beautiful though!!!
Linda working hard to build relationships with the locals.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Back At Pickertaramoor

It was a good time in Cairns, Queensland (pronounced = Cans) and we were able to get some good rest. Cairns is a beautiful place and has a lot to offer with beaches, reefs, mountains, tropical rain forests with plenty of restaurants, shops and tourist-like things to do. It’s a perfect place to get away and rest. We rented an older car which saved money (and made us look like locals) and gave us the freedom to roam around which was really nice. We are thankful for our time there!
Our time in Papua New Guinea is still strong on our hearts. It was such a refreshing and wonderful trip to Wewak! The PNG people are awesome and wonderful to be around. We were totally encouraged by the trip! We feel like we were leaving family as we left. Please keep the staff there at Laif FM in your prayers and if you want to learn more about the radio station there or contact them, contact us and we will give you any information you need.

We also very much enjoyed our time in Darwin with some friends before heading back to Pickertaramoor. The 10 week term at Tiwi College began yesterday We anticipate that it will be another tough term with the boys, but at the same time we feel we will continue to make progress. We have some new boys in the house in addition to ones from last term. It will be challenging but there is already a house culture that has started last term so they should come into line as we move into the term.. The first school building is now complete so that will make a better learning environment for the students rather than holding classes in the houses.

We are in the middle of the dry season in the Northern territory and here on Melville Island. During the dry season it often does not rain for months and is windy at times and always dusty. It’s still hot during the day but a bit cooler at night with much less humidity than the wet. Just as common as the rain is in the wet season, bush fires are in the dry season. The smell of smoke is normal as much of the bush in the area burns which produces natural regeneration in the forests.

In our spirits we are fresh and ready to go through this term. In our bodies we have a few struggles. Linda pulled her shoulder and is hurting a bit. I have been bit by a nasty spider which produced a sick feeling and a headache for a few days. There is also a fairly major skin irritation from the bite. Please pray for those needs with us. Thanks! Love …Bill & Linda