http://zuglian.zoomshare.com/:blog Fabio & Maria: Blog (English) Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:51:24 -0500 http://www.zuglian.zoomshare.com/:blog?id=38614d004fcbe47aea6ff0a532734754_4ac2e3cc Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:51:24 -0500 Weird ceremonies that keep locals from coming around, nowhere to go for recreation, and the prospect of the regular flights that will stop coming out to Numbulwar in the near future has made life out here tasting a bit bitter for a while... But, Maria's sister Madde has been here for a month now, we are looking after a little foal which keeps us busy during the day, and we are leaving for Cairns for a 2 week holiday end of next week!! http://www.zuglian.zoomshare.com/:blog?id=86550a191ec3a34f11623dbf0ef6e413_4abf5a2a Sun, 27 Sep 2009 07:27:22 -0500 New pictures uploaded! http://www.zuglian.zoomshare.com/:blog?id=03081046379a37100684156901ad6582_4a697a85 Fri, 24 Jul 2009 04:10:29 -0500 The swine flu has now arrived in Numbulwar, so far with 11 confirmed cases (and many more not tested). It was quite inevitable with the ceremony going on, because there are people coming together from all over Arnhemland, and general health and hygine is not that great (not to mention the overcrowded houses) I have been considering staying at home from preschool with the kids, but I feel the social disadvantage and isolation would be a worse threat than the swine flu (and Fabio is very likely to bring it home anyway). Please pray for the kids, that they might be spared, or get over it very quickly. http://www.zuglian.zoomshare.com/:blog?id=9e4bf4cbdee459ceabf9f00ee4e85b71_4a697826 Fri, 24 Jul 2009 04:00:22 -0500 Luca is teething and is extremely irritable. He has been whining and crying and clinging to me for a few days now, and sometimes it feels as if I'm going insane. Yesterday was such a day. So when Fabio came home from work last night my nerves where non existing, and I couldn't stand the crying any longer. So Fabio took over the kids and I took over his head set (the pilots where recently given new head sets with active noise reduction). So I attached the MP3 to the headset and turned up the volume, and with that and the noise reduction in my ears I could get some relief for my nerves and I could "escape" until the kids where in bed. I think I'll use this method mopre often... http://www.zuglian.zoomshare.com/:blog?id=3aaf5d558a1611f1044b28e12d14bdd1_4a5d1e68 Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:10:16 -0500 This is a special ceremony time for the Aboriginies of this area. Important Aboriginal leaders have come to Numbulwar especially for these ceremonies, that from what I have understood are held every decade or so. Only aboriginal initiated males know what the ceremony is all about, and when we ask we get the answer that they can't tell -they would pay with their life if they give out such information. But there is a lot of rules to follow, and a lot of fear of breaking these rules. Women are not to know anything of the men's "secret business", so they are not allowed to go certain places or to be out when it is dark. The pilots have even been asked to fly a different route so that the women in the plane would not by mistake see things or places they are not allowed to see. The ceremonies also effect our Bible studies. The locals are expected to be at certain places during the ceremonies that are held every day ...and they are afraid of the consequences if they don't go. These ceremonies are expected to go on for weeks and months, and the Christian fellowship that normally happens every evening has not been on for a looong time now. Please pray for wisdom for us in how to deal with things, and for the locals to be guided by God's Spirit and not by fear. http://www.zuglian.zoomshare.com/:blog?id=6d1c84d81b6c2fee294fb1fd10b68e05_4a4aaf62 Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:35:46 -0500 Last week there was a drunk man who cursed the local shop. Normally, when such a thing happens (which is not too unusual), nobody is allowed to go close to the shop before a special smoking ceremony has been done, and the curse has been lifted. According to aboriginal traditional law it is a very serious offence if you enter a cursed building, and the elders of the community will make sure that person doesn't live long after having broken the law (this goes for aboriginal people, "white fellas" would be asked to leave the community for good.) The problem with last weeks incident was that the shop was cursed in the name of a ceremony that nobody around here knew. Which means nobody could lift the curse. The same thing happened a long time ago, with the result that the whole shop had to close down, and eventually they built a new one. Not only the shop was cursed this time, but also the "council building" where the MAF office is. The practical implications where that nobody could fly anywhere, and nobody could buy any food. The elders gathered the same evening to an emergency meeting to decide what to do. Fortunately they decided to make an exception to the rule, and they decided on a ceremony that would lift the curse. So, now the shop and the planes are up and running again. But we sure where reminded what a different world and culture we are living in... http://www.zuglian.zoomshare.com/:blog?id=fe75a6a0b2c8983966153f55e2edb61f_4a39d6bb Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:55:07 -0500 If you are interested in watching the Numbulwar ladies flagdance on the beach, it is now on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/results? search_type=&search_query=numbulwar+flagdance&aq=f http://www.zuglian.zoomshare.com/:blog?id=8846ee600d24dd792bf1ee27cbbbf376_4a213691 Sat, 30 May 2009 08:37:21 -0500 Thank you for praying for the women's study. As I wrote before, we were asked to talk about sorcery since many people here are very afraid of it. I didn't know how to approach it since I have such a different worldview and background compared to them. But we prayed and asked God to lead us. And then we just read and talked about Bible passages that touched on these subjects. A couple of days ago one lady came to my house for a chat. She said she really enjoyed the Bible study and she told me that she felt God was touching and healing people from their fears as we prayed!!! Very encouraging to hear -praise God!!! And thank you who prayed for us! Please continue to pray, we are going to talk about the importance of forgiveness in regards to people who hurt us next. Also a very practical but difficult subject in this culture. http://www.zuglian.zoomshare.com/:blog?id=a7f88f59873135ee3fda3e8200b09fd7_4a2134ec Sat, 30 May 2009 08:30:20 -0500 Last weekend we decided to go camping. So, we loaded up the car with kids and camping gear and off we went! To our surprise, in spite of having small children, it was a really nice and worthwile experience! So nice to be able to get away (and camping is really the only option, unless you go for a looong vacation and fly off somewhere), so we decided we'll try to go more often. However, when everything was said and done, we loaded up the car again, jumped in the car, turned the key... and nothing happened. The battery was completely flat. In the end we had no other option that calling the police to come and rescue us. Fortunately we were only 25 km:s , or 50 min drive away from Numbulwar, and fortunately there was phone coverage, so we did not have to wait too long. Two helpful police officers came with leads for the car, and their fishing rods! http://www.zuglian.zoomshare.com/:blog?id=b14d50717f0dc76bd1fad0d7f479c4d9_4a0c0992 Thu, 14 May 2009 07:07:46 -0500 We have been asked by some of the local ladies in our Bible Study group to talk about sorcery and stuff like that. To these people it is a very real threat and many people (even Christians) believe it is the cause of many deaths that has been happening. Many are afraid, especially at night time. It is difficult to know how to approach these subjects that we know so little about. Please pray that God would give wisdom, not only to us, but also to the local church leaders, to know truth from lies and right from wrong. Pray that the believers would be able to overcome their fears by getting to know God more intimately, and in doing that be a witness to the rest of the community.