Sydney Day 2

There really is nothing like a full nights rest! And that is what we got last night. Comfy bed and not too much noise outside helped as well. Breakfast in the Hostel and then it was off in the rain to the Opera house and whatever else we wanted to do today.

The path we took, as recommended by Joe was fantastic. There were all kinds of paths and walkways that were right on the water. We walked by Woolloomooloo wharf were we had to dodge the rain quite a bit. I also had a first today, aside from the fact that everything is a first since I've never been to Australia, but I was standing on the side of the road, well actually it was the middle of the road on a median and I was splashed by a truck that drove by. It soaked my already soaked pants and, well, I laughed.



Next we continued down the path along the wharf and came around the corner to one of the most amazing views of the harbor, opera house and harbor bridge. It was beautiful. We took lots of pictures and waited out the rain that came back. It's a good thing we brought our rain coats.

Next it was through the Royal Botanical Gardens and past tons of people jogging. It seemed strange to me that there were so many people out jogging in the middle of the day and in the rain. Don't they have jobs, but maybe not. Maybe it was a early lunch break of something? We eventually got to the Opera House itself and looked around at the amazing building that it was. Very Cool!



The walking tour wasn't done yet. We went to the Rocks, Circular Quay, Darling Harbour, downtown Sydney and the world famous Aquarium. They were all awesome, but I love the Aquarium the best. The animals and fish and shark and rays that were all twice the size of me astounded me. We got to go underwater to see them. The tunnels led us into a land that few get to see. A great tour. Plus on top of all the cool stuff we got to see Nemo, Dory, Marlin, Crush, Bubbles, Gill and the whole crew from Finding Nemo. It was a star studded day!


Heather taking a nap with Crush!

Finally, it was back to the hostel and make dinner together. We made a chicken stir fry and it was tasty.

Looking back on the day I realized that I finally felt like I was in Australia when I came around the corner and saw the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Strange that the accents and constant reminders that I am in Australia didn't do it for me. But the moment I saw the iconic locations I had finally arrived. Seeing it up close was amazing and changed my perception on what the building is and that it in fact three buildings. Also, it's not white. It's actually a cream and grey combination. All in all a beautiful and amazing piece of architecture.

Have a great day, I am looking froward to tomorrow and maybe some more sun.

Once again you can check out more pictures on my Flickr page: Click Here

Peace,

dain

Sydney Day 1

What a wonderful first day in Australia! Really, I couldn't think of a better way of doing it. Arrive at 6:30 in the morning and then have the rest of the day to bum around and get our bearings. Throw in a shower in the morning and a nap in the afternoon and whaaapowww...you've got yourself a first day.

Heather and I started our adventure with breakfast at Joe's. Turns out, Australians can make a great French Toast and bacon. The eggs, tea and chai were also fantastic. Joe also gave us a map and some great ideas for tomorrow as we are planning on seeing the Opera house and some other places on the harbor.

After breakfast we walked around Kings Cross and saw the sights. Fantastic and lots of things to see. Turns out we are in Backpackers heaven because not only are there tons of places to stay, but also lots of "adult clubs" if you know what I mean. I am already glad that Heather and I are staying a little off the beaten track.



Next, because we are staying at a hostel we want to cook some of our own food. So we went on the look for a grocery store. What we found was Woolworths, a very fine establishment and all underground. A bit different than we are used to but a great variety. We got our breakfast fixings and have our spot in the fridge where we are staying.


The rest of the day we devoted to Hyde Park and Downtown Sydney. It was awesome, a beautiful city and pretty easy to get around. Here are a few shots of Hyde Park:



But I did learn a few things about traffic in Australia. First, look right. Traffic is coming from a different direction than I am used to and I almost got hit a few times. Talk about looking like a tourist straight away. (Straight away is Australian for immediately). They even have help because apparently I am not the only person that has no clue.



The way you know to cross is signaled by a Green walking guy rather than white, and a laser -beam sound coming from the button I just pushed. So to sum up: look down so you remember to look right, and wait for the laser.

Finally, dusk came and I got some awesome pictures of a huge Catholic Church and the down town area. The panoramic pictures are from the roof of Eva's where we are staying.



Now it is off to bed to try and get some real sleep, meaning laying down and not in an airplane.

You can check out more pictures of our trip on my flickr page: www.flickr.com/photos/dmswanso

Blessings and good night,

dain

Made it Safe!

Well, our first day is Australia is here and we are ready to go. After a shower and getting used to the hostel we are staying in I think we will head out on foot and see what we can see. We already had a bit of a Mr. Toad's wild ride on the way here. Straight through downtown Sydney and stopping at all the other Hostels in the area (we had a few riders in our shuttle) and then it was off to Kings Cross where we are staying at Eva's Backpackers Hostel. Not a bad place. Nice and quaint I think. We have our own room and a nice view of the city out our window. We are planning on heading out on foot after we get our feet under us again.

More to come soon,

dain

The day before...

As I lay in my bed waiting for my mind to calm down I think about all the craziness that awaits for Heather and I in the land down under. I am excited and a little anxious for our trip tomorrow. It has been a while since I have flown such a long distance. I went to India 6 years ago and now I am headed on my longest set of flights yet. I think Heather calculated that we will be in transit for almost 29 hours and it will take us 2 days to get to Australia thanks to the international date line. This will be my first time in this country, Heather's second. I am looking forward to seeing a country that I have heard so much about. I have been enamored with Hillsong Church in Sydney for some time now because of the music and ministry that is going on in Australia and all over the world. I think I am most excited about seeing another culture that is in so many ways the same as what I know, but still something totally different. That and I love the accent. My plan is to document myself and how well I can pick it up over the two weeks we are there.

Please pray for our safe travel. Because of the show Lost, I can't help but think of....never mind.

Be sure to check back soon for updates, pictures and maybe even some videos. Who knows.

Blessings.

dain

Update to "Wedding Plans" post

If you visit our blog, you've probably noticed that we rarely update it. Sorry about that!

But I did want to add an update regarding the request that we made to gift gifts to Youth Encounter and Samaritan's Purse, even though it's very delayed in coming. Most of all, THANK YOU SO MUCH for all of you who sent gifts to us for our wedding! The generosity was overwhelming - we can't thank you enough. In fact, some of you we haven't even officially thanked yet....sorry about that! I guess we're quickly approaching the supposed year-long allowance for writing thank you cards - we really need to get on that! =)

But I also wanted to say thank you to all those who made donations to Youth Encounter or Samaritan's Purse in our name. At the wedding, we made the request of the guests to give a donation toward these causes as well, hoping that we would collect enough to buy 30 mosquito nets to help protect families overseas from malaria (which would take $300).

And when we counted the collection, we were amazed to have received over $1100! That gave us enough to purchase the 30 mosquito nets easily, plus buying a brood of chicks, Bibles for new believers, training for a local evangelist, and a bicycle for a local pastor to travel to nearby towns. All this and we were able to give over $500 to support Youth Encounter as well! And this was only what was collected on the day of the wedding - we know that several others gave gifts directly to Youth Encounter, Samaritan's Purse and other charities, which weren't included in this total. Amazing - thank you for your generosity!

So thank you again, with all of our heart, for the suppport shown to us at our wedding and to these great organzations. We're blessed to have so many generous and caring friends and family.

Peace,
Heather and Dain

Surprise Me God

This Sunday marks the beginning of a 30 day experiment in faith for me and the rest of Word of Peace, my church. We are following the book "Surprise Me God" written by a local author Terry Esau. I am about a third of the way through the book already and am very excited to see what happens in my life as I pray the prayer "Surprise me God"

I really don't know what to expect. I guess its going to be a surprise. Imagine that. My hope and prayer is that people will take this seriously and no longer think that God is some distant being that only shows up on Sunday or Monday or whenever you go to church. God is around us all the time and working in our lives in ways that we never realize because we are so busy all the time.

I will be keeping this blog daily with the hopes of giving people an idea about what God is doing and has done in my life. Just like the book, I am not expecting something amazing to happen every day, but I am expecting God to be there. That I can count on.

Well here we go....

Dain

Wedding Slideshow

We had lots of people ask us about our wedding slideshow. We had tons of pictures and lots of fun putting it together. Here is the first part of the video. After it gets done playing, the 2nd and 3rd part of the video will be available at the bottom, on the left part of the slider - so you can click on those to continue. Enjoy!