Friendship is the foundation

Rachel Borneman | Wycliffe Today October 2019

Rachel Borneman has been serving with Wycliffe Bible Translators in the Northern Territory since 2009 and is currently serving in partnership with Scripture Union NT. She is also the Missions Interlink Coordinator for the region. Rachel explains what ministry among Indigenous communities involves:

I have relationships with the Indigenous people, so I’m not just another whitefella. They show me love and respect and call out my relationship term through the skin system. I carry on these relationships in all areas of life and worship. My Indigenous nannas look out for me. At times, I have a Kriol Bible story ready to share or a memory verse rap as part of fellowship. When I take people on journeys, Christian music is listened to along the way. We have recorded Christian raps that the kids and youth love.

It helps to hear from them about what they want to do, and when to do it, rather than doing something according to my schedule. There are always constant needs for food, power, transport — things that are basic but necessary. Being family means providing when I can. A lot of my time goes into these things but it also opens up conversations about God and how we can improve Scripture engagement in the community. To help people engage with Scripture, you need to ensure that the friendship is there first. 

Check the videos out at https://www.youtube.com/user/AboriginalBibles/videos

Joseph Rap: https://youtu.be/DSZjReg8lOY