There is so much to think about right now. I have no real way of describing what happened today. It was wonderful and glorious. But how do I let you know what I went through today and have you truly understand what is going on in this country and across the world?
Today we spent time with the Leadership Development Program of Compassion International. This program has basically taken sponsored youth and put them in a program that will help them through their college years. We met Jonathan and Alexandra who are in their senior year of college and are already working in their profession of choice. Jonathan is now a math and physics teacher in a high school and Alexandra is a child psychologist in schools and hospitals.
We visited the schools and Compassion projects where they grew up and are now working. It was an amazing sight to see them come almost full circle in the Compassion world. Their hope is to someday become a sponsor themselves.
We played with children, gave hugs and gifts and listened to songs. We played soccer in the street, ate lunch with children that were being sponsored by people in our group. The youth encounter staff even began a sponsorship today and met with the girl. It was amazing.
There is so much joy in these kids. And I have realized that poverty really has nothing to do about money. Yes it is a cause of it, but these children and their families are not poor in spirit. They truly have hope and dreams far beyond just today.
What I have realized is that there are people that are poorer in my own community and church because they are so far away from God. They have everything in the world, they are rich by anyone's definition except their own. And because they have everything, they they have no need for God or anyone other than themselves. Stuff only gets in the way of our relationship with God. Take all of that away, like I have seen across the world in India, Mexico, New York, Louisiana, and now in Ecuador and God is the only thing you can really rely on. Family and God are what it is all about. Taking care of each other, serving the least of these and giving until it makes you uncomfortable is what God calls us to to.
Will this change because of my words. No, but it may plant a seed. You are loved by God. We all are. But in America, we are so alone. We surround ourselves with material things and hope they make us feel better. God is the only way that we will ever be loved enough. Through Him, knowing Him, and serving Him by serving others is how we show the amazing love and acknowledge God's grace that was given through Jesus Christ.
I am looking forward to tomorrow and telling more and more about this amazing thing God is doing in Ecuador.
Blessings and Love,
dain
More pictures are up on my FLICKR PAGE
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Ecuador and Compassion International
We made it safe to Ecuador and are loving every minute of it. We flew from Minneapolis to Atlanta (where I searched out the Chick-fil-a in the airport) and then headed south to Ecuador.
We landed around 10:30 pm central time and so far I love it. As far as ease of travel for Americans this is the place to be. Same currency, same electrical outlets, and for the people in the midwest, same time zone! This is great. The only thing we have to really worry about is the altitude. We are in Quito which is about 9,200 feet above sea level. So lots of water and lots of sunscreen.
The city is beautiful and surrounded by mountains and a volcano. The volcano was last active in 1998 so no worries. We are traveling with a Compassion International group filled with speakers and event planners from around the United States. We have met some wonderful people and are having a great time.
Today we went to the Ecuador Compassion Headquarters and received a wonderful tour. The place is amazing and very hard working. Here is how it works.
Compassion finds children all over the word that need help to get out of poverty and get a good education. People from around the world can sponsor a child for around $38 US a month. This provides, for the children, food, education in addition to school, and leadership training when they are older so they may enter the work force. On top of all of this is the education about Jesus and preaching the Gospel to all of these children and parent of the children.
What we saw today was the other side of the sponsor money. We saw the children that were being sponsored and what facilities they learned in, where they lived, and some of the classes they take. It was amazing. They children were full of joy and so happy to see us. We played with the kids and sat in on their classes. They made gifts for us and we gave gifts to them in return.
We also did a home visit to some of the sponsored children's living space. For me, I went to Carlos' home where he, his mother Martha, brother, sister and cousin lived. It was so small and hardly enough space for all of them. One bed for 5 people, a stove, radio, and closet was all we could see in this one room.
But while we were there the children that were being sponsored received their letters from their sponsors in the USA and Canada. It was like Christmas and the joy was contagious. They received pictures, letters and stickers from their sponsors. I was a sight to see.
We also gifted, through Compassion, a grocery bag full of daily needs to Martha who was very grateful. The one room apartment they live in is $40 a month and Martha makes just over $100 in a good month. That doesn't leave much to live on. That is why Compassion is so important for the children.
I was amazed and so grateful to see and meet these children. It was a wonderful day.
We ended with dinner and a beautiful view of the city as the sun went down.
Tomorrow we meet older children in the Compassion program. I am very excited.
Blessings to you all!
dain
For pictures, follow this link Dain's Flickr
We landed around 10:30 pm central time and so far I love it. As far as ease of travel for Americans this is the place to be. Same currency, same electrical outlets, and for the people in the midwest, same time zone! This is great. The only thing we have to really worry about is the altitude. We are in Quito which is about 9,200 feet above sea level. So lots of water and lots of sunscreen.
The city is beautiful and surrounded by mountains and a volcano. The volcano was last active in 1998 so no worries. We are traveling with a Compassion International group filled with speakers and event planners from around the United States. We have met some wonderful people and are having a great time.
Today we went to the Ecuador Compassion Headquarters and received a wonderful tour. The place is amazing and very hard working. Here is how it works.
Compassion finds children all over the word that need help to get out of poverty and get a good education. People from around the world can sponsor a child for around $38 US a month. This provides, for the children, food, education in addition to school, and leadership training when they are older so they may enter the work force. On top of all of this is the education about Jesus and preaching the Gospel to all of these children and parent of the children.
What we saw today was the other side of the sponsor money. We saw the children that were being sponsored and what facilities they learned in, where they lived, and some of the classes they take. It was amazing. They children were full of joy and so happy to see us. We played with the kids and sat in on their classes. They made gifts for us and we gave gifts to them in return.
We also did a home visit to some of the sponsored children's living space. For me, I went to Carlos' home where he, his mother Martha, brother, sister and cousin lived. It was so small and hardly enough space for all of them. One bed for 5 people, a stove, radio, and closet was all we could see in this one room.
But while we were there the children that were being sponsored received their letters from their sponsors in the USA and Canada. It was like Christmas and the joy was contagious. They received pictures, letters and stickers from their sponsors. I was a sight to see.
We also gifted, through Compassion, a grocery bag full of daily needs to Martha who was very grateful. The one room apartment they live in is $40 a month and Martha makes just over $100 in a good month. That doesn't leave much to live on. That is why Compassion is so important for the children.
I was amazed and so grateful to see and meet these children. It was a wonderful day.
We ended with dinner and a beautiful view of the city as the sun went down.
Tomorrow we meet older children in the Compassion program. I am very excited.
Blessings to you all!
dain
For pictures, follow this link Dain's Flickr
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Going down south.
We are headed down to Ecuador for the next week with a Compassion International trip. Heather and I are going down there with Youth Encounter (Heather's work) to see what they are all about. Youth Encounter and Compassion are teaming up to get more kids sponsored through each of their organizations. I think it will be great. Check back for pictures and stories from this short little jaunt to the southern hemisphere and South America!
Blessings,
dain
Blessings,
dain
Thursday, June 18, 2009
The final day in Sydney
Well we knew this day would come. Sad to think that we spent some great times with friends and are now headed back to the US, we wish we could stay longer. But rather than sit and be sad about the fact that we were leaving, we still had places to see and souvenirs to pick up.
Now, Heather and I have been married for almost a year now and we have found out a lot about each other and the family cultures that we both come from. One difference that I came upon this trip was the importance of souvenirs and gifts for the family. I think it might stem from one of Heather's love languages because she is much more into the fun little gifts than I am. With that said I do enjoy a good souvenir but prefer all the pictures I take to be what I bring back from places.
Anyway, the day began at Eva's once again. We saw a few familiar faces and lots of new ones as well. Thankfully we found a parking space on the same block so it wasn't far to take the luggage. We had breakfast at the first cafe' we ate at in Sydney, Joe's. It was so good the first time that we had to go back, that and we had to say thank you for the great advice for the walk we went on. I had french toast again with english breakfast tea and Heather had the eggs and toast with bacon, wow it was good!
We then loaded the car and went to find a post office to buy stamps and we found one right around the corner. Heather did a great job at parking the car with me spotting because the whole parallel parking thing is really different with the steering wheel on the other side.
Next it was off to downtown Sydney and a "quick" stop at a shop for some gifts. Problem was the parking place we found was really confusing and didn't look right and there was no street parking so after becoming a little frustrated Heather and I switched as drivers, she stayed to get the souvenirs and I drove around the block. That worked well. But we still had to find parking so we could go to Malny Beach on the ferry. We found a spot right near the ferry dock at a hotel parking lot and hurried to grab the ferry. We sat in the aft (back) part of the ship and watched as the skyline and Opera House disappeared in the distance.
We then switched to the bow (front) of the boat to see the Manly Warf come into sight. We also noticed that to our left we could see out into the open ocean. "Wow" I thought, "the next big thing that direction is South America". And with a little bit of the open ocean came some pretty good swells. The boat was rockin'!
We arrived at Many Wharf and walked the short distance to the beach where we saw a beautiful and very empty beach. Normally this beach is packed with people at all times of day, but apparently last night and this morning was one of the coldest days in Sydney on record so that made fewer people want to come and be outside. For Heather and I it was beautiful, cool and crisp. A beautiful day for a walk on the beach and some frisbee.
Our time was short on the beach because we needed to get back and catch the ferry so we could catch our plane eventually as well. So we started back and Heather wanted fish and chips so as she waited for them to be done I went and looked at post cards. Time passed and passed and I started to be a little concerned that we were going to miss the ferry. Out window of time was not very big and we needed to begin picking up the pace so we would make our deadlines. Heather agreed and we bolted as soon as she had her food. We crossed the street to the wharf and arrived just as the boat was pulling out...we missed it. This was not good. We needed to have the car back by 1 pm and the ferry ride was 15 minutes and the next ferry out was 12:45. Things were starting to look a little too tight for my liking. But there was nothing really we could do about it, so we walked back to the gift shops and bought a few post cards and Heather noticed that this shop in particular had all the things she purchased earlier in the day. We were not very happy with the way things were going.
We did make it on to the next ferry and got the prime seat in the front of the boat. We sat down and watched as the skyline came back into view. It was a beautiful day and the view of the harbour was amazing. I loved the ride.
But the moment we landed we were off and running again back to the parking lot and into the hotel to pay for the parking. We got back into the car and prayed that we weren't too late and wouldn't miss our plane. We punched in the airport on the GPS and we were off. We really needed to fill up the car as well but nowhere along the way could we find a gas station. It was frustrating so we bit the bullet and paid the refill fee as we pulled into the car return. We dashed into the ticketing part of the airport and realized that we had no idea where to go. It was totally different than anything I had ever seen and we most likely looked like a pair of chickens running around without our heads. We found the United counter just as they were getting ready to close check-in and said we were going to San Francisco. We got our tickets and express pass through security and were off again. It's a good thing we had been walking a lot this past week because we felt in shape for the rush across the airport. We arrived to a friendly looking gentleman who told us to relax and take a deep breath and that the plane was not going to leave without us now...whew we made it.
The flight home was enjoyable and seemed to go a little quicker than the way over. I saw three movies and a few shows, took quite a few naps and Heather and I witnessed a woman fainting wile we were up for the toilet. Heather almost caught her and I rushed for the flight attendant who was serving drinks. His cart was quickly parked and spilled at the same time. So I cleaned up the mess while he attended to the newly fainted women. I was glad she fell in one of the few open spaces in the plane so she could be helped. She was fine, but all I remember thinking was "where in God's creation are we going to land if we have to?"
The rest of the flight was uneventful and with a small layover in San Fran we were on our way home to Minnesota. It was a truly great trip and I really can't wait to go back and see more someday.
Thanks for everyone who kept up with our travels and pictures. We will try and keep major event and fun things posted on this blog in weeks to come. We celebrate our first wedding anniversary on Sunday the 21st so we are excited for that as well.
God Bless and we hope you are having a wonderful summer,
dain and heather
Now, Heather and I have been married for almost a year now and we have found out a lot about each other and the family cultures that we both come from. One difference that I came upon this trip was the importance of souvenirs and gifts for the family. I think it might stem from one of Heather's love languages because she is much more into the fun little gifts than I am. With that said I do enjoy a good souvenir but prefer all the pictures I take to be what I bring back from places.
Anyway, the day began at Eva's once again. We saw a few familiar faces and lots of new ones as well. Thankfully we found a parking space on the same block so it wasn't far to take the luggage. We had breakfast at the first cafe' we ate at in Sydney, Joe's. It was so good the first time that we had to go back, that and we had to say thank you for the great advice for the walk we went on. I had french toast again with english breakfast tea and Heather had the eggs and toast with bacon, wow it was good!
We then loaded the car and went to find a post office to buy stamps and we found one right around the corner. Heather did a great job at parking the car with me spotting because the whole parallel parking thing is really different with the steering wheel on the other side.
Next it was off to downtown Sydney and a "quick" stop at a shop for some gifts. Problem was the parking place we found was really confusing and didn't look right and there was no street parking so after becoming a little frustrated Heather and I switched as drivers, she stayed to get the souvenirs and I drove around the block. That worked well. But we still had to find parking so we could go to Malny Beach on the ferry. We found a spot right near the ferry dock at a hotel parking lot and hurried to grab the ferry. We sat in the aft (back) part of the ship and watched as the skyline and Opera House disappeared in the distance.
We then switched to the bow (front) of the boat to see the Manly Warf come into sight. We also noticed that to our left we could see out into the open ocean. "Wow" I thought, "the next big thing that direction is South America". And with a little bit of the open ocean came some pretty good swells. The boat was rockin'!
We arrived at Many Wharf and walked the short distance to the beach where we saw a beautiful and very empty beach. Normally this beach is packed with people at all times of day, but apparently last night and this morning was one of the coldest days in Sydney on record so that made fewer people want to come and be outside. For Heather and I it was beautiful, cool and crisp. A beautiful day for a walk on the beach and some frisbee.
Our time was short on the beach because we needed to get back and catch the ferry so we could catch our plane eventually as well. So we started back and Heather wanted fish and chips so as she waited for them to be done I went and looked at post cards. Time passed and passed and I started to be a little concerned that we were going to miss the ferry. Out window of time was not very big and we needed to begin picking up the pace so we would make our deadlines. Heather agreed and we bolted as soon as she had her food. We crossed the street to the wharf and arrived just as the boat was pulling out...we missed it. This was not good. We needed to have the car back by 1 pm and the ferry ride was 15 minutes and the next ferry out was 12:45. Things were starting to look a little too tight for my liking. But there was nothing really we could do about it, so we walked back to the gift shops and bought a few post cards and Heather noticed that this shop in particular had all the things she purchased earlier in the day. We were not very happy with the way things were going.
We did make it on to the next ferry and got the prime seat in the front of the boat. We sat down and watched as the skyline came back into view. It was a beautiful day and the view of the harbour was amazing. I loved the ride.
But the moment we landed we were off and running again back to the parking lot and into the hotel to pay for the parking. We got back into the car and prayed that we weren't too late and wouldn't miss our plane. We punched in the airport on the GPS and we were off. We really needed to fill up the car as well but nowhere along the way could we find a gas station. It was frustrating so we bit the bullet and paid the refill fee as we pulled into the car return. We dashed into the ticketing part of the airport and realized that we had no idea where to go. It was totally different than anything I had ever seen and we most likely looked like a pair of chickens running around without our heads. We found the United counter just as they were getting ready to close check-in and said we were going to San Francisco. We got our tickets and express pass through security and were off again. It's a good thing we had been walking a lot this past week because we felt in shape for the rush across the airport. We arrived to a friendly looking gentleman who told us to relax and take a deep breath and that the plane was not going to leave without us now...whew we made it.
The flight home was enjoyable and seemed to go a little quicker than the way over. I saw three movies and a few shows, took quite a few naps and Heather and I witnessed a woman fainting wile we were up for the toilet. Heather almost caught her and I rushed for the flight attendant who was serving drinks. His cart was quickly parked and spilled at the same time. So I cleaned up the mess while he attended to the newly fainted women. I was glad she fell in one of the few open spaces in the plane so she could be helped. She was fine, but all I remember thinking was "where in God's creation are we going to land if we have to?"
The rest of the flight was uneventful and with a small layover in San Fran we were on our way home to Minnesota. It was a truly great trip and I really can't wait to go back and see more someday.
Thanks for everyone who kept up with our travels and pictures. We will try and keep major event and fun things posted on this blog in weeks to come. We celebrate our first wedding anniversary on Sunday the 21st so we are excited for that as well.
God Bless and we hope you are having a wonderful summer,
dain and heather
Monday, June 15, 2009
Canberra to Sydney
Our final day of traveling in the car and it proved to be a doozy. We said our good-byes in Canberra and realized that we needed to perform the age old Minnesotan ritual of "warming up the car" as the temperature had dropped to near freezing last night. We had a quality frost on the car, one that truly meant it was cold outside. So with the car warm and us on our way we found a petrol station and filled up.
Our next stop was Wollongong in New South Wales to meet with Pastor Fred. Now Pastor Fred is a friend of Heather's and was a contact of her Youth Encounter team when they were in Australia in 2004. They spent a week or so in Sydney at St. john's Lutheran Church and Pastor Fred made a wonderful impression on Heather that she thought it would be nice to look him up. Fred has since moved away from Sydney to a really southern suburb, if you could call it that, and taken an extended leave from the ministry so he had lots of time to sit and chat.
We made it into Wollongong around 12:30 in time for tea and lunch so we sat at the kitchen table and talked about all kinds of stuff, mostly having to do with the frustrations in Pastor Fred's life at the moment. We heard stories about how Fred felt empty spiritually and unfed. And when it came to reading the Bible or anything with spiritual connotations rather than filling him up he felt as thought it passed right through him and into something he could use for a sermon. He was more concerned about the spiritual life of others and had been neglecting himself. The amazing thing I realized while watching and listening to Fred was how true this was for most people in the ministry including myself. I felt sorry for all those wonderful people out there that never get the chance to recharge their christian battery like I am presently doing on sabbatical. So when Fred said that he was leaving St. John's it wasn't because of some big falling out or another calling per-say, it was because he felt the need to spend some quality time with God that he had been missing for who knows how long. It was a very refreshing statement to hear.
Fred said one thing that really stuck out to me in our conversation. He was concerned that even in the Christian church we have drifted away from a Christocentric and preaching a more universalistic mentality towards God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. One example he gave was in the songs we sing. He noticed that in a normal grouping of songs in a Sunday service it was a rarity to hear the name of Jesus sung. Now this is not really the problem, the songs are good and about our saving Lord but what about the people in this world of different faiths? Fred told us a story about how he was at a Lutheran gathering and he noticed an Indian woman at this conference he was attending. Fred listened intently and realized that Jesus specifically wasn't really being talked about by name. There were tons of references to God, Lord, Savior, Love and helping your neighbor but the name of Jesus wasn't hardly heard. So Fred approached the woman he saw before and found out she was a Hindu among other things and asked what she thought of the speakers. She said that she could agree with most everything that was said today, and that really made Fred think.
Fred continued to talk about how he felt the Christian church he a part of in Australia was so focused on being inclusive and "seeker friendly" that they had taken Jesus, the real reason we celebrate and are saved out of the picture. Wow, this was interesting and I could have listened to him talk for a much longer time, but Heather and I needed to be off. So after a quick tour of his house and new construction projects we were on the road again to Sydney.
View of Wollongong from the bluffs above!
But before we got to Sydney we had to make a few stops. The first back out in the Blue Mountains to pick up my tripod that i left in a cafe' we ate in and then to Hillsong Church for an informational night about the church.
The Blue Mountains were great again and we found the tripod, whew and we arrived just in time for the program to begin at Hillsong. We found out lots about the church and the best part for me was to feel very welcomed and even recognized from when we were there last week. It was amazing that a huge church that has 4 campuses in Australia and 3 others across the world could feel so small and wonderful. In the end it made me miss being at Word of Peace because even though it was a great experience I realized that I missed the community I was a part of back home.
We left Hillsong and found ourselves at the mercy of the GPS again and a few toll roads and the Harbour Bridge later we were downtown Sydney again headed back to Kings' Cross for one more night at Eva's Backpackers.
Have a wonderful day, tomorrow is Manly Beach, crazy downtown driving, and the trip home.
Blessings,
dain
Our next stop was Wollongong in New South Wales to meet with Pastor Fred. Now Pastor Fred is a friend of Heather's and was a contact of her Youth Encounter team when they were in Australia in 2004. They spent a week or so in Sydney at St. john's Lutheran Church and Pastor Fred made a wonderful impression on Heather that she thought it would be nice to look him up. Fred has since moved away from Sydney to a really southern suburb, if you could call it that, and taken an extended leave from the ministry so he had lots of time to sit and chat.
We made it into Wollongong around 12:30 in time for tea and lunch so we sat at the kitchen table and talked about all kinds of stuff, mostly having to do with the frustrations in Pastor Fred's life at the moment. We heard stories about how Fred felt empty spiritually and unfed. And when it came to reading the Bible or anything with spiritual connotations rather than filling him up he felt as thought it passed right through him and into something he could use for a sermon. He was more concerned about the spiritual life of others and had been neglecting himself. The amazing thing I realized while watching and listening to Fred was how true this was for most people in the ministry including myself. I felt sorry for all those wonderful people out there that never get the chance to recharge their christian battery like I am presently doing on sabbatical. So when Fred said that he was leaving St. John's it wasn't because of some big falling out or another calling per-say, it was because he felt the need to spend some quality time with God that he had been missing for who knows how long. It was a very refreshing statement to hear.
Fred said one thing that really stuck out to me in our conversation. He was concerned that even in the Christian church we have drifted away from a Christocentric and preaching a more universalistic mentality towards God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. One example he gave was in the songs we sing. He noticed that in a normal grouping of songs in a Sunday service it was a rarity to hear the name of Jesus sung. Now this is not really the problem, the songs are good and about our saving Lord but what about the people in this world of different faiths? Fred told us a story about how he was at a Lutheran gathering and he noticed an Indian woman at this conference he was attending. Fred listened intently and realized that Jesus specifically wasn't really being talked about by name. There were tons of references to God, Lord, Savior, Love and helping your neighbor but the name of Jesus wasn't hardly heard. So Fred approached the woman he saw before and found out she was a Hindu among other things and asked what she thought of the speakers. She said that she could agree with most everything that was said today, and that really made Fred think.
Fred continued to talk about how he felt the Christian church he a part of in Australia was so focused on being inclusive and "seeker friendly" that they had taken Jesus, the real reason we celebrate and are saved out of the picture. Wow, this was interesting and I could have listened to him talk for a much longer time, but Heather and I needed to be off. So after a quick tour of his house and new construction projects we were on the road again to Sydney.
View of Wollongong from the bluffs above!
But before we got to Sydney we had to make a few stops. The first back out in the Blue Mountains to pick up my tripod that i left in a cafe' we ate in and then to Hillsong Church for an informational night about the church.
The Blue Mountains were great again and we found the tripod, whew and we arrived just in time for the program to begin at Hillsong. We found out lots about the church and the best part for me was to feel very welcomed and even recognized from when we were there last week. It was amazing that a huge church that has 4 campuses in Australia and 3 others across the world could feel so small and wonderful. In the end it made me miss being at Word of Peace because even though it was a great experience I realized that I missed the community I was a part of back home.
We left Hillsong and found ourselves at the mercy of the GPS again and a few toll roads and the Harbour Bridge later we were downtown Sydney again headed back to Kings' Cross for one more night at Eva's Backpackers.
Have a wonderful day, tomorrow is Manly Beach, crazy downtown driving, and the trip home.
Blessings,
dain
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Canberra Day 2
I think the best way to describe this day was "nothing major really happened." For once we didn't head out the door at an early hour, or go to see all the sights, or even walk anywhere. It was so nice to have a day where we sept in and had a leisurely day talking with Tanya and taking care of Liam. The conversation was wonderful and the stories ranged from what has been going on in the Lutheran Church in Australia, to the local Bible camp happenings, to weddings to the death of Tanya's best friend Amy. It has really been an up and down year for Tanya and family but the Lord has really provided in marvelous ways.
Little Baby Liam
The two best parts of the day were the food and the movie we watched. First the food. For lunch we had pumpkin soup. This is a fantastic Aussie dish that is made from Butternut Squash or Yellow Pumpkins as the Aussies call it. It was so good and well worth the adventurous spirit it took just to imagine a soup made from pumpkin. Dinner was also good with a roast, steamed and baked cheesy vegetables and some really good soda drink.
Afterwards we looked at wedding photos and then sat down for desert and a movie. The movie we watched was a very Australian movie called The Castle. It was a movie mostly about a family who lived next to the airport and their house was going to be repossessed by the government to add to the runway. The court battles and family hyginks that ensue are rather hilarious and touching. I am looking forward to finding it and showing it to some of our friends.
The day ended after that knowing we were headed to Wollogong the next day to meet with Pastor Fred so it was off to bed with us. Another great day in Australia.
Little Baby Liam
The two best parts of the day were the food and the movie we watched. First the food. For lunch we had pumpkin soup. This is a fantastic Aussie dish that is made from Butternut Squash or Yellow Pumpkins as the Aussies call it. It was so good and well worth the adventurous spirit it took just to imagine a soup made from pumpkin. Dinner was also good with a roast, steamed and baked cheesy vegetables and some really good soda drink.
Afterwards we looked at wedding photos and then sat down for desert and a movie. The movie we watched was a very Australian movie called The Castle. It was a movie mostly about a family who lived next to the airport and their house was going to be repossessed by the government to add to the runway. The court battles and family hyginks that ensue are rather hilarious and touching. I am looking forward to finding it and showing it to some of our friends.
The day ended after that knowing we were headed to Wollogong the next day to meet with Pastor Fred so it was off to bed with us. Another great day in Australia.
Melbourne to Canberra
Now begins the journey from Melbourne back to Sydney. We rented a car and under the instruction of Rory we are to get the car and head through the Roundabout of Hell to Jenny's place of work to drop off the key. No problem right? Well, we did get the car and we did manage to also get a GPS unit to help us find our way. The way was through the roundabout of hell and I was quite nervous. Heather was the first to drive and I had my head on a swivel so that we didn't run into anything or turn the wrong way.
We made it to Jenny's work place and then it was off to Rory's school to say good-by. It was a lovely and very modern looking school. Most of the classrooms were exposed to the outside and very open. So if anyone were to ask, "can we have class outside today?" the answer would be, "we are outside!" After a couple of hugs and some direction of how to get out of town and a quick stop at a cafe' for lunch, we were on our way north to Canberra.
The eight hour drive proved to be uneventful and very beautiful. We spent the first 3 hours looking at the countryside and the vast amounts of grazing pasture for cattle and sheep. We were told to keep our eyes out for kangaroos as they tend to hop across the road and be obliterated by cars. We were hoping that would not be us. Luckily, we came upon none to speak of.
We arrived in Canberra around 11:00 pm and found our friend Tanya's house with only a few missed turns. We stayed up talking and catching up while ogling over the new 5 week old Liam.
Finally after a long day we decided to go to bed and be ready for a nice day with Tanya and Liam in Canberra, the capitol of Australia.
Note: I am writing this from the comfort of the United States as we have returned on June 12th. Stay tuned for the final days of our trip.
dain
We made it to Jenny's work place and then it was off to Rory's school to say good-by. It was a lovely and very modern looking school. Most of the classrooms were exposed to the outside and very open. So if anyone were to ask, "can we have class outside today?" the answer would be, "we are outside!" After a couple of hugs and some direction of how to get out of town and a quick stop at a cafe' for lunch, we were on our way north to Canberra.
The eight hour drive proved to be uneventful and very beautiful. We spent the first 3 hours looking at the countryside and the vast amounts of grazing pasture for cattle and sheep. We were told to keep our eyes out for kangaroos as they tend to hop across the road and be obliterated by cars. We were hoping that would not be us. Luckily, we came upon none to speak of.
We arrived in Canberra around 11:00 pm and found our friend Tanya's house with only a few missed turns. We stayed up talking and catching up while ogling over the new 5 week old Liam.
Finally after a long day we decided to go to bed and be ready for a nice day with Tanya and Liam in Canberra, the capitol of Australia.
Note: I am writing this from the comfort of the United States as we have returned on June 12th. Stay tuned for the final days of our trip.
dain
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