Moving Up To Broome
As a team, YWAM Broome moved from Perth to Broome the week of September 15. We loaded everything we owned into a moving van dubbed Big Bertha, a little Toyota Corolla affectionately referred to as Prudence, and a ute named DAK. We piled in and left Perth at 6am Tuesday morning and drove for five days. The team convoyed up the coastal route from down south and we spread out the trip so as not to overwhelm the drivers and exhaust the team before we got here.
We camped in a new town each night and drove about five hours during the day. During the drives each day we had different rest stops for bathroom breaks, lunch times, and stops for groceries. We would get to the campsite a few hours before sunset and would set up camp which was a combination of hammocks, tents, tarps and sleeping in the ute bed. We paired up to make dinner each night and to do the dishes, then had a time of encouragement for two people on the team each evening and then a game or early bedtime.
It was really cool to see the Lord work through this trip. We intentionally only took people from the team on the move up here. Some sweet people from the YWAM Perth base had offered to help us move up but we knew we needed this time in close spaces with many hours to use for bonding to build our team up and prepare for life together in one house. It really was a blessing and sweet to road trip through Australia with the people we get to call family!
We had a couple incidents along the way but were able to see the Lord work through each of those things, and see testimony of His goodness. At one point in the trip we lost sight of the last car in the caravan as we passed through a couple low hills. We had no cell signal and couldn’t call to find out where they were or what the problem was. The first two cars in the line up pulled over to the side of the road but when the other car didn’t show up, we turned around to retrace our path and figure out what happened. About five or ten minutes back we found them pulled over to the shoulder of the road with the hood of the car popped open. There had been a road train driving past them and the pressure of the air caused the car’s front fender to come loose, drag on the ground and make a noise. We fixed the problem with some zip ties and got back one the road. We’re thankful that was the only real car trouble we had the whole trip.
On another morning before we had one morning when we started packing up camp and couldn’t find the keys to one of the cars. We figured out who’d had them last and that they had probably been locked in the boot of the car all night. We had to figure out how to break into the car to pop the boot. Someone on the team had done it before to retrieve some keys so he had an idea of how it should go this time. We wedged open the door with a frying pan handle and a huge stick and one of the girls was able to reach in and unlock the door. Thankfully that problem was handled quickly and we got back on the road for the day.
Those were the only minor incidents we had and we are so so thankful for the way the Lord protected us through that whole trip - ten people, three cars and a long road trip. Jesus is good!
We really did have a good time on the adventure up here. We got to spend quality time together during the day as we road tripped and sweet time together at night encouraging each other and playing games before bed (our team is ALL about games). Praise!!
YWAM Broome’s First Base
The first house for YWAM Broome is another miracle from the Lord and testimony of His faithfulness. This house is one that serves as both base and accommodation for our team of ten people. We live, work, love and serve out of this blessing of a house.
Originally, the plan for our base was to make the move up in March. However due to covid-19 travel restrictions and with thoughtful prayer consideration we knew that we needed more time before we could make the move. That being said, we have had different team members looking at potential accommodation for us since the beginning of the year.
We knew we needed to move up before wet season, so we began planning a second time to move up, this time in September. As we made the plans to move - preparing mentally, spiritually, financially, we kept moving forward in faith, but we didn’t have a place to call home.
About a month before our move date, two girls from our team flew up to do walkthroughs in any of the houses on the market that could possibly fit our needs. Since it was tourist season and Covid-19 had shut down the state borders, the town was packed. People had come up for the holiday season and most of the houses up for rent were taken. Many of the houses that the girls walked through were being put under contract the same week the girls were looking. We knew the Lord would come through with a house that would fit our needs perfectly, but it was a crazy time for sure. There were really only a few options on the market and many of them were less than ideal.
The girls found one house that looked like it would fit all ten of us well enough and we prayed over the few available options. The Lord spoke to go ahead and apply for renting it, and the waiting game began. For about a week the owner of the house was contemplating between our rent application and a few others that had been submitted as well. We knew we weren’t the only option so we kept praying over our application for the whole week and trusted God to do the rest for us. A few days later we got a call from the property manager and we had gotten the contract!
This house has been even more of a blessing than we realized it would be. The neighborhood is great, the property has a nice pool, and it’s close to town which makes life easier. We know only God could have gotten together the perfect place for our first base and this is definitely it. We’re very thankful for our house and YWAM Broome base, and excited to see how it serves us in the future and how we can honor the Lord and love people well from the place He’s provided us with.
A Ute Named DAK
The Lord’s provision! It’s been so exciting to see His faithfulness in different ways and areas. From the smallest details to the biggest necessities, God has shown up and been so trustworthy. Through the whole process of moving up to Broome and starting a base, He’s provided the things we’ve needed.
One of the miracles we’ve been able to witness through this crazy process has been getting our first YWAM Broome vehicle. As a base and team of ten people we knew we would need at least one more vehicle to get us up to Broome from Perth. We were each praying for finances and a vehicle to come in. Our base director, Heather did so much research learning many things about different cars and utes and what would serve our team best. She talked with many guys from our base back in Perth.. some who worked in the vehicles ministry of YWAM Perth, and some who just had knowledge on these things. As Heather was doing practical work to find a vehicle, the rest of the team was praying for money for a vehicle as well as for the Lord to provide the right one.
Our first big donation towards our vehicle was a large sum from an anonymous donor. The second came from a generous family in America. Not all of our team members are in the country right now. One of the girls on the team currently in America has some family friends who sold a house and knew of the work we were starting. These friends felt the Lord nudge them to donate their tithe money from that sale to our “vehicle/moving up” budget. Through these two donations we were able to buy our first 4WD ute for the team.
Heather went to many different dealerships and sellers around town and wasn’t finding much in the way of what we needed. At the end of one of the days she was car hunting she went to one more dealership at the recommendation of one dealership after hearing our story of who we were and what we needed. She followed up on the suggestion and ended up looking at the this ute which had just come in and hadn’t been looked at too closely yet but only had a few cosmetic issues. With the donations that came in we were able to make the purchase and got our 4WD vehicle, which we lovingly call DAK because the license plate spells out DAK. It’s really a miracle that she found this ute and that it was in our price range for the vehicle with the amazing condition it’s in.
We’re so thankful!