GOING: Christmas 2024 Fundraising Project

Test trip # 2 – USING ONBOARD SYSTEMS ONLY Test. Late October became our second test trip towing BEAUTY with the BEAST, which included traveling over 3,500 kilometers (2,100 miles) from Brisbane to Melbourne and back to Sydney. The Caravan has over 7 solar panels storing energy on three Lithium batteries. Can we produce enough electricity during the day to sustain us through the cold of winter or hot of summer? That was our quest this last month.

In Melbourne the temperature went down to 39 degrees F (3.89 C) at night … One night it was so cold we left our electric heater on, running low, but by daybreak the ”Low Battery” warning light came on and shut down the electric heater. We had reached the threshold of 30% left on the batteries so it shut down the heater. Thankfully, we have more than one heating system. Diesel heater verses electric heater helped us learn more about the efficiency of our systems. We are very glad for redundant systems, which gives us more than one way to heat the caravan.

While in Melbourne we met with Jong-il Kim, missionary to the Aboriginal/1st Nations people for 28 years. Click here to hear his story on our homepage.

Jong-il, who has been training an aboriginal pastor, Mark Cox, for several years, will go to Broome in NW Australia to plant a brand-new church for 1st Nations people in January. Cindy and I will join Mark in March to start developing and planning for a ministry training center there and in Kunanara.

From now until March the weather from Kununara to Broome will be typhoon season and prone to flooding. We plan to travel from Brisbane to Perth before Christmas and then Perth to Broome arriving as typhoon season dissipates towards the end of February or first of March. 

Getting There From Here

Thank you to the many who have been part of the BEAUTY and BEAST fundraising projects. With the purchase of both of these important tools done… we now focus on the project of GOING.

Every kilometer we travel pulling the Caravan requires lots of fuel. Very costly in the OUTBACK – $10 a gallon. Every night we stay in a caravan park there is a cost, vehicle and caravan servicing every 5,000 to 10,000 kilometers, continued systems upgrades like more solar panels and additional Lithium Battery, and monthly internet costs through Star Link are needed to accomplish the task set before us.

Would you like to be part of our Christmas “GOING” Giving Project to help cover these expenses over the next six months? It is our hope to raise or have pledged  $10,000 USD in the next month so we can start the journey to Perth. And then an additional $10,000 to be raised by the end of Feb to facilitate making the trip to Broome and the expenses of starting the work there. Visit our Support page for more details and to donate.

Above is a Giving Pyramid… these are the gift amounts we are looking for and how many of each gift size we need to receive to reach our goal of $20,000 by MARCH to make it to Broome to start the ministry center there. Would you write us at [email protected] and let us know what amount you are committed to giving or raising this GIVING Season?

REST OF THE STORY

Cindy and I had the privilege of speaking in three services in Melbourne sharing about the ministry to Aboriginal/1st Nations communities in Western Australia…as-well-as sharing meals and fellowship with several more. See pictures below of some of those gatherings. It is our hope that the churches on the Southern Australia district will come alongside this work of Missionary Jongil Kim and help through finances and work projects (Nazarene Mission Teams) in the years to come.