Inside:
page 1 Your Birth Place page 2 Khesed Road Trip
page 1 Children: TODAY's church! page 2 News from all around
page 1 Prayer Mats Divide? page 3 10 Years' Prayer before PM's Apology
page 2 Alyawarr Mini-Bible page 3 Aborigines lead in prayer
page 2 Bi-Lingual challenge page 3 Katherine Women's Convention
Thank you for your support and prayer during 2009. May God
bless you heaps as you continue to bless heaps of others, right through the
holiday season and 2010.
I have called you back from the ends of the earth so you can
serve me. For I have chosen you and will not throw you away. Don’t be afraid,
for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen
you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.
…Anyone who opposes you will die. You will look for them in vain. They will all
be gone! I am holding you by your right hand--I, the LORD your God. And I say
to you, ‘Do not be afraid. I am here to help you. Isaiah 41:9-13 NLT
Your Birth Place
On our recent road tour, we drove for 2 days in NSW through Wiradjuri country – one of the largest land areas of any tribe in eastern Australia. June found herself in tears and praying during most of that section of the trip. She was born in that country - at West Wyalong - and commenced teaching there at Murrin Bridge Aboriginal Settlement. And John's mother was a missionary there – Condoblin – and he commenced teaching there: Dubbo, Lake Cargelligo and Murrin Bridge.
Wiradjuri Country - the large brown area
June also has a link with the Wiradjuri language reclamation project that John
Rudder and Stan Grant have been working on for some years – she helped John R.
with teaching games to be used in the project.
We also felt God drawing us to Narrandera in this trip (also
in this lower part of this tribal land), to link with something He is doing
there.
June found herself praying the Lord's Prayer over the land –
Thy Kingdom come!
Where were you born? What tribe lives and has God's
authority there? – pray for God's
Kingdom to come there!
Children: part of TODAY's church!
Eagle Rock Church, Perth, Sunday 15th Nov:– Ps
Tim Edwards felt it was the right time for Ps Glenys Schneider to visit and
minister on release of the Holy Spirit. Before the service, I prayed once more
that God would release our children in ministering in Holy Spirit power NOW –
for they are not just 'the church of tomorrow'. There were lots of children
present – more than usual – and Ps Tim called them forward and asked Ps Glenys
to pray for them – she also has a real heart for this. Then they went out to
Children's Church. After a very clear, simple message on Holy Spirit, followed
by imparting and release for many adults, parents brought many of the children
back for a second touch through Ps Glenys.
Ps Di Edwards commented to me that she had just been reading stories that have just been released of the children of Asuza Street. Pray for an even greater release of the power and gifts of God's Holy Spirit through our children, who are a vital part of TODAY's church!
Prayer Mats Help Divide the Land?
Just before we left on our last road tour, an intercessor
called in and shared something God had shown him in Oodnadatta some years ago,
and felt he had to share it with us for this trip. Brendon talked about the
Afghan and Middle-Eastern camel drivers who travelled this land for many years.
As we travelled, we realised that these men were brought
here to help with transportation through the deserts of this land, and five
times a day they laid their Muslim prayer mats down on this land.
People in Western Australia talk about 'the East', rather
than Melbourne or Sydney or Queensland… Many, many times there has been serious
talk about WA cutting free from the rest of the nation… Islam too often divides
and destroys, without rebuilding. Today Muslims have even been seen on their
mats on the street in front of Christian homes, churches, and even blocking a
whole street for a period in several states.
In Adelaide, we were lent a book Tin Mosques and Ghan
Towns
[Christine Stevens, 1989, Oxford Univ Press] and found a lot of stickers
protruding from the top of pages. Mona told us the Christian intercessors had
already been praying through this whole area.
The camel drivers related fairly well with Central
Australian Aborigines, and Muslims today identify closely with those who are
downtrodden and feel rejected. They are reaching out to Aborigines in prisons,
and some are turning to Islam.
{mospagebreak}
An Alyawarr milestone [east of Tennant Creek & Alice
Springs]
- from David Blackman's Bush Telegraph, Nov
09
The job’s
done! I posted off the CD and 900 page printout of the new Alyawarr MiniAngka Mwerr-angker, right on the deadline
date of 30th October! The weeks leading up to that day were very busy. There
were some things my colleague, David Moore, and I would rather have spent more
time on, but if we want to meet our deadline of a planned dedication ceremony next
Easter, then we should first meet the publisher’s! In this case, the publisher is the Bible
Society, who will have the Bible printed in Asia and will make it available at
a subsidised price. It will contain extensive selections from Genesis, Exodus,
and 1 & 2 Samuel; and all of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans,
Galatians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Titus and James.
As I
mentioned in my last BBT, we have decided to print the Good News English translation in parallel
with the Alyawarr text in the New Testament books. This is a version readily
available to us, being a Bible Society text. We hope having both languages will
encourage more Christian Alyawarr people to buy and read their Bible,
especially those who could read Alyawarr with a little bit of practice, and
only need the English as a prompt.
Thank you
to those who were praying for us. There were several technical hitches along
the way. I’m grateful to Gordon Thompson and Janet Ezard for their ability to
make a very sophisticated desktop publishing program do what we want and not what it wants! The biggest challenge was to
line up the Alyawarr and English texts in the New Testament books, especially
once maps and other illustrations were added. As our approach is to translate
the meaning of
the text, rather than the individual words in it, the Alyawarr often uses many
more words than the English. Hence its need for much more space on the page.
The team
now plan to finish translating the entire NT and 20% of the OTs.
Bi-Lingual challenge
-
from David Blackman's Bush Telegraph, Nov 09
Some of you
will be aware of the ongoing debate in the Northern Territory over the NT
Government’s recent decision to dismantle what remains of the bilingual
education program, and to teach only in English for the first four hours of
each day. SIL assisted with the setting up of the bilingual program back in the
seventies, when education in the NT was handled by the Commonwealth. Where the
program was well-supported, it worked very well. Where it was not
well-supported it did not.
Unfortunately,
there has been a systematic policy of non-support or outright opposition at
many levels of government over the years. So it is now possible to “prove”
(according to the government’s criteria) that the bilingual program is
“responsible” for the failure of remote indigenous children to meet national
benchmarks. Yet both common sense and extensive research show, that children
learn best if taught in their own language in the early years of their
schooling.
AuSIL has joined the ranks of those advocating for a change of policy. Colleague Chuck Grimes has produced a book entitled Indigenous languages in education: what the research actually shows, to challenge the “there is no evidence” line. It contains a bibliography of 691 relevant articles and studies. It is available from SIL office for $5.00, plus postage. On the home page of AuSIL’s website [www.sil.org.au] there is a link in red print to other items relating to this issue. Pray for a real breakthrough in government attitudes.
Khesed Directors' 2nd 2009 road trip
Thank you sooooo much for your prayers and support!
Over 7 weeks and 11,000kms: NSW, QLD, SA, WA - Aug-Oct 2009. The Sante Fe 4WD is now 9 months old with 24,000kms on it, and meets our needs extremely well. The new caravan was a hassle, with severe swaying most of the first half of the trip until we were able to fit stabilizer bars [told we didn't need them!] and new tyres [cords deteriorated with age, even thought they had plenty of tread left]. After that it was great!
We stopped at Penong, SA, to take photos of the many windmills there.
May the wind of the Spirit pump the water from the River of God that comes from
His throne into every part of this dry and thirsty land!
The trip was a time of catching up with many people and
meeting many new friends. Teaching at Ganggala was a real joy – again – as was
the Tweed Valley Conference and college graduation – a real time of honouring
God and each other!
After we left Perth, we received an invitation to attend a
retreat in Adelaide: Training Aboriginal Christian Leaders, which is hosted by
the Heads of Churches in Adelaide. This was a really special time.
Our time in Narrandera included meeting with a number of the
Wiradjuri Christians and praying with them, and encouraging them in their
desire to re-establish their own church in the town and hold a 'Back to
Narrandera' festival. There are historic issues that need to be dealt with in
the area, and we were able to talk and pray with some about this.
On the way home, we stopped off at Kalgoorlie for a few days
of the convention there, and were encouraged to hear of many Wongayis who gave
their lives to Jesus.
Overall, a really valuable trip!
Ganggalah Training Centre
Ganggala Student graduation Aug 2009
Ganggalah Training Centre needs
help to purchase a new bus for their students in their daily travel and
outreach, including trips for ministry in NSW & QLD towns.
Contact Ps Willy Dumas at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 07 5524 7856 PO Box 6369 Tweed Heads NSW 2486.
Ruakken Church and the Coorong area, east of Adelaide, SA
Earlier this year Rose Rigney wrote to us:
Please keep us in
prayer through your contacts around the nation as we have just relocated to
Raukkan Aboriginal Community, in the Lakes/Coorong area of South Australia. My
husband Clyde and myself are a part of a body ministry here. We are Aboriginal
and from this group (Ngarrindjeri) and God is doing a mighty work here. We are
a part of the church on the $50 note...This is the first time I have read this
newsletter and do confirm that we have also had words and heard others say that
God has shown them that He is going to start fires of revival around the nation
and use Indigenous people to spread the Gospel. We will pray for you as you
continue your ministry to the Nation through this newsletter...
The Coorong - the mouth of the Murray River
Raukkan Aboriginal Community 
recently celebrated their 150th
anniversary and Rose wrote.
The glory of our
Lord surely shone on us last Saturday and people have still been ringing the
Community to tell of how lovely they thought the day was and how they went away
feeling uplifted... we had about 500 people and lots of reunions,
reconcilliations and fun...it was certainly a time of Ngarrindjeri 'arising,
and shining' in the gifts He has given ....Amen....
Health Funding Delays
WA's special funding for Aboriginal health, designed to help close
the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous health, has become bogged down in
'consultation processes', so that after five months of the financial year, none
of the $20m allocated has been released.
A Western Desert Kidney Project set up by Professor Dr Christine
Jeffries-Stokes [wife of Wongayi pastor, Geoff Stokes] has had to delay their
project, which will combat the high level of diabetes in the area. Kidney
disease is probably something like 100 times higher in the WA Goldfields than
in the general population. Stillbirths and children born with defects can be
prevented by access to fresh fruit and vegetables, and dealing with this is
part of their program. Pray for release of funding effectively
into the right areas to make the dramatic changes that are possible.
Jerusalem House of Indigenous Peoples
- from Gavriel Gefen,
Director of WCGIP7
For many years, I
have carried a vision toward establishing a house of indigenous people in
Jerusalem. A number of tribal leaders around the world have also shared this
idea for a long time. Some of them would like to see a house of prayer in Jerusalem
set aside for indigenous people, where they may offer up their own traditional
songs and prayers and dances. They have hoped for a house that would
welcome and host them on pilgrimages of faith. Other tribal leaders would like
to have an embassy as a diplomatic center of representation for tribal nations.
This month,
we opened the Jerusalem House of Indigenous Peoples, with the above purposes.
It includes an office of representation for indigenous people and also guest
rooms for visiting indigenous tribal leaders. It will be a home for indigenous
leaders coming for longer visits while connecting in deeper relational ways
with both the people and the land. We will coordinate these times of residence
in rotation in order to maintain a continual presence and representation of
indigenous people in Jerusalem.
Khesed Directors' Program
Healing The Land Road
Trips
- a season of encouraging and facilitating the healing of
the ancient
lands of this nation and its people.
2009
Nov – Dec – Jan officework,
developing resources, local outreach, family time
+ bush prayer retreat in WA Goldfields, 15-17 December. Contact us for details.
2010
Feb Ganggala College
teaching [8-12th] + family time in Newcastle
Apr – May Central
Desert road trip
Khesed Resources development:
Fire in the Outback: we ran out of stock
in November and it is currently being reprinted - expected delivery date is Wed 9 Dec, in time
for Christmas – it makes a great gift, so get your orders in!
We are planning work over the summer on a simplified Healing
The Land manual, Dhurrkay Praise CD, teaching booklet/DVD of God's House, a CD/MP3
book-reading of Fire in the Outback, and a DVD of Australian
Indigenous Revival Fire stories.
{mospagebreak}
APOLOGY COMPLETES 10 YEAR
INTERCESSION PROJECT
Newspaper clipping from The Aboriginal Independent Newspaper 14-17 October 1998
British Reconciliation leader, Brian Mills, kneels in the mud before Noongar elder, Ben Taylor, at Yagan's gravesite
- Apology article from the
Australian Prayer Network Newsletter, 18 Nov 2009
APN Editor’s note: Ten years ago the British Prayer
Movement, at the invitation of the Australian Prayer Network, sent a team of
around 50 leaders and Intercessors to Australia to apologise for the sins of
their nation in the foundation years of European settlement, in what became
known as British/Australian reconciliation.
In particular they apologised for the massacre and ill treatment of the Indigenous People of our nation by those who came in the name of Britain to the shores of this great land, and also to the many thousands of child migrants who were sent here by the British Government without their parents knowledge or permission, to empty crowded orphanages in Britain.
Whilst the issue was dealt with
on a spiritual basis ten years ago it has only been in the past two years that
the natural outworking of that intercession has been seen. The apologies given
by the Federal Government to our Indigenous Australians last year and the
apology given on Monday to the forgotten and abused Australians, including the
child migrants sent here by Britain, complete in the natural what was begun in
the spiritual 10 years ago.
We praise God for these apologies which will have far reaching consequences in both the spiritual and natural realms, not to mention in the lives of those people directly impacted by the events for which the apologies were given. The apologies go a long way in helping to heal some of the “wounds of our childhood” as a nation, which were spoken of prophetically at the time of the British visit as being on the heart of God in convicting both the British and Australian prayer movements to journey down the path of repentance and forgiveness relative to these areas of our nation’s life.
KEVIN Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull have offered a historic
apology to “forgotten Australians” and former child migrants who suffered
abuse, exploitation and neglect in institutions and foster homes. In emotional scenes in Parliament
House’s Great Hall as the Prime Minister said sorry to those children whose
childhoods were snatched away, some survivors sobbed while others stood and
cheered. A few angrily demanded compensation.
The event was the second landmark
apology by Mr Rudd, who in February last year said sorry to the Aboriginal
Stolen Generations. Andrew Murray, a former Australian Democrats senator who
was instrumental in establishing the first of several Senate inquiries into
church and state-sanctioned abuse, demanded the government establish a
reparations fund. He said helping survivors of childhood abuse was a matter of
reparations.
“When you look worldwide, harsh
things have happened to people, whether it’s the Jews in Germany or indigenous
people in America - it is reparations that is the word used,” he told reporters
in Canberra on Monday. “Compensation is just one part of that.”
In delivering the apology, Mr Rudd
apologised for an “ugly chapter” in the nation’s history.
Intercessors get Aborigines to lead them in prayer
The Westralian Intercessors Network Retreat was held on 13-15 November 2009. WIN leaders have a real heart to be honour indigenous Christians and to learn from them. During the retreat, John & June Blacket were asked to share some of their perspective of the current indigenous spiritual state across the nation. Then, instead of splitting into groups to pray, the indigenous Christians present were invited to lead the whole group in prayer and declarations over the nation.
Val – Noongar tribe, south-west WA:
…Your Word shall go forth and not come back void – that we
have been delivered – sanctified – washed by the precious blood of the Lamb… The
Devil, Satan, Waagyl, Rainbow Serpent… are all false gods that came up before
the people when they were blinded. They have no authority in this land!
The Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God… from one end of
this land to the other – from the north to the south, from the east to the west
– throughout this Noongar country, 17 language country – as we step through -
from Geraldton to Kalgoorlie, Albany – ALL strongholds have
been broken! – cut the cords! – from the mother's
roots, the physical cords… have been cut by the Spirit of God! Jesus! From generation to generation… from
Adam right down to this very day! From Eve down to this very day! In the mighty
name of Jesus! Every tribe, every
nation, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ IS LORD!
Christine – Kimberley, WA:
All our sins are as filthy rags… and I pray, Father God - You are the Alpha and the Omega – the beginning and the end – and I pray that we will honour You! You see the practises that have been put upon this nation, Lord, and from the very beginning, You have been with us and You see right through our history the things that have occurred. You have seen! You have heard! You know it Lord! And You are the Deliverer, Father God, and I pray that we will look to You – look to the Heavens. For this is where our help will come from.
Lord Jesus, that You will give words… that need to be spoken and declared… You will draw us together for the work that needs to be done… our feet will take us to the places…
I stand in the gap, Lord, from the tip of the north, and I ask for forgiveness, Lord, for the sins that were done to this land from our people – we come to You and lay down at Your feet. …that You will reveal the things in the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Father God! You will be the spiritual instrument, Lord! You will give us the spiritual truth, Lord! ...and we just look to You Father God, because we cannot do it alone.
I pray for unity – You know what's happening in Your churches, Lord… We come before You, broken, Lord. We know that You are the Restorer, the Carer… I pray that You will give us the word that needs to be spoken – declared – and that we will see with Your eyes! – that You will do Your perfect work, Lord, and You will speak into the hearts of every one of us, Lord. You have different parts for different ones – You know them from the time they were born until now, and You have created them for such a time as this, and I pray that we will surrender our lives to You, Lord!... We come to You as a child, Lord! You will show us the way and visit us, Lord!
Ann – Kenyan Australian of Hindi heritage:
I pray that out of the dirt – the dust – where there is death, we speak life! Where there is cursing, we speak blessing. Where there is hopelessness, we speak hope! To our indigenous: Leviticus 26v13:- 'I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.' Lord, we pronounce blessing on them today, that they would fulfil their destiny, reach their full potential in Jesus and be a blessing in this land, not a curse!
Victoria – Torres Strait/N QLD:
We are just filthy rags in Your sight, Lord… We stand in the gap for the many nations here in this land.. You know our children, Lord… You know their hearts, Lord… We bind those spirits, Lord… Thank You for what You are doing, Lord – for our people in the Centre – for the Pitjantjatjara tribe, Lord… for the new beginning, Lord… Thank You, Yeshua, that we are grafted in, Lord…. We worship You, Yeshua!
Jenny– Noongar tribe, south-west WA:
Father God… our
Noongar people… I pray that You forgive them and cleanse them from all
unrighteousness, Lord… Touch them, Lord… purify them… Send Your ministering
angels to them… that You would bring healing in the name of Jesus… Bring them
out of the darkness into Your marvellous Light, Lord… Satan has so bound us!
You are going to set them free, Lord, by the blood of the Lamb… so bound up with drugs – bound up in
their own little worlds, Lord! Bring them out of their sinful ways, Lord, into
the Light, Father God!
- European Australian:
Father in heaven, You have heard the words of our indigenous
sisters, Lord. I pray they are a sweet sound in Your ears, Lord! We have heard
their heart, and I pray that You will bless them… They are right in the middle
of Your cupped hands, Lord… They have a lot of prophetic words over their
lives, Lord… Many have tried to help them – governments, organisations – with good intentions. …we can't change
them, but God does! So we come to You Lord, and ask in the name of Jesus, that
You will move through this land – the power of Your Spirit will be like the
wind... and flow out even from this room, Lord – effective: gather and gather
and gather. We know You are, and we pray for more!
No revival can flow in this land until we include the
indigenous people! Blessed
are the feet of those who bring Good News… Bless their feet as they go forth
and spread the Gospel in the name of Jesus! And may their footprints
become Holy Ground! ...The atrocities that
have been done in this land:- I pray for forgiveness for what we have done! We
ask You to cleanse the land in the name of Jesus – everywhere their feet tread…
The First Nations people, Lord!
Katherine
Women's Convention – September 2009
Report
from Gail Musch, Indigenous Ministry Links Australia, North Queensland
Amazing
and refreshing! Women from Arnhem Land and from around Australia gathered on
the banks of Katherine River
to praise and worship the King! It was an occasion of repentance, forgiveness,
and joy. Women poured from their
hearts about relatives who had suicided or died and the toll that has had on
their lives and communities and how the Lord Jesus has helped them overcome
their grief and loss. The testimonies of the power of forgiveness were
incredible! It was good to be among Christian women of all ages and to get to
know people. All the way along our journey to Katherine and back we spent much
of our time sitting and meeting ladies and listening to their stories. It has certainly renewed Janice’s
vision to reach out to the women of Cape York.
Report from Gloria Dyer,
Arrowhead Ministries, Perth
Robin Green sang and preached a mighty word on
our first day and led us in anointing the people. She asked one of the
elders to anoint their heads while I anointed their feet. She and many
others then prayed for the people. It was a mighty time of healing and
God restoring His daughters.
Shirley Humphries, the wife of Aboriginal
Pastor Denzil Humphries, spoke about mothers and the roles of women and gave
practical words to the women. She also spoke in a panel of 3 on suicide
and it's impact. Her session was wonderful as an older woman to us
younger ones.
[Gloria had some dreams:] …showed me that these were to do with a spirit
trying to frighten me and possibly the other women. On the last night,
what I dreamed proved to be a reality in the spirit realm.
Georgie Ballinger had just preached a very
powerful and vulnerable sermon about the Father. The impact of Fathers in
our lives was evident in the gathering and the lack of them as hands were
lifted. We are in a fatherless generation was one of Georgie's
comments. Bad fathers and the impact of how they affect our relationship
with God the Father was very clear. The ladies were having a time of
brokenness and repentance.
Rejection was being dealt with when a young
woman about 14 years old came forward and read words of encouragement that were
written on her forearm. I saw later a whole block of writing and a
language I couldn't read on her forearm. She said it was the Hebrew language
and she was able to interpret it for us. She also received the Roman
language and had other writings at home. I knew I was looking at a
miracle. The writing was perfect. Every single letter was the same
height. It didn't look like she had written it. Like a stamp!
Every line was perfectly spaced - very exciting and very amazing and a perfect
word of encouragement from the Lord for his daughters and their broken and
wounded hearts.
…I went to see what this noise was in the
trees. It was very dark and I suspected that it was spiritual. I
began to pray in tongues and war in the spirit… I prayed a little more and then
pleaded the blood of Jesus over the area and positioned angels around us.
I spoke to the Indigenous lady who was leading the worship …(she) told me her
young grand daughter had seen the shape of a man walking through the
trees. She told me of the sound of a bird which was not the type of birds
present and knew of evil spirits present. So this was an eye opener for
me and to learn to take special notice of dreams that God gives me…
The FIRE of God fell throughout the
meetings! But especially on Tuesday morning, after the worship, there was
a leading of the Spirit to bring the children forwards and for the women to
pray for them. Then after that, another leading and the children turned
around from inside the circle and prayed outwards to the women. One of
them led in a prayer for us. Next another person felt the Lord wanted
them to march around us. The girl with the miraculous writing led the
children and young people with a flag of fire and the Dove representing the
Holy Spirit in the middle of it. It was so powerful and the children were
in tune with what God was doing.
The men who were serving us were called
forwards, 4 of them! They stood in the gap and the women prayed for them
and surrounded them. Men and women began falling under the power of the
Holy Spirit. Bodies on the ground caught up in the moment. Unable
to stand under the anointing! The men were touched by God and thanked the
women for their openness to the Spirit of God!
I preached after this and felt the heart of God
and His Love for His daughters. Words of taking up their cross and
following Jesus, of making a stand for God and becoming revolutionaries for
Jesus. To change their area by doing what Jesus tells them to do. I
felt the tears of God's heart! I touched on how Wilberforce in England
and Martin Luther King in America made stands against slavery.
The night before was a time where Rachel
preached, and she led us into a time of repentance for our sins. A piece
of paper was given out to everyone and we were asked to tick the boxes.
This was for generational sins as well as our own ones! I ended up
signing the whole paper and writing for everything that was on it! After
Millie and Georgie shared what everything meant, we all took our papers and
burned our sins in the fire prophetically.