Working Together to Bring Hope to the Kimberley

God is touching lives and communities  

If you’re not familiar with it, the Kimberley is the northernmost region of Western Australia – rugged desert and rocky landscape, sparsely populated by small, primarily Aboriginal communities.  

We’ve been doing ministry in the Kimberley for over 30 years now, and in 2020 launched YWAM Broome as a long-term ministry hub in the region.  

It’s hard to talk about the Kimberley without talking about the challenges faced by communities there – addiction, suicide*, broken relationships, hopelessness. Much of this can be traced to the impact of generational trauma and injustices such as the forceable removal of children in the Stolen Generation. But the statistics don’t tell the whole story. Despite the challenges, God is moving in this region – touching lives, bringing hope, and opening doors for deep, ongoing partnerships.  

The Gift of Invitation and Partnership

Being invited into a community and into partnership, is something we don’t take for granted. As Jen Brownhill, who leads our Bible translation ministry, everytongue, shares, “It's such a privilege to be able to come into a community. It's an extension of trust that I often feel like I haven't earned. And yet they're giving it to me. It feels like a real welcome and a real act of generosity.”  

God has opened up partnerships in the Kimberley which now represent layers of relationship over the years. Through prayer and ongoing community development, efforts have emerged such as oral Bible translation, media pieces produced from and for communities, engaging youth, serving schools, churches, community groups and more.

Through it all, we’ve leaned into a relational approach of community consultation and involvement, rather than coming in with pre-determined plans to impose. Heather Kuhl, leader of YWAM Broome, describes a key aspect of this approach as listening. “What does the community see that they do well? What do they see that's not working? What do they want to change? How do they want to change it? What do they have to bring about that change? And then how can we support you in that change.”

Ministry at the Speed of Relationship

She refers to this as “taking things at the speed of relationship.” It all starts, continues and grows through ongoing relationships in communities. She shares that “We've seen trust extended and some places where they've [in the past] just rejected God, or we were told 'You're never getting in’ or things are too hard, too difficult, we're starting to see things open up and shift. It's really quite incredible to see that." God is certainly shifting things.  

Having a YWAM ministry in Broome committed to long-term investment and ongoing relationship-building also provides a significant platform for our short-term teams that come to serve in the Kimberley. Long-term relationships open doors of trust and connection for short-term team to serve, while multiplying the reach and effectiveness of the long-term team. With that in mind, we currently have two 4WD Discipleship Training School teams serving alongside what God is doing in the Kimberley.

Touching Lives Through Oral Bible Translation

One area of ongoing initiative that God has opened is oral Bible translation. From a foundation of relationship building, consultation with communities, elders and other Christian groups, our ministry, everytongue, has been working on Bible translation in the Kimberley since 2018. Their first translation project in the region was with speakers of Kimberley Kriol. This is a language not tied to a particular tribe, but rather it emerged of necessity for trade. For many children of the Stolen Generation who had been removed from their tribes, Kimberley Kriol was their first language.  

The everytongue team have walked closely with key elders and communities in the Kimberley. Jen Brownhill reflects that “I think God's heart is to bring hope for their future. A lot of them don't feel like they have much of a future when they look ahead. They don't see a lot of things changing. They've had a lot of promises made to them by government, humanitarian organizations, all kinds of people who research them and try to make things better, but from their perspective, a lot doesn't change. And I think one of the things God wants to show them is that He can bring change. He can bring life, He can bring hope.”

As they’ve made multiple trips to the Kimberley for this project, it’s been wonderful to hear stories of how God has used scripture in people’s “heart language” to touch lives.  "I visited all the communities where the translators lived and heard about how the translations were being used, how they've been received, and what it meant to the community. They had wonderful testimonies of new revelations of scriptures that people had been aware of, but didn't understand, and now they're seeing new aspects of God and truth because it's in their language. That was a great outcome.”

One believer in the community of Looma shares that “[The translators] have been playing the translations they worked on. It has really touched me. I listened to verses I am very familiar with and for the first time really understood and got new revelation about God”

Jen believes that “God's heart is also to raise up [more] Aboriginal leaders. They have so much to give, so much wisdom and insight.”

The everytongue team have recently begun a new project with mother-tongue translators translating scripture into the Jaru language. As with previous projects, the Jaru people who are translating decide which portions of scripture they want to translate and how it will look in the end. It has been very encouraging to see God bringing unity around this project and seeing it move forward more quickly than the team was anticipating.  

Engaging Communities Through Film Production

Another aspect of ongoing partnership that God has opened up in the Kimberley has been engagement through film production. Our film ministry, Cygnet Films, has worked to connect with WA’s rural Aboriginal communities. They produced their first film “Wongi Warrior” in 2013 and have since started a film project called “Kimberley Spirit.” These films are made in close collaboration with local communities and star local casts. The first installment in this series aimed to encourage intergenerational relationships.

Josh Lohmeyer, who heads up Cygnet Films, explains “’Young fellas’ often don't have anything to do with ‘old fellas’ these days. The ‘old fellas’ are their culture holders. They're the ones that carry all the knowledge and the wisdom of their culture. It's really sad because when the old people die, then that is lost because the young people are not actually connecting.”

With all their film projects, the finished product itself is only part of the impact. How the script is written, how local community members participate in its production and then its eventual screenings make a big difference.  

Being a part of a film production such as this has also impacted community members who starred in the movies. The local actors shared with Josh about the confidence-building God had brought them through the experience. Some of them realised “Maybe God is calling them to something that's going be bigger than what they are imagining initially.”  

As for the local screening of “Kimberley Spirit – Chapter 1” Josh reflects “It was a real community-building experience, and everyone rocked up to the screening. Pastor Gerard Killer [cultural advisor for the project] said he couldn't remember the last time that everyone came to an event in the community. It was a very unifying experience. It was really cool to be a part of that and be led by these guys but also bring our gifts and talents.” At the end of the screening, Pastor Gerard shared a call to parents to have a vision for their community and their young people.  

And in partnership, the impact isn’t just one-way. Josh remarked how he personally had been encouraged by the faith and passion of the elders they worked with, noting what an honour it was to build relationship with such “humble, incredible men and women of God.” Furthermore, the way they prioritise relationship really impacted him. "They all have time for you up in the Kimberley. They're happy just to sit and chat for hours on end. So that really rewired things for me. It challenged me on how much time I have for people in my crazy busy world.”  

Cygnet’s current film project is focused on suicide prevention. The team is meeting with elders, community leaders and healthcare professionals, grappling with this very complex issue. Josh noted that one of these films will be aimed at those who would be “champions of the community... trusted people that young people feel safe with. Apparently, these [youth suicide] statistics shift quite dramatically when a young person has people in their life who they trust and can go to.”

Please join us in praying for the Kimberley and all God is doing there.

-For generational trauma to be healed and spiritual strongholds to be broken

-For a move of God’s spirit to bring hope and reconciliation  

-For the ongoing ministry of YWAM Broome

-For there to be local ownership over Cygnet Film’s suicide-prevention project, connecting with people who have a vision for their communities related to this complex issue  

-For everytongue’s new Bible translations into Jaru and other Kimberley languages

*WA Primary Health Alliance notes that in recent years, 7.4% of deaths in the Kimberley were caused by suicide – this is almost three times higher than the rest of the State. Many of these deaths represent young people.

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