Micaylah and the Never Never: Australia Beckons

By E.H. Karl

Fear and faith collide when a life-altering event forces twelve-year-old Micaylah Thompson to travel halfway around the world to the second most inhospitable place on the planet: the Australian outback. There she must trust her Uncle Thad and Aunt Sarah, relatives she barely knows, who are missionaries to Aboriginal tribes in the heart of the Northern Territory. Join Kumquat, an Australian shepherd who accompanies Micaylah on her journey, as she explores the wonders of a land that time seems to have forgotten. This is her story of faith, which deepens and grows, touching those around her during her adventure in the Never Never.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 16, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512750539

E.H. Karl

Early years saw the author growing up in a blended family and raised as an atheist. Traveling to both West and East Germany as a teenager—and almost getting arrested there—left an indelible mark on his very impressionable mind. He came to faith while serving in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam conflict. After working in management, he pursued a career in transportation, ultimately receiving a commercial driver’s license. During his time as a long-haul driver, he trained new drivers while assisting his employer with a program geared to educate young minds about the United States. As one of many who participated in the program, when the company was honored by their local school district with an award, the keynote speaker mentioned how his efforts had motivated and encouraged her with school. In his spare time, he reads, explores cultures, and cares for his spouse, puppy, and cat.

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Copyright © 2016 E.H. Karl.

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Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-5052-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-5054-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-5053-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016911912

WestBow Press rev. date: 09/08/2016

Contents

Acknowledgements

The Accident

A Journey of Separation

Welcome to the Land Down Under

Journey to the Northern Territory

The Outback Home and Aunt Sarah

The First Day

The Fire

Dr. Brandon Clarke

The Plane and the Strangers

Showing Kindness: The Sugarbird Lady

Angels We Have Heard on High

Psalms, Poetry, and Aborigines

The Royal Flying Doctors Service: Ordinary People Performing an Extraordinary Work

Healing Balm from the Ancient of Days

True Love

Highwayman Ned Kelly and the Stolen Generation

Words of Hope

Kidnapped

Dreams and Hopes

Kindness for All

Missions of the Heart

Weekend Getaway

Planting Friendships

Vacation: Day 2

Welcome to the Outback

Changing for the Future

Leaving Life’s Comfort Zone

Trust: A Family Heirloom

Introductions

Journeys

Unexpected Blessings

From the Mouths of Babes

Preparations

Corroborree

Corroborree: Day Two

Corroboree: Day Three

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

T eachers, colleagues, and clients whose names escape me encouraged me to one day write a book. While I dabbled at writing and creating characters for a long time, it was a flight of fancy for me. In 2013 I retired early due to medical issues, and I felt the Lord speak to me about writing this book. If it weren’t for encouragement that came from unexpected sources, this book might never have come to fruition. By God’s providence and divine appointments, we were fortunate to partner with this publisher.

I dedicate this book to those skilled in their work whose efforts toward excellence helped bring this work to fruition; to my spouse, my companion and soul mate for three decades; and to the One who makes all things possible with a touch of His favor, Jesus Christ. Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen (Ephesians 3:20-21).

The Accident

W iper blades tried in vain to get the moisture off the windshield. A steady rain had been falling on Atlanta for several hours. Nancy, can you see anything? asked Roger.

For Nancy Woodward-Thomas, everything seemed surreal, like she was traveling in slow motion. Oscar’s eyes got as big as saucers and then shut tight. Micaylah took this all in as the semi came sliding at them and hit their car. The car shuddered uncontrollably and spun like a top across the highway before finally coming to rest between the guardrail and a second car that had been pulverized. She was aware of sirens and voices shouting; there was a whirring and a crunching, and she thought they were being hit again.

Micaylah tried in vain to see her family as she was placed on a stretcher. Enroute to the hospital she slept blissfully. Waking up the next day she wondered where everyone was. It would be several days before learning that her stepdad, Roger, had died. Her mother, Nancy, severly injured. Somehow Micaylah and Oscar had come through unscathed.

Roger’s nearest relative lived near Allentown, Pennsylvania, and had flown down to Atlanta when he got the news that his brother was killed. Oscar went to Allentown with his uncle, but Micaylah didn’t know if her mom had any relatives. She had heard talk of Thad and Sarah but wasn’t sure who they were.

A Journey of Separation

M icaylah, Nancy said, I’m not going to be able to care for you for a while. You’ll be going to stay with my sister, your aunt Sarah, until I get better.

How long will that be, Mom?

As soon as I’m better.

Where does Auntie Sarah live? Does she have children? Toys? Will she take me to Disney World? Micaylah always asked lots of questions when she was nervous or scared.

Well, no, she and her husband, Thad, don’t have children. Toys? Dunno. I don’t think she’ll be taking you to Disney World, because they live in Australia.

Australia! Micaylah thought. Where in the world was this place? Is it close to Atlanta? Micaylah was about to begin a journey she didn’t ask for, and her mind was asking a million questions. What would school be like? Would there be long hallways with posters staring at her from all sides? Would the classrooms be warm and inviting with friendly teachers? Would she take the bus?

Like a ton of bricks falling with no warning, she realized that while she was going to Australia, none of her friends were. She would have no one to pal around with or share secrets with or work on projects with. She felt it was terribly unfair. Oscar was going to stay close, though she didn’t know how close Pennsylvania was. As far as Micaylah could see, she might as well have been sent to detention.

The next few weeks went by like a tornado. First doctors made sure that she was okay. No broken bones or internal injuries. The ambulance ride home with her mom was sad. She was going to pack some clothes; her stuffed dog, Clancy, which Roger had bought for her at Disney World; and some pictures. Nancy helped direct from her wheelchair. Bags were packed, and it was time to go and catch the plane that would whisk her halfway around the world.

The airport was an enormous, busy place. It was bigger than the school she and Oscar had attended. It was busy with many people getting snacks, finding something to drink, or wandering up to the big windows to watch planes come and go. Some seemed to be sleeping; others were engaged in casual conservation.

As they said good-bye at the airport, neither Micaylah nor her mother wanted to let the other go. Nancy was exhausted, and Micaylah was very nervous. The airline woman was very cheerful as she got Micaylah checked in, and then she escorted her to the gate where Micaylah would board. It was not only her first flight but an international flight that was scheduled to last about sixteen hours with one stop.

How could the airline lady be so happy? Micaylah wondered. Because she isn’t being forced to leave home and go to detention, and her mom isn’t in the hospital looking at a lot of medical stuff—that’s how. Micaylah was as miserable as she’d ever been.

It was a really big place, the airport. She was feeling a little scared being in that huge building. Not even her school, not even the block where she lived, maybe not even her whole neighborhood was as big as the airport. The plane, a Quantas Airlines 747, was pretty big too. The people who worked on the airplane were very nice, letting her get on the plane first. She wondered why Disney World didn’t have airplane rides for kids so she could get on first and not have to wait in line.

The flight attendants helped her to her seat, which was close to where the pilots and navigator worked. They put her backpack in a special closet where adults were able to hang their coats. She was able to look out the window as the plane took off, and all the buildings became small. Soon the plane was just as high as the clouds, and she wondered if this was how angels felt when they traveled between heaven and earth. Do they get scared, maybe just a little, being so high up in the sky?

Micaylah noticed the other passengers watching a movie, listening to something with their headphones on, or talking to each other. Soon one of the flight attendants came by and asked if she’d like a snack or something to drink. Micaylah had visions of a big soda fountain right in front of her. When her coke was poured into a cup, she was a little sad. But then the attendant told her she could have seconds and that in a short time they’d be serving lunch.

Soon she was sleepy, and then she started having the dream—the one that scared her. Her seatmate noticed she was sweating and squirming, so he summoned an attendant. When they woke her up, she asked for her mom. After some moist towels to wash her face, a drink of water, and lots of attention from the attendants, Micaylah was calm again.

She didn’t know what a lot of things were on the lunch menu, so her seatmate, a young man in his thirties, helped her to navigate the various dishes. She made her selection: macaroni and cheese with a chicken salad sandwich, an apple, and a Snickers bar. The young man, Sam, offered to trade her his apple for the Snickers bar, but no way was she giving that up. She offered her coke for Sam’s apple but settled on the Snickers bar instead. She got seconds on her coke.

Sam seemed nice. He was from Augusta and worked with computers. He was going to Australia to help a company get bugs out of their system. She asked him, What type of bugs? Like, are they roly-polies or cockroaches or ants? Sam said the bugs he had to work out were just as annoying but different. After they talked for a while, Sam asked her why she was going to Australia. She told him she was going to stay with family for a while, maybe even a year.

Soon the daylight was making room for the night to come in. Everyone was starting to get sleepy, and then pillows and blankets seemed to appear out of thin air. Micaylah didn’t want to go back to sleep, because the bad dream might come back. A second blanket, some cookies, and a glass of milk made their way to her. She soon fell asleep for what seemed to be an eternity; she slept soundly this time.

When Micaylah woke up, rays of sunlight were peeking through the darkness, and she wondered if her life would ever have rays of light coming through her darkness. By afternoon they’d be landing in Australia, and she knew her uncle Thad would be there, and maybe her aunt Sarah too. Though they didn’t have any children, they’d told her they had plenty of kids in the neighborhood.

Micaylah looked up things to do when she got there, and Sam helped her do some research. There was Crocodylus Park, which had over a thousand crocodiles. Some of the crocodiles were over 4.8 meters long and weighed over a thousand pounds. Then there was birdhide, a twitcher’s (bird-watcher’s) paradise. It was in the Savannah woodland habitat and aptly named Bird Billabong. All of this was located in the Mary River National Park. Micaylah hoped it would be at least half as fun as Disney World.

After a movie and a meal that was a cross between breakfast and lunch, the attendants gathered up the pillows and blankets and cleaned up the empty food trays, and then the captain announced it was time for everyone to put their seat belts on. There would be some rough weather just before they landed, and this was a precaution.

Welcome to the Land Down Under

A light rain fell on the tarmac as Micaylah’s uncle Thad paced around his twin-engine DeHavilland Otter. He didn’t like the weather. It wasn’t so much flying in it that bothered him, but landing back home. He had a somewhat improved landing strip just about a hundred feet from his home, and it could get muddy, making landing difficult. Once in a while, wildlife, such as white-lined honeyeater birds or wild pigs, crossed the runway, and he had to make another loop to try to scare them off the runway. If it was too muddy or wet, he could lose control of his plane, possibly wrecking it.

Thad decided to go inside to check on his niece’s flight and to call home. He thought Sarah might be able to give him some good news. He found out Quantas Air 7639 from Atlanta would be arriving a few hours ahead of schedule. They had picked up a tailwind while in the jet stream. He talked to the ground crew that would be unloading the plane and asked if they could just transfer her luggage to his plane. It would certainly save him some time if the weather became worse. But they would have to go through customs, since it was an international flight.

Over the phone, Sarah told him it was cloudy but not raining, and more importantly, there was no sign of a creature great or small. In another thirty minutes, Micaylah’s flight would be landing, and he’d get to see his niece again. He prayed that both he and Sarah could help her adjust to the drastic changes in her life. Nancy needed to be in an extensive treatment program and would not be able to care for Micaylah. It hurt both of them that they were separated. Depending on the outcome of Nancy’s treatment, they might not be reunited.

As the plane started to descend, the pilot came over the loudspeaker. I’d like to thank all of you for being the best passengers I’ve flown with. If you look out the starboard windows, you’ll see the Tiwi Islands, also called the Islands of Smiles. We’ll be landing in about fifteen minutes, so please put your seats in the upright position, buckle your seat belts, and turn to each other and say ‘Gudday, mate!’

Micaylah was very nervous, more nervous than she’d been on the first day of school. She was about to stay in a strange country with people she didn’t really know. Why did the accident have to happen? she wondered. Will Australia be as fun as Disney World? Will they even have hamburgers? What if I have to eat bugs or stuff I’ve never heard of?

Tall and in his early thirties, Thad was unmistakable wearing his tan bush hat slightly curled up over his left ear, a light-blue polo shirt, and khakis. Weighing in at 185 pounds and pushing six feet, he struck a fine pose, even with a goatee and mustache.

Micaylah was nervous. She didn’t have much luggage like some others, but she didn’t have anyone there to help her find the claim area. She hoped someone would be there as she stepped out of the door and onto the carpeted waiting area. She was one of the first people off the plane, since she got to sit up close to the cockpit.

Scanning side to side as pilots do, Thad was trying to make sure he didn’t miss her. Then he spotted a young girl, maybe fifty pounds, with wavy, shoulder-length light-brown hair, wearing a very proper shirt and pantsuit, though the sneakers didn’t match. She seemed to be a bit overwhelmed.

Micaylah! Over here! It’s Uncle Thad! he yelled.

She turned slightly to her left and saw the bush hat, complete with a peacock feather sticking out just over his left ear. They walked toward each other, and her anxiety turned into her bending his ear with all sorts of ideas and questions. They gathered up her two bags and went through customs. That’s when she confessed that she was hungry.

They caught a cab and went to a local sandwich shop. Micaylah was relieved they had something she recognized: ham and cheese on white bread. She was slowly learning that vegetables were actually good for her, so she tried not to make faces as she ate the pickles, tomatoes, and lettuce. The chips and mayo helped, along with some juice.

Uncle T, where do you live?

Well, as you were landing, did you see a large area that has some grass, trees, a river, and not much else? he asked.

She shook her head. You don’t live way out there do you?

Yup yup yup. We have a house, a car, and the plane. Sometimes I have to hunt for food. We have a freezer and a big fridge, but we share that with our neighbors.

Neighbors? But I didn’t see any houses? Do I need glasses, Uncle T?

He laughed. Our neighbors are native tribespeople, and there are a few missionaries in the area as well as some ranchers and farmers. Depending on their situations, we trade supplies back and forth.

Native tribespeople? Do they kill other people? Do they talk funny? Do their kids go to school? Micaylah knew about the Native Americans, the Indians who had befriended early settlers in America. She knew that there had been a war and that lots of people had died. She also knew the Native Americans lived on places called reservations. This confused her because it was something her parents did when they went somewhere; they made reservations, and when they got there, she never saw any Indians. She had been glad, because she wasn’t sure how they’d like her.

Micaylah had learned a little about ranchers and farmers at school. She was glad they were around, because somehow what they did wound up on the kitchen table. She really wanted to go to a chocolate farm, especially.

As she bit into the sandwich, she asked, What do missionaries do? I heard about the mission in St. Augustine, Florida. Do they work at a mission, or like you, do they fly missions? I’d really like to know!

Little girl, missionaries try to help people who don’t know God to know God. Sometimes they have to help people learn to read and how to plant crops and care for them. They even teach them how to write and stay healthy. But sometimes the tribes are afraid. Sometimes strangers have done bad things to them, so they don’t trust new strangers. Kinda like going to school on the first week.

This was a lot for Micaylah to understand. She was glad that they were going to be in a house. After all, if she came across some tribespeople, they might have had a bad experience and blame it on her.

After their late lunch, they went back to the airport, and Micaylah got scared when she saw her uncle’s plane. It wasn’t very big. When she got in, her first thought was that she could sit next to someone and they’d both have a window seat. It wasn’t nearly as tall as the 747. Thad had to