Alan and Lucy moved to the Northern Territory from Tasmania in 1986. They worked amongst the Garrwa people (straddling the NT/QLD border at the Gulf of Carpentaria) full-time for five years, then moved into other jobs, maintaining contact with their Garrwa family.

Alan has worked as needed in the printshop, in media, as director, and now wears a number of hats: updating AuSIL’s hundreds of audio recordings, maintaining the Branch history, orientating new members, revising the Garrwa scriptures, and finishing off a number of Garrwa projects.

Lucy, too, has taken on many jobs as needed: She’s worked on AuSIL’s grounds, in media, as the bookshop manager, as a media lecturer at Nungalinya College, and now she’s assigned to SIL Pacific Area as their EthnoArts coordinator—encouraging the use of local arts in Bibles, Scripture engagement and worship. Lucy has also been teaching the Scripture Engagement course with SILA this year.

They continue ministering to the Garrwa who live in Darwin.