Aussie Rules!

Besides being asked the question "Do you like Vegemite?" (I find that I do, spread very thin on buttered toast but not every morning), one of the most unique aspects of Australian culture I've come into frequent contact these past 3 weeks in WA is "Australian Rules" football.

Two weeks ago I chose to go for an afternoon walk rather than watch most of the AFL Grand Final. That was mainly because I didn't have a clue when it came to understanding the game. After all, I'll always be first and foremost a diehard NFL fan. Needless to say, the streets were nearly empty as everyone else in Kalgoorlie was glued to their TV sets.

However, yesterday afternoon, the couple I've been staying with this past week here in Perth, Russell and Coralie, provided me with a unique opportunity. Russell, an avid player and fan, first showed me DVD highlights of marks, long bombs, other goals, etc.  Then last night, I went with them to watch an Old Timers' Exhibition Game.

There we saw Russell's 48 year-old brother, a retired AFL multi-millionaire player, who played for the the West Coast Eagles, battle against their foes the Fremantle Dockers.

We also saw Rick Arden, a newsreader and amateur player,  participate in the game. In spite of the fact that Rick stands at about 6 feet four inches, Russell joked that he had bested Rick in their own veterans' competition 3 months ago ("he'd never score a goal like that on me, ha ha!).

Although this entry is on Aussie Rules, let me also say here that I thoroughly appreciated the chance to observe and participate in what God is doing in Russell's church. Russell and Coralie spent several years as Alliance Workers in Vanuatu in the South Pacific prior to returning to Perth (Coralie was an MK whose parents worked with aboriginals), where God led them to start the church. The meeting on Sunday was lively and truly a pleasure to participate in.

After the church meeting, we enjoyed the traditional Australian meringue desert Pavlova (another new experience for me), had gourmet pizza at an Italian restaurant, and tea (Australian term for dinner or supper) that night after the match at an outdoor steak/hamburger joint by a roaring fire.

Viewing The Heavens in Kalgoorlie, WA

Whether it is Australia or back in the United States, the most unique aspect of of traveling from place to place to share about our team's work back in Taiwan is the opportunity to stay in different homes and get to know lots of different people.

Last week in Kalgoorlie, WA, I stayed with Denise and Peter. Some years ago, Peter built a huge telescope from scratch (pictured in foreground below). It took him nearly a year to plan the design and several months after that to build and fine-tune. He's made it available for the community to come to view from time to time.

He did a great job in the construction---  Peter was able to clearly point out to me  3 of Jupiter's moons as well as the twin stars Alpha-Centauri, not to mention the densest section of the Milky Way.

The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge.  Psalm 19: 1-2

The Gold Outback, A Dog Movie Star, The School of the Air, and a Reunited Mother and Daughter

Today returning from the Gold Outback Bush Country to Kilgoorlie, WA I visited a different kind of school, and witnessed two other unique opportunities.

From Kilgoorlie to Marapoi Station is about 150 km (two hours?) of driving in which one encounters maybe a dozen oncoming drivers at most. With the exception of a single town of about 80 people and dozens of kangaroo road-kill carcasses on the side of the road (at least!), there is absolutely no one dwelling along the way.

Day before yesterday and again this evening, I had the chance to visit a spring camp sponsored by a so-called "School of the Air", so named because its students, mostly kids belonging to sheep-herders and aboriginal kids who live in remote locations, have their classes via chat on the Internet (in previous generations, radio). This week the kids have actually been face-to-face in a end-of-school camp and today were their field day activities, a performance, and BBQ. Here are my host Greg and I are wearing a fly mask used in a song the kids had sung earlier.

 

Now on to the so-called chance encounters. First, back at Marapoi Station in the bush, in the morning at a community meeting I was introduced to a dog movie star who will be appearing in the upcoming movie "To Hell and Back". A full fifteen minutes of the movie occurs at the station, and the dog's owner, Gary, is an half-aboriginal actor who has appeared in a number of movies and who plays a priest in this one. Anyway, check it out in a few months when it hits the theatres.

Back in Kilgoorlie (population 30,000) again in the evening, I was sipping a Latte at McDonalds looking at page one of the local newspaper which showed the picture of a mother and a 14-year-old daughter who had not been seen or heard from in 5 days.

As we were preparing to leave, my host Greg commented that a lady who walked by looked like the mother featured in the paper. As he was gathering his own kids from the play area, he asked her if in fact she was. There they were: reunited and talking through the events of the past few days. Without being a nuisance, my host commented that a lot of people had been worried about them, that he was very happy for them, and that the girl's mother really loved her daughter.

Well, I'm pretty bushed tonight, not from being out in the bush, but from dealing with cultural differences and being around lots of people all day. I think I'll call it a day.

Superpit

Yesterday afternoon I arrived in Kalgoorlie, WA after a short flight from Perth. In the evening, Greg, my host, took me over to Boulder to see the so-called Super Pit, which stretches more than 3 km long, 1 km wide, and (eventually) 500 m deep. The Super Pit is a bunch of old mines where as early as the 1890's miners began digging for gold. Now it's a big open consolidated pit in which the goal is to glean 2 kg of gold from every 1 ton of dirt. I watched for a few minutes as the trucks slowly made their way down the road into the pit, were filled with dirt, and made their way up again.

My host has a vision for community development among his own people, the Aboriginal peoples. In earlier years, Greg started up a health services facility for his people in Kalgoorlie. Presently, he's working out in the bush.

From what I've seen in the two days I've been around, the lot of indigenous peoples here is worse than the indigenous peoples of Taiwan, who have also been marginalized, have chronic drinking problems, etc.

Earlier this afternoon we left Kalgoorlie and drove north 180 km out into the bush where Greg has started his latest community development endeavor in Morapoi Station. Many of his family are here, as well as a few from another indigenous people group who have come 1000 km from the central desert. He calls his place here Beulah because God has given him a vision here for his people to be married once again to the land.

Earlier this afternoon we drove further off into the bush to do some gold prospecting for a few hours with gold detectors.  Anyway, I came back empty-handed. We'll head back into town tomorrow morning sometime.

Wrap-Up of Pinjarra Visit

 

God is good. Tomorrow morning wraps up the first stop of my visit to West Australia-- Pinjarra, WA. Aside from my powerpoint locking up yesterday during the morning meeting, things went smoothly logistics-wise although I wish content-wise it could have gone better.

Although I didn't spend time with too many people outside of the scheduled meetings, those I did spend time with were kind and generous. Ian, the pastor, and Cheryl were kind hosts throughout the week. They are a godly couple, and I really appreciate them opening up their home to me, taking me to a Rotary Club meeting, going to meet some of Cheryl's ESL students, etc. Ian and Cheryl are certified experts when it comes to Western Australia wildflowers. They tried to impart some of their knowledge to me, but I'm afraid I'm a slow learner.

Sunday evening they took me up to Alcoa Look-Out, which looks over the Alcoa factory and all of Pinjarra. On the way I saw my first kangaroos -- dozens of them and quite large according to Ian and Cheryl. 

 

Bert, Lizzie, Rebecca and Alex were also very kind in taking me over  to Perth for some sight-seeing on Monday (Alex had earlier taken me to a local fitness center a few hundred yards away from the house here).

 

 

 

The King's Park in Perth was beautiful with all of its wildflowers. Afterward, we drove over to the coast  where we had fish and chips on the beach, and continued over to Fremantle (WA's chief port), where we visited the Maritime Museum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow I'm off to Kalgoorlie, where there was a gold rush in the 1890's.

Some of the birds I saw during my time in Pinjarra (and Perth) included:

Butcher Bird

Black Cockatoo

Gallah (Pinkon Grey)

Kookaburra  (sound is just as incredible as in the movies)

Magpie

28 (Port Lincoln) Parrot

PeeWee

Rosella

Waterbird

White Cockatoo

Willie Wagtail  (extremely friendly bird)

Here are some pics of some of the above I took myself: