Darwin Australia
A
CALL
HOME
Words: Samantha Ortiz
Mandy Garling is often found serving her local church in Darwin, carrying a tray full of coffees for other volunteers. This building has become an important space for her. It has poignant associations with her past, (her parents and sister having been married here), as well as great significance to her present. It’s a place where she’s found purpose and belonging. A place she now affectionally calls ‘home’. You can find her there most weekends, worshipleading and serving, bringing energy and joy, (as well as those coffees), to many around her. From the outside looking in, it might seem like Garling has been there her whole life — like she’s familiar with the feeling of ‘home’. And truly, her own family tree displays many faithful and prominent relatives, committed to serving the church. But the truth is, though Mandy met Jesus at the tender age of 16, she’s only found the rhythm of belonging in the last two years.
For most of her life, music has been Garling’s passion. While currently working as a sound engineer, Garling has a background in radio and is also a gifted singer/songwriter. She’s written fiftyfive original songs, and participated in many festivals and competitions, including the Darwin Festival in 2020 where she performed her original song ‘The Streets of Darwin’ live. It is a beautiful tribute to her childhood — guitar in hand, surrounded by family, surrounded by song, the music rising like the flames of her campfire climbing high into the night sky. Smiles and laughter are found in abundance with the scent of good food and fresh air. She has a gift — one listen and you feel transported. But music hasn’t always come easily to her. In fact, Garling spent a lot of her childhood deaf. Diagnosed with a condition called tropical ears, Garling suffered hearing loss until the age of eight. In a family surrounded by many siblings, each as musically and physically talented as the last, Garling
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