G180 Mission Group Visits Australia!

This is a looooong post....

We had the blessing of hosting the G180 Mission's Team from Lighthouse Baptist Church in Newark, Delaware last month.  We had fun things planned and lots of ministry activities to do, but a few days before they arrived my husband got very sick and wasn't even able to get out of bed to drive to the airport to pick them up.  Thankfully some friends offered to take a big church bus up to Darwin and pick them up for us.  The group ended up with a flight delay and didn't land in Darwin until 9pm, which didn't get them to our house until way past midnight.

Here is a photo of the group before they left.

The group arrived late Saturday night/early Sunday morning at our house.  Because my husband was so sick we had to cancel church, thankfully there is a good baptist church in town, so the group and the kids and I went there.  By the time they got home my husband was able to get out of bed and greet everyone.  We had a rest day on Sunday as I'm sure the group was quite jet lagged.  Here is a photo of the guys sleeping quarters in our backyard... 

MONDAY

Then Monday we did some food shopping, went out to check out Nitmiluk (the Katherine Gorge).  Everyone enjoyed the hike to the overlook and then we had lunch.

That evening we went to a friend's block of land and camped out.  We had such a great time that we ended up camping for another night.  This was actually my first time camping in Australia.  It was really fun, but it was also a great time to get to know everyone a little better.

Unloading gear for 22 people

(13 from the group, our family of 4, and 4 from the Holmes family)

A gorgeous sunset.

Our campsite.

For dinner we had hot dogs over the fire!

TUESDAY

Because of our lovely friend who decided to shoot his gun early in the morning 

we got to enjoy the sunrise.

Our handsome chef making breakfast.

Lincoln's first Aussie breakfast.

To get to our camp we had to drive 2-3 kilometres down a very bumpy path which was only possible with a ute.  Some of us had finding standing and riding on the back.

Tuesday afternoon we took the group to Barunga to help clean up the church as we had several funerals coming up.  Everyone did a fantastic job, and the church looked great.

That evening we went back to our campsite for another fun evening.

Kangaroo and chicken kebabs, with a few leftover hotdogs.

Jill made some yummy pavlova with fruit.

Another glorious campfire!

WEDNESDAY

Wednesday we went to Cutta Cutta Caves.  Patrick had a funeral that morning, but made it back in time to join us.

On our way to the caves.

Pathway to the caves.

Cody with Curtis and Clayton, his new friends.

So while we were camping Cody managed to break and dislocate his finger.  This has been quite an adventure as a week later he ended up in surgery for it, but that's for another blog post.  :)

Wednesday evening we ordered pizza for the group,

and us adults went out for dinner.

We left the older girls in charge.

A nice time of fellowship at the Big Fig.

THURSDAY

We went back to the hospital on Thursday,

and they put his finger back in place and gave him a cast.

Practicing some songs in Kriol for church on Sunday.

Kid's Club! 

Songtime

Brad agreed to our crazy idea of taping lollies to his shirt.

The kids had so much fun going after him for the lollies.

FRIDAY

Friday we took the group to Darwin to do some sightseeing.  Our first stop was the Jumping Crocodile Cruise, where you are guaranteed to see some crocs!

Eating local bush tucker - the bum of a green ant.

Megan and Kelly were troopers!

Overlook at Litchfield

Patrick did some snake catching with the group.

SATURDAY

Saturday was a rest day for everyone.  Allowing people to do laundry and just rest.   Patrick went out to Venndale to do a service there, so I have no photos of that.

Clayton turned 16 while he was here!

SUNDAY

The group sang a few specials for our morning service.

We had a great crowd of people turn up.

They even sang two songs in Kriol,

which our people loved!

Pastor Josh preached the morning message.

After the morning service we had a bbq and time of fellowship.

Our church loved the group from the states,

even now a month or so later they still talk about them.

A few of our ladies are trying to figure out a way to go over and visit them!

Sunday afternoon the group began packing.

Cody was trying to figure out a way to hide in one of the suitcases to go back to the states with them.

Sunday evening service at Savannah Way Baptist Church in Katherine, NT.

Saying goodbye.

One last meal at Maccas.

We then drove up to Darwin and dropped them off at the airport for their 1am flight.  We had a wonderful time and are so thankful for the new friends God brought into our lives.  We are hoping to visit them during our next trip to the states.

A special thanks to Dave and Jillian Holmes for all their help of driving the bus and for camping supplies!  Check out Jill's blog for more photos from their trip, she even has a video.