Rolling Stone

It was a bit of a drive to Rolling Stone, about forty-five minutes north of Townsville on the highway toward Cairns. We left with partly cloudy skies and a hot sun making us sweat in the high temperature. The further north we traveled, from suburbia to bush and agricultural fields, the cooler and more cloudy it became. By the time we pulled off to our swim spot the rain had begun to gently fall and we were ready to exit the van and test the cool water. "Youth Street Teams" takes place during the day on Saturdays and is a great time for the kids to focus on an activity that they really love and to build relationships with their peers and with the adult staff. Our particular team is called, "1: 21 Skate" after Paul's great statement in Philippians 1: 21 "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Most Saturdays we gather and skate at a local park for a few hours before coming back to the YWAM base where we continue to hangout and skate on the base ramps, but this time we were in for a treat, a swim at a local creek. Not all that different from the Calawah River in Summer time back in Forks. Beautifully scenic, slow moving fresh water with slippery mossy river rock covering the round river rock bottom. Immediately upon arrival the kids jumped in and began playfully romping about like a bunch of young platypuses. Though the river was quite low it was clearly evident by the large exposed sand banks and debri strewn around that the water level rises quickly and often, I'm sure the next time we visit we'll be able to dive in headfirst without any fear of injury. After the kids played a while, we headed back up to the OKA, our 4X4 monster truck (see photos) and got lunch cooking on the barbie. The traditional meal of Australia is a sausage or "snag" as they call them, cooked up on the barbie and placed on a piece of regular white bread covered in roasted onions and tomato sauce (a sort of ketchup) or BBQ sauce. We have had this meal countless times since we've been here. At first I "relished" it and gorged myself on them. But after about the fortieth one I got a little sick of them and had to take a break. Now, I've begun to eat them again but with more caution and self control. With full bellies and a few handfuls of chocolates, we were off to the next swimming experience, the bridge! A short distance up river, there was a tall highway bridge with another smaller and shorter one-lane bridge next to it. This was all new to me but the kids new the drill, by the time I reached them, they were all launching themselves off the bridge and into the water about a 12-15' drop. It was neat to see Ryan without hesitation jump into the water. I guess all those trips to the Rogue River in Oregon have enboldened him to jump off anything...that and the fact that all his friends were doing it too. We spent another hour there at the bridge pushing each other into all kinds of daring and rediculous jumps. Thankfully, the Youth Street staff had arranged for a qualified lifeguard to be there but more importantly that God had His angelic lifesavers present as well. God has blessed me greatly in developing relationships with these kids and its through these kinds of activities that bonds are developed, it really reminds me of doing youth ministry back in San Diego at Calvary Chapel Point Loma. Much prayer goes into these Saturday activities and it really pays off when wonderful breakthrough conversations occur. I was told later that night during the Youth Street Live time (the time when the kids eat dinner together and enjoy live bands and ministry related speakers) that one of the kids from another team struck up a conversation with his leader which developed into the young man giving his heart to the Lord! How awesome to be used by God and see troubled kids find value and purpose in life. so many of these kids are at risk, coming from broken homes, abusive relationships, and heavy peer pressure to give in to destructive choices. It is a huge privelege to be part of the solution rather than sitting on the on the side longing to be in the mix.

Trip to the Billabong

I’d like to spend some time sharing about a recent trip that we took with YWAM staff and students to the Billabong Wildlife Refuge, a relatively small zoo which keeps Australian indigenous animals.
We departed from the base after breakfast on a Sunday and drove our caravan of two packed vans and a bus a little south of Townsville by way of the coastal highway past the dump and raceway to the Refuge. It surprised me how quickly the views on either side of the highway turned to rural, rugged bush. Grassy brown, steep rolling hills similar to the Grapevine north of Visalia, CA. thick with gum and eucalyptus trees dipped down and rose again like the curves of the roller coasters at Magic Mountain trailing off into the distance. It was another sunny warm day but our brief winter was evident as the humidity was low and the temperature remained in the high 70’s.
Making our way through the visitor center gift shop, the entrance and exit to the Refuge, we descended the wooden ramp to the edge of a huge billabong (Aussie for ‘pond’). There was a main dirt path that we followed that wound around the circumference of the pond with various side paths that sprouted out from it leading to enclosures of birds, creeks filled with fish and turtles, and even a smaller pond fenced off to provide protection for/from two crocodiles! Many of the animals housed in these enclosures were brought here to rehab from assorted accidents and have become permanent residents. Among the most visible of these are the koalas. There must have been close to ten of these cute, fury critters we observed slowly munching away on eucalyptus leaves in their enclosures, there was even one which had a baby ‘bear-ly’ visible in its pouch.
For most of our visit there were a couple of Refuge staff members that toured our group around the facility showing us important sights and answering questions. The first stop that we made as a group was to a small amphitheater where the staff brought out some animals to show and talk about. First came the koalas, very cute, as I mentioned, but not real exciting to watch. Nevertheless, they are very interesting and fun to hold. Next, they brought out the wombats. These marsupials are quite large and look a little like the R.O.U.S.es of the Fire Swamp in the movie The Princess Bride. Unlike those rodents, these are pretty docile and have an interesting feature which was brought to our attention when the staff member turned the wombat around to show us its rear end and then proceeded to thump its tail-end strongly with the knuckles of his closed fist. This was a little surprising and is not something that you’d expect from a trained refuge staff member, but he was making an interesting point since with every blow you could see that it didn’t affect the wombat any more than if it was a tortoise having his shell knocked on. Indeed that is what the wombat has just under its skin, a strong shell-like shield of cartilage to fend off predators when it is digging its way into the ground to make a burrow.
After some more questions from the audience and a bunch of photos, we made our way to the crocodile pond where there was a nice, solid fence built to separate us from these prehistoric carnivores. One staff member placed himself on a small platform that jutted out over the water like a balcony while the other staff person entered the enclosure and managed the animals from the grass next to the water. Both were armed with a stick in one hand for protection and in the other a stick for feeding the crocs. The feeding stick had a line attached with parts of raw chicken meat to entice them out of the water and into view. This was a bit dangerous but the staff had it all under control.
Lastly, we made our way to another small meeting area where the staff brought out some of their more scaly inhabitants. A couple of long, thick snakes and a baby crocodile which, thankfully, had its jaws taped shut. Again, we were instructed about the animals, their habitat, diet, etc. but the fun part came when they lined us up and gave each of us a chance to hold them and get photos taken. Some of us were at ease, others really had to stir up some courage, and a few opted out. I was especially impressed by the courage displayed by Cameron, Sean, and Kay!
After a full stomach from a traditional Aussie lunch of snags (sausage), chips, and veggies we gathered our tired family up and piled into the vehicles, purchasing some souvenirs on the way out. All in all a wonderful day full of great sights, new information, and exciting encounters. We’re looking forward to our next visit since we were blessed with a smok’n deal on a family pass good for a year. So, for anyone who wants to make the long trip over for a visit, know that the Billabong will be on the list of attractions.

Psalm 145: 4

I was a bit nervous having not preached publicly for a while
but was excited and felt very privileged to have the opportunity
to share Jesus to a room full of Aussie kids. The Youth Street
Leader had asked if I would share a 15 or 20 minute message on 'freedom'
and include some movie clips to help illustrate the theme. I prayed on it
and considered what clips would be appropriate, settling on, of course, a speech
by William Wallace (Mel Gibson) in 'Brave Heart', a scene from 'The Fellowship
of the Ring', and a humorous clip from 'Chicken Run'. I broke the message into
three parts explaining three aspects of freedom,Physical freedom (body), Mental freedom (soul),
and spiritual freedom (spirit) and included throughout Paul and Silas'
Experience in Philipi. What a hoot! God brought nearly a hundred souls to listen
and kept them focused and tracking the entire time. We began with the shout, "Freedom!" and ended with a prayer of repentance and salvation and another "Freedom!" to complete a really
amazing night. What a blessing to be involved in God's plan in reaching the youth of this
Country, there's no better place to be than in the center of His will!