When Bush Chaplain Jennie heard that local charcoal makers Karen and Ian were racing to fill their final orders while packing up their lives on a remote station, she stepped in to help. She expected to lift their spirits. She ended up lifting 15kg bags of charcoal too, and then going back for more.
A business built on hard work
For years, Karen and Ian poured themselves into building a charcoal-making business, one that gave local workers jobs and supported their wider community along the way. Health challenges eventually meant closing the gates was the only option left.
As they packed up their memories and years of their life, the final orders still needed to be filled. So, Bush Chaplain Jennie rolled up her sleeves and pitched in.
For two full days, in the heat and the dust, the three of them filled 15kg bags of charcoal, one after another, until every last order was on its way.
Packing up a chapter, together
Weeks later, Jennie returned to help tackle an even bigger job, packing up the property itself. Shipping containers needed loading, furniture needed sorting, the house needed cleaning, and there were countless decisions about what to carry into the next chapter and what to leave behind. It meant working carefully through years of hard work, memories and belongings, together.
“Just having Jennie there beside us lifted our morale and made the job a little easier,” Karen says.
“I loved our time sitting on the verandah after the day’s work, just talking. Well, I talked and she listened, as I worked through everything that still needed to be done over the coming weeks. She was a great sounding board.”
The gift of showing up
For Bush Chaplain Jennie, the two days of coal dust and the weeks of packing were about more than the work itself.
“Sometimes the greatest gift isn’t in what gets done, it’s knowing someone cares enough to show up,” she says.
Across rural and remote Australia, Frontier Services Bush Chaplains and Outback Links volunteers travel roads not always knowing what awaits around the next bend. They simply show up, ready to provide practical and emotional support wherever it’s needed.
It’s people like Bush Chaplain Jennie, and the generosity of our supporters, who helped Karen and Ian see their charcoal business through to its final order, coal dust, tough days and all. Thank you.
This story first appeared in the August 2026 edition of Frontier News. Want more stories like this one delivered straight to you? Subscribe to Frontier News to stay informed.
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