Thursday, October 26, 2006

Rainforest



This was our next stop - the rainforrest. David got a little off thebeaten path as you can see. He found a spider on a vine though that scared him back onto the walkways:):) I was safely and happily videoing the whole adventure from a distance.

Aussie Beauty

Look at this beautiful place! Isn't it incredible. That is a good picture of Wentworth Falls. During flood season the falls are alot bigger.
If you look very carfully at the top of the falls you can see some people. It's the dry rock area on the top. That's where we had lunch. There is actually a pool of water up there that the boys went swimming in for some fun after lunch.

More Birthday Pics

Happy Birthday to you!!!!!

Wentworth Falls



Here we are with our connect group at David's birthday. We hiked into Wentworth Falls in the blue mountains and had lots of fun.

Sunday, October 22, 2006

We Are Alive

Wow! I've lapsed on the blog. Sorry! I came down witha nasty Aussie sickness and have been under the weather fot the last couple weeks. I've got antibiotics now and things are looking good so here's what's been happening.
Saturday before last was David's birthday (October 7th) and we had a blast. I surprised him with a trip to the Blue Moutains with our Connect Group. It was funny! He had no idea what we were doing so on Saturday morning the questions were coming regularly..."Are you sure you know where we're going?", "Have you looked at the map...Why aren't you looking at the map?", "Are we going to the beach?"...anyway, I packed our beach stuff just to throw him off and then packed our lunches. I had him drive to a few miscellanious places to mix him up and then ended up in a packing lot were our whole connect was waiting with smiles and a Birthday song. We followed them to the Blue Mountains and had a day of hiking and playing in waterfalls and rainforrests. It was great. I should have pictures to put online soon. Then Sunday I put on a huge bbq at our house for David and Matt Wood and his lovely sister showed up. They blessed us with their presence for two days and we had a blast. They got to go to a Hillsong service and camp out on our floor. It was so incredible that they came when they did (A God send) because our little car started dieing randomly on us while they were here. It was sad. We took it in to the mechanic and bummed around with Matt and his sister Monday. The bad news is that something was really wrong with our engine and unfixable...so David went out to see what he could do about it Tuesday (I babysat all day that day and then started coming down with a bad cold). Anyway, he found a deal on a car and they said they'd take our car on a trade in. Not for as much as we bought it for of course, but a good deal non the less... David drove the new car and everything seemed to be in order... We went to get the car on Thursday and before we drove it of the lot we prayed over it and that GOd would cause it to be a reliable and useable car as we are over here. We also prayed that it would be of good use for Him at a school were cars are much needed....we drove it off the lot...it broke down about 2 Kilometers down the road. Ahhhhhh!!!!!! I think it was an answer to prayer though because the owner of the car dealership came out and got the car and had it fixed. It's running great now and they payed for everything. Praise the Lord!!! I am just believing that GOd made the problem show up quickly so that we could have a car that was really in good condition. I am driving into Sydney on Wednesdays to babysit two kids and it will be so nice to have a car I'm not afraid will break down on the M2(freeway).
That's another story. I babysat two kids for the first time on wednesday at their house in Sydney. Their mom pays 100 dollars a day so it was worth it. Wow, kids are alot of work when you watch them all day. I broke a sweet on a number of occasions. Not only that, I was getting sick so it was alot of work. And then there was driving into Sydney part. WOw, I'll be fine driving in cities after I leave this place I think. Well, maybe not. It's scary!!! People are so crazy! David and I drove in together before I went alone and I was grateful for that. It ended up not being that bad because I stay on the freeway most of the way, pay a couple tolls... the only scary part is when I have to get off the freeway...city roads here are tiny, and people crazy! I got there and back just fine and feel more confident about the whole thing now. It's good and the money is good too.
Speaking of money, I got a job! Praise the Lord! It's at a mall down the road from us and the store is called Colorado. It's only for the hollidays (summer break) but it pays good and I'm sure God has been getting me ready for the people there. Pray for me as I head into the working world:)
Also, I've been asked to help with the start up of a better married college student program here. One that will get the married people at Hillsong College more plugged in and before they come, more aware of what things are really going to look like here. It would be good especially for the couples who are coming in with kids. There are quite a few who come with like 2 or 3 or 4 kids. It would be good if they had someone watching out for them...looking for their arrival, taking them shopping, knowing where to get them housing as fits their family needs, making sure they understand the family programs, being in tounch with them before they come...It could be a full time job just in it's self, but it's volunteer which I'm actually really happy with. I want to have a season where I'm not payed to serve in the church. I just want to do it because I love the Lord, no money attatched. The couple that's kind of doing it right now is leaving in Dec. so I need to step up to the plate soon if I'm going to do it. Pray for that too.
Last but not least...God has really been confirming in David and I that He has a call on our lives for village ministry back in Alaska. He is opening doors even now for us to do that and we are very excited about the possibilities and what our heavenly Father has in store. He's a wild, awesome Dad, and you never know all He's got up His sleeve.

Friday, October 06, 2006

House Mates

Here's a good picture of our awesome house mates. Left to Right. Anette (Norway), Rachael (Seattle), Maria (Norway). They are all beautiful girls.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

New!


Here's the promised picture of David's guitar. The shoes are my new thing (a friend gave them to me) so I had to add them in. Also, a cool story from David. This last Thursday David met a guy named Scott during his weekend ministry at the halfway house. Scott had just arrived there that day and after they talked for awhile asked if he could go to church at Hillsong that week. David got it all arranged and Scottt came with the crew from the area that Sunday night and sat with David during service. When the invitation and altar call was given Scott was one of the first guys out of his seat and walking toward the front. He gave his life to the Lord! David walked down at the invitation with him, was able to do some follow up, and then had a chance to buy him a Bible. It was just very cool! Praise the Lord for using us with just as simple a thing as an invitation to come.

More on Home Sweet Home


Here are some more pictures of the house. It is a great house! The owners came a few days ago though with a realator to get an estimate on it so I guess here in the near future they are planning on selling. David and I have talked about moving in with a married couple we met here in January though so even if we do get moved out we should be fine.
Life this past week has been good. I have been applying for jobs and so far no luck but I sent in a resume to a store here called Freedom today and I'm praying that God will give it to me. If He wants me to have it, and if it's the place He's been preparing me, than the managers will say yes just because God will make them. God can do it! It's interesting that Freedom is a home decorating store because my devotions since I've been in Australia have been in Chronicles. Why is that interesting? Because God has really been using the building of the temple and that whole process of furnishing and decorating His house to speak to me about were I'm at in life right now. He's got David and I in a time of preparation and He's building things in us and furnishing us with the character and knowledge we are going to need to bring people into His family. It's awesome! It is, and will be, a lot of hard work but it is good. We both want to be "built" and "furnished" according to God's specifications and by His grace and wisdom He'll get us finished:):) So, back to the job. Pray that if it's God's will that He'll make it happen and open my eyes to all the purposes of me being in that place.
Love you all!!