Leaving Normal

So … if you wanted to drive from our house to Darwin, the capitol city of the Northern Territories, that would be like going from Charleston, South Carolina to Salt Lake City, a distance of 2,174 miles (just under 3500 kilometers). That mileage (to Darwin), is pretty well set, since there’s only one two-lane road. But there are plenty of variables along the way, such as kangaroos, camels, dingos and anything else that can run/hop/fly into your car. My map program happily says it’s only a 36-hour drive, but I think it may be discounting the occasional human presence that could slow you down considerably. “Road trains”, for example, are those notorious 5 and 6 trailered trucks that take up both sides of the road, and likely your windscreen, if you ever meet one. There are the rare road stops where you can buy gas, but to get to some of them, you need to enter tribal lands where necessary permissions must be obtained. On the other hand, I hear that those few outposts are required by law to provide you a place to stay if you need it, since sending a traveler away unprepared would be unthinkable.

I read somewhere that in 1948, the Northern Territories was offered to the Jewish nation as a possible place to settle after the war.  They had a think for a few minutes and declared it “NOT the Promised Land”.  

And then when I thought I had heard just about everything, someone mentioned the other day the possibility of encountering “pirates” out in the middle of nowhere. Scenes from the movie, “Mad Max” come to mind, but considering how few pirates there must be out there, and the vastness of the territory they have to cover, the chances of running into one are pretty low.

Having said all that, in a couple of weeks, Tony and I are hoping to head out for Darwin. But fear not, we will NOT be driving, at least not from here. Our plan is to fly there, then rent a motor home and edge down a bit into that bit of Australia they call the “Top End of the Outback”. The Northern Territories is the only state (which is technically still a territory, hence the name) that borders on our own state of Queensland, and as of today is still possible to visit. There have only been 23 cases of Covid 19 out of 249,000 total population, so they’re not too worried. They figure that, with .5 people (that’s half a person) per square mile, social distancing is no problem.

The motor home idea seems like the best option, since we can pack all the food and water we need, and as long as we stay on the main roads, we should get along just fine. We opted not to rent a satellite phone, since SURELY help would come by eventually. Under the circumstances, even a pirate might be welcome…

We do need to get in and out before the “Wet” arrives, sometime in October. Monsoons come in with a vengeance, we’re told, and when that happens, everything comes to an abrupt halt until the roads dry out, which often takes weeks. Also, this is the best time to go, considering that the school holidays begin here, and a lot of our home groups take a break. A lot of them, including us, just feel the need to ‘get out of Dodge’ for awhile.

Last week, I quoted from Psalms 16:6, where he says that, “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.” Well, I suspect that what we’re about to experience is not one of those “pleasant places”, at least where physical comfort is considered. But that’s the point I want to make.

We don’t always seek experiences that only offer “comfort” as the draw. Earlier this year, Tony gladly agreed to consent to 39 treatments with the radiotherapy technician, not because they have the best beds in town but because, well, having radiotherapy beat the alternative! I heard during Communion at church this morning that during Passover, Jews look forward to having a big helping of “bitter herbs”, not because they taste so good, but because it reminds them of the bitterness of slavery and the goodness of God, Who rescued them out of it.

What’s the motivation for this little trip into the Outback? Well, for one thing, we’ve never been there, and never let it be said that I missed a chance to see some place new. Also, Australia is my adopted country; I think I have a responsibility to get in touch with the land and people with whom I’ve identified.

On another level, I have an on-going challenge to become all I’ve been created to be. That means gleaning God’s Word for any guidelines I can find. Maybe some early morning prayer times when I’d rather be communing with my pillow. Coming to grips with those parts of me I want to ignore, and with which the Holy Spirit will not let me.

There may be kangaroos jumping into my car, Road Trains threatening to drive me off the road, maybe even an encounter with some modern day Mad Max who would like to convince me to give it up and go home. But I want to keep on the road that God has set before me. Please pray for me, that I will be faithful.

I’ll pray for you, too. Let’s hit the road!

Marsha

PS: Next week I’ll give you the inspiring story (at least to me) of the Elsey Station, and a sweet little Baptist Preacher’s daughter that made a difference.  Then in the next week hopefully we’ll be there with some hands on information.  We hope to visit with a recently widowed fellow IMB missionary friend of ours and maybe Tony will get a chance to speak at her church.