Day 5: 7.8.2022 Authority

 Authority of Word 

1. A ghost town lol 

After following all the routines of the morning, I was ready by 9:25am to head for church. I took the usual track up behind the health service onto the clay pathway. Holly bells, this place was quite as dead. No noise, no movement, no sign of anything alive, except for the buildings and the unusually short gum trees here and there. 

I thought something has to be seriously wrong. Am I in the wrong place? at the wrong time? breaking any routines? Please stay out of trouble! I didn't stop. I walked further into the field, past few more buildings. Hoping, praying, at least, I must find someone, something. And yes, thank goodness. Three beautiful children, all boys, all seemed like they were between 9-10 years old. They had a ball. And were playing and giggling away in-front of me. As soon as they saw me, they giggled louder and began to run away into the south. I whistled at them and made many waves, friendly ones asking them to come to me. It was a wave of reassurance and calmness. They didn't have to be afraid of this stranger. Oh well, you would expect that everyone knows each other in this tiny community, and so a new face was a total stranger, intruder even. Yes they responded with ease once again and stopped running. They slowly walked back up towards me and I towards them, we met in the middle. I first sat down on a rock and introduced my name. Eventually they became friendly very quickly. I asked them their names and they told but I dont think I got them clearly enough so I wont mention their names here. I asked what classes they were at school and whether they were brothers. They told me that they were not in class but year 5. And that they were family. I asked about the church, the pastor, the time it starts. They told me that there 2 pastors here namely Pastor Lindsay and Pastor Russel. And they told me I had to wait for the church bell to go off and then come to church. I asked whether they go to church and they said yes. We talked and walked up the church building which stood lonely and quite. As soon as we got closer and they saw that I became curious enough to explore the building, the writings on the walls and soak in the atmosphere, they walked off until they disappeared.

My first encounter in 24 hours with human beings. I felt like a human being with need to connect with human beings once again. So far the last 24 hours felt like forever. I thought of the novel 'The Testament'. It captivated me so much that I had never forgotten the character nor the story since I read it in high school like 3 odd decades ago. The main character loses her lover and lies there next to the grave hoping the graves will break forth and bring the life back. In the cold, snowing South American Andes. Sure help arrives but of course not what she hoped and prayed for. It was a group of friendly young indigenous Mayans. 

I did a tour around the small church building with a cross sign on the top from and all around the posterior western end were small sheds and a broken tent which seemed like some had camped there a long time ago. There were debris all around the building with outgrown weeds and bush. There was a sign on the anterior wall which said Yalata Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. I did a 360 degree tour around and finally had a sit on the platform infront of the church door. The sun was bright, shinny and warm. I soaked in the sun and got some quality Vitamin D into my skin. I looked around this place. There was no sign of people. I could a few dogs barking a far off. I took my book out and began to read. I decided to sit here and wait for someone to turn up and hit the bell for church. 

2. Yalata Beach 

Before I knew it, it was 10am. Someone coughed and sneezed infront of me in the silence. I looked and a man walked towards me. He came up to the platform and greeted me and I returned the greeting. I introduced myself. And asked about church. He said the pastors could be still in the house. I asked his name and he said he was Derek. While we were a huge tall black German Shepherd walked towards us. I greeted him and it was friendly. Derek told me that 'papa' in Pitjantjatjara is dog. Oh well in my language papa means father. How close yet different I thought. Derek asked where I was from so I told him my country of origin was Papua New Guinea but I was from Adelaide where my family are. He asked where this country was. I opened the map on my phone and showed him a map of my country. He said it is very close to Australia and I agreed. 

We chatted further and I asked how far the beach was from here. He said Yalata beach was located about 3 hours drive from the community. Yalata is located almost at the tip of the Great Australian Bight. There are several beaches, lookouts, camping grounds and whale watching spots all along the bight. He left. I sat still and pondered on the map, scrolled through some photos and got into silence awe with the beauty. How divine. In high school many decades ago I used to dream about going to Australia. I would look at the national geographic magazines and admire the red earth, the wide sky and the scrubs. I had a special connection with the short trees on the sand. I loved the landscape. It was different. Those memories swept over me. I thought I must be living my dream. I need to go to all of these beaches, soon.

7.8.22: Yalata Beach sandune photo from google maps

3. Words 

I sat there drowning into these memories and suddenly flashed back to what I heard this morning on one of Dr Bill Winston's messages. In my faith, there is a record in the Bible in the book of Genesis where God spoke and all things came to existence with nothing. To this day, physicists also have been exploring to make sense of this with their claim associated with the big bank theory. I however believe the record of Genesis. The earth was formless and void, covered in darkness. When the Spirit of God moved upon the waters. By then God spoke to the darkness and all things appeared. Light first, then day and night, then sun and moon, then earth, then all living things and etc. 

The power of words is a mystery in itself. In Winston's message this morning, he reclaimed the power of words. We speak and it manifest. We are co-creators of our own destiny with the words that come out of our mouth. How so sensible. How much authority that can mean if we spoke of divine and supernatural things!

4. Photo gallery of day 5

7.8.22: 9:25am selfie infront of the shed on my way to church 

7.8.22: These branches from my biggest tree in my back yard was cut off and hanging on the fence so I pulled every twig back into the yard on my way back from my church adventure 

7.8.22: The heap and my biggest tree of them all 

7.8.22: Greening project in progress

7.8.22: Greening project under way posterior back yard