Kingdom love

If you were at Sunday's worship gatherings, you would have seen a video from the Cunnamulla crew (if not, check it out here). This week we catch up with Ben Fox to hear a bit more about what the Cunnamulla Crew got up to.

What is the community and the town of Cunnamulla like?

Cunnamulla is a small country town 800kms west (or 11 hours by bus), with a population of 1,200. The town itself is situated on the border of five neighbouring indigenous groups and although not overtly visible, hostility does exist between tribal groups. It's only been around 20 years since the indigenous population have been allowed to live within the town itself. There is a lot of hurt, a lot of broken homes, and a lot of violence. The youth are bored, using alcohol and sex as an escape and have a very negative perception of their town and themselves. It is not a very pretty picture, however, we believe God has plans for Cunnamulla. Big plans! All may seem hopeless to man, but God is a miracle worker and we are praying expectantly for revival and for great healing in that town.

What did the team do in cunnamulla?

The team basically spends a week in Cunnamulla, pouring love into the community and the lives of Nicky and Paul. This year the team:

worked in the canteen/merchandise tent at the rugby league festival
made coffees, cleaned dishes, and served customers at Boulders (the café owned by Nicky and Paul)
did yard work out the back of Boulders
painted at the Information Centre
hung out with the youth
looked after four very hyperactive boys.

How long has the team been going there? What about you?

ashgrove has been sending a team of youth and young adults to Cunnamulla for 15 years. This was my 7^thyear going to Cunnamulla and my first time leading.

So what was leading the team like?

It was a completely different to what I am used to. My job was a lot about serving the team, in order that they may serve the community. I realised a few weeks before Cunnamulla that my responsibility was not just getting the team to Cunnamulla, but rather taking the team on a journey - through the emotions, experiences and difficulties that all come when you are on mission.

Why does the team go to Cunnamulla? It's so far away...

There are probably plenty of individual reasons why team members came on team this year, but our sole desire as a team is to see God glorified in Cunnamulla, especially through the youth. The youth are bored and essentially don't have a lot to live for. It is about showing kingdom love - preaching the gospel through the way we act, and love each other, and them. Plenty of groups come through Cunnamulla, stand on their soap boxes and preach of God's love, but my understanding is very few groups genuinely show it. The community know who we are, that we are all Christians and what we believe. So it is about us demonstrating that love.

Tell us a bit about Paul and Nicky?

Paul and Nicky are proud owners of Boulders, and parents to four rambunctious boys. They have a real heart to serve Cunnamulla and believe God has called them there to start ministering to the community through their café. They run their café based on Christian values, and truly have a ministry of serving and spreading love in the community. However, life in the ministry can be a hard and lonely place. We really go out of our way to serve Nicky and Paul as much as possible throughout the week.

On one night we got to really pour the love on Paul and Nicky. We took the four boys for the evening, cleaned their entire house, bathed the boys and made a romantic, candle-lit dinner for them to enjoy by themselves. It was awesome to see how far the little things go!