10 Things I Wish People Knew About My Field

The Baptist Missionary Women blog is doing another fun blog hop!  This time the theme is

"10 Things I Wish People Knew About My Field."

Thanks for joining us!

Before I share my 10 things, I just want to clarify that Australia is a large country and I live in the Northern Territory, so that is what I will be talking about - the Northern Territory.  Just remember, it is much different here than what you see in Sydney or Perth.

Just so you have an idea of how big Australia is,

here you can see that it's about the same size as the US.

And this is to show you the states and territories.

I live up there in the Northern Territory,

very far from Sydney and the other big cities.

So, here are 10 things I wish people knew about my field...

1.  We have two seasons - the wet and the dry.  We are currently in the "build up" which is a mini season between the dry and the wet.  And it's just plain hot!  Our hottest time of the year is around Christmas.  Here are common temps this time of year (in Fahrenheit).  Anyone want to come visit and sweat with us?!

2. We have gorgeous sunsets!  People come from all over to see our sunsets.  This photo was taken in Darwin, about 3 hours north.  It's one of my favourite places.

3. They say pretty much everything here will kill you: the dirt, snakes, spiders, and ... crocodiles.  These creatures kill people every year, and  yet people still insist on getting in little boats and going down the river to fish.  So, if  you come visit, here's my motto: "Stay out of the water, stay alive."

4. We have many other animals, that are less dangerous...

5.  Churches have freedom to teach in public schools.  They call it Religious Instruction or Religious Education.  What an amazing opportunity!  If you are a regular here, you know I just started teaching RI in the community school.  I teach all grades, and am loving it!

6.  We have many long roads.  There is one main road from Darwin to Adelaide (check the map above), this is one long and nearly straight road.  There is even a section that has open speed limits.  I share this because travelling here is not like travelling in the states.  You can go very long distances without seeing a petrol (gas) station.  When we travelled to Alice Springs, we learned to fill up and eat when there was opportunity and take plenty of water!

7.  Most indigenous communities can be hundreds of miles from paved roads, and  you need a permit to legally visit.  During the wet season, it can be impossible to reach some of these communities.

8. Most Australians we know make at least $50,000 per year, and housing and groceries are priced accordingly.  This article was in our local newspaper awhile back:

9.  The Indigenous Culture is very similar to the American Indians.  I've heard both groups say this.  Basically they owned the land first, and the white people came and took over, then later apologized and tried to solve the problems with money.  God called us to work with the Indigenous People here, and we were so blessed to be able to work with the American Indians (Navajo's) while we lived in America.  It was a great learning experience.

10. Australia is truly a beautiful place to live and the people are wonderful.  If you ever want to visit, we'd love to have you!

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Please click here to keep going on the blog hop,

and meet Anne, a missionary wife in Thailand.