From the Tropics to the Desert

45^o celsius and 90% humidity. What am I doing packing a metal sea container in the middle of summer? God, why did you call us to the desert now? Why do I listen to you? Because you sent your Son to save us and you want us to go & tell others.

I was just starting to like the north. I know people and people know me, why change? I hear a voice in the back of my mind saying, ‘because I said so, that’s why!’

Catacomb Church

So Joy and I begin to pack and say good-bye to friends we have made over the past six years. We lock up the container, pack the ute and away we go.

Coober Pedy is a place of dust, flies and holes in the ground – some small and some big. Why the holes? Because people are looking for the elusive opal – the opal that will transform their lives from dusty, dirty holes to the good life in Adelaide and beyond. In the six weeks we’ve been here, we have heard of very few people who have been able to make this transition. One man has spent $80 000 on diesel and not found any opal. His wife works to support him. Others work tirelessly for little reward. Still others have given up on opal for the moment and have sought employment in the gold mines further south and come back each fortnight – two weeks on and one week off. Some find the riches that they have been searching for, but at what cost?

What does God want? What has he got in store for us? What have we got that someone else hasn’t? We have come to the Catacomb Church, living underground like a caveman. What are we expecting? Whatever God wants us to do, it won’t be easy, and it is a totally new challenge for us.

We are excited to find a church of people who love the Lord and want to see his name glorified. We have found people willing to sacrifice opal digging time to serve our Lord. They expect to be led and taught, so that they can teach others. We see our role as doing this and letting God work in our lives so that we all grow closer to the Lord Jesus together.

We have seen many changes in our lives and this is one of the most major. No longer are we surrounded by long grass and huge rainfalls. What we used to get in one good downpour in Wyndham is the entire annual rainfall in Coober Pedy – about 150 ml. No wonder the grass doesn’t grow and rocks and gravel rule. Dust storms are something to behold – something we have never encountered before. Our first dust storm took two days to clean up.

What makes this place so special is the people. They are willing to talk; they are friendly and very helpful. We look forward to the challenge over the next number of years of bringing more of these people into the kingdom of God.

Peter & Joy Palmer
Now at Coober Pedy

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