Catching Up with The Kims Vol 16

Welcome to our newsletter for September/October! We trust you are warming up now that spring is here. Term three of the Student Focus Program is well underway and we are well and truly warm up here in the Kimberley! Thank you for taking the time to read about our lives. Remember to send us an email and tell us how you’re doing.

A note from Yong

At the end of October, I went to Noonkanbah community Christian weekend conference. I flew up there with one of the Kingdom Aviation workers. It was calm and smooth flying to Noonkanbah. We got there just in time for the morning session. The service started with praise and worship then a guest speaker. It was my first aboriginal conference. It was not fancy

but small gathering of local Christians. The highlight of this visit was the contact with local Christians. I really enjoyed having a lunch with an elderly lady at her house. As we ate I was able to hear about her walk with God and her struggle at this moment. She told me that she grew up in a mission and there she met Christ. For her it was life changing experience and very positive in her life. This lady is caring for her grandchildren with her husband. She said that sometimes it is too hard and she wants to give up, but she is hoping that one day her grandchildren will come to know God. She has a strong faith that God who saved her life will also save her grandchildren. It was real eye opening conversation hearing the issues aborigines faces and understanding their faith. I am hoping to meet more local Christians in remote communities.

October to early December is build-up season before the wet season. It is really hot and humid with no signs of rain to relieve the heat. For some people it is a very difficult time of year especially people who are on the edge of their life. There have been four suicides and two attempts of suicide. The fact had been shock to whole town. Some people do not see the true hope we have in Christ Jesus and end their own life with their hands. It is very sad that people lose hope to live and leave irreparable scars with loved ones. Even though it is very sad, it gives us opportunities to share Christ with others. It is not just aborigines in remote communities who need to hear the true hope in Christ Jesus but also non-aborigines in the town as well.

We had a special visitor from Melbourne. Leah from Youth Dimension visited us for a week. She is in charge of the remote Student Focus program. She visited all the communities we normally visit. For her, it was first time visiting remote aboriginal communities. It was an eye opening experience for her to see the different needs in remote communities. She also ran a few training sessions for people who are interested in helping run the program. It was good revision for me and good input from her as well.

One of the community’s school teachers asked me to do a presentation for her class. She said they are learning about airplanes and pilots. I agreed to help her out in her class by preparing a presentation. I made a boarding pass for the kids and set up the classroom like inside of airplane. I gave them passenger briefing. It was great fun to explain about airplanes and how to become a pilot. I am hoping that one of the kids will become a pilot and serve their community as a pilot. It was great way to get to know the kids and the school teacher. This is a really enjoyable ministry God gave me in the West Kimberley area.

A walk with Vicki

Back in September the Derby Baptist Church (one of our supporting churches) asked us to participate in their missions weekend. On the Saturday night Yong and I prepared a Korean dinner for about 20 people and had the opportunity to share about our journey in coming to Derby. The following morning during the church service we shared about our work with Kingdom

Aviation and how we have been adjusting to life in the Kimberley. It was great for us to be able to reflect on how God brought us to this point and give him thanks for the wonderful experiences we’ve had so far.

At the Church camp in September we had the pleasure of watching a beautiful sunrise from bed each morning! This is the first time our family has gone camping together! We drove along the red, sandy, corrugated dirt road to the peninsula three hours away where One Arm Point is located. The aboriginal community gave us permission to pitch our tents under the shade shelters on the shores of their land. It was really hot, but a great chance to get to know people better and enjoy the beautiful surrounds. Caleb thoroughly enjoyed being outdoors non-stop, and having so much sand to play in! We had good fellowship with the aboriginal people of One Arm Point. One time a young mum shared about how she recently re-committed her life to Christ and how much the community values the weekly visits and Bible Studies that Kingdom Aviation do. We pray that God will continue to touch lives in that community and all the places Kingdom Aviation visits.

I’ve been putting on a little weight lately, and it’s not from eating too much icecream! I have a 17 week old baby on board! We’re excited about welcoming this new little one into our family in April.

Meanwhile I’m still involved in facilitating the Terrific Toddlers program where Yong and I are learning some practical tools for parenting young Caleb through the toddler years. We are thankful that a number of church families have become involved too.

Caleb’s world

I’m sure Caleb sometimes wonders why his mum keeps making him do silly activities and get his face wet at the swimming pool. Later he will realise that it’s all part of learning to swim. We’ve been attending swimming lessons at the loc

al pool which also offers heaps of other fun things for kids. Caleb particularly likes the water

that squirts up from the ground in the water fun park.

His other favourite water activity is washing dishes (plastic ones!). It keeps him entertained for hours,

which is much better than having him unpack the kitchen cupboards!